source
stringlengths 620
29.3k
| target
stringlengths 12
1.24k
|
|---|---|
Can you freeze jalapenos? It's getting colder outside and I have a lot of jalapenos in my garden. I like eating them fresh (not cooked) on homemade tacos and omelets, etc. If I freeze them and thaw them out later in the winter, will they still be as spicy and crunchy, or does the freezing and thawing take some flavor away from them? <Q> I have a whole freezer full of jalapenos - so <S> yes, you definitely can. <S> They keep their texture better if you do 2 things: <S> Use a vacuum sealer and take out all the air - to reduce freezer burn. <S> Because of this, I recommend you freeze them in batches. <S> Blanche them for 2-3 minutes in boiling water and then drop them in freezing water. <S> From what I've read, this destroys a particular enzyme that helps not break the pepper down further. <S> I've done this and not done this - and doing it definitely <S> helps on the texture. <S> They should be good for a little over a year in a vacuum sealed bag - as far as the texture goes. <S> They should never go bad otherwise. <S> Cos and Sobachatina - bring up another good point: <S> freezing fast and effectively. <S> You can try AB's method that Cos points out, but I do what Sobachatina does. <S> Freeze on a single layer on a tray in the freezer. <S> They freeze quicker and better than dumping them in a bag. <A> A tip from a friend of mine works great if you only want to use your jalapenos for cooking!! <S> Chop them up and push them into an ice cube tray. <S> Top up with a tiny bit of cold water and then freeze. <S> Once frozen take them out of the tray and put into plastic bag. <S> To use just take as many cubes as you think you need and just throw them into whatever you are cooking <A> If you don't have a vacuum sealer I use a drinking straw and suck out most of the air from a freezer baggie before sealing. <A> burn. <S> In this way you can freeze them for a long time and you should freeze them in batches.
|
They definitely retain their heat just fine. Yes you can, you just have to take out all the air out by using a vacuum sealer to reduce freezer
|
Why is my espresso salty? We've got a fancy espresso machine in our office kitchen. (It's apparently the kind they used to use at Starbucks stores before they switched over to a more automated "point-and-click" type system.) I was trained on how to use the machine by an old pro, and have been successfully making delicious cups of espresso for a few months. Lately, my espresso tastes distinctly salty. I haven't changed the process at all. It has happened on a few separate days, with many other people using the machine, so I doubt it is an issue related to the substance used for cleaning the machine (since I believe that would have been flushed out between my attempts). I haven't heard any other complaints from the 50 (or so) other people who use the same beans, grinder, and espresso machine. It's a mystery to me, but salty coffee is gross, so it's a mystery that needs solving. (My theory is that I've unwittingly altered my method in some tiny way that I haven't noticed, and that has changed the taste of my espresso. I just don't know what that alteration was!) Edit : I had a thought: This morning, I made a cup that was salty enough that I didn't want to drink it at all. I poured it out and made another from the other basket on the same machine. It was salty, but drinkable. Potential clue? 'nother edit : Yesterday, my coffee was less salty. The only difference in my method was that I rinsed the basket for way longer than I usually do. It still tasted a little bit off (in the salty direction), but not nearly as bad as previous cups. <Q> It could simply be that it's a gustatory illusion! <S> See my answer to this related question for more explanation. <S> Edit : Here is a summary of the relevant information (if you don't want to follow the links): <S> Human taste receptors don't simply react to how much actual salt there is in a food or drink; <S> our perceived tastes are a fusion of both our gustatory and olfactory senses. <S> In other words, the smell of a food or drink can affect how it tastes ! <S> There are numerous studies that suggest foods with certain odors can be perceived as much saltier than they actually are. <S> Coffee has a good amount of oil, there's even more fat if you add cream, and other studies suggest that high fat foods can also increase perceived saltiness. <A> What kind of water are you making the coffee with? <S> Tap? <S> Mineral? <S> It dramatically affects the taste of coffee. <S> Drink the water that you make the coffee with (if possible) to see if you get any salty taste. <S> Also, did anyone else tried the coffee from the same cup you are drinking? <A> It's possible that someone has tampered with the coffee by adding salt. <S> If this hypothetical coffee salter accidentally added too much to some batches but not all, it could explain why no one else has complained and why the other basket wasn't as salty. <A> This question was asked more than 1 year ago, so I don't know if you have found the cause of the salty taste. <S> I'm answering because I always get salty taste espresso if the extraction time is too long; usually when I grind my beans too fine. <S> You asserted <S> you hadn't changed the process at all. <S> Could it have been due to differences in weather those days? <S> Is it possible your machine always brews the same amount of espresso in the same time because it automatically adjusts the pressure? <S> (mine's doesn't do it, so I perfectly see differences in extraction time if I change the tampering pressure or grinding fineness) <S> Edit <S> I was reading my machine's instructions manual, and found this in the F.A.Q.s : <S> Q: <S> The extraction seems too slow, somewhat drippy and doesn’t provide a steady pour. <S> It may even taste salty. <S> A: <S> You may have dosed in too much coffee. <S> The grind setting may be too fine requiring a coarser grind of coffee to allow water flow. <S> (Try the shot counter feature!) <S> In rare cases, tamp pressure will change the flow rate. <S> Be careful you are not tamping too hard. <S> Use a bathroom scale and a tamper to test how hard you are pushing down the coffee bed. <S> (note: the last 2 factors are not in the web version, but in my printed one). <A> The cleaning process for many coffee machines has a step of running salt water through it. <S> It could be that someone forgot to run clearwater after to remove the saltiness of that <S> they let it sit at this stage too long and some salt is crystallized inside. <S> Another possibility is that salt could be added to help with the bitterness of coffee as Fambida said. <S> My final thoughts would be the beans changed you're method or that because you're so sure its salty now that you're noticing it more than before. <A> I don't know if this has been answered but you might want to flush your machine with descaler. <S> It needs to be done every so often. <A> I have noticed that my latest batch of coffee seems to taste salty, particularly on the left side of my mouth! <S> Weirdly the salty taste seems to come from one particular tooth! <S> There's no way salt has got into the coffee or the grinder, in fact it has tasted salty from the electric grinder and the hand grinder, so I don't think that's an issue. <S> I have been taking eye drops containing antibiotics this week in my left eye - that could be a cause, but I'm fairly sure the salty taste started before the eye infection! <S> Hoping I haven't damaged my tastebuds in some way. <S> Maybe the next batch of coffee will not be as bad. <A> Had you taken any decongestants? <S> If I take a Lemsip (contains phenylephrine hydrochloride) <S> it makes my coffee taste very salty. <S> Taken me years to figure it out! <A> I've been making pour-over coffee at home for many, many years. <S> I never vary the method. <S> For some reason, every now and then, I detect a salty taste in my morning coffee, and it really messes up a good thing! <S> It's as bad as McDonald's coffee, which always tastes salty to me. <S> I consider the salty McDonald's coffee to be a quality issue because I've experienced it every time... <S> perhaps it's underextracted as discussed above; but when my at-home over-pour is occasionally salty, I think it is body chemistry... <S> perhaps what I ate the night before, sort of like how brushing your teeth before you drink a cup of coffee can really ruin the taste. <S> So I'm experiencing saltiness this morning in my home-brew (maybe because I ate potato chips before going to sleep last night?) <S> , so i tried licking a lemon mid-cup to see if it changes the way my coffee tastes. <S> Wow! <S> It worked! <S> My morning meditation is back on track! <S> Another testament to citrus magic!
|
Some people prefer to add salt to strong coffee (like espresso) in order to cut the bitterness. This is a slow extraction and it may be caused by several factors: The cartridge may be near or st the end of its pressure.
|
high protein easy to make lunches I am an active person in the gym 4-5 days a week and always running or playing squash the other days, I work 5 days a work and I am terrible for packing lunches, I was wondering if anyone had suggestion for high protein easy to make lunches to bring to work whether its the night before or morning of? thanks, Beef <Q> Do you have access to a microwave and fridge at work? <S> Then you can make extra food for dinner and bring that as leftovers for lunch. <S> Things like stir fries, stews, soups are great for having extra meals through the week. <S> Nuts <S> leftover bacon <S> All these things can be added to salads to make a satifying meal, or used to make sandwiches(nuts needing to either be a butter, or added to chicken salad.) <A> In terms of protein, it's hard to beat block of tofu + soy sauce + hot sauce. <S> It requires neither cooking nor refrigeration! <A> Well you can simply make varying types of sandwiches/salads made of cold-cuts, chicken, and beef.
|
Other staples would be: boil eggs at the beginning of the week cans of tuna, salmon, sardines and other small fish cook an extra breast of chicken, extra roast beef/other meat
|
What causes Béchamel Sauce to get so clumpy? Possible Duplicate: How not to mess up Béchamel sauce Just starting to learn how to create cream sauces for dishes; as it's foreign to me. Most the sauces i know start with a slurry and soy sauce. I tried creating sauces from this recipe . Béchamel Sauce: 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup heated milk salt white pepper freshly ground nutmeg (optional) It seems to get lumpy. What is the trick? I think i may have added the flour too quickly or the milk had to be much hotter <Q> Normally, in industry, you combine the butter and flour, and cook it for a bit (usually gets a nice nutty aroma). <S> Then, you heat the milk to a boil, and add some of the milk to the cooked roux (fat and flour). <S> This will be VERY thick. <S> You can easily whisk the lumps out of that. <S> You then add this back into the other milk, which thickens the milk. <S> Also, in industry, there is often just a big pail of roux, and a shortcut is to heat the milk, and then add the roux in a bit at a time, whisking like hell to get out the lumps. <S> You can control the thickness of the sauce better that way. <S> When you have the desired thickness, you then season. <A> It is also possible you did not cook the roux long enough before adding milk; after a minute or two with whisking, it should be bubbling and pasty in texture, with no visible clumps. <S> This texture means the fat and flour are fully incorporated, reducing clumping. <A> I cook the butter and the flour together for a bit, like mrwienerdog said, until its a very dense mass. <S> The trick to avoid lumps is to then add the milk (I don't heat it, like BobMcGee said) very little by little . <S> I've found that adding a lot of milk will leave undisolved clumps of roux, but if you add a tiny bit of milk and mix it in, you'll get a slightly lighter roux, to which you can add another tiny bit of milk, and so on. <S> All the while mixing vigorously over medium low heat. <S> Once it has the right texture/consistency add the seasoning. <S> Remember that once it cools béchamel will be (much) more thick than what it seems when your making it (don't over do it or it'll be solid).
|
I was taught to always add cold roux to hot stock/milk, or cold stock to hot roux in order to prevent lumps, and my culinary arts textbook (On Cooking, 4th Edition) confirms this.
|
How can I keep chopped fruit fresh for 2-3 hours? I need to cut up a large amount of fruit for use in a pavlova dessert tomorrow night - although the same question would no doubt apply to a fruit salad or other fresh fruit item. Anyway, I won't have time to do this between dinner and dessert, so I'll need to prepare the fruit a few hours in advance, and I'd like to keep it looking and tasting super-fresh. What can I do to preserve the appearance, texture, and flavour of the fruit for as long as possible after it's been cut up? The fruits in question are apples, kiwis, and possibly a few bananas. I'd also be interested in knowing how to preserve strawberries, raspberries, and similar items. I'd especially appreciate a complete breakdown of the process, i.e. is the freshness after a few hours going to be affected by how it's cut, storage vessels, air flow, temperatures, etc.? <Q> I've preserved cut fruit for at least 6 hours before using just lemon juice. <S> Lemon juice inhibits the oxidation of the fruit which prevents browning as well of a loss of crispness. <S> One lemon should be enough juice for a 1.5 quart bowl of cut fruit. <S> Simply squeeze it over the fruit and toss gently to prevent bruising. <S> Since you'll be working with apples, kiwis, and bananas I think your best bet will be to keep them separate. <S> The lemon juice will benefit both the apples and bananas, but might only be marginally effective if unnecessary for kiwi -- since kiwi brings plenty of its own citric acid to the table. <S> The fruit should be stored in the refrigerator to additionally inhibit oxidation. <S> In my experience covering it with plastic wrap with a few holes poked in it works great. <S> Aluminum foil should be fine as well. <S> I find that the covering is primarily to protect your fruit from picking up other odors from within your fridge, and the holes permit the fruit to "breathe" releasing the buildup of ethylene gas that will occur if it is completely sealed. <S> If lemon juice is undesired you can use other citrus juices including: lime juice, orange juice, and pineapple juice. <S> Obviously they will all bring their own flavors. <S> If this flavoring is altogether undesired, then you should consider getting a commercial product called Fruit-Fresh . <S> It's basically a powdered citric-acid, and kosher to boot. <A> I don't, however, have any suggestion for how much to use. <S> For a small bowl (about a cup), I've used just a pinch and it will actually reverse the browning of apples. <S> For the amount of fruit you're dealing with, I'd mix some crystals and water and use it much the same way as lemon juice. <A> It is often best to use a less noticeable acid source such as fresh orange or pineapple juice. <S> Using lemon juice or ascorbic acid will be very noticeable <S> Lightly brush the acid source on to the exposed fruit surfaces, do not soak the fruit in it or it will become too wet, and not very useful for Pavalova decoration <S> Let the fruit drip and dry on a rack for a while, and then cover (mesh netting etc.). <S> Keep in a cool area. <S> Avoid putting the fruit in the fridge if you can, unless the ambient temperature is just too warm Fruit should not go in the fridge, it's is just too cold for it. <S> Fridges cause discolouration, flavour, and texture loss. <S> Remember fruit often grows in a very warm climate; kiwi fruit and berries grows at 20+°C, bananas often at 30+° <S> C <S> You don't need much fruit to decorate a Pavlova, just enough for a little taste contrast with each slice. <S> See the picture in <S> What is the best way to making a great pavlova base? <S> It is common to use soft fruit. <S> Hard fruit such as apple maked it difficult to eat combined with the very soft texture of the Pavlova base <A> Or put vinegar and sugar, or suger syrup over the top. <S> Both works well <S> but I recommend the suger syrup as the fruit will taste a bit sweeter as opposed to the vinegar solution
|
Put the fruit in cold water keeps it from going brown AND helps it stay fresh. In addition to lemon or other citrus juice, you can use Vitamin C - ascorbic acid - crystals.
|
How do I stop onigiri from falling apart? I'm experimenting with Japanese cooking, and I can't seem to get the hang of making rice shapes. I want to make an onigiri rice triangle with a filling. The theory is simple enough: make rice and let cool, take rice in hand, dig a small crater, place filling in crater, fold around the filling and shape in to a triangle.In practice, I must be missing something, because it simply falls apart. I'm not sure if this is the technique of folding, shaping, or even cooking the rice. <Q> Things to try Rice should still be warm Handle rice gently, don't squeeze it <S> Does it fall apart because it is sticking to your hands? <S> If so <S> : Use warm salt water on your hands (not dripping wet hands though) Rinse the rice more before cooking to remove excess surface starches. <S> The process is: Rinse in bowl of water, gently tumble, let stand 20 minutes, change water. <S> Repeat until rinse water runs clear <S> If this still fails to solve this sticky issue, you can use cling film (plastic wrap) as a guide and release agent on your hands. <S> Peel the plastic off as you wrap the nori on <A> There are two main reasons that may cause your onigiri to fall apart: <S> For Onigiri, You must be use either medium grain rice or short grain rice. <S> Both types of rice are sticky enough for the rice to stick to each other. <S> Japanese rice and certain italian rices such as arborio works well. <S> If you are using long grain rice (such as jasmine rice), the onigiri will simply fall apart because they are not sticky enough. <S> If the fillings are too oily or watery, it will cause the rice to lose it's "stickiness" and result the rice ball not be able to hold its shape. <S> Other reasons may include: Rice is not hot enough or not properly cooked. <A> Don't let the rice cool, it should still be quite hot. <S> There are some ideas at <S> Just Bento on ways to make it using plastic wrap or a baggie <S> so you don't have to handle the hot rice directly; there was also discussion of plopping rice into a jar and shaking based on a video, but it was decided the rice cools too quickly for it to work for more than 1-2 onigiri per batch. <S> The cooler the rice, the less it'll stick together. <A> Rice Cooking Reminder: <S> Rinse 1 <S> ½ cups of sushi rice in water. <S> Rinse your rice well <S> , ensure that the rice water rinses clear. <S> If you leave too much starch on the surface of the rice, you are asking for poor inconsistent results. <S> Drain, bring the rice to a simmer in a saucepan with 2 cups of water, cover and lower the heat to medium-low for 15 minutes. <S> Turn off the heat and keep the saucepan covered for another 10 minutes. <S> 3 Methods to make and form your Onigiri <S> Hand Method Have a bowl of salted water set up and moisten your palms with it. <S> This will prevent the rice from sticking and the salt will season the rice. <S> Spread a palmful of warm sushi rice into one hand. <S> Fold up the rice around the filling. <S> Pack the rice tightly with both hands. <S> Mold Method <S> With a mold, cookie cutters are best. <S> Salt the rice directly, since you're not using salted water on your hands. <S> Moisten the mold and place it over a non-stick surface such as parchment paper. <S> Press rice into the mold, filling it halfway. <S> Form a small hole in the middle and place your filling in it. <S> Fill the rest of the mold with rice and pack it in well, with your fingers or the bottom of a cup. <S> Tea <S> Towel Method <S> Place the lightly salted rice into the towel or plastic wrap. <S> Tuck the filling in the center and gather the towel up so that the rice surrounds the filling. <S> Twist and squeeze the towel. <S> When you unwrap it, the rice ball should be well-packed, like a good snowball.
|
You can overcook the long grain rice so it will be soft and mushy to form a shape, but it certainly will not taste very good. If you are using a filling, place it in the middle.
|
How do I stop fresh fish from falling apart while cooking? We sometimes buy trout from a local breeder who'll get them fresh out of the water for us, and then cook them a few hours later. They taste great, but the flesh tends to fall apart in a way that doesn't happen with fish from the super market. It's often barely even possible to get them out of the pot without them completely coming apart. We tried leaving them in the fridge for a day so they wouldn't be quite as just-killed-an-hour-ago-fresh, but that didn't help. We usually prepare them by cooking them in simmering (not boiling) water. Is there some way to prevent this? <Q> Something like this is useful: Photo source <S> There are a lot of variations on the same theme (including oval strainers) <A> My first thought is to cook the trout less time. <S> When the fish is just done, it will not fall of the spine (I think). <S> Another option is to change the cooking method. <S> I sauté'd a fresh trout (the neighbor had caught it) with good result. <A> I would suggest cooking them in a pasta strainer. <S> This way you could pull the strainer away from the water and drain the fish in the strainer. <S> Then pour the fish out of the strainer in one piece instead of trying to lift the fish out of the water. <A> Fish is delicate. <S> So boiling it (you don't say how long for) for more than even a minute or two is going to cause it to disintegrate. <S> How about cooking it a different way ? <A> The plastic bag is necessary to prevent water access to fish while cooking. <S> You need to keep temperature of that water at 132 Fahrenheit (55.5 Celsius), not less, not more (at 145F it'll already be overcooked). <S> Depending on how thick is the piece it might take from ~20 minutes (half-inch thick) to couple hours <S> (~2 inches thick) to make sure the entire piece was brought to this temperature (especially important if starting with not fresh, but frozen fish). <S> After that you could just fry it for 30 seconds on each side to give it <S> familiar "fried" (or use a propane torch from Home Depot) <S> slightly "brown" look. <S> If you don't want to mess with plastic bags and keeping water temperature precise, still using a digital thermometer with a needle type sensor will help a lot in any cooking. <S> The "doneness" of fish (and meat) depends only on what temperature you brought it during the process. <S> If currently you're simmering it — temperature is way above 132. <S> It's most likely close to 220. <S> Means — severely overcooked. <A> I had the same problem. <S> Don't move the fish until its done on one side before flipping. <S> then it will not fall apart. <A> I am from the Bahamas and the way we keep fresh fish from falling apart <S> is this: After seasoning the fish, take a clean hand towel and gently tap the water off the fish until it's damp but not dry and be careful not to rub off the seasoning. <S> Take a flat plate, sprinkle some flour on it and spread the flour to ensure it coats the entire plate. <S> Take the damp fish by the tail and dip both sides of the fish in the plate of flour. <S> Use a skillet filled with approximately 1/2 cup of oil and fry the coated fish on medium heat. <S> When you notice the fish is slightly brown, turn the heat up and fry to a crisp golden brown. <S> Add oil only as needed, too much oil will soften the fish and too little will cause it to stick. <S> Watch the pot carefully and use a spatula to flip the fish. <S> When flipping, make sure the spatula is in between the head and the body section. <S> This method is done before we cook the fish in any other form to prevent it falling apart. <S> This is especially done before the fish is steamed, because it decreases the cooking time of the fish sitting in gravy, which causes it to fall apart if cooked for a long period of time. <A> i use the two spatula method. <S> one goes under the fish and one goes over. <S> the one that goes over the fish is "face down", so I can even turn it without it falling apart.
|
Make sure the fish is lightly coated from head to tail. The best way to cook fresh fish is to put it into a plastic bag with as little air as possible (there are vacuum sealers available for that, but manually squeezing air out of the bag should work too), and place it in a water bath.
|
Which cooking apparatus is best to make Croque Monsieur? I'm looking for a small cooking apparatus that I can use to make Croque Monsieur. I've used this kind of device before but I don't know which words to use to google for it. Here's how I made a Croque Monsieur from the past: Place a slice of cheese and ham between two bread slices The sandwich is placed in between two grills which press against it like a jaw After a few minutes, parallel grilled marks are left on both sides of the sandwich Think of the above machine as a closed book engulfing a sandwich. What's the English name of that machine and is it available in small size(my kitchen has limited space). <Q> The device is called a "panini press" and they're available fairly small. <S> I've seen ones which aren't much larger than a toaster. <A> I think you're looking for a "sandwich press", does it look like this: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-GR-1-Griddler-Panini-Sandwich/dp/B000CPZXGO ? <S> Or perhaps like this . <A> While as BobMcGee says a panini press gives you the apparatus you were thinking of, I would like to add that there is an apparatus especially for making croques. <S> An old one looks like this , a newer version like this . <S> I googled 'croque monsieur machine' to get the results, it's the term we use here <S> (Belgium). <S> It's fairly cheap and is about as large as a waffle iron. <A> My only comment on this is that I've never had a croque in france cooked on a panini press. <S> The authentic ones are always sautéed. <S> Don't need to press on the top either - that leads to it being more like a panini which I find is compressed - the french croque isn't. <S> Basically, it's a fried cheese and ham sarni - not a grilled panini.
|
Personally I make them by buttering the outside of the bread, and shoving the sandwich into a cast-iron skillet.
|
How do I deal with silverskin in a steak without trimming away all the fat? Below is an image of a steak I cooked the other night. It is a grass-fed New York Strip steak, I used medium-high heat in a cast-iron pan, seasoned with only salt and pepper and cooked for 3 minutes per side. The steak was roughly 1.5" thick, and it is cooked to roughly medium. (The image looks redder in the center than it was in actuality, but it's close.) The fat was soft and delicious, as was the steak. But that streak of silverskin that attaches the two was impossible to chew. I have heard that when you're butchering other animals or large cuts of meat, the silverskin is always removed, but if I had done that there would be no fat left on my steak. How do I deal with this silverskin without losing all the fat? <Q> A good Sirloin (New York Strip steak) has a reasonable marble of fat, so you should not have to worry about edge fat <S> When enough fat has melted for your taste, cook the steak in the fat at the temperature and time you like Add fresh herbs or garlic to the rendering fat for extra zing! <A> This is probably ludicrously over the top but you could always cut off the fat and remove the silverskin and then use transglutaminase to glue the fat back onto the meat. <S> There's an excellent post on Cooking Issues with some great information here: http://www.cookingissues.com/primers/transglutaminase-aka-meat-glue/ <A> Dealing with the silver skin can be quite a challenge, but (as he often does) <S> Alton Brown breaks it down in a way that even I could master with just a few tries.... <S> of course the problem is remember which episode he did it on. <S> The best video tutorial I have seen for trimming silver skin was " Good Eats: Tender is the Pork " available directly on " You Tube " (linked to the first of three parts.) <S> While AB demonstrates on a pork tenderloin the technique is fully transferable to beef (or even lamb). <S> You should also enjoy his "Tender is Loin" episodes, but that's another story... <A> Obviously it's impossible to remove the silverskin without also removing the fat. <S> You should be cooking the steak on a screaming hot pan, but even that won't 'melt' it. <S> I'd suggest removing the silverskin and fat, then adding a large knob of butter to the pan near the end of cooking, basting over the steak liberally to add richness. <A> Ideally, you want the flavor of the fat, without having to eat a blob of fat or the silverskin. <S> Cooking your steak standing on its fat side to start off with. <S> It will render some of the fat out and help flavor your pan that you're cooking it in. <S> After that, cook the steak as normal and frankly... <S> just don't eat the rest of the fat or the silver skin. <S> You've already melted a good chunk of it into the steak, so just enjoy the meat of the steak flavored with that wonderful fat. <A> Cut off slice of steak with fat and silver skin. <S> Chew. <S> Allow flavour to anoint your palate. <S> Swallow the goodness. <S> Spit out tough items as the sliver skin. <S> Problem solved... <S> we are carnivores <S> are we not? <A> you could cook the steak longer: notice how you've transformed the exterior 2mm of connective tissue on both sides into more edible gelatinous stuff. <S> another reasonable way to do this is cook the ny strip as a roast (to 100° or 105° by your photo). <S> The hotter temperature to the exterior would transform the connective tissue completely, and leave the fat a little crispy but still there. <S> if you insist on a steak, a cool temp covered barbecue would do the same trick. <S> lastly: you could choose a different cut (hello, prime rib) which has fat that's not partitioned by silverskin. <A> This is just the nature of the strip loin. <S> If you prefer fatty goodness without this tough stuff along the edge, you would be much happier with a ribeye.
|
If you like your fat, pull/trim the silverskin and fat off and render the fat in a medium hot pan BEFORE putting the steak in.
|
Is kangaroo meat safe to eat raw such as kangaroo tartare? I know that kangaroo meat is usually cooked rare because it's so low in fat. I also know that certain meats are not safe unless well cooked, such as chicken and pork. But what about kangaroo? For me it's the most delicious red meat so if I like steak tartare I know I should like kangaroo tartare, but how could I make sure that I'm doing it the safest way possible, if there is a safe way? <Q> It seems the meat is not farmed at all but entirely "harvested" in the wild http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/meat-wool-dairy/ilg/industries/kangaroos . <S> So it should be treated as a game meat rather than a farmed one - i.e. best to cook it. <A> Kangaroo meat is recognised as a health risk - as it's a bush meat, and is butchered in field. <S> It can take up to two weeks before it is transported to a processor where the testing regime (which itself is only sampling a small number of carcasses) is only for salmonella and e.coli - not for the many many other pathogens and diseases kangaroos carry. <S> There is good reason that farmed livestock are wormed, drenched and husbanded. <S> I really wouldn't go near it, and you most certainly should not eat it undercooked which is a recognised health risk. <S> See this article on contamination from my site. <A> While you question is not a duplicate, most of the answer for <S> How safe is steak tartare? <S> applies here. <S> If you have good quality meat, from a reputable provider, you are likely to be fine. <S> Given that you would likely need to find a good butcher, I would suggest you talk to him/ <S> her and ask if they would eat their product in that way. <S> If not, perhaps take their advice. <A> Kangaroo meat is subject to the same level of inspection as microbial testing as other red meats. <S> There are no parasite problems in the product. <S> The only proviso is one which applies equally to lamb or beef: that pregnant women, the elderly, very young children and sick people should not eat any raw meat due to possible toxoplasmosis rick.
|
Here's advice from the Department of Primary Industries saying you should never feed raw kangaroo to your dog, so I'd err on the side of caution http://new.dpi.vic.gov.au/pets/pests-and-diseases/health-care It is perfectly safe to eat in the same way as all other red meats.
|
Are egg whites generally available at the store? Can you buy egg whites at the store, or must I take the yolk out my own? I assume if so they would be sold in some sort of carton. My plan is to just use them for scrambled egg whites in the morning. It just helps speed up the process this way for work days. <Q> Many stores sell egg whites. <S> Organic Valley Liquid Egg Whites <S> as an example. <S> They can be both pasteurized (useful if you want to use the whites in a non-cooked application) and non-pasteurized. <S> Depending on your application, beware of egg substitutes; these aren't quite the same thing. <A> Yes. <S> This is probably a question better asked of an employee of the grocery store(s) <S> you frequent. <S> They should be found in the refrigerated section of the store that contains whole eggs. <S> Eggology is a brand that can be found in the USA. <S> I've used it before for making omelets and mixing into cocktails. <S> Besides convenience, an added benefit of buying egg whites is storage lifetime. <S> Egg whites sold in bulk should be pasteurized which can extend their storage life up to four months after opening. <S> Compared to the two to four days that raw egg whites can last, this is quite significant. <S> I do not use them for baking since I find that the aggressive pasteurization denatures the proteins some. <S> This can subtly affect the rise and stability of some baked goods. <A> Depending on your application, you may also (in addition to @hobodave's answer) be able to buy just powdered egg whites in your baking section. <S> These have a longer shelf life than the liquid form and are suitable for some baking applications.
|
In my US grocery stores, I find egg whites in the refrigerated section, near the eggs in cardboard cartons, similar to those that cream comes in.
|
What do you call a scrambled omelette? I sometimes fry vegetables and chicken, crack a couple of eggs into the pan and stir it all for a while. Serve as is, or with fried rice or noodles. Does this dish have a common name? <Q> It's usually what I wind up with when I'm out of practice with making omelettes. <A> I am quite sure it doesn't have a name in English. <S> There is the traditional Bulgarian dish mish mash (миш маш), which is an example of what you describe. <S> It never contains chicken, and the classic version prescribes that the vegetables have to be tomatoes and red peppers. <S> But variations are possible, e.g. adding onions and/or feta cheese. <S> It is always scrambled, never cooked to a single-piece omelette. <S> No Bulgarian would even think of classifying it as a type of omelette. <S> If a name for mish mash (or a more generic version of it) existed in English, I would expect to find 1) translations in dictionaries listing the English name and 2) mish-mash recipes intended for foreign audience which compare mish-mash to the existing English dish - for example, a recipe for kazanlushki ponichki would probably mention that they are very similar to donuts, but deep-fried. <S> I looked around for such results. <S> 1) wasn't so conclusive a search, because none of the sources I tried offered a translation for mish mash. <S> While the reason could be that the word is too obscure to be listed, I see this as a circumstantial evidence that there is no easy translation. <S> 2) delivered better results - none of the recipes in English I looked into mentioned a similar dish with a known English name. <S> Some insisted that there are similar dish in the Mediterranean region, but did not name them. <S> Third, there was a hit of a tourist site which stated Q20: <S> What is Mish-Mash? <S> (vegetarian meal)A20: <S> It is type of omelette. <S> I think that if there had been a better word than "a type of omelette", they would have used it. <S> So I conclude that the English language, rich as it is, again lacks the name for a dish not usually prepared in English speaking countries :) <S> As a side note, try adding some (good quality!) <S> feta cheese to your mish mash. <S> It makes a very good combination. <A> This is usually a more coherent, one-piece omelette than scrambled eggs, however; perhaps 'scrambled fu yung' would work? <A> I've always called it a western omelet. <S> Typically red bell peppers and onions figure prominently. <A> Sounds closer to a frittata, could also be called a scramble. <S> An american omelet is fully cooked and has cheese and toppings in the center and is folded over. <S> A french omelet is rolled so as to have layers. <A> Scromlette , or "scrambled eggs with stuff in them."
|
I have heard something similar to what you're describing called a "scramble". A 'Chinese-style' omelette of this nature is known as fu yung .
|
What kind of rice should I use for frying? Which properties should I look for or avoid in rice when I'm planning to fry it (the day after cooking)? <Q> It depends how you like your rice. <S> Personally I like my fried rice to have a few sticky lumps through it to add texture. <S> Others may like it completely 'separated'. <S> It's really up to you. <S> I usually use a combination of long grain and Basmati. <S> As it happens, fried rice is much better when cooked with cold rice and very hot oil anyway, so it's a good idea to keep it cool in any case. <A> Technically you could probably use whatever rice you have there. <S> The long grain rice has the lowest amount of amylopectin which is what makes some rice "sticky". <S> Typically when fried rice is made, you want individual separable grains of rice. <S> So I'd go with the longest grain rice you have. <A> The most important property is that it's cold. <S> Really. <S> Cold, slightly dry rice of any variety will do, except for highly glutinous rice (like mochi-gome). <S> Mochi-gome, while used for mixed rices like sekihan (rice and red beans), is generally steamed together with other ingredients, not fried, because it'll just be uncooperative. <S> Japan, China, Korea, and Thailand all have some form of fried rice, and the variety of rice is generally the same as whatever the most common variety is in that country. <S> Japan and Korea usually use a short-grain japonica variety which tends to clump a bit, and China and Thailand mostly use medium grain which generally doesn't. <S> Generally, because the rice dries substantially during cooling, the clumping is greatly reduced when you toss that pre-cooled rice around in your frying pan/wok/cooking vessel with a bit of oil.
|
But if you're looking to make a typical Chinese style Fried rice, traditionally a long grain white rice is used. Another point is to make sure your rice is safe - it needs to be cooled relatively quickly, and kept cool, to prevent the growth of Bacillus cereus , which can cause serious (no pun intended) food poisoning.
|
Substitutions for greek yogurt? Are there any available substitutes for greek yogurt? I don't have any in the fridge. Looking for a substitution besides regular yogurt or any yogurt based substitution. Looking to make a creamy like cold sauce for fish tacos. <Q> Sour cream could work. <S> It has a similar flavor to plain greek yogurt, although the consistency is somewhat different. <S> In fact, My fiance and I have switched to using greek yogurt in place of sour cream because of this since sour cream is higher in calories. <S> I think it would be just fine for a sauce. <A> For cooking, or putting a dallop on top of a bowl of soup? <S> Try crème fraiche . <A> Greek expat here; while roaming in various countries, I often stumble across yogurt variants that tend to be too liquid for my taste <S> ;) <S> Here is what to do in that case: take said yogurt and pass it through fine cloth (typically this is a clean/unused kitchen towel). <S> Discard the liquid and keep the now much thicker yogurt for your needs. <S> Hint: this works brilliantly for preparing tzatziki! <S> Advice: never fail to buy some greek yogurt when you find it available, as a minimum to use it as reference in thickness/taste for whatever else you want to compare with! <S> Also, remember, higher price may just imply quality. <A>
|
You can use mashed baking bananas (plantains) to substitute for greek yogurt.
|
How to do creme brulee 'to go'? I used to sell desserts and baked goods - I'm thinking about 'reopening'. I would like to offer creme brulee as an option since its one of the more popular desserts when I make it for friends and family. The problem is, I can't figure out how to make it ' to go '. I can't raise the price enough to give them a traditional ramekin. If I provide it in a styrofoam container, I can't blowtorch the sugar on top without melting the container. I've already pretty much assumed I'll be cooking it in one container and scooping it into another to give to them. As such, I'm open to less traditional and more innovative solutions overall - mainly on how to provide it to them in a 'take out' container AND have the crunchy top. Is there an established way to do this or does somebody have a simple solution that I'm overlooking? <Q> They're presented in one-serving disposable aluminum ramekins and the crunchy top comes from caramelizing as people order. <S> I've seen similar in bakeries and restaurants that sell creme brulee to go. <S> Presumably this is far easier than cutting up large batches or trying to come up with ways that don't melt styrofoam! :) <S> More pics from the cart: http://hoodscope.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/street-food-redefined-the-creme-brulee-cart/ <A> A sandwich shop in Madison, IN surprised me with creme brulee to go, in a styrofoam container. <S> I bugged the chef to show me how he did it. <S> Simple: he oiled the rim of a ramekin, sprinkled the sugar on top of the custard, then torched it. <S> After letting it cool for just a few seconds, he carefully lifted the top off with a spatula and placed it on the styrofoam cup. <S> It worked very well and he presented a wonderful to-go product. <A> Use a ramekin sized so they are nearly 100% full when made Use paper circles to line the ramekin to about the 3/4 mark. <S> Use oil or other "glue" to make the paper stick smoothly to the ramekin surface. <S> Then make the creme brulee as usual Depending on how you caramelise the sugar, you might get away with oiling the ramekin edge (if using the under the grill/broiler method) to stop the sugar sticking, or just run a knife around immediately after torching it (blow torch method) <S> To dispatch; run a knife around the top edge down to the paper, invert with small silicone baking sheet or silicone dish on top. <S> Replace ramekin with plastic dish of same size and re-invert Let is cool somewhat before transferring to plastic ! <A> I actually had creme brulee made inside an orange, once. <S> It was hardly the best creme brulee I've ever had, but I don't think it was the orange's fault. <S> They had cut a fairly large hole in the top and then scooped out the orange. <S> Since it was a citrus and lavendar influenced version of creme brulee, I don't think they were too concerned about getting out every last bit of orange.
|
I've eaten from the creme brulee cart in San Francisco before, which is basically a food cart that sells nothing but.
|
Is it possible to get vegetarian grana padano cheese? My wife is vegetarian and, since meeting her, I've come to realise that all Grana Padano seems to be non-vegetarian. Is this really the case, or are my local supermarkets just not stocking the veggie stuff? Would be a shame for her to miss out on so many things (esp. pesto) just because of this. Thanks. <Q> This is because the making of Grana Padano is still a traditional process and true GP cheese is only produced in certain regions of Italy. <S> It in fact has P.D.O. (Protected Designation of Origin) status, which means that only those cheeses produced in certain regions and using certain methods can legally be called Grana Padano. <S> I imagine one of those methods is using animal rennet. <S> I would be surprised that there isn't some form of substitute available in Italy, as they have the highest proportion of vegetarians in Europe at 10%. <S> I get the feeling, however, that they are perhaps less zealous about it than others if it means giving up good cheese. <S> The only suggestion I have found as an alternative to GP as something to sprinkle on pasta etc is nutritional yeast powder, which apparently has a similar nutty, creamy taste. <S> Not ideal, but if you make the choice to be veggie you have to take the rough with the smooth! <S> I see from your profile that you live in the UK; we are lucky in that we have a lot of fantastic small local producers, so it may be worth looking up some local dairies or cheesemakers and seeing if they can offer an alternative. <A> I Buy kosher Grana Padano: <S> http://www.collaspa.it/en/index.php <S> Since we can't use animal rennet,it is vegetarian and <S> it says so on their web page. <A> You can get a cheese named Grandi Pascoli from QuatrtroColli. <S> Its is a grana padano made With vegetable rennet. <S> This is especially made for vegetarian use. <A> No. <S> Grana Padano's traditional recipe uses animal rennett and because it has DOP protection under EU law, no cheese made to any other recipe can be sold as 'Grana Padano'. <A> Try Grana Padano Tipo, which contains a modified enzyme. <S> It's used by a leading vegetarian restaurant in Brighton, for its full flavour. <A> I believe the best vegetarian alternative is Gran Mantovano . <S> It's made in Italy by a reputable maker of Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano and in my opinion is an excellent substitute for Grana Padano. <S> It is made specifically for vegetarians. <A> There is indeed a fabulous Italian Hard Cheese that is Vegetarian. <S> It's called Quattrocento and is made by Granarolo. <S> You can buy it at Waitrose or from idelionline.com <S> It's a smoother texture but still packs a punch so cooks and eats the same as a parmesan or PDO product <S> It is made with microbial rennet and is preservative free so a much cleaner ingredient deck than a few other cheeses of a similar style
|
You may be able to find vegetarian Grana Padano style cheese, but I don't think you will find the real thing in vegetarian form.
|
How can I keep ingredients cold while camping? I am going camping tomorrow and I was looking for campfire recipes. People use hot dogs, bacon, cheese and other stuff regularly for campfire cooking. But these ingredients must be kept cold. How do you carry these kinds of items with you? I thought about one of those coolers where you put a block of ice and it keeps cool, but those things are only for a few hours. How do you keep stuff cool on a multi day trip? EDIT: Just got back from the trip. I used a cooler. It was wonderful. Tilapia, chicken breasts and eggs stayed nicely in the cooler for 2 days. <Q> Here is my camping strategy. <S> If I'm going for more than a few days, here's what I do. <S> (Big enough to hold everything perishable). <S> Forget those "gel packs". <S> Definitely don't get a bag of ice from the convenience store. <S> They melt and mess stuff up. <S> Get a 2 litre bottle, rinse it out, fill it with water and freeze it. <S> (Do this a couple days in advance, if possible). <S> The less air in the better. <S> This won't leak and will stay cold a good time as long as you don't open it. <S> Take any raw meat that you're NOT planning on eating on the first day and freeze that too. <S> Put the meat and all the frozen stuff at the bottom and to one side. <S> My bottle of ice goes either directly on top of the meat or right beside it. <S> This way, my meat has at least an extra day or two of grace <S> and I don't need to waste extra space with an ice pack. <S> Then layer stuff that isn't frozen, but can handle a little freezing on the next layer. <S> Then work your way up, to any produce being on the top layer. <S> Plan for the coldest stuff to be at the bottom and/or near the ice packs. <S> Depending on what's in there, sometimes I put a towel between the frozen stuff and the non frozen stuff to insulate it a bit better. <S> And prevent produce that shouldn't be frozen from freezing. <S> Then on each day, I move the frozen meat for the next day meat away from the ice packs and upward to allow it to defrost (making sure <S> , it's sealed, so I don't get any raw meat juice leaking out). <S> On the last day, the water in the bottle can be drank, but once you start emptying it, it'll start melting. <S> Obviously, minimize the time you keep it open if possible. <S> I realize you said you're going camping tomorrow, so freezing a 2 litre bottle might not happen in time. <S> In this case, I'd switch to multiple smaller bottles and failing that those gel packs. <S> I hate bags of ice, as they melt and make a mess. <S> Finding cheese in a pool of water is never fun. <S> The rest of the stuff would still apply. <S> This usually lasts me quite a few days. <A> Ice chests last way longer than just a few hours. <S> Unless the weather is insanely hot, if you put a reasonable amount of ice in a good ice chest, and don't open it all the time, there'll still be ice in it a couple days later. <A> We camp at the beach on a regular basis during the warmer months (which is most of the year down here in South Texas!!), and we've found that along with freezing water bottles and proper layering, we can get an extra day or 2 out of our cooler by digging a well in the sand to put the cooler in. <S> The sand acts as a great insulator against the heat, plus the deeper you dig, the cooler the sand gets! <S> Throw some reflectix on the lid of the cooler, and your all set!! <A> eat the perishable food first. <S> Keep perishable in the shade. <S> Store your food under running water. <A> I get two coolers one smaller than the other. <S> The smaller one is for cans of soda or a gallon of milk and two liter bottles. <S> Using two litre bottles as ice containers is a good idea as whe <S> the ice melts it will not get all over your food. <S> If you have any bubble wrap stuff it in the top of the cooler to take up dead air space. <S> Bubble wrap or sealed air packages which are common today. <A> I like to cook up soups, stews, chili, spaghetti sauce, etc. <S> ahead of time, portion into one-meal amounts in freezer bags, and freeze. <S> I use these as the ice in my cooler. <S> I do the same with meats. <S> They don't keep stuff cold as long, but you can get insulated shopping bags now that do keep stuff somewhat cold, especially if you're filling them with frozen food. <S> These are a lot easier to pack into a backpack between campsites. <S> Wrap some blankets and towels around it to add extra insulation. <S> I also like to bring along as much non- and semi-perishable food as possible. <S> Hard cheeses, dried sausages, dry beans, jerky, pilot bread, dried fruits, nuts, oatmeal, etc. <S> For fall/winter camping, I like to carry a small, wide-mouth thermos for soup. <S> I heat it up in the morning before breaking camp, pre-heat the thermos with hot water before filling it with soup, and have hot soup for lunch. <S> It's great after a cold morning of hiking.
|
Start with a good air tight cooler.
|
How do I make coconut milk at home? I rarely use coconut milk, so it's not something I like to keep around the house. On the rare occasion I do use it, most of it goes to waste because I only need a little bit. How do I make it at home, and can I make a low calorie version? <Q> Most fair sized Asian markets carry boxes of powdered coconut milk/cream. <S> The shelf life on these products is generally quite good, and allow you to make just the amount (and strength) of coconut milk you want by simply adding water. <A> I don't know about the "low calorie" part of your question but if you take a container of coconut milk and freeze the left over portion in an ice cube tray, and store the ice cubes in a ziplock in your freezer they should last a good long while allowing you to use them in smaller portions in the future. <S> As for "making your own at home"... <S> first you plant a coconut.... <A> Take the coconut powder and make it fine by wet grinding in the mixer (you will be able to extract more milk this way). <S> Take lukewarm water (helps extract the milk better). <S> Add this water to the powder when running though the mixer. <S> (Not too much or the coconut milk will spill over when grinding). <S> Take a wide-mouthed sieve and filter the wet powder through the sieve into a vessel. <S> You can obtain more milk by running the powder through the mixie again with more water. <S> However, this milk will be watery and not as good as the first run. <A> To make coconut milk, I either use frozen shredded coconut or whole coconut from Indian stores. <S> Take a cup of shredded coconut and add 1/2 cup of lukewarm water (lukewarm water brings out the maximum milk and beautiful white color). <S> Blend it nicely for a minute or two until all the flakes are ground thoroughly. <S> Strain the ground mixture using a thin kitchen cloth colander. <S> We call this extract as "First milk". <S> You can use the residue to make "thin coconut milk" (follow same steps). <S> We call this second extract as "Second milk". <S> I'm pretty sure you cannot extract coconut milk from bakers coconut. <S> In Indian cooking, First milk and Second milk makes difference when you add them in a curry. <S> The order in which they are added also makes difference to a dish. <A> Well, if you want to make coconut milk from scratch you would first have to get a dried coconut. <S> This is a coconut that's a dark brown colour on the outside. <S> You will know that it's good if when you shake it you hear liquid slushing around inside. <S> Use a hammer to crack open the nut and drain out the liquid (which you can drink). <S> Take a knife to pry the white flesh from the coconut shell and be careful so as not to cut yourself. <S> Chop these into smaller pieces, put in a blender along with some water. <S> Strain and use the liquid as desired. <A> Here is a recipe using fresh mature coconut to make coconut milk like it is traditionally made. <S> http://ilovetraditionalfoods.blogspot.ca/2013/02/how-to-make-coconut-milk.html <S> After making coconut milk, don't throw out the pulp because you can make coconut flour out of it. <S> http://ilovetraditionalfoods.blogspot.ca/2013/02/how-to-make-coconut-flour.html
|
You can make coconut milk at home by using dessicated coconut powder available at stores.
|
How to prevent separation/layers in panna cotta? I recently discovered how easy it is to make panna cotta via a recipe by Mark Bittman . The only problem I found was that my panna cotta started to visibly separate into two distinct layers after a couple hours in the fridge. Google searches brought up others that complained of different types of separation, but mine was, unlike most, very much gelled layers with one creamier than the other on top. I enjoyed the distinction between the two while eating, but I would like something more evenly distributed in the future. I followed Bittman's directions to the letter, with the same proportions and quantity of everything but the lime that I substituted for dried lavender to taste. Half an hour or so of cooling time before pouring brought it down to room temp, which was ~65F. I strained, poured, and chilled for 5 hours before serving. Is there anything I can change in the future, including the proportion or mixing of half-and-half and cream (which I suspect is the cause of separation), that would prevent this from happening? I would not mind leaning towards an all half-and-half solution to this, as the richness of all cream feels kind of cloying to me. <Q> It sounds to me like you didn't get the gelatin dispersed properly. <S> Since the recipe you linked to doesn't explicitly mention it, and neither does your question, I'm going to assume that you didn't bloom the gelatin first. <S> You must do this if you want proper dispersion of any gelatin product. <S> To bloom powdered gelatin, just sprinkle it over cold liquid and leave it (cold) until it's visibly swelled. <S> This usually takes about 5 minutes. <S> Then simply heat and stir (thoroughly) to disperse. <S> To bloom sheet gelatin, you do almost the same thing - soak them for a little longer (up to 10 minutes) in cold water a separate vessel, then squeeze them to wring out any excess water, and then add to your cooking liquid (in this case cream). <S> You might also consider use a stick blender/immersion blender to make sure that it is completely dispersed after melting. <S> This is usually unnecessary for gelatin, but if you're blooming it and still can't get uniform distribution, that will help. <S> I'm certain that if you follow the proper preparation, your panna cotta will turn out fine next time. <S> P.S. Do be careful not to add too much lime or other acid; gelatin will not set properly at pH levels around or below 4. <A> I know more than a year has passed, but I'm usually late to the party. <S> This is not a problem with gelatin dispersion; it's simply that the cream separated from the milk and rose to the top. <S> It happened to me once when I made panna cotta, too. <S> I have not come up with a solution to this, but I did learn something today that I hadn't known before (from America's Test Kitchen, so I tend to trust it): While milk and half-and-half are homogenized, apparently whipping cream and heavy cream are not. <S> This explains the separation. <S> I'd be thrilled if someone knows a way to keep the cream from separating. <A> I believe the different layers are milk as one layer and cream as the other. <S> This then enables it to fully set before the mixture has time to separate. <S> I chill the moulds in the freezer so that they are really cold. <A> I believe this to be a cream , milk issue. <S> The cream is visibly thicker and fatter than the milk when you look at at separate layers. <S> I Know <S> I lot about milk , I milk cows for a living , all I have done to stop this , is once The Panna-cotta has sat in the fringe for 30 min BEFORE it starts to harden up , I skim off the skin floating on top and re stir the panna cotta mixture. <S> this does help. <A> It's odd that no one has thought that acidity might cause the problem. <S> Lemon panna cotta is a common recipe. <S> You could in effect be making very bad gelled cheese floating on the separated gelled whey. <A> It's the gelatin. <S> If it were the cream, the top layer would be fatty. <S> As in the first answer, you need to 'bloom' the gelatin properly <A> I don't think it is the gelatine. <S> I strongly suspect that it is the mixture of milk and cream. <S> I am going to make a test version using only milk to test my theory. <A> I've had this happen to me the last 2 or 3 times ( I make some every week ) <S> I've come to the conclusion that it is the cream floating like you used to get with milk bottles before homogenisation came in as main stream. <S> I'm gonna try and cool the mix a little and stirring before potting
|
I have overcome the problem by waiting for the mixture to start setting, then giving it a good stir, BEFORE pouring it into already chilled moulds.
|
How can I correct this Brandy Snaps disaster? I recently got a copy of the "Be-ro book of Home Recipes". Near the beginning is a recipe for 'brandy snaps'. This is a kind of cracker that is rolled after cooking to make tubes that are then filled with cream. However, my attempt to cook them failed and I want to know where I'm going wrong. The first set was on parchment paper but not properly greased so they stuck to the paper. The second set was greased but still tore when trying to lift off the paper. Also they have to be rolled when hot but they are far to hot to touch until they cool but then they are too stiff to roll. The third set again just tore and couldn't be rolled. On the plus side, the did taste nice but how can I stop them looking like something the dog should be eating. <Q> You will have to put on your asbestos chef's fingers and roll them while hot I'm afraid. <S> You should leave them for about 15 seconds once they're out of the oven. <S> One thing that might help you is silicon baking sheets. <S> Not only are these very 'non-stick', they also flexible, so you can use them as pseudo-oven gloves to roll the brandy snaps up. <A> I'd buy a wooden dowel from the hardware store that has the same diameter <S> you want the finished tubes to be. <S> Lay the dowel lightly on top of the freshly baked cookie and use a small, offset spatula to lift one side of the cookie up over the dowel. <S> Roll the dowel to seal the tube and then slide the tube off the dowel. <A> Check out Mary Berry's recipe. <S> http://maryberry.co.uk/recipes/great-british-bake-off-recipes/brandy-snaps <S> I wait until they are bubbling and light gold (yellow), take them out and wait until they stop bubbling. <S> About a minute. <S> Then, they should be cool enough to pickup. <S> I've found that, even after 10 minutes, they can - if you're very slow and careful - be rolled into a tube shape. <S> You just need to press with your thumb up to, but not beyond, the point of breaking. <S> Point of note: You'll notice that if placed on a tray, once rolled, they will actually flatten after an hour or so. <S> This demonstrates that they can indeed be shaped well after cooling to be handled. <S> Just be real careful.
|
The only thing needed to get it right is to use 160c fan or 180c non and to simply watch them until they are just ready to come out. If you leave them for too long to cool you can always pop them back in the oven for a few seconds to re-soften.
|
What difference does oxygen content of tea water make? I've heard the advice that water should be boiled for tea only one--that when boiled it loses dissolved oxygen, and if there is insufficient oxygen in the water, the flavor of the tea is (somehow) affected. This doesn't seem to make sense to me. If the water loses oxygen when it is boiled, it would have lost it before tea ever touched it anyway. Does this really make a difference, or is it just a commonly perpetuated kitchen myth? If there is one, what affect does the oxygen (or lack) have on the finished product? <Q> All moving water has dissolved oxygen in it. <S> That is what fish breath <S> If these are the good flavour parts of tea, I do not know? <S> When you heat water it starts to release the dissolved oxygen. <S> The more you heat water <S> the more oxygen escapes <S> You can buy tea making kettles that bring water up to 95 <S> °C (203°F), but not boiling, so as to decrease the amount of dissolved oxygen lost, but still making the water hot enough to brew tea. <S> They also save energy :-) <S> I use one of these, and am happy with it <S> Example Kettle <S> Some people "watch" their kettle, and switch it off just before the water boils! <S> It is a personal taste preference if tea tastes better when brewed in water with more dissolved oxygen or not <A> This blog article (citing numerous sources) claims that re-boiling water doesn't have any significant effect on tea taste. <S> Here are some key points from it: Heating water above 50˚C already removes most of the oxygen from it, so neither once-boiled nor twice-boiled water contain significant amounts of oxygen. <S> Triangle tests such as this one <S> prove that dissolved oxygen by itself doesn't affect water taste. <S> While oxygen could theoretically reduce tannin's concentration in tea, this effect is dwarfed by other factors, notably steeping time, water temperature, and water/tea ratio. <S> All this is not to say that water is unimportant. <S> Water is important. <S> Alkalinity is important. <S> Salt content is important. <S> Minimal iron content is super important. <S> Dissolved oxygen is not important. <S> [...] <S> For brewing tea, coffee, or any other hot beverage, dissolved gases are irrelevant. <A> I agree with your suspicion. <S> While boiling water most likely <S> does cause it to lose some of its oxygenation, the bubbles and steam you see while boiling water do not come from the oxygen trapped in the water. <S> Water boils when you heat it enough for the water to begin acting as a gas. <S> The reason boiling water bubbles is because the heat source is generally on the bottom, so the first water molecules to become gaseous are on the bottom and then bubble up. <S> Saying boiling water releases its inner oxygen is akin to saying that ice is not water and in fact simply traps water inside. <S> If you're worried about oxygenation, try pouring your cup of tea in various methods: <S> boil it in the mug (microwave?) <S> boil then pour into a cup boil then pour a few times in to a cup get a straw and blow some bubbles in your cup try using seltzer water to make tea...? <S> Anyways, I could be wrong, but the whole concept seems a little silly. <S> Happy tea drinking :] <A> This person found that increased oxygen in the water resulted in milder, less tannic tea: https://cookingwithnumbers.wordpress.com/2016/01/09/does-oxygenating-water-improve-tea/ <S> Rather than boiling and reboiling water, they oxygenated water by bubbling air through it - so it doesn't exactly indicate what the effect would be from repeated boiling.
|
Dissolved oxygen is reactive, and will most likely extract more substances from the tea leaf, than without it.
|
Is baking by weight really more accurate? It's gospel among serious bakers that measuring by weight is far more accurate than measuring by volume. However, I'm not sure that measuring by weight helps at all when you have varying humidity levels. It seems to me that, if the recipe author has much higher or lower level of humidity in their kitchen than you do, measuring by weight would tend to make differences in water balance even worse. For example, I recently made the same pizza dough recipe in my apartment (65F, 80% humidity) and at my in-laws (75F, 35% humidity). Getting the same texture of dough was a difference of 2/3 of a cup of water, or around 6oz of weight. This water already was clearly in the flour in my apartment, adding to its weight but adding somewhat less to its volume. This means that if a recipe was written by someone in Tuscon and I made it in San Francisco, I'd get a sticky mess of a dough without enough flour. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to make repeated experiments in measurement at different humidity levels to see if weight or volume is more accurate when the hydrometer is going up and down. Is anyone? <Q> Is it more accurate? <S> ABSOLUTELY <S> Does it mean that you can still follow a recipe by weight exactly and expect perfect results everytime? <S> No <S> You're right in <S> that humidity will vary the weight, but if you're consistently working in the same area with a small change in humidity - its not something to worry about. <S> You'll adjust your recipe once and then generally stay in the same range. <S> Going by volume, you're always going to be all over the board. <S> Sometimes you'll pack light, sometimes tight. <S> The problem you run into is when you change locations or the humidity changes drastically. <S> In the long run, you'll need to know what your expected dough should look and feel like. <S> After you've baked a loaf 100 times, you'll poke it and know if its too dry. <S> In addition to the feel of the dough, I have a hygrometer in my kitchen. <S> Keeping an eye on it lets me know if I should expect to need to add more or less water to my dough. <S> I bake A LOT <S> , so I keep an eye on this to make life easier. <A> Changes in the weight of ingredients due to humidity are very small compared to changes due to how loose or tight your flour gets packed into the measuring cup. <S> Weighing the ingredients eliminates one (major) source of measurement error. <S> You'll still have to compensate for other things on your own. <A> I had the same question and found some old-ish scientific material <S> According to this, at 21°C, 45 % relative humidity can reduce flour weight by 22 %, 75 % relative humidity can increase flour weight by 15 % from an assumed "normal" 60 % at the same temperature. <S> These values may vary with other base temperature and relative humidity. <S> Most ingredients are not as prone to density-changes as flour is. <S> Flour can be compactedmassively and significantly fluctuates in density, independent of it's moisture content.(see using volume measures to estimate mass to get an idea about the weight range at the same moisture content in the same cup) <S> So I guess, if your humidity and way of packing into the cup or other volumetric measuring container (e.g. fluff the flour up through sifting, then pack it tightly and level every time to provide reproducible fluffiness) does not change much, you can go with a volumetric measurement for flour just as well as with weight. <S> With most other things like sugar, butter etc, don't seem to change density and thus can be measured in volume as well as weight, providing you always "level" the ingredient to have reproducible amounts. <S> If you don't level, it's a matter of chance to get the same heap on the top. <S> This is only true for those ingredients you can relatively tightly pack. <S> I guess, if you want to be super-accurate with flour, you need to calculate the density (which you can do at home) of your flour and then determine the moisture content (which is rather difficult <S> I guess - you could try drying your flour for a couple of hours and then weighing and measuring the volume, but be careful preparing it the same way for the volume every time!). <S> All up, with flour most good recipes state add more flour or liquid if necessary <S> and I guess that has <S> it's reason... <S> This may also be related to different qualities of flour which can take up more liquid - or not. <S> It's just a bit annoying if you don't have experience with the necessary texture :)
|
Going by weight, you're going to be pretty close as long as none of the variables have changed drastically.
|
What is the correct onion to tomato ratio for North Indian masala sauce? What's the optimum — or, at least, the most widely used — tomato to onion ratio for making the tomato masala (sauce)? Masala is used as the base for a number of north Indian dishes. Onions are fried in oil and then tomatoes and spices are added and cooked down until the oil separates out. <Q> I am not intimately familiar with the recipe but according to the recipes I have researched the ratio seems to run the gamut from 2-1 tomatoes to onions all the way to 1-1 tomatoes to onions. <S> I would recommend starting at the 2-1 ration and adjusting according to taste. <S> Here are the recipes I reviewed: http://www.food.com/recipe/onion-tomato-masala-194144 <S> http://www.spiderkerala.com/kerala/recipes/ViewRecipe.aspx?RecipeId=162 <S> http://nsushma.blogspot.com/2009/09/tomato-masala.html <S> I hope that helps! <S> Ideally someone with more experience with this dish can eventually write a more comprehensive answer. <A> I have a coworker from North India whose wife is a fantastic cook. <S> I asked him and he asked her. <S> Her response was basically "it depends". <S> Her recipes are commonly 1:1 ratios. <S> I commented that this was a lot of onion and my coworker said that's fine because he's the one that chops it. <S> Some recipes have even more onion and the onion is pureed. <S> Others have a little more tomato. <S> She recommended starting with a 1:1 ratio by volume unless there is a specific type of masala recipe that requires a different ratio. <A> The ratio basically depends upon ones taste and the dish in particular. <S> Often for spicy dishes <S> 2:1 is preferred. <S> I would recommend to start from 1:1, and bring down the ratio depending upon whether you love the taste of tomato. <S> I basically stick to 2:1, as I am not a tomato fan.. B-) <A> Ratio should be 1 onion and 2 tomatoes.reason is onion is naturally sweet in taste and <S> when u caramelised it it's become more sweet so adding double quantity of tomato help to balance the sweet in ur gravy. <A> An important factor is the type of tomatoes, and more specifically, how watery they are. <S> For example, roma tomatoes tend to be more fleshy, so I rarely go above 1:1 with those, while hothouse tomatoes can be very watery, so I may even go up to 3:1.
|
2:1 ratio is opted in cases where we would like to have a sweet taste of the tomato, in other cases we go for 1:1.
|
Cooking stove vs cooking on open camp fire What are the advantages/disadvantages of cooking over an open campfire made with firewood as opposed to cooking on a propane gas stove? And which should one use for which occasion? EDIT: Thanks everybody for the answers. For a propane stove, if we are carrying it to cook in wet weather, how does this help? We cannot light it inside the tent and if we take outside, the stove will surely go out in case of rain. No? <Q> Campfire Advantages : Less equipment to bring, you can do everything from grilling to roasting to steaming to baking, makes you feel more awesome for having cooked over a fire. <S> Disadvantages : Longer to set up, can darken pots, harder to control and regulate heat, more prone to burning food/hands. <S> My Usage : <S> BBQing/Grilling (Steaks, burgers), roasting (anything that can be skewered), no dish steaming/baking of foods (Tin Foil wrapping), anything else that benefits from direct heat. <S> Stove Advantages : <S> Quick to set up, It's just like cooking on the stove at home. <S> Much better control of heat. <S> Disadvantages : <S> More equipment, you're limited to what you can do on a stove (which admittedly is quite a bit). <S> My Usage : <S> Anything cooked in water (soups, noodles, hot drinks), Stuff that is really better done on a pan (eggs, french toast) <A> When you are camping, there are a number of things to take into consideration when deciding between an open fire and a gas stove. <S> Weather: if it's raining or it has been raining, it's going to be difficult to find wood that is dry enough to burn properly. <S> Availability of good quality wood <S> : Will there be wood available at your campsite or will you have to carry it in? <S> Luggage: is there space in your luggage for wood or only enough for the gas stove? <S> Permissibility: In the UK at least, there is a restriction on open fires at a large number of campsites - you would need to check in your area if this is the case there too <S> In general, I much prefer cooking on an open fire because it is more social and meat cooked with it tastes much better. <S> But when camping I always take a gas stove for hot water at least. <S> Then if it's raining there is always the backup plan of using the gas stove for a hot supper. <S> For example, I've seen roast beef done on an open fire complete with roasted veggies - and I don't know how you would do that on a gas stove! <S> Last point - if you're going to use an open fire, make sure you kill the embers before you move on. <S> And if you're going to use a gas stove - don't use it in a tent. <A> Campfire: <S> Pros - Smokey flavor - <S> No weight for hiking - More fun Cons - Difficult to cook with a pan - Harder to use in bad weather - Dirtier <S> Stove Pros - Cleaner - More reliable - Easy to use with a pan Cons - Heavy <S> I use the fire for dinner. <S> It's a social thing. <S> There's something amazing about cooking hot dogs together with only the light of the fire. <S> Dutch ovens can make magic. <S> I use the stove for breakfast. <S> Pancakes over a fire are always a disaster.
|
Cooking on an open fire will probably also give you a much wider variety of things you can prepare.
|
What does the term mirepoix mean? What is mirepoix and what purpose does it serve? Is it a type of cut such as julienne or Macedonia, or is it a type of cuisine? <Q> Mirepoix means 1: diced onions, carrots, celery and leek. <S> 2. <S> the type of cut of the mirepoix (see 1). <S> The dices are roughly cut about 1cm and don't have to be completely regular. <S> When talking about the cut, it should be about 1cm and regular. <S> So you can cut potatoes in mirepoix, meaning 1cm cubes. <S> So, a cook can say, 'cut me a mirepoix' to mean roughly diced onions, etc. <S> And a cook can also say, 'cut me a potatoe in mirepoix' to mean evenly diced potatoes. <S> So, the answer is both. <S> A cut and a combination. <A> You dice up the vegetables - normally small, but there are rarer applications (long stews for example) where a larger dice is acceptable, but certainly not the norm. <S> Mirepoix alone is not intended to be a dish - its a component that goes well with many, many other things. <S> Think of it as " Here's a well known, good starting point to build complex flavors on ". <S> They are normally added to the dish very early on and often cooked at low heat in order to 'sweat', often with butter. <S> In addition to their usage in normal dishes, they're included in stocks for the same reason. <S> They provide good aroma and taste to the stock and sit well with other common meats and herbs. <S> Other cuisines have adapted a similar trio of veggies to use as a base. <S> Cajun cuisine uses bell pepper in the place of carrots and calls it 'The Holy Trinity". <S> Italian cuisine has the same principle in 'soffritto' - the principle difference being olive oil here, although it often contains garlic as well. <S> In Spain, its sofrito - garlic, onions, and tomatoes - but it can also be more sauce-like. <A> A quick google revealed that it is neither a type of cut nor a type of cuisine, but rather the combination of onions, carrots, and celery that is used as basic flavoring in stocks and soups. <S> See Wikipedia
|
Mirepoix, in every reference I've seen, refers to the chop of vegetables of onion, carrots, and celery - in the ratio of 2:1:1. It has its roots in French cuisine and its generally a 'base' that you build other flavors upon.
|
Is it safe to reuse loose tea leaves the next day? What precautions need to be taken for storing tea for reuse? I'm a fan of green tea and I find myself reusing the tea leaves 2-3 times a day. Sometimes I'll just store the leaves and reuse them the next day but it got me thinking if what I'm doing is actually "safe", I know that the taste isn't the same. So my questions are: What's the best way of storing tea for reuse? Currently I drain the leaves and put them in a small sealed glass jar. Is it safe to store tea to reuse the next day? Bonus point for an actual reference/research proving that it has bad or no side effects whatsoever. <Q> Here in China, it is normal to reuse tea again and again. <S> Typically the first cup from the tea is bitter. <S> Chinese people commonly pour one cup and then throw it away and drink the second cup from the same leaves. <S> Workers here can be seen with a large mug or jar of tea. <S> When drunk, they top up the water again with hot (but not boiling) water. <S> This will go on all day. <S> The next day, however, they will not reuse the tea. <S> My Chinese wife always tells me off if I reuse the previous days tea leaves. <S> She says they are bad for you, though I have never had any problem myself. <A> The question of how safe it is to store wet tea leaves is related to the question of how safe it is to store iced tea; after all, drained or not, the used tea leaves are still bathed in cold liquid tea.*That being the case: <S> CDC - Memo on Bacterial Contamination of Iced Tea (1996) <S> (following quotes come from link) <S> Regular tea is hot brewed, and "studies conducted at T.J. Lipton showed that iced tea brewed at 175°F or higher and stored at room temperature had no detecteble coliform counts during the first 16 hours of storage. <S> " So the issue is "primarily one of storage conditions of the tea" (or in this case, wet leaves). <S> CDC claims the "theoretical risk of disease transmission would be minimized if tea is brewed hot, and stored in clean urn and stored for no longer than 8 hours." <S> Also, regularly clean and sanitize your equipment. <S> An eight hour limit seems too stringent me, but they are trying to eliminate a theoretical risk. <S> Real world risks are often less persnickety . <S> See also Iced Tea Safety (2010) for a slightly less techy version of the information. <S> *and the liquid tea <S> always contains bits of tea leaves. <A> According to Golden Moon Teas , the composition of wet tea leaves encourages bacterial growth, and they don't recommend reusing used leaves after three hours. <S> That said, they also suggest that drying out the tea leaves will dramatically increase their remaining life. <S> They suggest removing as much moisture as possible, and then spreading the leaves out on a platter in a well ventilated room to dry. <S> My intuition tells me that this process could be slightly improved by using a clean towel to press them, and then placing a different towel below them while drying. <S> Regardless of method, the recommendation is that re-dried tea should be used the next day, and that any delay furthers the chances of dangerous bacterial growth. <S> I would expect that the drying process itself, however, can also encourage said bacterial growth. <S> Using an oven, a dehydrator or just having a fan blowing on the leaves would reduce the drying time, which would therefore reduce the risk of growth. <A> If you are making hot tea, you shouldn't have an issue. <S> Remember, to pasteurize you only have to raise core temperatures up to 155 degrees fahrenheit and hold for a few minutes (a few seconds in the case of flash pasteurization). <S> Assuming you are going to steep your tea in water just under boiling (or you are going to just let the tea leaves sit in the beverage) <S> you should far exceed the amount of time required to thoroughly kill any nasties. <S> At that point the only concern is that, if nasties have a chance to start growing between uses, they could produce chemicals which are dangerous. <S> This is common with some molds and fungi. <S> If you put your used leaves in the refrigerator after use and keep them there, this shouldn't be an issue at all (the cool temperatures will either kill or highly retard the ability of the bacteria to go about their metabolic business). <S> I wouldn't go using the same leaves every day for a week, but I can't think of a legitimate reason that an item that is being darn near sterilized every time it is being used, or at the very least pasteurized, would be dangerous. <S> Now, taste is another story. <S> That may get nasty. <S> But hey, one person's nasty flavor is the next person's gourmet so give it a shot. <A> I'm Canadian Chinese; my parents have always reused tea leaves. <S> However, my Chinese co-workers told me it becomes poisonous to reuse tea longer than that. <A> I reuse the leaves the next day as well. <S> As far as the food safety issues go, keep in mind that you are submerging the leaves in boiling water. <S> Contrary to popular belief it doesn't take 15 minutes to purify water. <S> As far as I know brewing the tea would be sufficient kill anything dangerous, forgetting for a moment how unlikely it is that some sort of pathogen would develop in the first place.
|
Supposedly it's fine to reuse tea in the same day.
|
Substitute for egg yolk in ice-cream (Egg Allergy) I have a few questions regarding egg yolk in ice-cream. I would love to try making homemde ice-cream but a lot of recipes I see have egg yolk. Is there a substitute that I could use or is it possible to just leave out the egg yolk? I have heard that I could substitute egg yolk with coconut cream or maybe it was coconut milk. Is this true? What is the purpose of egg yolk in ice-cream? <Q> One of my favourite ice creams involves fresh strawberries (just picked), cream, and sugar. <S> That's all. <S> It can be hard finding "recipes" for things that are simple, so when you search for recipes you get all kinds involving you making a custard first and so on. <S> If you've made eggless icecream and don't like something about it, that's one thing, but my guess is you haven't made eggless icecream yet. <S> Try it. <A> I know not all people are as in to cookbooks as I am <S> but you should have a look at a book called "Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home". <S> None of her recipes use eggs. <S> I bought it a few months ago <S> and it's fantastic. <S> I don't have an ice cream maker at home <S> but all the flavours I've tried so far have turned out really well so far. <S> The book also explains a lot of the science behind ice cream making - which would make experimenting with different ingredients a lot easier. <A> I have heard that I could substitute egg yolk with coconut cream or <S> maybe it was coconut milk. <S> Is this true? <S> What is the purpose of egg yolk in ice-cream? <S> Eggs are used to make a custard base, which when frozen has a rich flavor and creamy texture. <S> Egg yolks also contain a lot of lecithin, a natural emulsifier which keeps fat and water from separating. <S> That in turn helps to keep the ice cream smooth, perhaps by helping to keep the ice crystals that form during freezing small. <S> You don't have to use the eggs, though, and if you leave them out you generally don't need to cook the base first. <S> Ice cream made without eggs (just milk and/or cream, sugar, and flavorings) is often known as "Philadelphia style," and because it omits the cooking step it tends to be very easy to make. <S> It also tends to have a very fresh flavor which is well suited to fruit ice creams. <S> You might look into these especially if you want to make a higher fat ice cream with a creamier mouthfeel than you get from Philly style recipes. <A> If you don't want any yolk in your ice cream or Gelato, then you can use agar-agar powder, which is sold in Asian markets. <S> It is made from seaweed, and 100% vegan (It's usual to add gelatin in ice cream for a better texture, but this makes it unsuitable for vegetarians). <A> According to the Army Medical reference ; Egg yolks increase the whipping capability of ice cream and impart a characteristic flavor to the product. <S> They also improve the body and texture ofice cream. <S> My recommendation would be to go for a flax egg; mill 1 part whole flax seed and stir together with 3 parts water until a nice oozing goo. <S> This will be a bit heavier for the purpose of whipping (it still whips, just takes an extra 5% of the time), and your palette may or may not liken the flavor to egg (I would say for baking <S> I prefer it in batters). <S> However, the body and texture will be fixed up nicely with this substitute . <S> Your recipes should come out nicely assuming you are sticking to making ice cream to make ice cream, rather than in any other implementations. <S> If you are looking to use it some other way I am not sure how it will interact, but if you add a comment I can try to find out. <A> I found this link , which lists many different substitutions for eggs, depending on what the egg is being used for in the recipe. <S> In the case of ice cream, you're making a light custard to thicken the batter before freezing. <S> In that case, you could substitute 2 tbsp cornstarch and 2 tbsp water. <S> I'd whisk this up really well before mixing in, or it will tend to go lumpy.
|
I've seen some recipes that have no eggs but include some lecithin.
|
How can I make my banana bread more moist? I've followed lots of standard recipes online, and the result is always more cake like: dark on the outside white and dryish in the middle. When I go to the store and buy it it's always dark and moist in the middle. What is the secret ingredient?! Update: A lot better! Suggestions below helped a ton. But the perfect banana bread still eludes me.. Here's somes pointers I picked up: Freezing bananas helps. It allows you to mix them in easier and gives it a more consistent texture. More bananas is better (try 4 small ones, or 3 big ones). Try adding Sour Cream (instead of yoghurt). Maybe 1/4 cup for 1 loaf. I had much positive feedback after this experiment! Molasses helps the color (be darker), but the flavour becomes a little too strong and maybe even bitter. Overall I don't recommend it. <Q> Turn the oven down by <S> about 25-50F. Quite often, ovens just blast the heck out of baked good, especially smaller apartment ovens. <S> Larger, more expensive ovens tend to be better calibrated and will produce the proper 350F temperature usually required for banana bread. <S> A cheap oven, which is still fine for banana bread, will overshoot the temperature and kill your banana bread. <S> Turn the oven down a bit, and if necessary cook for longer. <S> I have even turned my oven cooler AND cooked it for 15 minutes less time than the recipe required. <S> Check at 2/3 time. <S> Don't let the bread run through the entire cooking time before checking it. <S> Always check early. <S> For some recipes, I take the banana bread out at 2/3 recommended time! <S> Despite being called banana "bread" it isn't a bread, it is a cake insomuch as it is made from a batter, not a long-kneaded dough. <S> If you start mixing and it seems already too dry - STOP - and add a few tablespoons of milk to loosen the mixture up. <S> If it's too dry in the initial stages, it will certainly be dry later, but a dry mixture also causes you to push harder, thereby causing the gluten to harden. <S> Don't cut down on butter/fat. <S> This is really what prevents it drying out. <A> Store banana bread is usually heavier on bananas (they have to get rid of them), and that will make for a heavier, moister, darker banana bread. <S> I generally add at least one more banana than it calls for in the recipe, and you'll get a better flavor if you wait a while, and let the bananas get old and spotty. <A> While living in Michigan in the late 1970's, I baked several loaves of banana right before going to church to play the organ for the midweek service. <S> I decided to wrap one of the loaves to give to the pastor and his family right after it finished baking. <S> The pastor's wife told me that the banana bread was the best she had ever eaten the next day, so I have continued to wrap the hot, freshly baked banana bread in some foil and enclose it tightly in a plastic Ziploc bag and put it in the freezer to cool down for a few hours. <A> If you don't mind getting a bit fussy, this advice from America's Test Kitchen should work great. <S> I haven't tried it yet myself, I'll edit this answer when I do. <S> You can get 5 bananas ( 6 including a decorative one on top, not frozen or microwaved) in a loaf if you microwave them first (5 minutes on high, covered with pierced plastic wrap), freezing them accomplishes the same thing. <S> The key step is to then drain them in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. <S> If using frozen bananas, put them in the strainer frozen, they'll drain as they thaw. <S> 5 peeled bananas should weigh about 2.25lbs (1Kg). <S> Strained, they should produce about 1/2cup-3/4cup of liquid (118mls-177mls) <S> That's too much of the liquid to use in a loaf of bread <S> (it makes the loaf overly dense), so ATK recommends reducing it to 1/4 cup. <S> That syrup becomes the liquid in the loaf. <S> They also say that the bananas should be very ripe, but that there's really no difference in sugar content between very speckled and black. <S> Either will work just fine. <S> For their Ultimate Banana Bread <S> they use a full stick of butter, 2 eggs and brown sugar. <S> They also sprinkle granulated sugar on top for a nice crust. <S> EDIT: <S> I've done this now a few times. <S> Yes, it's fussy, it also makes a great loaf of banana bread. <S> It's very moist and very banana-y <S> Of course the recipe is paywalled ATK Banana Bread Recipe , but they do offer a 14 day free trial. <A> First, I tend to wait 'til the bananas are completely black, and then freeze them 'til I have enough for a batch of bread baking, then thaw them the day before cooking. <S> This ensures that the bananas are completely broken down (the freezing helps to burst any cell walls), freeing up all of the moisture from the bananas. <S> I also use a recpipe that uses molasses, which results in a very dense, moist loaf. <S> Not everyone likes it though, as it can be a little bit heavy. <A> Yogurt. <S> There's a recipe in a book I have called Baking Illustrated that uses it; I highly reccommend picking up that book, as they discuss what each ingredient does in the bread. <S> I believe their recipe calls for 1/4 cup of plain yogurt added to melted butter, bananas, and egg for the wet ingredients alongside the usual dry ones. <A> I only use 2 bananas but add 1/2 cup plain applesauce and 1/4th cup half and half. <S> Comes out very moist and yummy. <A> I use olive oil. <S> You can use light or extra-virgin olive oil. <S> I usually let it cool a little and then wrap it in aluminum foil. <A> I use a small box of instant vanilla pudding in the batter and my bread comes out moist every time
|
Other things I do for my banana bread are adding a little molasses, just a little bit more sugar and vanilla flavor and more bananas. Don't over-beat the mixture. Use creme fraiche, more butter, a bit less flour... I wrapped the bread in foil and enclosed it in a Ziploc plastic bag. The olive oil will make any bread cake moist.
|
How to cut an egg without the yolk sticking to the knife? I cut a number of eggs for a salad and had most yolks stuck to the knife. The problem, to me, is that the egg falls apart. The yolk is loose and the white as well. Does anybody know a way to cut the egg without that happening? <Q> the wire egg slicers seem to be free of this problem. <S> Perhaps you could use a wire, or better yet the wire cutting tool that potters use for clay. <A> This will decrease the amount of friction created as the blade slides through the yolk, and decrease the sticking. <S> The wire cutters are able to do this because they have an extremely small area actually in contact with the yolk. <S> Try a boning knife, for example. <A> I read a recent tip (lifehacker?) about coating your knife with a thin coating of butter or oil to help cut a cake neatly -maybe <S> it would work for eggs. <S> I don't eat hardboiled eggs, so I have no actual real-life opportunities to try this, but it seems like it would work the same.
|
Instead of using a chef's knife, cut it with a knife that has a thinner profile and a lower amount of surface area.
|
How do I stop my brownies from rising? I have been trying out brownie recipes baked in a muffin tin. I am using the muffin tin so that I can get all edges. (And I have been decorating the tops!) My brownies tend to rise, in my opinion, too much. This rising is also not quite uniform for all the brownies. Some are flatter than others. The result tastes fine, but is not dense like other brownies. Other than maybe air that I beat in, there are no rising agents. How do I stop the brownies rising to get denser brownies? Edit, recipe ingredients:ButterCooking chocolateSugarEggsRegular flourVanilla essenceCocoa powderSalt Edit, some of the process: melt butter and choc together, let cool, mix in the eggs, then the sugar, then everything else. <Q> Well, if air is the only raising agent, simply add less of it by not beating the mixture as much. <S> Failing that, beat as normal, then give the mixing bowl a couple of (careful) bangs on the counter top to knock the air out it again. <S> A bit of experimentation will be necessary to get the right results, I think: perhaps pour some of the mixture into the tin as is, then knock the air out of the remaining mixture and compare the results. <A> This could have something to do with the muffin tin itself: aren't the slanted sides meant to promote a nice domed top? <S> (It seems to make sense: cake pans, used for baking items that should be reasonably flat, have straight sides, while pie pans, used for baking items that are often piled high with fillings, have slanted sides.) <S> If you want brownies that are all edge pieces (though why on earth you'd want to do that to poor innocent brownies, I cannot fathom), you might have better luck using one of those brownie pans with a separator-grid in them: <S> Edit : just thought of another possibility: how much batter are you putting in the muffin cups? <S> Try using less, no more than half full (if that). <S> Naturally, watch the baking time like a hawk, because the only thing worse than an all-edges brownie <S> * is an overbaked one. <S> * :·þ <A> Well, nobody seems to have touched on the reason I see as most likely - overcooking them. <S> The difference between a good fudgy brownie and a horrible caky brownie is typically ~5 minutes too much cooking time. <S> With a muffin tin, you probably need to reduce time from what works in a normal baking pan. <A> What about halfway through the baking process, take a spoon and lightly press the center so it collapses. <A> I think you need a larger shallow pan. <S> Thinner brownie= less air trapped. <S> The deeper the pan traps more air <S> and it will bake more like a cake or a muffin.
|
Cakey brownies are cooked too long, regardless of the size of pan.
|
Counteracting a metallic taste in canned tomatoes? I used some canned tomatoes to make chili, which normally works fine, but today it has a really strong metallic flavor. From what I can tell, this is just because they're probably low-quality, so I won't be using this brand again. Anyway, is there anything I can do to save this chili? I didn't notice the flavor until I added everything else. <Q> the strong metallic taste is telling you something. <S> This something is <S> don't eat me . <S> I suggest you listen. <S> No, seriously, if it tastes like metal it is probably because some of the can material leached into the tomatoes. <S> Although it might not hurt you, I still would not eat it. <A> Metallic taste is due to the tannins in the tomato pomace and skins. <S> A pinch of baking soda will alleviate the problem. <A> I've tried the baking soda and ruined the entire dish.. <S> I would not suggest that.. <S> I find a bit of brown sugar. <S> and extra spices,, and cooking it like mad will reduce it.. <S> I wont buy canned again as using fresh is the only answer here.. <S> but those of us with cans in the pantry still want to use them up somehow.. <A> Check out the relative pH of baking soda versus tomatoes <S> and it should give you an idea of how much to use. <S> Salt may also work. <S> But in my experience, to get canned tomatoes tasting nice, you need to reduce them like crazy to break down the pectins and get the original flavor. <A> I was making green chili, I used oregano, onions, garlic, cumin, pork, fresh jalapeno, salt and pepper. <S> I decided to add a little tomato puree (Hunts brand) and that is when the problem appeared, the metallic taste. <S> I added sugar which did not solve the issue, I then added some chili powder which didn't change the taste. <S> I really don't want to toss it. <S> Maybe I will try a little vinegar. <S> Thanks for all the tips. <A> I agree with the "don't eat" answers. <S> But if you still want to save your chili and eat it, you can add some sugar, and cook for at least 20 mins more.
|
A little bit of baking soda will offset the pH of the tomatoes.
|
What is the best way to store chopped vegetables? To speed up our cooking during the week, I would like to chop up all the vegetables I will need for the week on a Sunday and then just use them throughout the week. What would be the best way to store these vegetables? Will this work with all vegetables or are there some vegetables that just can't be chopped until you are about to use them? <Q> I'm a fan of prepping some vegetables for the week on a day off. <S> I'm much more likely to eat salad if I have the fixings ready in my fridge. <S> I'm no expert, this is just what I've found works best for me. <S> Certainly some vegetables are more suited to cutting and storing than others. <S> I find controlling humidity and condensation in storage to be the most important factor. <S> Veggies with less water can be kept humid with a lightly moist paper towel on top. <S> Wetter veggies can cause condensation and lead to sliminess. <S> A dry paper towel and/or an open container can help with that. <S> A veggie should either be submerged in water, or not in water at all. <S> Sitting in condensation is that biggest problem in storage. <S> Cut carrots keep in water for a week with no change in quality. <S> Out of water, they can dry out a bit. <S> I don't find the dryness to be a problem. <S> Sliced bell peppers keep pretty well with a moist paper towel in the container. <S> I find onions to be pretty indestructible, though the flavor gets a bit milder over time. <S> Broccoli and cauliflower are also pretty hardy. <S> A dry paper towel or two will deal with water from washing them, which is the biggest problem I've had. <S> Mushrooms and leafy greens need to breath. <S> Cucumbers and tomatoes don't store as well as others. <A> Do you really want to do this? <S> The vegetable will loose water, it will loose juice and part of its sabor. <S> Especially in the fridge, where the air is more dry. <S> You could use special compartments in some fridges which solve this problem and tend to keep moisture (some expensive fridges have it) so that the food is not dried. <S> I wouldn't recommend freezing at all. <S> Anyway, the surface of vegetable pieces will tighten and become dry. <S> Even if there is still water inside the pieces, the tightened surface will not allow to release its taste during cooking as with freshly chopped vegetable. <A> If you know you gonna use all your veggies in the week don't use the fridge but a freezer at -4°Cchop the veggies, store in boxes, done.to defrost for a salad, stir a bit with the sauce <S> you wantalways fresh and tasty <A> I would try to refrain from doing this as much as possible, but if time saving is needed then when I am short of time during a certain day, the night before when I'm making a cuppa or supper in the kitcehn, while waiting for the kettle or the toaster I quickly chop them up then. <S> If you do it 24hours earlier they don't lose too much taste or moisture. <S> Potatoes are my hated one, so i peel and chop and leave in a pan of water. <S> You can refrigerate but we have a small fridge and leaving then out for a day brings no harm, just make sure to rinse again before cooking. <S> I find uncovered for veg <S> is always best, so they can breathe. <S> I don't like preping tomatoes and cucumber early as they lose their firmness, become mushy and lose taste. <S> The best I find for preping early is brocili, cabbage, cauliflower, and carrots, turnip and butternut squash kept in water. <S> Onions and mushrooms are usually fine left uncovered but things like celery and peppers I prefer to chop fresh.
|
I store almost everything in covered pyrex, unless it needs to breath (and those go in the humid compartment).
|
What went wrong with my brownies? I've read numerous forum posts and mini-articles about substituting applesauce for oil in brownie mix, but for some reason it went horribly wrong: (Okay, that's actually after trying to salvage it by putting it back in the oven after grabbing some good slivers off the edge) <Q> I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say...underbaked. <S> Realize <S> many, many ovens can be significantly off their 'set' temperature. <S> An oven thermometer is a great investment. <S> (I don't believe applesauce had anything to do with this unless you put like 10x the amount of applesauce in.) <A> Yeah, something just looks wrong there! <S> Why are the edges so cooked and yet even an inch from the edge <S> it's still completely wet? <S> I have to imagine it's under-cooked like rfusca. <S> However, from the looks of it, cooking it til the center is done would burn the edges. <S> My advice: try it again, but make one batch with oil (per the box) and make one batch with your 100% applesauce substitution. <S> Bake them the same amount of time, in the same oven, on the same rack, in similar pans (if possible), and at the same temperature. <S> When you test for doneness, check about 3-4 inches diagonally in from a corner. <S> A toothpick should come out dry. <S> Don't check directly in the middle... by time that's dry, the rest of the brownies will be overcooked. <S> By that point, you should have a good understanding of the problem source. <A> Although substituting 1:1 sounds great, you should start substituting from a ratio of 1c oil to 1/2 cup oil & 1/2 cup applesauce. <S> This is just a beginning point for your recipe; try increasing your ratio to favor the applesauce bit by bit to see how much your recipe can bear. <S> Maybe it can go all the way to 1:1, with many cookies and other cakes <S> this is not always the case. <S> The other possibility is that you mixed the batter too thoroughly or did not adhere to the rule of adding dry ingredients at the very last moment then mixing gently. <S> Brownies are much like cakes and do not tolerate over mixing too well. <S> Oddly, over-mixing leads to gluten strands, not the molten looking mass above. <S> @Rfusca may be right that a thermometer may be called for, but if this was an isolated incident with an otherwise happy oven, I would start with a less equivocal substitution, verify that you are adding dry to wet at the last moment, and that you are not over mixing (check youtube for visuals on how to know it's properly mixed).
|
Either you didn't leave it in long enough or your oven wasn 't hot enough.
|
How to clean a "plastic" chopping board? The problem is that the sharp knives have caused many cuts all over on my plastic chopping board. Now, I can see the minute vegetable remains in the cuts on board. What's the way to "easily" get the dirt out of those cuts? <Q> Stick it in the dishwasher. <S> A short soak and a stiff brush. <S> Then some disinfectant of what kind you use, let it soak for a bit, then rinse off. <S> If you're not able to get your plastic clean reliably, you're better off with a good wood board . <S> Some research shows that they're more naturally anti microbial. <S> Based on your comment <S> It sounds like <S> a good 'wooden endgrain board' may be in your future. <S> When well cared for, they 'self heal'. <S> The knives don't leave deep groves when used properly and they're somewhat anti-microbial according to the earlier link. <A> Then we allow the bleach to sit for 5-10 minutes. <S> At this time, most stains are gone or almost gone. <S> Then we clean the board THOROUGHLY until no bleach smell remains. <S> Usually it takes 2 cycles in a dishwasher or hand scrubbing and rinsing several times. <S> This method is extremely fast and effective, particularly for troublesome vegetable stains (beets, carrots, chopped herbs). <A> I personally use a plastic toothpick to get a lot of the "gunk" out of where the knives have made fissures.
|
If the dishwasher and hand-scrubbing cannot remove stains, professionals sometimes use a simple solution: we apply pure bleach directly to the board and scrub it in with a stiff-bristled plastic brush.
|
What happens when I store coffee in the refrigerator? Since I am the only coffee drinker in the house, I started making coffee a quart at a time and saving it in a mason jar in the fridge. I discovered this interesting thing. Starting with about the 3rd opening of the jar, when I warm up the coffee in the microwave and then add a spoon of sugar, a fine lace of foam rises to the surface, giving the coffee the texture of crema coffee. I assume something in the air (nitrogen?) is being dissolved into the chilled coffee and then brought out of solution. Further, I think the coffee tastes smoother after it has aged a couple days. I don't have a great palate, but I suspect something is going on that is analogous to the binding of tannins in wine, but I have no idea. Can anyone shed some light on this? <Q> Your post combined with Graham T's answer leads me to believe that brewed coffee has some organic molecules that, over time, break down to react with something in white table sugar that produces a gas. <S> The thing is there exists over 1000 different kinds of volatile organic compounds in roasted coffee that it would be hard to pin down precisely. <S> You mention in one of the comments that you're a beer brewer--I assume you're a drinker too. <S> Are you familiar with Guinness? <S> They normally can their beers with nitrogen for smaller bubbles. <S> If you can distinguish between co2 foam and no2 foam, that may help you narrow down what's going on here. <S> As an aside: This is a really cool question <S> and I hope you find a more acceptable answer. <S> This one sounds like it's pushing the knowledge of molecular gastronamy. <A> Measly insight, but I don't believe the refrigeration has any effect. <S> Pretty certain it's the sugar, as I generally drink black coffee, and have never seen plain black coffee foam when reheated in a similar fashion. <A> I can't speak of the crema, but stored coffee generally gets smoother for me unless I shake it; a lot of the bitter seems to settle out as sediment.
|
I've reheated old coffee (room temperature) from the morning with a spoonful of sugar, and the similar foam you're describing develops.
|
Why does whole leaf tea leave a residue in the cup? I purchased this nice whole-leaf oolong tea this afternoon. I steeped it in 200 F water for 3 minutes (as directed) in my tea steeping basket : And when I pulled out the basket, there were some uninvited guests remaining: Did I do something wrong? I thought this was the kind of results to expect from tea "dust" that might be expected in a bag, but this is whole-leaf tea. Do I need to pre-sift my tea, or something? I'm afraid that as these remnant sit in the tea, they will make it bitter. <Q> This is normal. <S> Even with whole leaf tea, it's a dried (and cooked) product. <S> You're going to experience some "crumbling," and, in my experience, these grounds are more common with loose leafed tea than with dust-in-a-bag. <S> Just pour out the last of your cup--or get used to the texture. <A> Fill the pot with water and dump it out right away. <S> Then fill your pot and continue as normal. <S> This gets rid of the majority of the "dust". <S> Like the others said, yes it's normal. <A> I'd be disappointed if there were no residue in most teas that I drink. <S> Good Japanese teas often have a fair amount of it. <S> The only way to reduce it is to use a finer mesh, but you'll probably lose flavor as well with most teas. <S> I was advised with a certain green tea to use a finer mesh, but in general, there's nothing wrong with what you see. <S> The main reason you don't see (much) dust in tea from paper bags is that the paper filters are preventing a lot of that dust from getting in your cup. <S> Even though a lot of the contents of a cheap teabag is nearly dust-like, less will escape the iron clutches of those paper filters. <A> It's normal in China to throw out the first cup of tea made with new tea leaves. <S> You pour some water over the tea, don't let is steep too long, then through out and seep a second cup, this one you drink. <S> You can keep topping up the tea with more hot water till the tea leaves have lost all there flavour.
|
In Chinese tea "rituals" they "rinse" the leaves with hot water before steeping.
|
What is the black, slightly sweet, flavour in some Asian food? It seems to be a popular ingredient in Asian (esp. Chinese?) food. I encountered them on pork spareribs, and some side dishes. Apparently it turns everything completely black when it is added. I can rule out soy sauce (which is too salty and tastes entirely different) and I realise that this question is rather vague. What additional information could I provide? Edit: I can rule out oyster sauce. I asked in a restaurant what the black stuff was, but either she didn't understand me or she didn't want to (all she told me was that it contained salt). Finally she said she made it herself. Anyway, I bought Hoisin sauce: and I think it's as close as it gets (perhaps the restaurant uses a slightly different version of the one I bought, as mine is a bit saltier and a bit less sweet). Update: I finally discovered the exact sauce I was looking for. It turned out to be Black Bean Garlic Sauce. <Q> Hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and black bean paste seem to be the most likely culprits. <S> What is the texture of the sauce? <S> If it's smooth, it's hoisin; but hoisin tends to be salty. <S> If it's not smooth, it's black bean paste. <S> Oyster sauce is a little oilier than the other two, and is used in almost every Asian sautee. <A> Two things spring to mind: it could be dark soy sauce, which is much less salty than light soy sauce. <S> It's thick and very dark and is almost exclusively used for colouring, which sounds like the sort of thing you're thinking of. <A> The only thing I can imagine that would turn it black would be be black beans (or black bean sauce). <S> It's often used with pork spare ribs as well. <S> It isn't generally sweet though, so that'd have to come from another ingredient. <A> Spare ribs are usually dressed with a combination of soy sauce, vinegar and sugar. <S> A sort of sweet and sour sauce. <S> The sugar will mask the salty edge or the soy sauce. <A> It may also have been Kecap Manis, or other soy sauce. <S> There are a vast number of soy sauces out there <S> , some are sweet, some are salty, some are subtle, and some are very strong. <S> They certainly do differ substantially in taste. <S> Also, there may have been sugar added as well, even in addition to the already sweet Kecap Manis. <A> Possibly molasses as a lot of recipes I've seen call for brown sugar which is often a substitute. <S> However it could also be a combination, particularly with hoisin, that causes the result you're describing. <A> If u encountered them on pork spareribs, and it turns everything completely black ,as well as it tatse <S> slightly sweet <S> .. <S> I think it just becuase the cooker flavored the pork spareribs with sugar and vinegar. <S> I'm a Chinese girl,my family always flavored the pork spareribs in that way. <S> Btw:at last,we usually mix a little soy sauce on it，just for the color of a dishes.
|
It could alternatively be black rice vinegar, which is much sweeter than normal vinegar, and in fact doesn't taste vinegary at all.
|
How long can fish be left out? I was defrosting fish and forgot about it. It has been left out for a long time. How long can fish actually be left out before it goes bad? <Q> A quote from the below link; " Do not thaw frozen seafood at room temperature . <S> Thaw in the refrigerator or defrost in the microwave oven. <S> If thawing in the refrigerator, allow one to two hours per pound of seafood" . <S> http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/fsfcs100.pdf & <S> Another quote from the link below; "... <S> If food is allowed to remain at room temperature for two hours or longer, bacteria can multiply and cause food poisoning. <S> - Even a tiny amount of contaminated food can cause severe illness. <S> If you have any doubt about the safety of the food, throw it out! " <S> http://www.calpoison.com/public/food.html <A> I know the fish is long eaten or thrown away by now, but since the question is still open I'll post. <S> Defrosting requirements of raw fish is a little different than that of land-mammal meat. <S> I'm sure that the growth of bacteria for meat and fish is about the same, but fish will actually deteriorate faster than the meat even in the absence of bacteria if exposed to air. <S> However I would not eat a fish that's been left out in a warm room for much more than an hour of being defrosted. <S> Fish decays faster than meat. <S> It was my understanding that fish decays faster in air than in water (I was always told to always defrost fish in the sink rather than the counter), however I couldn't find adequate references to back that up (see comments). <S> Whether in the sink or on the counter, bacteria will probably spread at just the same rate as any meat once the fish is defrosted so the clock is ticking. <A> It depends what the ambient temperature is and exactly how long it's been left out. <S> If it smells bad, looks a funny colour or is suspect in any way, throw it out - <S> no amount of fish (or the money you paid for it) is worth a bout of food poisoning. <A> According to the FDA, no longer than 2 hours, based on basic safety. <S> My friend works for a top of the line restaurant in LA and they leave the raw fish at room temperature for up to 7 hours. <S> She once told me that at culinary school the rule is no longer than 4. <S> Even so, don't wait plan ahead and keep it fresh. <A> Defrost fish should be cooked immediately or you can keep maximum 2 days in the refrigerator after defrosting... fish poisoning is the worst .... be aware!!!
|
I would cook and eat meat that's been left out raw up to 2-3 hours (depending on room temperature).
|
How to store cheesecake for long-term? My wife and I decided to have cheesecakes for our wedding last weekend. We'd like to store some for at least our one-year anniversary. What is the proper way to store it, and how long can we expect it to last and still be worth eating? Once she gets completely moved in, we'll have a deep freeze, but we currently just have a couple of refrigerator freezers, though one is rarely opened. <Q> Still tasty gives you 2-3 months on cheesecake in the freezer. <S> It will be safe indefinitely at freezing temp, but the texture will change somewhat. <S> As @ElendilTheTall says, foil and plastic wrap are your best bets. <S> Additionally, I might try freezing it for a day to get solid, and then sticking it in a vacuum sealed bag. <S> If your seals aren't airtight on something else, then cheesecake will pick up any funky odors in your freezers. <S> Congrats btw, and I'm gonna let you in on a secret about the eating the wedding cake at 1 year <S> - it all tastes worse and some tastes really bad . <S> Normal or cheesecake or whatever, the cake is pretty much always bad by then, but luckily it's not about the cake taste. <S> It's about reliving the memories and laughing over bad cake. <S> So don't worry too much about if the cake is not that tasty then - take a bite,remember the wedding, and have a good chuckle. <A> The cheesecake kept for 1 year just fine with no discernible off flavors or other problems. <S> I'm a homebrewer <S> and we wound up putting the cheesecake into the freezer section of our spare 'beer fridge'. <S> That freezer is pretty much only used for overflow freezer space, and the refrigerator section is used for beer bottles and kegs, and we have had a few apples in the crispers for most of the year, but that's it. <S> The freezer section was rarely opened more than once per week. <S> The cheesecake had no off flavors, and only had light water crystallisation on the surface, which was not at all detrimental to our enjoyment of the cake. <S> This was a plain 'real' cooked cheesecake with graham cracker crust. <S> So, for a 'good enough' storage method, wrap loosely in foil and store in a freezer that is rarely used, and the cheesecake should be excellent for at least one year. <A> You can freeze it, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and foil, but I doubt it will last a year - a couple of months at most. <S> Try it anyway! <A> I made a lemon/lime cheesecake Dec.2013 and we ate it July 2014. <S> I put the cake on a china plate in a cake box, sealed the box with tape and a big elastic band. <S> When I decided to serve this cake, I removed from the freezer 2 days before and let it sit on the counter for 3 hours. <S> I then put it in my fridge for a day and a half. <S> Lastly I put 1/2 can of cheery pie filling on top. <S> I had the best reviews for the most flavourable cheesecake. <S> I can only say the cake mellowed. <S> It did not shrink, did not have a bad taste and nobody guessed it was 7 mths in my freezer. <S> Worked for me. <S> Good Luck! <A> Refering to the info given in the below link for their cheesecakes; " Q: <S> Can I re-freeze your Cheesecakes? <S> A: <S> Yes. <S> But, we recommend wrapping them in plastic wrap and putting them back into their boxes and wrapping the boxes with plastic wrap to keep odors from permeating the Cheesecake. <S> Do not freeze Cheesecakes with fruit toppings (fresh or pie type fillings) as the fruit gets yucky. <S> If you want to freeze the Cheesecake, remove the fruit topping. <S> Cheesecakes can be frozen for up to three months. <S> Q: <S> Can I save the top to my Wedding Cheesecake for my one year anniversary? <S> A: <S> NO! <S> Please DO NOT do this..." <S> http://www.sinfulcheesecake.com/FAQs.html
|
So, I say, as long as you seal the cake properly, and it is in your deep freezer, you will not have a problem.
|
Botulism risk with refrigerated items Is there any risk of botulism from refrigerator pickling or brining? (referring to both meat and slices of vegetables/fruit) I've read about the subject a fair bit, and know the inherent risks with garlic in oil or items vacuum packed in the fridge for a long time. However, I recently read about the use of nitrite salt in refrigerator brines for cured ham (a week-long process), which the author claimed was used to maintain the colour of the meat (which darkens without the nitrites) and also prevent botulism growth. But if all the ingredients were at 4°C before going into the fridge, what botulism growth could there be, especially in one week? Is there something I'm not aware of, or this person uninformed? <Q> Botulism thrives in high-moisture, low-acidity, low-salinity, anaerobic environments at between 50 and 130 degrees. <S> In your refridgerator pickles, you're: keeping cold adding acid <S> adding salt <S> All of which should at least prevent the botulism from reproducing in great enough numbers to be toxic, if not outright killing it. <S> That's not to say nothing nasty can grow in refrigerator pickles — you're likely safe from botulism, however. <A> You won't grow significant cultures of clostridium botulinum in temperatures below 50°F. <S> On the flipside, unfortunately, refrigerator temperatures - while retarding growth - do not destroy the bacterium or inactivate or destroy its toxin. <S> The good news is, normal boiling inactivates present toxins, so even if you have c. botulinum present in the brine but boil it, the combination of both the inactivation of the toxin and the retardation of growth in low temperatures makes brining a pretty safe activity. <S> Furthermore, c. botulinum really dislikes high acid environments. <S> Brines are usually rather acidic. <S> It's important to note that it takes 250°F over three minutes to cause significant damage to clostridium botulinum. <S> All other means, such as boiling at sea level pressure or refrigerating/freezing only slows culture growth and prevents the production of botulinum toxin. <S> That means even if you cooked, boiled, and froze your food, leaving it out in the danger zone for too long still poses a risk. <S> Obviously pressure-canning does significantly lower it. <A> AFAIK, you are not in significant danger of botulism in any kind of pickling or brining, refrigerated or room-temperature. <S> Garlic oil is a specific danger because it has neither acid nor salt, and canned tomatoes because they don't have enough acid (yes, really). <S> That's not to say that you couldn't get other unpleasant microorganisms, but not botulism. <S> I am not a biologist or doctor, though. <S> Hopefully we'll hear from one.
|
The acid and/or the salt prevents the growth of botulism bacteria.
|
why add a shot of vodka to a cream sauce? I don't understand what reason there would be to add vodka to a cream-based pasta sauce. Vodka is allegedly tasteless, and the alcohol burns off. So why? Is it to make the recipe 'nouveau' or something? <Q> First, the alcohol doesn't burn off. <S> We had a table about the percentage of alcohol left after a period of cooking, and especially in something cooked as short as a pasta sauce, there is a substantial amount left. <S> For the longer discussion, see Cooking away alcohol . <S> Second, alcohol is a great solvent. <S> It can leach aromatics from spices and herbs which wouldn't come out with water only. <S> There is a good reason why extracts and essences are made with alcohol. <S> While a really good extract needs a long time, even the short cooking time will be enough for alcohol to make a difference. <S> Third, it can stabilize your sauce. <S> Cream is an emulsion of fat in water, and not terribly stable, especially if some acid is present. <S> Alcohol dissolves both fat and water, so it will stop the cream from eventual separating. <S> Fourth, maybe you happened to find a not so great recipe. <S> Vodka will help with the first three points, but it is seldom a good choice for cooking, because there is almost always another alcohol which will accomplish the same and introduce a good flavor which harmonizes with the remaining ingredients. <S> For pasta sauces this tends to be a good brandy, but it depends on what else you have in the sauce. <S> And because even vodka will leave a taste of alcohol in the end, it is hard to argue that it can be used where the taste should be kept unchanged. <A> Vodka brings out some flavors from the tomatoes that can't be release with water or fat. <S> It acts as a solvent to bring a different profile to the dish. <S> If you don't want to add any other flavor, use a pure alcohol product like Everclear - or moonshine. <A> Vodka may have a flavour. <S> In America and Europe, mass produced vodka is highly filtered so as to remove any impurities that might flavour it. <S> This is ideal if you are going to use the vodka in a cocktail or such where the flavours are unwanted. <S> However, in traditional vodka areas of Eastern Europe and Russia, the drink is made without filtering. <S> Thus the vodka from these regions will impart a flavour when added to your sauce. <S> Is it possible that the recipe you are following had an Eastern European origin?
|
Vodka is recommended because it usually add less other flavor than other alcohol products.
|
What's the most appropriate way to thaw hamburger meat? So I've long been in the habit of freezing my meat when I get it home from the store, and then thawing it later. My fridge tends to be set rather cool (because someone in my house likes nearly frozen beverages) so if I leave the meat in the fridge, it may not defrost completely overnight. But I'm concerned about leaving it out in the sink for too long. What's the best way to know how long to leave some ground hamburger meat from the store in the styrofoam tray that's been frozen once it got home? Assume 1 or 2 lb chunks of meat, 85% through 97% ground beef. <Q> I like to put the meat in a largish ziplock bag and flatten it out so it occupies the whole flat area of the bag but is only a couple of cm think. <S> Then I press a chopstick into the meat lengthways both horizontally and vertically to create indents in the meat, as if I was making a naughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe) grid. <S> Then I freeze it lay flat in the freezer. <S> Then when I want to use it <S> I can 'snap' off squares of meat (along the indentation lines) to the amount that I need <S> and I don't need to defrost the whole pack in a single go. <S> To defrost (I don't have a microwave) <S> I leave the pieces on a metal tray for a little while, turning occasionally. <S> This usually defrosts them in an hour or so, depending on how many there are <A> I freeze my hamburger meat in smaller pieces than that - squares a little smaller than the palm of my hand. <S> I don't get worked up about them all being the same size either - I can grab two large ones or three smaller ones and come up with the amount of ground beef I want. <S> For spaghetti sauce, shepherd's (technically cottage) pie etc, I defrost the right number of squares in the microwave (on a plate or in a wide shallow bowl) then into the hot pan. <S> Usually the centre is still frozen <S> but it doesn't matter, it will defrost while the rest is browning. <S> Sometimes a corner starts to cook <S> but again this is not a big deal. <S> For hamburger patties, I buy medium instead of lean or extra lean, and form them into patties before freezing. <S> This means I know at a glance which is which in the freezer, <S> and I don't have to worry about the meat partly cooking in the microwave before I form it into patties. <S> About the only meal this doesn't work for is meatloaf, which really needs ground beef that isn't a teeny bit cooked in one corner already and isn't still frozen in the middle either. <S> I make that only with fresh ground beef which eliminates the problem. <A> If you have time, you can achieve a faster defrost if you have a surface that can absorb and distribute the cold. <S> My preferred surface is metal storage container, or my pressure cooker. <S> They are great at transferring heat from the stove to the contents, and also at transferring the cold from the inside to the outside. <S> Being airtight, this also eliminates the risks of flies and other "creatures" getting at the contents. <S> As the item reaches room temperature, the process of "sucking" off the cold from the item slows. <A> Does your microwave have a defrost option? <S> I freeze ground beef in the tray <S> it's bought in. <S> To defrost I remove it from the packaging, put it on a microwave-safe plate and put it in on the "defrost" option for the appropriate weight. <S> When the microwave defrost cycle completes I then use a large sharp knife to chop the block into quarters, turn them so the corners of the quarters that were in the centre of the block are now on the outside edges of the plate, then put it through the defrost cycle again.
|
I place the meat that I want to defrost into the cooker (not on the heat of course) and leave it in a cool space in the kitchen.
|
What's the best way to store (freeze) purchased ground beef? When I buy my ground beef at the store it comes in a styrofoam tray with some sort of pad underneath to catch any excess blood (at least, I believe that to be the reason for the pad) and it is wrapped in cellophane of some sort, and appears to hold the meat rather well. Is it safe and sane to freeze it like this or should I be transferring it from that packaging to an alternate ... container? ... before storing? <Q> It is not only sane, it is safer than any other packaging you can make. <S> At least here in Germany, meat from the supermarket is not just wrapped in celophane, the celophane is glued to the tray. <S> The packaging is air-proof. <S> And the air inside the packaging is not normal air, it is a mostly sterile atmosphere with a composition different from normal air, which hampers bacterial growth (I think it has lowered oxygen content, but I'm not absolutely sure on that detail). <S> This means that 1. <S> no bacterial contamination is possible after the meat has left the packaging plant, and 2. <S> the bacteria already present in the meat when it was packed grow slower than normal. <S> So if this is your type of package, do yourself a favor and leave the meat in it. <S> I haven't frozen such packages, so I don't know how big a problem they have with freezer burn. <S> But it may become a problem in the long term, as the moisture from the meat will sublimate on the inside of the celophane. <S> If this is not the type of package you get, and you have just plain clingy film wrapped around meat and a styrofoam tray (I've seen other products wrapped this way, but not meat), there is still no problem to freeze in it. <S> The pad full of meat juices (this is not blood btw) is a good feeding place for bacteria, but the meat itself is as least as good as the pad, <S> so you won't be reducing the risk if you remove it. <S> By leaving the meat in the original package, you reduce the risk of additional bacterial contamination during transfer. <S> And no other container will offer better food safety. <S> You can still consider a transfer for reasons other than food safety. <S> First, you can portion and/or preshape the ground meat before freezing, and then you'll have to repackage it. <S> Second, if the package is not tight enough, you risk freezer burn. <S> But if these don't apply, it is probably best to leave it in the original container - this is convenient, and not dangerous at all . <A> It probably also depends on the size of the package. <S> If you're buying a package that is small enough to use when you thaw it, then the package it comes in is ok. <S> However, it seems like it might be problematic to remove the padding if you try to use it before it is fully thawed. <A> It's fine to leave it in the container to freeze it.
|
If you're buying a large package, it makes sense to put it into smaller containers (I use ziplock freezer bags), so that you only need to thaw what you're going to use.
|
What can you make with Dried Lemon Grass? A friend went to Cambodia for vacatation, and brought back many packets of dried lemon grass. Can someone tell me what its uses are, and mention some easy to prepare dishes that make use of dried lemon grass? I can prepare many types of Indian food, never really come across this. Thanks for the help! <Q> Personally I don't find dried lemon grass that flavorsome and much prefer fresh <S> (usually you can get several big sticks for cheap in the Chinese / Asian supermarkets). <S> But I'd probably try Thai based dishes - <S> many of their noodle soups (e.g. Tom Yum, chicken noodle soup) will have slices of fresh lemon grass in. <S> I'd try adding the dry stuff when you are making the stock and see how it works out. <S> You could also try stir fries and looking around there are several drinks prepared with it ( <S> e.g. Lemongrass vodka (at the bottom of the page) and cooling drinks here ). <S> Though I suspect again fresh would be better <A> Adds a great flavour and nothing to pick out. <S> I think if you don't want to strain it, you have to use fresh lemon grass, but even in that case you just chew on it a bit <S> , you don't actually eat the lemon grass; it is too fibrous. <A> I like to drink infusion made of lemon grass. <S> Hot is nice, and cold with some ginger or watermellon juice is very refreshing. <S> A strong infusion mixed with coconut milk and simmered to get some consistency makes a great seasoning for light fish meat. <A> Tea steeped in some lemongrass is a dream. <S> We always had it in India... <S> brilliant. <S> I also use it for chicken dishes. <S> I steep them and utilize the liquid in my cooking. <S> I freeze dry them, grind them with some red chillies and keep that As a paste that I include in cooking.
|
I've had good results making soup, where I first boil dried lemon grass and dried galangal in water, then strain, then proceed with making the soup.
|
How to minimise sugar in meringue My wife just complained that she can't eat my meringue because they have too much sugar in them. She suggested I cook them with less sugar. However, without sugar the meringue won't work right. What is the minimum ratio of egg white to sugar required to get a stable meringue. <Q> Technically, the minimum ratio of sugar is zero. <S> You can definitely create a stable meringue without any sugar at all, although you'll have to mind your conditions and preparation - use a spotlessly-clean bowl, room-temperature egg whites (separated when chilled), initially foamed up on low speed with an acid such as vinegar or cream of tartar, superfine sugar (if you're using any at all) added very slowly after the soft peak stage, and a starch (e.g. corn starch or icing sugar) at the end for added stability. <S> The main problem, of course, is that as you allude to, when you bake it you'll basically end up with dried-out egg. <S> It won't have any flavour at all. <S> If you're just reducing the sugar <S> then maybe this isn't a problem. <S> If you're trying to eliminate the sugar entirely or almost entirely then you need to replace it with something - generally, a savory bomb, like very old cheese (for example Reggiano and chives ), or very dark chocolate if it must be a dessert. <S> To do that, just grate or finely chop the strong/savory elements, whip the eggs up to the shiny peak stage, and fold in the shavings at the very end. <S> The meringue will hold up. <S> But again, and I'm going to repeat myself here <S> - you don't need a lot of sugar for stability. <S> You can easily halve the sugar measurement for a traditional meringue recipe and still have it come out OK (albeit less tasty) - especially if you make one of the more stable meringue types, such as an Italian meringue where the sugar is combined as boiling sugar syrup. <S> But you don't have to do that; simply reducing the sugar is fine if you're careful. <A> I have found this method to achieve a decent meringue with less sugar: <S> Set a pan of water to simmer. <S> Using a metal bowl or the top of the double boiler, place your egg whites over the simmering water. <S> Add about half the usual amount of granulated or superfine sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. <S> I don't use a thermometer. <S> Take the egg white sugar mix back to the mixer bowl , add a small amount of something acid like cream of tartar or lemon juice and start whipping. <S> Continue whipping until the bottom of the bowl is cool even if the peaks look good. <S> That avoids graininess. <S> However, confectioner's sugar tastes sweeter to me. <S> I add flavor such as vanilla once the peaks have formed. <S> This meringue also can form the basis for a butter cream frosting by adding room temperature but sill cool butter in one tablspoon increments after the stiff peaks form. <A> I found that by adding some vanilla extract at the end that it added flavor to compensate for less sugar. <A> It's also possible to replace some (or all) of the sugar with Isomalt . <S> It behaves a lot like sugar, but isn't sweet.
|
You can add additional sugar, but if you do so, use confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar, or sugar which has a bit of corn starch/corn flour) in it.
|
Substitution for egg to bind hamburger mince My wife is having pregnancy cravings for (homemade) hamburgers, but has developed a prenatal allergy / intolerance to egg. What is a possible replacement for egg to stop a hamburger pattie from collapsing into mince during cooking? <Q> Have you tried not adding egg? <S> In my experiments, egg is needed when you add breadcrumbs, but if you just form some ground beef into a patty and fry it, it doesn't fall apart. <S> Hm, let me clarify that. <S> If you take a single blob of ground beef straight from the styrofoam and press it in a patty press, it doesn't fall apart. <S> If you take two pieces and put them next to each other in the patty press, it does fall apart as you cook it. <S> So when I need to add an extra bit, I add it on top. <S> That works. <S> So there is at least one way you can make a hamburger without adding egg. <S> Now, if you wanted to mix spices into the beef, then you might have a problem. <S> I'll admit that. <S> Better than nothing, though. <A> A bit of corn starch would help if you cannot add egg at all. <A> I've never used anything other than beef, dry spices, and sometimes garlic to make my hamburgers. <S> Truthfully, I much prefer the taste of a burger with no binders. <S> We buy our beef by the half cow, and make plenty of burgers. <S> Freezer -> defrost -> <S> Mix beef with spices - <S> > <S> Form burgers <S> while still cold (I make a round ball with the meat, them compress it) -> <S> straight to grill. <S> We've never had any issues. <S> I will also say, that my wife is much better at making evenly sized, well formed burgers, that hold together really well.. <A> There are two things you need to do to make perfect hamburgers without egg or other binder. <S> First knead the meat balls so that the meat binds together. <S> Kneading give you a better bind you will get. <S> Press the meat firmly into your mould before popping out. <S> Second, after forming into shape, refrigerate the meat pats. <S> This process first stretches the proteins in the meat. <S> When chilled, the proteins contract again <S> but now they are twisted together in a bond. <S> When cooking, the pat will hold together just a well as any that you buy in a shop. <S> If find that this works even when I add liquids to the meat. <S> I often season my meat with Worcester sauce mixed in. <S> Even with this extra liquid the meat will hold together just fine. <S> No egg required. <A> Not only is flax the secret glue in many vegan recipes, but it might be a good additive for your wife's diet. <A> You can fry it without an egg at all. <S> I just form a patties, leave them on the table or in the fridge for a hour or so and then fry it. <S> Nothing fall apart, everything is fine. <A> I too had an intolerance to egg when I was pregnant with our last child. <S> In place of egg when making hamburgers or meatloaf I used a jar of veal baby food. <S> It helped bind and keep the dish moist. <S> Doesn't really add or subtract from the flavor of the beef either. <S> Best of luck to you! <A> Time for some molecular gastronomy. <S> Transglutaminase ("meat glue") should work perfectly. <S> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transglutaminase <A> 1 Tbs flour for 1 Pound of meat <A> and so you do not need the egg to bind the mix. <S> Just work the meat a little to encourage a good mix.
|
Using pork mince will make a good burger as the proteins in pork meat bind naturally You can use what is called a flax egg , it is 1:3::milled flax seed: water (4Tbsp is about 1 egg in terms of binding strength).
|
What do you need for Chinese style Hotpot at home? I love going to hotpot at the restaurant. How can I do it at home? What sort of equipment do I need? <Q> Pots <S> There are two options for Chinese hot pot. <S> Either one large pot that everyone dips into or several small pots, one each that you cook your own food in. <S> Both styles are popular in China. <S> It is also common to see the large pot with a divide in the middle allowing one side to have more chilli and spice than the other. <S> Left: Large pot with divide. <S> Right: Individual pots on burners. <S> Heat source Missing from the other answers <S> , you need some way to heat the pot and keep it simmering. <S> In China, people have individual electric hobs with temperature controls specially designed for the job. <S> You can find them online <S> http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/induction-stove.html <S> For the individual pots, a paraffin wax burner is used blow the pot. <S> Similar to the heater used in a buffet restaurant to keep food warm. <S> Cheating <S> In pot spices <S> This can vary considerably depending on what region of China you are in and what you like. <S> You could just use plain water or a light broth of chicken or fish. <S> I've seen some that resemble cream of tomato soup. <S> Commonly you will see wolf berries, chilli, ginger, garlic, black, white and red pepper corns, bay leaves and Chinese dates. <S> You really could use anything you like. <S> Dips <S> Again this varies. <S> Usually each person has a small bowl into which they mix their own dip. <S> This may contain rice vinegar, soy sauce, peanut or sesame paste, chilli paste in oil, crushed garlic, pickled garlic, picked chilli and some other pastes of things I have yet to identify. <S> You might be able to buy ready mixed spices for dips in you're local Chinese supermarket or online shops. <S> Food for cooking Typical food for cooking includes: <A> You will need the following: A pot that's about 12" in diameter and 4 inches deep <S> Put the broth in the pot, you can buy broth packages usually at Chinese/Asian supermarket. <S> You just need to mix it with water and boil. <S> Food you want to cook in the pot. <S> Sliced beef is my favourite, but mussels, beef balls, fish balls, shrimps, veggies, etc. <S> You will need chopsticks, hot pot scoop that looks like the following, so you can scoop the cooked food to your own plate: <S> To add flavour, usually you dip the cooked food in soya sauce, but a mixture of raw egg, soya sauce and satay sauce is used as the deep. <S> You can even add chopped chili, green onions and chili oil to it. <S> Just make the broth. <S> Cook the food you like as you eat. <S> That's it! <A> To add to your options, because part of the fun is the interactive/participation, cook something you like that you may not see on the menu at the sit-in place. <S> Our house likes slices of that pinkish potato taro. <S> We have a propane fired table top stove much like what you can find for camping equipment. <S> The pot which is more wide than deep is resting on this mini stove. <S> It goes without saying that the surface must be safe and stable. <S> In the past, we used a electric non-stick breakfast griddle that was shaped like a elongated casserole dish. <S> In both cases, a matching lid was present. <S> The other characteristic is a wide mouth opening because you expect many guests to scoop and dip constantly so the pot needs to be accessible from the farthest end of your table. <S> You can make a simplified broth by boiling water in a smaller pot on the kitchen stove. <S> Then transfer into (pour slowly and very carefully) the hot pot set-up, start with white napa cabbage or bok choy, (shitake) mushrooms, and green onions. <S> Cover with a lid and watch as you bring it to a boil. <S> As soon as the greens soften, you can lower the temp down and begin cooking the morsels of food. <S> The smaller water pot on the kitchen stove is also helpful to "top off" the hot pot as people scoop out broth as soup or the liquid boils and evaporates. <S> Leave the sauce ingredients out for individual tastes. <S> Each individual can personalize their dipping sauce. <S> For example, soy sauce, vinegar, chili paste, raw egg, green onions (chopped), sesame oil, Vegetarian BBQ Sauce ( https://www.99ranch.com/asian-spices/bbq-sauce/bull-head-vegetarian-bbq-sauce ) are spread out and some will skip the egg or the chili. <S> To finish the meal, you can introduce bean thread noodles to cook with a fresh sprinkle of greens like spinach. <S> This helps if your guests have big appetites as the bite size morsels may seem like snacks. <S> It also takes advantage of the rich broth that results from the many items cooking and blending.
|
Really any pot and a little gas stove would do just fine: Thin cut beef or lamb (occasionally pork), fish of any type, shrimp, oysters and such seafood, thin sliced potato or sweet potato (yam), egg noodles, tofu (either fresh or frozen or the skin shredded), and vegetables such as cabbage, bok choy, lettuce, spinach or whatever greens you have to hand.
|
What do you have for breakfast during camping What are some camping breakfast options if I do not wish to carry eggs? (They break) <Q> Oatmeal. <S> Before you leave, mix the oats with whatever you like: brown sugar, spices, a little salt, nuts, dried fruit, even powdered milk. <S> Boil water and mix it in your bowl <S> so that's all you have to wash; you can boil extra water and get tea or coffee at the same time. <S> (Other fast-cooking hot cereals would work too - <S> I know of instant grits and instant cream of wheat, though I can't vouch for quality.) <S> I'm not sure if you're trying to avoid ice chests too, but there's always yogurt, or milk and cereal (something more solid like granola). <S> And of course, fresh fruit is also always good with any meal. <S> For hot meals, I think baka's suggestion of premade pancake mix is probably the next best. <S> If you're a more do-it-yourself type, you can make the mix yourself (using powdered eggs and powdered milk), but storebought will probably serve you quite well - and again, you can premix with extra ingredients like nuts, or spices for gingerbread pancakes, if you want something more exciting. <A> Since most of the time, I carry a cooler (drive-up camping), my options are a little more open. <S> Hash browns (Potatoes for dinner, left overs into hash browns) <S> Bacon French toast (I guess you could make the egg/milk mixture before hand if you don't want to carry eggs. <S> Sausages <S> Oatmeal (Packs small, just add water!) <S> Fruit Toast Pancakes? <S> (You could probably make the batter for this ahead of time too) <S> Though to be honest, generally we do take eggs and just make sure to pack them well. <A> especially when the blueberries and blackberries were in season.
|
just-add-water pancake mix worked well for us.
|
What is this type of cookware called? I asked a question about a " Wonder Pot " a bit ago, and this item came up on a search. I don't think it's a wonder pot though. The center hole is effectively much smaller, and there are not any vents in the lid. There isn't a "flame tamer" either, although this part may be lost. I keep seeing cookware like this in thrift stores, and I'm pretty sure it's for one specific task. What might that task be? <Q> This one had me scratching my head for a while. <S> I came across the phrases "stovetop oven", "raised center skillet", "steamer pan" and a bunch of other dead-ends. <S> Well, I finally stumbled onto "Ultimate Dutch Oven" : <S> Looks familiar, doesn't it? <S> This one is cast iron, but what you've found is clearly a non-stick version of the same thing. <S> It's sold as camping gear. <S> The raised center in the middle is what they call a "convection cone". <S> Presumably it's meant to emulate a convection oven (inefficiently, I might add, since there's no fan) <S> - the vents in the cone are a means of distributing the heat, to help mitigate the usual skillet problem of the bottom being overcooked while the top is still raw. <S> I'm pretty sure that nothing is actually supposed to go "inside" the cone, other than hot air. <S> It's probably fairly effective if you're cooking over an open flame (i.e. extremely hot air). <S> A 3" high non-stick version of this would seem to be of pretty limited use. <S> I can imagine trying to make "baked" potatoes in there, or maybe pre-butchered chicken parts? <S> As you can see from the link above, the "full-size" version can hold a couple of small birds, and again, it's cast iron, so <S> it's infinitely more useful for outdoor cooking. <A> It is a dry pan, from Tefal, you most likely find in Europe. <S> Edit by rumtscho <S> The answer used to contain a deep link on a site called top-shop.ro, now the domain still exists, but the product page is gone. <A> We had one of these when I was growing up. <S> I remember the commercials identifying it as the perfect pan for frying chicken. <S> The concept was the vents let out undesirable moisture so that all of your pan fried pieces of chicken would be crisp throughout. <S> It was also supposed to be a healthier way of cooking since it was supposed to use little to no oil. <S> I seem to recall it was a pain to use and results <S> were eh... <S> okay. <S> It got a lot of use though because of the cost. <S> Funny thing is, my mom and I saw one of these at goodwill today and my 17 year old daughter asked the very same question and my mother was able to confirm my memory was correct. <A> See these two links: What is this pan all about? <S> and Kitchen Sleuth: <S> What Is This Pan? <S> The holes are for steam. <S> What is under the raised center? <A> It's called Dry Cooker in Europe. <S> You can find it in Romania, buy it from TV shopping. <S> Not sure who makes it, but I can tell I used it <S> and it really works. <S> Unfortunately there are fake copies which are not Teflon, so you need to be careful what you're buying. <S> Not sure whether they can be purchased online and have them delivered in other European countries, but I have tried getting one here in The States and was not able to find it. <A> I have one like this, but much older. <S> It is useful to bake things on a stovetop when you don't have an oven. <S> I have used mine for roasting potatoes and making sponge cake and it works quite well. <S> Mine, though, has a heavy iron rin that you are supposed to put underneath it, I guess to spread the heat. <A> I saw one today in a charity shop for £2:00. <S> I was curious about its purpose <S> so I have done a bit of research. <S> As previous posters have said it’s a dry cooking pan. <S> They are widely used in eastern Europe and seem to be quite a good alternative to using an oven especially if you are only cooking for one or two. <S> They sell in Romania for about £30:00. <S> Here is a video from 1987 promoting them as a “Swiss dry cooker” for only $19:95 each. <S> http://www.videouri.com/en/video/xd3m168 <S> They are available today on Ebay for as little as £8:25 plus postage and packing. <S> http://www.ebay.com/itm/26cm-Corola-Ceramic-Non-Stick-Frying-Pan-Dry-Cooker-Detachable-Handle-/400335923255?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Kitchen_Cookware_GL&hash=item5d35e16837#ht_1524wt_990 <S> I’m back to the charity shop tomorrow to snap it up. <S> But I might just keep it as a conversation piece LOL! <A> I have one of these. <S> It's a Swiss Dry Fryer and it means you can cook mushrooms etc with just one teaspoon of oil. <S> You put the oil in, put the lid on and wait til it heats, add whatever onions, pappers, mushrooms... and replace the lid and just shake occasionally <S> and they cook perfectly in so little oil! <S> It's a great gadget. <S> Mine is over 15 yrs old! <A> It's called a convection frying pan. <S> I've had one for about 30 years. <S> They were most recently made by Starshine & you can still get a pre-owned one on Ebay. <S> You rub just a tiny bit of butter in them, like you would with a cake pan, & cook on low heat - like a on an electric stove. <S> They come with a lid. <S> The holes in the center allow the heat to come in through the bottom. <S> They are great for chicken, vegetables, any kind of meat. <S> You can cut pork chops with a fork & there's hardly any fat & no grease. <A> When I was growing up on Long Island, NY we had a stove top oven looking very much like the one that you showed in the first picture. <S> It was from the middle 30's. <S> If I remember correctly it didn't work very well <S> What we had was aluminum
|
I was told that it was for baking potatoes on the top of our gas stove.
|
How spicy is authentic, traditional Palak paneer? I have heard that the spiciness of Palak paneer is regional, but I don't have any historical or geographical facts to confirm this. So, is there anybody around here that knows if a proper, old-school traditional Palak paneer is hot spicy, medium or mild, and which are the various regional traditions? <Q> Hot, medium and mild are very subjective terms, which is why it is difficult to qualify regional variations in India. <S> I have had palak paneer in north India and south India. <S> Generally, this dish is hotter in south India. <S> I am a south Indian, but have lived in north India for most of my life, and would call the north Indian (traditional) variety medium. <S> Again, what I consider medium may be mild for some people, whereas for others it may be hot . <A> Palak paneer is originally a North Indian dish- <S> what you get in South India has been adapted to local tastes. <S> If you want an absolute answer - it is quite mild compared to other paneer dishes. <S> North Indian dishes have a base gravy made of tomatos and onions with red chilli powder and garam masala - this dish is an exception. <A> I have tasted palak paneer in some dhabas in north India and each one varied in flavor. <S> But mostly it is a mildly spiced curry!
|
Most of the north Indian dishes are mildly spicy.
|
How can I improve my gluten-free pizza dough? I've been making pizza dough for years, and recently found that I have a gluten allergy, and can no longer eat wheat flour! Very sad news, indeed. So... I bought Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza dough mix, which has a bit of xantham gum in it, and serval kinds of flour (rice flour, tapioca, flour, corn flour, etc). The dough itself was difficult to work with, a bit crumbly, and not as stretchy as I would like. I know that the "stretch" I'm talking about truly come from gluten, but is there anything I can add, to help with the consistency? The flavor was perfect, and the calzones were wonderful, they were just really hard to form... Thanks for your help! <Q> It seems like a lot of recipes recomend gelatin, which could add to the stretchyness. <S> I frequent serious eats and <S> a while ago they posted this recipe and they claim that it is great and stretchy. <S> http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/04/gluten-free-tuesday-easy-pizza-crust-recipe.html <A> For my son's Gluten Free diet we get a lot of these same challenges. <S> I will also double the suggested amount of Guar gum. <S> It doesn't seem to change the taste, so use it liberally. <S> Unfortunately, it still doesn't match the stretchiness of wheat flour, but it may help <A> Ive found that psyllium binds together gluten free doughs well. <S> A google search for "psyllium gluten free pizza dough" turns up several recipes, including this one from the Food Network .
|
Xanthan Gum works ok, but I have found that when I need gluten like properties that a combination of Xanthan and Guar gum helps.
|
Sourdough starter - will it set off my allergies? I'm very allergic to mold, among other things (all airborne, no food allergies). I also adore sourdough bread. If I were to make my own sourdough starter so I could bake sourdough regularly, would it a) be similar enough to mold to set off my allergies, or b) be likelier to attract mold than anything else in my kitchen? <Q> If it's healthy, it will naturally prevent mold from growing, but if you forget to feed it for too long and/or the container it is in is dirty, it can start growing fuzzy stuff. <S> Feed your culture regularly, and transfer it into a clean container now and then, and it will be fine. <A> No. <S> Sourdough culture is not a mold. <S> Even when the surface of your sourdough gets moldy (per Adam, above) to get moldy, it's not the kind of mold which releases spores into the air. <S> I speak as a severe allergy sufferer. <A> My starter and I are cohabitating just fine, though he's staked out territory in the fridge rather than sitting on my counter. <S> He's my new favorite hypoallergenic pet: the benefits far outweigh those of fish. <S> Seems I was worried for nothing!
|
Sourdough starter will grow mold if it starts going "off".
|
How to get raspberry flavor into a smoothie without seeds? I often enjoy (when it's not dead of winter) a fruit smoothie for breakfast; generally I use orange juice or some other juice flavor (V8 has a few with fruit flavors masking veggie tastes that I sometimes use), yogurt, and fruit I've frozen myself (removes the need for ice, leading to a thicker smoothie). Typically I use strawberries and bananas; however, when I purchase smoothies, my favorite flavors involve raspberry. I've tried purchasing frozen berries and tossing some in, but the seeds irritate me to no end. How can I get the taste of raspberries, preferably from raspberries themselves rather than extract (seems healthier), but not the seeds? <Q> There are a couple common ways to deal with seeds in berries: Use a food mill , which uses a rotating blade to crush the berries and force them through small holes. <S> They're designed for this sort of thing - removing seeds or large pieces of pulp. <S> Do what the food mill does, but by hand: push them through a reasonably fine strainer/sieve. <S> Unless they're really soft, you generally want to puree them first. <S> You can also incorporate other ingredients first, to give more liquid to work with, so you don't have to do as much pushing. <A> You can then either store the result in the fridge, or pour it into an ice cube tray for easy portioning and a nice cold smoothie. <A> Some brands of raspberry yoghurt don't have seeds, and you say you're adding yoghurt anyway, so you could try that. <A> We have invented a new product called the Smoothie Press™. <S> It's a travel mug for smoothies that strains out berry seeds. <S> Really cool!! <S> Check it out here: www.smoothiepress.com <S> Happy Holidays! <S> ~Jodi
|
I'd stew the raspberries down with a little water (and sugar if the raspberries aren't sweet) until they're very soft, then pass the whole thing through a sieve to remove the seeds.
|
What's the best option for water for tea in the office? When making tea at home, I have all the equipment I need to make a fine cup of tea. In the office, however, my options are more limited. It seems my sources for hot water are: Straight from the tap From the "hot" dispenser on the water cooler Microwave in styrofoam A Keurig without a K-cup A hot water/coffee dispenser (don't know how to describe this--looks a bit like the commercial milk dispensers you sometimes find in cafeterias) My criteria for evaluating these sources would be: Purity Temperature Dissolved Oxygen Oh, and one of the pieces of equipment that I lack is a thermometer. A couple of observations Though there is no shortage of oxygen, the tap was right out for purity and temperature. I tried using the water cooler's hot tap for a while, but, based on dead reckoning, it just doesn't seem hot enough. I've heard that you're supposed to leave styrofoam out of the microwave, so I've skipped over that so far. Perhaps that is good material for a follow-up question. I suppose I could get it as hot as I want, and lose no more oxygen than would be expected at that temperature. The Keurig is what I've been using most recently, which seems closer than the water cooler, but the machine itself claims to max out at 192 F, and I'd prefer something a bit hotter if possible. Additionally, the method the coffee maker uses to heat the water makes me wonder if any dissolved oxygen is driven off in the process. Lastly the water/coffee dispenser. These are huge commercial coffee makers, essentially, and one of them simply doesn't get coffee grounds added. They've got to be at least five gallons each, and I doubt they're refilled until they're used up. I imagine a water line runs straight to the machine, but, clearly, there is a lot of speculation here. This is also the one method that I would have to pay for, which I'd be willing to do, but only if this source is better than the rest. It's also farthest from my desk. So, what's the best option I have for a good cup of tea in the office? <Q> We have both a cheap kettle and a Breville Hot Cup in our office. <S> The kettle is good for making cups for multiple people at the same time, the Hot Cup is good for a single person. <A> If purity is top priority I can only recommend an 18 Mega Ohm laboratory purifier, complete with biofilters and UV. <S> I assure you, you've never tasted anything like it. <S> In fact you can't taste anything at all, it's quite a bizarre experience to drink. <S> If they are so awkward as to not let you install one in the office <S> then you might have to bring the water in from home in a clean teflon flask. <S> Don't go anywhere near an electric kettle! <S> the impurities introduced but such a brutal apparatus would defy your investment in purity. <S> I wouldn't really recommend the microwave either because you can easily super heat the water because the boiling has no impurities to seed it. <S> A clean spherical flask over a non sooty flame is the best option really. <S> Add hydrogen peroxide (introduce oxygen) to taste. <S> Again this must be of a high purity, hair bleach really won't cut it and is likely to introduce adverse health effects. <S> I can't advise on the optimum amount however, but you may find it to have a dramatic effect at higher levels. <S> ;-) <A> You could use the Turkish/Persian method of making tea. <S> You make a very very strong tea at home, and boil it down until you basically have a thick liquid tea syrup. <S> At work, you pour some of this tea syrup in your cup and add hot water. <S> Since all the flavour has already been extracted, temperature/oxygenation only need to be good enough for drinking, not for steeping. <S> There's a word for this process, but I can't seem to dredge it out of my mind today. <A> Unless you hot-desk (and even then, with a bit more effort) it should be possible to take your own mug to the office and use that to microwave instead of a styrofoam cup. <S> Note that it's worth being a bit cautious when adding anything to water microwaved to boiling point - I would use a spoon to insert the tea without putting your hand or face above the mug.
|
Either buy a cheap electric kettle, or if you are really fussed about not re-boiling water then shell out a bit more for one of the single cup hot water dispensers like the Tefal Quick Cup or the Breville Hot Cup.
|
What is the purpose of nutritional yeast? I have several recipes for seitan which call for nutritional yeast. I've never used it before and am curious about its purpose. Is it for flavor, texture, nutritional value? <Q> It's a flavour booster like Marmite (or Vegimite if you are an Ozzie) Not to everyone likes, but it sure does has an interesting taste Usually made from fermented barley <A> I think comparing it to a milder form of Marmite flavour, or even miso is apropos - it has a similar tanginess - in my opinion. <S> When I choose something low caloric for a good flavour enhancer, this is a good thing to keep around. <S> A good introduction for you to try nutritional yeast might be to sprinkle it on popcorn, or add it to a tomato sauce, or even on buttery toast. <S> Use it like a flaky spice. <A> This product is new to me, but it looks interesting. <S> The flavour of nutritional yeast is described in Wikipedia: <S> Nutritional yeast has a strong flavor that is described as nutty, cheesy, or creamy, which makes it popular as an ingredient in cheese substitutes. <S> It is often used by vegans in place of parmesan cheese. <S> Nutritional yeast is a so called complete protein . <S> A complete protein (or whole protein) is a source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of all nine of the essential amino acids necessary for the dietary needs of humans or other animals. <S> This also explains why it is popular among vegans, that needs toreplace the amino acids in meat with alternative food sources. <A> let's not forget the masses of B vitamins it contains too. <S> A paste applied to the cheeks will result in a flush due to the B rush. <S> Not that I recommend trying it (old beauty tip from a health mag) <S> Salads use a sprinkle of flakes instead of nuts: lower in Cals
|
I use nutritional yeast for the taste.
|
Yellowness of egg yolk Related question: Why are Italian eggs so yellow? Occasionally I get served a fried / poached egg with a deep yellow/orange yolk. I find it extremely appetising and visually attractive. Sometimes eggs have very weakly coloured yolks, which is less appealing -- but I couldn't swear that the flavour is affected. Is there a correlation between the colour of a yolk and its flavour? When shopping, how can I increase my chances of getting a richly coloured yolk? Does free-range / barn / battery make a difference? Is there a correlation between price and yolk colour? Do egg producers and/or chefs use dirty tricks to effect a yellow yolk? Dye? Food additives? I'm in the UK, but please feel free to give answers for other parts of the world. If you suspect they're not universal, make sure you point out your location. <Q> Regarding the last question: Do egg producers and/or chefs use dirty tricks to effect a yellow yolk? <S> Dye? <S> Food additives? <S> Yes, they do! <S> In fact scientists have experimented with food additives in order to control the color of the yolk. <S> Interestingly enough the preferred color of the egg yolk differ between countries and even between regions within countries. <S> One study examined the red and yellow additives from marigold flowers and paprika fruit. <S> Note that artificial coloring additives are banned in the US, thus the interest for natural colorings. <S> Details can be found in: Egg Yolk Color as Affectedby Saponification of DifferentNatural Pigmenting Sources <A> I eat vegetarian fed eggs from the grocery store and they have deep yellow yolks. <S> If I go back to buying standard white eggs its a bit disconcerting because they have very pale yolks. <S> In the fall is when the eggs are the orangest for pasture raised eggs, again something about what is available to feed. <S> The only way I can find these eggs is to get them from the farmers market or from a coworker who raises hens themselves. <A> My local farmer tells me that the color of the yolk (and the color of the chicken fat) is directly related to how much fresh grass they get in their diet. <S> They scatter the feed on the ground and the chickens pick up some grass as they eat. <S> The chlorophyl in the grass is the specific thing that affects color. <S> If there has been a drought, causing the grass to brown, or if it is winter and the chickens go outside less, the eggs (and fat) become paler. <S> So, the color of the yolk suggests whether the chickens are in a real free-range environment, which also affects flavor. <A> I think diet is the most important factor, but the breed of the hen may have an effect as well. <S> We buy eggs from a local farmer, and a carton will have blue, green, white and multiple shades of brown and tan eggs. <S> The blue and green eggs almost always have more yellow/orange yolks. <S> And this was the case with our previous farmer as well.
|
The color of the yolk is based on the chicken's diet.
|
What can be done with bitter carrots? I've got a bunch of two week old carrots (kept in the fridge), peeled, and they tasted bitter (raw). Is it normal that carrots turn bitter? Is there a way to prevent it from happening? Will the taste improve after cooking? (I'll cook and taste anyway) I've looked at this question , but the peel is said to be bitter, while these are peeled already. <Q> The best technique I've found to do this with carrots is frying and steaming them at a low temperature. <S> Make glazed carrots: per 200g of carrot, peel, cut into ~2cm thick diagonal cuts and add 40g butter, a half teaspoon of sugar and season with salt and black pepper. <S> In a large lidded pan over a low heat, spread the carrots out in a single layer, add the lid and cook for 25-35 minutes. <S> Shake the pan occasionally. <S> Push the cooking time as long as you can without letting the carrots become overly soft. <S> This should give deliciously sweet fragrant carrot. <S> Another thing to keep in mind is that salt is better than sugar to reduce bitterness so add as much as you can without oversalting the carrots. <A> Make cole slaw with them, and some zucchini and parsnips, then dress with mayo, red wine vinegar and apple cidar vinegar. <S> Gradually add some white sugar to take the edge off of any remaining bitterness. <S> This palate will balance out the bitter and play it up with the sharpness of the parsnips. <S> Zucchini, when shredded finely and left in a mayo/vinegar dressing will soften to an almost shredded cheese texture and turn into the median flavor distracting from over bitter carrots. <S> I had a large bag of zucchini that was on its way out recently, and some carrots that had since passed the point of just being white and were no longer right enough to eat raw anymore. <S> This extended their (fridge) shelf lives in one swoop. <A> Some varieties are naturally high in terpenoids, which make the carrots taste bitter. <S> Because terpenoids develop earlier than sugars, a carrot that is harvested too young might taste bitter. <S> if you're growing them yourself make sure you wait a little longer before harvesting. <S> And if you're buying them you'll have to cook them. <S> I love myself some raw carrots but end up throwing out bags sometimes because they're bitter. <S> Goodluck. <A> Whatever you do, you should cook the carrots. <S> Carrots usually become sweeter when cooked. <S> And you can alter the flavor slightly by cooking in a broth, sauce, roasting with other ingredients, etc. <A> I'm thinking stock or compost. :)
|
To decrease the bitterness, bring out the sweetness in the carrots by cooking for longer.
|
Is there any advantage to adding salt to onion while frying? Is there any advantage to adding salt to onion while frying itself rather than adding it the last? My friends say it removes moisture from onion. Is it true? Why is removing moisture from onion important? <Q> It is true, in my experience. <S> However, if your recipe does not require salt, you should not be adding it, of course. <S> I am most familiar with the use of onion in Indian cooking. <S> I generally add a pinch or two of salt to onion when I start sauteing it. <S> Onion starts sweating as soon as you add salt and start stirring. <S> The reason that salt draws out moisture from onion is osmotic pressure. <S> The surface of the onion acts as a semipermeable membrane barrier. <S> Since the solution outside the onion is more concentrated with respect to salt, water moves out of the onion to the general liquid side, to balance the osmotic pressure on either side of the onion surface. <A> Adding salt while frying onions has two advantages. <S> It helps to remove the water from onion easily (only if the water is completely removed does the onion get fried). <S> The salt helps increase the boiling point of water extracted from the onion, which means instead of 100°C water now boils at say 125°C. <S> This high temp helps to cook/fry the onion faster. <A> As @Avinash said, salt helps draw water from onion. <S> As the onion cooks in it's own juices we obtain that caramalized or translucent texture. <S> Alternatively, small quantities of water can be added to obtain the same goal, albeit much slower.
|
Removing moisture from onion with the aid of salt helps it reach its desired state (brown or translucent, as desired) faster.
|
Does higher quality bacon cook flatter? My friend was remarking that the bacon I buy is low-quality because when it cooks it's all warped and not flat. I remarked that if he doesn't want bacon, he should keep talking. Other things being equal, namely the cooking method (if you use one of those fancy presses, could probably make anything flat), does "higher quality" bacon cook flatter? <Q> I believe bacon warps when cooked largely because the different stripes (fat and meat) respond differently to being cooked - the fat doesn't contract as much. <S> So I think that thicker bacon will tend to warp less, because it has more structure and can't curl about as easily, and often higher quality bacon is thicker. <S> But if you got really amazing thinly sliced bacon, I can't imagine it not curling when cooked. <S> (Disclaimer: It's been a long while since I cooked bacon; I eat little meat and cook less, so I could be wrong.) <A> I cook it rather slow (low heat) and turn it about every 2 minutes or less. <S> That way I get a quite flat, evenly cooked and crispy bacon. <A> I believe the water content of the bacon is the culprit. <S> High quality bacon has less water and thus warps less. <A> The reason bacon curls during frying is due to the way it is cured. <S> Most high volume packaged bacon is cured using a spray, this has a high water content, and the bacon curls when this is rapidly removed during the frying process. <S> Some higher quality bacon does tend to stay flat, but the key is to look for a "dry cured". <S> This means the bacon is cured using a rub cure rather than a liquid based spray cure. <S> Another option is to get extra thick cut as you'll get less curl simply due to the thickness of the meat.
|
I've found that even if thickness does count (no idea about water content), slow cooking bacon will minimise warping.
|
Need a gas cooker but have no gas supply I am not sure about the terminology, i.e if it's called an electric cooker, burner, stove or something else. So I'll just refer to it as a electric or gas cooker to simplify things. We don't have a gas supply to our house in the UK as we have moved to a more remote location. We did have a gas supply in our old house and are finding the electric cooker in the new house extremely slow. So I started looking into bottled/cylinder gas, but I am not sure which direction to go in as I have so many options. For example, do I get butane, or something else? Which kind of pipe will I need, what kind of regulator will I need? What kind of cooker will I need? So far I have seen the following, but am not sure if these are safe for internal use and also I am not sure if these are the most economical options. 1 of my requirements is that I need a nice strong hot flame to I can get cooking done quicker. Gas cooker Regulator Pipe with clips Gas <Q> Those little single ring gas stoves are really intended for camping use, or emergency use at home (during a power cut). <S> The cylinders for them are very small and don't last long. <S> The normal thing to do is have an outside wire enclosure containing two large gas bottles and an auto-switching regulator (so when one bottle runs out, it switches over to the other bottle). <S> The two bottles system means you can use the second while the first is being refilled / replaced. <S> You'd normally use propane for this rather than butane; butane becomes unuseable around 0C so can't be stored outside. <A> I don't know if this system is up to modern standards, but it is what my mother has used since before I was born, and she is happy with it. <S> What she has is a gas stove of this type. <S> (I can't recommend a current brand, hers is made in East Germany). <S> Hers is, however, bigger than the one on the pic <S> looks like. <S> She also has a gas bottle (a mix of propane-butane) sitting in a corner of the kitchen, close to the stove. <S> The bottle is of this type: <S> On the bottle, a simple valve is mounted: <S> The bottle is connected to the burner with a simple rubber hose, no need for the installation of pipes. <S> I don't know how much gas is there in a bottle, but it lasts for maybe 3 months. <S> We keep a second, full bottle in the basement, so when one bottle is empty, we clamp on the second one and use it. <S> If you don't have a second bottle, you are left without a stove for the 3-4 days the supplier needs to deliver a full one. <S> I agree that the auto-switching regulator Vicky mentioned sounds very convenient, but I don't know how expensive it is or how much space it needs. <S> The nice thing about our setup is that it is simple and low-cost. <S> The capacity of such a burner is enough to cook a meal for the extended family (maybe up to a 7-8 l pot). <S> I don't know how it fares at amounts above that, e.g. if you want to cook your whole strawberry bed into jam. <S> As for safety, we always turn off the valve when the burner is not in use. <S> This means that turning on the burner becomes a three-step action (flip valve open, turn knob at burner, ignite gas), but with the bottle sitting next to the burner, it isn't so much additional effort. <S> As long as the bottle itself is OK (and regulated suppliers should be checking them before refilling), this minimizes the possibility of a leak to times when a cook is in the kitchen and would smell the leak before dangerous levels of gas have accumulated. <A> I would start by looking for a convenient supplier of gas in cylinders of the type rumtscho showed you, and making sure that they can deliver wherever you are. <S> You want to avoid loading heavy, dirty and dangerous explosive gas bottles in your car, assuming it is even legal to do that where you live. <S> Once you know the type of gas (propane, methane, funny mix...) go to a white goods store and ask for a hob or a hob+stove that can mount the right jets for your gas. <S> If you are the least bit unsure, ask a professional gas fitter. <S> Gas is very friendly when everything is done right, and very nasty when invisible small mistakes are made, like the wrong type of gas hose or the wrong way of attaching the hose to the appliance and the bottle.
|
Any standard gas hob can be "re-jetted" to take bottled gas rather than mains gas; they often come supplied with a conversion kit for this purpose.
|
How does "Brownulated" light brown sugar compare with regular light brown sugar? I'm assuming that the granulated sugar in the bag is easier to work with and won't turn into a hard block. It's also more expensive than the boxed kind. Are there any other differences, e.g. in the taste or texture after baking? <Q> Your question seems to be conflating the question of bag vs boxed brown sugar with the question of "Brownulated" light brown sugar vs. regular light brown sugar. <S> Brownulated pours like white sugar, but turns into a paste when it gets damp or wet. <S> I think it tastes funny. <S> It's the same sugar. <A> I have a very sensitive sense of taste and smell. <S> I think the Brownulated sugar has a slight chemical smell and taste to it <S> but no one else in my family can smell or taste the difference. <S> I suspect <S> what I am picking up is some sort of chemical change that occurs during the processing. <S> I won't be buying it again. <A> Brownulated sugar? <S> Ah! " <S> Brownulated sugar" is a registered trademark and sold in the US only. <S> From their (Dominos) web page: <S> This easy-to-measure brown sugar is a cup for cup replacement for regular light brown sugar. <S> Convenient, great tasting, and easy to use. <S> So it must taste like ordinary light brown sugar after baking. <S> http://www.dominosugar.com/sugar/brownulated-sugar <A> There is a very small amount of moisture in brown sugar, and a very small amount of acid in the molasses. <S> I don't know what the chemistry of "brownulated" is exactly. <S> However, in practical recipes it makes very little difference. <S> If you measure by weight and not volume, it all becomes nearly moot. <S> Personally, I weigh all my sugar, using 7-8 oz per cup for volume based recipes. <S> I just poke the brown sugar from its bag into the weighing bowl without trying to well pack it into a cup or anything, until the weight is approximately close to right, then bring the total sugar level up to the recipe level with white sugar. <S> Most home use recipes are incredibly tolerant of the tiny variation in the amount of moisture. <S> Your personal preference can then dictate light versus dark versus white sugar, or the ratios among them. <S> In most recipes (where the minor acid factor from the molasses on brown sugar isn't playing a factor), the only real issue is the total amount of sugar. <S> (For purists, yes I know 7-8 oz is a 15% variation--this is well within the tolerance for most recipes. <S> If I think the recipe is written quite carefully, I use 7 oz which is a a better conversion; if I think the recipe is tolerant, or just for the brown sugar part, I might use 8 oz because the bags are usually a multiple of 8 oz.) <S> When measured in this way, regular brown sugar is just as convenient as "brownulated" would be, and I don't see any point in paying extra.
|
Boxed vs Bag sugar is just a matter of storage and convenience.
|
Cooking frozen Pizza in the microwave I am totally new to cooking, I just boil eggs :). I am staying alone for sometime, and I want to cook some stuff at home instead of eating outside every day. I thought that Pizza might be a good start. So, I am trying with pre-made frozen pizza (well, that is not actual cooking!) The problem is that all the frozen pizzas I found are created to be cooked in oven (put 15 minutes in the heated oven), and my oven is broken. I have the fan grill, the oven top and a microwave.. can I cook pizzas using any of these? <Q> No, you can't bake pizza in the microwave. <S> See Why do my pizzas get such hard crusts? <S> for details. <S> The short answer: it gets as hard as brick. <S> I won't say that baking a pizza with a stove and a grill is impossible, but it is definitely not something for beginners. <S> So this, too, is out. <S> Really, a pizza needs an oven. <S> If you insist on pizza, the cheapest way is to buy a toaster oven. <S> They start at 50 €. <S> If you just want to ease into cooking by preparing pre-made food, look into frozen pre-seasoned vegetable mixes for the pan, or fresh dumplings from the refrigerated goods aisle, or noodles with easy sauces. <S> All of these can be prepared without an oven, and don't need much time or cooking knowledge. <S> They won't let you experience all the benefits of home cooking, but neither will frozen pizza, so this is probably not a problem in your case. <A> I've "developed" a way of heating pizzas in a microwave which is fairly practical and easy: Before you put the pizza on the plate, put some sugar cubes (wrapped ones work best!) <S> on the plate to support the pizza, five is enough for small pizzas but more may be needed for larger ones! <S> This gives the moisture coming off the bottom of the pizza a chance to escape and prevents the base from being soggy. <S> Then microwave the pizza for a few minutes (trial & error!), and after taking it out of the oven remove the sugar cubes (which will probably be stuck to the base of the pizza). <S> If you used the wrapped cubes, just discard the wrapping and put the sugar cubes in the sugar bowl for later. <S> Enjoy your pizza! <A> I put mine on a plate and microwaved it for about 3.5 minutes on high. <S> It has a soft crust and it's a little gooey in the middle, but it's cooked and totally edible. <A> Another option to look into, if you're a huge fan of frozen pizza and can't see yourself using a toaster over for anything else, is the Presto Pizzazz Pizza Maker , which gets pretty rave reviews as long as you work it right, and there's a whole community out there devoted to tweaking it into making the perfect pizza. <S> (Works for crisping other things, like wings, as well.) <S> Wish I'd had one when I was in my daily frozen pizza phase, but I've never personally tried it.
|
Yes, you can absolutely cook a frozen mini pizza in the microwave.
|
How long does bicarbonate soda (baking soda) keep? I am thinking of baking biscuits for presents for Christmas. However, the recipe calls for baking soda, and I cook from scratch fairly rarely, so I'm worried the leftover bicarb will go strange in my cupboard. And since people use it for all sorts of purposes, it's one of those products generally not available in the small quantities called for in cooking. If I do buy a packet, how long is an expected shelf-life for it? Based on this question I probably should find an airtight container to store it in, which may assist. (Note if relevant: I live in Sydney Australia; Christmas here is mid-summer, and often fairly high-humidity and 35-40 degree C heat.) <Q> StillTasty provides a very conservative answer : 6 months at best quality. <S> In my personal experience, it can last much longer and be just fine, though I think the longest I ever kept a box was a couple years, not 5 years like riotburn. <S> StillTasty suggests that the concern after more than 6 months is lost potency, but I believe the potential to take on odors from the surroundings is much more of a concern; store it in something airtight like you said, and you should be pretty safe from that. <S> So I'm sure it'll last at least until next Christmas. <S> And if you do get into baking, you might go through a box faster than you'd think. <S> Otherwise, it's fortunately pretty cheap, and it does have other uses (e.g. cleaning) <S> so it won't hurt you too much to just go for it. <A> Sodium bicarbonate is stable at room temperature. <S> Above 70 or 80 degrees C, it will degrade into sodium carbonate, water and carbon dioxide. <S> Keep it in a sealed container (esp away from the oven and acids such as vinegar) and it should last indefinitely. <A> I don't know if this is technically correct <S> but I've had the same canister of baking soda in my house for at least 5 years and have not had any problems cooking with it. <A> <A> Even though the baking soda won't decompose into hunks of salt and carbon within a year, it will lose the leavening power (potency and performance) that many baking applications (such as in cookies and quickbreads) rely on. <S> Baking is chemistry. <S> To get the same outcome as the recipe intends, you need to use precisely the same proportions and ingredients as the recipe states. <S> If the baking soda you use doesn't give the same rising power (leavening) at the same times as the recipe expects, then you will have different results. <S> Some resources suggest testing the efficacy of baking soda by putting some in water or vinegar and looking for fizzing. <S> You can do this at home to see a difference between old and new baking soda. <S> But there is no way quantifiable to <S> quantify how much fizz occurs. <S> Without quantifying the decrease in efficiency, you have no way of knowing how much more baking soda you might need to get the expected result. <S> When I bake cookies with baking soda older than 6 months, they are definitely flatter than when I use newer baking soda. <S> Here are some cookies that I baked with new baking soda, and baking soda from last year. <S> (You can read more about my science experiment here .) <S> But, if you're just using baking soda to absorb odors or clean, you may not notice the reduced efficiency. <A> I realise you're asking about baking soda, but not being happy with the rise I was getting on American-style pancakes, I bought some new baking powder and instantly got that good ol' rise back. <S> I'd had the previous baking powder for 6 months and it still had 6 months until expiry. <S> I now keep the new powder in an airtight container now, not the cardboard cylinder it came in. <S> I did the fizz test KatieK talks of ( <S> but I think I used lemon juice), and the new powder easily fizzed twice as much. <S> It's dirt cheap and has so many other uses, I just wouldn't take the chance. <S> I'm also in Sydney, near the ocean.
|
Baking Soda (Sodium bicarbonate) is often mined from the ground, it's been there for millions of years, so a few years in a closed container in your cupboard should not be a problem :-)
|
Should I include egg shells in my stock? I've been making stock from vegetable scraps I've been keeping in the freezer (mainly carrots, celery, onion, tomato, and parsley). I read elsewhere that one could include egg shells in stock. Is this a good idea? How many should I include? <Q> I've not heard of egg shells being used that way. <S> I'm not sure what they would add. <S> The classic way of clarifying a meat stock to make it crystal <S> clear <S> (ie: for a consommé) is to whisk egg white (and I know at least one chef who adds crushed up egg shell to this mix) and finely ground meat into the cold stock and then gradually heat it. <S> As the added ingredients cook they rise through the stock trapping all the bits that make it cloudy and the gunky 'raft' can be skimmed off the top. <A> Adding egg shells to a brown stock is a great way of clarifying the base. <S> It creates a 'raft' which helps absorbs the impurity's which would otherwise spoil your stock. <A> All the ends and bits of vegetables, including onion skins, etc., are the most nutritious parts of the vegetable and lend flavor to the stock. <S> It's great if you can save them and add them in. <S> As for eggshells, it's some of the most bio-available form of calcium (add a little vinegar when boiling), very similar to our own composition. <S> I haven't tried it yet, but will be saving my shells from now on. <S> It always felt a little weird to throw them out, and am excited now that I can stick it in the freezer collection bag. <A> A classic way to clarify stock is to stir in some beaten eggs and then bring the stock to a simmer. <S> The egg proteins coagulate, rise to the top, and form a sort of strainer that filters out the bits and pieces that would otherwise make the stock cloudy. <S> I've seen some recipes that instruct to you to break up the egg shells and mix them into the eggs before adding to the stock. <S> I always assumed that the shells just add bulk and structure to the egg raft, helping it to hold together and form a better filter. <A> If you watch the Travel Channel episode on The God of Ramen -- renown ramen soup shop in Japan <S> -- you will see that the chef there uses the egg shells to clarify the broth. <S> That is all that is said about it. <S> You will see the egg shells floating atop the soup, which also has lots of ground pork and other ingredients simmering along with them. <S> When they serve the soup, they ladle it into a strainer first, so that the broth is clear. <A> I was told by my head chef who hails from italy that putting the shells in your stock with actually make it darker. <S> He said there is a specific vitamin in the shells that does this. <S> Havent tried it yet though. <A> However I do have heard about egg shells being used by people who want to increase the nutritional value (egg shells are rich in calcium) <S> However I never use them since I rather go with more a pure and traditional taste. <S> Something for example that seems being forgotten (specially at homes) but still enhance the stock are chicken feet. <S> If I were making chicken stock, I would make sure that above all things, the feet are not missing.
|
Like many other posters, I think egg shells will not change any culinary property of your stock significantly.
|
How to stew chicken properly I have a recipe where I cut chicken breasts into 0.5" cubes and cook them on a medium low gas flame for 15-20 minutes in a stew. When I cook the chicken, it comes out a bit tough and chewy. So I was curious if people had tips on how to properly stew chicken. Specifically, how do you get your chicken cooked so it "falls apart" nicely and doesn't taste--to put it bluntly--rubbery. Thanks. <Q> Rumtscho pretty much summed it up in his comment above: You can't really stew chicken breasts (at least not from the young chickens that are found in most supermarkets). <S> The reason is that what makes a meat "fall apart" tender is its fat and collagen content. <S> Collagen is connective tissue that is usually found in muscles that do a lot of work for the animal. <S> When collagen cooks in a moist environment at a low temperature for a long time ( i.e. , a stew), it converts into gelatin, which is soft (causing the meat to fall apart) and is interpreted by the mouth to be moist and delicious. <S> The problem is that the breasts don't do much work on today's factory farmed chickens. <S> Even if you were able to find an old rooster that has lived long enough to build up some collagen, there still wouldn't be much in its breasts. <S> Legs and thighs, on the other hand, do have a bit more collagen and could benefit from a short stew. <A> (Trader Joe's Authentica is my favorite). <S> Then I pull it apart with forks, and it's super tender. <A> For chicken breast meat being added to a stew, I prefer to cook the chicken breasts separately in the oven, then cut or cube the meat and add it to the finished stew to warm, just before serving. <S> Alternately, if the breasts are skinless and boneless you could poach them in white wine (I almost typed “whine” there). <S> Heat enough wine to cover the chicken in a large skillet. <S> You’ll want it to just barely simmer. <S> Add the chicken breasts and cook until the internal temperature is 160° <S> F (sorry I can’t give you a time, I don’t do this by the clock.) <S> If you want the chicken to cook mostly in be stew, so it absorbs he flavors, sear the breasts, but don’t cook them through. <S> Then shred or cube them and add it to the the stew. <S> I’ve had great success with this method in my recipe for chicken piquante.
|
Whenever I want (shredded) chicken breast for soup or tacos, I put skinless tenders in the crock pot with broth and salsa
|
What to look for in an induction stovetop? This is a sad story, because I've already bought one and am not completely happy. The good: Power - 9kW. Fires - 3 fires from small to large (14cm - 28cm). Timer - From one to ninety nine minutes for each fire. The bad: The controls. They are incorporated in the surface and are very sensitive. When cleaning the surface it will power down the stovetop. If you put anything on the controls, they will flash an error message. There is only one up and down button. when more than one fire is 'burning' you have to activate the fire you want to change. You have to cycle clockwise through all the fires to do that. What advise would you give to anyone looking for an induction stovetop? <Q> If you like to cook using 3 or more elements at once, ensure you buy a sufficiently powered model. <S> There's nothing more frustrating than upping the power on one element and watching another one reduce at the same time. <S> Touch controls look nice but they're horrible from a usability standpoint. <S> I always had problems with responsiveness with wet or greasy fingers. <S> Cockroaches love induction. <S> I don't know if the frequency attracts them <S> or it's just the heat <S> but they will come and eat out the wiring, even if you've never spotted one in the house before. <S> It's a common problem as it's hard to seal the electronics for thermal reasons. <S> Board replacements are expensive. <S> It's one item I would consider an extended warranty on. <S> As for any 2" cooktop, larger pot/pan sizes can't be accommodated if you're using 3 or more elements. <S> Go <S> 2'8" minimum . <A> It is always best to try the product before buying it. <S> As for the touch controls I prefer a control panel that is angled, not flat. <S> This way I can accommodate larger cookware without it touching the controls. <S> If you are using a multi burner cooktop ask if all the burners can be operated at full power together. <S> Most induction cooktops use power varience technology and they share the total power between the burners. <S> Definitely go through reviews before buying. <A> Don't let a salesman tell you what you need; find out what's available and what you want/need, and then decide based on how much you're willing to spend. <S> If you're not an expert on stovetops (which I should point out that I am not) there are lots of buying guides out there that outline the features of various technologies (try not to get all your information from one place, especially not if it's a company trying to advertise their products). <S> Various authors writing these "consumer buying guides" will often point out their own suggestions that you might find helpful. <S> Here are a couple links for your reading: US Appliance <S> Consumer Reports Try to look around and always have as much information as you can get before making a decision. <S> It's a bit of work but it always pays off.
|
To answer your question, the advice I would give someone on buying a stovetop is the same as the advice I'd give someone for buying anything else: do as much research as possible before buying.
|
Improve flavor of Sorbet made in Magic Bullet? I'm trying to create a sorbet using a frozen fruit (specifically strawberries) using the magic bullet. The way that I do it is by literally putting a bunch of frozen, ice-hard strawberries into the bullet and pulsing the bullet for a long time giving it breaks so I don't burn out the motor. I end up with what looks like a strawberry sorbet BUT it tastes empty. Goal: I want to create a strawberry sorbet which tastes good and is healthy (so I'd love to avoid processed sugar). Also, if there's a faster way to do it other than by pulsing the magic bullet forever that would be awesome too! Current Developments: I've tried adding lemon juice, it made it a bit better but it still had a hollow ice flavour. <Q> Almost any normal sorbet recipe will contain a decent amount of sugar, and strawberries are no exception. <S> I'd guess probably 1/2-2/3 cup per pound of strawberries. <S> Use a substitute if you have an aversion - honey, agave, raw cane sugar, whatever you prefer. <S> (Of course, anything liquid is going to contain some water, and cause a bit of ice, but it's still doable.) <S> A sorbet without any extra sugar, even when frozen normally in an ice cream maker, is going to end up with a very icy texture, which will probably keep you from experiencing the flavor as much. <S> The sugar helps soften it. <S> The other common way to soften a sorbet is alcohol. <S> Rosé wine (thank you, David Lebovitz) works quite well in a strawberry sorbet. <S> Beyond that, either look for recipes, or look for mixed drinks containing the fruit you're using. <S> You might also be having problems simply because your strawberries aren't that great. <S> Did you freeze them, or were they storebought? <S> If you bought the strawberries yourself, you'd know they were decent before freezing, while not all storebought frozen fruit is as flavorful. <S> Finally, it's possible that your frozen strawberries collected some extra water in the form of frost, which then makes your sorbet icier. <S> If there are obvious big chunks you could scrape them off. <A> Try the lemon juice, a touch of honey, and just a tiny, tiny bit of vanilla. <A> To boost the flavour of 'not-great' strawberries, try throwing in a few raspberries (fresh or frozen) and the lemon juice suggested by rfusca. <S> Their very intense flavour will add zing to your sorbet.
|
Vodka can be your go-to liquor for any impromptu sorbet with other fruits, since it'll add alcohol without any flavors that clash.
|
What can replace vegetable butter? I am making a dairy- and gluten-free cake. What can I use to replace vegetable butter? <Q> Look for the kosher symbol on different types of butter. <S> You will need to find a substitute with the word "Parve" on it. <S> Parve means no dairy products. <S> From there just check the labels to make sure it is gluten free. <S> Other things that I have used to replace butter have been olive oil or applesauce <S> (works great in brownies). <S> Here is a chart if you would like to substitute olive oil for the butter. <S> http://www.amazingoliveoil.com/substitute-olive-oil-for-butter.html <A> They are dairy and gluten free and can be easily measured by cutting according to the scale on the side of the wrapper, just like regular dairy butter. <S> If a liquid product is needed, Earth Balance can be melted and will provide more flavor than simply using oil. <A> You can actually just use oil in cake. <S> I wouldn't use olive oil for a sweet cake. <S> Try any neutral tasting oil or if you are rich, there is stuff like pistache oil wich will undoubtedly give a fancy cake.
|
We usually bake with Earth Balance Buttery Sticks in any recipe that calls for butter.
|
What can I substitute for lager beer in a chili recipe? Possible Duplicate: What are some good substitions for alcohol in cooking? My Husband is a recovering alcoholic. One of our favorite slow cooker chili recipes calls for using Lager beer. Is there a good beer substitute? <Q> While obviously not the same, it still has a rich flavor that should hold up well. <A> I would second the above post on using beef brother. <S> Also, consider reading the flavor profile of the beer you typically use. <S> Some of them claim coffee-and-caramel notes. <S> Some have a woody-bourbon flavor. <S> See if you can't isolate those flavors and recreate what you enjoyed. <S> Also, may I suggest some liquid smoke or bits of jerkey. <S> FWIW, I typically skip beer in my chili in favor of more onion/garlic flavors. <S> Hope that helps! <S> Congrats, btw!!! <S> Never give up that fight! <A> I think perhaps a teaspoon of Marmite dissolved in a glass of water may do the trick. <S> Marmite is a yeast extract, basically made from the stuff left over during the beer production process, so it's flavour profile is quite close.
|
Beef broth would be what I would go with if I had to substitute beer in chili. There's even Guiness brand Marmite available occasionally, though Guiness isn't a lager.
|
Will avocado stay fresh longer if stored in the refrigerator? Should I store avocado in the refrigerator or will it make no difference for how long they stay fresh? <Q> Ripening of the avocado is slowed down greatly by refrigeration, so it is usually a good idea to let the avocado ripen fully at room temperature. <S> Once it is ripe, it can be stored in the refrigerator for at least a week. <S> This way, it is ready to use whenever you want it. <S> Fortunately, there is a day or two when the avocado is ripe, but not too ripe, so if you check on it everyday when ripening, you will be able to save it at the correct ripeness without worrying about it too much. <S> Once cooled to near freezing ( <S> 40F in most refrigerators), it seems that some avocados (maybe it depends on the type) don't ripen anymore, even when removed to room temperature. <A> I store my avocados in my kitchen, uncovered, at room temp until I need them. <S> It is alright to store an avocado in the fridge if you do not intend to use it right away. <S> The cold temperature will inhibit the avocado's ripening. <S> It may need a day or so out on your counter to ripen once it has been removed from the fridge. <S> If it is already perfectly ripe I would use it asap and not store it in the fridge. <S> Also, if you are making guacamole store it in the fridge with the avocado's seed in the same container, it is supposed oxidize (turn black) less/slower. <A> You can try freezing them, however I've never tried it personally. <S> Ripe fruit can be stored in the refrigerator uncut for two to three days. <S> To store cut fruit, sprinkle it with lemon or lime juice or white vinegar and place in an air-tight container in your refrigerator. <S> If refrigerated guacamole turns brown during storage, discard the top layer. <S> When you have an abundance of fresh avocados, consider freezing them. <S> Pureed avocados freeze very well and can be used in salads, sandwiches and dips. <S> Wash, seed and peel the fruit as described above. <S> Puree the flesh, adding one tablespoon of lemon juice for each two pureed avocados. <S> Pack the puree into an air-tight container, leaving 1 inch of headspace. <S> Seal and label the containers. <S> Freeze and use within four to five months. <S> Source: <S> Selecting a California Avocado <A> Yes. <S> Storing them under cool temperatures works well.
|
Putting an unripened avocado in the refrigerator may prevent it from ever ripening completely.
|
How can I create a scotch egg with a runny yolk? I ate a scotch egg at thebreslin.com in New York City. The dish was clearly cooked fresh and the yolk of the egg was still runny when I cut into it. It was pretty amazing. My question - how can I get the yolk to stay runny? Scotch eggs are pretty easy to make with hard-boiled eggs - but soft-boiled? Is it just a timing thing? <Q> Timing and precision are key. <S> First off, you need to boil your eggs for exactly 5 minutes, assuming they're large. <S> They should be at room temperature before you start, and you should let them cool afterwards. <S> This should result in a cooked white and a very runny yolk before you fry. <S> The oil needs to be 350F/180C; a cube of bread should take 1 minute to completely brown. <S> If the temperature is right the Scotch egg should take about 5 minutes to brown evenly, and you should have properly-cooked sausage and a yolk that's still runny. <A> The scotch egg with a runny yolk -- or other cooked eggs with yolks of various textures -- are a hallmark of some of the new molecular gastronomy chefs. <S> Be warned, though, that it's probably more effort than you want to go to. <S> Here's a couple of links to online recipes: <S> https://www.vacmasterfresh.com/fresh-bites-blog/how-to-sous-vide-a-scotch-egg/ - cook at 68C for 15 minutes, in boiling water for 1-2, shock in ice water and chill 10-15 minutes, then peel http://benstarr.com/recipes/sous-vide-scotch-eggs/ - cook at 64C for 60 minutes, cool in a cold water bath, freeze solid, then peel <S> http://thewhychef.com/2016/02/liquid-centre-scotch-eggs/ <S> - soft-boil eggs (bring to a boil, remove from heat and let stand 6 minutes), shock with cold water, then peel If you can find it, the first issue of Lucky Peach includes a whole long article on egg cookery which explains the various cooking times and techniques. <A> Everything you try, will require trial and error. <S> Basically practice makes perfect, but here is a method I use: <S> Freeze the raw egg in its shell, de-shell the frozen raw egg and wrap the sausage meat around it whilst it is still frozen. <S> This can be difficult as the egg's albumen defrosts quickly. <S> Coat in flour, egg and breadcrumb. <S> Fry till the scotch egg floats and the crumb is a deep golden brown. <S> It's the only way <S> I know that gives a soft runny yolk every time. <A> (This is more or less an addition to ElendilTheTall's answer, but it's too long to fit into a comment.) <S> My experience with eggs is that "let them cool afterwards" won't fully do the trick, since the egg yolk will simply continue to cook from the heat left in the egg. <S> To prevent that, after boiling for five minutes, you need to cool them down quickly by putting them under running cold water. <S> This stops the cooking process, and when deep-frying later on, they will just heat through, but the yolk will stay runny and not start to set anymore. <S> See also here in section "Cooling". <S> For a recipe, see here for an example. <S> When this was broadcast (last month I think), there was a lot more emphasis in the programme on how important it was to cool the eggs than the sentence Drain and cool the eggs under cold running water suggests. <A> The easiest way to create a runny center is not to use a boiled egg, but a poached. <S> Use cling film and a small bowl, place your egg and wrap it in the cling film and tie it off. <S> Cook your poached egg for 2 minutes. <S> let it cool and snip away the cling film. <S> place the egg in the freezer and allow it to set. <S> The egg is only half cooked at this stage. <S> Wrap your egg in sausage meat and breadcrumbs and deep fry for around 4 minutes. <S> You will have a perfect runny center and a treat! <A> I make them by the dozen myself. <S> I gently put the egg into boiling water for 4 minutes then straight to an ice bath for about 10 minutes. <S> once chilled gently crack the shell all the way around the center and put back into ice water or 5-10 minutes then peel. <S> Wrap in thinly pressed sausage and directly into breading and refrigerate. <S> I cook at 300 degrees for 5 and a half minutes. <S> No complaints so far. <S> Not really too hard or too time consuming <S> once you get the hang of it.
|
The oil you use to fry the Scotch eggs needs to be just the right temperature - too hot and the crust will brown before the sausage is cooked, too cool and the yolk will cook solid before the crust is browned.
|
An efficient way to zest key limes? Due to my affinity for baked goods, I decided to try creating key lime pie filling from scratch. I've done so twice now using two recipes. The first of which calls for key lime zest as a primary ingredient. The second of which does not, though a recommended modification of the recipe, which I followed, does call for it. Timing the process, it took me about 20-25 minutes to grate 3 tsp. of zest from my key limes using a planar grater/zester and a small ceramic bowl. I would like to significantly speed up this process if I can, but the size and texture of key limes makes them difficult to zest for more than a pinch at a time. Is there a faster way? I was thinking of doing something crazy with my food processor or investing in a proper zester, though I'm not sure how much this would speed things along. There also seem to be rather expensive products like the Spin Zester out there, but they seem of dubious applicability to this problem. <Q> It seems to me, that a quality planar grater is the best solution. <S> The Spin Zester is way too expensive for a home kitchen. <A> When I need larger amounts of zest, I peel the fruit with a knife as best I can, scrape off the white part, and then use a food processor or finely chop it. <S> This is slower for small amounts, but much faster for large amounts. <A> I just began zesting key limes <S> and I found a professional zester at Wal-Mart for $ 13.85! <S> It took me about 5 key limes to begin to get the hang of it, but now I can do 80 key limes in about 45 minutes. <S> The best thing is to practice using no gloves. <S> Be sure to keep the limes cool especially after zesting. <S> This leaves the original lime without a peeling surface but still full of juice and ready to squeeze!
|
I can recommend this fine micro plane grater for zesting:
|
Difference between cooking vegetable curries in a pressure cooker and a wok? Is the difference only w.r.t time consumed? Is it better (in terms of taste) to cook vegetable curries in a Kadhai rather than a pressure cooker? EDIT 1: Q: Do the spices change their taste when cooked in Kadhai versus pressure cooker ? <Q> I am not sure if you are asking about pressure cooking vegetables or just using the pressure cooker to cook. <S> If you are talking about pressure cooking the vegetables, I think a kadai is more suitable because it preserves the texture of the vegetable you are cooking. <S> If you cook the same vegetable in the pressure cooker, it is difficult to control the 'doneness' of the vegetable. <S> For example, I have cooked aloo mattar (potatoes and peas) in a kadai and in a pressure cooker. <S> The peas come out much more mushier when cooked in a pressure cooker versus a kadai . <S> If I want a pressure-cooked texture in a kadai , I cook longer. <S> If you are talking about cooking in a pressure cooker without the lid on, it makes no difference whether you are using a kadai or a pressure cooker. <A> Pressure cookers are good for things that require very long simmering, like tough cuts of meat. <S> There's no good reason to use them for vegetables; the amount of time you save will be insignificant, and you'll probably overcook the vegetables. <A> What gives spices their flavors are the oils that they contain, along with any water soluble flavors that they might have. <S> What that means to your spices will vary as certain spices could grow more bitter or sweeter depending on the compounds inside them. <S> Conventional wisdom says that pressure cooking concentrates the flavors, although that would seem to fly in the face of physics as you aren't reducing while pressure cooking, you are just heating steam at a higher atmosphere to transfer more heat to the food faster. <S> As for texture, use the one that you like.
|
In a pressure cooker, your food will cook hot.
|
Why is Ice Cream used in Hot Buttered Rum? I'm looking at recipes for Hot Buttered Rum, as I have plenty of rum and it's cold out. Several of the recipes call for vanilla ice cream. Is that traditional? What is it for? Wouldn't it just cool off some of the water and possibly interfere with the steeping of the spices? Would it be better to just toss in some vanilla and extra sugar, or does the milk content actually change anything? Example with ice cream: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink5667.html Example without: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/hot-buttered-rum-cocktail-recipe/index.html <Q> I don't think I've ever even had hot buttered rum, but I can take a stab at some of your questions: <S> 1 part ice cream and 2-3 parts boiling water will still average out pretty hot. <S> If the ice cream is at, say, -20 to -10C, that'll get you in the 60-70C range initially, which is I think fairly normal for hot drinks. <S> And of course, if you keep it in the refrigerator instead, your drink will be hotter! <S> I suspect mixing ice cream with butter <S> will help it all mix together better in the end, by helping disperse the fat. <S> Ground spices aren't going to need a ton of steeping. <S> I imagine the boiling water would be enough, and if not, the pre-cooking could easily compensate. <S> And since some recipes just have nutmeg sprinkled on top, it sounds like steeping isn't necessarily the goal. <S> If you're really aiming for spiced hot buttered rum, you'll probably want more spices than those recipes, and perhaps to cook them briefly with the butter. <S> If it were just butter and sugar, it'd get quite hard in the freezer. <S> Yes, the milk/cream content of the ice cream would make the drink a little creamier - <S> but I don't know whether hot buttered rum should be a bit creamy. <S> It sounds like it'd be fine either way - personal preference, perhaps? <A> No Hot Buttered Rum I've ever ordered has involved ice cream, though I'd be interested in trying it out. <S> The original involves only rum, butter, sugar, spices and hot water. <S> I've seen some bars make and keep their own pre-mixed spiced butter with honey, molasses and dark sugar. <S> I guess the ice cream is an extension to that pre-made mixture. <S> For the purist's Hot Buttered Rum, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9wNGIgN_f8 <A> I tried the recipe with ice cream this weekend. <S> It was a hit with my guests - we found we didn't particularly want to try the recipe without, as the ice cream seemed to be lending a nice mellowness to the drink that made it particularly palatable to those of us who were not heavy drinkers. <S> It also didn't freeze solid, instead remaining easy to scoop.
|
If you intend to freeze the "batter", including ice cream will help keep it soft enough to scoop/slice.
|
Which Type of Japanese Green Tea Has the Highest Amount of Caffeine? I am trying to find the best pick-me-up Japanese green tea and was wondering which type was the best to get from the assortment of Sencha, Gyokuro, Kabusecha, Bancha, etc. <Q> From what I've read, caffeine content can be variable even within varieties. <S> There are possibly seasonal variations, variations in harvesting and processing technique, variations in the original plants... <S> Psychological effects (e.g. what smells perky to you) might be just as strong, and steeping for 10 minutes instead of 5 might make as much difference as any choice of variant. <S> So take any answer with a grain of salt, and don't be afraid to simply go with what seems to subjectively work best for you. <S> That said, gyokuro is supposed to be stronger than other sencha teas, and I believe compared to other Japanese green teas as well. <S> (I found similar information elsewhere; it's not just wikipedia.) <A> I agree with Jefromi, except that the powdered forms of Japanese tea ( Matcha ) may have significantly more caffeine in the final brew than other teas. <S> This is according to the analysis of 35 teas reported in the 2011 book Tea: history, terroirs, varieties . <S> The table on page 254 reports matcha made with 1.5g of powder as having more than twice the caffeine concentration of any other tea brewed with 5g of leaves. <S> The reported figures were averaged across three observations, but the analysis was hardly exhaustive, and there was a lot of variation even between two batches of the same type of tea, made the same way. <A> Growing up, we were warned by grannies and aunts about it, and it was always taken in small amounts with Japanese sweets. <S> According to one Japanese blogger, it has 50mg of caffeine per 150ml of matcha (half the amount in coffee which has 100mg of caffeine per 150ml). <S> However, the effect of caffeine is dependent on how much is in the body, and she points out that tea tends to be much more drinkable than coffee in larger amounts so it all depends how much you drink in a day. <S> On a side note, I vaguely remember a televised study saying that caffeine levels can actually peak and have the reverse effects (ie. cause sleepiness), so more may not necessarily be better lol...
|
Matcha (powdered green tea) has the most caffeine from what I understand.
|
How to take care of the teflon coated cookware to ensure their long life? I know the following three rules: Don't use metal spoons. Don't put hot teflon utensils in cold water. Cook on low flame. Is there anything else important, which is often overlooked? EDIT 1: Q: I have a teflon Kadhai and a teflon wok (flat bottom and straight walls). Do we have to take some special precautions when dealing with the Kadhai (because of its shape)? EDIT 2 Q: Does wooden spatula also causes scratches? If yes, then what's teh way out? <Q> Be very careful heating it Usually with a steel or iron pan <S> I'll crank the heat under it and go do something else for a couple of minutes while it gets up to temperature. <S> If it takes me five minutes to get back to it, maybe it's a little too hot <S> and I have to hold it away from the burner for a few seconds before adding the oil. <S> With teflon, that can damage the pan, so I keep a closer eye on it and hold my hand over the pan more often to see if its ready. <A> Make sure food doesn't stay in the very bottom part for long enough to burn on. <S> The flared sides and narrow bottom of these pans tend to concentrate heat at the bottom, and burn on food more easily than flat-bottom saucepans and frying pans. <S> Once food is burned on, there is no way to scrub it off without also removing the nonstick coating. <S> It only takes one batch of fried rice or browned onions to permanently wreck the pan. <S> Finally, stir-frying involves a lot of vigorous motion with utensils, which rapidly wears out nonstick layers. <S> With nonstick woks, it is simply a matter of time before they are ruined. <S> My suggestion is to replace your teflon wok and kadhai with (respectively) carbon steel and cast-iron equivalents at the earliest convenience. <S> Woks and kadhais are designed for high-flame cooking, and if you reduce the heat to protect cookware, then the food won't get browned fully. <S> With these materials you can use full heat without ruining pans or releasing toxic chemicals (from overheated Teflon). <S> Cleanup is simple: just rinse out, scrape off burnt bits, wipe them down with a paper towel, and season with oil. <S> Finally, wooden or silicone rubber utensils are the best for a nonstick wok or kadhai; they won't scrape off the nonstick layer unless used very roughly, andthey can stand the heat without melting. <S> Normal plastics (particularly polyethylene or polypropylene) tend to melt, and metal will scrape up the nonstick coating. <A> Totally agree with BobMcGee. <S> I replaced most of cookware with steel and cast-iron ones... <S> Except the ones that I use for pancakes/cakes or similiar stuff that take short time to cook and don’t need too much heat. <S> Even then; - I use wooden spatula/spoon. <S> - I clean pan with paper towel & change oil after each piece/bunch (in case of burnt stuff/oil – which harm pans as well as health). <S> - <S> To avoid scratching in the cabinet, I never put any other material in/on teflon cookware (either hang up the pans or put a soft metarial in between). <A> Happened twice, had to convert my pans in flower pots:they formed some "bubbles" under the teflon coating, and, while cooking and stirring, these bubbles popped and the coating went out and ruined my food...
|
Don't leave them full of water for a day or two in your sink because you're too lazy/busy to wash them at the right time.
|
How to incorporate alcohol (rum) into a cake recipe? How can I incorporate alcohol (rum, in this case) into an existing cake recipe (pumpkin cake, for example)? Can I simply replace the water with rum? <Q> You can also try, rather than putting it in during the baking process, to pour the rum into a pan big enough to fit te cake or loaf and have it soak up the alcohol. <S> Additionally, rum is a very strong flavour, and might overpower or conflict with the pumpkin, so be careful not to use too much or you might end up with pumpkin flavoured rum cake as opposed ot rum <S> hinted pumpkin cake. <A> If you're using around 3-cups of flour 1/4 cup of rum is definitely safe to use. <S> Not knowing the recipe, and just in case there are other liquids, just adjust them to incorporate the rum so measurements stay equal. <S> Cheers! <A> If I just want to add aroma to the cake, I just add a small amount to the batter. <S> If I want an actual boozy flavor, pouring a modest amount over a baked cake, while still in the pan, will allow it to absorb more. <S> Finally, you can make an icing or glaze from a mix of powdered (confectioner's) sugar and liquor instead of water.
|
If I have an ingredient like dried fruit or raisins in the cake, I might soak them in rum for a couple of hours before incorporating into the batter.
|
How long do you let a turkey rest after cooking? I have heard mixed advice on how long you should let a turkey rest after cooking. Last year my wife and I watched a Thanksgiving cooking show with Gordon Ramsey and he said you should let the turkey rest for as long as you cooked it. If you cook it 3 hours, it should rest for 3 hours. That seems like an awful long time to me. Everything else I've read looks like 30 minutes to an hour is fine. Any suggestions? <Q> The purpose- as with any cooked meat- is to let the meat firm up <S> so it doesn't release juices when you cut into it. <S> In the case of a turkey it also helps to let it cool enough to not burn you when you are carving and eating it. <S> Both of these goals will be met in 30 minutes to an hour. <S> I don't know why that chef would recommend 3 hours. <S> At that length of time the turkey would start to approach room temperature and would be less appealing to eat as well as start the clock on the danger zone. <A> I heard GR say 3 hours this year too, so you're not misremembering. <S> I recently started letting it rest for 45 minutes to an hour, and it's worked out great. <S> My reason for choosing that amount of time is: that's how long veggies need to roast in the oven. <S> Once upon a time I used to rest it for 30 min, meaning I needed to at least start roasting the veg while the turkey was still in the oven, and the whole thing was insanely stressful. <S> Now I prep the veggies but put them dry on baking sheets. <S> An hour before I want to eat, or when the turkey is clearly cooked if that happens sooner than I expected, I pull out the bird and get it out of the roasting pan and onto a tray to rest with foil over it. <S> I put the fat and juices from the roasting pan into a measuring cup to settle, and get the fat spooned over the potatoes and in they go. <S> Get the stuffing out of the bird, squash (cut in 8ths or 16ths and buttered) into the oven and the cranberry sauce on the stove, that typically takes 15 minutes, so it's time for parsnips and onions to go into the oven again with some of the turkey fat. <S> Then make gravy in the roasting pan using the not-the-fat part of the settled juices and cook the Brussels sprouts on the stovetop. <S> More room, less panicking, and as long as you understand you will not have a single pause during the final hour, much easier than it used to be. <S> We have had no consequences of resting it for up to an hour, and I don't see any purpose in resting it longer. <A> It's amazing! <S> I cover with tin foil and then a couple of towels to rest and the bird is still PIPING hot hours later. <S> I'm usually cooking a 25 pounder. <S> The internal temperature actually first goes UP to 180 then settles back to 150 by serving time. <S> There's no safety risk here. <S> You can then have everything done, pots and pans washed and enjoy a beautiful dinner <A> I have carved within 20 minutes and within 3 hours. <S> I strongly believe that the longer standing time has created the most outstanding and moist, delicious turkey ever. <S> I have cooked 20-25 <S> lb Turkey's stuffed and unstuffed every Xmas and thanksgiving and have never had a negative result from resting either way. <S> Don't be afraid to try something new. <S> Make sure your turkey is always properly covered with foil when resting and more importantly clean as you go and make sure the raw handling is properly followed by a thorough cleaning with disinfectant wipes or hot soapy wipe ups. <S> Some folks like well done meats and some like moist juicy meats at the optimum temperature. <S> Either way, enjoy your turkey and company and make the day fun and not a chore:) <A> A 20-25 pound turkey having roasted for hours will continue to have rising internal temperatures, and will be too hot to safely handle and carve immediately. <S> While waiting three hours to commence carving is more patience than I can muster, I try to let it rest at least one hour after pulling from the oven, and have outstanding results. <S> My family has not eaten dried out turkey in many, many years. <A> It's to let the juices get absorbed into the meat. <S> The meat doesn't have to be piping hot, as the gravy will be. <S> It's common knowledge to let the turkey rest for around at least 2 hours. <S> It will completely enhance the taste. <A> I have been cooking my entire life and owned restaurants in the past, and I have never let a turkey rest over one hour. <A> We went to a cooking school last night, and both chefs recommended letting the turkey rest for 3 hours. <A> It all depends on how you wrap it for resting. <S> I did exactly what GR suggested. <S> I smoked it for 3.5 hours and got the internal temp to 165. <S> Pulled and placed in an aluminum pan, covered with aluminum foil, wrapped all of that in towels and placed all of that in an ice chest. <S> 3.5 hours later I had the best turkey I have ever eaten and it was still steamy hot. <S> It was even better than fried turkey. <A> I only researched this to verify that it was ok to leave my sixteen lb bird out for three hrs after cooking for three hrs. <S> I was very paranoid that someone would get sick. <S> Apparently it is ok. <S> I was so concerned that I don't even care about juiciness, flavor or any other etc. <S> I cook two birds and with everything else going on I just had no time to deal with the first bird after it was done. <S> Today almost feel like I dodged a disaster. <A> I cooked one FRESH turkey at 17 min a lb for 4.5 hours. <S> Took it out and tented it. <S> It rested for 4 hours like Gordon said and it was still way above danger zone temp. <S> It takes a long time for those things to cool down man. <S> BTW Best turkey I ever had. <S> Remember to pull the stuffing out first.
|
I've been letting my turkey rest for over 2-3 hours for a couple years now because of this advice from Gordon.
|
How do I safely deep fry a turkey? I've seen all the videos of deep fried turkey fireballs. but I've also heard deep fried turkey is really great. How do I safely deep fry a turkey? What causes the explosions? <Q> The other answers touch on the fact that its the release of water from the turkey that interacts with the oil, causes the oil to overflow, and then ignite the burner. <S> Generally, this happens pretty shortly after you put the turkey in (due do any moisture on the outside of the bird). <S> To do it safely don't bank on the fact that you've removed all the water - do two additional things: <S> Do it outside. <S> In the event something bad happens, better to lose some grass on the lawn than your house. <S> If you don't have space outside, you can always go to a public park or such. <S> It may seem like a pain but turkey frying should not be done inside. <S> There's one absolutely surefire way to ensure than you don't catch the burner on fire by accident. <S> Don't have it on! <S> Prep your turkey. <S> Have it dry on the outside and completely thawed. <S> Heat your oil outside. <S> Turn the burner off Lower the turkey into the hot oil <S> Wait 1-2 minutes or so, most of the initial contact between water and oil should over by now. <S> Turn the burner back on and cook the turkey. <S> Also make sure the burner is off while taking the turkey out, just to prevent any spills from becoming terrible. <S> @ChrisWalker, below in the comments, also provides a method for making sure you don't put too much oil in the pot and thus cause a spill over. <A> Make sure the turkey is completely thawed. <S> Make sure the outside of the skin is dry. <S> Make sure there is room for the turkey and all of the oil in the kettle. <S> The explosion is caused by steam causing the oil to boil over, which then ignites when it reaches the burner. <S> Alton Brown has a show on it: Fry Turkey Fry (1/3) , Fry Turkey Fry (2/3) , Fry Turkey Fry (3/3) <A> Ice or water meets 400-degree oil and voila , explosion. <S> Once again I will direct attention to Alton Brown's Good Eats <S> episode <S> "Fry Turkey Fry," in which you can learn all you need to know about how to fry a turkey SAFELY and TASTILY. <A> The best way to deep fry a turkey is, to first buy some quality peanut oil. <S> You should brine your turkey as well, helps out a lot. <S> Make sure you dry your turkey out and off as much as possible, this step is important! <S> Water and oil can also cause over boiling of your oil and cause a fire. <S> You can use a dry rub, which I love, to season the bird safely for frying. <S> If you do use a dry rub, a very light coating of olive oil will help your seasoning stick to the bird. <S> Get everything you will need to cook, heat source and a 30 quart pot is best, and take it outside away from children pets and any structures. <S> After you have the peanut oil and a great cooker ready, you should bring the oil to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, then turn off your heat source and lower the bird in. <S> After about five minutes of safe cooking, turn your heat source back on. <S> Keep your oil from 325 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. <S> It will take at least an hour for most turkeys to cook. <S> Happy Turkey Day!
|
Using the wrong type of oil can cause a fire/explosion or cause your turkey to taste burnt.
|
Why do hamburger patties have ridges on one side? Why do hamburgers have one streaked/furrowed and one smooth side? Which side should be cooked first in a pan? I'm talking about their shape, not their color or anything similar. If you look at a raw patty from its side it looks like the drawing below. ---------------------------| _ _ _ _ _ _ ||_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| You can see the ridges I'm talking about on this photo . <Q> What sort of streaking? <S> A pattern of lumps or is there color streaking? <S> If there's color streaking and the meat is supposed to be raw, the meat's probably bad. <S> If there ridges or a pattern on one side it's from the hamburger patty press. <S> It does not matter which side you cook first. <S> While with most meats you want to cook the "presentation side" (the side that will be up on a plate) first, with hamburger, because it's usually inside a bun and hidden, you don't generally cook one side differently than the other for any particular reason. <S> UPDATE: <S> A more compressed patty results in more efficient packing (the same mass fits in a smaller volume) and a more stable patty (less likely to fall apart during cooking). <S> If you've ever seen roadwork which includes preparing a dirt surface to be layered with gravel or asphalt, there is a compression process involving what I think is called a sheep's foot roller, which is like a steam roller, except the roller/compression drum/wheel is studded with "feet" that result in a waffle-like appearance in the rolled dirt. <S> This is done because this pattern increases the compression possible on any given portion of earth, creating a significantly more stable surface on which the road surface will be layed. <S> The hamburger patty press uses exactly the same technique for pretty much the same reason. <A> The main reason that your burger has these ridges on only one side is simply manufacturing. <S> The ridges are put into the patties to prevent it from the middle coming up on you like bologna <S> does sometimes when you fry it, and to also promote even heating and cooking. <S> The only real reason most companies have for putting it only on one side, is that one flat side is the side they use to move the unfrozen patty around. <S> There is a spatula type device that moves them around during production. <S> If they slide something under the side with ridges before the patty is frozen it would mess it up before it was frozen. <S> So you only see the pattern on one side on most of your mass produced frozen patties. <A> if you look closely at the Burger Press available here you will see the pattern that you are asking about built into the press. <S> The lines are also in the bottom of the handle. <S> The indentions and the dimple actual help promote even cooking through the meat. <S> Also (according to the manufacturer) <S> the dimple prevents the middle of the burger from swelling.
|
The hamburger patty press uses dimples on one side (which produce the ridged pattern) in order to increase the pressure on the meat and the resulting compression of the patty. Secondary reason is smaller but, some companies place pieces of wax paper between patties for easier separation after freezing, and the smooth side is the side that the patty rests on during or after freezing because it sticks to the wax paper more easily.
|
Will store bought chicken eggs hatch? I'm a bit scared to try it, because I'm not sure what would be worse--cracking open a rotten egg, or having to figure out what to do with a chick. So how about it? If I leave chicken eggs out, will they eventually hatch if kept at the right temperature? EDIT - Sorry for the confusion. I was referring to store bought eggs only. <Q> If you're getting your eggs from a supermarket, they won't hatch. <S> This is the case with eggs you get for eating from almost any source. <S> Hens lay eggs even if they haven't been, umm, mating with a male. <S> Any egg laid in those circumstances will never hatch because it's unfertilized, and that's the standard practice for any commercial egg operation. <S> Now if you have a free ranging hen and a rooster too, and they're not kept apart, then yeah, <S> you could get a fertilized egg. <S> And that egg needs to be kept properly warm to hatch. <A> Chicken producers do sometimes keep eggs at slightly low temperatures to delay hatching for up to a week, or occasionally longer (for references see R.A. Ernst et al, <S> Common Incubation Problems and R.A. Ernst, Hatching Egg Sanitation ), but the lowest recommended temperature is 55 degrees Fahrenheit or 19.8 degrees Celsius. <S> After storage, they're put into an incubator at 99.5 to 100 degrees Farenheight (37.5 to 37.8 Celsius) to hatch them. <S> The standard refrigerator temperature of around 5 degrees Celsius (about 41 degrees Fahrenheit) is well below the recommended temperatures, so would almost certainly sterilize fertilized eggs. <A> They won't hatch if they're store bought, because they're unfertilized. <S> Try going to a local farm and look for hens with laid eggs; make sure to ask the farmer if they have mated because if the chicken has mated it will be fertilized.
|
Store-bought chicken eggs are usually unfertilized, and so will not hatch under any condition.
|
How does one stop sushi seaweed wrapping being too chewy? When we make home-made sushi, we often find that the seaweed wrapping (or nori) is too chewy. The seaweed we buy is from the local supermarket, and nothing fancy. Question : How can we ensure that the seaweed is not too chewy? <Q> In addition to what Jason says above, which is absolutely correct, nori needs to be toasted to be crispy. <S> Sometimes you buy it ready-toasted, <S> but sometimes it's not toasted and you need to toast it over an open flame yourself. <S> How to toast nori instructions and video . <S> Additionally, I've found that if you live somewhere high-humidity (like San Francisco, where I live), you sometimes need to re-toast nori even if you're buying ready-toasted packets, because it becomes moist. <A> Don't wait too long to eat it. <S> I'm assuming you're talking about rolls, or makimono, rather than nigiri-zushi. <S> Anyway, assuming the nori was reasonably freshly opened and crispy when you started, that's the main risk you have: <S> within minutes of preparing makimono, the moisture of the rice will quickly transfer to the dry laver. <S> The faster you eat it, the less likely it is to become mushy and chewy. <S> In the convenience stores in Japan, onigiri, which are, like makimono, also wrapped in nori, are now usually wrapped in a special plastic pouch. <S> If you follow the directions, you can wrap the onigiri with the nori in one motion while you peel off the plastic. <S> This lets you enjoy the crispy texture when you're ready to eat, which is the one advantage convenience store onigiri have over bringing mom's with you. <S> If you make the onigiri at home, you'll usually end up with moist, slightly chewy nori when you're finally ready to eat. <A> As everyone has said, assuming the nori is dry enough to begin with, the problem is moisture getting into the nori from the rice. <S> But the problem might not be just moisture transferring because you let it sit too long, but rather that the rice itself is too moist. <S> The drying step in making sushi rice is critical, and if you under-dry your rice, you'll have problems. <S> Especially if your rice is pretty sticky, you may want to try drying it further. <S> From a great Serious Eats article about making the rice: If all goes well, your sumeshi should come out slightly sweet and tart, full of distinct grains, and have a texture that holds together when compressed, but is not overly sticky. <A> To further the answers already given: <S> Nori starts becoming chewy as soon as rice is applied to it since the rice has moisture thus you want to minimize the time between rice-on-nori to maki-in-mouth. <S> For example, if you have a roll with multiple ingredients in the filling gather enough fillings for a single roll in one pile so it can all be added to the roll all at once. <S> Also make sure that you have a clean and dry area for assembling, cutting, and plating the maki roll. <S> Again, keep moisture away from the nori as much as possible. <A> Nori is like anything, the more you pay the better the quality. <S> The better the quality, means its usually a bit thinner and consumes better. <S> Cheap seaweed will be a bit thicker and once the moisture gets in it, will be chewy. <S> Generally, the Japanese seaweed is much better than chinese made seaweed, but as its about 4 times the price, most supermarkets only stock chinese. <S> They figure people wont know any better.... <S> They may be right. <S> Also consume within a few minutes of making and the taste experience will be so much better. <A> I use a propane blowtorch to crisp up my sushi. <S> If you try this, expect to ruin a few sushi rolls before you get it right.
|
Besides toasting the nori and consuming the maki roll as soon as possible after producing it, I would recommend one step between those two: Mise-en-place; not only should you have all your materials/tools/ingredients at the ready, you should have each makimono filling pre-assembled BEFORE applying the rice.
|
How can I impart bacon flavor into collard greens without losing crispness? I have tried cooking collard greens several times and each time I have been somewhat disappointed in my results. Specifically, I have tried cooking the collards by adding bacon and never feel like I add it at the right time. I want there to be enough flavor from the bacon without cooking it so much that it loses its crispness. Any ideas on how to correct this? <Q> One way to do it is to render the fat from the bacon first. <S> Once the bacon is crispy you can remove it and add the greens. <S> Cook them down until finished and right before serving you can add the bacon crumbled. <S> If it's served right away the bacon will be crispy. <S> If you leave it out too long or go to re-heat the next day then they will be softened. <S> There is no need to add anything to the bacon grease unless it's not enough to cook all the greens in. <S> In this case just add a couple of tablespoons of butter. <S> This is definitely not a low fat way of cooking greens, but it's the best way I know of getting that bacon flavor into the greens. <S> Hope that helps! <A> I don't think you can have it both ways - the bacon will be softened, or the flavor will still be in it, not the greens. <S> The ham bone should give even more flavor than bacon would have, and be easier to fish out, though of course you could just use more bacon instead of it - keep it whole if you intend to take it out before serving. <A> Bacon Salt also available in Hickory Bacon Salt and Peppered Bacon Salt. <S> Imparts bacony goodness into everything. <S> This may not be cooking it in, but it will give you the desired flavor. <S> (note: I have used this product and recommend it as a seasoning based on experience. <S> I do not work for or represent the manufacturer.) <A> Cook bacon for breakfast and run the warm bacon grease through a coffee filter to get rid of the impurities. <S> Store it in the fridge until the the next time you cook collard greens. <S> Then use a bit of the bacon grease instead of your normal fat.
|
The ideal way to compensate would probably be to cook the greens with a ham bone (or something similar), and at the end fish it out and mix in some crispy bacon.
|
What happens if I brine my turkey for 2 days? I have a logistical problem that leaves me with no fridge room for 2 days before Thanksgiving... I always brine my turkey, so I don't have any questions about that, but typically it's only an 8 - 10 hour brine. Is it possible to "over brine" a turkey? Lets assume I keep it covered and keep it cold (so that we're not discussing food safety as it relates to the turkey getting warm). <Q> It is possible to over brine meat. <S> If you leave it in too long it will get too salty. <S> If you use a more dilute brine it won't get as salty <S> but you will wash out more of the natural flavor into the water as well. <S> You could even thaw the turkey in this manner if you made sure to keep it in ice water so it didn't get to 40F. <A> What happens if you brine something for a long time depends on the concentration of your brine, much like temperature affects what happens when you cook something for long. <S> Thus, you can apply equilibrium brining and brine your meat for a longer time in a less concentrated solution. <S> I haven't tried it, but according to linked source you'll get desired results if you brine white meat in 1-1.5% salt for 20-30% longer than you normally would. <S> Since the solution isn't saltier than you want your meat, you can basically leave in the brine for as long as you like (standard food safety issues apply, of course). <A> I have brined mine over night and also like 2 to 3 days. <S> I have to say the majority of the recipies that I read all say to brine it over nite, but the turkey that I brined for 2 to 3 days was the best I have ever had. <S> Same recipie that I used for the over night brine. <S> A cup of kosher salt per gallon of water or liquid, (vegetable stock or chicken stock or both) half of cup per gallon of brown sugar, then a few sprigs of Rosemary, some sage, a few oranges quartered and squeezed, sometimes other things I will add to it. <S> That's a quick summary. <S> Also when I make my gravy, both instances, the over night and the 2 to 3 days brining, it is amazing, not salty at all. <S> I do a combination of giblet gravy and pan drippings. <S> I think it is important to mention when you remove the turkey from the brine, rinse it very well inside and out, then pat dry with paper towels. <S> One last thing, a long time ago on Emerils recipie for bringing I read to never buy a turkey over 15 pounds, preferably 14 pounds, I usually make 2, and ever since that is what I have done, haven't had a dry or bad tasting turkey since. <S> Hope this helps someone. <A> The meat will be moist and delicious, but the gravy you make from the drippings will be so salty it will almost be inedible. <S> Anything over 48 hours will probably be too much. <S> You can soak in water after over-brining to extract some of the salts. <A> To the over salty gravy issue....I would suggest, remove drippings from pan. <S> Use a maderia or white wine <S> you like to deglaze pan. <S> Taste drippings to assess how salty they actually are. <S> Make ahead a stock from the UNBRINED giblets and/or neck. <S> Use that stock, and tied herbs, with the deglazed mixture in pan, and add the removed drippings a little at a time to get right salt balance. <S> I have read 1 hour per pound, and up to 48 hours for a whole big bird 20+ lbs, at different sites. <S> One chef said up to 3 days!!! <S> Another site said remove from brine 1 day ahead of cooking if you like crispy skin, and keep in fridge. <A> I always brine my turkey for at least 3 days and it results in the best moist turkey I've ever had. <A> I have brined turkeys for 36-48 hours with no adverse affects in the turkey itself. <S> As another answer mentioned, gravy made from the turkey juice may be a bit salty. <S> I can attest to this first hand. <S> You did mention <S> don't worry about food safety -- as long as it is below 40 degrees F <S> you should be ok. <S> This could mean keeping it iced, keeping it in a garage if you live in the North like I do, etc. <A> I brined my turkey for 48 hrs in a lrg cooler.used salt fresh herbs and lemon slices. <S> kept adding ice to keep cold. <S> this deluted brine alitle and gravey was very good
|
You could submerge your turkey in its packaging in ice water in a cooler for a day before brining.
|
How long will eggless pasta dough last in the fridge? I made some fresh pasta for myself, but the recipe made double the amount I need. I didn't have time to make the rest of the pasta and dry it, so I just wrapped the dough ball in plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge. How long will the dough last in the fridge? I can probably use it tomorrow or in the next 2 days. The recipe is basically 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup water, no eggs. I used half white whole wheat, half AP, tbsp of olive oil. (Yes it's very good, even w/just some olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper) <Q> Most importantly: there is nothing in the recipe that will go bad in two days. <S> I am unsure whether the texture will be affected after two days in the refrigerator. <S> But make sure the dough is wrapped tightly. <S> The most common way to store fresh pasta is to freeze it. <S> Tell you what, make an experiment: <S> Freeze half and refrigerate the other. <S> Then after two days compare the cook both and tell us whether is a difference or not. <A> Paul, I make my own pasta dough frequently. <S> Since my standard recipe makes around 40oz (1 kg) of dough, I always have leftover, so I've had plenty of experience with saving it. <S> If you want to keep it longer than a week, it can be frozen for several weeks wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and more-or-less indefinitely if you vacuum-seal it. <S> Glad to hear about your WWW recipe, I'll have to try that. <A> It was fine the next day. <S> It was a little less stretchy, but that might have been because it was a little cold <S> and I didn't let it get all the way to room temperature before running it through the machine, so it got some holes in it. <S> It worked fine after running it through a few times on the largest setting, and tasted pretty much the same.
|
Even with eggs, pasta dough will be fine in the fridge for a week; the texture will be unaffected (if anything, it will be better).
|
Mousse has Raw Eggs -- is it Really Safe? Possible Duplicate: Is it safe to eat raw eggs? I looked up a recipe for chocolate mousse the other day, and I noticed that pretty much all of them have raw eggs in them. And they're not cooked. How is this salmonella-safe? Is it really safe to feed to young kids (under one)? <Q> Rocky ate raw eggs all the time! <S> haha <S> So please feel free to make the mousse and eat it too! <S> Although cooking them almost always kills bacteria if they reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit. <S> The most dangerous part about using eggs is something that many of us were taught to do at a young age, separating the yolk. <S> Most people separate the yolk by cracking the egg and pouring it back and forth between the two egg shell halves. <S> This is the easiest way to spread salmonella because it can hide on the egg shell or in the pores inside the egg. <S> One thing to never do is wash an egg. <S> They are washed after they are laid and a new barrier is put on by the egg company, some sort of hardened mineral I think. <S> Washing the egg will make your situation worse by destroying this new man made barrier. <S> For the last part of your question I suggest not feeding your baby and thing that has a small percent chance to have any bacteria, such as mousse, because their immune system is still developing. <S> I would also choose not to feed your baby anything high in sugar, thats what Grandma is for later in life. <S> The baby's tastes are forming now and veggies are the way to go with that. <S> Need to teach them to like good for them foods. <S> They like sweet stuff when they are born so they don't need to learn how to like those. <S> Hope I helped! <A> I have made plenty of mousse(s) over the years, and have never seen anyone get sick. <S> I have, however, never used anything but store bought eggs. <S> There is always a risk of salmonella due to raw eggs. <S> Using pasteurized eggs is a pain in the ass, because it takes forever to incorporate air, and the retention can be awful. <S> If you are that concerned, heat a portion of your sugar with your eggs over a hot water bath (baine marie, double boiler), until you hit 110 F or so. <S> That will kill off harmful stuff, and you will have an easy time incorporating air. <S> And, as a bonus, it is fairly stable. <A> The risk of salmonella comes from the outside of a fresh egg. <S> Washing your eggs nearly negates the risk of contracting anything serious. <S> It takes a lot of salmonella to overwhelm an adult immune system. <S> However, if I was being completely cautious, I wouldn't feed an infant raw animal products. <S> The risk of infection is higher and more serious for a baby.
|
Raw eggs are actually a lot safer than said to be believed, especially in recipes such as this one.
|
Where can I buy a goose? I'd like to roast a goose, but none of my local supermarkets stocks them. Where should I look?I would prefer fresh and local but frozen would suffice. <Q> My butcher brings in a very good selection, and otherwise usually knows of more sources. <S> Also good places to check are local farmer's markets. <S> Edit: <S> Adding to an old answer as I've come across another additional thought. <S> It's becoming more common to have farms that sell directly to consumers. <S> Around here there's quite a few. <S> A quick Google for "goose farm yourlocation" might be a place to start. <A> There is an international food company call ajc that sells frozen birds and one of the offices is located in Atlanta. <S> A friend of my actually bought a goose from them two years ago. <S> This company usually sells frozen foods. <S> If you go to their website I linked above there may be a way to get a bird before its frozen, but I'm not sure. <S> They have goose for sure though, everyone who ate it said it was great. <S> Hope this helps. <A> D'Artagnan is a very reputable gourmet meat purveyor here in the US, and they sell over the Internet. <S> They sell very high quality geese , however, they're a bit expensive. <A> You might try the Dekalb Farmer's Market (in Atlanta, GA) or Super H Mart, depending on where you are at. <S> I don't specifically recall if they sell geese either place, but it seems likely. <S> At the Dekalb FM, they would be in with the "other" meats near the poultry. <S> I'd also second finding a butcher, if there is one nearby, but most of the ones I am aware of are pretty basic low end places. <S> Edit: I just called, and the Dekalb Farmer's Market does sell geese! <S> I still don't know about Super H Mart, though. <A> I buy things like that at a local farmer's market - that where I got the duck for today's dinner. <S> They almost always have a butcher or two that can get anything you want.
|
Can't speak for Atlanta, but up here (Canada) when I am looking for a meat that a supermarket doesn't carry (like goose), I go to the local butcher. Another place that might be worth checking is the farms themselves.
|
What is the proper amount of time to thaw + brine a turkey simultaneously? I recently saw a tip that you can thaw a frozen turkey in your brine, and I'd like to try that this year. I was planning to thaw my turkey for 3 days in a cooler of water. I've actually never brined before, so I'm a little worried about over-brining and turning my turkey into mush. The bird we got this year is just under 15 pounds, and the package says to thaw for "3-4 days". Everything I've found so far says to brine for 1-2 days. Should I plan to start using brine about half way through the thaw process (maybe even leave the wrapper on for that first half, too?), instead of the whole time, or will the bird being frozen initially prevent the brine from doing its magic early on, thus preventing mush? <Q> A few things aren't quite right here. <S> 1- a cooler full of water for 3 days. <S> A turkey will take 3-4 days to thaw in the fridge- between 35-40F. Quicker methods call for submerging in running water for some hours. <S> Submerging the turkey in stagnant water- even if it started as ice water- will allow the turkey to rise well above 40F over the course of 3 days. <S> You would have to add ice or have the turkey somewhere colder than 40F for this to be safe. <S> 2- brining too long turning a turkey to mush. <S> The salt in a brine denatures some proteins and supercharges the bird with water. <S> These will make the meat more tender and seem more tender respectively. <S> That said- <S> the risk isn't that the meat will get mushy. <S> Unless you are adding some other ingredient to the brine that is actually a proteinase like papain the risk is not mushiness but being too salty. <S> 3- 1-2 days of brining. <S> I have never seen a recipe that called for brining this long. <S> The brine recipes I have seen are on the order of 4-10 hours. <S> If your brine recipe calls for this length of time then it is probably more dilute than the ones I use. <S> In such a case it would probably be fine to thaw it in the brine if you address the safety concern. <S> The turkey being frozen will prevent the brine from penetrating but as the bird thaws from the outside in the outside of the bird will have more alone time with the brine than the deeper meat. <S> I can't say whether this would be a problem- especially as Harold McGee says that the salt from brining isn't able to penetrate very far into the meat anyway. <A> Alton Brown was on NPR's "All Things Considered" this week. <S> http://www.npr.org/2012/11/13/165039668/turkey-tips-from-alton-brown-dont-baste-or-stuff <S> He said he likes to thaw the bird in the cooler for up to a week in ice brine. <S> As the ice melts it dilutes the brine. <S> I am trying this myself this year, but only for 3 days. <S> Alton claims he has not seen the water get above 38 - 40 degrees when doing this, however; I would put some common sense to this and assume it would all depend on where you keep the cooler. <S> I live in Fla. <S> so I will keep it inside in the A/C and just add ice and drain a little brine, if needed, as the thermometer drops. <S> I have used Alton's turkey cooking method of high heat (500) for first 30 Mins and then 350 till 161 degrees, and it was the best turkey ever. <S> My 72 year old Uncle-in-law, said it was hands down the moistest he has ever had. <S> Good luck!!! <A> This was the second year I brined a turkey <S> and I accomplished the task in a bucket with brine and ice + water, just as I had the year before. <S> I did this for two days this year because of a last minute issue that arose on the day I had planned to roast, pushing my roasting day back by 24 hours. <S> I was really worried my bird was ruined, but not having a choice in the matter, I went ahead an opted to roast it and see how it turned out. <S> I was not disappointed in the least and it was as wonderful as I remembered from the year before. <S> My bucket sat out in my breezeway this year for two days (I live in PA)and still had plenty of ice in it when I went to retrieve it. <S> This is hands down the most wonderfully moist turkey I have ever had, made, or had compared to anyone else's! <S> Even my boyfriend told his mom in front of me that mine turned out better than the one she made two days earlier ( I wanted to crawl under the table! ). <S> Try it.... <S> You will never prepare a turkey any other way. <S> (Maybe change the brine recipe, but) <S> you won't use any other prep method again. <A> You could also consider equilibrium brining. <S> Since you sound like you want to leave it to thaw for several days, this may be a safer way to avoid over salting the meat. <S> The basis of the idea is you want to weigh your bird, decide how much salt you would want in the final product (i.e. maybe 1% salinity) calculate that weight in salt (bird weight X salinity %) and make your brine that way. <S> This way the % of salt in the brine is at the level you want in the bird and therefore the amount of time you leave it in the brine is irrelevant. <S> This is a method that was invented by the team behind Modernist Cuisine. <S> There is some info out there if you google it but to really understand it your going to have to spring for the book which is about the cost of 5 thanksgivings ($516 at the moment) http://amzn.com/0982761007 <A> You cannot thaw a turkey in a brine. <S> The cell walls are frozen solid and no saline solution can penetrate those type of cells. <S> You can thaw a turkey much quicker by placing the bird in some sort of plastic bag and immersing it in lukewarm water but <S> this is not entirely what you are proposing. <S> See this related answer. <S> Can you brine frozen meat?
|
Unless it is cold enough outside (or you have enough fridge space) that you could brine the turkey at <40F for 2 days while it thawed I would recommend at least mostly thawing it before introducing it to your brine.
|
Which type of pan can you recommend for pan-frying tofu? Which type of pan can you recommend for pan-frying tofu, stainless, aluminum, or carbon steel? <Q> Cast iron rules! <S> but if i was to choose from the options you provided i would pick the heaviest / thickest one regardless of the material. <A> Any of those materials can give you good results if used correctly, and you might even get away with cast-iron or nonstick cookware. <S> In fact, this is true for most cooking tasks. <S> Exception: if the food will ruin your pan, as with acid on cast iron/carbon steel, and eggs with many materials, if not oiled enough. <A> For a beginner, I'd recommend a non-stick pan, and a wide one. <S> Otherwise, you're liable to have the crust on the fried tofu stick to the pan. <S> Most tofu is fairly delicate. <S> Two tips:1. <S> dry and press the tofu before frying it2. <S> do not crowd the pan. <S> If you're an experienced cook, see BobMcGee's answer.
|
The correct pan is the one you're most comfortable with.
|
Bread for the very beginner First of all, thank you for reading this absolute beginner topic :) I want to make bread at home. To be specific, I used to live in Germany and ate a lot of this type of bread: It's called Zwiebelbrot in Germany. I also have something like this. For the very very, absolute beginner, what do I really need to make bread at home? Do I need a bread-maker machine, or is my kitchen already enough for this task? Are there any tip that you want to give me on my first bread adventure? RESULT : First of all, gather all types of stuff from (mamas) kitchen :D Mix everything youghly, drop an egg on it In a pan, easily fry some onions After that, mix everything together, add the onions: After that, knead everything WILDLY (notice the blur on my head:) : The final result should look something like: SUMMARY : My FIRST try ever to make bread, I'm so proud:) After that, the raw product was: The finished product:) and the grande finale:) Thank you very much :) <Q> For the onions you need a small pan, and a stove top. <S> Or you can do them in the oven too! <S> Therefore, your kitchen looks fine. <S> Making bread is not difficult, or hard work. <S> The effort and time required for kneading bread is way overrated. <S> Also have patience, allow the dough to rise properly. <S> Expect a few failures; search the net about any failures, if you have them. <S> Use a marker pen on the oven dial when you find the right temperature <S> (The calibration of the dials is usually not very accurate). <S> For Zwiebelbrot, you can cook the onions in a shallow tray or light pan in the oven while waiting for it to come up to temperature for the bread. <S> Make sure you cool the onions before spreading on the dough. <S> A simple way is to spread them out on a spare metal oven tray for a few moments first. <A> In terms of equipment the one thing you may not have is a dough scraper. <S> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dough_scraper <S> I recommend one of the really cheap flexible plastic ones. <S> These are good for the first stages of mixing the dough, scraping dough out of the bowl and partitioning the dough if you want to make rolls. <S> Other than this, a large bowl, a flat surface and a kitchen scale <S> (weigh ALL ingredients) are all that you need. <S> Most recipes should work. <S> I also recommend using this method for kneading dough: <S> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvdtUR-XTG0&feature=related <S> You don't have to knead as long as in the video to get a decent result. <S> It's cleaner than the more typical method of using the heel of your hand <S> and you don't have to add excessive amounts of flour which makes it easy to get a good result every time. <S> Once you have the basics down, variations are pretty easy. <A> Don't forget to cover your bread when it rises. <S> You can do this with a towel, this prevents the bread from drying out.
|
To make basic bread, including Zwiebelbrot, all you need is a place to mix and knead ingredients (clean work surface or large mixing bowl), a warmish place for rising, and an oven with reasonable temperature control.
|
Are there thermo bottles to store tea, as soon as it is made (100ºC/212ºF)? I'm looking for a thermo bottle (~ 1 Litre/ 33 oz) to store tea, as soon as it is made (let's say its temperature will be around 100 Celsius/ 212 Fahrenheit. Is there such a brilliant bottle? Would this SIGG Thermo Bottle be able to do this? I don't even need to maintain the beverage warm. I just need a portable recipient that withstands such temperatures (and doesn't leak/allow me to drink directly from it). <Q> You don't need anything special for that. <S> I have often made tea in a regular thermo bottle, with no adverse effects on the bottle. <S> It does help that it keeps the tea hot. <S> So the fancy one you linked is probably OK too. <S> If you want a lighter bottle, you can see if a glass bottle doesn't weigh less, although a thermo bottle from thin stainless steel isn't that heavy compared to glass. <S> Glass should withstand boiling water without breaking, if the bottle isn't too thick and hasn't been held in a very cold place (room temperature is OK). <S> It still can shatter, so you should probably take precautions (pour over the sink), although the chance is very low. <S> A typical softdrink bottle shouldn't be reused for tea, even if it doesn't melt outright it is likely to get very soft, etc. <S> But some plastic bottles will be OK with hot liquids, for example Nalgenes should do the job. <S> They have the advantage of being wide-mouthed (it is very hard to clean a glass lemonade bottle because of its narrow mouth). <S> You can go to the local hiking store and see what they have, and whether you like it more or less than a thermo bottle (and they will have thermo bottles too). <S> Their bottles are optimized for easy caring, and some come optionally with a neopren sleeve to keep the temperature longer. <A> There are tea tumblers/Thermos bottles which come with built-in infuser baskets, so you can steep loose-leaf tea straight into them, and then sip from the top. <S> They're explicitly designed for this use. <A> I buy like 1 a month and have about 10 now. <S> I make all my tea on a friday night and then it is cool by Sunday. <S> I steep it and then put it right in the freezer ( I like cold tea). <S> But I found that with Green tea if you let it sit the tanins come out and it gets brown and loses its taste. <A> In my experience, if tea is stored for any length of time, it goes "off"... <S> It takes on an unpleasant stale flavour, and the colour changes from bright reddish-brown to a more greyish colour - which is particularly noticeable if you add milk. <S> I never put tea in a thermos - I find it better to take hot water <S> (really hot... straight from the kettle into a pre-heated insulated flask) and some teabags, and make the tea when needed. <S> It isn't perfect, since the water is usually a bit cooler than it should be (not boiling) but the result is much nicer than tea that was made several hours earlier. <S> Why this happens I am not sure. <S> I imagine it is some kind of oxidation reaction, but I could be wrong. <S> It is even worse if you try to store tea with milk. <S> It goes nasty in a quite a short time - half an hour or so. <S> There seems to be some kind of reaction between the tannins and the milk. <S> I understand that iced tea is routinely stored for hours, so perhaps it is not affected in the same way. <S> Maybe the temperature is part of the problem.
|
If you are near an Ikea store they have perfect 32oz thermos' for $15.
|
Why do many recipes instruct you to oil or grease the pan at the start of the recipe? I've noticed that most recipes that end up in a pan in the oven will have me grease or oil the pan at the start of the recipe. This is long before I have anything else to put into it. The pan just sits waiting for me to do the rest of the recipe. Here's just one example: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/3073 Why is this? I'm partly just curious and partly interested if I can leverage this some more. Does the grease (or oil) work better if it ages in the air? If so, what is the ideal time for aging? Does the recipe author just want to be sure that I have a pan and some grease that I can use before I prepare the rest of the recipe? If so, then I think I'll just wait to do it. Is it to make sure the pan is cooled to room temperature by the time I get to it, in case it came from the dishwasher? Perhaps a historical reason? <Q> There are three good reasons to oil <S> your pan beforehand <S> : <S> Your pan needs to be ready as soon as your batter is. <S> For cakes, the batter can fall apart while you are greasing the pan. <S> This is especially true for cakes that have air whipped in, such as genoise, which can fall apart in a few minutes. <S> Recipes containing baking soda can lose their fizz in this time too. <S> You can't forget to oil up the pan. <S> In the heat of the moment, it's very easy to forget to apply lubrication before transferring the batter/dough; inevitably this wrecks the recipe. <S> Mise en place is a key principle of professional cooking, and means "everything in place. <S> " <S> The idea is that ingredients should be prepped and ovens preheated, so you can do the actual cooking efficiently. <A> I see this most often in cake recipes. <S> If you do whatever it is to make your cake rise (beat a batter containing whole egg; fold in egg whites; add baking soda and or powder to a quick bread) etc, then stop to grease and possibly flour the pan or little tins, the batter will start to fall, or will be too bubbly while you put it in the pan. <S> So have the pans ready before you start. <S> You may find this instruction in a recipe where the batter or dough could easily sit around for 5 or 10 minutes while you prep the pan; it that case it's probably just habit on the part of the recipe author. <S> But don't make that your first assumption. <S> There are definitely times when it matters. <A> I have nothing to back this up, but I always assumed that you should grease the pan at the start, not because something happens with the grease, but because some recipes want you to act rather quickly. <S> If you correctly mix a batter and then you have to grease your pan, can result in a different batter (heavy pieces drop down, <S> whipped egg whites won't be as elevating etc.). <S> Again, this is my own speculation. <S> I think that the problem in modern times is partly solved, by having oil spray that is sprayed in 2 seconds. <S> Or another reason: simply that you don't forget to do it. <A> I think you got this wrong "Is it to make sure the pan is cooled to room temperature by the time I get to it, in case it came from the dishwasher?". <S> This sounds like you preheat the oven but leave the oiled pan outside. <S> You are supposed to preheat the pan and oil and the oven. <S> If you start with hot oil, your food gets done quicker and absorbs less grease. <S> The correct time is to wait until your oven has reached the temperature specified in the recipe; modern ovens have a temperature dial and signal you when the temperature is OK. <S> Waiting longer (because your other ingredients aren't ready) isn't especially problematic, but there is no need for it. <S> Oven dials are often not exact. <S> So you may want try to calibrate your oven with water (boils at 100°C) and sugar (caramelizes at roughly 190°C) or a roast thermometer.
|
Greasing the pan is part of baking mise en place and should be done before main cooking.
|
Soaking beef in water I've begun cooking Asian food in the past year or so, and in many Korean and Chinese beef recipes, I see instructions to soak beef in water. Just plain water, not salt water or anything. And every recipe seems to have a different time - from 5 minutes to like, multiple hours. I inquired about this and was given various reasons for this step, including "to remove the blood (because it is simply undesirable", "To remove the blood, because it gives the meat a bad taste" or "To soften the beef". I'm wondering: Does soaking meat in water really remove that much blood? How much of a flavor component is blood and why would it give it a bad taste (especially since i've never soaked beef before and I've like the taste just fine)? What is the action of solute-free water on a piece of beef immersed in it? Can it really tenderise it to any degree, or is there any osmosis occurring or other such physical/chemical action? <Q> Unless you are getting your beef directly from a farm or butcher's truck, most blood will long have vacated the muscle. <S> As the muscle enters rigor mortis and is (this is true for America and Europe, traditions and techniques are different in some parts of Asia and Africa <S> ) hung for the prescribed seven to ten days it loses almost all of its capillary blood. <S> Dry aged (not as common) beef has this effect even more, if you purchased a supermarket filet with a "sanitary pad" in the bottom, the moisture you see there is juices, water and some protein, from collapsing cells, not blood. <S> The same is true for any beef not cooked to shoe-leather consistency, the reddish "juice" is intra-cellular and not from blood vessels. <S> As far as flavors go, soaking your meat for any period of time below, let's say, two days, has very little effect. <S> It was traditionally done to apply some osmotic power to the cut in order to dilute and remove salt left over from the drying process (this was before cooling was widely available, still done in many countries outside of Europe and America), but isn't usually necessary for meat you get in the meat aisle or from your local butcher. <S> As far as tenderizing goes, no. <S> Enzymatic tenderizing (that is the stuff that happens when you age beef) goes on, of course, but you won't be able to tell much of a difference between the time you bought the muscle and the time you consume it. <S> Water itself does not tenderize. <S> Minutes to hours do nothing. <A> In the west beef are not as "fresh" as in asia. <S> The meat in the supermarket in the west most likely have been hanged and drained of any blood for several days. <S> (Hence, there's no need to wash the blood) <S> In asia, at least the part where I live, the meat that I buy at 6 in the morning is coming from a cow that's slaughtered at 4. <S> In fact, there's a dish here that requires pre-rigor mortis meat (locally we just say to get the morning meat, meaning as fresh as possible). <S> I've tried making this dish with the post rigor meat in the west and never quite get the right taste or texture. <S> (I've successfully made it in Asia before) <S> Conversely, the pre-rigor meat here is not suitable for steak. <S> It has a distinct beefy/cow-ey smell to it, it's very off putting to be consumed as steak. <S> The western steak houses (the authentic and expensive ones) here usually get their beef imported from Aussie or NZ. <A> Yes soaking removes the blood especially when using oxtails, just try it and see how red the water gets after just an hour. <S> Yes it changes the flavor for instance when making oxtail soup <S> it has a clear broth with radish, if you didn’t soak the oxtails first, the broth would have an irony taste from the blood I know from experience not cooking it the right way. <S> My mother taught me to soak the beef after that! <A> I was always told it’s to make the beef broth more clean tasting. <S> So when I make Korean Radish soup with beef broth base, I always soak the meat first. <S> The radish is really light and delicate in taste so soaking the meat makes the broth taste less “intrusive,” in my opinion. <S> Or it could be that that’s the way my grandmother always made her radish soup <S> so I just follow. <S> Her’s is incredible. <A> Amount of blood drawn out depends on how long you soak the meat for. <S> If the beef has been bled properly when slaughtered, there is no need to "draw the blood out". <S> If you really wanted to, you would have better results blanching it for a few minutes starting from cold water. <S> The blood in my opinion, doesnt really affect the flavor too much. <S> In Chinese and Cantonese cuisine, blood (particularly duck and pig) is collected, congealed into cubes and used as a protein. <S> In regards to tenderizing, soaking in water does make the meat more tender, but at the cost of reducing the flavor. <S> There are many other alternatives to tenderizing meat. <S> Soaking in water is just not worth it in my opinion. <S> Additional info about meat tenderizing: <S> Basically, all Asian restaurants use a powder, "鬆肉粉" in Chinese, or "Papain" which is basically a kind of papaya extract. <S> Using this to marinate meats will make them become so tender they almost lose texture. <S> Some chefs will recommend using the naturally occurring chemicals in pineapple and papaya (as opposed to the chemical extract) creating a pulp and marinating the meats in the fruit pulp to create similar tenderizing effects. <S> You could also consider using a meat tenderizer, cutting across the grain, or ultimately choosing a more tender part of the animal.
|
I have skipped the step on one or two occasions and just skimmed the scum off the liquid, but I do find that soaking the meat beforehand does produce a clearer and better tasting broth.
|
How to set yogurt in the room temperature between 20 to 16 degree Centigrade? It is winters here, and the yogurt never sets the way I used to set it during summers. If for example, we have 1/2 litre milk, what is the near exact temperature (for heating the milk), and the near exact yogurt to be added to the milk for setting? EDIT 1 : When I mention heating milk, I mean that milk has been boiled quite a few hours ago, we just need a warm up session now. So how many centigrades are required? <Q> You can make the yogurt in an insulated container, like a thermos bottle. <S> A wide-mouth bottle will probably be best. <S> Pour hot water in and let it sit for a minute or two to warm up, then pour it out. <S> Heat and add your milk and starter culture as usual. <A> They tend to be a little pricy, and they take up a lot of space, and they're only good for making yogurt. <S> I like <S> Alton Brown's method from the episode "Good Milk Gone Bad": <S> http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/fresh-yogurt-recipe/index.html <S> He uses a sealable plastic container, an electric blanket/heating pad, a bucket, and a thermometer. <S> Fill the plastic container with the yogurt mixture, wrap with electric blanket, stick the whole thing in the bucket, and wedge the probe from your thermometer in-between the heating pad and yogurt container. <S> Keep adjusting the heat level until you equalize at your target temperature. <A> Here is my trick, and it works fairly well: <S> Make yogurt the usual way <S> (heat milk to boiling, let it cool quickly to around 110 degrees F, mix in with starter yougurt culture) <S> Turn on oven at lowest temperature setting, for a few minutes. <S> Switch off the oven. <S> Turn on the pilot oven light <S> Place yougurt in the oven for 4-6 hours, to set. <S> Once set, place it in the fridge. <S> I got my "leave pilot oven light on" idea from here: <S> http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=525 Hope this helps. <A> My mother uses a sort of "bain marie" but without additional heat: <S> 1/4 fill a deep bowl with hot water from a kettle and let it cool for a few minutes put the yoghurt in a smaller bowl and rest the bowl in the warm water put a plate over the bigger bowl so that some of the warm water vapor circulates, and also warms the smaller bowl leave overnight <A> I have a lovely insulated box I place my towel-wrapped yogurt bowl: it's called the microwave. <S> Overnight is all that's needed <S> so it doesn't inconvenience me at all. <A> Most yogurt cultures thrive between body temperature (37 centigrade) and around 45 centigrade. <S> If you put your hand in the water, and it's warm, but doesn't scald, you're probably good.
|
There are yogurt-making devices out there that will hold the yogurt at a specific temperature.
|
Orange sauce for goose I've been to this wonderful Chinese place where they served goose in orange sauce/gravy.I've been looking for a recipe for it all over the Internet, but everything I found looked pretty far from it. The main difference was that they served the goose with unpeeled orange quarters (more like 8th's of oranges, unpeeled) on it, along with the sauce, which was what made the flavor so special. Sometimes there were even seeds on it; that's how raw it was (although it was hot and steamy). I don't really care about what to do with the goose, I just want to know how to make that sauce. This is what I'm looking for; you can see that the oranges themselves: <Q> I would make it with a duck demi-glace or some simmered down duck stock, juice from a bitter orange, and perhaps a bit of Grand Marnier or other orange liquer. <S> If you're looking for a Chinese influence, you could simmer it with a star anise or two. <S> There are any number of duck a l'orange recipes online (duck and goose are fairly similar flavour wise) if you need inspiration. <A> A simple orange glaze can be created by warming the contents of a can of frozen concentrated OJ in a small pot and let that simmer for a while. <S> You then pour that over your goose (or try it with ham, turkey or chicken). <S> You can add other flavors (lemon, mint, amaretto) as it simmers to your liking and imagination. <S> If you want to garnish with real oranges, you can slice and add them, but the flavor really comes from the concentrate. <S> I recommend using a 'major brand' rather than your local store brand/generic as the major brands have better quality control for the sweetness of their juice. <A> For the Orange glaze, I would use the concentrated orange juice. <S> To balance the sweetness, the classic way is to use a gastrique , which is melted sugar dissolved in vinegar. <S> , just leave them in the sauce long enough to heat through. <S> Also note that a lot of asian style glazes are thickened with cornstarch, so the sauce is clear.
|
For the oranges, I think canned mandarin oranges would work well
|
How to Rescue Too-Soft Cookie Dough Made with Butter Substitute? The other day I made a batch of sugar cookies intending to roll them out and cut into shapes. I used the standard Martha Stewart's recipe, but didn't have butter, so I used Smart Balance Lite Margarine. Needless to say the dough didn't get stiff enough to cut or roll, even though its been refrigerated for more than 24 hours. Is there anyway to either use this dough as is OR to add ingredients to the dough to make it more stiff? <Q> I don't believe you will be satisfied with any cookies you roll out and cut from this dough. <S> That said, there are three options that may allow the dough to find a tasty future. <S> Make a ' Mega Cookie ': roll the dough out and fit it onto a pizza tin and bake. <S> This can be decorated as one large cookie/pizza. <S> Make ' Brownies ': work the dough into an 8"x8" or 9"x13" pan and bake. <S> ' Cupcakes ': scoop a spoonful of dough into each compartment of muffin tin and bake. <S> Of course you will have to watch to get them done enough as the standard bake time probably won't apply. <S> If your recipe doesn't include eggs (or you are not concerned with the risk that raw eggs may pose) adding it to homemade ice cream would be a fourth option. <S> Good luck. <A> The dough should still make edible cookies; the problem will be with spreading. <S> So instead of cutting out shapes, just drop the dough by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet and bake it, possibly for less time than the recipe calls for. <S> You can still decorate the cookies, or you can keep these for munching and make a new batch (with butter!) for cutting out and decorating. <A> I had the same problem by using margarine instead of butter, thought it would be ok because it said it was used for baking on the package, but mine was so soft and looked up receipes where you had to refrigerate the dough <S> so I just put in the freezer for a few mins, got a little stiff and was able to make some crooked Christmas trees into fall leaves.. <S> happy baking. <A> The natural answer would be to add a little more flour. <S> You will probably need to leave the dough out of the fridge a while to soften so you can fold/mix in the flour until the mixture stiffens sufficiently. <A> The method I use for the “butter shortbread biscuits” could be useful in your case, too: <S> After baking, I cut the shapes again (as it is still warm and kind of soft) and let the biscuits to cool before taking them out of the tray.
|
I roll the whole dough out on the baking paper , And then place it on the baking tray with the paper and there slightly cut into shapes by knife,
|
Why does coffee taste awful after reheating it in a microwave oven? I brew my coffee with a percolator using finely ground beans and it comes out great when it is still hot. However, I have to brew at least two cups in the machine. So if I make coffee in the morning, the afternoon cup is cold and I have to reheat it. If the coffee gets cold and then I reheat it in a cup in the microwave, it tastes terrible! Why? <Q> It has nothing to do with the microwave and everything to do with the volatility of aromas and flavors in coffee. <S> Even coffee kept warm for 4 hours won't taste very good. <S> If you were to make a straight espresso, it's optimal to drink it within 20-30 seconds. <S> Brewed coffee can usually be held warm around 30 minutes before pronounced deterioration becomes obvious. <S> A popular Japanese TV show suggested perhaps stirring a pinch of salt in to stale, reheated coffee, which may trick your tastebuds enough into tolerating it. <S> I've found that tactic less than adequate, but your mileage may vary. <S> There's a ton of information on coffee flavor compounds and other coffee-related research at: http://www.coffeeresearch.org/science/aromamain.htm <A> In addition to Jason's excellent answer, I'll add that if you're leaving coffee out for 4-6 hours before reheating it (from morning to afternoon) then the oils in the coffee have probably gone rancid as well. <S> Coffee oils are highly volatile and require only a few hours to go rancid. <S> This is why press-pot coffee often tastes vile no matter what quality beans you use; the coffee pump is full or rancid oils. <A> Coffee's flavor consists primarily of highly volatile substances. <S> Human taste largely depends of smell; when you waft some coffee aromas, these volatile substances are entering your nasal cavities and being sensed. <S> Even while drinking, trace aromas are floating up into your nose. <S> When left out, these chemicals evaporate, and disperse into undetectable quantities within the air. <S> After reheating, even more of these aromas are removed, meaning that the coffee you drink is devoid of many of its flavor components. <S> Once these are gone, the bitter taste becomes dominant, and it makes the coffee taste very unpleasant. <A> Well, I think it really is because the coffee extract (espresso) burns if direct heat is applied. <S> If you were to reheat your coffee on a stove in a water bath, the taste may not be so different. <S> This happens even with freshly made espresso - if the milk isn't hot enough and you want to reheat your coffee, you'd screw up the taste big time. <S> Another thing is that Arabica is more prone to the burnt taste than Robusta strains (the round beans). <A> Most coffee shop websites say not to reheat coffee. <S> It is because when you brew the coffee, the water temperature is 205F. <S> I always reheat my coffee for about 10sec -25sec. <S> for a cup - heavy duty 20-25sec -light <S> 10-15sec for a mug- 10-20sec. <A> I might say that it's perhaps your choice of making coffee in a percolator. <S> A percolator takes boiled water and runs it through coffee grounds. <S> Then it recycles that water and now coffee mixture back through the same coffee grounds. <S> With each successive pass of the liquid it concentrates the coffee/water mixture. <S> This also changes the coffee grounds as it makes them more and more bitter from the acids that are being released with every successive cycle. <S> Further more the liquid is continually being heated and kept at the boiling point, making for more coffee acid extraction. <S> This particular choice for coffee making, produces a strong acid component and darker more concentrated flavour. <S> I think it is the very nature of making percolated coffee leads to it being particularly bad tasting when cold. <S> The concentration of oils, acids and other bitter compounds are more noticeable when cold than hot. <A> Usually when I reheat coffee in a microwave at the lowest power setting (just one notch above the defrost setting) it's drinkable. <S> At higher settings the taste is completely destroyed. <S> No question about it - heat destroys coffee. <S> I'm amazed that fast food places and gas stations are able to sell so much boiling hot coffee. <S> It's so bitter and has that rubber aftertaste - hardly resembles real coffee IMHO. <A> Strangely, I ONLY like re-heated coffee. <S> The older the better. <S> My ideal cup is one to three day old Dunkin Donuts black coffee reheated in a pot on the stove or the microwave. <S> Deliciously nutty without he odd bitterness in fresh made coffee. <S> Then I add milk or cream.--I <S> know, I'm alone on this one.
|
In my experience, stale brewed coffee results in a more pronounced acidity, if left out to cool, or a woody, muddy, bitter kind of flavor, sometimes with more pronounced acidity, if held warm. Also the heat probably makes you take less of it in your mouth, than when it's cold.
|
What is the name of this Israeli street food? When I was in Israel a few years back I tried this really great street food. I had gotten the recipe, but now have lost it and don't remember what it was called. It is a cross between a pancake and a bread. The one I had had za'atar, thin sliced tomatoes, and red onion fried into one side and was flipped over. Does anyone know what this is called? <Q> I was able to track down the dish. <S> It is called Lahuhe. <S> There is a picture of it here . <S> Thank you to everyone for trying to help me out. <A> From your description, it might have been a Malawach. <S> If it is, here is a link to a recipie. <A> I'm guessing this dish might have derived from manaqeesh (manouche) which are extremely popular all over the Levantine region, although it's spread all over now. <S> In Melbourne, Australia, for example, there are dozens of Lebanese places that sell them. <S> Za'tar is the most popular flavour <S> but there are many others such as sujuk, za'tar with tomato+onion, za'tar with veggies (capsicum, tomato, onion, olives, etc), cheese, kiskh, labne, minced lamb, spinach, etc. <A> It's probably just flatbread. <S> If you are in an African (West and South) influenced area, it will be unleavened, just flour and water. <S> In the more Middle East (North and East) areas it will probably have yeast as well (or local beer) <S> The dough is normally left to stand for some time before being rolled and cooked <S> They are rolled or teased out to large circles (50cm+), and then traditionally cooked over a convex curved pan (sag?). <S> Imagine a upside down wok, made of thick steel
|
On the Middle East side it is brushed with olive oil and herbs like Za'atar, or salt and chilli If mixed and cooked quickly without leavening this is suitable for Passover, and is referred to as Matzo, but without the baked in toppings
|
What kind of rice to serve with Indian Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)? What kind of rice to serve with Indian Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)? Are there any kind of preferred techniques, or spicing perhaps? <Q> I believe that it is de rigueur to use basmati rice when serving northern Indian/Pakistani sauced dishes. <A> Basmati is classic. <S> If basmati is not available, any long-grain rice will suffice; short-grain rice tends to be too sticky. <S> As for technique, rinse the rice until the rinse-water runs clear. <S> For every cup of rice, use 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp salt. <S> Bring the water to a boil; add the rice and salt and reduce the heat to a simmer. <S> Cook covered until the liquid has been absorbed and the texture of the rice is tender. <S> For additions to the rice, you have LOADS of options. <S> You can add a pinch of saffron to the water for a vibrant yellow color and distinctive floral aroma (if you just want color, add 1/2 tsp ground turmeric). <S> You can add chunks of peeled ginger, cracked peppercorns, whole peeled garlic cloves, whole cardamom pods, whole cloves, whole bay leaves, whole kaffir lime leaves, <S> and/or whole stick cinnamon -- amounts and combinations are entirely up to your taste (just remember to remove any bay leaves before serving; remove the others or not as you like, but bay is inedible). <S> You can also add cooked vegetables, such as peas, butter beans, pearl onions, and/or carrots. <A> Sautee some finely sliced onions and cumin, add a pinch of mild curry powder, or turmeric for colour, add a handful of frozen petits pois, cook till peas are warmed through, mix in with basmati rice, and you have the easiest pilav ever.
|
I am particularly fond of brown basmati rice, which has more flavor than white basmati, but it takes longer to cook and will go rancid after 6 months.
|
How should I handle food that sticks in stainless steel pans or woks after cooking in sunflower oil? Possible Duplicate: Why does my food turn out poorly using an All-Clad Stainless-Steel Fry Pan? Is there a way to prevent food that is cooked in sunflower oil from sticking to the pans / wok? Would a low heat help? If the food does stick, how could it be removed? <Q> To prevent sticking, your pan surface should be around 150 to 160°C. <S> The farther away you move from that (higher or lower temperature), the more likely that your food will stick. <S> So the temperature is very important, but without knowing how you are cooking, I can't tell you if you need more or less heat. <S> If it is burned, remove from the heat, scoop the food above the burned layer, and, if not yet ready, continue cooking in another pan. <S> Be careful, because if you include flakes of burned food, your whole meal will taste burned. <A> The best way to stop food from sticking to non-Tefloned pans is to season the pans properly. <S> Iron and steel pans have a porous surface and so are prone to stick, not to mention rust. <S> Seasoning the pan initially involves applying a thin layer of oil with a kitchen cloth and heating the pan gently. <S> This allows the pan to absorb a little of the oil, which forms a protective, non-stick layer on the pan surface. <S> To keep the pan's non-stick coating, you should avoid washing it in soapy water. <S> Instead, rinse the pan well in hot water and use a brush to remove food particles, dry it, then apply another layer of oil to the pan. <S> Eventually you will build up a good layer of oil that will make the pan very non-stick. <A> As far as cleaning, I have found that a Sodium Percarbonate-based cleaner (Oxyclean, for instance) works quite well for getting heavy soils off of glass and stainless steel (don't use it on Aluminum, as it will cause pitting). <S> Fill the pan with hot water, then pour some oxyclean powder into the pan, and let it sit overnight. <S> Any remaining soils can be removed with the scotchbrite green scrubby pads and elbow grease. <S> Again, only use this stuff on non-reactive surfaces, such as glass and stainless steel. <S> Aluminum will degrade quickly, and the scrubby pads will remove non-stick surfaces.
|
If you have a layer of food which sticks, but hasn't burned, scratch it with a spatula and stir or turn.
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.