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What's the most efficient way to juice halved lemons and limes? Between squeezers, reamers, and juicers, what's the fastest way to juice small citruses? Limes are cheap in my area, so I'm willing to sacrifice juice per fruit if I can get the same volume faster from more of them. I care about volume because I'm using juice in drinks. <Q> They are both fast, and squeeze almost all of the available juice, getting the best of both worlds. <S> These come in sizes that are best for limes, lemons, oranges, or even grapefruits. <A> For making large amounts of margarita, I've found it hard to beat a press like this one: <S> It extracts almost all the juice in one easy movement. <S> I don't see the benefit in a rotary juicer. <A> Since the question as it is written asks for speed, one of the devices mentioned above will definitely fit that bill. <S> Especially if you are processing a large amount of citrus. <S> Me personally, I'm not a huge fan of uni-taskers in the kitchen. <S> Thus, I generally opt to: Roll the fruit in all directions while still whole. <S> Apply a decent amount of pressure. <S> Halve the fruit Squeeze the fruit into your container, you can use a mesh strainer to catch seeds and large amounts of pulp <S> You can use this method in conjunction with a sturdy fork pressing into the fruit against the palm of your hand to extract as much juice as possible. <S> Mesh strainer -- http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-KRONA-Stainless-Steel-Strainer/dp/B00004RDE1 <A> For a large quantity of juice, buy a simple electric juicer. <S> I doesn't have to be a large fancy machine. <S> I use one to juice the many grapefruit from my tree. <S> This link might help: http://canvasli.com/citrus-juicers/best-citrus-juicer-reviews/ <S> For a smaller amount, say for a recipe, I use a wooden citrus reamer. <S> Do a Google image search <S> and you'll see what I am talking about. <S> I've used mine over a strainer and it is quick and simple. <A> Tim Ferris in 4-Hour Chef quotes Chef Jeffrey Zurofsky: "make sure you roll them out by hand first. <S> You'll get twice as much juice." <S> This should work regardless of the device used to aid with the juicing. <S> I'm personally not a fan of the crushing devices as they tend to break the seeds which release bitterness. <S> The rotating citrus juicers (electric or otherwise) such as this one work for me:
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Short of using an electric juicer, the squeeze press type of juicer is very popular for doing large quantities of citrus quickly and efficiently.
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Is it okay to keep flour in the freezer? Years ago I noticed I was getting little bugs in the flour that I kept in the pantry. To prevent this, I started keeping my flour in the freezer. I don't do a lot of baking, but I was wondering what effects this might have on anything I do bake. Do baked goods turn out any differently when flour is kept in the freezer vs flour kept at room temperature? Also, if it's okay to freeze flour, how long will it last this way? <Q> Yes, of course you can keep flour in the freezer. <S> For whole wheat flour, which is susceptible to rancidity due to the fat from the whole grain being included, it is even recommended. <S> For white flour, according to the University of Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County (emphasis added): For longer storage, keep white flours in the refrigerator in an airtight container. <S> All-purpose and bread flour will keep up to two years at 40 F in your refrigerator, according to the Wheat Foods Council. <S> They can be stored indefinitely in the freezer. <A> Short answer, yes <S> provided you emphasize the airtightness of your storage container. <S> I often trust the wisdom espoused on the forums of King Arthur Flour's website, and specifically this topic on freezing flour . <S> All commenters who report personal anecdotes with freezing flour report positive ones. <S> The one note that should be made is that self-rising flour could lose some effectiveness if frozen, "thawed", refrozen, etc due to the moisture changes. <S> Also note that if you remove the cold flour from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature it will gather moisture from the air because of its temperature (ala a cold glass of water gathering condensation.) <A> It's important to keep the chilled flour in its sealed container as its brought back to room temp. <S> That way, condensation from ambient air will precipitate on the container and not the flour. <S> Same with baked products that you freeze to store--keep them sealed up as they transition to room temp, and a slight crisping in the oven will bring them to almost new. <A> I know this is a little late, but IMHO, you should never store any flour, pancake mix or corn meal in its original package. <S> That's the easiest way for bugs to get in. <S> Always store it in airtight containers (such as Tupperware or something like it). <S> Someone once recommended using glass mason jars with a good lid. <S> I always cut the date from the paper package and place that on the top of the flour (that I've stored in Tupperware) <S> so I can see at a glance when the best by date really is. <S> If you really don't use a lot of flour, freeze some and date it. <S> It will be fresh for months. <S> Hope this helps. <A> I know it does when making ginger cookies. <S> The moisture picked up tends to make the cookies "flat" versus slightly raised with surface "cracking" which is so typical of ginger cookies. <S> The moisture completely eliminates the characteristic "cracking". <A> Whenever I buy bulk grains, flours, beans, I put them in the freezer for a month. <S> Or for years. <S> If the freezer ever dies then all that dry goods just starts a shelf life. <S> Freezing extends the life of these foods indefinitely. <S> And kills all bugs. <A> I purchase Gluten-free organic flour mix from Costco. <S> It comes in a plastic air-tight bag with a tear-off resealable zip top. <S> I store it in the freezer and take only what I need and combine it immediately with all other ingredients. <S> Sometimes the use-by date has expired and the flour is still good, however, I am not a food scientist and cannot recommend using out-of-date anything to other people.
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I've had great success freezing flour to kill the bugs.
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What exactly is "vegetable shortening"? I have not heard about this stuff before.. It is not used in Indian cooking..! What exactly is shortening?I read it in a recipe to bake a rose shaped cake and it uses shortening to grease the pan.. <Q> In baking, the term "shortening" alone is used to mean any fat; " vegetable shortening " is a fat made from vegetable oil to be solid at room temperature. <S> Most vegetable oils, such as corn oil, peanut oil, soybean oil and so on are liquid at room temperature because they are unsaturated fats: their fatty acids do not have hydrogen bound to them. <S> Vegetable oil is converted into vegetable shortening by hydrogenating it, forcing hydrogen to bind on to the ends of the fatty acids. <S> This is done by forcing hydrogen to bubble through the oil under pressure, heat, and in the presence of a catalyst. <S> Compared to vegetable oil, vegetable shortening is solid at room temperature, white in color, and much less prone to rancidity as it is a saturated fat. <S> It has essentially an unlimited shelf life. <S> It is also very neutral in flavor, so is often used to grease pans. <S> However, any fat will do for that purpose. <S> In baking, it performs very well in making North American style pie crusts, where it helps promote a flaky crust, but it has little flavor. <S> It also performs very well in deep frying. <S> As a solid fat, like butter, it can also be creamed with sugar to help leaven baked goods, although it does not give the flavor benefits of butter. <S> Note that margarine is essentially an emulsion of vegetable shortening (about 80%) and water (about 20%) plus colors and flavorings, meant to imitate butter. <S> See also <S> : Are there any substitutes for Shortening? <A> They don't call it vegetable shortening in India, but " Dalda " is exactly that. <S> As @rumtscho explained, it is made from an industrial process. <A> It is created from vegetable fats in a highly industrialized process, until it is a solid white block. <S> It mimics the baking properties of lard the same way margarine mimics the baking properties of butter. <S> You may be able to find vegetable shortening under some different name, such as "fat of plant origin", "frying fat" and so on (but not all of the fats with this name will be vegetable shortening). <S> The better way is probably to substitute it. <S> In complicated recipes, it will be important to choose whether to use butter or lard as a substitute. <S> But for greasing a pan, any fat will do, even a liquid vegetable oil. <S> Choose any fat without its own strong flavor, and spread it in a thin even layer on the pan. <A> Vegetable shortening is commonly known in the U.S. by the brand name Crisco. <S> It's made by saturating the molecules of a liquid oil, commonly vegetable or canola oil, with extra hydrogen, which increases its melting point so that it's a solid at room temperature. <S> Shortening in the U.S. has generally come to replace other solid fats traditionally used in baking, such as lard (from pork fat) and butter (from milk), primarily because it's cheaper, vegetarian, and doesn't add any taste to the food being cooked with it. <S> However, butter and even lard are making a comeback, as the naturally-saturated fats of these products, while not exactly health food, are turning out to be better for you than the artificially-hydrogenated oils and trans-fats developed to replace them. <S> The Crisco product on the shelf right now is trans-fat free, but is still 99% artificially-hydrogenated fats. <S> For greasing a pan, almost any food-grade fat will work; shortening is recommended because it melts into a thick oil at baking temperature, which won't burn, evaporate or soak completely into what you're baking. <S> However, all you really need is something to lubricate the pan <S> so your cake will release from the pan. <S> You could use a cooking spray like PAM, or a tasteless oil with a higher "smoke point", like cottonseed. <S> Butter works, but if you're baking a very spongy cake or baking at high temperature, it can soak into the cake and not do its job <S> (tastes great though).
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"Vegetable shortening" is a type of fat.
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What's the best way to keep sushi fresh for the following day? I like to prepare makizushi in the night so that I can take it in to Uni the following day and have it for lunch. They're made using nori, sushi rice and some vegetables. What's the best way to keep this fresh for the following day - I normally box them up the night before ready for the day? <Q> I think the issue is that your nori will get soggy if you make the rolls in advance and store them overnight. <S> Nigirizushi may be a better bet for making ahead. <S> Chirashizushi is an older style of sushi which is essentially a bowl of the sushi rice, with the garnishes either mixed in or on top. <S> It should be well amenable to advance preparation. <A> The trick I've seen used in Asia is to place a sheet of plastic or cling wrap between the rice and the nori. <S> For example, you could make a long roll with several layers like so: plastic (outermost layer) <S> nori plastic <S> rice <S> other ingredients <S> Roll it up in a long roll, and when you want to eat it, 'jerk' the inner layer of plastic out, thus allowing you to eat it. <S> One problem you'll probably face is the inner layer sticking to the rice. <S> A light application of vegetable oil on the side of the plastic sheet facing the rice might help with this. <A> And stack them in an air-tight box or bag in the refrigerator until needed Then just before serving unwrap carefully and wrap some nori around them as required. <S> Perfect sushi made earlier!
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If you are making maki sushi or other sushi with nori on the outside, then the simple trick is too roll or wrap it in baking paper (or plastic film, or waxed paper) just as you would with a sheet of nori.
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Looking for an Italian cheese similar/identical to the French Brie I am looking for a an Italian cheese that I can use as substitute to Brie.It should have the same consistency and creaminess, as well as delicate flavour. Any suggestion? EDIT: This question could benefit by defining how Brie is made, so I could go in an Italian diary shop and ask for something made with a similar process <Q> The most similar, of course, the one you could easily find in any supermarket, is the " Camoscio d'Oro ". <S> This is not similar but the same, since is made by Bongrain SA , a French food group. <S> But all over the region there are many small firms dairy, which produce the " tomini ". <S> Tomini are a tipical regional cheese, smaller but very similar to brie, both as flavor, as texture and as aging. <S> some news <S> You can find tomini freshly made, very sweet and tender, and, day by day, more and more seasoned tomini. <S> The last ones can be done on the grill. <S> If you switch to production typical, you can find a variety of high-quality productions of tomini and similar products in many farms in the region. <S> Like " Montebore " or " Bra ", or very similar products that, if you are lucky, you can find among the reserved ones from some kind local farmer. <S> We share a border, mountains, traditions, people. <S> We even have a whole region half Italian and half French, the Val d'Aosta. <S> Incidentally also some cheese! <A> FoodSubs claims Paglietta is similar. <S> I don't read Italian, so I don't know what the Italian language wiki says about it. <A> Brie is a soft cheese that is characterized by its creamy texture and velvety rind. <S> It is only aged for two weeks to five at around sixty degrees Fahrenheit. <S> Its unique texture and flavor is a result of the mold that is allowed to grow on its surface. <S> The mold partially digests the young cheese and creates the creamy texture. <S> When the cheese is wrapped the mold is smashed and becomes the rind. <S> http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/22-Brie.html
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As semi-industrial cheese made in Italy, we have the " Alpino ", better or similar to " paglietta ", both of Osella, which is sited in Piemonte (Turin), region on the border with France.
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How can I attach printed rice paper decorations to cakes / cookies? I bought some printed rice paper decorations (flat circles of rice paper printed with edible ink) for my son's birthday party. I'm not sure what the best way is to attach them to cakes / cookies and I don't have a lot of spare time to experiement. The options I can think of are: make my own cookies and press them in to the cookie - either beforebaking or more likely after baking but while still warm and soft place the rice paper circle on top of a pre-baked cookie or small flat-topped cake and pipe some form of icing or frosting around theedge to hold it in place pile butter cream icing on top of a small cake, press the rice paper circle onto the butter cream icing What I ideally want is to be able to do this the day before they are needed, so as well as being held properly in place, I also would like the rice paper not to go soggy / curl up and the ink not to run or leak out of the rice paper. <Q> When I've seen them used, they first frosted the cake, smoothed it out , then placeed the rice paper on top. <S> My understanding is that the moisture in the frosting can end up melting the rice paper, so that it basically disappears into the frosting, with the ink effectively transfering into the frosting. <S> As I've never done it myself, I have no idea if there are any special tricks to it, or if you need to use a particular frosting / icing recipe so that the paper will melt away. <S> update: after a little research <S> , I have reason to believe that normal rice paper won't disolve into the cake <S> but there are special 'frosting sheets' that will. <S> another recomendation was to leave enough white space around the image so that you can cover the edge of the sheet with a border if it starts to curl up. <A> If you use the buttercream option, let the icing dry a bit before putting the rice paper on, as too much moisture will cause it to collapse and the ink to run. <S> Also, I wouldn't recommend pressing the rice paper down, but just patting it onto slightly tacky buttercream. <S> White icing is best as the rice paper is quite translucent. <S> The other alternative you suggest will work fine - place it on the cake and pipe around the edge to hold in place. <S> I have seen this done many times. <S> Best not to use a vivid colour for the piping as it could leech into the rice paper a bit. <A> I saw a decorating demo in "Everyday Living with Cheryl ??? <S> (can't remember her last name)" with potato starch paper printed. <S> The lady used dried royal icing on her cookies and applied corn syrup to back of design as paste and pressed onto decorated item. <S> Some piped decoration around edges helped hold down edges or press down as drying to adhere... <S> She also had a printer with edible ink so she could print her own and used scrapbooking cutters for shapes <A> I see you got no response about the fondant discs - use ready to roll fondant/ sugarpaste (different names depending where you live)and roll it out to about 3mm thick. <S> Using a round cutter, cut out some circles a fraction larger than your rice paper circles (or whatever shape they happen to be?). <S> Place them on baking parchment or kitchen towel to dry out (pref overnight. <S> White fondant is best. <S> Then apply the prints to the icing <S> using methods already discussed. <S> I've never used rice paper images as I prefer images printed to icing sheets as they're far superior but a bit more expensive. <S> They don't curl and the colours and print is more vibrant/clearer. <S> Icing images stick to fondant with a tiny amount of water. <S> Then pipe a swirl of buttercream on top of the cupcake, leave a few minutes to crust then <S> pop the icing disc/image on top of the buttercream with a little pressure. <S> Hope that helps. <S> Debs x <A> A cake teacher taught me this method and it works beautifully. <S> Trace your image onto the rice paper (bumpy side up) with edible ink. <S> Cut the image out with about an 1/4 inch border left on. <S> Place picture on cake. <S> Use a toothpick to outline the image. <S> Remove image and spread piping gel <S> (get at Michaels, Hobby Lobby etc.) <S> inside the traced toothpick lines. <S> Place the rice paper image on top of the piping gel. <S> Spread another layer of piping gel over the image. <S> Dilute your gel colors with water and paint the image with food grade paint brushes (so you don't get bristles on the cake!) <S> Use a fine tip brush with black to outline. <S> I remove the image before slicing the cake. <A> You could try rolling out very thin gumpaste or fondant and attaching the rice paper on it when its moist but not wet. <S> Once attached to the gumpaste, you can cut it out using a small knife and let it dry. <S> Then it should be easier to attach the gumpaste cutout to the actual cake.
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I haven't tried it myself but royal icing might be a good option to attach the paper to the surface.
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Do more peppers mean more heat? I see a lot of the hottest foods having multiple peppers used in their sauce, with the infamous ghost peppers being among them. If the ghost pepper is the hottest pepper in the dish, do the other peppers really add any more heat to the recipe or do they actually dilute the ghost pepper's fire? <Q> To put it simply: if you increase the amount of capsaicin per bite of food, you'll make it hotter. <S> So if we're talking about just a sauce that's basically pure peppers, then yes, the mixture of a very hot pepper and a more mild pepper will be somewhere in between the two, and the addition of the mild pepper dilutes the sauce - a spoonful of it will not contain as much capsaicin. <S> there'll be more capsaicin in each bite. <S> Will it be noticeable? <S> If it's a banana pepper, no - it's orders of magnitude milder, so you'll never notice. <S> If it's a habanero, probably - it's not that much more mild than the ghost pepper. <S> Other peppers may well add great flavor, though. <S> There's quite a variety among all the chilis, and it's perfectly reasonable to use half a dozen different ones in a single dish just to get the nice full flavor you want. <S> This is still true if you're making a really hot dish. <S> That said, if you're talking about "the hottest foods" and ghost peppers, it sounds like your goal is really just to make something really hot, not something you can actually taste - you can definitely get plenty of heat from other peppers. <S> If you're using the hottest possible peppers, it's probably either a gimmick, or the whole point is to burn your tongue off <S> so you can't taste anything else anyway. <S> This is of course all assuming you're actually using the whole pepper, in order to get all the heat from it. <S> If you're not, then... why are you bothering with ghost peppers? <S> See Cos Callis' answer for more explanation. <A> I had a similar question sometime ago. <S> You should think of the pepper in three parts: <S> The Meat: the outer shell of the pepper, the colored portion. <S> The Veins: (aka the placenta) <S> the inner structure, the white separators that support the seeds. <S> This is the source of the vast majority of the capsaicin (the 'heat') <S> The Stem and Seeds: the seeds are directly below the stem, and are only a minimal source of heat. <S> source: <S> Reidel Marketing Group website While each breed of pepper has its own unique flavor. <S> If during the preparation the veins and seeds are removed, regardless of the type of pepper, the heat is removed with them. <S> The variety of peppers in any given recipe will contribute flavors to the dish, but -per <S> the answer to the previous question (from @Jefromi) <S> - capsaicin is capsaicin and the overall 'heat' of the dish reflects how thoroughly the veins and seeds have been removed or not removed. <S> In short, more types of peppers does not necessarily add more heat, but more capsaicin does. <S> The picture included was chosen because it illustrates the structure of the pepper, it is not an endorsement of the tool being demonstrated. <A> Jefromi has it right in that you sum up capsaicin of different peppers for spiciness and vary flavor by using different ones. <S> What you can do to increase perceived spiciness considerably without adding more of capsaicin carriers though, is using foods/spices that are hot through different means. <S> For example, black pepper comes from piperine, and spiciness of horseradish and wasabi - from sinigrin, which act completely orthogonally from capsaicin. <S> A dish with a spoon of chili and a spoon of wasabi will be likely hotter than both a dish with two spoons of chili or one with two spoons of wasabi.
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But if we're talking about a dish that's mostly other things, with ghost pepper for heat in the sauce, and on top of that you add another pepper to the sauce, then yes, the other pepper will add heat -
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When to add fresh basil to a tomato sauce? Is it better to add fresh basil to a tomato sauce and then let it cook for say, 10 mins, or wait till the end and add just before serving? <Q> Fresh herbs should, generally, be added closer to the end of a recipe. <S> Dried herbs should be added fairly early on during the cooking process so that they have time to "develop" and more fully release their flavors. <S> Fresh herbs and spices, however, will generally have more subtle flavors, and they are usually best used for seasoning at the very end of the recipe, rather than actual cooking. <S> You can check out more details about how to use different kinds of spices in this article . <S> For your specific case, I would say to definitely add the basil in at the end—maybe five or ten minutes before the sauce is finished, as you said. <S> It may even be a good idea to remove the pot from your heat source after you have added the basil so that the herbs can infuse their flavor without actually cooking into the sauce. <S> You have to be careful not to cook too much of the flavor out with fresh herbs. <S> If they simmer too long with the rest of the dish the subtle flavors can be easily overpowered by other ingredients. <A> It depends on what are you doing. <S> Then let it rest some minutes more, while you cook the pasta. <S> You have to light the fire again at end, because you need a very hot sauce over your very hot pasta. <S> It is very nice to save some leaves aside (the two top leaves, or the lateral ones, btw), and then add the leaves on each dish to decorate. <S> If you are doing a sauce for canning your own tomato sauce, you have to add fresh basil before to mill the sauce. <S> If you are doing any sauce using canned tomatoes , probably time to add the basil is indifferent, since canned tomatoes are seasoned yet, normally at least with salt. <S> Or other industrial stuffs. <S> Maybe add the basil halfway through cooking helps to cover the industry flavors. <S> PS <S> That is how we in Italy do it . <S> Basil is commonly used fresh in cooked recipes. <S> In general, it is added at the last moment, as cooking quickly destroys the flavor. <S> Fresh sage and rosemary are herbs for roasted meat and never for tomato sauce. <S> Oregano , fresh or dry (maybe dray), is herb for pizza , so if you cook something with oregano, it is called "alla pizzaiola". <A> With basil (and other soft, fresh herbs), wait till the end to add them, just before serving.
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Usually, fresh basil has to be added to a fresh sauce (means a sauce made by fresh tomatoes, to serve it "today") just at the end of cooking, 3-4 minutes before you turn your fire off.
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Why boil rice first when steaming rice? Why do people suggest boiling rice before lowering the heat to low, when making steamed long grain rice? What happens if you don't wait for it to boil and go straight to simmer phase? <Q> In cooking rice or many other grains (and even some grain based products such as pasta), two things actually happen: <S> The starches absorb water; they are hydrated. <S> Cooking. <S> The boiling phase does both at the same time, very efficiently, but sufficient hydration happens before the rice is fully cooked through. <S> So steaming to finish allows the rice to be fully cooked. <S> If you just simmer, things would simply take longer. <A> Mirroring the other answers, what you're doing by bringing it to a boil under high heat is quickly beginning the cooking process. <S> You need boiling water to cook, and that's all there is to it, so the faster you get the water there <S> , the sooner you eat. <S> However, continuing to run your rice at a high rolling boil wastes water; too much of it escapes as steam, so the rice can't absorb it and break down the starches into a nice sticky layer for your stir-fry. <S> So, you turn it down to a simmer (and cover it, which gives the steam a chance to re-condense on the lid). <S> This is in contrast to pastas or vegetables, where the water's just a nice hot bath <S> and there's no expectation of the food ever absorbing all the water it's cooking in. <S> If you remember your grade school chemistry, you'll remember that a state change (solid to liquid, liquid to gas) requires more energy than simply varying the temperature of a substance in the same state; it's why ice doesn't immediately completely melt in your drink, and it's why water doesn't immediately flash to steam when it hits boiling. <S> The water's still at 211 <S> * and some of it is boiling (as evidenced by the bubbles), but less of it is getting enough energy from the heat to turn to steam, so more of it sticks around to absorb into the rice, gelatinizing the starches to soften it all the way through. <A> You need to bring it to a boil first, to get it up to cooking temperature. <S> If you start off with your hob on low (suitable for simmering), you'll waste a lot of time as it heats up.
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The reason to turn the heat down is to not burn the rice at the bottom during the steaming phase.
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How to get stable and long lasting high temperatures in charcoal grill? I have Weber one touch spherical grill (18.5") and trying to cook steaks with direct heat.I place steaks when grill thermometer shows 450-500F, but after 2 or 3 minutes temperature starts dropping and after turnover it can be 400F and continue dropping fast. Briquettes near the edge getting cold but briquettes in center still going. I have tried with lump charcoal and Weber long lasting briquettes using chimney starter, yesterday I held briquettes in starter for 30 minutes, and briquettes were very hot and well burning, but got same temperature issues. All vents are fully open, lid closed.What am I missing? <Q> I'm not sure how many steaks you're doing at once, but if you're not using the entire grill surface, stack the charcoal up. <S> (Not sure how well it'd work with the entire grill surface and, e.g., two starters full of charcoal. <S> With the grill open, it'll surely work.) <S> You can cook steaks with the lid off, that'll likely lead to the coals burning faster (hotter). <S> Stacking the charcoal does two things: <S> the stack is higher, so it gets the charcoal closer to the meat. <S> You can't lower the grate on a Weber kettle, unfortunately. <S> there are more briquettes under the meat, each putting out heat. <S> A good stack is hot enough to brown a steak, even if you put it on the grill dripping with marinade (not that you should). <S> Make sure to have a pair of tongs, you won't want your hands anywhere near it. <A> Once the charcoal in the starter is ripping hot, set the cooking grate (aka the grill) on top and go to town. <S> Mind you <S> , there's waaaayyy less cooking surface, and it will burn much much faster, but it should solve whatever heat problem you're having. <A> The One Touch is really a roasting barbecue - if you want to grill steaks with the lid off it's a bit of a compromise because without the lid you have no heated air convection <S> (that's what kettles are designed for). <S> Buy a Weber Q for your steaks and have the best of both worlds... <A> I've just started out with a Weber kettle grill and had the same problem with steaks cooking through but not searing at all, even when directly above coals with top vent fully open (bottom vent always open). <S> Contrary toother advice I've found for me that changing the top vent to be only very slightly open would heat the kettle right up and really get the coals firing and this would sear the steak. <S> Charcoal less effective than briquettes and steak directly above (1/2" from) briquettes. <S> Thick cut (1") steaks too.
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If you're really in need of heat - do what the venerable Alton Brown suggested and cook your steak on top of your chimney-starter.
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Pulled pork substitute- How do I do it? I want to emulate pulled pork for my non-pork eating friend (semi-Jewish, read: no pigs, it doesn't have to be technically kosher). What cut of beef would achieve a similar texture? The closest I've ever eaten was short ribs, but is there something better? I'm not too worried about duplicating the method- I'm comfortable with a crock pot, a dutch oven, stove top cooking, whatever- just looking for a similar end result. <Q> It works really well in tacos. <S> It has the nice unctuous fat and goes well with tomatillo and avocado. <S> But it'd probably be hard or expensive to get in large quantities. <A> You are not going to find any other meat with quite the same unctuous texture as pulled pork and mild but meaty flavor. <S> Certainly no cut of beef will do so. <S> If you feel compelled to use beef, use the corresponding cut of beef, which is the chuck. <S> It will pull (although a little more shreddy), but it won't have the same texture, and it will have the stronger beefy flavor (which may be delicious in its own right, but won't be like the pulled pig). <S> The closest substitute, functionally, would be pulled chicken, although it is very different, and must not be overcooked if you want it to maintain its moisture. <S> The sauce can echo the flavor notes that you would have used with the porky version. <S> I would recommend just serving something that is kosher or <S> at least acceptable within the definition you are working with, that is designed for the cut you are using. <S> You can get many excellent barbecue results from chuck or brisket. <S> A good smoked barbecued brisket is a masterpiece in its own right, and doesn't need to pretend to be anything else. <A> I have never tried this, but I would expect goat to work well. <S> So I googled and found this blog entry , with a linked pulled pork recipe. <S> It reads like it was successful. <S> I'd be very interested to know if you try it ! <A> It is a little drier than pulled pork but the taste is still great.
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I've made pulled beef before using beef brisket (same spice rub as pulled pork). Depending on the dish, maybe duck confit.
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Is bread that can go mouldy better than that which does not? I've recently moved from Holland to the UK, and one thing I've been noticing is that the available bread here (which I feel is highly inferior to Dutch bread) does not go mouldy. When left in the open, it merely goes hard. Then I've recently found some nice Polish bread with sour-dough, hidden away in the foreign section, and that one does go bad, like I'm used to from Dutch bread. So I've been thinking: I've observed that most foods that are nutritious or fresh go mouldy after a while (vegetables etc) and foods that aren't very good for you (like sugar, chocolate, but also frozen foods) often are very preservable. To me (someone who is not very knowledgeable when it comes to chemistry or baking) it makes sense, because I figure the mould feeds off the nutrients. My question is; Am I right? And if so, does that mean the English breads, that don't go mouldy, aren't as nutritious? <Q> Bread which is left out can have any number of things happen to it, all of which are usually progressing at once, although one will win out as the primary thing you experience: <S> It goes stale, that is, the starches in the bread lose their hydration and re-crystallize giving the bread a harder texture <S> It dries out, losing moisture to the atmosphere (or if it is very humid, it can get soggy, gaining moisture from the air) <S> It molds, if it is moist enough for molds to thrive Its gets eaten by humans, insects, dogs or other large scale breadophilic creatures <S> The only question is which happens first or most dominantly. <S> This can depend on the moisture level in the bread, natural anti-bacterial or anti-fungal agents in the bread (like honey) or artificial preservatives, the particular environment the bread is in (and how many mold spores there are)--any place that has had moldy bread is going to have more mold spores for future moldy bread than average. <S> I would not try to relate any of this to nutrition, or to a veiled evaluation of the relative quality of benefit of the bread that is available in one country or another. <S> The notion that mold requires nutrtion is true, but it is not the whole picture: <S> it also requires a hospitable environment (pH neither to high or low, not to much osmotic pressure from salt or sugar, sufficient moisture) and so on. <S> Chocolate is extremely nutritious in the sense that it is composed nearly 99% of things that are metabolized, but it does not host molds because it is also 100% dry. <S> Dried salted cod, again, highly nutritious, but not hospitable to molds. <S> You cannot take only the growth or non-growth of molds as an indicator of level of nutrition. <S> Furthermore, the notion of "nutritious" is extremely complicated. <S> It involves requiring sufficient calories (as from fats or sugars), as well as vitamins, minerals and other micro nutrients. <S> It is not a simple yes or no thing. <A> I feel I must apologise for our bread. <S> I think that you're being very polite calling it bread at all. <S> The answer above was very interesting, but your gut instinct was correct. <S> Highly processed foods don't go mouldy because the processing usually takes steps to prevent it. <S> Bread you buy in <S> a supermarket in the UK is made in a factory using something called the Chorelywood process . <S> It was developed in the 1960's when British food was actually as terrible as the French say it is. <S> If you have a look at the ingredients you can see why it keeps longer. <S> It has huge numbers of additives. <S> There's even butter in it. <S> (Fortunately they've stopped using lard.) <S> You should still be able to get hold of real bread from a baker, and most supermarkets bake bread in the store which is a little better. <S> Or if you like the Polish bread I'd stick with that. <A> Bread that is made from inferior ingredients, and overly processed will indeed not mold. <S> (As explained previously.) <S> You can also see this when comparing butter (roomboter) with margarine (Becel, etc.) at room temperature. <S> Your butter will become rancid and spoil, while your margarine (read: plastic) will remain the same over a period of months. <S> While this is slightly off-topic, it's the same principle. <S> Personally, I live in the Netherlands, so I can't point you in the right direction of some good bread. <S> However, if you wish to bake your own, I can happily share recipes - though the internet is a great source for those as well.
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If you can manage it, with time constraints and equipment, you might just want to try baking your own bread instead.
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How do I accurately take a chicken thigh's temperature? I tried to bake chicken thighs the other day and I used my probe thermometer to tell me when they were done. Well it seems that I did something wrong when inserting the thermometer because the thighs were still undercooked. How can you use a probe thermometer on a chicken thigh to accurately take its temperature? <Q> I assume you cooked your chicken thighs to 165–175°F (74-80°C) (depending on preference). <S> 165°F (74°C) is the recommended temperature for safety (at least by US authorities), 175°F (80°C) is often recommended for texture (in legs and thighs; not for breast). <S> The best bet is to measure in several spots. <S> You generally want to guess the thickest spot of meat, insert the probe past the center, then slowly withdraw it. <S> How slowly depends on the response time of your probe. <S> You then use the lowest temperature you see, especially if you see anything under the food-safety temperature (165°F or 74°C). <S> If there are multiple pieces of chicken, you should check several. <S> Especially if they're different sizes. <S> Probe response times are anywhere from 20 seconds on fairly cheap thermometers, down to 3 seconds on expensive ones (like a Thermopen). <S> 10 seconds is typical. <S> You'll know its finished responding when the numbers stop changing quickly. <S> You also should rest the chicken, loosely tented, for at least 5 minutes (for just thighs, more like 15 minutes for a full chicken) after taking it off the heat—this lets the heat even out, and also will reduce the amount of juice lost when cutting. <A> Wait long enough for the temperature reading to stabilize (which may be 5-10 seconds depending on your thermometer) <S> Note that once you start measuring your temperature, you may be cooking your thighs properly, but may be so used to overcooked meat that properly cooked thighs are unpalatable to you. <S> Of course, you should find the temperature <S> you like as long as it is above the safety threshold. <S> Typically, thighs would be cooked to about 165-170 F. <A> According to the FSIS site you should check the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh. <S> The middle of it is the part that will take the longest to cook, so that's where you should put the tip of the probe. <S> Take care to not touch the bones, since they can conduct the heat from the "outside" and give an incorrect reading. <S> Finally, it will depend on your taste, but I would overcook it the first time (let's say, 165 F) and then see if it's more or less to your desired point. <S> Then I would adjust the temperature to the desired taste. <A> I put the probe in the thickest part of the thigh and try to also hit the bone as the thickest part will have a bone n the middle. <S> Also the last places to reach temperature are always closest to the bone. <S> (I never put the probe near the ends of the bone (where it's not thickest anyway) <S> and I've never had a false high reading. <S> Just let the point touch the bone but don't push it into the bone. <S> I like to hit the bone with the point at the thickest spot. <S> If it's 165 there then the rest is good. <S> I also pick the thickest piece if they don't vary much in size. <S> If they vary I check the smallest first. <S> I pick them off from smallest to largest as they reach 165. <A> From this kitchen tips page on my blog: To use insert the full length of the kitchen thermometers sensing area. <S> These are usually 2 to 2 1/2 inches for dial and 1 or less for digital thermometers (check manufacturer's directions). <S> Insert in a way that the sensing area is in the center of the thickest part of the food and not touching bone, fat or gristle. <S> Ideally you would require about 15 to 20 seconds for the temperature to be accurately displayed on a dial thermometer and about 10 seconds on a digital thermometer. <S> THINNER FOODS <S> Insert <S> the thermometer sideways with the sensing area in the center for a thin foods, like hamburger patty or boneless chicken breast. <S> DISHWASHERS <S> Kitchen thermometers are not dishwasher safe. <S> Wash by hand with hot soapy water and consequently rinse with water before and after use. <A> Make sure you're not measuring the temp. <S> of the pan as well. <S> Just put the thermometer into the meat far enough that you're measuring in the middle of the piece of meat.
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You want to: Stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, not touching any bone which would give you a falsely high reading
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What are the authentic traditional ingredients for Naan bread? I would like to know what the authentic and traditional ingredients for Naan bread are. There are many recipes that use some ingredients but not others and the cooking method are not always the same. These are the ingredients which usually differ from what I have seen: Milk Yogurt Water Baking Powder Yeast Eggs This recipe here does not use yogurt, this one here uses no baking powder or milk or yogurt, this one here uses no baking powder or yogurt. I can understand substitutions and variations, but I would like to know how it is originally made and what the ingredients are. Also the cooking method varies. Some use a pan to fry the Naans prepared, some use only the oven, and some use the oven and then are grilled at the end for a short time. <Q> Naan traditionally is plain flat bread made using bread flour , Yeast, salt and water. <S> Its cooked in tandoor. <S> Salt could be optional if you are having naan with a curry. <S> (Cause curry usually has salt and the bread might not need it). <S> Variations like milk or yogurt is used instead of water to make dough soft and fluffy. <S> This would change the texture and flavor of the bread. <S> It is possible to use baking powder instead of yeast, because they both act as a leavening agent. <S> Don't use them together. <S> IMHO eggs are not part of the traditional naan ingredients. <A> Naan is a catch-all term for flat, leavened bread throughout the asian subcontinent. <S> There are many, many variations which have developed depending on what ingredients were typically to hand in the different regions. <S> So there are many equally traditional and authentic variations. <S> In other words the answer is that there is no answer, try a few and find out what works for you. <A> About the recipe: Naan is traditionally made with yogurt to leaven it. <S> It would have to sit for at least 4 hrs, or up to 12, depending on how warm it is. <S> Yeast was not traditionally used in india (though is now), and baking soda is also a newer introduction. <S> Milk or water can be used interchangeably. <S> Milk will make it a bit softer. <S> This is just preference. <S> Egg is not necessary. <S> Many people in India do not eat egg, so the default recipe would be without egg. <S> About how to cook them: <S> People at home rarely make naan -- it is something you would have out or at a wedding or somewhere with a tandoor. <S> This is why there are so many variations -- it is just people adapting as best they can. <S> If you have a pizza or baking stone, you can get a really good naan by preheating the stone at your highest oven temperature, and just putting the naan onto it to cook -- this simulates a tandoor. <S> Otherwise, I have found the best thing is a griddle, again as hot as you can get it. <S> It works best if you keep the dough soft and roll it out with a little oil as thin as you can get it (it will "shrink back", so make it bigger than you actually want it). <S> General baking tips: <S> Baking soda will kill the yeast and yogurt bacteria. <S> You can add it as "insurance", but do this at the end after fermentation. <S> They also don't like salt (but salt will make your bread taste a LOT better), so also add that at the end. <S> I have not tried mixing yeast and yogurt, but it doesn't sound like a great idea. <S> Maybe it is ok if you either reduce the amount of yogurt a lot, or add it again at the end after fermentation. <A> Maida, awesome, I get it from this importer in town: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maida_flour <S> Its almost the worst flour for you, but Naan is a "fast-food", so you can forgive the lack of nutrition for the flavour. <S> The rest is covered in the accepted answer. <A> People use yogurt, ghee (clarified butter) as well as milk to make soft naan. <S> Yeast and dough starter both are used interchangeably by most of the naan maker.
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There are many ways to cook naan depending upon the region or area, all are authentic but as far as the addition of egg in naan is irrelevant.
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Lifetime of French press filter I'm thinking about buying a French press for making coffee. I'm just not sure what is the lifetime of the filter? Can I use it for years or do I have to get a new filter from time to time? <Q> Not all French Presses are created equal; some have the obnoxious habit of getting creases at the edge of the filter, which lead to grounds coming up the sides. <S> Other filters deteriorate more quickly. <S> My experience is that a fine metal mesh filter tends to last longer than nylon filters, and that I am always going to be unlucky when it comes to the French Press. <S> Inevitably, things fall apart. <S> Replacing the filter will be needed at some point, though good care can help prevent it from going bad. <S> There are really two ways to look at the investment of the French Press: <S> You're buying a cheap one with the expectation that it'll last only 6 months to a year. <S> You spend a little more, and perhaps have to replace a part once in a while. <S> Either way, you're spending less than on a decent drip brewer, and getting a better cup of coffee for your efforts. <A> Of course treating it right will help it last. <S> Keep it clean, dry the screen after washing so it doesn't rust out, and don't put your full weight on the plunger when pressing down the grounds <S> and you won't have too much trouble. <A> We had a glass French press for over a year without having to replace the filter screens. <S> But sadly the glass carafe cracked due to accidental drop and hit hard on the floor. <S> So I could say that the lifespan of the filter screen could last the same as the unit. <S> But if you need to replace it, the Bodum replacement filter screens are mostly compatible with other French press. <S> So we searched for a new French press and found here <S> http://coffeemakerpicks.com/best-french-press and decided to purchase the Sterling pro double wall stainless steel. <S> Even it is more expensive than glass carafes, it makes sense that in the long run we will save money since it's unbreakable. <S> And a thermal pot has better insulation than glass, keeping the water temperature in range when brewing for around 4 minutes. <S> I want to point out as well that you'll be needing a burr grinder <S> and I recommend the Baratza Virtouso.
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How long a French press will last depends on how long you use it, and the quality of the one you buy. My suggestion is to buy a mid-priced Bodum press; replacement parts are available and relatively affordable, and their products are decent enough to be used in restaurants around the world. I've had mine well over 10 years and see no reason to replace it, but my previous one was cheap junk and lasted less than a year.
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Bottling and Storing Cold-Brewed Coffee? I'm a bit of an iced-coffee snob – I love a good, rich tasting coffee, and love the smooth flavor of cold-brewed coffee; unfortunately, the only time I have to make it is the weekends, and it lasts for one to two days in the fridge before being consumed, leaving the rest of my week relegated to Keurig brewed over ice, or a trip to Starbucks. I had the thought to brew coffee on Saturdays and to store it in lock-top amber bottles in the refrigerator on Sunday, but I wanted to know how long I could expect the coffee to be safe to drink? Is there anything I can do differently to extend the shelf-life of my cold-brewed coffee? <Q> Most cold-brew advocates that I have seen actually create a coffee concentrate, that they then dilute to drinking strength. <S> Bon Appetit is an outlier claiming you can prepare the concentrate up to two weeks ahead of time. <S> The general consensus is clearly that you should be able to get through the work week, in any case. <A> I was searching for something else, and saw an article on this in the Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology . <S> Sadly it's in a journal <S> I don't have access to, and it's in Korean, except for the abstract, which is: This study was designed to evaluate the changes in the physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of Dutch coffee (cold brew) under different conditions of extraction and storage. <S> Dutch coffee was extracted from ground coffee soaked in water at 4 or 20℃ and stored for 8 weeks at 4 or 20 ℃. <S> The storage temperature affected the decline in pH and increase in acidity compared to the extraction temperature. <S> The total phenol content partly decreased during the storage period. <S> As the extraction temperature increased, <S> the ABTS [2,2"-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical-scavenging activities also increased; in fact, DPPH radical-scavenging activity showed a general increase. <S> As the storage time prolonged, the caffeine content decreased, but the contents of caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid increased. <S> The results for all kinds of samples indicated that the general bacterial count was <1 CFU/mL, which indicated that the coffee can be stored for and consumed within 8 weeks. <S> 8 weeks! <A> I've been making cold drip for years now <S> and I wouldn't recommmend just putting the pitcher uncovered in the fridge. <S> If you get some flip top bottles and funnel it into them you can keep it for up to 2 weeks although the coffee will deteriorate after some time. <S> but it was perfectly drinkable which is pretty amazing <A> I have a Hario Cold Brewer, which doubles as a pitcher and does not seal. <S> I have a batch in my fridge for around 5-7 days. <S> When I tried it, it was definitely rancid. <S> Id say 2 days if the container isn't air tight. <A> Best if unsweetened or flavored. <S> Rest assured more than you can drink in a week can keep longer. <S> Add all spoilable material at serving time. <S> Enjoy all lack of artificial additives. = <S> ^D
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I experimented once leaving a bottle in the fridge for 8 weeks, there was some obvious degredation of flavour This article from The Nourishing Gourmet is typical in indicating that the concentrate can be held for about one week; the recipe at The Chow says 5 days.
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How do I cook large quantities of Boston pork butt? I am cooking approximately 30 lbs of boston butt pork roast. (one roast is a little over 15 lbs and the other is a little over 16 lbs) Should I cook the roasts together in one big roaster at about 250 degrees or seperate them? I am doing pulled pork for a crowd. How long do you think this might take? Thanks in advance for your advice! :) <Q> You can keep them together, but I would recommend budgeting a very long time for cooking. <S> I would also consider cutting each roast in half. <S> Four 7-8 pound pork butts will cook much faster than two 15-16 pound ones. <A> I recommend roasting them separately (although at the same time) for one main reason: More surface area means more of the delicious brown crispy bits on the surface. <S> It will also take less time, probably, than if they are piled together or if you get an entire shoulder, but that is less important. <S> I disagree respectfully with MandoMando: <S> pork butt cooked low and slow does not require brining in any way. <S> It has sufficient fat and gelatin to be quite delectable after cooking. <S> I should add in terms of cooking time: <S> If braising, 3-4 hours, probably If low roasting, 3-12 hours, depending on temperature, most likely in the 4-5 hour range at 250 since that is not as fast as braising at transferring heat energy to the food object <S> In either case, you will know it is done when it pulls easily. <S> This is not a case where final internal temperature (you want about 180 F) is the goal; you also need time at temperature to covert the collagen in the pork to gelatin to give it that luxurious texture. <A> The time is determined by thickness of the roast more than the weight. <S> It takes longer for the heat to penetrate depth. <S> I would do them separately for less humidity in the roaster and lower load on the roaster (unless your roaster is so big that it doesn't care). <S> Crowding ovens and roasters isn't optimal. <S> Patting them dry and rubbing oil on them also helps the process. <S> Stick one of those in-oven digital thermometer alarms in the center of the roast and be done with the time guessing and safety concerns. <S> That way you can pull them out right when they're perfect. <S> But if I were to guess, I'd say about 4-5hrs @250F possibly more. <S> Consider brining the meats for 12-24hrs in %6 salt-water brine to minimize juice loss and <S> let the roasts rest (relax the protein) for about 30 minutes when they come to out before you cut/pull them.
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In my opinion, your better bet would be to slow roast them in the oven, with some air space between the two roasts.
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Curious mold growth in a sealled BBQ, how does one avoid it? When finished cooking with the BBQ and cleaning the grill, I leave it running for a bit then shut off the intake and cap the exhaust (it's a Big Green Egg). At this point the BBQ is essentially sealed and with temperature being above 300F everywhere inside, presumably sterile. It cools down naturally over time with practically air-tight conditions. However, in a couple of weeks there is visible mold on the grill. The question is: How can this happen? Are others experiencing this, is it 'normal'? How do you prevent it? <Q> No grill is air-tight, so even though it gets a good heat blast (not enough to sterilize it as you may think), spores will get in from outside. <S> Remember, hot air is less dense, so as the BBQ cools it will draw air in, hence the spores. <S> Once there they thrive in the sheltered and often damp conditions in a closed-up barbecue. <S> I think where you may be going wrong is that you close the valves after cooking. <S> That cuts off the air and kills the fire. <S> I leave all my valves open to keep it as hot as possible after I'm done cooking, and it does a better job of charring all the leftovers. <A> After the Big Green Egg is COMPLETELY cooled down, put a container of DampRid on the grate. <S> We kept our BGE outside all winter and spring with the cover on it (and a 10 oz. container of DampRid sitting on the grate) and did not have any mold inside it when we opened it last week (June) for the first time since last summer. <S> Last year we had a lot of mold inside it every time we used it. <A> It wasn't a cleaning issue the grill is spotless. <S> It takes a very long time to cool <S> so it stays in the danger zone nearly forever and a little air coming in through the gates (Per GdD) will condensate on the grill making it ideal conditions for the mould.
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Mold is growing because there's something for it to consume, the only way to prevent it from happening is to clean your grill more effectively, or carbonize it before the fire goes out.
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Donvier Ice Cream Maker - why stirring only every 2 minutes? This weekend I picked up a hand-cranked ice cream maker for a very low price. However some of the instructions don't make much sense. For this maker, they say to crank the handcrank 2-3 times every 2-3 minutes, for a total of 20-30 minutes. However, every ice cream maker I have ever used requires you to constantly crank the handle to help keep ice crystals from forming. Likewise, all of the electric makers will spin a beater arm nonstop through the process. Why is does this ice cream maker say to only stir sporadically? Does stirring more cause an issue with this ice cream maker? The ice cream maker is the same design as this one, but about 20 years old: http://www.amazon.com/Donvier-837409W-1-Quart-Cream-Maker/dp/B00006484E/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top This is what the beater arm/dasher looks like. <Q> I have had that icecream maker for decades. <S> I never had a problem with ice crystals following their directives. <S> Since you don't need to churn it continuously, they tell you there's no need to. <S> The mix needs some time in contact with the walls to get cold. <S> If you have kids, it will get stirred more often than the instructions say. <S> But that tends to work out ok too. <S> It's pretty forgiving all around. <A> I can think of two reasons they suggest cranking intermittently: <S> It's possible to over-churn ice cream, and basically produce butter. <S> I'd guess #1 is more likely, by far. <S> You can crank it more often, especially if you're getting ice crystals. <S> To avoid #2 happening, its best to start with an as cold as possible ice cream base <S> (e.g., you want it to be just about to freeze, before it goes into the machine). <S> One way to do this is to freeze a small portion of it, and refrigerate the rest. <S> Before churning, mix the two together, and stir gently until the frozen portion melts. <S> Then dump the mixture in to the ice cream maker, and start churning. <S> (If you start this cold, you ought to be able to churn constantly. <S> At least until you get tired.) <A> I have used a Donvier ice cream maker for over 25 years now. <S> I have sold these used for about 10 years. <S> They work great. <S> I have discovered that if you crank all the time it takes much longer to make the ice cream. <S> If you crank it a few times every 5 to even 10 minutes it works quicker. <S> Crank it a little more often at the start and also turn the crank backward a few times as well. <S> I have not had a problem with ice crystals. <S> I have found that the Cuisinart electric maker works very well as well <S> and it turns all the time and automatically stops when it is done.
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They figure its too much effort to crank it constantly, and if they asked you to do that you'd give up and return the machine to the store.
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How to fix a sauce with overheated yogurt that has separated? I was trying out some healthier recipes from the New American Plate cookbook, one was a Greek lamb casserole with lots of green beans and potatoes. The lamb was marinated in plain yogurt to which spices were added prior to being added to the pot and baked at 350 for 45 min. The flavor is good, but it is not attractive due to the yogurt separating into a grainy curds and whey. I now have a lot of leftovers, and am thinking if I can fix the texture of the sauce, the kids would be more enthusiastic about eating it. Is there anything to salvage this huge pot of tasty food? Thanks. <Q> Once the proteins in the yogurt have curdled, you are unlikely to ever get it back to a truly smooth consistency. <S> This is far more likely with low-fat yogurts, which have proportionately more proteins. <S> This is different from a broken emulsion (such as a hollandaise), where the fats and water in the sauce separate—these can be repaired under some circumstances. <S> Unfortunately, when the cause of the breaking is curdled proteins, once the proteins tighten up, it is essentially irreversible. <S> What you have are little bits of fresh yogurt cheese suspended in the sauce. <S> Of course, it is still perfectly safe to eat, even if it doesn't look as good as you would like. <S> In the future, you can mitigate the chance of the sauce breaking by using a full-fat yogurt—you might have to get this from an ethnic market, depending on where you live. <S> Recipes with lower acid are also less likely to curdle, although you haven't mentioned the full recipe you used. <A> Did it and rescued it - important extended family meal <S> and I took a curds and whey disaster to a great sauce! <S> I cooked up chicken with its yoghurt base marinade, the yoghurt split. <S> It tastes fine <S> it's just the proteins have changed at high heat and clumped to form curds. <S> To solve it <S> I: took a small amount of water (2 tablespoons or so) in a jug and mixed in a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch. <S> I then added this to the sauce. <S> Don't add cornstarch directly or it will just lump. <S> OPTIONAL: take other sauce ingredients that are meant to be whole (tomatoes in my case) and add 1/2 to sauce blend to a smooth sauce using stick mixer (careful of hot sauce splashes) <S> Reduce sauce, if necessary, to thicken sauce on a medium heat stirring frequently Return chicken to sauce and add the rest of the ingredients. <S> Serve and eat , and not to self "next time you cook with yoghurt do it slowly on a low heat - DO NOT BOIL" <A> Add teaspoon or two of flour to the yogurt before adding to the sauce will greatly reduce the chance of curdling. <S> Also add the yogurt at the end of cooking and keep it no higher than a bare simmer. <S> Adding yogurt slowly helps too. <S> Also use the higher fat yogurt. <S> A dash of cream added before the yogurt goes in will help. <S> Starch and fat reduce the chance of the clumping of the solids in the yogurt thus lessening the chance of curdling. <S> Once curdled it is hard to fix. <S> However, whisking the sauce to beat up the curds, add some cream and flour can effectively hide the curdle and get it to the point of being acceptable. <A> You can't re-integrate <S> once yogurt is split for the reasons @SAJ14SAJ has said, the only thing you can do is to try and break the curds up as small as possible by using a blender. <S> This will destroy any texture you have in the dish, so it may not be a workable solution for you. <S> I've had this happen to me many times, especially using low or non-fat yogurt. <S> It's really hard to keep non-fat from splitting, even by using the methods below, so stick with low-fat: <S> Reduce the heat before adding yogurt. <S> Add it in a spoon at a time. <S> Adding it all at once will almost certainly make it separate Using method 1 alone takes too long if you're on a time budget, what I do is turn off the heat, then after 30 seconds <S> or so I add the yogurt in a spoon at a time, then put the heat back on. <S> I've found that method is the fastest way to get yogurt into a dish. <A> I just had this happen to me when making an alfredo sauce, but I managed to fix it! <S> I had TRIED to go gentle, adding some hot milk to the yogurt and thinning it first, then adding it 1/4 by 1/4 into the larger pot. <S> When it still separated, I turned the heat off immediately. <S> Then, in a pot on the side, I made a basic bechamel sauce (no onions, herbs, etc - just roux and milk) and stirred it into the separated alfredo sauce, turning the heat on as low as it could go. <S> Once it was stirred in, somehow I think the bechamel absorbed the whey or something (I am no cooking chemist, I just go by instinct). <S> Anyhow - it worked! <S> And it may work for you too :) <A> It can help to puree the sauce with peeled, cooked potato. <S> Thickens the sauce and hides the separated dairy bits. <S> Any non-fibrous cooked veg in your stew can be incorporated into the puree, further thickening and masking the problem. <S> Sweet potatoes, carrots, and peeled tomatoes work well, for example.
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Adding your yogurt while the dish is cool, then heating it back up again slowly will help reduce the chances of yogurt separating
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What are possible substitutes for pineapple in sweet and sour pork/chicken? Most recipes for sweet and sour pork/chicken I see include pineapple example . But what if someone does not like pineapple? What are candidate substitutes? Do they necessarily need to be fruits? What purpose/taste-component does the pineapple serve? <Q> The recipe title kind of answers the question <S> --it is the sweet, and some of the sour. <S> Pineapple also has a good firmness. <S> Note that all of the below is speculation, as this is a most unusual substitution request, <S> so I haven't tried any of this. <S> Fruit will best serve the role of both tart and sour, so almost every reasonable substitute is going to be fruit. <S> You have indicated you don't like the flavor of pineapple, which for your goal, is probably good as <S> nothing else will provide that distinctive flavor. <S> While my first choice would be to not make this recipe, where you don't enjoy one of the signature ingredients, if you do, then you want something that: Has a good body and mouth feel the way pineapple does, even after the pureeing called for in the cited recipe A floral, complex flavor Something sweet and tart <S> In the recipe you cite, the pineapple is canned, so you are not losing its enzymatic action, as the enzymes in the pineapple were deactivated by the heat during the canning process. <S> What comes first to my mind is mango , perhaps with a mixture of lime and orange juice to replace the acidity of the pineapple juice, and maybe a touch of sugar to balance the flavor. <S> You will have to find the right balance, depending on your particular fruit--you may want extra acidity from lemon juice, even, or perhaps extra sugar. <S> I would use something that adds complexity like brown sugar or turbadino depending on where you live if it is needed. <S> If you try this, however, you will be inventing essentially a new dish, and will have to work out how long to cook the mixture. <S> This will probably be even more divergent, but peaches have a good floral complexity, and with enough lemon juice, you should be able to find the sweet/sour balance. <S> Of course, this would be far from authentic. <A> To my mind the pineapple serves two purposes - to provide (some of) <S> the sweetness of the dish, and to provide an interesting texture. <S> Adding some orange juice works well for the sweet flavour, but pieces of orange would not be the right texture. <S> I find slices of water chestnut and bamboo shoot give a good texture combination to replace the pineapple chunks. <A> Canned lychee works really well <S> , it is sweet, slightly floral and has a distinct texture that stays relatively firm during cooking. <S> There is a KAPOW (technical term for zowee) factor to the pineapple that really can't be duplicated. <S> Canned mandarin slice work well too, but they don't stand up to heat very well, need to be added at the very end. <S> The juice from both work well in the sweet component for a sweet and sour sauce. <A> Canned Mandarin Oranges might work for some recipes that are cold or room temperature. <S> Once cut the have a similar texture & the juice is similar to pineapple juice and that would probably work in most recipes. <A> From personal experience of not having canned/fresh pineapples in the kitchen, I just used a bit of lemon juice and an orange cut into large chunks.
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Another more radical choice would be canned peaches , perhaps using some of their syrup for sweetness, and again, lemon or lime juice mixed with orange juice for the acidity.
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Is a seed different from a nut? I bought a bag of cocoa beans and it is written "Nut Free" on it. I always thought seeds/beans where the same a nuts except we called them this way because there is more than one in one fruit. So is it right or wrong to say a bag of cocoa bean is nut free ? (Extra question) Is there any potential nut allergy with theses beans ? <Q> There are two ways to define nuts, one botanical and the other culinary. <S> Botanical: It is a dry fruit containing one or two seeds, where the fruit does not open to release the seed. <S> So, only indehiscent fruit are considered true nuts. <S> eg. <S> Walnut (image) , pecans, chestnuts. <S> Culinary: A lot of seeds are called nuts even when they do not conform to the botanical definition. <S> eg. <S> Almonds, cashews (image) . <S> Cocoa beans fall in neither category, so it is correct to say that the bag is nut free. <S> Cocoa beans are harvested from a cocoa pod which is fruit like (image of cocoa pod with the seeds) , so they definitely fall into the category of seeds and not nuts. <S> So the labelling on the bag is correct. <S> As for the allergies, there may be people allergic to cocoa beans, but they wouldn't necessarily overlap with people who are allergic to nuts. <A> In the context of the labeling, they mean "tree nut" free, as many folks are allergic to tree nuts. <S> I have not heard of people being allergic to cocoa but that doesn't mean they don't exist. <S> Botanically, all nuts are seeds, but not all seeds are nuts. <A> Every fruit and many vegetables you eat are seed carriers. <S> That's true from acorns to zucchini <S> and there's a huge variation of types and structures. <S> Many tree nuts seem to be descended from a common ancestor which contain a particular strain of protein that sets of allergies, while other fruits and vegetables (including cocoa) do not. <S> Nuts by definition are fruits with a hard shell, cocoa beans are not in a hard shell so they cannot be nuts. <S> Not everything with a hard shell is a nut though, for example peanuts, which are not nuts at all.
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Technically, cocoa nibs are seeds, but they are not nuts.
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Estimating the fat content of homemade chicken foot gelatin I recently simmered a pot of chicken feet (including skin) for the first time and made an astonishingly gelatinous gelatin. It's clearly suffused with chicken fat, but I have no idea how much -- I don't think I could guess the fat % by weight or the fat:protein ratio to within a factor of 10. I tried melting some in a tall, narrow container and letting the fat settle on top, but that was unsuccessful because 1) the gelatin fraction solidified at room temperature, and 2) some of the fat appears to be emulsified and won't separate out on its own. So, consider this a food chemistry thought experiment: Given a sample of gelatin with fat in it, how would you estimate the fat content? Responses to some likely questions: 1) If I wanted a homogeneous, clean-looking and -tasting product I definitely should have removed the skin. This was more of a nose-to-tail-eating experiment. 2) I know a little chicken fat won't kill me. But I'm doing nutritional tracking to investigate some health issues, so a rough estimate would be useful. <Q> From experience with gelatinous stock from pig bits, I've found that gelatine can seem fatty, when really it's not - and gelatine is good for you in ways that fat is not. <S> I think your tall, narrow container idea is a good one, but first get it up to liquid temperature, and then keep it at that temperature for as long as it takes. <S> You'll want to avoid convention currents, so take it off any direct heat. <S> It might be enough to wrap it in a towel, or maybe you'll need to leave it in an airing cupboard or even a low oven. <S> Given long enough, even the emulsified component should separate out - although I can't guess whether that would be hours, days or weeks! <S> This does mean leaving the stock at a bacteriologically unsafe temperature for a long period - so the stock you test in this way should not be eaten. <S> Do it on a small sample. <A> the fat does all go to the top because fat always goes to the top weather <S> it is hot or not so <S> whatever fat is at the top is all the fat there is. <S> We make a big 5 gallon pot and the only fat we get out of it is probably 1 or 2 millimeters. <S> And that’s with probably 30 feet. <S> And the benefits of the heath very much outweigh the tiny amount of fat <A> You could just use information from the USDA nutritional guide as represented here . <S> * <S> *Source: <S> Nutrient data for this listing was provided by <S> USDA SR-21. <S> approx 3:2 fat: <S> protein by nutrition (caloric). <S> In general, I don't think the extent of fat suspended in an emulsification is limited by anything. <S> Watch Heston beat a virtually impossible amount of oil into a mayonnaise . <S> Because of that, you can't impose any limitations on how much fat could be in there. <A> Or you may refrigerate only the stock from the cooked chicken legs for as long as it takes for the fat to come to the surface. <S> What remains is your gelatin.
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We are avid eaters of chicken feet and there is very little fat in the feet ... It's about a 1:1 fat to protein by mass,
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Is this type of vegetable peeler effective? On eBay there are cheap ceramic vegetable peelers like this: Do they work well? Right now I have a simple, knife-like peeler with a hole in the middle which I hate and I'd like to change. Does this type work better? <Q> The difference between that and what you already have is really just the position of the blade with respect to the handle. <S> With that, you pull along the direction of the handle to peel, while with your current one, you push perpendicular to the handle. <S> (Assuming I understood your description of your current peeler right, anyway.) <S> Which of the two you prefer may be mostly personal preference, though I find that the angle you end up holding your hands at is nicer when you're pushing perpendicular. <S> You haven't said why you hate your current one, but I'm guessing it's because it's dull, and possibly uncomfortable to grip the handle in order to exert the force you need. <S> (Note that it takes more force when it's dull.) <S> So your problem may well be solved simply by getting a new, sharper peeler, preferably one with a handle you find comfortable to hold. <S> I'd suggest going to a physical store and actually holding them to get an idea of what you like. <S> Ceramic vs metal blades is a factor too, of course - ceramic holds the edge better. <S> But I'd worry first about getting something comfortable to use. <S> Better to have something comfortable to hold that has to be replaced a little more often than a nice sharp ceramic blade attached to a handle you hate. <A> How deep a peeler cuts into vegetable matter depends on how big the gap is between the two blades. <S> If you're used to a narrow blade spacing, and switch to a wider one, you'll be horrified at the depth of the peel, <S> Conversely, if you're peeling for stir-fry, a wide spacing, thick peelings, might be preferable. <S> So whether the pictured ceramic vegetable peeler will work well for you will depend on what its blade spacing is, and what blade spacing you're used to having. <A> I find them horrible. <S> The wobbly top doesn't allow to put any pressure and instead of cutting into the vegetable, it flips and scrapes it or slides. <S> The theory that it will follow the shape of the surface is flawed - to get it to sink under the skin you have to push and the flimsy construction feels like it were to snap. <S> Also, the angle is good only for biggest vegetables, you'd have a hard time trying to peel a smaller potato, and with softer vegetables the required pressure will squeeze them. <S> If you try to peel a raw carrot, the blade will catch, flip and then scrape instead of cutting. <S> If you peel a boiled one, it will drag the skin or just snap the carrot if you press harder, to cut. <S> vincebowdren suggests a better model, the blade is fixed to the handle, at an easy to use angle (the fact the blade is perpendicular like in a shaving razor, is a marketing trick to suggest it works as well as one; it doesn't, trust me.) <S> You can control the angle and pressure better, and it only maintains cutting depth, plus the tip is great for picking out "eyes" out of potatoes and the like. <A> They do work well. <S> As far as ceramic vs metal blades go, ceramic will last longer. <S> But giving the general cheap price it does not really matter. <S> As an alternative I find these the best and easiest to use: <S> They have the point on the end for removing holes/knobs etc. <S> And they shouldn't run you more than a few dollars. <A> Yes : I find they work very well on easy-peeling vegetables; for example on nice straight carrots or parsnips, I can trim a very thin peel easily and consistently. <S> No : <S> But on more difficult vegetables, they aren't very good at dealing with tougher or rougher skin. <S> For example on jerusalem artichokes or knobbly potatoes which need eyes removing, they fail miserably. <S> For a good all-round peeler, I use either a Lancashire (fixed-blade) or Jonas-style (in-line swivel-blade): <A> A lot is going to depend on the sharpness of the blade, so it will vary from brand to brand. <S> The Kuhn Rikon peelers of that style (with steel blades) have a very good reputation. <S> I have personally used them to do everything from peeling vegetables (carrots, potatoes, eggplant) to making Parmesan shavings, and it worked beautifully for all of the tasks. <A> Which is better? <S> Its very subjective and depends whats easiest for you personally. <S> I prefer the straight type peeler. <S> I've tried the perpendicular ones and I find that I'm only able to do short sections of peeling at a time with it since it knocks against my fingers of the hand <S> im <S> holding the veg with. <S> No such issue with the straight one, I can do long sections of peel quickly. <S> (Try peeling a whole apple or potato in one long piece with the other type!)Every time i see someone using the perpendicular type, they are so slooooow. <S> With a straight one i can get 3 times as much done in the same time. <S> I'll challenge anyone to peel quicker than me if they are using a perpendicular one !! <S> This is my own peeler which I have had for about 10 years. <S> Still sharp and the little point on the end is good for digging eyes out of potatoes etc. <S> But like i said, it all comes down to preference. <S> Try both and compare, see what you like best.
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That type of vegetable peeler can be very effective.
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Does the type of strainer built in a teapot matter? I have been making tea in a simple glass jug for several years, but I happened to break it. When I went shopping, I saw many teapots with integrated strainers, which look convenient. But there was a large difference between the strainers. Some were made from a fine stainless steel mesh, like a normal strainer. Others were from plastic or glass. The ones from plastic and glass typically had only a few holes, and they were rather small ones. Several had slits instead of round holes. Does the type of strainer matter for the quality of the tea? Do a few slits work as well as an all-mesh strainer? Does the water move in and out of the strainer enough to make good tea in a strainer with a few small holes? Second, what about the maintenance? Are the slit strainers easier to clean than the mesh ones? By the way, the teapots with steel mesh strainers seem to be generally more expensive. Is this because they make better tea, or is it just because metal is more expensive and/or looks better? <Q> I have used several types of integrated strainers and in my experience nothing is better than a wire mesh. <S> The holes and slits in glass and plastic strainers are too small and too few to allow good water circulation, so you have to move the strainer around to get the tea to brew. <S> Cleaning-wise, slits are the worst as their tapered ends trap leaved which can be annoying to remove. <S> I'd personally go with the wire mesh type as it brews the best tea. <A> For some teas, the strainer does matter. <S> For a particular variety of green tea that I was considering importing years ago, the producer recommended a certain type of fine mesh strainer for best results, as apparently the leaves were just the right shape to clog up the "standard" Kyuusu-style mesh strainer. <S> (Kyuusu is a type of Japanese teapot with the handle on the side instead of opposite the spout). <S> With black tea, I found that those glass teapot strainers with the little slits in them worked fine, but were a pain to clean. <S> For Japanese green teas, though, they were a disaster, as tea leaves got stuck in them and the infusion never got very complete, and the water refused to drain in a reasonable amount of time. <S> As a result, I refuse to buy another glass teapot with those little slits, because they were too unreliable for anything but large leaf black teas or certain "fruit teas" (as they were called in Germany). <S> Korean style one-person tea cups with large holes in the strainer component work reasonably well for green tea (and are designed for green tea), but often require toothpicks or bamboo skewers to clean if tea gets stuck in the holes. <S> My favorite teapots mostly use the Japanese-style steel mesh, though I have had good luck for certain teas with built-in clay strainer holes if they brew small quantities of tea. <A> Yes, I think that they strainer does make a difference. <S> I would say that they are best for nearly any tea leaf is the fine wire mesh strainer. <S> Plastic mesh is probably second best and the glass or plastic with a few holes as the least desirable. <S> When brewing whole leaf tea, you want to make sure that the leaves have enough room to bloom and open. <S> If the strainer or teapot is not big enough for your tea leaves to open you will not get the most out of your tea leaves. <S> The fine metal mesh is probably the best, as it is the most robust and can cleaned easily. <S> The mesh is also quite fine or comes in different degrees of fineness. <S> The metal is easily bleached or otherwise cleaned. <S> The plastic will become brittle and it a bit harder to clean over time, but is probably the cheapest to replace. <S> The solid glass or plastic with slits will be easy to clean, but usually does not have enough space for the leaves to bloom, and will be the most fragile. <S> I would suggest that if you have unglazed teapots, that they be used with only one type of tea. <S> An example is one teapot for just Chinese jasmine, one more for oolong, another for pu-er, and so on. <S> And this is especially true for more expensive teas to be used in the same teapot. <S> The oils will be infused into the teapot and strainer. <S> And no mixing of flavours from different teas. <S> So going back to the OP, I would say that a big, fine meshed, metal strainer is best. <S> Big, so that your tea leaves can open up. <S> Fine meshed to strain all the leaves out of the water/liquid. <S> Metal as it holds up best and can be cleaned easily.
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The plastic strainers are probably the easiest to clean, with wire being in the middle.
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Whiskey inside a metal flask for a month. Safe for drinking? Taste aside, is it safe for drinking? Whiskey that was left inside a stainless steel flask? <Q> Whiskey is quite high in alcohol, on the order of 40% by volume, and is not hospitable to pathogens growing. <S> So yes, it should be fine. <S> Remember: when it was distilled, the whiskey was probably held at different stages for long periods in a stainless steel vat. <A> My stainless flasks, USA made, purchased from distilleries indicate that spirit alcohol (of any proof) should not be stored for more than 3 days. <S> I've never pursued an explanation for the statement. <S> The flasks generally don't have any contents left by the beginning of the third day. <S> While this may not constitute an answer, it's worth considering all the same. <A> Do keep in mind, though, that some cheap flasks will have plastic liners on the inside - you may want to see if this is the case with your flask. <S> (A month is not particularly long, though.) <A> Problem is with the joining process & material used in the SS flask. <S> I think some may be lead soldering which is poison
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The flask is intended to hold liqueur, and so is made from or lined with a food safe material, such as food grade stainless steel (assuming you have one from a reputable manufacturer).
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Removing the flavour of smoke I made something wrong and the food becomes a but (but not totally) burnt and tasted like smoke, what can I do with it? Are there any spices that can change its flavour? <Q> There are a couple of specific cases where you may have some luck rescuing a portion of the dish. <S> THis is not removing the burned flavor, but rather removing the unburned portion: <S> For a large pot of something like chili or spaghetti sauce, if you realize it is burned on the bottom, you may be able to scoop off the unburned portion at the surface. <S> Don't stir and don't scrape the bottom. <S> You want to leave the burned portion on the bottom of the pan. <S> It still won't be as good as unburned, as some of the flavors will penetrate, but it may not be totally horrible. <S> For a large cut of meat, like a roast, you may be able to cut off the burned portion, and rescue the remainder. <S> However, in general, once something is burned, the smoke and acrid flavors will penetrate it pretty thoroughly and there is no real way to remove that. <S> Masking the flavor with additional spices would be extremely difficult, and almost certainly require an unacceptably large quantity of spice (unless you are a fan of Dave's Insanity Sauce, in which case you may not care). <S> You have to decide if the food is unpalatable enough that you just have to discard it. <A> At home when we accidentally burn food, say usually the bottom part... <S> what we do is to immerse the dish(with the burnt food in it) halfway in water. <S> let it stay for some 10 min. <S> and we take all de food out except that which is sticking to the dish... <S> It really helps remove the smoky flavour.. <S> We have done this many times with success... <S> but this method is most effective when we remove the dish immediately from heat. <S> Hope it works for u too ! <A> Burnt... just a little bit. <S> Sauces- as above, pour off the sauce into another container without stirring or scraping the bottom of the pan. <S> Toast- <S> scrape the burnt edges/crumbs off with a knifeMeat- <S> if it is a large piece of meat, cut off the burnt portion. <S> You can try running a bit of hot water over the burnt area <S> but you are more likely to let the water (with it's burnt notes) seep into the meat that wasn't burnt due to gravityOnions- use a little dry white wine & quickly deglaze the pan. <S> I keep a bottle of Pesivino for just that purpose. <S> Helps to counter balance the burnt flavor. <S> That said- things like toast, onions & some sauces <S> are quick & easy to remake unless you used the last of your ingredients on the said attempt. <S> But burnt to the point of smoke, is much more difficult as smoke, like steam, will permeate the rest of the dish. <S> I don't think of burnt to the point of smoke as being just a little bit burnt.
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If it really has hit the smoke point, you might want to try changing dishes to something that one usually looks for a smokey flavor like barbeque or a Mexican mole sauce.
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Edible supports for a fondant palm tree I am working on a zoo themed cake for a 2 year old. I have made all the animals and added a piece of spaghetti through the body and attached the head on it to keep everything edible on the cake as its a kids' cake. I do not want to add toothpicks or wires as they are not edible. I now want to make a palm tree (about 10-15 cm). I have been looking on the web and all the tutorials ask for wires or dowels for support. Can someone please suggest what else could I use as an edible support to make a fondant palm tree? P.S. It could also be used as a support for other tall fondant figurines. <Q> Pretzel sticks sound promising! <S> The normal sized ones aren't quite 10-15cm, but there are longer ones out there. <S> If you can't find any of that, it should all be easy enough to make yourself; pretty much any crispy cracker or cookie, rolled out into thin sticks instead of its normal shape, should get you started. <A> For something a little more durable than pretzels or cookies, I generally suggest candy canes, especially if you can find the un-bent 'peppermint stick' style. <S> Unfortunately, they're a little harder to come by at this time of year. <S> You might also be able to glue together a bunch of spaghetti or linguini to make it stronger ... <S> either use egg whites or a flour paste, coat the pasta, then tie it together in a bundle and let dry for a day or two. <A> Make them out of fondant, and then freeze them, Make sure you have extra long tree trunks <S> When you are ready to serve, poke in the palms and candles and no problem Kids like frozen fondant too!
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You could also look for Pocky or some other kind of cookie stick - sometimes things like that are sold as edible coffee stirrers (maybe coated with chocolate).
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Could I add butter to single cream to make whipped/double cream? I want to make some whipped cream for millefeuille but I only have single. If I added butter to single cream and whipped it, would that add enough butterfat to it to make it suitable for whipping? Thanks in advance. <Q> Yes, this is possible but you need a high-speed blender like a Thermomix or Vitamix to do so. <S> There's actually a recipe on the Thermomix website: http://www.ukthermomix.com/recshow.php?rec_id=29 Ingredients <S> 250 gm unsalted butter 250 gm milk (full cream or semi-skimmed) <S> Method Weigh butter in pieces and milk into the Thermomix bowl. <S> Cook 3 minutes/ <S> 90C/ <S> Speed 1. <S> Blend 30 seconds/ Speed 8. <S> This emulsifies the butterfat back into the warmed milk and makes a perfectly delicious cream. <S> Chill in the fridge 4 hours to use as pouring or spooning cream. <S> Chill in the fridge 8 hours or more to be able to whip the cream. <S> I presume you could tweak the ratio to account for the difference in fat between milk and cream to make your double cream. <A> No, it won't work. <S> Michael's comment explains why. <S> Whipping cream is not just fat and water mixed, it is fat and water emulsified. <S> This is a big difference. <S> If you had some special reason to do this on a regular basis, you could get it to work by adding emulsifiers. <S> You can beat any fat with water and lecithine or xanthan and get a creamy result. <S> As far as I know, this is how plant based cream substitutes work. <S> But if the issue is that you just don't have whipping cream right now at home, then it is easier to go buy whipping cream than to go find emulsifiers <S> (I buy mine online <S> , don't know if there are brick-and-mortar B2C stores which sell them). <S> If for some reason you absolutely can't do it in time, I would suggest using a different filling. <A> You can buy attachments for the Kenwood mixer and buy hand operated cream makers which require warmed milk and butter. <S> I must get one because the lower fat creams available in Germany where I now live just don't work in my recipes. <S> You can buy cream that whipped but its very loose
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Pastry cream works well with millefeulle, buttercream can work too, lightened with whipped eggwhites if necessary.
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What alternative gelling agents can I use for jam and marmalade? Rather than using natural pectin from the fruit being used or added pectin I am looking for an alternative setting/gelling agent that will enable me to get more jam from my two principle ingredients (fruit and sugar). In other words, if I want to stretch my ingredients to create more volume, what else could I use to ensure it gels to the correct consistency while at the same time not losing its flavour? <Q> Tapioca Jelly is interesting stuff: <S> A typical recipe for tapioca jelly can be made by washing 2 tablespoonfuls of tapioca, pouring a pint of water over it, and soaking for three hours. <S> It is then placed over low heat and simmered until quite clear. <S> If too thick, a little boiling water can be added. <S> It can be sweetened with white sugar, flavored with coconut milk or a little wine, and eaten alone or with cream. <S> Of course, not all tapioca jelly recipes are yummy at first go , so you'll have to experiment. <S> Powdered tapioca starch is the starting material of choice, not the pearls or cubes etc. <A> If, as the comments to the question specify, you want to tone down the flavor of the jam, I would not look to the pectin as the way to do it. <S> Its not really a filler, its a thickener. <S> Obviously, this will change the ingredient label and flavor profile. <S> Some candidates include white grapes, apple juice, or pear juice. <S> Obviously, at this point, you are into recipe development, so you will have to: <S> Test for balance of flavors <S> Ensure you have sufficient acid for your canning method (for safety) <S> Ensure the final ratios of pectin, sugar, and acid are in line for proper gelling <A> I would suggest agar agar <S> that stuff is really nice to work with. <S> I use it for jellies <S> but I guess in a lower amount it can be used for jam or marmalade. <S> It's an organic ingredient made from seaweed. <A> I've used chia seeds - you won't get QUITE the thickness of pectin <S> but it does get that goopy texture! <S> see recipe here: http://happystronghome.com/raw-strawberry-jam-gelatin-free-no-cook/
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Instead, I would suggest adding fruit that is much more neutral in flavor and that will not compete with the strong berry flavors.
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How do I prevent tomato making quiche soggy I have made a simple quiche using a Martha Stewart recipe ( http://www.marthastewart.com/336904/spinach-and-gruyere-quiches ) several times, sometimes altering the filling to include variously bacon, ham, mushrooms, cheddar, and today, tomato slices with basil leaves. I typically half the amount of filling and make only one quiche. Usually, this comes out quite well (although sometimes a bit overly fluffy like a souffle) and makes for a quick supper. I use prepared pastry (usually Pillsbury) and it typically comes out well-cooked and not soggy, despite not blind-baking the crust which is apparently something I should be doing based on this question: Why is my quiche soggy? . Until today, the only time I had a problem was when I used spinach without pressing out some of the moisture, and then the quiche filling and crust were both soggy. Today, I added sliced plum tomato on the top of the quiche before cooking, but found I had to cook the quiche for an additional 10 minutes and still had a somewhat overly gooey filling (but the crust was basically fine). Unlike spinach, it seems silly to squeeze out tomato slices so that they don't add additional moisture to the quiche. Is there a strategy to avoid this problem? <Q> You may wish to seed the tomatoes, removing the gelatinous part containing the seeds, which is mostly water, and very little flavor. <S> You want to use only the meaty, fleshy part of the tomato in a quiche. <S> Depending on the size of your tomatoes, scooping the seeds out with a melon scoop, cutting out the seed sections, or simply squeezing out the seeds will help. <S> The Shiksa in the Kitchen has a very nice article with very clear pictures showing these three different methods of seeding tomatoes. <S> This will substantially reduce the amount of moisture the tomatoes are adding to your quiche. <S> Another method you may choose to use, if you have the time, is to roast your tomatoes before using them in the quiche (which may also involve seeding them first). <S> This will reduce the moisture and concentrate the flavor. <A> You never can tell how much water a tomato will give off, it depends on the variety, how much water it had when it was grown, how thick you slice it, etc. <S> You're best off hedging your bets by following @saj14saj's advice, and roasting your tomatoes beforehand. <S> You could also part dry them in the oven over a longer period, for instance while you are at work. <S> I'd do this with any vegetables or mushrooms that I'd want to use in a quiche as it will reduce the water content and prevent runniness. <S> They are a good choice to offset non-dried vegetables. <A> From watching food shows and trying myself. <S> If you cut tomatoes in slices and salt them, let them sit for 20 minutes, it will draw out the extra water. <S> It works for me. <S> Good luck! <A> if i use tomatoes in a quiche i tend to slice them and put them on top - maybe half way through the bake if they are a bit juicy. <S> They dry out in the direct heat and add a lot more roasted tomato flavour rather than an inspipid wetness. <S> I've also found spinach can easily make your dough soggy - aside from wilting them and then squeezing them dry - you may need more egg to make it set well.
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Alternatively you could add some chopped up sun dried tomatoes, they are packed with flavor, and they actually absorb water when in the oven.
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What to use for a matcha whisk? I want to make matcha green tea. If I just stir it in a mug with a teaspoon it doens't mix in very well so I know I need a whisk. The most popular ones are the traditional bamboo ones but it seems you need a bowl for them as well and I'd prefer to use a normal mug. Has anyone used a normal whisk, does that work? Or I was thinking of trying a cooking brush . UPDATE: has anyone tried with an electric whisk ? <Q> The bowl isn't absolutely essential; it's part of the aesthetic. <S> The shape does serve a purpose, as most of them have nicely curved bottoms that will minimize the chance of the powder from clumping near the edge of the bowl. <S> I've used a normal whisk when preparing "matcha latte" drinks for a client of mine back in the day. <S> There's an advantage to having the 80-120 "tate" (bristle?) <S> because they make it easier to break up beads that form as moisture contacts the tea. <S> But a normal culinary whisk will do the trick, perhaps with a bit more work. <S> I don't see how the silicone brush would help whisking; they tend to be pretty floppy (and mine has occasionally had some of the silicone strands break off when I've used it for brushing food). <A> , it should work fine - <S> it's not much extra trickiness compared to other powders which threaten to clump up. <S> I tend to make matcha in paste-and-loosen form - a paste doesn't have enough liquid to let clumps slide around instead of mix in, and it's easier to loosen a thick paste to a solution rather than gradually than try to whisk a dry powder into a thin liquid. <S> With the thinning a paste method, it is fairly easy to use spoon, fork, butter-knife, chopstick, or, well, whatever. <S> Since I usually like tea a bit on the cooler side, I sometimes loosen it up with cold water, so it doesn't over-steep before cooling enough for me to drink (and sometimes the reverse, use less hot water and add cold water for the rest to end up at drinkble temps fast). <S> As for your update, yeah, electric milk frother works. <S> Pretty well, actually. <S> I tend to use it if I miscalculate the initial mixing, and it smooths <S> lumps really well. <S> Just like an immersion blender, it works best if there's enough liquid, and enough room in the vessel, to let the contents slosh about rather than spatter all over the place - maybe liquid an inch over the head at a minimum, a couple inches is better, and a couple more inches of bowl-space to accommodate it sloshing or frothing up a bit? <S> Or, given how tiny the head is, total of a half a glass or mugfull, mix well <S> , add the other half of the liquid which mixes smoothly since the lumps are ded. <A> Those bamboo whisk can mix the powder more fine resulting in a more thick and creamy matcha. <S> Round bowls also help, because it fits the whisk better. <S> You can mix more conveniently in it compared to a mug.
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Yes, you can likely use a regular whisk If you're really into matcha, then you should be picky about getting a dedicated bowl and whisk.
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How to make matcha tea without matcha whisk? How do I make a nice cup of matcha tea without the whisk? I hear the recipe including the use of a whisk is a traditional way of making ceremonial matcha drink, but I'd like to know how to make a drink from matcha without a whisk. Here's a photo of the tea whisk along with a bamboo spoon: I can't get a whisk right now, but if it turns out it's really worth making matcha drink according to the ceremonial recipe, I'll be sure to get it. See also: What to use for a matcha whisk? <Q> I just put the warm water and matcha powder into the blender, pulse it a few times, then blend it continuously for about 20 seconds. <S> If you don't mind putting in more elbow grease, a balloon whisk can work just as well for doing it by hand. <A> I propose shaking . <S> I've been drinking matcha for a few months <S> and I've never owned a matcha set. <S> Usually, I will take a swing-top glass bottle , add some matcha powder and hot water, and shake vigorously. <S> Then I open the bottle and pour the matcha into a cup. <S> Using this method, the matcha dissolves perfectly; there are no clumps in the tea nor does any of the powder stick to the bottle. <S> The only downside I have found so far is that some of the froth will remain inside the bottle, but most of it will still make it to the cup. <S> The taste does not seem different from a matcha made using a whisk, which I had a few times at a friend's place. <S> I imagine a cocktail shaker, or any similar closable and heat-resistant container, would also work. <A> The aerolatte handheld battery-operated milk frothers work very, very well with a little practice. <S> Seriously great crema after you get the hang of it. <A> Coastal Tea Company has a product called a "Modern Matcha Whisk" that works great for forthing up matcha. <S> I was frustrated with using (and cleaning) <S> traditional matcha whisks/chasens <S> so I use this now. <S> You can get it on Amazon, more details are at http://www.coastalteaco.com <A> battery milk frother mason jar <S> blender metal kitchen whisk <S> fork <S> This post has full explanation and photos. <S> Cheers! <S> http://www.westendmatcha.com/blogs/news/64569285-5-easy-ways-to-make-matcha-without-a-whisk
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I have had a lot of success getting matcha whipped into a nice froth (and getting rid of the little tea lumps) using a small blender, like a Magic Bullet.
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Why does holding ice cream mix improve flavor? Why does holding ice cream mix overnight prior to churning improve the flavor of ice cream when it is finally made? This is true, empirically in my experience, even for simple Philadelphia style ice creams with very simple flavorings such as vanilla and coffee. <Q> Ice Cream Science - Aging the mix <S> was the best reference I could find, though I haven't had a chance to look at Modernist Cuisine and Food and Cooking yet. <S> Basically, it improves mouthfeel, allows more air to be retained (this could be good or bad depending on your opinion of overflow), and helps slow melting. <S> All of the cited reasons have more to do with mouthfeel and texture, rather than taste though. <S> (i <S> ) Absorption of Emulsifiers <S> Two important changes take place during the aging process. <S> First, the emulsifiers (lecithin from the egg yolks) absorb to the surface of the fat droplets, creating a weaker membrane that is more susceptible to partial coalescence. <S> When the mix is frozen in the ice cream machine, it undergoes partial coalescence, during which clumps of the fat globules form and build an internal fat network (Marshall et. <S> al, 2003). <S> These fat globule clumps are responsible for stabilsing the air cells and creating a semi-continuous network of fat throughout the product resulting in a smooth texture and resistance to meltdown <S> (Tharp et al, 1998). <S> (ii) Crystallisation of fat Second, the fat inside the droplets begins to crystallise. <S> Nearly complete crystallisation is needed to promote coalescence of fat globules during freezing (Marshall et al., 2003). <S> Cooling mix to 0-2°C increase the rate of crystallisation. <S> Barfod et al., 1991, showed that crystallisation of fat in a mix containing 10% fat requires at least 4 hours. <S> If you do not sufficiently age your mix, your ice cream can suffer from defects similar to those found in mixes with no added emulsifiers: less retention of shape and relatively fast meltdown <S> (Marshall et al., 2003). <S> It will also be difficult to stabilise air bubbles during the whipping stage, resulting in a hard chewy texture. <A> Main reason that comes to mind is, for the same reason compound butter's flavour improves over a couple of days: infusion. <S> Fat can be infused with flavour, and holds flavour incredibly well, but it needs a little time (viscosity of fat vs water). <S> Otherwise the fat in Serrano Ham would taste just like <S> it would on day one. <S> By holding your mix/custard overnight you are allowing the coffee or vanilla flavours get infused into the mix. <S> You can somewhat accelerate this by letting the vanilla sit in hot ice-cream mix for 1hr as suggested by many pastry chefs (e.g. Simple French Desserts, Jill O'Conner). <S> I suspect the acceleration is due to the lower viscosity of fat at higher temperatures. <S> The taste does follow the physics here were the higher the viscosity the longer infusion (read equilibrium) takes. <S> Serrano ham: two years. <S> Hot deep fryer oil: seconds. <S> By the way, when it comes to ice-cream, they also recommend aging your mix/custard for up to 48 hours. <S> It may be worth the experiment to sous-vide your ice-cream batter/mix at say 55C for a couple of hours and compare taste with the over-night version. <S> Although mouthfeel may play a role in this case, the 'flavour improves over time' effect is present even when crystallization is not happening. <A> Mando's answer plays on popular conceptions of flavors infusing or "melding" over time, but in most cases this isn't a possibility. <S> You may get some added infusion if a vanilla pod or herbs are left in the mix as it ages. <S> This may or may not be good (just as tea that brews for a very long may not be good). <S> And in cases where the flavoring ingredients have been removed, there is no process that directly effects flavor. <S> But there are many processes that will effect texture, and these will have a strong indirect effect on our flavor perceptions. <S> The most important is Matthew's #2 answer: <S> the fat molecules need to crystalize in order to become whipable. <S> His #1 answer is also significant. <S> Any gel-forming compounds, like egg custard, gelatin, or other stabilizers, need time to form their molecular networks. <S> And if there are other stabilizing ingredients, like gums, they can take hours to hydrate fully. <S> It's not just industry that uses these ingredients; you'll find that most of the best pastry chefs use them as well.
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They improve the texture of any ice cream when used properly.
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Is fresh cod with worms safe to eat? I have recently noticed a rather large amount of small worms in the fresh cod I am buying. I have tried to take them out as much as I can and of course have spoken to my fish supplier about them, but he assures me they are harmless. However, I don't believe my customers would be as assured. Is it okay to serve this fish, taking into account I might miss a worm or two? <Q> Removal/avoidance <S> : A skilled sashimi chef has an eye for parasites, and will either discard contaminated pieces, or remove the parasites. <S> Freezing: <S> So called "sushi grade" fish is fish that has been frozen at a temperature/duration recommended by the US FDA. <S> That's 7 days at -20°C, or colder for shorter treatments. <S> Note that this is much colder than domestic freezers. <S> It is said to provide a "parasite destruction guarantee". <S> There may be other ways to neutralise parasites, such as Eskimo-style fermented fish - but these are unlikely to be of use to you. <S> There is a difference between safety and palatability, though, and your customers might reasonably expect to be served fish without visible parasites. <A> Parasites in fish are common. <S> In short, your fishmonger could have done a better job of pulling them out (unless you bought them whole). <S> They are not deemed harmful if cooked properly (see the FAO link below). <S> There are guidelines and standards about the number of Nematodes in a given amount of fish. <S> Some types of fish are more susceptible than others, so you may wish to change your order from COD and Monkfish to something else. <S> Here is a document from FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations). <S> It explains how the worms get there, the safety precautions and how to avoid serving them. <S> The only way to reduce the numbers of parasites reaching the consumer is to inspect the fish and process them in such a way that most parasites are removed. <S> An excerpt on safety (for permanence): <S> There have been cases of human illness caused by the ingestion of live Phocanema or Anisakis larvae in countries where raw or lightly cured fish is commonly eaten. <S> By 1980, there had been only one reported case of illness in the United Kingdom caused by larval round worms from fish; this is because in the UK fish products are normally cooked before consumption. <S> Phocanema and Anisakis larvae are killed in 1 minute at a temperature of 60°C or over. <S> In practice this means that cooking a fillet 3 cm thick for 10 minutes at 60°C will kill any worms present. <S> The temperature of a cold smoking process, for example kippering, is not high enough to kill parasites, but in a commercial hot smoking process a high enough temperature is usually maintained for long enough to kill them. <S> Freezing of fish at - 20 <S> °C for 60 hours kills all worms. <A> This depend entirely on how you are preparing the fish. <S> If you are cooking the fish to FDA's 100% safe temperature of 140F(for fish) <S> then there should be no issue. <S> If you are serving the fish a bit rarer than that (120-130F), it is unlikely the worms can survive the temperature <S> but it is still possible. <S> If you are serving the fish raw, then there will be issues. <S> The parasitic worms will stay alive in your stomach for quite a while. <S> Eventually your stomach will kill it but that can take weeks, sometimes even months. <S> In the mean time, the host of this parasite will experience symptoms such as violent abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.
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Live parasitic worms are to be expected in raw fresh fish, and need to be dealt with in one of three ways: Cooking: If the fish is thoroughly cooked, the worms will be dead and safe to eat.
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Why are my metal tools scraping off the patina of my wok? Here's a picture of my wok and the scratches on the patina I seem to be making when I clean it with my metal spatula and my bamboo brush. I've only used it about 4 times, but the food seems to stick to it a little more each time and this time, it was pretty tough to get the sauce off of the wok. Why is this this happening? Is there something wrong with the way I seasoned my work? I've been using vegetable oil over medium heat for 10 minutes and then repeating that 2-4 times after cleaning. Tonight I tried crisco for the first time. Am I only supposed to use metal and bamboo brushes on it after I've used it for a few months? Are these scrapes normal and unrelated to why my sauces are sticking to the bottom? For reference, here's the only 2 recipes I've used on my wok. Perhaps they're too vinegary to be used this soon? Beef and Broccoli Kung Pao Chicken <Q> It can take years to build up a strong patina, and to smooth off your tools so they don't dig in Relax, just wash it with a plastic scourer (3M green type), oil it and heat it up on your burner <S> (tilt the wok to reach the high sides) <S> The damage seems mainly in the 'off' zone, so it shouldn't effect your cooking process too much <S> The main issue is that most woks are cheaply made, and not hand beaten, but 'metal spun', and have concentric groves which catch the tools. <S> Not much you can do about it, and not worth worrying about <A> Use wooden or plastic tools instead, without sharp edges. <A> I had the same problem. <S> So I switched to bamboo spatula for stirring/cooking and a plastic spoon for scooping food out. <S> I think after a strong build up is created then can go back to the metal spatula that came with the steel carbon wok.
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most likely your tool is cutting into the patina, causing it to break up and separate, so your sauces can penetrate between the patina and the metal.
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How can I make my carrot cake taste more carroty I have used organic carrots finely grated and increased the quantity of carrots used, but still can't taste the carrot <Q> You could try a few different tactics: <S> Use some roasted carrots. <S> Roasting intensifies the flavour by removing water. <S> Try not to brown them too much though, which will give them a burnt-sugar taste. <S> Use complimentary spices. <S> Mace, which is the dried membrane that surrounds nutmeg, compliments and enhances the flavour of carrots very well. <S> If you can't find mace, try nutmeg itself. <S> Reduce carrot juice. <S> Simmer until syrupy and add to the cake. <S> You might need a little more flour to compensate for the extra liquid. <A> You're not the only person experiencing this issue, there are reports that over the last few decades carrots have been losing nutrition and by extension, taste. <S> you can <S> (the more tasty part of carrots is the outer and lower part, bigger carrots have more of it). <S> Use the bottom two thirds for your recipe (and save the top part for another dish). <S> Buy purple or other colour carrots . <S> Apparently, the orange carrot was selectively bred and domesticated by the Dutch Royalty . <S> You may find all kinds of neat flavours in other types of carrots. <S> Try the Mukum Carrot variety , they generally sweeter and may show up <S> as more carroty ;) Carrots from colder climates are sweeter , particularly when temperatures go below freezing (the carrot plant makes sugar to prevent freezing and self preserve). <S> See this document from Chef Dan Barber of the world-class Blue Hill restaurant. <S> The details what were the sweet and bitter taste of Organic Carrots come from are in this document . <A> If you want to go fancy, you could do an agar-agar carrot extraction and soak your finished cake with the carrot extract. <S> http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-GelatinAgar-Filtration/
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Here are some decisive things you can do to get more and more pleasant carrot taste of your carrots: Get the largest carrots
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Will milk produce more curds if you add additional protein and fat content? Cheese is basically made up of protein and fat. If I take non-fat milk and add more protein (i.e, from protein powder), and more fat (i.e, olive oil, or some other type of oil), will it produce more curds when I make homemade cheese? Does it also depend on the type of protein I use and the type of fat? Or does the amount of curds produced depend on something else? I know this sounds like an unusual question, but I have my own reasons for asking. =) <Q> I am not sure what "more curds" means, or how to answer that. <S> The fat does not directly participate in curd formation, but is interlocked within the complex colloid that is formed during the fermentation or acidification from the casein. <S> Milk fat has unique characteristics which will not be matched by another fat, most importantly: <S> Its flavor <S> Its melting point <S> Furthermore, it is emulsified into the continuous liquid phase and so evenly distributed throughout the resultant cheese or curds or yogurt or whatever you are making. <S> While not impossible, you would have difficulty integrating another fat into the liquid phase in a smooth, emulsified manner. <A> Yes, you will get more curds. <S> Producers in markets with low legal requirements on labeling and high price sensitivity (e.g. Eastern Europe about 10 years ago) used to do this a lot for feta-type cheese. <S> They still do it, but nowadays they are required to label the cheeses containing vegetable fats, so their more expensive competitors producing standard cheese have part of the market too. <S> When you use vegetable fat, you get more curds, and a very cheese-like taste, at least if you do it properly. <S> (I suspect that the producers emulsifiy the fat first, but have no detailed knowledge of their process). <S> Under some legislations, you cannot call the product cheese, but this will vary regionally, and probably won't matter to your kitchen. <S> As for the proteins, you probably want them to be in a curdable state before you add them. <S> If you add proteins which have already been curdled and then pulverized, they will just get in the way of the existing ones and create a cheese with a bad texture. <S> I think that the typical whey protein isolate you can buy in a sports store is already curdled, but my experience with it isn't very extensive, maybe there are curdled and raw products on the market. <S> What you can use is to e.g. add fresh soy milk, in which case you will be making a hybrid of cheese and tofu. <S> You could use milk proteins, which will give you a good cheese, but I am not sure where you can find pure milk proteins as opposed to normal powdered milk which still contains the fat and carbs of the original. <S> As for the taste and texture, they will be far from normal cheese. <S> Without the benefit of a research lab and food technologists working for you, you are unlikely to create a good imitate tastewise. <S> Even the commercially produced vegetable-fat-feta has some difference from pure-milk-feta if one knows what to look for, and its melting behavior is totally different from normal feta (it practically dissolves). <S> So, I don't know why you are trying to do it, but while you certainly can produce some kind of edible result, don't expect to get a perfect cheese imitate. <A> I'm interested in this as well. <S> I've made paneer with full-fat milk (actually augmented with cream to get the fat fraction up to 4% to approximate that in buffalo milk). <S> Recently I've been interested in making a full-fat paneer with healthier fats: low erucic acid mustard seed and coconut oil. <S> Here's what I tried: I computed the fat fraction of 3.25% milk at about 5-3/4 fluid ounces, and mixed equal parts of my two fats. <S> I then took a tablespoon of lecithin granules as an emulsifier, added a couple of of tablespoons of water and mixed to produce a slurry, with a bit of heating to encourage solution (lecithin is only mildly soluble in water). <S> I added my oil to this drop-wise, with stirring, achieving what appeared to be a smooth emulsion. <S> I then added my skim milk, drop-wise at first, and then at a slow flow, while whisking, to a total quantity of about a pint: a bit more milk than oil. <S> To completely mix the emulsion, I used a blender. <S> The result was pretty good: a completely homogeneous mix. <S> I added this to the remainder of a gallon of skim milk, and proceeded to make paneer as usual. <S> I got less curd than expected, but am not sure if it was more than a straight skim paneer. <S> It was a bit crumbly, suggesting low-fat, but still had a full-fat mouthfeel to it. <S> It pan fries just like regular paneer, with no exuding of fat. <S> I got about 400 grams worth. <S> I don't know how much of the perceived change is because of the added fat though.
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You can enhance the firmness of fermented/curdled dairy products by adding milk proteins (such as non-fat dried milk), because there will be more protein to interlock and form the gel that is characteristic of yogurt, creme fraiche, sour cream and so on.
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Why does the roux break down in my chicken velouté sauce? I am trying to make a veloute sauce which involves adding roux to boiling hot water mixed with chicken base (such as Tones or McCormick). This sauce is then mixed with heavy cream at a later stage to create a sauce for potatoes au gratin. After you have made the roux and cooked it to a blonde stage (3-5 minutes), the chef that taught me this instructed me to cool the roux to room temperature and then add the room temperature roux to the boiling liquid stock. I let the stock boil for a few minutes after the addition of the roux and then reduce it to a softer boil (simmer). The problem that I have encountered is that when simmering the sauce, the roux eventually breaks down releasing the fat (butter) into the sauce and thickening the "center" portion of the sauce. The fat essentially separates from the flour due to extreme heat (simmering). What causes this, and is there any way around it? Most veloute/supreme sauces call for a 30-50 minute simmering of the sauce to reduce any starchy taste and grainy texture.. but if the roux breaks down in the sauce before this how is this even possible? If I don't leave the sauce at a boil initially for at least 3 minutes and then don't simmer for at least another 2-3 minutes, whatever remains from the lump of roux that was added settles to the bottom of the pan or forms lumps which eventually settle out. The sauce also has a "grainy" texture and seems to have too much of a starchy or floury taste. Any advice on this would be appreciated. Thanks. <Q> Per SAJ14SAJ's comment, the suspension in a traditional veloute relies on the gelatin to keep everything in place. <S> Stocks are naturally rich in gelatin, due to the bones and connective tissue used to make them. <S> Using a base to make the sauce is probably not providing the gelatin necessary. <S> Other rich liquids frequently do separate when simmered for a long time (think curries and gumbo) <S> , so it's to be expected that your emulsion will break down eventually. <S> I think your solution is to either use a real stock instead of the base, or perhaps fortify your liquids with a bit of gelatin before adding the roux (or barring those, cook only until your starch is gelatinized). <A> The idea of letting the roux come to room temperature is based on the idea that the roux and the liquid should be at the same temperature. <S> Instead, heat the liquid (chicken stock, broth, etc) to about the same temp as the cooked roux, and instead of adding the roux to the liquid, slowly add the hot liquid to the roux, whisking it until smooth. <A> Your sauce is breaking. <S> Your basic veloute recipe calls for adding the stock to the roux, not the roux to the stock. <S> If, however, you are dead-set on adding roux to stock, I would suggest slowly incorporating a small amount of the stock into the roux and whisking until it's smooth before adding that mixture to the rest of the stock (as if you were making gravy, for instance). <S> Also, I would humbly suggest that your stock is probably too hot. <S> Think like if you've ever tried to make gravy from drippings that were too hot, and your roux ends up all grainy. <S> A liquid that has been boiled then brought down to a simmer will be closer to boiling that a liquid that has been brought from cold to simmer. <S> I'd try the cold-simmer route and see if you have better results. <S> One last thing: are you using clarified butter for your roux? <S> Sometimes the water in unclarified butter can cause the roux to break at higher temperatures. <A> If your sauce breaks, too much water has been cooked off. <S> Add water in small amounts while stirring until the sauce tightens back up.
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When flour-based sauces get too hot (in other words, boiling), they can break.
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Why do most sandwich makers have a triangular shape? I've seen many hundreds of sandwich making machines in my life, and I noticed that in the vast majority of them, there is a diagonal protrusion that makes sandwiches come up in triangular shapes. This makes no sense to me, for the following reasons: Most packaged sliced bread is square, not triangular. Most grilled sandwich recipes don't call for triangular shapes You're forced to a triangular shape Non-square bread slices are difficult to use with this triangular shape The protrusion itself is much more difficult to clean than a simple flat iron. Yet for some reason these sandwich makers are extremely common, to the point that flat makers are somewhat of a specialty item, therefore costing more. I think I'm missing something here. Why do most sandwich makers use this triangular shape? What are the advantages of such a shape? <Q> Typically with these sandwiches you have some cheese inside along with some other ingredients such as tomatoes that get quite hot (325° F sometimes). <S> From what I've seen, if you have a square only shape, you don't necessarily get a good seal, plus you get a massive pocket of hot lava. <S> The fat from the cheese or butter concentrates in the center, soaks and can break through the bread releasing hot lava on shirts, pants, open toes, etc. <S> Even if it doesn't suffer a total failure, you don't get a consistent sandwich. <S> Center will end up much soggier than the crusty rim and eating it can get difficult and messy. <S> Certainly no longer hors d'oeuvres stuff. <S> The triangular shape essentially makes it bite-sized, so the stuffing doesn't run away after the first bite and becomes more manageable. <S> You can try using a grill or a panini press, but if you've noticed, those ones allow the oozing lava to escape and run away. <S> A calzone is similar to what you'd get, and a badly crafted calzone can be quite messy and again, not really an hors d'oeuvre. <A> I strongly suspect but cannot prove that there are very few actual manufacturers of this niche appliance—perhaps even only one major one. <S> In particular, Konwin is a Chinese OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) that makes a series of sandwich makers for re-badging and resale. <S> You will note that their line of sandwich makers has the exact detailed design prevalent in almost every model for sale, right down to the little design in the center of the triangles. <S> The various models in their line probably share many parts. <S> As to why the OEM chose the triangle design, I can only guess that it is for aesthetic reasons—to make the sandwiches look nice. <A> I think that there are several reasons. <S> Nowadays it's the shape people are looking for when buying a toaster, even though it may be very impractical. <S> If manufacturers use a different shape, people might not recognize is at a sandwich toaster.
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It is likely that many brands of sandwich maker are actually re-badged OEM versions, and so their similarity is because they really are the same machines, perhaps with minor aesthetic treatments or customization. It just looks nice As explained by MandoMando, to prevent too toasty edges and a hot liquid volcano in the middle More edges means more crunchy slightly burned cheese, which is delicious.
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What weights to use for fermenting sauerkraut? I am new to making sauerkraut. I do know the right ingredients for making sauerkraut, based on searching on Google. My question is what equipment should I use to weight the sauerkraut below the brine? I am using a Fidos jar as a container. If I were rich, I would buy a fermenting crock that comes with stone weights, see for example this crock . However, since I am not rich, are there stone weights that I can buy? My current idea is to use ceramic pie weights, but I have never owned any of these before. Would they be sufficiently heavy to weight the sauerkraut down? <Q> Penn State Extension recommends: Cover with a plate weighted down with jars filled with water or cover with a large food grade plastic bag filled with salt water (6 tablespoons salt per gallon of water.) <A> I can't see why not, pie weights should be fine. <S> I would place the weights in a plastic zip bag though, to make sure they don't drift downward, maybe even filling the bag with the brine as well. <S> Afterward, you could always bake the pie weights to sterilize them between uses too. <A> Get a set of ceramic weights that fit a 1 liter Fido jar. <S> https://www.etsy.com/listing/182083359/fermentation-weights-for-1-liter-fido-or <S> (disclaimer: this is my own product) <A> A quick tip: <S> whichever way you weight your kraut, add a piece of outer cabbage leaf (make sure all your veg is organic, not sprayed) under the weights to hold all the bits of kraut under the brine level. <S> It gives you a good wallop of the right bacteria too! <A> I use these glass weights , there are quite a few varieties available but <S> the basic idea behind them is the same: they almost completely fill the opening of a Mason jar or other jar which has the same diameter opening (many do). <S> The stone weights in a dedicated fermentation crock do the same job, minimizing the kraut's contact with the air, but the glass weight is one piece instead of <S> two <S> so it's a little harder to get them in and out of the jar than it is with a stone weight like the one Leslie linked to. <S> There are versions for either standard-mouth or wide-mouth jars. <A> I use the book Making Sauerkraut and pickled vegetables at home. <S> In the book it states to use a water and acid-proof stone such as granite. <S> Limestone or marble will dissolve in carbonic acid. <S> It also states that a board that is either birch or beech are traditionally used for this purpose. <S> Do not use pine or fir, because their strong odors can be transferred to the vegetables. <S> If you use a mason jar or a big gallon jar you will need to cut the weight in half to get it inside the jar. <S> Only fill the jar to about 75% capacity with the vegetables or cabbage, add your stones or boards and if using boards a bag with the salt water solution on top. <S> Making sure that the brine solution is at least an inch above all. <S> Finally after sealing the top I use a rubber grommet in the lid and attach a fermentation lock (the same one I use for fermenting wine) <S> this in turns allows no air to make contact with the fermenting goods, and thus prevents the mold or kahm yeast from forming.
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The ceramic weights used in large kraut crocks are unglazed ceramic as are the pie weights.
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What is the difference between French and British cuts of beef? What is the difference between French and British cuts of beef? I am told they just butcher the animals dfferently. Certainly the cuts don't seem the same. For example is faux fillet really exactly the same as British sirloin and is entrecôte really the same as rib steak? Here is a picture of British beef cuts. <Q> The simplest way to see the difference is to compare the cut diagrams: <S> British French Images courtesy of Wikipedia - Cut of Beef <S> The main difference is in how certain areas are sub-divided. <S> We can see that faux-filet is part of the British sirloin, and entrecote is partly forerib and partly sirloin. <A> Someone commented that 'Fillet doesn't exist in British cuts'? <S> As someone (literally) born & brought up in a butcher's shop, I've never heard such utter nonsense. <A> The real difference is that the French feeding of their bovine for cuisine is very different than the British or American Fillet and faux fillet, are the cuts that are not found in a normal Angus or Angus type of Bulls. <S> It is due to their feeding <S> The British and/or American's prefer a layer of fat, whereas the French in their fillet have none. <S> For example, le fillet American is scraped fillet with a blunt knife. <S> There are other examples of the difference but this one it most obvious. <S> Pedantically, fillet does not exist in English/American Cuts <A> Two things1.The French diagram seemsfar more detailed than the English one, which lacks several cuts2. <S> Meat cuts are regional in both countries, but I think more in the UK <S> The obvious examples have already been mentioned, fillet steak is definitely an English cut,the eye of the loin. <S> French paleron = feather or blade (regional names) <S> Skirt is not shown (it is related to onglet). <S> Neck is not a cut commonly sold in London, I'm not even sure what I'd ask for, I suspect it goes into anonymous stewing steak and mince
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Apart from the fact that French and British cuts are differently named, the hindquarters are cut at different angles, which is why British cuts tend to be a lot more tender and easy to carve than their French counterparts.
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Canning tomato sauce problem, jar broken in boiling method It was my first try to canning tomato sauce but I failed. I prepared a tomato pizza sauce. I boiled a jar and lid then removed it I filled the jar with sauce and left one inch empty space and closed with the lid. Then I put it in the boiling water and what happened: As soon as I put the jar in the hot boiling water, some air bubbles appeared. Then after few seconds, the jar broke from its bottom And I failed in my first experiment. What should I be doing differently for this not to happen next time? <Q> Jars burst either because of internal pressure or thermal shock. <S> There are a couple things you can do to reduce the risk of bursting. <S> use actual canning jars. <S> Some people like to reuse regular jars that aren't as strong. <S> This will often work fine but increases the risk of bursting. <S> make sure the jar is hot. <S> A cold jar into hot water or a hot jar into cold water will burst almost every time. <S> bring water to a boil after adding jars don't overtighten lids. <S> Rings should be tightened just enough to firmly hold the lid on. <S> Too much and pressure won't be able to escape during boiling. <S> Remember the bottle is sealed by pressure-not by the ring. <S> Based on your description, if you had any of these problems I would suspect the last. <S> However, sometimes bottles just burst because of manufacturing defects. <S> This doesn't happen often but it is sad when it does. <A> Your jar may have died of thermal shock. <S> The bottom of your canning pot should have a spacer that keeps the jars from directly touching the pot's potentially quite hot bottom. <S> You can buy purpose-built spacing grids, or use something like this: <S> Those are canning jar lids in the bottom of the pot. <A> Put room temperature closed jars in water, put cotton kitchen cloth between jars in the water, turn the gas on and continue. <S> When the water starts boiling leave it boiling for 30 to 40 min. <S> Turn off gas, leave them for one hour to cool and then take them out and dont open the jars. <S> Store them in a relatively dark area, open only the one u need to use first. <S> Basically speaking, jars with circular metal lids should have their top lid surface become slightly concave after boiling, this means the air went out <S> and now they can be stored for a year. <S> If the top of the lid remains straight or convex, there is a chance that the sauce will rot after a few weeks because air is still inside, and bacteria can resurrect to life.
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It seems that you added room temperature or (just warm) jars into boiling water, thermal shock broke the glass.
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Where can I find the apron/towel worn by the America's Test Kitchen staff? On America's Test Kitchen, I've seen them wearing a towel around their waist that is somehow attached to an apron. Is there a name for this? Or are they just somehow tucking the towel into a standard apron pocket? This would be a great kitchen convenience--where can I buy an apron like this? (Preferably only covering below the waist as shown on Becky below.) <Q> The traditional butcher's apron tie is to wrap the strings of the apron around behind one's back, then back to the front to tie. <S> This provides a convenient place to put a tea towel or rag. <S> From the photos, this appears to be what the folks in the picture have done (Becky and Chris, IIRC). <S> When I worked in a deli on Long Island, this is how we tied our aprons. <A> I don't think the towel is affixed to the apron, it's just folded and hung through the apron's string. <S> Notice that both of them tie their aprons in the front, not in back, leaving the extra wrapped bit where they are hanging the towels. <A> It looks like it might Becky might be tucking the towel into something like this apron .
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Most restaurant supplie stores have a variety of apron's available or you could just find them online by searching "waist apron"
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how to disarm a potentially pressurized whipping siphon? My situation is much like spongefile's : I'm using my iSi cream whipper for the first time, charging it as instructed out of sweat-deserving fear of pressurized items Nothing is released when I push the lever, regardless of orientation, not even dripping liquid Some differences: the contents of the whipper are blended pressure-cooked beans whipped with 35% whipping cream + 3 iSi cartridges when I charged the cartridges, leakage happened around the charge holder and some of the bean preparation leaked from around the device head I later discovered that, after cleaning, I didn't reinsert the head gasket (but I'm not certain whether the valve and the perimeter of the head device head are blocked or not due to the potentially-drying bean contents) I tried shaking it some more as well as the "release pressure" instructions that came with the manual to no avail - nothing comes out regardless of orientation. Questions How can I tell whether there's too much pressure or too little pressure? ( Now asked as a separate question here .) How can I safely remove the device head in case there is too much pressure and the valve and device head are blocked? (and, as spongefile asked, hat's the worst thing that can happen?) Any pointers are enormously appreciated! <Q> I don't know how to tell what the pressure is on a whipper, but from the results of a blocked one, I'm going to make the following suggestion for attempting to safely disarm it: <S> You need containment. <S> If you open the container too quickly, you're looking at a massive mess to clean up. <S> I'd suggest possibly a cardboard box (disposible) or a large plastic container (cleanable), with a clear plastic trashbag over it, so that only your arms are going in. <S> If you don't have a large clear plastic bag, you'll either need to make a window (we can cut a cardboard box, then tape the bag down) or find something else clear (shower curtain liner?). <S> Containment also reduces the odds that the head will fly off and damage something. <S> Goggles or other eye protection wouldn't hurt incase something goes wrong. <S> If you have assistance, tape the bag around your arms, so you have a good seal. <S> Slowly open the container ... <S> if it's like the case when my mom did this, a little will leak out after a while. <S> Give it another partial turn, and some more will leak out ... go slowly. <S> Suddenly, the whole thing will release, making a complete mess. <S> If you're like my mom, and insist on attempting to save the whipped cream, you can place a bowl & spoon into the containment with you, and scoop it off as it oozes out the side ... but risk knocking the bowl over when it suddenly pops open on you. <S> ... <S> That being said, if you're not in a rush to open it, I'd let it sit for a day or two, with the nozzle up, (possibly after rapping it hard on the floor a couple of times) then attempt to spray ... <S> if you get a gas release, you might be able to depressure it some before attempting to open it. <A> I don't know that there is a clear way to tell if the canister is over-pressurized. <S> The typical number of cartridges used depends on the size of the whipper (usually 1-2 for 0.5L and 2-3 for the 1L). <S> While it could likely take more pressure, I wouldn't exceed 3 cartridges in any application. <S> The mix of beans and whipped cream needs to be SUPER smooth for it to flow well in this application. <S> Any type of chunks can clog the nozzle and become a real pain/mess. <S> I suspect the leakage from the container initially was from not replacing the gasket. <S> The way I think about it is, if you can perceive particulate when the mix is on your tongue, it's still too chunky for the whipper. <A> I know this was solved a year ago, but the problem was probably that it had no pressure at all. <S> Without the head gasket, they almost always fail to seal and you lose pressure pretty quickly.
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Place the containment vessel on its side, with the whipper inside, and the opening so that you can see into it.
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Ridges on knife steel? Is there any functional difference (not related to things like embedded diamond grit) between a smooth-surfaced knife (or honing) steel, and one that has visible ridges? Would there be any reason to prefer one over the other? Clarification: the type of answer I am looking for actually addresses the effect (or lack thereof) of the ridges at the microscopic scale where honing takes place. <Q> I understand that the ridges just make the honing process faster <S> You can hone a knife with more or less anything. <S> Preferably with material of a similar nature so as not to "grab" the knife edge and pull chunks off it For a quick test, take a knife that needs honing, and use the back square edge of another knife to hone it with The square edge bites into the burrs faster than a round edge, but can also "grab" and damage the edge <S> Honing is a gentle process, you are straightening the edge, and removing burrs, not really grinding the edge Honing with material that is softer than the knifes edge, will just take longer, but generally produces a better result <S> The same processes are happening when a barber runs the blade over a honing leather strap, particles in the leather gentle grab the edge, and straighten it out. <S> Any bad burrs will catch on the leather and be torn off <A> Keep in mind that a knife steel or a honing steel does not actually sharpen the knife, it merely re-aligns the microscopic sawtooths/burrs created on the edge of the knife from cutting to reduce the drag. <S> The contact point of a ridged-steel is less blunt (smaller radius on the ridge vs the steel) and might deliver more concentrated force. <S> with a ridged steel you can rest the knife blade and run across two adjacent ridges (creating straight contact with two small surfaces) and reduce the risk of damage (by bending the burrs the other way). <S> a round-steel contact point would be more blunt. <S> (we've looked at the honed edges under a stereomicroscope). <S> In my experience the ridged steel works better at aligning the burrs (or sawtooths). <S> To create a new edge or actually sharpen the knife you'd use something like a whetstone or a strap, or even high-grit ( <S> >2000) sand paper. <S> By removing the burrs this way, you create a smooth (new) edge. <A> Yes, there is a difference <S> This has the effect of increasing the contact pressure (force is concentrated over a smaller arc). <S> Some reasons you might want to increase contact pressure <S> : You're sharpening a very hard knife (e.g. carbon steel) <S> You're a commercial chef and want to hone faster since time <S> is money Reasons for not using ridged rods (ie decreasing contact pressure): <S> Smoother hone Better honing precision <S> Some honing materials (eg ceramic) can't be made/maintained very well with ridges.
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The ridges on a honing rod provide greater curvature at the point of contact between the rod and the blade.
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How do I reduce the lemon acidity in apple soup? I have just made an apple soup that has lemon juice in. The problem being the lemon tartness totally overpowers the soup. How do I neutralise this??? <Q> It may be worth trying to balance the sour flavor out using some sugar or other sweetener, it will be powerfully flavored but it's better than adding baking soda, as it has been pointed out that may change the texture and flavor in ways you do not want. <S> At the very least it may reduce the amount of acidity you would want to neutralize, so less baking soda would be needed. <S> As for what I'd do: chuck it and start over if adding sugar doesn't work. <S> I wouldn't make another batch and combine the two because if you combine them and it still doesn't taste good you have wasted 2 batches! <S> I'd start over and try to get the second batch right, then you have a better chance of getting something out of your efforts. <S> How much lemon juice and/or rind you need to add is dependent on personal taste, the type of apples used and their acidity (there are apples that are too sour to begin with!), and other factors like how much water is added. <S> A recipe in this case is a guideline, you should start with far less lemon and sugar than the recipe suggests and add more of both gradually, tasting as you go. <S> If you use granny smith (very, very tart) apples you'll need much less lemon and much more sugar for example. <A> In theory, you could neutralize the acidity (although not the lemon flavor) by adding some sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). <S> The reaction products are water, carbon dioxide, and sodium citrate, which still has a sour flavor, and acts as an emulsifier. <S> This may change the flavor or texture of your soup in unexpected ways. <S> On the other hand, if you would otherwise discard the soup, this may be worth a try. <S> While you can try masking the flavor with other ingredients, short of something like the reaction described above, there is no way to remove the extra acidity. <S> Your best bet is to make another batch without the lemon juice or with reduced lemon juice, and combine them. <S> Of course, this will give you a very large quantity of soup. <S> It may not be worth trying to rescue, especially if there are no expensive ingredients in your soup. <S> See also: <S> Too much sugar in soup -- <S> how to make it less cloying? <A> In general, if you want the lemon flavor, use lemon zest , but if you want the tartness, use lemon juice . <S> There's really not much you can do to save your current batch, other than make a batch without the juice and combine, as another poster suggested. <A> As I noted in an answer to this question on reducing the acidity of a honey lemon drink, you really shouldn't use baking soda, as suggested elsewhere, to reduce the acidity. <S> This will most likely taste pretty awful. <S> Try adding baking soda to a lemon drink yourself and see what you think. <S> You have a couple more options, detailed further in <S> this answer to a question about making a kiwi sauce less sour. <S> Diluting the soup with water (or something more flavourful) will reduce the acidity but may not reduce the perceived acidity . <S> Not your best option I say. <S> To reduce the perceived acidity of the soup (but not its pH), add a little sugar. <S> There is a possibility here that the amount of sugar needed to balance the sour combines to make a soup that is altogether too tart. <S> You can dampen down this sweet-sour tartness with the addition of a little salt. <S> Incidentally, there is no need to ruin all your soup following this (or any other) advice. <S> Experiment a ladle at a time and only hit the stock pot when you feel you have found an improvement. <A> If you've got too much of one of the five primary flavours (in this case sourness), you can reduce the perceived flavour by increasing one of the others: <S> Increase the sweetness ( <S> e.g. by adding sugar or honey) <S> Increase the saltiness ( <S> e.g. by adding salt or fish sauce) <S> Increase the bitterness ( <S> e.g. by adding greens or herbs) <S> Increase the umami ( <S> e.g. by adding bacon sprinkles or fish sauce) <S> For this kind of flavour-balancing, another option is to add some chilli - it has a similar 'distraction' effect on the taste buds. <A> I'd add calcium carbonate, not sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). <S> Calcium carbonate won't make the soup taste salty, and indeed if you're in the USA eating any processed or restaurant food then you most likely are eating too much sodium anyway.
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Depending on how much tartness you want in the soup, I would use a combination of zest and juice, rather than the full amount of lemon juice in the recipe.
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Why does my cookbook want me to drain my tomatoes for a pasta sauce? I have an excellent recipe for pasta sauce, but I'm having trouble convincing people to try it because it contains a counter-intuitive and potentially wasteful instruction. The gist of it is this: Take a tin of plum tomatoes Pour the tomatoes into a seive and smush up the tomatoes themselves, draining away the tomato juice Heat with a teaspoon of sugar and a generous pinch of sea salt The resulting sauce is extremely addictive, but why do I have to drain the tomatoes? Tins of plum tomatoes aren't hugely expensive, but neither are they cheap, and I don't know why we'd want to waste tomato juice. Is it for the sake of taste (perhaps the juice is bitter?), or for texture instead? <Q> The main purpose is to allow you to get a thick, hearty sauce more quickly. <S> By pre-draining the liquid, you lose a a very small amount of flavor, but save time and energy in reducing the sauce. <S> Otherwise, you would simply have to boil away the excess liquid to get the desired consistency. <A> It <S> may also reduce some of the acidity which may be why you prefer this recipe. <S> The thickness of the pasta sauce goes hand-in-hand with the shape of the pasta <S> you're making. <S> Different pasta shapes can hold different amount of water (say fusilli vs spaghetti) and traditionally you boil down the sauce to make it thicker <S> so the pasta can hold it. <S> However, this can have other effects including change of colour . <S> You can save the tomato juice and make a mean bloody-mary/ceasar with it. <S> Throw in some worcestershire sauce, tabasco, a stick of celery and optionally a stick of dried meat (e.g. beef jerky) <S> and it's a meal onto its own. <S> Tomato juice is also a great hangover cure. <S> so either way, you can save the stuff and not waste it. <A> It can make your sauce watery and almost impossible to reduce in time for dinner. <S> What I tend to do is drain them off and reduce the remaining liquid in another saucepan while the main pasta sauce is cooking and then add in the end when it's the desired consistency. <S> I suppose it depends on the brand but one must assume that the juice contains a significant amount of water soluble vitamins and taste - my pasta sauce always has an intense rich tomato flavour.
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Draining some of the juice allows you to get to a thick sauce quickly.
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Why do you need eggs when making icecream? I was looking for a good recipe to make pistachio almond ice cream, but all of them needed Eggs. My uncle used to sell home ice cream in Mexico, and I'm 100% that he never used an egg to make pistachio almond ice cream, or any other ice cream. However, it's not the first time I see eggs listed as an ingredient for homemade ice cream. Is there any particular reason for that? Why do you need eggs? What other thing can I use instead of eggs? <Q> There are two main base recipes for ice cream. <S> Philadelphia style ice cream (sometimes called American style) has no eggs, and relies on the fat in the cream to keep it soft, but will still never be as rich and smooth as French style, and will still tend to freeze harder. <S> You can make pretty much any ice cream in either style, including the pistachio-almond you want to make. <S> You can look around for recipes without eggs; I wouldn't be surprised if you manage to find one one. <S> Or you can simply use a Philadelphia style base, and look at one of the recipes you found to see how to add the pistachio and almond. <S> Depending on how rich you want it, you'll want 2-3 cups of heavy cream for each 1 cup of milk; about 3/4 cup of sugar should work, depending on how sweet you want it. <S> If that's not rich enough for you, you can even replace the milk with cream. <S> (You could also just go find a recipe for Philadelphia style vanilla ice cream and use that as a base - it doesn't get much simpler than that.) <S> (P.S. You could also try gelato, something like this recipe - it uses corn starch as a stabilizer instead.) <A> Ice cream is an emulsion of air, water, and fat. <S> As Jefromi points out you <S> can make gelato or Philadelphia style without egg yolks. <S> Besides the taste and texture, egg yolk protein helps firm up the ice cream emulsion as an emulsifying agent (same way gelatin helps set Jello). <S> Not only you don't need the Egg Yolks to make ice cream, you don't even need the fat! <S> As long as you can make a frozen emulsion, you're in business. <S> For example, Turkish ice cream ( Dondurma ) is made with milk, sugar, salep , and mastic (gum arabic). <S> The mastic acts as a thickening agent and the salep (and its starch and proteins) is the hydrocolloid to set the emulsion. <S> Mix air into this <S> and you have ice cream without cream or eggs. <A> I live in India. <S> Most ice creams & kulfis (Indian style firm ice cream) are made without eggs here because eggs are considered non vegetarian. <S> Kulfi is usually made by reducing milk & cream by boiling down to about 1/4 of the original volume. <S> Sugar, saffron, almonds & or pistachios are added & the mixture is frozen in cylindrical 'popsicle' type molds with a stick for a handle. <S> Kulfi is a bit grainy in texture, and although creamy not as smooth as US ice creams. <S> The ice cream I make for my restaurant here uses whipping cream plus sweetened condensed milk as a base. <S> The usual ratio is 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.) + 300ml whipping cream + whatever flavor I want. <S> For example, in my mango ice cream first I mix the can of sweetened condensed milk with 2 cups fresh mango puree & set aside. <S> Then I beat 300 ml whipping cream to stiff peaks. <S> After that I fold the mango puree mixed with the can of sweetened condensed milk into the beaten whipped cream. <S> Then the mixture is frozen in <S> a 9"x5" loaf pan covered in cling film over night. <S> This makes a very creamy, smooth ice cream that is quite 'scoop able' and does not melt quickly in the Indian monsoon heat. <S> I've never used a machine or churn to make this ice cream. <S> But this does remind me a lot of the Mexican ice creams I had as a child growing up in California! <S> Hope that helps! <A> I make delicious Italian ice-cream regularly. <S> Eggs are not used when making Italian ice-cream (gelato). <S> Just double cream or standard cream and condensed milk. <S> Have a look at this link (fantastic receipes for gelato plus much more: http://scrapbook.channel4.com/programmes/made-in-italy-top-10-classic-dishes
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French style ice cream contains egg yolks, which help make it soft, rich, smooth, creamy, custardy.
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What is the appropriate lentil-to-water ratio for stovetop lentils? I'm planning on making a simple dish using split pigeon peas (or, toor dal ) which I plan to soak for an hour. Since I don't have a pressure cooker, I will need to cook these on the stove top. What is the appropriate lentil-to-water ratio I should use? Is it (as I suspect) 3 cups water to 1 cup lentils? Or, like pasta, does it not matter and I should just keep stirring? <Q> In surveying the web, I have found a variety of ratios from 1:2 to 1:4 by volume, and some which measure the toor dal by weight. <S> I suspect some of the variation comes from the desired outcome (more or less soupy or poridgy), and whether or not the peas were pre-soaked. <S> You can google " toor dal recipe without pressure cooker ". <S> This recipe for stove top toor dal suggests pre-soaking, and then using a 1:2 ratio of water. <S> The author provides lots of pictures and explanation. <A> As long as you're cooking on the stove, and probably stirring now and then, it doesn't exactly matter. <S> You can add more water as needed until they're done, and measure what you add if you want to know for later. <S> Since the ratio depends on your preference anyway - you can make anything from intact lentils to thick mashed lentils to lentil soup <S> - this may be a good idea, so you can make sure you get what you want. <A> I agree with @Jefromi. <S> I generally pressure cook lentils by first soaking them in water for a few hours (4 to 5 is more than adequate), covering them with water and pressure cooking for about 10 minutes. <S> Soaking the lentils will give you a good idea of the final volume because lentils absorb a lot of water. <S> On the stove top, of course, you can keep adding water until you reach the consistency desired. <A> I cook my lentils (all kinds of them) in my MEC Clay pot. <S> In my experience the lentils turn out far more delicious and nutritious when cooked this way. <S> I use 3 cups of water to 1 cup of lentils. <S> Another quicker method to determine the ratio is put the lentils in the pot and start adding water till you can put your fingers till your second knuckle line. <S> this usually works perfect. <S> I found these instructions to cooking lentils in clay very useful, and I am sharing it here: How to cook lentils in a clay pot.
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The water:lentil ratio doesn't really matter that much.
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Do restaurants regularly disinfect baskets and trays? I certainly hope the answer to this question is yes, but do restaurants regularly disinfect baskets and trays? Even if they are covered with paper wrappers or placemats? Are there fairly universal state laws requiring this? Any data on noncompliance rates? <Q> I run a restaurant in California and every multi-use item touched by a customer in any way gets washed and sanitized, even if we use wax/paper wrappers. <S> The actual law is in Chapter 5 of the Cal Code (for California, obviously): http://www.cdph.ca.gov/services/Documents/fdbRFC.pdf <S> No idea if there's noncompliance rates out there though. <S> (I also don't want to think about that, ewwwww. <S> I hope that means that the restaurant's permits get suspended.) <S> The actual relevant quote is from Chapter 5: 114097 . <S> Equipment food-contact surfaces and multiservice utensils shall be effectively washed to remove or completely loosen soils by the use of manual or mechanical methods necessary, such as the application of detergents containing wetting agents and emulsifiers, acid, alkaline, or abrasive cleaners, hot water, brushes, scouring pads, high pressure sprays, or ultrasonic devices. <A> I have been a part of the hospitality industry for many years now. <S> They make use of cleansing agents like detergents, solvent cleaners, acid cleaners, abrasive cleaners, etc. <S> They also follow heat and chemical sanitization to disinfect food contact surfaces on a regular basis. <A> a health inspector can find that out (pH swipe), but they don't come around often enough. <S> However because the accountability goes to the owner manager (the bus boy/person isn't fined directly), the compliance may not be high. <S> The saying in the industry is: if you can imagine it, it does happen. <S> You'll do well as a consumer to follow your nose and find places such as janeylicious's place. <S> You get a great sense for the place near closing time when staff turn to cleaning for next day.
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The restaurant owners maintain hygiene as it could affect the customers' health if not done so.
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What might cause a tangy flavor in hummus? I'm pretty sure that this is an intended flavor; there's a great and authentic middle eastern restaurant nearby and their hummus tastes noticeably tangy. Others in the Yelp reviews have commented on the same flavor, so it's not a bad batch. It's almost as if there's a fermented ingredient that has the same kind of "tang" as kimchi. Their babaganoush doesn't have this same tang. Is there a secret fermented ingredient in some hummus recipes that might give off this flavor? <Q> [not a definitive answer] Making good hummus is non-trivial. <S> I think roasting sesame seeds is as volatile as roasting coffee beans with a few seconds or degrees changing the flavour drastically. <S> It's quite possible <S> the tangy flavour comes from the way they process their sesame seeds. <S> I've had Israeli hummus (from Jerusalem) and it tasted very different from the stuff you get elsewhere. <S> Much smoother and more 'settled' flavour, and likely similar to the tang you describe <S> (almost umami). <S> The ingredients didn't have anything specific listed that could do that. <S> It also could be the lemons or the zest. <S> Anecdotally, a local hummus manufacturer told me he gets his sesame seeds from that part of middle east because they lead to better tasting hummus. <S> Next time you're there, please ask the chef. <S> most of the time, they'll share something new with you. <S> (I've been curious as well ever since tasting that particular hummus). <A> The recipes I've seen include both lemon juice as yogurt. <S> I suppose the tangy flavor comes from the lemon. <A> I've made hummus from scratch multiple times. <S> There are different schools of thought on what makes the most nutritious hummus: using chickpeas that have been soaked 1-2 days before they sprout or 2+ days, which means that they would have sprouted by then. <S> I have heard of people using chickpeas that have sprouted quite a bit, after a soaking duration of 4-5 days. <S> Apparently doing so <S> eliminates enzyme inhibitors. <S> I have also read of people using raw, sprouted chickpeas to make hummus, which I have not tasted. <S> I think that the flavor you are referring to may be due to the restaurant using heavily sprouted chickpeas or raw, sprouted chickpeas to make the hummus. <S> That's my guess.
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The effervescent/fermented flavor you taste may be due to how long the restaurant soaked the chickpeas for.
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Can I substitute whole eggs for egg whites in cake mix? A box of white cake mix needs three egg whites. If substituting whole eggs for egg whites, how many whole eggs would I use? <Q> If you truly desire a white cake, you don't want to make this substitution. <S> The reason the white cake mix directs you to add egg whites only is to to avoid the yellow color from the yolks, which will tint your cake yellowish. <S> Cake mixes are highly engineered wonders, and are very tolerant of almost everything a home cook can do to go wrong within reason. <S> Still, substituting in the yolks increases the amount of fat—and more importantly, the emulsifier lecithin, and so will change the texture of the outcome. <S> This will probably not be bad, but still will not be the optimal result from your mix. <A> The Pillsbury White Cake Mix calls for either 3 whole eggs OR 4 egg whites. <S> Depending on which way you go, the amount of water called for is different - for 4 egg whites <S> you use 1 cup of water, and for 3 whole eggs you use 1 1/4 cups of water. <S> The 1/3 cup of oil is the same for both. <S> What makes a yellow cake different from a white cake is that you use whole eggs, which gives you a yellow color (from the yolks). <S> When I have a lot of wedding cakes to bake, I get the frozen egg whites from my local Bakery Supply. <S> I have a chart on my cupboard which tells me how much egg white to use to equal 1 whole egg, 2 whole eggs, 3 whole eggs, etc. <S> On the rare occasion that I get an order for a yellow cake, I make a white cake with whole eggs and add a little yellow food color. <S> Clients can't tell the difference, and I'm not going to tell. <S> I find the yellow cake mixes very runny, and don't like to use them. <S> By the way, Pillsbury Cake Mixes are rated the best by the Culinary Institute of America, as well as Wilton, and they are usually the cheapest. <A> Ideally you have the weight of egg whites that you require; however I found that a normal sized egg has whites weighing approximately 1.2 ounces. <S> A whole egg is usually around 2 ounces, erring on the side of less. <S> Therefore, I would say you may get away with using 2 whole eggs. <S> To be more meticulous, I recommend scaling out 3.6 ounces of whole eggs. <S> You can beat the eggs together and then scale them. <S> There's also the concern that you won't get the same results by using whole eggs instead of pure egg whites; but considering that boxed cake mix is so robust, I would consider these effects negligible. <A> I found instructions on the Betty Crocker mix in small print. <S> Betty Crocker mix says: add the whole egg and don't change anything else. <S> That means 1 egg for every 1 egg white. <S> This will make a softer cake after baked. <S> But it will also yellow the cake mix. <S> So you will want to add vanilla <S> so you have the flavour of the yellow cake mix. <S> If you want a true white cake you would not do this. <S> But to answer your question yes you can substitute whole eggs for egg whites in a cake mix.
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If you want a truly white cake, you should use all egg whites, i.e. for a wedding cake.
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Can I use only urad dal to make dosa? I've been making dosa lately and was wondering if you could make the batter using only soaked urad dal (black lentils)? Or, do you have to include soaked rice, as well? I am diabetic, so I am trying to make dosa batter more "diabetic-friendly," because I love them so much! If not, what's the smallest amount of rice you can use? Currently, I use 3 cups rice and 1 cup urad dal. I am using brown basmati rice, because it's a little better, carb-wise. Thanks in advance for answers! <Q> Main ingredient for making a traditional dosa is rice. <S> Rice can't be substituted. <S> Although you can definitely reduce the amount of rice you are using. <S> From what you've mentioned, you are using 3:1 rice to black lentil ratio. <S> Using 2:1 rice to lentil ratio can also yield you similar batter without compromising the crispiness. <S> I am assuming that you only use rice and black lentils. <S> You can try adding more types of lentils like Moong <S> (Split Green Gram lentil with skin removed) or Toor Daal .The point here is to reduce the amount of rice in per serving by adding lentil. <S> I usually follow 4:2:1 rice to black lentil to Moong Daal ratio. <S> If you completely cut out rice, you can still get similar crepes using substitutes but they won't be authentic dosa. <S> You can try Rava Dosa <S> (Semolina Crepe) or many other substitutes mentioned here <A> I am very health-conscious and one day tried making dosa without rice and it worked very well. <S> Moreover, this doesn't even require fermentation. <S> Just soak urad dal for couple of hours and grind it into a smooth paste. <S> Make the batter as thin as regular dosa batter and enjoy :) <A> I don't know if you can make it with only dal <S> but I made a dosa with masoor dal and rice. <S> 2 :1 ratio. <S> Ie more dal than rice. <S> It turned out perfect and tasted just like a normal dosa. <S> Rest of the steps are same. <S> I added some methi seeds to aid fermentation
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Yes, you can make dosa without rice!
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Barbecue on wood fire Normally we use charcoal in the BBQ I want to use wood for BBQ and this may generate a lot of smoke. One way to handle it, is to first make charcoal from wood, and then use this charcoal to BBQ. But is there any design for a BBQ that removes the smoke, so we can BBQ while burning wood? <Q> The best BBQ's are wood fired, you get real wood smoke flavour. <S> Anything else is just a just outside hotplate/grill, and might as well be electric Using charcoal is easy and safe. <S> Join the local Scout group as leader, and they will teach you how to make good cooking fires :-) <A> I've never used wood myself, but I found this link that seems pretty good. <S> It describes the different types of woods and how much smoke they produce or what flavour they add to the meats. <A> Interesting question. <S> I recently converted an old propane barbeque to a wood fire one. <S> After removing the propane burners, etc. <S> I cut a hole in the center big enough to fit the chimney of a rocket stove (home made) and attached it underneath. <S> It easily reaches temperatures of 550 F and did splendid on the steak & potato test as well. <S> The stove's chimney is clean (no smoke) and only used a couple of handfuls of kindling size spruce to complete the task. <S> Have made refinements and now have maxed about 750 F. <S> The only fly in the ointment is a fairly constant attention to the fire, not a bother if you are sitting nearby with an appropriate beverage :) <A> I use a Webber kettle for both grilling and barbecue. <S> I use lump charcoal (not briquetes, but it also personal preference). <S> When I want to add smoke to the barbecue, I'll buy shredded wood chips in whatever flavor/species is necessary. <S> Soak the chips for a good half hour before lighting the fire, fill the "fire basket" half-way with coals and light it up. <S> When it is ready to cook, I pull the fire basket all the way to one side of the kettle, put the meat on the far side of the grate. <S> I also mostly close the air-holes. <S> This causes the oxygen in the grill to lower <S> a bit so the fire burns slower. <S> The last thing I do when putting down the meat is that I add a handful of charcoal to the fire basket and a handful of the soaked chips. <S> I then check the meat every half-hour and add a handful of both charcoal and chips until the meat is finished. <S> If it is a large cut of meat like a pork shoulder or beef roast, I also use a mop sauce to keep the meat moist and to build up a layer of bark on the outside of the roast.
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A simple hack is to use some small pieces of strong smoke flavour generating wood on top of your charcoal when you are actually cooking Smoke is all part of the BBQ experience, and after a little practice at fire lighting techniques, shouldn't become a big issue.
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What makes the 'Cat poo' coffee (Kopi Luwak) flavour worth drinking? I'm actually on the hunt for this coffee in Melbourne, being it's such a coffee-oriented city: Where can I buy a cup of 'cat poo' coffee (Kopi Luwak) in Melbourne? , but while discussing it in the travel.SE chat room, we were wondering what it is that makes it worth drinking? From Wiki and other sources there's some talk about cherries with some beans cause certain enzymes to be produced, but they seem to insist that this wouldn't happen with the same ingredients in another beast? So is it the beans + food, or the animal itself, and what is the resultant flavour - more bitter / sweet than regular coffee, or what? <Q> I've never drunk it (can't stand coffee myself), but the general theory is: A wet ferment. <S> Some coffee producers have attempted to duplicate some of the processes with enzymes, as you've mentioned. <S> More likely to be picked closer to peak ripeness. <S> The animals have the advantage that they're picking berries to eat, and will pass over unripe ones to eat later -- unlike human processing which might just look to strip the whole bush. <S> In talking to one of my co-workers (also not a coffee drinker), and she said that she's had coffee right after it's been processed, and it was dramatically different from the stuff that was available in Europe or North America ... which leads me <S> think that freshness might be a more important quality than some of the other aspects of the highly expensive coffee. <S> (unless you're talking about psychological effects ) <A> As mentioned, when the beans are digested whole they go through a sort of fermentation while in the digestion tract. <S> The Vietnamese coffee brand, Trung Nguyen, claims to have duplicated this process chemically, without the use of civets. <S> I am not a super connoisseur of coffee <S> but I would say to try that before you decide to dedicate some serious money towards it and see if it's worth it to you. <A> Kopi luwak is supposed to be smooth, earthy and less bitter compared to regular coffee. <S> According to this blog the enzymes in the civet cat's stomach break down the protein in the coffee that is supposed to be responsible for the bitterness in the coffee. <S> Though some coffee drinkers suggest that it tastes like instant coffee!!
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As someone who has had the coffee, the main feature is that the coffee is far less bitter.
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How do you separate the skin from pork? I cure my own bacon with the skin still on the pork belly because I do not know how to remove it. I tried slicing it off with a knife (type unknown) but quickly lost patience. What is the best way to accomplish this task? Also, I have 50 pounds of pig fat with which I intend to make lard, but I must removed the skin from it as well. <Q> I'm not a butcher, but last time we cured meat, <S> we (two people) went through 100 lbs of fresh meat meticulously in about 20 minutes using this method (the other person was a southern Italian gentleman who was an old-hand at this). <S> You use the knife to cut and separate the skin from the meat and end up with long strips of fat. <S> The skin separates from the meat nicely if you work at the interface layer of the skin and the meat. <S> With fat, you do a similar method. <S> Except this time you place the skin on the cutting board (fat side up) and essentially scrape the fat off the skin (almost like a fillet action). <S> In both cases, you grab the skin with one hand and use the knife to separate/wedge the skin from the meat/fat with the other (see the safety note below). <S> Important safety note : always make sure the knife blade is pointing away from you <S> and you're "cutting away" from your body. <S> Also make sure the hand that is holding the skin is behind the blade and not in the path. <S> This is to make sure that if your hand and knife run away, injury does not occur. <A> I think this sort of physical skill is very difficult to describe in text. <S> You may wish to search for video demonstrations, such as this one . <S> He is essentially flaying the skin from the pork belly, by running the knife under the skin, angled away from the meat (toward the skin) in short passes, slowly pealing it back. <S> Note for safety the knife movement is always away from the body of the person doing the work. <S> The speaker recommends using a very sharp, curved, non-pointed knife to make it easiest to remove the skin. <A> Cure bacon with skin on. <S> Hot smoke (or use oven)- skin still on. <S> When internal temp reaches 150 the bacon is done. <S> Remove from smoker (or oven) and easily slice the skin off.
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A technique that I've seen is to score the skin in strips on the outside and then cut and peel the skin like a band-aid with a sharp knife (paring or boning) aiding the separation.
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Couldn't snap the bones in my chicken stock I followed Alton Brown's recipe for stock in which he gave a rough estimate of 8-9 hours at a low simmer to extract maximum flavor. At one point, he said, paraphrased, "How will you know you've extracted the maximum amount of nutrients from your bird? Well..." at which point he fetches a rather large leg bone from the discarded remains and easily snaps it in half. Alas I couldn't do that. I'm wondering if I did something wrong or if my results are typical. I had a half carcass including wings, neck, back, gizzards, skin, and bones. They were raw and I froze them. For the stock, I gathered 3 carrots, 3 ribs celery half a bulb of garlic, and some thyme. I skipped on any salt or acids. I threw these with the frozen chicken into cold water, brought it up to a low simmer, and left it as such for 9 hours. The flavor was tremendous. Certain smaller bones became mushy toward the ends. However, I couldn't snap my bigger bones. <Q> With all respect to Alton Brown, "snapping" the bones is not a test I have ever heard of. <S> He does not mention that in the official recipe on the Food Network site. <S> I just watched the entire episode on youtube, and he does show the snapping thing with a very frangible bone. <S> I think this result will depend on the age of your chicken and the size of the bone. <S> In general, the thinner bones and younger chickens may be somewhat rubbery when a chicken stock is done. <S> 8-9 hours also seems excessive for poultry stock, although that is actually in his recipe. <S> You should get the vast majority of the flavor (and nutrition) in 3-4 hours (plus maybe a little bit to thaw, if you are starting from frozen), especially if you have chopped your carcass up into pieces or chunks (which he did not discuss in the episode). <A> I wouldn't hold too much stock (pun intended) <S> in the snap the bones thing. <S> Chicken breeds vary, some bones may be stronger depending on breed, size of the chicken, and whether it was frozen or not. <S> The important thing is you liked the result. <S> If smaller bones were getting mushy that's a pretty good indication that they'd been cooked plenty. <A> I've certainly noticed a big difference in bone strength between cheap battery-farmed and more expensive free-range chickens, when breaking up chicken carcasses to make stock; I've had to get the cleaver out to fully break down a good strong well-fed chicken skeleton.
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If you can't snap the bones, you may simply have a good chicken!
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Need help identifying 2 ingredients in homemade chicken biryani I am very fortunate to work in an office where I am one of about 3 caucasians for around 100 people originating from Asia. Yesterday, we had a pot luck, and one of the dishes was a fantastic chicken biryani. I got to bring home some leftovers! However, there are some ingredients I am trying to identify. Here is a picture of the dish (sorry, it's been cooled and reheated by nature of being leftovers): Now, as one would expect from real Indian food, it was fantastically spicy. Star anise, cardamom, and curry leaves. But there were other things that we can't quite identify. There was something that seemed like a "glob," I don't know how else to describe it. It was small, about pea-sized. But it was bright pink in color, and had the awesome visual effect of giving sections of the rice a gorgeous magenta-pink color. It also had a light savory flavor. Next, we have this ingredient: It had a VERY strong, peppery anise flavor, very much like cardamom but significantly stronger. It was about an inch long, almost like a walnut, but a bit smaller. Inside, there were several small pellets. Here is a picture: If anyone can let me know what the pink "glob" was that gave the brilliant color, and what the pod was that gave such a great taste, I'd really appreciate it! <Q> That looks like " Black Cardamom ". <S> You can probably find it in an asian grocery. <S> I'm not sure what the pink thing was. <A> I am unable to comment, hence trying to put my comments here. <S> The color is supposed to be a natural one, (Orange, and NOT pink) but these days people are in a hurry and are pouring food color which is not healthy or doesn't add good flavor. <S> Traditionally the color comes by soaking saffron flowers in medium hot water for a few hours, and pouring it over the rice when its cooked. <S> This, apart from giving a great Orangish color gives brings the saffron flavor. <S> Biriyani gets its flavor from spices. <S> Look at the video here for a traditional Biriyani. <A> That is definitely Black Cardamom as Steve said and the pink color comes for sure from the food dye what they used to color certain parts of the Biriyani. <S> May be this one got nicely settled in that part of the rice where there was the food color (dye) and attained its texture.
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Yes, its black cardamom.
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How to make pumpkin extract How do I make an extract to get the flavor of a pumpkin? Should I use pumpkin seeds or fresh pumpkin or maybe even the pumpkin skin? If I use pumpkin, should I dry it out or dehydrate it? <Q> The pumpkin flavor you're likely looking for is nothing more than the spices that are added to pumpkin "stuff": cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc. <S> If you attempt to do an extract to achieve "pumpkin essence", you will not be happy with the results. <S> I have been a home brewer (beer, wine, mead, etc.) <S> for 20+ years and have seen many attempts from various brewers to make a "pumpkin beer". <S> Long story short <S> (and you can do a search and verify what I'm saying on any beer brewing forum's out there), it's the spices that make the flavor, not the pumpkin squash fruit. <S> Bottom line is there is no "typical anticipated pumpkin flavor" imparted by just pumpkin. <S> To make a great pumpkin beer, the guys who have made multiple batches of pumpkin beer using varied recipes (using chunked up pumpkin, cooked pumpkin, roasted pumpkin, etc.), all ended up finding the perfect pumpkin beer was made using only the spices and not even using any pumpkin at all. <A> This is speculation, since I have never done it, and I don't think it is practical or more effective than just cooking with pumpkin puree for these applications. <S> If I were to try this, I would: <S> Infuse a very strong vodka or grain alcohol with the pureed roasted pumpkin for a week or six. <S> Filter <S> the the liquid off with a coffee filter. <S> Optionally, reduce the the liquid extremely carefully (probably outside for safety reasons) until it becomes reasonably concentrated. <S> I suspect the results of this would be underwhelming. <S> You will note that this is essentially how fruit liquors are made at home, except for step 1 (unique to pumpkin) and step 4. <S> For curiosity, see also this recipe for a pumpkin liqueur , although it also has many additional pumpkin flavors. <S> The key difference is you won't use extra flavors, and you will use a much higher pumpkin to solvent ratio. <A> Perhaps you could do an alcohol extract, where you essentially let a product sit in a low flavor alcohol (like vodka) for a period of time. <S> I've had success doing this at home with cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans, but some plants like mint don't do too well. <S> spices seem to do best. <S> maybe toasted pumpkin seeds ? <A> I know it sounds weird <S> but it's actually used for this purpose with spices etc. <S> Look up the manufacturer iSi and you should find some info on flavor extraction. <S> If you just want the result (flavor), maybe not so much the adventure, search for "pumpkin extract". <S> There are a few- <S> King Arthur Flour is reasonable ($6). <S> However, the other posts are correct, you will need the cinnamon, nutmeg, etc to achieve a 'pumpkin pie' flavor!! <S> Another option is coffee flavor syrups, which are available everywhere and pretty good, in my opinion. <S> If you have a friend, or niece, who works at Starbucks, you can surely get them to give you a coffee cup full of just syrup! <S> When it's in season they have huge gallon jugs of it, which is not just the spices in syrup, but the pumpkin pie flavor in liquid form. <S> Good luck!!
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Roast pumpkin (just the flesh, not the seeds or peel) to develop the roasty flavors. You could try using a whip cream dispenser. You would roast it dryer than you would for pureeing, maybe to a leathery texture, but not completely dry.
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How to add missing garlic flavor to cooked soup I forgot to add garlic at the beginning of a soup recipe. (I usually add it to hot olive oil and remove when slightly browned before adding any vegetables or meats.. it gives a great flavor which is now missing from my soup.) I thought about adding raw garlic cloves to the soup while it sits in the fridge overnight, then removing it the next day. (Would this make up for that missing flavor or overpower everythng else?) I also considered cooking garlic separately in olive oil and adding it in, but I dont want the soup to be too oily. Lastly, I considered adding garlic powder but the flavor is not really comparable. Is there anything else I can try to get the desired result? <Q> I wouldn't use raw garlic, as it has a much different flavor from cooked garlic. <S> If you then let it sit overnight, it should help to spread the flavor. <S> Another alternative (although it won't necessarily replicate the original) would be to make a gremolata (garlic, parsley and lemon zest) and drop a small spoonful into each bowl when serving. <A> Saute' some garlic for 2-3 minutes in a bit of oil. <S> Add it to the soup. <S> Done. <A> Whether or not this is viable probably depends on the kind of soup, but I suspect you could put it back in a pot, add some garlic, and cook for a little while longer. <S> I'd expect most soups to be pretty forgiving about being overcooked. <S> If you intend to remove the garlic again, it could be some trouble to hunt it all down, though. <A> I agree - "Saute' some garlic for 2-3 minutes in a bit of oil. <S> Add it to the soup. <S> Done" Use bare minimum amt of oil. <S> Or zap some finely minced garlic mixed with small amt of soup in microwave then mix back into soup.
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If you have some roasted garlic, you can put it in a blender with some of the liquid from the soup, then mix it into the rest of the soup.
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How do I clean my hob? I am using a Creda Capri hotplate hob (possibly this one [pdf] ). The problem is the area around the burners has became too dirty, with sticky burns. Here's a photo: I have tried using Dettol Spray Power And Pure Kitchen but was unable to remove the stains. What I can do? <Q> I've had good luck using a finer grade steel wool , though don't press too hard. <S> For smaller stains I really like " magic eraser " type sponges which work wonders on the hood as well. <S> I don't know what country you are posting from, but the magic erasers are like a very high density foam sponge. <S> They are amazing on soap scum too. <A> Applying neat washing up liquid or a paste-based cleaner like Astonish with a toothbrush might be less abrasive than using a scourer (even a nylon-based one) and should loosen or break up the deposits, which can then be gently rubbed away with a microfibre cloth. <S> I've found that, once the area is scratched, the burn marks soon reappear, but if you use a microfibre cloth after each use, it should help to minimise the build up. <A> Try baking soda. <S> Pour liberally over the burned area and cover with a damp cloth. <S> Come back in an hour or so, and you should find that most of the mess wipes right off. <S> I haven't tried it on this type of hob, but I have used it to great effect with food burnt onto a glass-top surface even when scrubbing was unsuccessful, as well as for stains on countertops. <A> It still takes a lot of elbow grease, but a degreaser will help loosen it up. <A> Try using "Easy-Off" oven cleaner. <S> Spray and leave it for couple of minutes and just wipe it off. <S> This will really work out in removing your stains. <S> Try applying vinegar with hot water too. <A> Soda crystals - I note that Azula R has suggested baking soda, don't think that's quite the same thing, because household soda crystals aren't meant for cooking use. <S> Switch the power off, make up a very strong, hot solution and pour into the hob so that it's as full as it can be without overflowing. <S> Leave to soak for as long as possible,couple of hours at least, top up if it evaporates. <S> It should mean (provided you can get the solution depth high enough) <S> the solidified oil/grease just lifts off. <S> Bit of a pain to remove because you can't lift the hob to pour it, but it can be done by sopping it up.
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I've had some luck removing gummy oil like that using a degreaser like citrus oil or Greased Lightening.
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Why didn't my puff pastry "puff"? I used store-bought puff pastry to make a tart with two layers of pastry (with some soft cheese in the middle). Even though it baked, neither the top nor the bottom layer of pastry rose or puffed at all. I kept the puff pastry in the refrigerator instead of the freezer for a few days between purchasing and baking. Whoops! I was also pretty sloppy about "room temp"; I just worked the dough when it was flexible. Would this incorrect temperature management have caused the failure to rise? I did not use an egg wash. I baked at 400° F for about 17 minutes, in a square ceramic dish, pre-greased with sprayable butter. Since the pastry didn't quite fit in the dish, I used a butter knife to trim the edges off of the pastry. <Q> Puff pastry is a laminated dough, with very strong gluten development, so an extra couple of days in the refrigerator should not have caused problems. <S> 450 F seems like a typical temperature, and the time seems in the normal range. <S> The only thing you have mentioned is that is definitely outside the standard treatment is trimming the edges with a butter knife. <S> Normally, you want to trim or cut puff pastry with a very sharp knife or pizza cutter, in order to cleanly cut through the layers. <S> A blunt knife like a butter knife can mash the layers together, making it hard for them to separate at the edges of the pastry. <S> Still, this should have lead to lopsided or strangely risen pastry, rather than a complete failure to rise, especially in the center. <A> I have found that the critical thing with cooking pastry is putting it a preheated hot oven. <S> I also recall issues with pastry having lain in the fridge for a few days. <S> It doesn't tend to puff up so much after that. <A> Keep the oven door closed, as steam plays a crucial roll in interacting with the butter and making the pastry puff and opening the over door, causes that important steam to escape.
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The other possibility is that the dough was too warm when you rolled and worked it, or that you rolled it too much, which would work the fat or butter layers into the dough phase, rather than keeping discrete layers of flour then fat, which is what allows the rise.
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How effective is the George Foreman grill in draining fat from cooking meat? New to this site, and new to cooking, well cooking properly. I have in my possession a George Foreman grill, not because of the advertising hype, but because I have a very limited space for cooking in my apartment. My question is, just how effective is the George Foreman grill (or any other grill like it) in draining the fat off meat while cooking? <Q> There are a couple of fluff pieces on the web that appear to indicate the George Forman Grills remove fat from foods, due to the tiled bed allowing draining: <S> Chron. <S> Com Disabled World <S> In my opinion, both have the feel of echoing press releases from the manufacturer. <S> Neither compares the effectiveness of the tilted bed grill to a more traditional grilling method. <S> Consider griddling a hamburger on a flat griddle or in a flat style panini press, with or without raised grooves. <S> Even without the grooves, as the hamburger cooks, it expresses fat and other liquid as the proteins in the meat tighten. <S> With a fatty hamburger, this can be a considerable amount, even though it is not draining away. <S> The issue in expressed fat is not the tilt, but rather <S> the squeezing effect the cooked proteins have, forcing the fat out of the food. <S> This happens regardless of the angle of the bed. <S> Consider also that it is the contraction of the meat that is important in expressing the fat. <S> If the fat were simply liquefied but the proteins not fully tightened, less or no fat is expressed. <S> This can be seen in low temperature sous-vide cooking. <S> Adhesion and capillary action would keep the fat in the meat otherwise. <S> The logical conclusion is that the tilt of the bed is irreverent in expressing the fat, but does help clear it away and collect it. <S> This may have some minor effect on the amount of fat adhering to the outside of the food item, but is not the major effect. <S> You can argue whether the clearing of the fat away during cooking is a positive or negative for culinary quality, but it doesn't affect the amount of fat. <A> I have the same problem and also own a GF. <S> More likely than not though, I use mine when I simply can't get outside to cook on my charcoal grill because of heavy rain or extremely cold temps. <S> I'm talkin' around 15 degrees F and below, because if it's warmer than that, I'm gonna be right there at the grill anyway and get heat from it, plus in the summer, I'll grill out almost anything I can, for the education(since <S> I don't work anymore, I have the liberty to experiment and I take FULL advantage of it too, believe me! <S> lol), but mostly the flavor PLUS <S> it keeps the un-needed extra heat out of the house!. <S> I have a "chimney brick" that someone cut in halves for a meat press if I need it too. <S> The weight of the top of the GF does the same thing, but a simple YES, with the constant weight on top and the slant, it DOES helps get rid of more fat than some high buck restaurants I've eaten at, and since it's got the advantage of cooking from both top and bottom, it cooks faster and more even too, if time is against you for some reason. <S> If your apartment has a patio or balcony and you're allowed to have a regular grill <S> , I'd recommend you get one of those <S> first,(but ALWAYS use extra caution since a totally out of control fire, especially where grease is involved, can get out of hand in a second or two) but grill outside, if you can, if for no other reason.....the taste and the great smell of the smoke while you're cooking! <S> Personally, I like drivin' my neighbors crazy while I'm grillin' outside hehe <S> Hope <S> this helps, and wasn't a scientific explanation :) <A> (this is probably more appropriate as a comment, or multiple comments, but it was just too long) <S> As has already been mentioned, the George Foreman grill helps to drain fat by both squeezing slightly and the tilt (as you prevent the fat from pooling and being reabsorbed or just blocking other fat from coming out. <S> The squeezing and draining can also squeeze out other liquid, but the conveniece of the grill more than makes up for it. <S> We break one out quite regularly, or a similar appliance from cuisinart that can be open as a griddle or close as a panini press (the plates remove so you can change to flat or ridged). <S> They're different sizes, and have different cooking characteristics, so both get use. <S> I would suggest that if you use any of these fat- (and other liquid) draining devices that you give up on the drip tray unless you want to babysit it constantly; we use a sheet pan or something deeper as it's just tricky lifting the drip tray <S> if you let it get too full. <S> I know someone who used to use his so it drained into his sink, but that is a very, very bad idea .
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As a cook for about half my working life, for what was once pretty much started as a "gadget", the George Foreman grill isn't a bad thing to have, especially if, as you say, you have limited space in your kitchen.
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Does jaggery need to be soaked? One of our TV chefs has done a show on India, and one of the ingredients he has used in a few recipes is jaggery, a sugar made from palms. In the show, it appears to be soft, like soft brown sugar. However,the jaggery I have found at the supermarket is in hard lumps. Does it require soaking or some other preparation before using? <Q> Jaggery doesn't require any kind of soaking. <S> It's usually added either while sautéing or if the dish is gravy based, while its boiling. <S> Jaggery usually softens up when heated and gradually dissolves with other ingredients just as salt or sugar would. <S> The hard blocks of jaggery are difficult to break into pieces and its easier to grate it. <A> Jaggery balls can be grated with knife, which can dissolves in recipes which we add. <S> There is no need of dissolving it. <A> This will ensure that jaggery gets mixed very well in your curry. <S> Personally I have observed that when my jaggery is very hard I still see some small (really small) pieces of it in my dish. <S> Like... when I would add it in the kheer I would make for my infant daughter <S> I want the jaggery to be mixed very well, so I would just dissolve it in half a cup of water and then add it to the hot simmering kheer and be ensured that it gets mixed really well.
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You can easily grate jaggery with a knife, but if it is really hard then you may wish to grate it first and then soak it in small amount of water before you add it to your dish.
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Special coffee served in Malaysia (or India) When I was in Malaysia an Indian friend offer to me a coffee, It tasted really nice and kinda unique. I'm not sure if that coffee was unique from Malaysia or recipe from India. The store where I got those was just a regular hawker around Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. It looked something like this: I would be really happy if you recognize or know what I am describing. <Q> There's a very specific coffee culture to singapore and malaysia with a ton of varients. <S> Lets start with the basics <S> This is a kopi o <S> By default, any drink you order is hot . <S> You might note that its somewhat darker than your example <S> I'd assume <S> this means it has some condensed milk added to it. <S> A quick google search suggested two varients. <S> kopi 'c' - or coffee with (evaporated) milk kopi nai (with condensed milk and sugar) - <S> The former looks a bit too light, though exact mixes vary. <S> Chances are its one of these. <S> That said, there's two distinct regional styles of roasting - typical coffee roasting is done with a hint of sugar and margarine, and roasted VERY dark. <S> There's also a style called white coffee that just uses margarine that's supposed to be famous in ipoh. <A> the coffee which you pointed out is nanyang coffee ,its actually traditional coffee in singapore <A> This is "kampung coffee", or " kopi-o ". <S> The linked site says that it is roasted with margarine and sugar.
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This is plain black coffee and any coffee order you make at a kopi tiam will likely be a varient on this.
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What is the liquid ingredient in a korma? I recently saw a pseudo-recipe for an authentic Lucknow korma on TV. After infusing whole spices in ghee, adding an onion puree, chilli powder and chicken, the cook added a creamy looking mixture of what he said was desiccated coconut, cashew nuts and poppy seeds. This mixture looked too liquid to be made up of just those ingredients. What would be the liquid base? I am thinking it is either cream, yoghurt or coconut milk, but I don't know, and each of those has a distinct flavour. Also, in what proportion would the dry ingredients be? <Q> Authenticity is often in question when it comes to curry. <S> Korma covers a fairly broad range of South/Central Asian curries, their common feature being their creaminess. <S> The creaminess can come from cream, coconut cream, yoghurt, or ground nuts - or a mixture of these. <S> In the case of ground nuts, water might be added to add liquidity, although you may be surprised at how much liquid nuts contain. <S> Just think how gloopy peanut butter can be. <A> Their usage for flavor is limited cause most of the times the spices overpower the dish with their unique taste. <S> Nuts are usually soaked in a liquid like milk (incase of cashews, almonds) or water (in case of peanuts) and then grounded to convert them into paste before adding them to the gravy. <S> Since the chef used desiccated coconut in the mixture, using coconut milk as base would be redundant. <S> I would think the base liquid used was milk or cream. <S> Yogurt is used as a base for marination. <S> Generally, the proportions would be cup of nuts and coconut and a teaspoon of poppy seeds. <A> I watched this same program and have been ordering up ingredients to make it as it sounded like a fantastic recipe. <S> The program was rick stein in India, he posts recipes on the program onto the bbc food website, I checked for this recipe but alas it's not there. <S> I've found a very similar recipe online <S> maybe you could try this one? <S> In this case they soak the cashews in water and add to yoghurt. <S> http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2529574 <A> I have been using this recipe since I watched the programme. <S> It was cream that was added to the poppy seeds and cashews. <S> I use just over a half carton of elmlea. <S> For my wife and I.
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Most of the gravy based dishes use cream, yogurt, nuts or coconut shreddings/milk as thickening agents or to provide texture.
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How can I make whipped cream if I can't always get cream? I sometimes want to make whipped cream for dessert, but can't get cream in the market. What can I do in that case? One possibility: I did find that there is a quick way to do it by mixing a commercial powder called Dream Whip and milk. What are the actual ingredients of Dream Whip ? I suspect that it mainly contains some foaming agents like corn starch or gelatin, but I couldn't find a recipe as an alternative to commercial Dream Whip powder. Can I make that at home? <Q> Cream does last quite a while in the fridge, especially before it's opened - it has a pretty high fat content. <S> So you may be able to buy it when you can, and still have it around when you want it. <S> Failing that, honestly, I think that anything you can do with milk and additives is probably not going to be nearly as good as actual whipped cream <S> , so you might as well fall back to another substitute: aerosol whipped cream. <S> If you get a decent one that's actually made with cream (not milk and oil and stabilizers, like your Dream Whip) it'll probably still taste better. <S> And I'm pretty sure it lasts a really long time (months?) <S> in the fridge even once opened. <S> (But I don't have any to check for sure.) <S> As for actually making Dream Whip: as mentioned in several comments, it has a lot of ingredients that'll be way harder to find than cream. <S> Sure, they're probably shelf-stable and you could probably buy them online, but it'll be a lot of trouble, and it might well be more expensive than just buying the Dream Whip itself. <S> It's possible that there's a more home-ingredients version (I'm no industrial food authority), but unless you have some more restrictions I don't know about, I'd still prefer the other alternatives I suggested. <A> This site explains two methods of making whipping cream from milk. <S> The first is by manipulating store-bought milk, by adding gelatin, temperature and a lot of stirring. <S> The second is by separating the cream out of raw milk. <S> The site claims that the result of both methods can be used for whipped cream. <S> A third method I sometimes use when a recipe asks for a small amount of cream (usually in a sauce or something similar), is adding some milk and butter (till the fat percentage is roughly the same as if you'd added cream). <S> I don't believe it would be possible to whip this though. <A> Alternatively you can use coconut milk. <S> Use canned coconut milk-make sure it straight milk and not sweetened-and place it in the fridge until well chilled. <S> Scoop off the firm layer of cream, making sure not to include the water which should be at the bottom of the can. <S> Add in vanilla and sugar if desired, whip until soft peaks. <A> Per Food facts : Sugar, Dextrose, Vegetable(s) <S> Oil Partially Hydrogenated ( <S> Coconut Oil <S> Partially Hydrogenated and, <S> Palm Kernel Oil Partially Hydrogenated) , Corn Starch Modified, <S> Propylene Glycol Monostearate An Emulsifier, Sodium Caseinate Solids from milk, Monoglycerides Acetylated An Emulsifier, Sodium Silico Aluminate (Anti-Caking Agents) , Mono and Diglycerides <S> An Emulsifier, Cellulose Gel, Cellulose Gum, Methylcellulose Hydroxypropyl, Flavoring Artificial and Natural, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 <S> Some of these ingredients are not the type of thing that you are going to replicate at home. <A> There are some vegetable based vegeterinan whipped cream substitutes. <S> But like with margarine vs butter or soy vs meat the tastes aren't exactly the same and most people prefer actual cream/butter/meat. <S> However whipping cream is a relatively standard product that any store should carry while the other is a niche product so if your store has no whipping cream it might not have that either. <S> While it's not as stable as cream whipped at home <S> at least you might be able to enjoy some N2O. <A> One alternate possibility to either dream whip powder or to fresh cream from the market is, well, there is heavy cream powder available for purchase <S> - pretty much just dehydrated heavy cream - which can be re-hydrated and used for pretty much anything cream can be used for, including whipping. <S> The heavy cream powder is available for purchase online, I got mine from amazon.com <S> but there may be other suppliers to be found if amazon does not suit. <S> And I have used it for whipped cream, and other recipes asking for heavy cream without issue. <S> Ordering online is not always as convenient as buying from a local store, but it is useful for things not readily available - especially shelf-stable things, which can be stored for quite some time and used on demand. <S> Unlike the fresh cream, heavy cream powder is quite stable and can be kept for a long time - as many dehydrated foods are - so purchasing one package would mean cream was available on demand until the powder was used up. <S> And unlike dream whip powder, it is not heavily modified or heavy with chemicals, and should therefore have a more authentic cream taste.
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Another obvious choice is whipped cream in a can.
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Would pre-sliced, pre-packaged fish be considered sushi grade if I freeze it for at least a week before consumption? I'm planning a sushi dinner party for my birthday in a month and I'm trying to do research on where to get my ingredients and supplies. I'm finding that trying to find "sushi grade" fish is the hardest thing to do, and the only place that I can find anything where the person working the deli knows what they are doing is at Whole Foods. But their price for their salmon and tuna is really high. In doing research to see what sushi grade really means (and searching here on Seasoned Advice) is that it just needs to be Frozen at -20° C (-4° F) for 7 days. I found this pre-sliced, pre-packaged smoked salmon at my local grocery store: http://www.vitafoodproducts.com/p-315-vita-wild-nova-salmon.aspx I asked the guy at the deli and he didn't know if it would be considered sushi grade or not. But from what I'm reading, I don't see why I couldn't just freeze the fish in my own freezer for a week or so before my event. Is this not the case? Should I invest the money on getting already-confirmed sushi grade fish? <Q> I have done several sushi dinners at home: a lot of fun and also a giant saving! <S> One thing that you need to consider is the amount of fish, sushi recipes call for small amounts and <S> so, even if you are preparing straight sashimi, I found that as 'little' as two pound of fish will 'force feed' a team of 6-8 hungry adults. <S> Wish sushi grade fish you obviously don't want to do it wrong and get sick, so I suggest you stay away from home sanitized cuts. <S> The problem is not only the extended frozen period, but also the way the fish has been handled from the moment it's caught. <S> After searching and talking to the best restaurants in San Diego, I found that http://www.catalinaop.com <S> is one of the best suppliers available. <S> I was lucky enough to be able to swing by their warehouse and avoid the shipping cost, but they offer next day delivery at a reasonable price. <S> The quality and variety is outstanding and they are specialists that will answer every single question! <S> Make it special! :) <S> Hope it helps :) <A> I concur with mekdigital that you should not use self-sanitized fish (please!). <S> People in Japan even rarely make their own sushi with raw fish by themselves at home. <S> The belief that is that only a sushi chef has the experience, skills, and knowledge to accurately select appropriate fish to be used for raw sushi dishes. <S> Factors include the source of the fish as well as its health based on visual/olfactory/tactile inspection. <S> After a fish is approved, it must then be handled, stored, transported and filleted according to strict standards of safety, hygiene and cleanliness. <S> The fish must even be filleted a certain way. <S> All these standards were implemented to ensure that the fish was safe to eat. <S> I doubt that Whole Foods or their distributor goes quite the same length as sushi chefs in Japan do to pronounce a fish "sushi grade" but I'm sure it is safer to use their fish than buying some raw fish in a grocery store that has not been inspected/handled/stored for use in raw dishes. <S> Better safe than sorry! <A> Raw fish is frozen before sushi/sashimi preparation in order to kill parasites. <S> The thoroughness of this process is related to the same factors as actually cooking the fish - that is to say, time and temperature . <S> That's why you only need 15 hours if you can get the temperature as low as -35° C. Freezing the fish at 0° C or slightly below, which is exactly the temperature that most home freezers are, will do precisely nothing to guarantee food safety. <S> It will keep the fish safe for cooking, but will not in and of itself kill any nasties. <S> It is not a reliable or even semi-reliable way of preparing fish to be eaten raw. <S> It is not safe to eat raw fish that's been sitting in a home freezer. <S> But don't get too upset about this, because you're talking about <S> smoked salmon, and smoked salmon <S> is not raw . <S> It is cured , like a salami. <S> That means it's safe to eat without any additional cooking, and that means you do not need to freeze it at all (except to keep it fresh if you're buying it well in advance). <S> So go ahead and make your sushi with smoked salmon bought from the grocery store. <S> Just don't try that strategy on actual, raw fish. <A> Anything you would eat without further preparation can be used in sushi without problem: raw vegetables (assuming you're someplace with trustworthy vegetable handling practices), smoked salmon or lox (usually eaten without further preparation on bagels), canned tuna, cream cheese, et cetera. <S> I have used the same type of product from my local supermarket when making sushi <S> and it turned out tasty :) <S> Raw fish from the supermarket is another matter. <S> I personally wouldn't trust random raw fish, since it's intended to be cooked and thus not necessarily safe to eat raw.
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Smoked salmon is (more or less) a cooked product, so if you're fine with the smoked taste, it's fine for sushi without any further additions.
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Are these worms in my black eyed peas/beans? I was cooking some organic black eyed peas earlier today and I found what appeared to be worms. I had the peas for about 1.5 weeks before I cooked them. Is this common? I did rinse the peas before cooking them, but clearly that wasn't enough. What steps can I take to prevent this (assuming this the norm for organic black eyed peas) How long are these good for? (Should I eat them sooner?) I had taken a few spoonfuls before I finally realized this -- should I be concerned? I apologize for such an elementary question. I've recently been told by my physician that I need to make some diet changes, so I've been cooking with foods I would otherwise not eat. <Q> To take one concern away - practically none of the worm-looking parasites in food are dangerous. <S> They are yucky, but harmless, even nutritious. <S> But as far as I can see it from the picture, these are not worms at all. <S> Beans and related plants have an embryo in their seeds. <S> In white legumes, the embryo is a light pink color and looks indeed like a larva. <S> The way to check is to look at the still-intact beans. <S> They are all made up of two symmetrical halves inside. <S> Cut them open through the plane which separates the two halves. <S> If they have your suspect at the concave part of the bean, where it used to attach to the pod, then this is the embryo, just a normal part of the seed which is supposed to grow into a new plant when planted. <S> If the embryo of multiple beans looks differently from that (or is too small to notice), then these may be larvae after all. <S> In this case, you will probably choose to discard the food because of the disgust factor. <S> It is still not objectively unsafe. <A> I have noticed the same thing that the OP asked about. <S> I opened one of my soaking beans, and looked up some drawings; this is most likely part of the bean, not worms. <S> The reason could be that the manufacturers harvested these beans a bit late, and the beans have started to sprout, similar to how potatoes behave after an extended duration. <A> Without taking anything away from Rumtscho's answer, in general with black eyed peas and other legumes, it is a good idea to sort through them prior to cooking. <S> Spread them out in a sheet pan (so they don't get away from you), and just go through. <S> Remove any small stones, twigs, obviously malformed beans, and so on that you find. <S> The modern automated producers have really good equipment that means this step may not be necessary, but you probably should still check for beans from smaller producers like organic brands. <S> If there were any worms or other creatures in your beans (at least larger ones), you would see them and remove them during the sorting process. <S> Then you can rinse, soak, or cook as per your normal procedures. <A> I am about to be 63 years old, and those years have been Georgia born and bred years ! <S> Living on a farm, I cannot begin to count the amount of beans and peas I have eaten in my life. <S> Your pot of beans looks VERY <S> thoroughly cooked, to the point that the peas are seperating on their own and making their own "gravy". <S> When that happens, the little white thing inside that would have become a new vine if the bean had been planted,floats loose when the peas or beans seperate. <S> If you allow them to cook longer, very slowly, these will disintegrate and become part of the gravy; they are very delicate. <S> Worms, on the other hand, are tinier and have what looks kind of like a black dot on the end, and are tough and resilient, more so, having been cooked. <S> Dip out one of the white things and squuosh/swipe it between your thumb and forefinger. <S> If it becomes the consistency of peanut butter, it is part of the bean. <S> If it rolls, it is a worm. <A> It looks like the beans have spouted. <S> We have this problem in the tropics. <S> High humidity. <S> In your bean jar. <S> Put in some polished rice. <S> About a table spoon for 2 litter jar. <S> Keep lid on. <S> If from garden. <S> Put beans on a black tarp in the sun. <S> To dry more before storage. <S> Or smoke the beans. <S> Low heat. <A> Sorry to dispute the remarks <S> But these look exactly like the worms I just found today in my chick peas and blackeyed peas.... <S> and it was crawling. <S> I had the blackeyed peas couple of months but only 2 weeks for the chickpeas. <S> Really grossed me out <S> so I threw everything (all dry goods ) away. <A> I believe the correct answer is a combination of all the answers above.ill Explain. <S> Ive recently had the same thing happen to me with pinto beans and also white (great northern).Some of the particles could be dissolved easily and completely when rubbed between fingers,some on the other hand could not. <S> No matter how hard we tried. <S> Plus some had like they had a brown face and became thinner and smaller as we got closer to the end. <S> Very discusting,but my mother says that is quite normal in her countryof origin and they just remove them or eat them <S> and they do no harm. <A> Worms in dried beans most ordinarily come from eggs planted in the fruit when it's still blossoming on the vine. <S> (The same way that worm got inside your apple.) <S> Before buying dried beans, check them for "worms" (larvae) <S> Or if you buy bulk, put the beans in an airtight jar before freezing. <S> Either way, that'll kill any eggs and/or larvae, and you'll never know they were there. <S> Store unused dried beans in an airtight container. <S> Especially in a humid climate, let beans reach room temperature after freezing and before opening, to avoid frosting or dampening.
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When you buy beans, immediately place the unopened bag in a (preferably chest) freezer for a week.
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How to effectively take cream from milk? I tried to take cream from raw (full fat) milk by the common method: leaving the milk at refrigerator overnight, then taking the cream from top. The amount of cream came to the top was low, and after separation, the milk was still fully fat. Then, next day new cream came onto the top, and the milk was still fat. Is there a practical method (probably similar to industrial approach to skim milk) for full separation of cream from milk? <Q> If you have raw milk and let it sit, the cream will indeed rise to the top. <S> To separate, you can just wait and skim off the cream as you did. <S> However, if you store the raw milk in the refrigerator, it will take longer for the cream to rise. <S> Perhaps that is why you are having difficulties. <S> I think you end up with about 1/10th of your raw milk that is cream. <A> Even if your purchasing milk from a dairy that doesn't pasteurize their product the amount of cream is going to be very minimal. <S> Dairies separate all the cream from their milk and when they package it as whole milk they only add back 3 and 1/2 percent cream to make whole milk. <S> This means that for a gallon of milk (which is 128 ounces) they only return 4.48 ounces of cream. <S> Or 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon of cream. <S> So even if you think that what separated from allowing it to set in the refrigerator overnight was low, if you separated out close to a half cup, your not going to get much more than that. <S> The only way to get more cream in your whole milk is by milking your own cow or finding a neighbor that milks and doesn't skim the milk himself. <S> Also if your after high cream production make sure that the grain you're feeding is formulated to help the cow produce a high amount of cream. <A> I have started making Skyr <S> and it is a low fat product. <S> So I let my raw milk stand in the fridge a full 3 days before I collect the cream. <S> I use a turkey baster: <S> You could also sanitize a hose put it in the milk before letting it stand and siphon the skim from the bottom leaving the cream. <S> (You would have to sanitize the tube first.) <A> For raw milk. <S> You use a blue filter. <S> Or so called. <S> You pour the milk threw them. <S> The cream stays in the filter. <S> You may not have these in America. <S> But used in the Philippines & other 3rd world places. <S> Try on line under dairy filters to find them. <S> Normally found at feed stores here.
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Alternatively, you can use a spigot jar to drain the "skimmed" milk from the raw milk, leaving the cream behind.
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Making hard cheese from milk by vinegar I tried to make hard cheese from raw milk by a common recipe: heating milk to about 190 F, then adding vinegar to curdle. However, I faced three issues: Different recipes suggest 1/4 - 1/8 cup of vinegar for one gallon of milk, but in my case, the milk does not curdle with less than 1/2 cup for a gallon of milk. The cheese produced is very soft. When I try to squeeze the cheesecloth (even think and double layer), the cheese is coming out of the cheesecloth pores. Then, I cannot remove more water from the cheese to make hard cheese. When I separate the whey, it still contains cheese, and after heating the whey, it produces a lots of cheese (even more than the first step). Is there anything wrong with my method? The cheese produced is quite good, and I just cannot go further to make hard cheese. A possible source of problem can be the size of my curds in the milk suspension, which is smaller than those shown in the vidoes posted on the internet (not forming big lumps; but I have no idea what can be the reason. <Q> Hard cheese usually uses rennet, and a mechanical cheese press to extract as much whey as possible, and usually a long aging (drying) time to make it hard. <S> I think there may be a discrepancy between the original poster's definition of "hard" cheese and what is generally known as hard cheese like Grana Padano, Cheddar, and others. <S> The process the OP is describing sounds like how one would make fresh paneer, and "hard" in this case might be more like the texture of "firm" tofu. <A> I do hard cheese from goat milk, I do not have specific amounts to give you but I will share my experience. <S> At first when following recepies I had the same issue until I started to pay no mind to quantity and once milk starts to simmer <S> I start squirting in the white wine vinegar and gently mix with a slotted inox spoon (the pan is also inox. <S> Aluminium pans are not advised to make cheese due to vinegar's corrosive properties). <S> You know when to stop adding vinegar when the whey and the curdles form. <S> It is important to turn off the heat once the curdles form because if you let it boil you will get hard curdles that will be hard to press tight together making a crumbly and grainy cheese. <S> I then let it rest until it drops to a warm temperature <S> so I can get my hands into it. <S> I then separate the curdle using the cloth and colander. <S> You can keep the whey and use it to knead bread or other culinary purposes. <S> Salt and season the curdle with herbs and spices according to your taste, giveit a mix and then close the cloth wrapping together all the ends and twisting so that your curdle is becoming a uniform paste. <S> Fill the cheese cinch and press again until it gets all uniform and tight and the cinch comes loose easily. <S> Now you have fresh cheese <S> wich you can eat as is or let it cure in a ventilated and protected place. <S> Basicly you make cottage cheese and then press it to get hard cheese. <S> You can use lime juice or lemon juice. <S> You can also do cheese balls and boil them in the whey and you'll have your very own mozzarela. <S> I've also had occasions when the milk is almost impossible to curdle and have discovered that it is due to a couple of plant species my does eat (fig-tree and wild vines). <A> You need to press your cheese. <S> Cheese does not become hard by the Lord's mercy alone you have to press it. <S> Here is a good instructional video on the matter. <S> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdj2MQVuMhs <A> Your target temperature seems a bit high to me. <S> Most cheddars only need to hit 90F until you start the Cheddaring process and even then you don't go past 110F.
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All wet curds are soft but through proper draining and the adding or pressure you can give your cheese a more firm texture.
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Please explain my meat dry curing observations I am currently testing dry curing. I noticed that within 2 days most of the water had dropped out of the meat and subsequently there was no more water loss. I know because I placed some newspaper underneath the items, caught the water, removed the paper and then placed some new paper underneath the cured food which is showing no signs of being wet at all. Since no more water is being loss after 2 days does that mean no point curing further( I have been told to cure for at least 2 weeks). Although there is no further water loss I notice that the meat gets more red and harder over the days, what does that mean? Also I notice some smaller pieces have had little to know water loss. Does that mean I didn't put enough salt in( I thought I put quite a lot) or is there some other explanation. Thanks <Q> There are several variables that need to be considered to properly and safely dry cure meat...temperature, humidity, ph level, for example. <S> Just on the topic of moisture loss, however...you will not be able to tell simply by looking. <S> People who do this for a living can tell by touching... <S> most of us weigh our product before hanging. <S> In general, when there is a 30% reduction in weight, the meat is properly cured (given that all of the other variables have been properly dealt with). <S> Meat getting harder means it is drying, however it could be drying too fast. <S> In this case the outside will dry before the inside has a chance to. <S> If this is the case, the meat will not be pleasant to eat, but more importantly you could have a potential safety issue. <S> Proper humidity and temperature will help control this.... <S> around 60 degrees F (15 C) and 60 - 70 percent humidity. <S> As far as salt goes, be sure to use some sort of curing salt. <S> I recommend reading up on the process. <S> Many things can go wrong and you can make you and your guests sick very easily. <A> I don't know much about dry-curing in general, but dry-aging of beef, which is a similar process, has been studied in detail by Kenji at Serious Eats. <S> Based on his findings, I would suggest you're running into a similar issue: <S> So why does meat being aged stop losing moisture after the first few weeks? <S> It's a matter of permeability. <S> As meat loses moisture, its muscle fibers get more and more closely packed, making it more and more difficult for moisture under the surface to continue escaping. <S> According to this source , most moisture is lost during the first few days. <S> They also have this to say: <S> The final product will weigh 15-20% less than the weight of the original meat. <S> In case of byproducts like liver, heart, kidneys and heart the weight loss can be as large as 34-40%. <S> So what I'd do is, at the point where you think it's stopped losing water, weigh the meat and compare that to the pre-curing weight. <S> Are you losing the right amount of liquid? <S> Then I wouldn't worry too much about it. <S> Note that Kenji found significant benefits to further aging beef after the water loss had ceased, so that doesn't necessarily mean there's no benefit to further curing. <A> I think it depends very much on what meat you are attempting to cure. <S> the curing process is not simply about losing moisture but rather developing flavour and other desired qualities such as consistency. <S> many hams, such as Iberico, etc may be cured for an average of 2 years and others as long as 4 or 5 years. <S> edit: i don't know much about other meats, but i can say that with european hams in general, salting is the first stage and then importantly, is mostly washed off before resting and then eventually into longer storage periods according to the region and method. <S> Its interesting to note that most hams lose the last of the unwanted moisture beyond the six month period, where some of the final changes to consistency and flavour also occur. <S> but I don't know if this is as easily controlled with other meats. <S> the 'longer cure' meats are then moved to a generally dryer environment where they are assessed regularly. <S> trivia: <S> some of the larger ham bodegas have about 5 million euros worth of hanging meat and the most expensive ham was sold in London for about £5000 euros.
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After the first few weeks, the outer layer of meat is so tight and tough that it is virtually impermeable to moisture loss.
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What are the difference between outside and inside skirt steak? Skirt steak comes in two cuts: outside and inside. While I am sure the difference in cut affects how the meat should be prepared and cooked I am not sure in what ways. A few things I've read about the outside skirt reference the need to trim the membrane, but I'm not sure what the posts are referring to. Leading to my questions about the cuts: What are the differences between the inside and outside skirt steak cuts? How do these differences affect preparation and cooking? When should one cut be chosen over the other? Are the two cuts interchangeable in most recipes? <Q> Per Kenji Alt's Food Lab article on fajitas : [T]here are really two distinct cuts from the diaphragm of the steer. <S> The outside skirt steak is from the plate section, below the rib and between the brisket and flank, and usually comes with the membrane still attached, which needs to be trimmed before cooking. <S> Inside skirt comes from the flank—it's narrower and thinner than the outside skirt, and comes with the membrane removed. <S> According to the Houston Press , outside skirt stake is extremely rare in the US, as much of it gets exported to Japan due to a quick in the tariffs. <S> Both are used in similar applications, if you can get them. <S> Given that any skirt you buy is probably inside skirt, the difference is likely to be moot. <S> In making fajitas, Kenji Alt recommends grilling it over extremely high heat, to get browning flavors on the outside, and not overcook the center. <S> He recommends not cooking it over medium rare. <S> A couple of pictures: <A> The inside or inner skirts are much tougher, cheaper & wider than outside or outer skirts!!Whoever <S> says the opposite is true is confused. <S> You can drive a truck over inside skirts and they'll still be tough. <S> Every high end restaurant and steakhouse <S> (Gibson's steakhouse in Chicago for example) uses outside skirts because they are more tender. <S> Much more expensive than inner skirts for this reason and because many are exported by packers to the far east. <S> 121D 4 <S> Plate, Inside Skirt 411.15121C 4 <S> Plate, Outside Skirt (IM) <S> 638.42121E 6 Outside Skirt, <S> peeled (IM) <S> 943.69 <S> Above are current box beef prices from packers - on Sept. 4, 2015. <S> Notice the difference in price between whole (not portioned) inside & outside skirts. <A> Having been a meat cutter for 40 <S> some odd years ALWAYS buy outside skirt steak inside is only tender if ground for burgers! <S> Outide currently (2017) at Public is $11 a lb, but still a family favorite! <A> They are similar in appearance, but have different tastes. <S> In addition to the previous comment, I would like to add that tha outside skirt is a bit chewer, and fattier, than the inside. <S> The inside skirt is pricier, but in my opinion, well worth the price difference. <S> I can get outside skirt about $6 a pound, whereas inside is usually close to $10. <S> You can cook them the same way. <S> The best result I've experienced, is barbecued with only sea salt as a condiment. <S> Once cooked, you are encouraged to put chimichurri sauce on it for added flavor. <S> In my opinion, inside skirt is as, if not better, tasting that even filet mignon! <A> Outer skirt is much harder to find, and much of what's left in the US is sold to restaurant vendors, in particular, Hispanic restaurants that offer carne asada dishes. <S> If you are able to grab it, it should be treated in the same way as inner, but has a much higher fat content. <S> Outer would be the ribeye, inner would be a sirloin. <S> I'm sure you can make your mind up from there. <A> They are more forgiving than inside skirts. <S> If you over cook an inside skirt more than med rare <S> it is leather. <S> I have yet to find outside Skirt steaks in grocery stores. <S> As of 6/29/15 21-28 day aged choice certified angus beef outside skirts are going for around $10.25lb cleaned and peeled <A> I have eaten skirt steak for over 80 years and the outside skirt steak is the best and the most expensive. <S> You can buy it in high end grocery stores. <S> When I was a child my mother soaked it in egg for a time, dipped it in bread crumbs and fryed it in bacon grease. <S> I still make it this way. <S> You can now buy organic skirt steak and in my area this is over $20 a pound. <S> You can sometimes pick up inside skirt steak that is of course cheaper <S> but it should be as narrow as you can find as this seems to taste better
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I buy outside skirt steaks for my restaurant and they are more flavorful, tender and expensive. The outside cut is tougher, but extremely flavorful.
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Can ghee be used instead of butter in dessert recipes? Butter is an inevitable ingredient in most of dessert recipes. By definition, ghee is just clarified butter, but to me, the taste is completely different. The taste of butter is more close to heavy cream, while that of ghee is more close to cooking oil (at least to my tongue). Is it good to use ghee instead of butter in dessert and pastry recipes`? Doesn't it ruin the taste to be far from the original standard? <Q> moved here from a comment: Ghee does have a different aroma and consistency, so, depending on the use of it in the recipe (wether it is used for frying or in the frosting for example), it will quite likely change the final result. <S> So in some cases substituting butter with some neutral flavored oil or margarine might be better than ghee. <S> Which, I know, might not help if ghee is all you've got. <S> Also wanted to include what @rumtscho adds in the comment above: in recipes where the fat ratio is important, ghee (which is 100% fat) can ruin the ratio because butter is 83% fat. <S> And as to standards, they can be quite relative (making something that tastes slightly different doesn't necessarily ruin it) ... <S> if you are making the desert for an indian audience, using clarified butter might taste quite normal =) <A> Ghee is basically clarified butter. <S> If a dessert recipe calls for "butter" <S> then it's probably not going to work. <S> If it calls for cold butter cut in pieces... it definitely will not work. <S> If a recipe calls for melted butter... <S> you'll be ok <S> .. use a touch less and add a splash of cream. <S> Ghee is butter with the milk solids removed. <A> I used ghee in an icing recipe because I ran out of butter, and the texture was all wrong. <S> Added a little milk after reading this and boom - the texture immediately improved. <S> Some of the fat content separated, but I just poured it off and the icing was fine. <S> I can recommend the combination of ghee and milk as a good substitution, at least for icings. <A> I am not a professional baker and am still learning <S> but I bake almost every week. <S> In my country ghee is a main ingredient in our houses, whether its made from clarifying butter at home or just buying it. <S> I use ghee in all my bakes, even in making caramel sauce, brownies, cheesecakes or cookies. <S> Just be careful what the recipe calls for. <S> If it is cold cubes , then freeze it and then take it out after 15 min maybe and cut it just like butter. <S> I the recipe asks for room temperature, then use it as it is. <S> It works everytime for me. <S> For the taste part, if the ghee is home made then you have nothing to worry about. <S> If you bought it ready just make sure it has a good not overwhelming taste and smell. <A> No, ghee cannot be used in place of butter, because ghee is clarified. <S> This removes the water from the butter, which is a key component of butter when used in baking. <S> The water evaporating and creating steam pockets gives a lot of foods their fluffy texture. <S> The removal of the water would create a lot of issues in getting your desserts to come out right, even if the taste of ghee was similar to that of butter (which it is not) <A> I can't believe no one thinks Ghee tastes like butter. <S> It tastes exactly like the fresh farm butter my grandmother used to use when I was growing up. <S> Maybe slightly nuttier but not at all like any oil I have ever tasted. <S> I can't say but think if the recipe calls for softened butter you could use equally I am almost sure but the rest I am not sure of. <S> I know <S> an earlier poster or two said that you can bake with it <S> and I am sure you can there may need to be tweaks if it doesn't call for softened butter but according to the earlier post you can harden it in the fridge and use it has your cold butter in recipes calling for that. <A> Like butter, ghee gets very hard when you put it in the refrigerator. <S> Like butter, ghee gets nice and soft when you take it out of the refrigerator. <S> Ghee lasts long than butter because the milk product is gone. <S> Ghee has MORE fat than butter <S> so the person who suggested you use butter and walk more has the information all wrong. <S> You can use ghee in a microwave (but why would you use a microwave for anything) and in the oven. <S> I think the poster who asked if margarine was being used instead of ghee was on to something. <S> Go with the ghee. <S> People in India bake with it all the time and you can find a truckload of websites and blogs written by Indians who use ghee in every way of cooking. <A> I have baked and cooked plenty of times with ghee, and I have made dozens of biscuits. <S> Nothing wrong with it. <S> Biscuits have the best flavor with ghee.
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You can bake with ghee as you would with butter.
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What to do when too much liquid added to flour mixture? I seem to have a bad habit of mis-calculating ingredients, particularly the liquid ones. Can I just boil off excess water that I've added to a flour mixture (in this case a pizza dough)? Any other tricks, other than adding more flour (= huge amount of dough)? <Q> If everything is already combined, you can't really boil off the liquid without also cooking the flour, killing the yeast, and ruining your dough. <S> In the future, try adding 75% of the water, then adding the rest as needed. <S> Sometimes this is the only way to account for additional moisture your flour may have absorbed in humid environments. <S> In the case of pizza dough though, if you have too much, if you portion it, lightly oil the portions, and freeze them individually, they should keep fairly well. <A> How much extra water are you adding? <S> If it's so much that simply adding a bit of extra flour won't do, I'd probably first looking at why you're measuring wrong. <S> I don't imagine boiling <S> it is a good idea. <S> You don't want to boil your dough. <S> I would suggest whenever you are dealing with flour, to do it by weight. <S> Google out a similar recipe that gives you weights instead of (or in addition to volume). <S> Measuring flour by volume is notorious affected by humidity, how long the flour has been sitting in it's container, and numerous other things. <S> If you don't have or don't want to use a scale, you can follow the process found on King Arthur's site (and numerous other places) for accurately measuring flour. <S> The short version is that it tells you to "fluff up" your flour first. <S> If you fluff up the flour and then measure out the cup (scraping a straight line across the top of the measuring cup with a chopstick or something), it is almost always sufficient for my purposes. <A> add 1 to 4 tbsp (more liquid, more flax) flax (or chia) seed powder, stir well and wait for 10 mins .. flax will absorb the excess liquid.
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If you don't want the large amount of dough you would have from just adding flour to what you have, your best bet is to just throw away a portion of what you've made, add flour to the remainder, and proceed.
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How is gelatine sold in U.S. grocery stores? I'm interested in trying a recipe from Alton Brown for marshmallow . I'm not sure what exactly "3 packages unflavored gelatin" refers to. How much gelatine (in weight) is included in a standard package of gelatine in the U.S.? And what bloom * would that be? Probably has no bearing, but is that likely to be powdered or leaf gelatine? * Actually not sure what bloom is used for gelatine from Swedish stores. Awaiting a reply from Dr. Oetker's customer service on that point :-) <Q> Each pack is measured to set 500mL or two cups of liquid. <S> As far as weight, it feels like about 6-7 grams of gelatin. <S> The dominant brand seems to be knox . <S> As for the bloom, I'm not really sure as I haven't seen it published on the label. <S> However, I have <S> actually made marshmallow using the same Alton Brown recipe <S> and it seemed pretty tolerant. <S> So slightly different bloom should be fine. <S> I also deviated with the corn syrup and didn't use it (I avoid corn). <S> The end result was still awesome. <A> Knox doesn't publish the bloom strength <S> but it's 225 <S> so you know. <A> I suspect what you are really asking is how to convert US recipes based on packets to use gelatin sheets. <S> Per <S> Modernist Pantry : <S> You can successfully substitute sheet gelatin for powdered gelatin in any recipe by using the following scaling. <S> 1 (0.25 oz.) <S> envelope granulated gelatin = 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin = <S> 3 sheets leaf gelatin.
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The packs typically contain the equivalent of 15mL of gelatine and are in powder form.
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How do I clean these gloves so they do not leave marks? They leave marks on dishes in the pattern of the gloves. Details Tried soap, bleach, ammonia, vinegar, scalding water, microfiber cloth. Only the fingertips leave marks and are sticky. Palms or back of fingers with the same pattern are not sticky, nor are flat parts. Brand: Playtex The marks on glass come off with microfiber cloth and pressure. <Q> Clean rubber gloves can still leave marks. <S> My guess is that the finger pads are more wornout (at microscopic level) and you've reached the not so smooth 'meat' part of the rubber that will stick and rub off on things. <S> Try with new gloves, or surgical latex gloves, or if marks on glass drive you nuts (like some of us), you can try microfiber gloves over rubber gloves. <A> The latex rubber gloves break down over time becoming sticky and messy. <S> Aging is sped up by using in very hot water. <S> The "fingerprint" marks left on stainless steel pots and clear glass containers can be easily removed by wiping with a paper towel dampened with vegetable oil. <S> The glove marks are an organic and vegetable oil is an organic solvent. <S> The oil can then be washed off with warm soapy water. <S> Once gloves become sticky, they should be discarded. <S> An alternative is disposable vinyl, latex, or nitrile (surgical) gloves. <A> Sometimes if the gloves were greasy before, try using a grease fighting dishwashing detergent. <S> Rub your hands together with the soap to remove all grease. <S> Make sure to scrub thoroughly, like you were going into surgery. <S> Rinse with hot water. <S> This usually works for me.
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Sometimes if your gloves are aging, the rubber will become tacky, if this is the case, replace the gloves.
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I boiled dry my 18/10 ss pot, is it damaged and unsafe to cook with now I was boiling eggs and fell asleep. I think it was boiling dry for about an hour, would the pot be unsafe to cook with now? It was clean inside but the outside is now slightly yellow tinged. Does stainless steel have any kind of coating in it that might of burnt off? I don't really want to throw the pot away as it is 18/10 and pretty expensive, but I don't want to risk my health. Thanks <Q> Just give it a good cleaning. <S> Otherwise, it'll look like every other well used ss pot. <S> 18/10 ss is 18% chromium, 10% nickel, and balance in iron and stableto higher temperatures. <S> If you didn't drop the hot pot in cold water, or the bottom is really thick <S> , you shouldn't have warping issues either. <S> An egg timer might be handy next time ;) <A> Stainless steel is not coated, and will not be permanently harmed by any temperatures achievable in the home. <S> It melts at about 1500 C (2750 F). <S> It might be warped or discolored, but it is fine to use. <A> You might want to try to use Barkeepers Friend or Bon Ami. <S> This is what allclad recommends for a task like this. <S> I have removed many stains from my allclad with these products even on the polished side of the pans. <S> It works great. <S> Super cheap product as well. <A> I burn stainless pots regularly and pretty much don't worry about them unless they impart a burnt taste to the food and hopefully even then they are safe. <S> I've found they best way to get the burn off is to apply a wet coat of baking soda to the inside of the pan and leave it there for a couple of days. <S> It should then scrub clean pretty easily. <S> If not, try boiling with baking soda and water. <A> I have signed up just to reply to your question .The <S> yellow color you see is the temper color of the steel. <S> It is used after quenching(hardening) to temper the hardness of the blade to soften it a bit up , <S> a knife that is too hard doesent mean it is tough , apply a bit of force to it and it will snap in 2 or a million pieces, you make the blade tougher by slowly heating up and watching the "temper colors" of the steel and depending on what you are making you want a different temper on different steels and tools you make , so for example if you make a knife you want to get to that yellow or what we call straw color , for an axe you want to soften it a bit further to maybe purple color. <S> The yellow stain can be removed with scratching(sandpaper) as this color is formed only on the surface layer you can also try using vinegar and baking soda or maybe even just with vinegar , it is rather quick... <S> I learned this the hard way. <S> I have made a knife and I wanted to keep the temper colors on the spine of the knife , it was a little rusty when I left it for a few days <S> so I placed it in vinegar to remove it , this removed the temper colors as well.. <S> Good luck <S> I might be too late for this post. <S> XDOh by the way <S> no need for special products just use plain old white vinegar and baking soda. <S> Forging temperature of steel is much higher yes but tempering of steel is done at the range of 250-350 <S> °celsiusWhich keeping a pot on a stove can definitely achieve .. I've used an oven to temper my blades <S> it works flawlessly. <A> If it is a non-stick pan then you definitely run the risk of health issues. <S> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_fume_fever <S> Stainless steel is forged at a temperature far higher then what you could do in your kitchen. <S> But if it's a pot filled with water it shouldn't be that much of an issue.
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Stainless steel pots are pretty much indestructable and it should be safe to cook with. Some hardwarevstores (lowes) have a ss cleaner that might get rid of the yellow tinge. The issue is more with warping because it causes uneven heating.
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Could I use beer instead of/as well as water in my sourdough? The sourdough recipe I use calls for 300ml of water to 500g of bread flour (along with the starter). Instead of this water, could I use beer - or a combination of beer and water? The reason I thought this would be possible is because the beer would add taste and air to the sourdough. Along the same lines of adding more air to the sourdough, would sparkling water be a good idea, if beer is not? <Q> You can easily replace the liquid in most bread recipes with beer. <S> This can have a very pronounced effect on your final dough as there is a lot more chemical and biological fun happening in beer than there is in water. <S> In my experience, the dough with beer will usually rise faster than a similar dough with water. <S> Generally, the flavor difference won't be that pronounced (usually a much more "bready" flavor, unless you use a beer that otherwise has a strong flavor, such as an IPA). <A> You're going to lose most of the carbonation when you pour in the sparkling liquid. <S> You may trap some, but I'm guessing not enough to make a difference. <S> As for using beer for flavor, it sounds like an interesting experiment. <S> Beer is much more acidic than water, but thankfully yeast likes an acidic environment. <S> While I wouldn't replace all of the water with beer, judicious substitution of some water with beer shouldn't upset the pH of the mix beyond where the yeast can survive and multiply. <S> Some benchmarks: pH of good lager beer: 3.0 to 4.5 ( 2 ) <S> pH at which fermentation begins to suffer: 4.0 ( 1 ) Bear in mind that pH will drop as fermentation occurs since fermentation itself produces carbonic acid. <A> I have been using a starter I started with a Belgium blonde for some time now. <S> I feed it every twelve hours because it stays out all the time. <S> It has a great funky sour taste. <S> I use it in everything. <S> Never really worried about pH. <S> It bubbles away and raises nice. <S> I do sometimes add yeast though.
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The acidity of the beer won't actually have that much of an effect on your final dough as the ph will be a weighted average of all of your ingredients.
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When making bread, should I add salt early or late? Pros and cons A friend and I was to make bread together. We quickly found that we had been taught differently on how to make the dough. I had learned to first just mix flour, yeast and water evenly. Let them sit quietly for half an hour to allow the flour to absorb the fluids. Then add salt and knead the dough. He had learned to mix everything, knead fully then for the last minute add salt. Can someone suggest the pros and cons of the two tactics? <Q> The main challenge with adding salt in a bread recipe is: Getting it distributed evenly throughout the dough <S> Not inhibiting yeast growth <S> Most recipes are 2% salt or less, which does not have a huge effect on yeast growth so that is not the primary concern. <S> Therefore, the easiest way to do it is to mix it with the flour, or with the wet ingredients early, so that it will be well distributed. <S> That is much harder to do once <S> a dough has formed and started to develop structure. <S> However, if you are using a preferment (also called a biga, paloush or several other things) where you start fermenting some of the flour and water with the yeast early, you don't want to put salt in the preferment, as it would be much more concentrated, and the only purpose of the preferment is yeast development. <A> Salt has an effect on the enzymes in flour, as well as how the water affects gluten development and yeast activity. <S> Generally when salt is added later in the mixing process, it is to allow more time for enzymatic processes to happen before the salt inhibits them. <S> (Alternately, you can add salt at the very beginning with all the other ingredients as long as it doesn't come in contact with fresh yeast.) <S> The problem is that then you have to knead dry salt into a developed dough, which can be pretty hard to do. <S> Letting the dough sit without salt (called an autolyse) allows for enzymes to do most of the gluten development work before you start actually kneading it, letting it form a developed dough very quickly. <S> The advantage of this is that the dough is not yet fully developed when you add the salt, so it's a lot easier to get it incorporated. <A> Does not matter- <S> salt will not damage yeast, at least at normal baking concentrations. <S> See my experiments at: http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/saltyeast.html <S> In others, ok to add salt and yeast and water together in the wet mix. <S> Improves uniformity and bread texture. <S> Adding salt to flour creates a slightly different texture of nooks and crannies, due to bonding effect on proteins. <S> But not due to changing yeast viability.
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Kneading dough without salt can help the gluten to develop faster, and give you a very smooth, extensible dough.
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Hot tea with lemon juice and fat free milk: how to prevent curdling? So I know it may sound a bit weird, but I like milky tea with some lemon juice added. I pop a teabag into the mug, fill it about 2/3 with boiling water, let seep a bit, remove teabag, add some freshly-squeezed lemon, then slowly add cold fat-free milk (and add stevia for sweetness). How can I make myself a cuppa without the milk curdling? <Q> I don't think this is practically possible with lemon juice, as milk protein will curdle in the presence of acid <S> (in this case, citric acid in the lemon juice)—and <S> the process happens much more quickly at hotter temperatures, as in tea. <S> A pinch of salt may slow the process, but is likely to be unpalatable. <S> You could neutralize the acid with baking powder, but getting the right balance would be difficult, and again, the result is likely to be disconcerting and unpalatable. <S> If it is not the acidic balance that you appreciate in your tea, but rather the flavor of the lemon, you might try making a simple syrup with lemon zest, and using that to sweeten your tea. <S> It will give the lemon flavor, without the acidity, and so not trigger the curdling. <A> I use lemon zest in my tea while its steeping, then I strain it through a fine strainer. <S> Gives you all the benefits and no curdling. <A> You can seek out non-dairy creamers, such as coconut milk coffee creamer, rice milk creamer. <S> These have added stabilizers that prevent coagulation in acidic coffee, which I think would work in your lemon tea. <A> Have you tried adding a couple of squares of white chocolate to your lemon tea? <S> It gives it that milky flavour without curdling. <A> I do this too. <S> I add lemon, plus I add honey to the water first before pouring it over the tea. <S> Sometimes a smidgen of sugar. <S> The sugar and honey help take away some of the acidity <S> but it has to be in the water first and mixed up. <S> Then steep the tea. <S> Then after the tea is made and steeped, I'll add a little bit of milk. <S> ** <S> Also if you put a lot of lemon in it, this won't matter. <S> How much lemon can affect this. <S> I normally don't like the way it tastes if there's too much in it and too much <S> tends to curdle the milk regardless. <A> Try adding the milk first then the lemon. <S> For some reason my milk doesn't curdle when I do it in this order... <S> Actually trying to find the reason why this happens. <A> I've found that using good, organic essential oils in cooking works quite well. <S> No curdling to fear. <S> Lemon is a very inexpensive oil.
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Try adding a drop of lemon essential oil to your milky tea.
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Which knife is best for somone just learning to cook? I'm just self-learning to cook and I'm looking for a chef's knife. I've read the many differences between a chef's knife and a santoku knife, but it's still not clear to me which one I should choose. The only difference I'm aware of between santoku and a chef's knife is that santoku has exactly the same functionality as a chef's knife if one does not carve meat. I definitely want to obtain proper/efficient knife skills (referring to the rock and chop that's often discussed), but at the same time, I want something that will be easy for me to use (I tend to cut using an up and down motion). I'm pretty sure I know what length and weight I want the knife to be, but to keep the question from being too localized, I won't discuss those features. I don't know if it's worth mentioning, but I almost never carve meat or cut bones. So do I go with a gyuto, santoku, or chef's knife? <Q> However, if you live in North America, Europe, or anywhere else with a European cooking tradition, most of the resources and videos that you see to help you develop knife skills will assume you have a chef's knife. <S> For this reason, I suggest you start with a good basic chef's knife. <S> Secondly, you will want a paring knife. <S> With these two knives, you can do 95% of kitchen tasks very well. <S> As you develop your skills, you can try santukos and other style blades and determine if the work for you. <A> The ultimate answer here is to try them both (cook dinner for a friend who has them both?) and go with the one that is more comfortable for you. <S> For example, my fiancee prefers a large chef knife, I prefer the santoku. <S> Both of us can cut just as fast, it really just comes down to personal preference and that special "how it feels in your hand" feeling. <S> Ultimately the more comfortable (both experience and physical comfort) you are with a tool, the better you will function with it. <S> To be honest, the "meat" thing with a chef's knife doesn't bother me that much. <S> Usually when I am working with raw meat I prefer an incredibly sharp paring knife and a good filet knife. <S> Cutting cooked meat, I use a slicing knife. <S> Large meat with a bone? <S> Either the butcher takes care of it or I use a cleaver. <A> The Victorinox Fibrox 8-inch Chef's knife has been getting good reviews for years. <S> It is sturdy, holds an edge well, and is inexpensive. <S> It's a hybrid of a thin Japanese blade with a 15-degree edge (western knives have a 20-degree edge), but with the longer, broader blade of European knives. <S> And at $30 it's a great choice for a first knife to start honing your skills. <A> For new chefs, Tim Ferriss suggests a 6" meat cleaver in the book: 4-hour chef. <S> It sounds odd at first. <S> However, chopping, cutting, and developing knife skills with a sharp clever makes good sense. <S> The blade is taller and slightly heavier to make it more forgiving to crude muscle movements. <S> This would be different than a butcher's cleaver and you're not meant to hack at the food. <S> Rather develop the same knife skills by cutting through the food and not at the food. <S> E.g, this one made by Rada : <S> Obviously, the other bonus is that you'd chop food very efficiently. <S> Not having a pointy tip also makes it safer. <S> Particularly handy for asian foods. <S> As far as choosing specifically between chef and santoku, I find I reach for the chef knife more often than the santoku (except for cutting potatoes where santoku's divits prevent skicking). <S> But you can't really go wrong eitherway. <S> The most important point here is to have and keep sharp knives. <S> They require less force to work resulting in less chance of running away and doing business with live flesh.
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The difference between a santuko and European chef's knife is mostly a matter of personal taste and style.
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Can I replace a food processor in this brownie recipe? I'd like to make a "healthy" brownie recipe, but the instructions ask for a food processor, which I don't have. I thought about using a blender, but I've read it won't come out right using a blender. Here's what the instructions say: Combine the black beans, dates, jam, and vanilla in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and process again. What can I use instead of a food processor? <Q> No, you can use the blender. <S> Use the slowest speed and manually do short pulses (1 second on, 2 seconds off). <S> You may have to use a spatula and mix it to get an even result. <S> The pauses are so that the food doesn't get too hot (friction from the blades can actually boil things). <S> Stop early, it's easy to make an unrecognizable paste in the blender. <A> Food processors are wonderful kitchen tools, but they have only existed for a relatively short while. <S> The techniques used prior to their invention still work, but are much more labor intensive. <S> Use a food mill . <S> Use a mortar and pestle. <S> The results can then be forced through a sieve of chinoise if desired to get a smoother result. <S> You have not mentioned in your recipe whether the beans are cooked. <S> I am guessing that they are from the other ingredients they were to be processed with. <S> If so, the food mill should work very well. <S> If they are not, and you are essentially making a bean flour, the mortar and pestle would be more appropriate, although a lot of work. <A> If you don't mind some chunks, very finely dice with a chef's knife. <S> It will take longer, but you should get there.
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If you're going for a smooth batter, probably need a food processor.
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How to grease a pan without shortening or butter I need to grease a baking pan (which I don't have) for brownies. I also don't have butter or shortening. I do have one of those pyrex oven safe glass pans and something like a small dutch oven, but with a glass top instead. Could either of these substitute for baking pan instead? And in lieu of the butter, could I use vegetable oil and a paper towel to grease one of the pans that I do have (without affecting the final results of the brownies)? <Q> Vegetable oil will be fine - that's what's in commercial nonstick spray oils anyway. <S> A pyrex oven safe glass pan is a baking pan. <S> The baking time might be slightly different than with a metal pan, but it will work perfectly fine. <S> Just make sure it's the same size pan the recipe called for, or scale the recipe to match the area - <S> if you change the thickness, the results are going to change. <S> The dutch oven (uncovered) would also work, though it will take a lot longer to heat up, so it will probably affect the baking time substantially, and you may have to be careful not to overcook the top. <A> If you are particularly meticulous, you should be able to do it by lining the pan (or at the very least the bottom) with parchment paper... <S> Even if you line the bottom w/ parchment paper, you can use a knife to loosen the edges <A>
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Either of your pans should work - the issue that you're going to have is adjusting the amount of batter to account for a different pan size (possibly).
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Is it true that putting spices in something then baking it destroys the spices? I heard that putting spices in something and putting it in the oven will eliminate the taste of the spices. Is this true? For example if I were to put spice in lasagna before putting it in the oven you will not be able to taste the spice afterwards. <Q> It is not true that baking destroys spices (for most spices I know; unless you put them to bake dry on top of something, which might burn them). <S> I made this answer a bit broader as we add flavor to food not only with spices but with herbs or flavorful vegetables, mushrooms, and fruits as well. <S> Sometimes it will take away the fresh sharpness (like in garlic or onion). <S> Sometimes frying or roasting spices before cooking is even desired to give them a slight toasty flavor (like whole cumin and other spices in Indian cuisine). <S> Some say that " only with roasting all flavors can be unlocked ". <S> So it depends on what effect you want to achieve with a spice/seasoning. <S> And in your case putting spices into lasagna before baking will help blend the flavors together. <S> However, putting some fresh herbs on top of the lasagna before serving will give the dish some color and freshness. <A> The flavors of most spices are quite stable, and will not be destroyed by cooking from any method, including baking. <S> You will see that traditional recipes often add spices at the beginning of a recipe, especially for robust hard spices like cinnamon, anise, caraway, cumin, allspice, dried chili powder, and so on. <S> In fact, in many cuisines, the spices are bloomed by frying or toasting as part of assembling the dish in order to bring out their aromas and flavors. <S> This idea may have originated with herbs (especially the more delicate ones like basil, tarragon, or cilantro) whose flavors are more volatile or heat sensitive, and so are traditionally added in the last few minutes of cooking, or even after the cooking. <S> Even so, with herbs, this is not universal as some of the more hardy ones do stand up to cooking, such as oregano, sage, and similar. <A> I make beef jerky <S> and I have to make the marinade hotter than mortal sin in order for it to be a really hot flavor <S> When it's finished... <S> I use concentrated capsaicin and ground up dried ghost pepper in my hottest variety... <S> but it's still much hotter before it's cooked. <S> By a measure of half. <S> I've been making jerky since 1991. <A> Depends on how long its cooked and at what heat if you were to put basil or parsley in and then cook it for a long time it will crisp up and blacken and in a sense destroy them. <S> In contrast a roast cooked moderately high and long tied with rosemary all around turns out wonderfully and allows the roast to draw in many of the flavours. <S> In the end it just depends on what spices you are using and how they will be cooked.
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Baking/heat will likely change the texture and flavor of spices, vegetables, and especially fresh herbs, but it will not destroy them.
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Stock: Canned, Bouillon Cubes and Powder What are the Pros and Cons to each one? Most of the time I am making vegetable soup. Thanks <Q> Commercial stock or broth products come in several categories. <S> Of the ones you ask about: Canned Bulky, but ready to use. <S> May be the highest quality product of the three you asked about, with the best flavor. <S> Especially low salt versions contain less salt than the cubed or powdered alternatives. <S> Cubes <S> Contain lots of salt. <S> Must be dissolved in hot water before use. <S> Requires little shelf space. <S> Often inexpensive on a per serving basis. <S> Powder <S> Essentially the same as cubes, but not yet pressed into cube form. <S> Somewhat easier to dissolve than the cubes. <S> Concentrate <S> While you did not ask, concentrated stocks are also available on the market, which are almost like a jelly that you can add to thicken and enrich sauces, or reconstitute with water to use as a soup base. <S> These tend to be marketed at commercial kitchens, and may be a higher quality product than some of the others. <A> It's hard to generalize them since within each category there are vastly different qualities. <S> Read the ingredients list carefully. <S> Bouillon: <S> With some exceptions (buy these ones), you'll find most cubes contain little if any meat based stock, and are mostly salt, yeast extract, and dehydrated vegetables plus a load of MSG. <S> The best ones are the ones that are low in sodium and contain little fillers. <S> They also tend to be more expensive. <S> The good ones may allow you to provide a lift to the dish but not base a good dish on them. <S> Powder: <S> Here you'll mostly find corn starch, MSG, salt and some powdered vegetables plus thickening agents. <S> The chicken ones may have some real chicken broth based powder, and it's very hard to actually find beef stock in powder form. <S> While many restaurants use this type, the professional chefs avoid them and typically shake their head at dishes made using these. <S> Canned: <S> you might get some honest stock in this form. <S> Again, read ingredients and check for salt. <S> frozen stock : you can typically find honest beef and chicken stock in frozen tub containers in the freezer section. <S> They won't be as cheap as buying some soup bones or making your own. <S> Tetrapack: <S> In North America, you can find Pacific, and Imagine brand of broth in tetrapack form. <S> They (and a handful of others) do offer low sodium organic broth which tend to produce the best result from any store bought product and contain little fillers. <S> The 'major' brands also have organic lines but when you read the ingredients you'll know how little actual stock you're getting. <A> I have a favorite option, it's a concentrate or "base", like SAJ14SAJ mentioned. <S> Costco now carries it, making it also an inexpensive option - Better than Bouillon, the organic, reduced sodium variety. <S> I almost always make my own broth, this product is great for stretching homemade or enriching it. <S> In a pinch, it's even OK just mixed with water. <S> It was included in America's Test Kitchen tasting test of canned broths, it tied (or almost tied) <S> Swanson's canned broth for 1st place. <S> Other answers have very well covered the pros and cons of each type of chicken broth product, this one just happens to be my favorite of all of them. <S> All pros, no cons.
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May not be as high a quality product as canned.
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Finding the Right Coffee Grind I just purchased a burr grinder to use with a chorreador coffee maker. A chorreador is functionally similar to a pour over, but the cloth filter will likely have different characteristics. I've read that the grind should be "fine to medium-fine", and I imagine the specifics are left to taste and depend on other characteristics (roast, amount of beans, etc.). I will tune my grind based on some experimentation, but what are the characteristics I should be looking for? In general, how does coarseness or fineness affect the coffee profile? What characteristics should I expect to vary? Are there particular characteristics that are "bad" and I should tune to avoid (for example, I've heard the silt in coffee can be hard on digestion)? I'm not looking for an answer to "how fine should I grins my coffee?", but rather what are the parameters I should look for when experimenting with the grind? <Q> In short, it's about extraction. <S> Too fast, and you don't get the right flavours and too slow and you'll get off and bitter tastes. <S> With a setup like the one you describe you can't change the speed the water passes through coffee (unlike espresso, for example) <S> so you control how long water spends with your coffee (and the surface area of contact) by the size of the grind. <S> The water will tend to stay and mud up super fine grinds. <S> If you were to try to filter through turkish grind, you'd be waiting a long time and might taste something harsh. <S> Too coarse of a grind and the water will run through and not pick up enough (low extraction). <S> Aside from colour, taste and aroma, what you are looking for is how long it takes for water to pass through the coffee grind. <S> I can't tell you how long for your specific setup, but if you're going slower than 20 seconds per ounce of water, it's likely too fine of a grind. <S> Also note that the longer water spends with coffee, the more caffeine it'll pick up. <S> Finally, if you can, keep an eye on the drips as they leave the filter. <S> When the drop or stream is no longer cloudy and starts looking clear, that's about when you've extracted what you can with that grind (both amount and coarseness). <A> Coarseness vs fineness will have a large amount of impact on strength and mouthfeel of the final product. <S> The finer the grain, the greater the surface area that is exposed to the water you are brewing with. <S> That means in a fine grind the water will absorb far more of the coffee's flavor. <S> It also means more essential oils are being absorbed out of the coffee, so a more luscious mouthfeel and stronger aroma. <S> It also means that longer exposure can quickly turn the coffee bitter and astringent, especially with lighter roasts <S> (the grassy origin characteristics quickly become lemon tartness and bitterness). <S> For a pour over method, especially one without a paper filter (paper tends to absorb essential oils, hence the difference in mouthfeel between, say, a french press and a drip machine), a fine grind should be a great place to start. <S> If it's too tart or bitter because the water is taking too long to drip through, gradually increase the coarseness until you find the grind you feel is most pleasant. <S> HTH. <S> Also, I've never worried about silt in coffee. <S> We can eat beans whole and the silt never causes a problem, and the silt never causes a problem with Turkish coffee, so I don't see it really being an issue. <A> I agree with Matthew's and MandoMando's answers. <S> Here I just wanted to add some experiences that I made with chorreador coffee in Costa Rica, as your question mentions it. <S> The grind that people used in CR was very similar to the one I would use with a paper filter for drip coffee, maybe a tiny bit finer sometimes. <S> Even though you are stirring while pouring the water, some "socks" will get easily clogged with too fine grind, and almost nothing will get through. <S> Sometimes I also saw people just putting the "sock" to sit in the mug for a while (like a tea bag) when they wanted a stronger coffee. <S> And here I just quickly took a photo of a grind purchased in CR, just as a reference point for where you could start your experiments: for scale: I used 5mm graph paper and added a quarter <A> The smaller the grind the more surface area you expose. <S> In theory this means that smaller grinds will produce stronger coffee. <S> For some brewing methods you need to compromise a bit to keep the grit out. <S> French press usually needs as coarse of a grind as possible so your coffee isn't dominated by grinds. <S> Gritty coffee isn't an issue for paper filters so it can afford a finer grind. <S> However if you grind it too finely, then the coffee won't drain properly and it will spend too much time extracting the coffee, possible leading to bitter flavors getting extracted. <S> Espresso machines can use a fine powder because the water is forced through under high pressure, sometimes as high as 20 bars.
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So to sum up, the grind size is a balance between how much coffee flavor you want to extract and how much time the water spends trickling through the coffee grinds.
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Are fluted knives a gimmick? I haven't been able to find a post specifically on fluted knives, so hopefully this isn't a duplicate. I was wondering if fluted knives actually work. I came across a comment (possibly an Amazon review) that fluted knives don't actually help in preventing vegetables from sticking to the knife -- causing the user to have to still have to stop and remove the cut product. I've never used a fluted knife, so I literally have no idea. I was wondering what the general consensus on SA was: Have you noticed that a fluted knife makes enough of a difference to purchase the fluted version of a particular knife over the non-fluted version? <Q> I am assuming by "fluted knife", you mean what is sometimes called a granton or hollow edge knife, where there are indentations in the blade intended to reduce sticking or adhesion to the food: <S> Except in very specific circumstances, this feature makes very little difference, those circumstances being: Carving large roasts Cutting large and tough vegetables such as certain squashes <S> For most use, it simply doesn't matter. <S> In fact, the thickness of the blade tends to have more of an effect than the voids in most cases. <S> Except in the specific case of a slicing knife (which is a specialty knife that most beginning cooks have no need for; you have also in other questions indicated you are a vegetarian where this knife is primarily for slicing hams and other large roasts), this is not a feature I would look for: <A> This is a pretty intricate question and my answer is based on what I have read and personal experience. <S> If I understand correctly, knives with dimples or scallops are supposed to create more air space between the knife and the food, thus reducing adhesion and making release of the food easier. <S> This seems to be the reason most stated for an advantage of this kind of knife. <S> The deeper or larger the scallops are, the more effectively the knife is supposed to work, as there is less contact with food. <S> I find that slicing motions across the food are more effective than straight cuts down to the board. <S> (However, I find this to be true with any knife when slicing foods that adhere to the blade.) <S> As you stated, even though you have upgraded and added knives to your collection, you usually reach for your Wusthof. <S> We have knives of all types, from fairly cheap to pretty expensive. <S> We do the same thing -- reach for those trusty favorites. <S> I find that as long as a knife is kept sharp and it feels good in your hand, it doesn't really matter otherwise. <S> And back to your original question, we have several knives with scallops or the granton edge, with those being some of the more expensive knives we own. <S> As far as performance, I don't think we've yet seen any advantage to them. <S> (Sometimes on the first slice or two the food releases more easily, but after that I can't really tell any difference.) <S> I don't know if this qualifies for an ideal answer <S> and I'm sure that there are many others with more knowledge of the science behind this. <S> But, I do think that as long as you are using an appropriate type of knife for your task and it feels good in your hand, you can't go wrong. <A> It depends on what you're cutting <S> It also depends on how deep the channel is. <S> The lower that surface area, the lower the friction for cutting. <S> There are a number of ways to reduce surface area: <S> Use channels Use a shorter blade <S> Use a midline spine or convex blade geometry <S> Use a larger edge bevel angle ...and more Channels can be effective for cutting hard products (e.g. hard cheese or vegetables) where the food product is rigid enough that it won't bend into the channels after it is cut. <S> On the other hand, channels are less effective with products like large chunks of meat where the product will tend to fill in the channel because it's elastic. <S> Cutting technique also makes a difference to channel effectiveness. <S> If you are using a drawing motion while cutting (i.e. drawing the blade across the product), that will tend to increase the effectiveness of channels because you are not giving the product enough time to reform around the channel so the surface area of contact remains small. <S> That is why carving knives often have channels in them... <S> the slicing movement works well with channels. <A> Ahhhh!! <S> ! <S> , I answered once in more detail and it deleted because inwasnt signed in!! <S> The wells (not scallops- that makes me think bread knife). <S> Are supposed to capture fluid and make for smoother slicing. <S> Though, a Santoku should have a different angle of sharpened edge than a "western" edge. <S> So you may lose slicing ability in your inability to properly sharpen. <S> A nice knife <S> but it doesn't replace my 6" chef's knife. <A> I was very pleased to find this discussion. <S> It confirms what I'd always suspected; that for fine slicing you can't beat a good, thin, flexible and flat blade. <S> I'll add that fluted/scalloped/Granton blades can be a hindrance for wafer-thin slicing. <S> That's because the food undulates as the blade passes through, and so you're likely to end up with shattered little flakes instead of delicately thin slices. <S> The only exception in my experience is Gouda and Edam cheeses, which are sufficiently plastic to benefit from the science involved. <S> If you're a Dutch cheesemonger, then go for it.
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The purpose of the channels is to reduce the surface area of the knife that comes into contact with the food you're cutting.
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Why get a chef's knife or santoku if I don't eat meat? If I don't eat meat, is there any reason why I would choose a chef's knife or santoku over a vegetable knife (e.g. Japanese vegetable knives or Chinese cleavers)? I eat all kinds of foods (from mexican to chinese) and make nearly everything from scratch (minus things like noodles), so from my cheap interim chef's knife, all I do is chop, slice, and dice. Although I've only recently taken up cooking, I don't see myself doing anything else (paring and bread knife aside). Because of this, I've been debating getting a vegetable knife, such as a Global vegetable knife or Wusthof Chinese cleaver. <Q> Even for meat eaters, almost all knife work is done on vegetables. <S> Santukos and chef's knives are general purpose knives, with great utility on vegetables. <S> Chinese cleavers are also general purpose knives, the functional equivalent in that culture to the chef's knife. <S> The advice offered to you in this question: Which knife is best for somone just learning to cook? <S> does not change simply because you are a vegetarian. <A> I use boning and fillet knives most often when preparing meat, and a slicer knife when portioning it after cooking - heck, I use my kitchen shears more often than my chef's knife when prepping raw meats (especially poultry and fish). <S> The chef's knife is used to prepare veggies, which is where the bulk of any cuisine's prep is, vegetarian or not. <S> It's designed to reduce aromatics like onions, carrots, peppers and celery into minced, diced or cubed pot-ready ingredients. <S> You can get through almost any food prep task with a chef's knife, a paring knife and a bread knife. <S> If you like collecting and playing with fine knives in the kitchen <S> (and that's as fine a hobby as any), there are some fruit and vegetable-specific knives you could benefit from trying out. <S> Nakiri and Usubo - these are the knives used by japanese chefs expressly to prep vegetables. <S> The nakiri is a more robust everyday knife, the usobo is meant for making exceptionally thin cuts. <S> They are meant to chop rather than slice. <S> Tomato knife - This is a serrated knife used to cut soft and fragile food, such as tomatoes or ripe peaches. <S> It's thinner and more weildy than a bread knife, and a good accompaniment to thicker European chef's knife styles. <S> Bird's Beak - <S> This is used to tournee root vegetables, pare round fruit, and to make delicate and tricky garnish cuts. <A> The technique is to let the knife's weight to the work, i.e. cook exerts <S> no or almost no force on the downstroke. <S> Moreover it also used to transfer sliced and chopped ingredients to a wok pan. <S> Have a look at videos where chefs use same or similar knife for almost anything. <A> Most santoku, and certainly nakiri/usuba, knives are not good at supporting cutting styles that rely on the tip rolling smoothly on the cutting board; santoku tips tend to offer a more limited angle before the tip catches into the cutting board instead of rolling - while this seems to support the knife very firmly, it can very abruptly stop doing so, ending in an imperfect cut or even an injury. <S> Also, the tip of a chef (or kiritsuke <S> ) knife is well suited to doing some paring/cleaning work without having to change knives... <S> Blades that have a very straight edge (nakiri) have their use for thin or depth-controlled cuts (hasselback anything ;)... <S> It is likely that your local asian grocer will have inexpensive knives in most of the common asian shapes, these might not be Wusthof quality <S> but they tend to be sharp and easily resharpened, and still of a far better quality than an equally priced supermarket knife <S> - these are useful to experiment and find out what blades you like working with.... <S> That said, most every knife shape/style is SOMETIMES useful even in a fully vegetarian or vegan kitchen - just not as often. <S> It helps to think in terms of techniques rather than ingredients that these were intended for. <S> For example, one could consider the deba and yanagiba pure fish knives - or useful wherever you need to separate elastic from hard (eg various fruit prep tasks), or slice something with long smooth strokes (eg various bakery tasks). <A> My neighbor is a good cook and I do a lot of the prep work when I am over for a meal. <S> He really likes his santoku and encourages me to use it <S> but I don't like it. <S> I prefer <S> a wide 6 inch cooks knife with as relatively flat blade for meat, vegetables, and fruit. <S> There are many tasks <S> I like the point (better control): <S> On slice down on an onion half to dice I don't slice the two ends allthe way to the front. <S> Slicing out the stem on a half strawberry. <S> Clear out the interior on a pepper. <S> For pure fine mincing like parsley is the only time I prefer a santoku.
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Chinese chef's knife is a multipurpose tool, and (depending on weight and blade thickness) is very handy to slice, chop and dice vegetables.
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How accurate are kitchen scales? I read about weighing coffee to the 0.5 gram, but what's the margin of error for a typical 5kg/11lb kitchen scale? <Q> Every scale should indicate its accuracy in its manual. <S> A good guess if you have no manual is that the accuracy is approximately half of the size of the smallest unit it reports (for example, my digital scale reports down to grams, so its accuracy is probably within about 1/2 gram). <S> If the scale is analog, you can get an idea by the smallest interval on the dial or indicator. <S> Still, only the manual will tell you for sure. <S> Scales that go up to 5 kg are unlikely to be good for measuring 0.5 gram quantities like coffee. <S> You will want a scale specialized for that level of quantity. <S> The exception is laboratory quality scales, which have higher accuracies and greater accurate ranges, but they are not pretty and are expensive. <A> You'll need a sub-gram scale for that such as this one by Jennings: <S> That defeats the point of weighing coffee given that amounts effect on the result. <A> Mine gets it right to the nearest gram. <S> It's easy enough to test the accuracy of your scale using water. <S> For tiny increments, you can use coins. <S> A US quarter weighs 5.67 grams, a nickel weighs 5.0 grams, a dime weighs 2.268 grams. <S> I'm pleased with mine. <S> It doesn't do fractions of a gram, but when I weigh 2 quarters it comes up 11 grams occasionally bouncing up to 12 grams. <S> I can't imagine any kitchen application (outside of molecular gastronomy) that needs more accuracy than that. <S> My scale is "typical" as it has a capacity of 5 kilos. <S> EDIT: I've been meaning to do this anyway, the following will demonstrate just how accurate kitchen scales can (and should) be. <S> This will also soon be a rave review on Amazon, especially since I only paid $16 for the scale. <S> Big pan of cans OK, 4.585 Kilograms, pushing max capacity Tare (weight - 0 grams) <S> OK, I said before that a US nickel weighs exactly 5 grams, right? <S> One nickel: (weight - 5 grams) <S> Two nickels: (weight - 10 grams) <S> Three nickels, four nickels, five nickels, six nickels: (15g, 20g, 25g, 30g) <S> My scale can beat up your measuring cup!
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The bigger scales' are at best accurate to a gram or two (the expensive german one in our kitchen is good to 2 grams).
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Chocolate: difference between "Cocoa Mass" and "Cacao"? There isn't much diary products in my country. So cheese, double/heavy cream, baking chocolate etc are hard to find. Some shops that specialize in baking sells this relatively expensive "72% cocoa mass" chocolate. While the supermarket has cheaper, baking chocolate that has "100% cacao". I don't remember the brand but it is something like this one . How do i compare "100% cacao" to "72% cocoa mass"? Are they the same, and hence the 100% one has higher cocoa/cacao content? <Q> Yep, cocoa and cacao are the same thing. <S> The 72% has sugar making up the rest of the mass. <S> The description on amazon actually mentions that it's 27% sugar and 43.5% cocoa butter. <S> The rest is cocoa solids, the chocolate-y stuff. <S> As you say, that particular brand is pretty expensive; it's also pretty popular and well-regarded. <S> Since it has plenty of sugar in it, you can use it for pretty much anything, including things like coatings, or even just eat some. <S> The 100% is unsweetened (there's no room for any sugar in there) <S> so it's really only usable for things like baking, where you'll add some sugar. <S> It's unlikely to be pleasant to eat on its own. <S> For what it's worth, usually in English you'll hear cacao only when referring to the overall cacao seeds and their use as a component of chocolate. <S> It's not common in non-culinary contexts. <S> For example, we'll say "cocoa powder" not "cacao powder". <A> As for the difference in labelling, there is no difference, as Jefromi already said. <S> I could imagine some producers calling more-or-less raw liquor "cacao" and the processed product "cocoa mass", but this is not standard usage. <S> The problem is that cocoa mass with the butter removed is still called cocoa mass, just like skim milk is still called milk. <S> Confections made with low-fat cocoa mass taste much worse than ones made with full-fat cocoa mass, but there is no way to determine what you have from the package. <S> Valrhona is a pro brand and it does contain enough cocoa butter for great confections, but there are cheaper brands which sell full-fat too. <S> You have to try the cheap one to see if the quality is good enough. <S> You also have to see what your recipe requires to decide which one to use. <S> You need 100% for recipes calling for "bitter", "dark" or "cooking" chocolate. <S> 72% is considered in the "semi-sweet" range in English books. <S> In other cultures, it is different, with chocolates as low as 50% being called "bitter". <A> Cacao is actually the name of the tree. <S> The beans in the Cacao pods are fermented and processed to make chocolate. <S> Pure chocolate has two main components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. <S> Some manufacturers list the percentage as cocoa or cacao (as refered to in some non-english languages) which also typically refers to cocoa-mass. <S> The balance of the percentage listed (100-72 = 28%) usually is sugar but some manufacturers pull back the percentage of cocoa butter and add oils (e.g. palm oil) plus thickenning agents such as soy lecithin to end up with similar consistency. <S> That'd be included in the 28%.
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Cocoa mass listed on labels contains both cocoa butter and cocoa solids. While there is no difference between the words, the product may still be very different.
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White stains and stainless steel cookware I know this question has been asked before in some form or another, but I can't seem to find a definitive answer. I've looked on SA, chowhound, martha stewart, about.com, etc., and answers seem to vary. Answers that I've seen vary from using vinegar to washing using special stainless steel soaps (which I'm not very keen on using) to only using soft sponges and hot water. The one thing I always do is wash my stainless steel with warm soapy water and a soft sponge. If there's burned food stuck on the cookware, I scrape it off with a wood pot scraper (lightly, of course). And I always dry with a soft cloth immediately after washing. Yet I still get stains! I'd like to get a general consensus on how to prevent those white and rainbow colored stains as well as minimizing corrosion. <Q> These are just mineral (calcium) stains from your water source. <S> They will not affect the stainless steel. <S> 3M's branded as Scotch-Brite). <S> Use a little liquid dish wash soap, a poly scourer pad, and a generous serve of elbow grease. <S> It's cheaper than going to the gym :-) <S> Stainless steel is a hardy material, and does not need delicate handling. <A> For the rainbow colored stains and white stains, try a drop or two of lemon juice, its mildly acidic and as far as I know doesnt damage stainless steel. <S> http://www.cheftalk.com/t/63052/does-citrus-juice-damage-stainless-steel <A> I used Colgate or any brand toothpaste and a cotton ball scrubbed, then scrubbed with the rough side of a soapy sponge BINGO <S> it did the trick.. <S> nice and clean!!! <A> I dont't know how to prevent those white stains <S> but i've taken my stainless steel pots through the wringer and baking soda, <S> tiny bit of dish soap and a soft sponge always gets them sparkling clean. <A> I can't say much more than Lagostina USA does themselves on this subject. <S> They don't exactly mention the rainbow effect, which I find is caused by higher heats on the pan. <S> I have a shaker of the Lagostina SS cleaner and use it sometimes to clean the pans up. <S> I don't suspect that I'll have to do that as much now that I have switched to using an induction hob. <S> (Once I learn what settings to use!) <A> I learned a trick from my mother many many years ago to clean stuck or burnt on food from stainless steel. <S> When done cooking or burning immediately pour about two cups of hot, not cold, water into the pan and allow to simmer a minute or two. <S> Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula and the food will come off. <S> Some burned food may take a little longer to come off but letting the water simmer a little longer usually does the trick, then clean as usual. <S> Be careful of the steam when pouring the water into the hot pan. <A> Cooking with a high-quality piece of stainless steel cookware can be a little... unnerving. <S> There are also scale-removing products on the market (like http://www.thejuzz.com/Stainless-Steel-Cookware/ ), but you'd want to check to be sure they won't damage your cookware before using them.
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The quickest way to clean stainless steel from burnt on oil, food, and water stains is to use a polyprop/ester scouring pad (e.g.
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Substitute for egg yolk in chocolate truffles? I have a recipe for chocolate truffles (basically butter and chocolate) that also includes an egg yolk; presumably to help smooth it and increase the richness. I know that the recipe would probably work just omitting it, but, Is there a non-perishable, and preferably vegetable based, substitution that could be used? <Q> You could use a pasteurized egg product if you'd like, or depending on the recipe you could leave it out all together or replace it with cream since you're using a butter ganache. <S> Alternatively, you can stream in 1/4 cup of boiling water/cream per egg yolk very gently and while whisking to bring the yolks up to 160 degrees. <S> This must be done slowly to prevent the eggs from scrambling. <A> They just use it for the lecithine. <S> You can buy straight lecithine (they normally sell soy-based lecithine, but maybe you should check with the producer to make sure it is vegetarian) and dissolve some in the cream. <S> Don't bother replacing the fat, truffels have enough from other sources. <A> Many recipes for chocolate truffles use heavy cream and no egg yolk. <S> Here is one example: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chocolate_truffles/
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Classic French truffles often add an egg yolk for enrichment.
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Should homemade lasagna be frozen cooked or uncooked? My wife and I are prepping some meals ahead of time before Baby #2 arrives early next month. She just made 3 small lasagnas (8"x8" pans) this afternoon and we are debating whether to bake them first and then freeze them down, or freezing them uncooked and bake when we are ready to eat. What is the proper method to maintain the quality of the food as much as possible? Cooking and thawing times when we decide to serve it are less of a factor. We used standard noodles (not the no-boil type) and it has canned sauce, pork sausage, ground beef, ricotta, and fresh mozzarella in case the ingredients impact is the best option. <Q> I'd say freeze nearly all of them uncooked and bake when ready. <S> That way they go through only one cooking and maintain the fresh lasagna taste/feel. <S> The sauce and and the cheese will freeze ok. <S> Mozzarella is a pretty sensitive cheese and once it's been baked, it's not going to hold as well when thawed and re-warmed. <S> In my experience it gets gummy and the fat runs off. <S> You have much better chance of enjoying a good meal with the cheese frozen raw. <S> Unfortunately, your noodles will likely take the hardest hit, but will likely fare better than going through two heat cycles. <S> The ground beef and sausage will also fare better that way. <S> The reason I suggested freezing MOST and not all, is that there are times when you're behind the 8-ball, hungry, and don't have the time to bake the sucker, and even ponder settling for dog-food. <S> At that point having a silver bullet in the freezer is a bonus ;) <S> and you'll be ok with inferior lasagna. <A> I have cooked Lasagna, cooled it overnight in the refrigerator, cut the Lasagna in portions, vacuum sealed and froze the portions. <S> I have received all positive feedback on the Lasagna. <A> In my personal opinion, lasagna is one of those rare dishes that only gets better after being cooked and then re-heated. <S> But on the other hand my lasagna use regular cheese (like Gouda or similar hard cheese) and not mozzarella so it might not apply to you. <A> When I make lasagne to put in the freezer, I do not bake it first. <S> For me, the best way to freeze it is using a sheet of Glad's Press-N-Seal over the top of the lasagna, pressing down to get all the air out if you can, between the top layer (sauce/cheese) and your press-n-seal. <S> You want more or less a vacuum seal (the cheap way). <S> I seal my press-n-seal to the top and then up the sides of the tin pan, all the way to the top. <S> Now when you foil your pan, the gap that was 1-2" between the lasagna and your pan won't freezer burn your expensive and time consuming meal! <S> I use 2 layers of heavy duty foil to encompass the entire pan and label the lasagna: <S> Lasagna, 02-04-14Press-N-Seal on top layer,Remove before Baking! <S> This way I remember to take it off before tossing the frozen meal into the oven. <S> I then lay it flat in freezer just until it's frozen, a day or so, then you can move it because it's then a hard solid block! <S> Hope <S> this helps!Mel <A> I use the recipe on the Barilla no-boil lasagne package. <S> To cook, I put the pan in the oven then set the temp to the instructed temp 375degF <S> (so the lasagne preheats with the oven), and bake until peeking under the foil <S> reveals the lasagne is <S> bubbly (i.e., at the same stage as the freshly prepared pan would be after the standard 25?50? <S> min), then uncover and finish per the box instructions. <S> For our lasagne size and oven conditions, the total time it takes to cook from frozen in a cold oven is about 100 minutes (1 hour 40 min) covered with foil plus 5 uncovered. <S> This may seem like a long time <S> but I am pleased to report that it turned out just as perfect as the freshly prepared batch. <S> FYI, Regarding freezer burn on uncooked noodles: we did not see any freezer burn - but the longest one remained frozen was about 2 months. <S> I have not tried thawing the lasagne before cooking. <A> When I make a big pan of lasagna, I do cook first. <S> After an overnight chill, I slice it into single serving portions. <S> Then I lay those out on a sheet pan covered with parchment. <S> Then I freeze them for half a day. <S> Mr Foodsaver is called to action and it's a done deal. <S> When I'm ready for a nice meal, I just pull one from the freezer the day before and either nuke but prefer to bake for 20-30 min with a little extra sauce in the bottom of the dish!!!!
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I have successfully assembled extra pans of lasagne and frozen them prior to cooking.
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What kinds of milk are low in carbs? What kinds of milk are low in carbs? I have heard about coconut milk but I'm not sure what's best. PS: I am from India, maybe someone might want this info:-) <Q> Cows, goat, soy, almond, and coconut milk have around the same carbohydrate levels, so there is not enough difference to make the effort to rework recipes etc. <S> Also coconut milk has more than 20% fat compared to milk having 1% to 5%. <S> A normal human body can use fats as efficiently as sugars, so total energy of coconut milk will be very high Approximate carbohydrate %, and kJ per 100 g of milk <S> Skim Cow ..... 5%, 150 <S> Full Cow ....... 7%, 260 Almond ........ 4%, 275 <S> Coconut <S> ....... 5%, 880 <S> Goat .............4%, 290 <S> Human ......... 7%, 290 <S> Soy .............. <S> 6%, 190 Each country, recipe, and supplier will have different figures, these are standardised with Wolfram Alpha, a recognised accurate source, and a neutral source, as they are not involved in the food or dietary industry <S> In many countries, "standard" milk is homogenised half fat milk, so about half way between skim and full cow milk figures <A> It has < 1g of carb per cup. <S> Personally, I completely stopped drinking milk because of carbs years ago <S> and I don't look back. <S> I only drink a little bit of half and half with coffee, and even though it still has carbs, it's so little that it makes little difference. <A> [Unsweetened Almond Milk] - 2g Carb in 1cup (240g), 1g from sugar and 1g from fiber and fiber should be subtracted from your carb count due to how your body processes it. <S> Because fiber doesn't absorb like other carbohydrates, don't count it in your overall intake of carbohydrate. <S> So this would be a NET of 1g Carb in 240g. <S> Considering TFD's Almond milk has 4% in 100g <S> leads me to believe that almond milk is sweetened. <A> If you're on a low carb diet then the unsweetened almond milk is obviously the way to go. <S> For those of us looking to add our low carb protein powder to something other than water or regular cows milk, almond milk is a nice solution. <S> Stay low carb, maintain ketosis ;) <A> Unsweetened Soya alternative to milk has 0.2g per 100g. <S> Though I wish someone would come up with a way to separate the carbohydrate (sugar) out of cow's milk... <A> Silk unsweetened Almond Milk is 1 carb .per <S> 1/2 cup . <S> I use the, Silk almond milk with my 1 carb mocha high protein powder by Vega and some ice in blender and with a cup or two of water and make a big chocolate mocha shake that is 2 carbs. <S> I try to keep my carbs at 10 a day. <A> Carbmaster milk is milk that has been put through a filtration process which removes most of the sugar (the carbohydrate in milk is all a form of sugar). <S> It has one quarter the sugar of regular milk (3 g per cup) and is fat free. <S> I prefer some fat content, so I just add a little heavy cream (adds no sugar). <S> With this addition, Carbmaster tastes as good as any regular 2 percent milk I've ever had. <S> It is a product of the Kroger company, which sells it in its supermarkets, and also in a regional chain called Harris Teeter, found mainly in the Carolinas. <S> (Kroger stores are found in many states across the country).
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Non-sweetened almond milk is probably what most people on low carb diets drink, when they drink it.
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How do you emphasize the yeast flavor in bread? How do you amplify the yeast flavor in bread? <Q> Use lots of yeast, and short fermentation times. <S> Prefer cake yeast over the dried types. <S> Fresh yeast has a specific taste and aroma, which disappears during fermentation, giving you a different, bready taste, which is not the same as yeast taste. <S> Pro bakers are normally trying to achieve perfect fermentation, using low yeast amounts and long fermentation types. <S> Household recipes are trying to take a more convenient route, preferring speedy fermentation (so baking times are reduced) and lots of yeast (because 1. <S> this allows for even quicker rising, and 2. <S> some decades ago, yeast quality was not so good, and you had a chance that the culture in a cake you purchased was barely alive, so it wouldn't rise if you used the minimal amount pro bakers with fresh daily supplies went for). <S> This results in lots of unfermented yeast, which gives homemade breads a specific yeasty taste. <S> While pro bakers will try to avoid it, many people associate the taste with pleasant experience of homemade bread made by a beloved family member, and like having it in their own bread. <S> So, use cake yeast. <S> About the highest amount you can get away with would be 10% (50 g cake yeast per 500 g flour). <S> But if your bread starts getting a whiff of ammonia, reduce it a bit. <S> Ferment at warm temperatures (30°C is <S> good, yeast starts slowing down over 35) and wait for volume doubling at each stage <S> - should take 30-40 minutes per stage. <S> Be careful to not overproof, because with this ammount of yeast, the dough is fickle, and may not rise if proofed for too long. <A> There are a couple of methods to increase to yeasty flavor and development in a bread: <S> Use a recipe that starts with a preferment or biga <S> , that is fermented once to develop flavor prior to the main fermentation Select recipes with fewer additional ingredients or enrichments like eggs, butter, sugar, and so on that would mask the yeasty flavor. <A> I use the 'old dough' or pate fermentee method, which involves taking a portion of dough - around a fifth works well - from a batch after the first prove, covering it and leaving it in the fridge. <S> Next time you bake bread, take the aged dough and incorporate it into the new dough. <S> You can keep the cycle going by taking some of this dough and storing it again. <S> Over time this will intensify the flavours in your bread. <S> The old dough will keep fine for 3-4 days in the fridge or a few weeks in the freezer (if freezing then take it out a couple of hours before you need to bake). <S> I've been doing this for the last few months and get a much better taste in my bread. <S> I'd also recommend using fresh yeast as mentioned above, I find this gives a better flavour than the dried or instant yeasts. <A> Another pre-ferment approach is what's called a "poolish" in a nod to the polish bakers who supposedly invented the approach. <S> This works great if you bake infrequently, since you only need about 24 hours advance notice and don't need to have remembered to set aside dough from the last time you baked. <S> I use about a 300:300:1 ratio of water:flour:yeast. <S> So mix 300g each of water and flour together along with about 1g of yeast. <S> Mix it in a large container, since it'll likely double in size. <S> Leave it out, covered, for about 3-4 hours to ferment, then refrigerate it for about 24 hours. <S> Take it out an hour or so before you plan to use it so it can come to room temperature. <S> You then use it in place of that amount of water and flour in the final recipe. <S> I picked this approach up from "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhardt, which has been a great resource for me. <A> I have done this(sans additional yeast), once with a starter <S> I screwed up and did not feed enough- <S> The bread was so yeasty that you could barely eat it!
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Try making a sourdough starter, and you can boost it with yeast for a faster rise. Use a long, slow rise or fermentation, usually refrigerated
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Can evaporated milk be converted to "regular" milk? I've got a recipe that calls for 2 1/2 cups whole milk, but I don't drink whole milk all that often and if I buy any it'll just end up spoiling in the fridge before I can use it all. Canned evaporated milk, on the other hand, lasts a lot longer and from what I understand its just regular milk with ~60% of the water taken out of it. With that in mind, would I be able to convert evaporated milk into "regular" milk for use in cooking just by adding an equal amount of water? <Q> Yes, you could certainly reconstitute evaporated milk by adding water. <S> The outcome would give you similar but not identical results as fresh milk, due to the change in flavor the milk underwent while being cooked down to the evaporated state: <S> it will retain the slightly cooked, caramelized flavor. <S> This may or many not have a significant effect on a given recipe. <S> Milk also freezes, and still is suitable for most cooking purposes, should you choose to do so. <S> Finally, if you use milk very rarely, unless you are making a dairy dominated recipe like custard or cream soup, you may not have to use milk at all. <S> Water or another liquid might perform similarly or well enough—it depends on the specific application. <A> The correct ratio is 1 part evaporated milk to 1 part water (ref. <S> one manufacturer's FAQs ) <S> (e.g., if the recipe calls for 1 cup milk, use 1/2 cup evaporated milk and 1/2 cup water). <S> I've frequently used evaporated milk in both savory and sweet recipes, both diluted and not. <S> (Indeed, diluting a bit less than 1:1 can provide a creamier consistency without needing actual cream. <S> Whether that's desired depends heavily on the recipe, though.) <S> Evaporated milk is only slightly sweeter than regular milk,* although it isn't heated for a long period of time. <S> After pasteurization (a very brief heating process), the milk is reduced using vacuum evaporation (exposing a liquid to a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure to reduce its boiling point), and "as a result, the milk is concentrated to 30-40% solids ... <S> [and] has little or no cooked flavor" ( ref ). <S> Usually, the other flavors or seasoning in a recipe are more than enough to overwhelm the difference in taste between diluted evaporated milk and fresh milk. <S> * Note that this does not hold true for sweetened condensed milk, which has extra sugar added. <S> Don't expect similar results if you dilute sweetened condensed milk. <A> Yes it can be diluted <S> 1 to 1. 50 yrs ago I couldn't afford formula milk <S> so I mixed Pet 1 and 1 <S> and she did just fine and is a nice strong person
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Yes, evaporated milk can be reconstituted to regular milk consistency.
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What is a lean cut of beef (steak) to use in low calorie recipes? What is a lean cut of beef (steak) to use in low calorie recipes? I am interested in creating some low calorie recipes using steak but am unsure which are the best cuts to start with. <Q> According to the Mayo Clinic , the leanest cuts are: Eye of round roast or steak Sirloin tip side steak <S> Top <S> round roast and steak Bottom round roast and steak Top sirloin steak <S> However, grain/corn fed beef may have more marbling (more fat embedded) <S> so if you're going for low-cal, you might want to consider buying naturally raised/grass fed beef. <A> The easiest way to go low calorie is just to use less. <S> Most Americans think 1/4lb (4oz, 113g) is a serving, but you can get away with 1/2 that pretty easily if you think of it more as a flavoring than a main item. <S> That being said, meat selection depends entirely on how you're planning to cook it, or how many people you're cooking for. <S> You mentioned steak, but serving a large chunk of meat isn't particularly low calorie. <S> GdD's suggestion of slicing it thin and stir-frying it is quite good, as you can easily vary the amount that way. <S> If you prefer rare meat, such as in a thai-style beef salad, then I'll look for a more 'london broil' cut (1.5" to 2" steaks), in something like a bottom or top round (what's more important is to look for the grain running in one direction). <S> Trim any major fat, cook over high heat for 4-6 minutes per side (less if it's thinner), then rest, slice across the grain, and serve. <A> I think the question you need to ask first is whether lean cuts are good for what you want to do. <S> If you want a steak or a roast then don't bother, lean cuts will come out dry and flavorless, and probably be tough as old leather as well. <S> You need to choose recipes which suit the cuts. <S> If you want something really quick then some lean steak like flank, skirt, or maybe round can be sliced thin and then stir fried. <S> Marinate it with a reasonable amount of acidity for at least 2 hours as that will help tenderize it, then flash fry it as hot as you can on a cast iron pan or a wok for 2-3 minutes at most. <S> To me the best possible way to cook lean beef is to braise it in the oven, and my favorite cut for this is shin (leg meat). <S> It's very lean, and has loads of connective tissue which all turns to gelatine in the presence of heat and moisture. <S> It's also one of the cheapest cuts you can buy. <S> I coat the meat in flour then fry in a bit of oil before adding a couple cups of water, a glass or red wine, and a couple of bay leaves before covering it and baking it in the oven for 2-3 hours on maybe 250F (120C). <A> Round (top round, bottom round, eye of round) are among the lowest fat cuts of beef, as MandoMando stated. <S> When I'm dieting, I like to stew round cuts on the weekend, discard the liquid, and save the beef for salads and recipes during the week. <S> Stewing is great because it does not add additional fat since you are cooking in water (adding the spices of your choice). <S> Enameled cast iron is best for stewing and braising. <S> I put the meat in the dutch oven, add enough water to cover it, add the lid and roast in the oven at 325 for roughly 4-5 hours depending on the size of the meat. <S> I add more water during the process as necessary. <S> If there is a layer of fat on the beef, I pull it off after stewing (I just find it easier that way), then put the meat in the fridge for later use. <S> This is different from making a beef stew. <S> For that I add tomato paste, pinot noir, stock/broth, and vegetables to the stew. <S> I just use the method of stewing in water to get a low fat yet tender piece of beef that I can use later in steak salad.
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Personally, I prefer to find a meat source that has leaner beef in general and buy Skirt Steak or Clodhammer (rotator cuff) for their taste, tenderness, and reasonable price.
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Why does batter often taste sweeter than the baked product? If taste cake or quick bread (zuchini, banana, etc...) batter I find that it very often tastes quite a bit sweeter than the finished and baked product. What happend during baking that reduces the sweetness? <Q> I think that SAJ14SAJ listed some good examples, and that these certainly contribute to the overall taste. <S> But I think there is yet another one, whose effect is strong enough to matter: rising. <S> Let's say that you coat 1 cm² of your tongue with a foodstuff. <S> The more tastebuds are activated by a sweet molecule, the more is it evaluated as "sweet". <S> First imagine your batter. <S> It is dense, and coats all of the tastebuds on your tongue. <S> Each of them is likely to register a few sugar molecules. <S> Now imagine the baked cake. <S> It has air bubbles in it. <S> If the plane of a cake cut has X% air bubbles by surface, then only 1-X% of your taste buds come in contact with the sweet cake. <S> And the concentration of sugar molecules in the solid part of the cake surface is the same as the concentration in the batter, so you have the same number of sugar molecules per activated taste buds, but less taste buds activated. <S> As cake volume contains lots of air, you also get lots of air bubble area in a cut. <S> The effect is reduced by chewing, but by the time you have chewed the cake very well, it has also been diluted by lots of saliva, so now you have a much better coating, but less sugar molecules per taste bud. <S> By the way, this effect also occurs with salt in bread dough vs. baked bread, so I don't think there can be factors uniquely bound to the details of sweetness perception, as salt uses very different chemical pathways of being tasted. <A> In the end, except for some very minor carameilzation, there is actually no actual reduction in the amount of sugar in the baked good, and actually proportionately more sugar as some of the water is evaporated. <S> This is speculation, but informed speculation: Two major seemingly relevant things differ between the batter and the final baked product: <S> The sugar is dissolved in a syrup in the liquid phase of the batter <S> Most of the starches are in inert bundles or granules <S> Compare this to the baked state: <S> The sugars are locked within the matrix formed by the starch and protein (the structure of the bread), and not available to taste receptors until dissolved; this is one reason why cake gets sweeter as you hold it in your mouth <S> The starches are gelatinized and more available to taste <S> Therefore, in the batter, there is less starch competing for access to the taste receptors, diluting the ability of the sugar to reach them. <S> At the same time, the sugar is already dissolved and more readily accessible to the taste receptors. <S> Finally, the sugar is not locked away in the structure in the batter, and is more available to taste. <S> Thus it would be easier to perceive the sweet flavor. <S> Of course, it could all be psychological as well, but that would be outside the scope of a cooking Q&A. <A> A theory I've heard of is to consider the fact that while it's baking it makes the whole house smell delicious. <S> All those aromatic flavor molecules you're smelling are no longer in the cake!
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Any perceived increased sweetness is in fact a perception issue, not an issue of there being less sugar in the baked product.
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