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Mix parmesan cheese & garlic into sourdough bread dough before or after first rising? If I wanted to put parmesan cheese and garlic into sourdough bread dough (mixed into the dough, not just a filling), should I do it before or after first rising? Will it prevent a proper rise if I put it in with dough, water, and star...	If you are making sourdough you are working with natural yeasts in an acidic dough, so I wouldn't think adding parmesan and garlic is going to be a problem as long as you leave extra time for proofing.
How to avoid burned layer on seared hamburger? I usually make my hamburgers at home by putting a little oil in a pan and then just placing the patty in it on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Inevitably, while the meat ends up about medium rare, there's a semi-burned layer along the bottom, where it's browned and crusty....	If you do really want thick patties, you're probably better off using a more gentle cooking method like the oven for some of the time. Beyond that, if it's burning on the outside before it's done on the inside, the normal fix is to simply reduce the heat
How to keep dust and cat hair off cast iron pans? I live with three long haired cats that shed in the winter, and my place gets dusty at times too. I have a fairly new cast iron skillet that I use once every one or two days. I don't have any shelves in the kitchen big enough to store it so I have to hang it. There's a...	We "dry" them by placing on a low flame stove burner and store them in the oven...gas oven that is.
Should I cover food while reheating it in a microwave? For reasons of time, I like to cook more than one portion of a meal and then reheat a portion in the microwave whenever it's needed. Aiming for maximum energy efficiency, I wonder if it's a good idea to cover the food with a big ceramic or glass bowl? Just in c...	If I am reheating something like rice, than having saran wrap over it in the microwave adds moisture and aids in the reheating and subsequent moisture of the rice.
How can I get my chocolate cake to taste less like a brownie? I've been testing out cake recipes, and I'm having a bit of difficulty creating a chocolate cake that doesn't taste like a brownie. What I want is a light, moist chocolate cake (doesn't everyone?), but the cake currently has the same texture and taste as a...	If you wanted to make it have more chocolate flavor, there's actually something called chocolate extract which can enhance the chocolaty-ness (lol yeah huh) of the cake.
Non-dairy substitute for cheese on baked potatoes One of the combinations I've missed since becoming dairy-free is grated cheese on baked potatoes. Is there any good substitution for this topping that would provide the salty-tangy counterpoint to the potatoes that I'm looking for? <Q> We've used Daiya dairy-free cheese...	If those aren't available, then olive oil, salt, and garlic powder is my favorite dairy-free baked potato topping, which gives a good balance of salty, fat (helps bind the potato together), and tang from the garlic.
What properties allow something to be considered "milk"? Traditionally, milk is defined as (from Merriam-Webster): 1: a white liquid produced by a woman to feed her baby or by female animals to feed their young; especially : milk from cows or goats that is used as food by people 2: a white liquid produced by a plant...	The essence of milk is that it is an emulsion of fat and water.
Pyrex Percolator on stove? Does anybody use a vintage Pyrex percolator on their stove? Electric? Gas? Is it 100% safe? I just saw it in an old movie, which is what gave me the idea to look for one. <Q> Pyrex percolators made after 1940 were not intended to be used directly on a heating element as stoves made after 1...	I have a couple of them, and have used them on both gas and electric stoves with no trouble.
Why remove the skin and seeds of a tomato? Many recipes ask for peeled and seeded tomatoes, which I find both wasteful and too hard work. What is the point of removing seeds and skin of tomatoes? Just texture and presentation?Or can it actually change the food's taste? <Q> Texture is the main reason, but if you're goi...	Aside from the answers already provided, there are many people who have problems digesting tomato seeds and skins, people with an ileostomy bag for example would probably want to avoid the seeds if possible.
Adding lime juice to green curry paste and heating I am trying this recipe which requires preparation of a green curry paste with lime juice as one of the ingredients. Once the paste is prepared, I add it to a pan with hot oil (after which I add coconut milk to the paste) My doubt is - is it a good idea to add lime ju...	When you add lime juice to any dish and heat it, the flavours of the dish are lost...
Does injera require a starter? I want to make Ethiopian injera bread at home, but the recipes I've seen are inconsistent about whether a bread starter is needed. Do I need to use a sourdough starter? Can I use baker's yeast, or perhaps make due without a starter? <Q> The traditional Injera is made with wild yeast. <S> ...	If you bake a lot of bread (of any type) you've probably cultivated a kitchen (and techniques) that will foster good sourdough.
How to keep saute pan hot without it burning for searing fresh greenbeans or zucchini Im working in a restaurant that has pan-seared greenbeans and sauted chopped zucchini with onions&peppers. It seems were constantly waiting for the damned veggies or GB to complete our plates so the rest of the meal gets effing' cold!...	Keep the pan on a flame lower than what you'll need for cooking.
How to properly clean a bundt mold without ruining the surface I usually do the suggestions in my previous question for seasoning the Teflon coated (non stick) bundt pan (buttering and flouring) and I have no problem with that. The problem is with leftover residue,I cannot clean the pan properly. After a few times of...	Otherwise, all you need is to wash the pan right away in hot soapy water (use a high-quality dish soap, ultra-cheap ones don't work as well) after each use.
Can Kale be hot like horseradish? I just made a fruit smoothie with Kale, banana, Apple, blueberries, vegan protein powder, chia and flax. It was like drinking a smoothie with horse radish. The blueberries were the only difference with my favorite smoothie. Did the blueberries cause this drink to be spicy hot? <Q> Ther...	As a member of the Brassica family kale contains at least some amount of glucosinolate, which is exactly the stuff that makes horseradish hot.
Homemade liquid sweetener from Stevia I am using Stevia Hermesetas. Can I make liquid sweetener from Stevia powder for diabetic dessert - sweet soup with fruits and jelly? Any requirements during cooking? <Q> I buy bulk pure Stevioside powder online. <S> It's much cheaper to buy the pure powder that way and make yo...	As far as a sugar syrup substitute you could infuse the stevia in water and thicken it with xanthan gum.
Can the duration of the whistle determine if food inside a pressure cooker is cooked Building upon this question, I was wondering if the duration of the whistle can be used to determine if the food inside a pressure cooker is cooked. As suggested by a couple of answers in the question referenced above, certain thing...	Typically, the number of whistles for a specific recipe tends to depend on the specific cooker
Will peeling and slicing potatoes prevent them from sprouting further? I have some potatoes that are starting to sprout. Nothing crazy, but I'm worried about them all sprouting worse before I get the chance to turn them into breakfast. I'm just going to be frying them anyways. I was thinking of peeling all of them an...	As already stated, it doesn't matter if the potatoes have started to sprout, however I would argue that even soft potatoes are safe to eat even if they aren't as firm as you might like.
enriching thai curry with milk? I come from Indonesia, but you might be more accustomed to Thai cuisine, so I use the term Thai curry in the title because the curries are similar. no, really. just a tad sweeter rather than sour. So, from this "Indian Spicy" vs. "Thai Spicy" ,I gather the difference between thai and...	Thai and Indian curries differ in flavors because of spices, that deep flavor you are looking for is from the spices more than the base.
Is there a substitute for tamari and soy as I have a soya allergy? I'm on an exclusion diet for some time. I have found loads of amazing recipes that have soy or tamari or miso paste in them but I can't eat these. Does anyone know of something that's similar? <Q> There are actually products that are Soy Free Soy Sauce...	There are chickpea or adzuli bean soy-free miso pastes from South River Miso Company . The closest things that I can think of Worstershire sauce or fish sauce ...
What is the purpose of using ice cubes in smoothies over frozen fruit? I usually make smoothies with frozen fruit berries and a banana with a liquid like orange juice or home made kefir. I notice lots of smoothie recipes online call for ice cubes and fresh fruit. Is there a benefit to making smoothies that way? Since ...	Ice, if used wisely, can help create a delicious, cold smoothie that costs less.
How to make baking soda I'm in a place where buying baking soda is proving to be quite difficult * , so I was looking for substitutions, and it seems there really aren't any . So this got me thinking: Baking soda is made (or otherwise harvested from nature) in some way. How can I do this? I realize the answer is...	Sodium bicarbonate, the chemical name of baking soda, has always been manufactured using industrial processes at an industrial scale.
Caffeine pills don't dissolve in hot tea I'm drinking Rooibos Vanilla Tea and I like to dissolve an 80 mg caffeine pill in it. I hand press the pills myself from pure caffeine powder. However, the pill doesn't dissolve very well in the tea. Instead, it either breaks into smaller pieces which float around or it doesn't ...	Powdered sugar seems like a good candidate. You could also experiment with mixing it with cool water before you mix it into the hot water you use for tea(or vice versa).
Can I make risotto without wine? I want to make risotto without using any alcohol. I am a vegetarian and I want to use vegetarian or mushroom stock only (without any meat). What is the role of wine in making risotto? Does it help in getting the consistency or does it add flavor? What can I substitute instead to get...	Wine just gives a little depth and a sort of 'freshness'. I've made risotto plenty of times without wine (as it's not something that I typically keep in my house).
I want to make a mug cake, can I use hot chocolate mix instead of cocoa? Unfortunately, I do not have any cocoa powder left. If I use Cadbury's hot chocolate mix, would it give me the same effect? <Q> You definitely want to use cocoa powder if you can... <S> but... <S> I've done it in a pinch. <S> It's not as good as...	Another substitute I found for cocoa, is chocolate pudding mix, or even on one occasion a chocolate pudding cup; this produces a very rich, moist chocolate mug cake, or a really nice enhancement for a packet chocolate mix.
A cup of cilantro? Generally speaking when a recipe calls for a cup of a fresh herb like cilantro, how tight to I have to cram it into the measuring cup? <Q> Oh man. <S> That's a lot of cilantro. <S> Some people are more sensitive than others, but make sure you like it a lot before putting that much in a dish. <S> In...	The most reliable way to know if you've got the right amount is to simply taste it." How much you pack an ingredient varies by ingredient-to-ingredient.
Modernist / molecular cuisine with a microwave? The microwave is usually frowned upon by ambitious chefs. It provides a convenient way to quickly heat ready made meals or the leftovers from the day before, but it is usually not regarded as a serious kitchen utensil (as is testified by one of the answers below). Howeve...	You can now use the microwave to fry a thin layer of leaves.
Can spaghetti noodles replace lo mein noodles? Let's say a family member asked me to try cooking lo mein for dinner, but I don't have time to stop by a big enough grocery store to get Asian noodles. I do, however, have spaghetti in the cupboard. Are spaghetti noodles a reasonable approximation for lo mein noodles? (As...	In a pinch, spaghetti will make a tasty noodle dish.
What can I use as a replacement for cumin? I've just run out of cumin and rather than go to the shops for more I wonder what I could substitute for cumin? I'm making a lentil soup, which calls for sweating onions and the finishing the onions with cumin before adding the stock. What can I use instead for variety or de...	Many spice mixes contains cumin powder so if you could get your hand on any of the mixed spice powders, it should do the trick.
Can whole milk be used to make fresh cheeses like marscapone? All the recipes for homemade marscapone cheese I have seen use some type of cream with at least 35% fat. Whereas other fresh cheeses can be made with lower fat % milk. I'm not sure how much fat percentage is in whole milk (I never see it stated on the bott...	So, if you have a recipe which asks for cream, you should follow it with cream and not with milk.
Is apple to be grated a wet or dry ingredient? Can you please answer this. Is apple a wet or dry ingredient? It will be grated <Q> Apple is pretty wet. <S> However, if you're looking at quickbread or muffin recipes (with "wet" and "dry" teams, a la Alton Brown's method ), you're better off treating it as a separate...	Of course, a grated apple is literally wet, but this has little to do with what "type of ingredient" it is.
When should I add cocoa powder to instant coffee? I prepare Turkish coffee using pre-roasted coffee powder. What is a good time to add cocoa powder to it - before heating, after heating or during heating? Does it matter? <Q> Mixing the two powders should help avoid clumps in the cocoa powder, and adding it early will ...	If you're using plain cocoa powder, which doesn't really dissolve, I would mix it with the coffee powder before adding to the water, and as long as the coffee powder will tolerate it, add it all to the water before heating.
Benefits of boiling meatballs before frying them I was watching a cooking show yesterday where the chef used a process I have never seen before, without explaining why. I've been wondering about it and can't come up with a satisfactory answer, which is where you guys come in. The recipe revolved around meatballs (in ...	You'll end up with a juicier meatball, as it is cooked in liquid.
substitute for shiso leaf in umeboshi makizushi I would like to make umeboshi makizushi, but I don't have access to shiso leaf which is traditionally paired with the umeboshi. Is there any acceptable substitute for the shiso that is more readily accessible in the US? <Q> Shiso is in the mint family. <S> Stick to that a...	There is, however, one unexpected source of shiso that may be of use: a very closely related herb, Vietnamese perilla , is used extensively in Vietnamese cooking and can be found from groceries that cater to the Vietnamese community.
Getting seasoning into a roast I'm getting into braising a lot of pork and beef roasts. Standard routine: pick cuts with more connective tissue, sear on all sides, then into the oven with seasonings, herbs, veggies, and liquid (I use broth; can't use wine or beer, or add a bunch of fat or carbs, for dietary reasons), ...	The main ways of getting flavoring deeper into a roast involve putting the flavoring below the surface.
can you cool manicotti noodles off completly before stuffing Can I cool off the manicotti noodles completely before stuffing them? <Q> What is your method for cooling the pasta? <S> Is the goal to have it cool enough to work with? <S> Or to stop the cooking process, keeping in mind <S> it's going in the oven later? <...	I generally let shells cool 'til thy're comfortable to work with (running them uner cold water, then draining).
What can I use instead of butter for Jamie Oliver's steak recipe? Jamie Oliver had a steak recipe that was fairly simple: Season (salt/pepper/olive oil) Dry pan (no oil in the pan) on heat Fry a minute+ on each side, flip several times When browned, rub the outside with a clove of garlic, some rosemary, and a bi...	Rubbing the steak with some more olive oil, dairy-free margarine or even just spraying with cooking spray, should work as a substitute.
Stir fry - garlic burns if I put it in first, what am I doing wrong? I read everywhere that I should put garlic first in the oil for a stir fry. However, whenever I do this the garlic burns into little brown chunks. What's the proper amount of time for letting garlic sit before adding other stuff ? Thanks <Q> You have ...	I have a recipe book that advocates stir frying garlic for "10 seconds or until fragrant."
Why does Weikfeild cocoa powder does not taste bitter? Ingredients of Weikfeild cocoa powder. https://sites.google.com/site/cocoaexposed/cocoa-confectionery/product-survey/weikfield--cocoa It says it has 0 sugar. So, why does it not taste horribly bitter when I taste it? I add it to coffee without any sugar and I do...	In addition to the methods of processing cocoa, there are also many different varieties of cocoa tree each with it's own flavor profile.
Help! Chicken and Wild rice soup needs some extra flavor I made a creamy chicken and wild rice soup for the first time following a recipe I found online. However, now that it's finished, I think it needs more flavor. The only seasonings I used was a the package of seasoning included in the Uncle Ben's Long Grain and ...	, I'd recommend adding additional parsley, garlic powder, salt, onion powder or paprika to keep the original flavor, though only in small amounts so as not to let any one flavor overpower another.
How long does yeast live after baking? I am pretty sure I know the answer to this, but I need to know for sure to settle an argument with someone... Is yeast still active after the bread has been baked and cooled? <Q> Yeast dies at about 130-140F. Bread is done baking at 200F or so. <S> Edit <S> I wrote "almost" bec...	Almost all the yeast is dead when the bread is done.
Is it safe to not wash mushrooms? Most chefs stress the fact that white button mushrooms, and others, should not be washed to be cleaned. They say to either lightly brush them or just pat them with a cloth or paper towel to get the "dirt" off to clean them, and then cook or eat them raw. Do not "wash" them, to clean th...	Don't soak the mushrooms to wash them, give them a quick rinse under warm water, and use your fingers to clean the dirt off them. Eating unwashed fruits and vegetables (especially raw) is a risk factor for many diseases such as listeria, salmonella and toxoplasmosis.
What exactly is 'osobaya sayanskaya' in House of Cards S03E03? In the S03E03 of House of Cards, the Russian president brings this vodka for the US president. Is this real or just a made up vodka since I couldn't find any results on google.Cheers! <Q> Nope, it appears to be totally fictional. <S> It's referred to as ...	No, it's not real, but it was probably based on russobaltique vodka.
Can I successfully freeze raw cabbage? How long will an half of raw cabbage last in the freezer? Had leftover after making stuffed cabbage rolls, will be making corned beef & cabbage for St. Paddy's Day. Will it make it? <Q> You can freeze raw cabbage and keep it for months, however it's not good for the texture as fre...	You can freeze cabbage after you blanch it. You're better off keeping it in the fridge or just using it.
How do you apply colored sugar just to the raised image on a cookie I bake a LOT of cookies, but tend to gravitate toward the soft and chewy type - normally a drop cookie but I have also done rolled and pressed cookies. Recently my daughter asked me to make a cookie she saw on TV. The cookie she described had a raised ...	Dip the cookie upside own into a bowl/plate of sugar, making sure to touch the surface only with the raised parts.
How do you quickly prepare tomatoes for pizza? Whether is be homemade pizza or adding topping to the self-rising frozen pizza we love adding meats and veggies. We often have tomatoes at hand. I slice them thin and lay them on a paper towel and add them to pizza... Then 30 mins later I have a pizza with wet tomato pu...	If I want to top a pizza with tomatoes, I generally only add them in the last two minutes of baking.
How to tint powdered sugar (icing sugar)? I'm looking for a way to tint powdered sugar without wetting it. I know that there are powdered food colors but I think that part of what activates the color is the fact that they get wet when you add them to an icing or batter. I'm also afraid that they're so concentrated ...	Colored sanding sugars can be run through a spice grinder to gain this effect.
How to prevent brillant pink raw bread dough from cooking up to yellow? I added some cooked beets to a bread recipe. The result was a lovely pink dough: After cooking, the rolls were yellow on the inside with some of the pink still visible in the crust: Why? Any way to over come the color change? <Q> It appears t...	Changing your recipe to make it more acidic may change the textureof your bread.
Which average weight % of the banana is edible? i.e. Which % of the banana is not peel? I got ~1 Kg of bananas and I want to calculate the calories in it. Provided that the peel is discarded, which is the remaining mass of bananas from the original Kg? Since I have no weight measuring equipment at hand I looked up fo...	Per the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 28, the "refuse" content of a banana is 36%, attributed to the peeling.
Cannot get that "Oven Spring" I cannot, for the life of me (no matter what recipe I try), ever get the bread to rise that last bit in the oven. It always falls a bit instead. It proofs nicely, but it just won't rise more in the oven. This time, I tried cutting little slits in the top (in case there was some sort of ...	I would check your oven temperature to be sure it's actually right, and also I'm wondering if you're over-proofing your dough, which could possibly result in it deflating when it goes into the oven, or at the very least result in a lackluster rise.
How can i optimize the use of my convection oven? Is there a resource i can use to learn how to bake in my convection oven? I know that it can improve the results greatly and i am just not understanding it. I know that you are supposed to bake at 25 degrees lower temp but it seems like all my baked goods seem to dry ...	No need for a resource, just experiment until you have found the correct temperature which works for you.
Can i freeze dough without killing the yeast? I want to freeze unbaked dinner rolls. Can I do it after the first rising or the shaping or the second rising or do i have to partially bake them to prevent killing the yeast? <Q> Yeast can definitely survive in the freezer, yet timing for the final rising will be altered ...	My experience dictates that dough should be frozen once it is developed but not proofed (after kneading, stretching or stand-mixing) so that it is ready to rise and be shaped after thawing.
Cheesecake in or next to waterbath I've heard of two separate ways to use a water bath when cooking a cheesecake: placing the cheesecake in the waterbath, or placing a roasting pan full of water on the bottom rack of the oven, with the cheesecake on the top rack. I like the idea of not putting my cheesecake in the wate...	I never use a waterbath, and my cheesecakes don't crack. You have to know for yourself whether the difference is large enough to matter to you, and whether the convenience gain would be worth it. I always place a shallow dish of hot water under my cake.
Pot sticking to induction cooktop? I recently bought a Max Burton 6400 induction cooktop. I used it a few times with some pans I already own and had to problem. Today I wanted to heat some milk up quickly, and I used a cheap Ikea sauce pan . The milk heated up fine, but when I tried to remove the pot, it had become...	It is entirely possible that your pan melted a bit.
Does 100% rye sourdough bread always have a sticky crumb? How do I make it stick to the knife less? Every time I make a 100% rye sourdough, it sticks to the knife when I cut it even after letting it sit for a day before cutting. Is this normal? I have tried to vary the hydration ratio a bit, but it still behaves the sa...	One cause of gumminess in 100% rye breads is excessive starch degradation related to amylase enzyme actions.
Is there any substitute for vital wheat gluten? There's pizza dough recipe which calls for vital wheat gluten and I can't find it anywhere in India. Is there any substitute for it? Can I use seitan as a substitute? <Q> No, there is no substitute for gluten, at all. <S> The gluten + soft flour combination is itself a...	Seitan is not a substitute for gluten, even if you grind it up.
Do extracts add sweetness or just the flavor? I really don't know how to best phrase this question, but do extracts add sweetness or just the flavor? That is, what should I expect from an extract? For example, say I put maple extract into milk. Should I expect it to be the same as putting maple syrup in it if I use e...	There's no sugar in extracts, it's just flavoring...
How do I recognize if a dish cannot be cooked in a gas oven? I have moved to a house that has a gas oven. I am new to gas ovens. What dishes can we cook in a gas oven? Cake? Are cookies possible to bake in a gas oven? <Q> There might be a little extra moisture (due to the products of combustion), but some people consid...	You can cook anything in a gas oven that you can cook in an electric oven.
Are bubbling preserved lemons a sign of spoilage? I recently made preserved lemons using a recipe from Jerusalem: The Cookbook . Having poked around a variety of recipes online, it's pretty much the same as all the rest: Lots of salt, squeeze out the juice, fill up the container with more fresh juice, add some rosemar...	For canned foods, bubbly = bad.
Is it a known technique to serve hot crispy-crust sandwiches on edge? So, I'm not a chef and there are few foods I'm good at cooking. Grilled sandwiches, however, I would say are one of these few. Of course, for such sandwiches, with grilled or toasted bread, the crispness of the bread from toasting or grilling is a ma...	Flat plating of a grilled sandwich will almost always result in the bottom piece of bread being steamed by the time it is eaten.
Can you make bread with the yeast in beer? I am looking to make some beer bread by substituting beer for water in some of my favorite recipes. I have heard that beer has yeast though, so I was wondering if the yeast in beer would work to ferment & proof my bread. I was wondering if there is enough for say, an overnig...	Brewer's yeast is made of strains chosen for their alcohol-producing ability and tends to have a bitter flavor.
roasting potatoes at low temperature Has anyone successfully roasted potatoes at the same time as slow-roasting meat? I usually par-cook my potatoes then roast them for an hour at 180 degrees C to finish/crisp, but when I'm slow roasting meat at 150 degrees C I'm never sure how to do the potatoes. Any suggestions that...	Another option would be to par-boil them first and then put in the oven once the meat is cooked.
Excess flour in banneton after proofing I finally got around to buying bannetons for my bread baking and just used one for the first time. Worked great! However, I used rice flour to coat the interior and, after releasing the dough, there is quite a bit in the grooves throughout the bowl and it doesn't fall out by shak...	I simply use a small, stiff pastry brush to clean away any flour left behind. Sometimes I find it helpful to leave it out overnight
Pasta Salad+Chicken freezer storage for a week? Maybe this is silly, but im a bit paranoid when it comes to spoilage and me and my wife are doing this new "make lunch for a week" thing to save money and stop us from eating out. Anyways this week is home-made pasta salad with home-made italian dressing + Baked Chicken ...	Freezing for a week should be no problem.
How to tenderize large squid? My whole life I've been buying small squid (maybe 4-6" long bodies without the head and tentacles), which are very mildly chewy and tender. All it takes is sautee them in a little OO and they are good to eat, IOW, no additional tenderizing is needed. Yesterday I got some large squid, abo...	Papaya is a known tenderizer for octopus, squid, and other meats. Ive also seen people dipping squids in hot water for couple seconds then taking it out and repeating it for few times to keep it tender before actually cooking it.
Advantages of metal vs glass stockpot lids I just ordered a new 6 qt stockpot (that I use for soups and stews) and it came with a metal lid. All the stockpots I owned before had glass lids with a small vent hole to release some steam. An obvious advantage of glass lids is that you can see the food being cooked and mo...	But glass lids are harder to clean - stuff gets stuck in between the metal edge and the glass lid itself and that can be tough to get out.
Why is my sassafrass root bark tea always so bitter? I've been on a quest for a while now to make my own root beer. I've tried all sorts of recipes using all sorts of ingredients, and I now have this huge collection of spices and roots and leaves... but no root beer to show for it. It always comes out bitter and kind o...	Sassafras tea will naturally taste a little bitter.
Bread and using a proofer I have a bread proofer machine and would love to make Sourdough bread. I have no idea if I'm supposed to use active yeast or follow a recipe that calls for basic Sourdough Starter, and if so, what is the difference? What purpose does the proofing machine serve? And when do I use it during ...	Making bread from scratch (sourdough) requires more time for the starter yeasts to develop the taste(longer cooler fermentation = better taste and texture). When you know have determined which temperature and humidity produce the colony growth pattern you like best (or the recipe has this info for you), you can use a p...
Cleaning burnt-on grease with ammonia I recently ran into this (put your pans etc in a closed container {a garbage bag will do}, pour in a bit of household ammonia and let it sit for many hours) and love it. However, I also have some pans with those black plastic? handles, is it safe to do on them also? I also have a...	In response to Teflon pans, if grease is burnt on like you say, I'd say it's time to get new pans. If I'm understanding your method correctly, if you're worried about the handles being damaged you could use a smaller bag the covers the pan, but tie it tight around the handle where it joins the pan (and I assume isn't p...
In order to mix the cocoa powder in water/milk, is it a good idea to put the cocoa powder in the milk while heating it? The answers here Dissolving cocoa powder in milk tell us to manually dissolve the Cocoa powder in the liquid. Will it not be a good idea to put the Cocoa powder in the liquid while heating it so th...	So, the short answer is: if you try it, it won't "dissolve automatically", it will produce an ugly undrinkable mixture of clumps. What you are missing here is that cocoa powder does not dissolve at all, never, it just disperses in water (or milk).
Does anyone know how to make a Sous Vide style cooking vessel? The last year I was in culinary school (2014) my chef instructor was really excited about culinology and the new innovations that were emerging and becoming to be utilized more often in the industry, like for example Sous Vide cooking or "under vacuum" in...	Build your own using an existing controller .
How can I make my tea stronger? I know it sounds like an obvious question. At work, my colleague has a drip-filter machine he uses to brew his tea. He puts about two table spoons for an eight cup pot. This makes nice strong tea. I use a glass infuser teapot, which I put two teaspoons in for about a mug of tea. ...	In general, a teapot that exposes more tea to water will be able to get a stronger brew. Steeping time: brew longer and you'll get a stronger brew.
What can I do with some whipped cream and egg yolk mix? I had a bit of a cooking disaster last night, where I was trying to make a tiramisu using a recipe I'd never used before. The recipe called for mixing marscapone and egg yolks, but I was using cream instead. I was hoping the cream would whip and be fluffy, but ...	I would use the base as a bread pudding base.
Chemically, what happens when you temper an egg? Chemically speaking, what happens when you temper an egg? Why doesn't it simply cause the eggs to solidify or scramble? <Q> One of the reasons is what cantido probably meant: you can overheat the eggs quickly if you pour them into the hot milk. <S> Heat transfer is propo...	The egg proteins still coagulate and cook.
What to do with a failed cake? Yesterday, my wife baked a cake. Unfortunately, it was a disastrous fail. Instead of fluffy and juicy it turned out to be a compact and painfully chewy mass (not to say mess). It is so compact that the raisins lying around started orbiting it. Now we were discussing on how to utilize it...	In Denmark, they're usually rolled in sprinkles, shredded coconut or just more cocoa powder if you like a chocolaty taste.
Why is my cheesesteak meat tough? I made Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches and the resulting meat was quite tough and hard to bite off and chew. For the meat I used eye of round steak, cut into roughly 3in by 1/8th-1/4th in strips. I did not marinade the meat or season until salt and pepper during cooking. To cook the m...	Assuming that you want fry steak in the pan and not have it become tough, you should choose meat which is low in collagen.
What can I do with the meat and fat trimmed from the top of lamb ribs? I'm making rack of lamb tonight. I got the rack at a local farmer's market and it was a bit less butchered than I expected. I can (and did) trim it myself, but there seems to be a lot of meat embedded in the large amount of fat I trimmed off the top...	Another option if you have a meat grinder would be to mix it with a leaner cut of meat to increase the fat content when making sausages. I always save all my scraps to make stock.
How long can i cook a bone in Pork Shoulder? I have cooked bone in pork shoulder many times before and I am about to do it again but I feel the need to experiment slightly...My plan is to cook the pork shoulder in the oven for 8 hours at 100 degrees celcius (212 degrees faranheit) then transfer it to my smoker, where i...	I have never done it, but I have seen a guy explaining how to do it and he cooked it for 9 hours in the oven at 110ºC, when it was done it looked pretty juicy and moist.
How do you remove strong garlic odor from enclosed space (garage)? I dehydrated garlic in my garage a couple of days ago and now I need to remove the strong garlic odor in the garage -- any ideas? I have left the garage door open for hours and have run the dehydrator with a bowl of white vinegar. <Q> Tea, both green a...	When you see advice to eat lemon, apples, or milk to eliminate garlic breath, it's the polyphenols in those things that break down the compounds in garlic that cause the smell.
Caulk gun-like dispenser for whipped cream What are some good solutions for dispensing whipped cream into swirls in a consistent fasion, maybe a specific shape etc.? I was envisioning something just like a caulk gun where you fill the container with your cream and then squeeze out of it. I tried googling buy all I go...	What you might have been thinking of is an icing syringe (aka piping syringe, cake decorator press, or various non-informative names like "Dessert Decorator Pro").
What parameter is best to increase - time or temperature? I'm heating frozen eggplant parmesan in a toaster oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, as specified, but it's not coming out hot enough. Which parameter - time or temp - should I try to increase first to retain the most moistness? Or does it matter? Or should I t...	Since you want to retain moisture, increase the time, not the temperature.
Can you make thin crispy dosa without urad dal?? Can I use any other lentils in their place? I live in Finland and I can't find urad dal in the city where I live. Can I make thin crispy dosa with different beans? <Q> Recipes for traditional dosa will sometimes use other high protein legumes such as chana dal. <S> Thi...	Urad dal is the most common legume used in traditional dosa recipes but it is by no means the only legume used.
Is there any way to make crepes without a proper non-stick pan? I unfortunately ended up in situation where I tried to make crepes in a regular pan - needless to say, I was unprepared and it didn't end up well (they would get stuck to the pan and burn) I tried using both butter and (canola) oil in the pan to avoid sti...	If your pan is an cast iron (I'd never to this to different material), you could try seasoning it.
What can I use to replace onions on sauces? Is it possible to replace onions with another vegetable on sauces and get a similar flavour? <Q> I'd say shallots would be your best bet. <S> While they are both part of the allium family, shallots tend to have a sweeter taste that's less sharp than your average onion. <S> Sp...	In sauces i've used Chive, Celery (long) and Leek with moderate success.
I've seasoned and floured more chicken than I need to fry. What's the best way to store it for cooking at a later date? I have marinated chicken overnight, floured it for frying and didn't cook. What is the best way to store it for frying at a later time? <Q> There is no good way to keep it in the "ready to fry" state....	I'd suggest to simply store it in the fridge as you would do with unfloured meat.
Can you substitute Asian red chili paste (e.g. Thai Kitchen's Roasted Red Chili Paste) for Sambal Oelek? The recipe you will find here: http://runningonbrie.com/2014/04/28/korean-inspired-pork-rice-bowl/ (Korean Pork Rice Bowl recipe) <Q> The author of the linked recipe appears to be substituting in turn for gochuja...	If you want to attempt to appriximate the original recipe, sambal might make for a better base than thai chili paste, but it's going to have a much stronger chili bite to it.
How to balance the bitterness of Habanero peppers? I'm a hobby hot sauce maker and I'm wondering how do I balance the bitterness of Habanero peppers? All the super hot peppers in the Chinense family have a strong bitter taste that comes with the extreme heat. I've used citrus, salt, sugar and the bitterness still shin...	You can try to dilute it, or to distract the senses with other tastes. I usually very slowly cook my peppers in a lemon juice infused syrup.
Is there any way to make an egg pancake without sugar or white flour? I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to make a healthy breakfast pancake that I can put in a container and take to work with me. Most pancakes need white flour and sugar; but is there something that can be made with oatmeal or something similar...	If you use cornmeal instead of wheat flour, you can make the New England (likely Native American in origin) jonnycakes -- some recipes call for sugar and/or some wheat flour, but there are plenty that don't.
How to deseed a guava? I found guavas in the local Asian store and bought one out of curiosity. While I have had guava juice, I've never eaten the fruit before. I bit into the fruit only to find my mouth full of hard seeds, which were somehow less convenient to spit out than, say, watermelon seeds. Seeing that most...	I cut them up and put them in the food processor with some water to make puree, then put them in a nut milk bag and squeeze out the pulp, the seeds remain in the bag. It might be possible to blend slowly enough to disrupt the seeds without pulverizing them.
Keeping noodles from absorbing all the soup I cook in the summer for a week for about 30 people,and we serve buffet-style over the course of about an hour. This summer, my plan is to make lemon chicken orzo soup for one of the meals. However, I've found that if you put the noodles in the soup, they do what noodles do a...	If it were me, I'd cook the pasta seperately (possibly in some of the broth), and only combine them just before it was to go out in the buffet.
Sausage discolouration - is it safe to eat? This morning, I found some sausages in the fridge that had been there all week. The top of the sausage (that is, the surface of the skin facing upwards) had turned brown. I initially thought that if I just fried them long enough, this would be fine; however, while frying I ...	The discoloring isn't a problem: it's just the meat reacting with oxygen in the air.
Will chopping hard destroy my new knives? I bought a new set of knives and my dad used the chopping knives to cut onions. Instead of chopping by slicing the onions with the usual technique, he was using his two hands to hold the knife by the extremities and chopping the onions this way. Is this going to destroy my kn...	Hard chopping will not destroy the knife, but it will dull the knife faster.
Substituting cayenne for red pepper flakes My wife does not like alternating textures, or "surprises" in sauces. Thus I need to make certain concessions when cooking for her. She does not like crushed red pepper flakes, but will readily take cayenne in its place. My question is: can this substitution be made in any ...	Crushed red pepper flakes and cayenne come from the same types of peppers, and you can definitely substitute one for the other in terms of spiciness (most resources I've found say that you add about 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne for every 3/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, or vice versa).
Does sugar inhibit mold growth? I was reading a post earlier regarding maple syrup being left out overnight. They were asking if their beloved Maple syrup was still safe to consume. In the comments I believe someone brought up this question I am asking, I'm sure I could do the research and find out but hey whats the ...	The sugar is supposed to bind the available water, which helps to inhibit the growth of mold.
Raised brown spots on garlic Occasionally I'll get a clove of garlic that has small brown spots on it. When there are a couple spots, I cut them off and use the rest of the garlic. Sometimes there will be A LOT of spots and clustered together. Those will get thrown away. The garlic will look and feel fine until I r...	Most of the websites I found say that the brown spots are a sign of the garlic going bad.
My chicken breasts release a lot of fluid when cooked. How do I prevent this? I notice when cooking chicken breast in a pan, or in the oven, the chicken releases a lot of fluid, watering down the flavour. This happens with fresh chicken as well as frozen (de-frosted) chicken. How do I prevent this? <Q> Moisture-relea...	Buy the cheapest chicken breast you can find. Desiccate the outside of the chicken with salt for about 20-60 mins to remove the excess water and then brush off the salt after to make sure it isn't too salty; this should help concentrate the flavour and remove some of the water.
How to make fluffy (not crunchy) quinoa? Here is what I did: Heated 1 cup quinoa in olive oil for 1 minute after rinsing it. Added 2 cups water till it boiled. I set the heat to the lowest setting and closed it with a lid. After 15 minutes, the quinoa is still crunchy and the water has gone. If I let it stand for...	Toasting grains in oil before steaming them is delicious and results in grains that are more nutty and more individual.
How can I get more lime flavor into my key lime cake recipe? I found a great recipe for key lime cake, but it seems to lack the key lime flavor I am looking for. It has lime zest and juice in it, still a great cake, but it seems not enough lime kick to it. <Q> My daughter who loves lemon cake thought of a great idea a ...	If you're going to be stacking the cake, instead of using frosting between the layers, you can make a lime curd, and use that to add extra lime flavor -- but be careful how much you spread on ... if you have too much, it'll function as a slip plane.
If you 'caramelize' an onion, does an onion contain sugar? I love the taste of lightly fried sliced onion. I've heard this referred to as 'caramelizing' the onion. Is there sugar in the layers of an onion that is changed to caramel, or is this just a phrase? My question is: If you 'caramelize' an onion, do they con...	Yes, onions contain sugar, just like most fruit and vegetables.
How to unsalt roasted salted peanuts? I bought roasted peanuts from the market and they have too much salt in them. How should I reduce the salt in those peanuts as much as I can? My intent is to make peanut butter. <Q> Depending on how much salt is on them, and how it's been applied, you might be able to knock some ...	I have rinsed salted nuts well in water to remove the excessive salt and then dried in the oven.
How to roast peanuts on the gas stove without getting the brown spots? I have the iron kadhai and gas stove. When I roast the peanuts (without exterior shell) they get the brown spots on them. Of course I do keep on moving the peanuts in the kadhai but still I can't move my arm terribly fast since I have to move it co...	Immersion in hot oil will cook the peanuts evenly.

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