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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 starter right away? <Q> My initial reaction is that adding cheese and garlic could affect the rise, unless you are using a recipe calibrated for their presence. <S> Cheese would probably affect the texture of the bread, interfering with an even rise. <S> Garlic is fairly astringent and has some antimicrobial properties ; this could very well mess with the health of your yeast. <S> If you're going to try adding these, it would probably be best to knead them in rather than trying to add them during the first rise. <A> Parmesan is salty, and salt inhibits yeast. <S> You are probably adding salt already so reducing the amount to compensate would make sense. <S> As for adding garlic in my experience it doesn't work that well just chopped up and in the bread whether you add it at the beginning or knead it in later. <S> The flavor doesn't get out and you get chunks of intense garlic rather than a nice hum in every bite, although maybe that's the effect you want. <S> I have a garlic and rosemary infused olive oil I use rather than adding garlic directly, another option is to put chopped garlic in olive oil (or butter, or any other oil) on very low heat for 10-15 minutes, this will infuse the oil with the garlic flavor which you add to the break. <S> I haven't had any issues with this inhibiting yeast. <S> I would add these ingredients in at first mix rather than kneading it in later as kneading after first proof as you will knock out most of your air and damage the structure. <S> You may need a longer proof but the structure will be better. <S> Alternatively if your dough is stretchy enough (like a pizza dough or focaccia) you can stretch it flat after first rise, put ingredients in as a layer, then fold it over, then do your final rise and bake. <S> That only works when you have a stretchy dough though. <A> I've stuck all manner of ingredients into my dough during the mixing stage and never had any issue with rise or texture. <S> Especially parmesan as it barely melts at all <S> so you just end up with tasty lumps of cheese scattered through your final product. <S> Cheddar on the other hand has a slight tendency to sink to the bottom and create a layer of cheese, personally I love it that way <S> but I bet purists would not. <S> The only thing I would suggest is adding mustard powder and dried onions flakes to help enhance the cheesy flavour as without it the bread masks and mutes much of the flavour.
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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.
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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. I always have to pick this off and I'm finally sick of it. What am I doing wrong? <Q> Make sure you flip it reasonably frequently; that'll actually make it come up to temperature faster inside, so the outside won't have as long to burn. <S> Also make sure you haven't made your patties excessively thick. <S> 10-15 minutes on medium sounds like a fairly long time for normal sized burgers, so possibly yours are on the thick side. <S> You can bake until nearly done, then sear to finish, or start with a sear <S> then bake til done. <S> , so you cook more slowly, giving the heat time to reach the center without burning the outside. <S> But at 10-15 minutes already, maybe you don't want to go much slower! <A> I like using a cast iron skillet under the broiler... <S> like this: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/15457/6279 <S> It will caramelize the outer layer of the meat without burning it... <A> Hamburgers can be cooked by the same method as steaks; if you have an oven safe pan, basically bake and sear or sear and bake; the former is a bit easier since flipping a mostly-uncooked hamburger can be very difficult. <S> Basic instructions: Place hamburgers on cast-iron or other oven-safe pan. <S> Bake for 5-10 minutes (length depends on thickness) at 350-400°F. <S> Remove from oven, place on stove over high heat; flip after 20 or so seconds (depending on how much of a sear you like) and then after the second 20 or so seconds remove to plate. <S> This is basically the reverse of the method in the first section here . <S> SeriousEats also recommends this method at the bottom of this article , although they recommend in a very low temperature oven - I've not tried that before (but may want to this weekend!). <S> Incidentally, if you are looking to simply improve your burger experience overall, Serious Eats' Ten Tips to Better Burgers is a good place to start, or just start reading Burger Lab articles. <S> They're outstanding, and usually very doable without being very strong in technique. <A> You could use a low temperature water bath (sous vide). <S> Cook your burgers <S> 56 - 60 c (depending on desired doneness), 1.5 to as much as 6 hours. <S> Remove from bag. <S> Put whatever sear you want on it, because the burger will be cooked. <A> I use 80/20 beef for my burgers and don't have to use any oil in the cast iron pan. <S> Cooking it on a medium heat. <S> Kinda go by sight so couldn't tell you how long until you flip them <S> but I don't have the issue of it being burned on the outside. <S> I like my burgers medium as well. <S> I do think that the fat percentage does make a difference and the type of pan you use. <S> I know this probably isn't very helpful.
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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
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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 always cat hair and stuff stuck to it because I store it in the open. So then I have to clean it which is making seasoning difficult. How can I store this pan in a way that is both convenient and protects it from the environment? I have found covering it in foil to be somewhat effective but tedious and not perfect, and also wastes a lot of foil. Plastic is difficult because I have to let it cool, although if the oven is off I can let it cool in there. I can't really store it in the oven because I use the oven often. The design of my house makes it impossible to keep cat hair and dust out of the kitchen. I also don't understand the physics and chemistry behind how the seasoning layers develop so I'm not sure what storage techniques are bad for the condition and "development" of the pan. Is there a good way to store it that keeps it clean and in good condition? <Q> First off, cleaning isn't necessarily bad for seasoning. <S> "Soap removes seasoning" is largely a myth; <S> Serious Eats discusses this at length. <S> The seasoning is actually a polymer chemically bonded to the iron, not just something coating the outside that will easily wash off, so anything that isn't able to remove the iron shouldn't remove it. <S> Certainly a light wipe with a wet or soapy cloth is perfectly fine. <S> Second, a few options you might consider: If you're hanging it on the wall, hang it so the main part of the pan faces the wall. <S> This will mean less stuff gets on it (and more gets on the bottom, which is irrelevant). <S> If you crochet or knit, or know someone who does, make a cast iron pan cover. <S> I know a friend who did this. <S> You can make it out of a relatively heat-resistant yarn, so that it isn't damaged by the pan being warm. <S> You might also be able to reuse an old sweater, as long as you confirm the fabric is something that can stand up to the heat (100% cotton is probably best since it's hard to say what different polyesters will do). <S> While the pan cools from your seasoning, keep it in the oven, or turn it upside down. <S> That way it can be cooler before you cover it. <S> Buy enamelware. <S> Maybe cast iron isn't the best idea in a long-hair cat household. <S> Before using the pan, heat it up a lot (20 minutes or so in the oven or over high heat). <S> Then brush off whatever is on it (carefully). <S> This will remove the cat hair effectively without risking any damage to the seasoning. <A> This is a bit "out there" and it won't be pretty, but it might be really functional. <S> How about one of those throw away shower caps, like hotels sometimes give away? <A> How about a plastic or paper bag once it is completely cool. <A> I keep mine in the oven. <S> Works like a charm. <A> I bought shelf liner (non sticking), turned the pan upside down and traced the pattern of the pan to about 1-2 inches larger and placed it in the cooled bottom of the pans. <S> I have not had any problems of rusting ever. <A> My family has always had cats and always used cast iron skillets.
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We "dry" them by placing on a low flame stove burner and store them in the oven...gas oven that is.
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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 case this is somehow relevant, here are my two main thoughts which led me to ask this question: Covering might be good because the developing steam is concentrated in a small volume and gives off more of its heat to the food. Covering might be bad because the bowl partly reflects the microwaves, and therefore a part of the energy never reaches the food. <Q> You do get some reflection of microwaves off a glass or plastic cover <S> ( Table 1 here ) Material Reflection Transmission Metal 0.88 0.00 Glass 0.38 0.60 Plexiglas <S> 0.16 <S> 0.83 Don't use metal lids. <S> Neither glass nor Plexiglass plastic absorb much of the beam. <S> The question then becomes: Does reflection off a lid slow heating more than retaining heat in an enclosed vessel speeds it?Anecdotal, but experience tells me that using a plate over a bowl or a casserole dish cover routinely gives hotter, more uniformly heated food. <S> Probably true for plastic wrap too, but I don't use that in a microwave since I had a piece of it melt on me. <A> I use the cover because it's easier to clean than the microwave if something splatters. <A> I guess I have always had better luck having saran wrap over anything that may dry out a bit; rice, chicken, beef etc. <S> Don't see how it could really do any Harm. <S> Personal preference more than anything. <A> I always cover food when reheating it in a microwave, for several reasons: <S> it prevents mess in the event of an explosion (particularly so with soup). <S> it prevents the food from drying out. <S> Lay the cover on lightly (perhaps with a small non-metal weight on top to hold it in place) or puncture it (if using cling-film) <S> : <S> this allows air/steam to flow out of the container if pressure develops when heating (which helps avoid said explosions), and flow into the container when you remove it from the oven (cling-film is particularly adept at shrinking back down onto the food). <S> For the lid, experiment! <S> Try a saucer, plate, glass, plastic, whatever until you get something that won't itself get too hot to let you lift it out. <S> Try ANYTHING BUT METAL. <S> I usually use a plastic lid saved from some old food container. <A> no. <S> this is becouse when food is been cover in a close container, <S> the heat that is generated become too high. <S> as it.become higher and higher, the vapour in the container will be force to move out and it lead to explusion.
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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.
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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 cakey brownie. I've tried aerating it more by beating the egg whites before I add them and adding more rising agent (tried baking powder, baking soda, and a combination of the two), but that resulted in the cake rising too much and overflowing the tin. I've also tried adding yogurt to make it more moist, but that only made it denser. I'm using real chocolate in my cake because I want it to taste super dark chocolatey. I've read a lot of cake recipes and I don't see very many that use block chocolate, usually only cocoa powder. Is this the cause of my problem? <Q> In my experience, unsweetened baking chocolate can replace cocoa + oil at a ratio of 1 oz baking chocolate = 3 T cocoa powder + 1 T oil. <S> I don't think this makes the result more brownie-like, but you do need to reduce the oil (or butter) in the cake to make up for the added oil from the baking chocolate. <S> If you use dark chocolate (or semi-sweet baking chocolate) reduce the sugar, too, but that's a little trickier to offer a hard-and-fast calculation. <S> If you are worried about losing the rich chocolate flavor by switching to cocoa powder, first make sure you're using a high quality cocoa powder <S> and then you can also consider replacing some (maybe 2T or so?) <S> of the liquid in your cake recipe with strong espresso. <S> A small amount can enhance chocolate flavor in baked goods without actually tasting coffee-ish. <S> Reducing the egg (or at least yolk) and oil in the cake should also make it less dense, but reducing too much can make it dry. <A> Adding too much chocolate might be the cause.... <S> do use cocoa and chocolates at a balancing amount... <S> (half of the chocolates and half of the cocoa)this works!! <S> And do not forget to use milk.... <S> this makes the cake moist... <S> And if you want it to be fluffy enough you might use bicarbonated soda!! <S> This'll give good result!! <A> Try using baking powder, baking soda, and buttermilk. <S> The buttermilk's acidity along with its liquidity will enhance the reaction process with the rising agents producing the appropriate aeration for the cake. <A> If you use cake flour and cocoa and cut down on the fats, the cake will be cakey instead of fudgy. <A> Try a recipe with cake flour and cocoa - if you want strong chocolate taste, try the Valrhona brand of cocoa. <S> It is very aromatic and dark.
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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.
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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 to make pizza <S> and it's pretty close to the real thing. <S> http://us.daiyafoods.com/ <A> Since I've gone (mostly) dairy free, I tend to use salt plus a drizzle of a good olive oil and maybe some herbs. <S> For the you could use a bit of sumac, or za'atar blend (which contains sumac). <S> Another good sour note is tamarind, but I'm not sure how best to get it onto the potato. <S> (you could use worcestershire sauce for the salt & tang, which is a sort of mellow tamarind-y fish sauce) <A> A dairy-free (tofu-based) sour cream or cream cheese imparts both creamy texture and a bit of tang. <S> They aren't quite as tangy as the "real" versions, but come very close, particularly when mixed with other ingredients such as a potato. <S> The main downside is that it can be somewhat harder to find either of these in a small grocery store. <S> Adding nutritional yeast to the garlic-oil potato tastes a little more cheese-like, but it generally needs to be well-mixed (I don't like the flakes on their own, just blended with other things for flavor) and also gets back to the possibly-hard-to-find problem :) <A> I'm assuming the non-dairy requirement is due to something particular to milk products and not because you are vegan. <S> So I'll count egg as non-dairy in this answer. <S> On that basis, mayonnaise or salad cream make a good topping for the potato. <S> Some sharp sauces such as HP sauce, Worcester sauce or hot chili sauce work well too. <S> More regular meat sauces such as curry sauce, chili sauce, black bean sauce or sweat and sour sauce will work. <S> I think mayonnaise will be the closest you can get to the cheese feeling and taste and will beat any tofu based cheese substitute. <S> I personally like the baked potato with mayonnaise and a sprinkle of bacon pieces. <S> If you are vegan, mayonnaise can become Vegenaise or similar. <A> you can always try a dairy free cheese which is created through using plant based milks, specifically nut milk based cheeses are very flavoursome.
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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.
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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 In today's day and age, if you go to a grocery store (or coffee shop) you can get many varieties of milk: animal milk, lactose-free animal milk, soy milk, coconut milk, rice milk, almond milk, hemp milk, and more. My question is, is the traditional definition of milk complete? Are there any exceptions to definition #2 of milk (i.e. white liquids produced by plants that are NOT considered milk, or non-white liquids produced by plants that ARE considered milk)? What other properties do all milks share that allow them to be substitute ingredients in the same products? <Q> I will disagree with Johanna here. <S> While hers sounds like a reasonable definition, it is not how the word is used in practice. <S> Milk is A) <S> Cow's (also goat's, sheep's, camel's and mare's) lactated fluid, or B) <S> Any liquid which kinda looks like A), doesn't have an overly strong taste, and there is a convention of being called a milk. <S> It can in many cases be a substitute for A, including when drinking straight out of the mug. <S> So not only are there nut milks like almond milk which contain both fat and carbohydrates, but there are also grain milks like rice milk and oats milk, which have practically no fat and get their white color from the starch in the grains. <S> This goes against the "fat in water emulsion" definition, but it is common usage. <S> There are also foods which have "milk" in their name while nobody would say that they are a milk, like the "donkey milk" wine. <S> In the end, there is no rule. <S> Whatever people call "milk" is a milk. <S> And they call "milk" whatever reminds them of the milk they have encountered before. <A> Note there are specific European Union regulations that define the terms "milk" and "dairy". <S> This article from the Food Standards Agency (UK) summarises this: Guidance On Legislation <S> On The Protection Of Definitions And Designations In Respect Of Milk And Milk Products <S> Specifically it says: <S> The terms ‘dairy’ and ‘milk and milk products’ are used synonymously and are used to describe products from a normal mammary secretion obtained from one or more milkings. <S> There are a number of other protected terms, eg "cheese", "butter", "yoghurt". <S> These can only be used for products made from dairy milk. <S> So in the EU, plant-based milks can not actually be labelled as such. <S> Instead, soya milk is labelled as something like "soya drink" or "soya alternative to milk" or just "soya". <S> Soya yoghurt may be called something like "soya dessert" <A> Milk is a stable emulsion of fat in water, basically tiny drops of fat suspended in water. <S> To qualify as milk, rather than cream, or whipping cream, it has a certain fat percentage, usually less than 3%. <S> This is why really low fat milk tastes like water: it is basically water. <S> Such a stable emulsion can be produced in lots of ways, including by cows or goats (or any mammal), extracted from soy or almonds, or come from coconuts. <S> Depending on where the milk comes from, it will taste different, but since the basic ingredients (fat and water) are the same, they can usually be substituted for each other. <S> So, to answer your question: there are plenty of white liquids produced by animals or plants that are not milk (several plants have white sap for example).
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The essence of milk is that it is an emulsion of fat and water.
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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 1940 had a higher burner heat level <S> that those made in previous years. <S> (Presumably, those made before 1940 were placed directly on a burner.) <S> The Pyrex percolators I remember had a wire 'grid' or 'heat spreader' that was to be placed on the burner <S> and then the percolator sat directly on that. <S> If memory serves me correctly, they came in a variety of shapes. <S> See below for an example. <A> Using a heat spreader isn't a bad idea, but I have found no issues using them without. <S> I do not even know how old mine are -- pre-1940s or not -- but <S> either way, they work really well. <A> I think I have the definitive answer to this question. <S> I found the Pyrex percolator at the Corning Glass Museum . <S> It came with a metal heat diffuser. <S> If you scroll through all the pictures (links to the other images are to the lower right of the main image), you’ll even see the paper sleeve the diffuser came in. <S> If you search the museum collection for glass percolator, a number of them come up and most have a metal heat diffuser in the full set. <S> We’ve been using our vintage coffee pot on an electric stove without a diffuser for a week. <S> It hasn’t damaged it <S> but we’re now using the diffuser that came with our Chemex coffee maker. <A> Mine blew apart over medium-high heat. <S> Glad top burner.
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I have a couple of them, and have used them on both gas and electric stoves with no trouble.
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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 going to be blending the sauce, there can be off-flavors from cracking open the seeds. <S> Even if you don't blend it, they can be these slippery little things that I never much liked growing up. <S> To reduce the amount of waste, you can : <S> cook the sauce, then put it through a food mill to strip out the seeds and skins, thus keeping you from wasting the gel around the seeds. <S> freeze the peeled skins, to save for when you're next going to be making vegetable stock. <S> collect the seeds and gel, then put it into a muslin bag and hang to let drip to extract 'tomato water'. <S> (you typically use crushed tomatoes for this ... <S> I don't know for sure if the gel will go through the muslin). <S> Tomato water is strange as it gives good tomato flavor, without the red color. <A> It depends on the tomatoes. <S> Sometimes the skin and seeds are SO bitter. <S> I recently made a sauce and it was inedible because of the bitterness, so i made a new one with tomatoes from the same batch and removed the skin and seeds <S> and it tasted delicious. <S> Often winter tomatoes are the ones to watch out for. <S> Summer ones tend to be much sweeter and can be used whole. <A> No need to peel tomatoes to make delicious sauce! <S> Peeling is total nonsense and work that is unnecessary! <S> Just make your sauce according to the recipe you like, and after cooking, use a hand held mixer to grind the mix in the pot until desired smoothness is achieved! <S> No skins will be evident! <A>
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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.
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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 juice to a hot mixture because the heat probably destroys the vitamins in it? Or is it better to add lime juice later towards the completion of the preparation of the dish? <Q> Lime juice is one of the components of green curry. <S> The acid from the lime juice macerates some of the other ingredients and wakens up some other flavors. <S> If you don't add it as part of the paste preparation, then you aren't cooking with Green Curry. <S> If you add the lime juice in the end, you will have a very different result, mostly that of a dish that tastes like it was sprinkled with lime juice before served. <A> For me, it's not so much about the vitamins as the taste. <S> All the citrus juice I've ever tried to cook with has lost most of it's flavor and become bitter when heated for more than a few minutes. <S> Zest can be added earlier (and will give some good flavor) <S> but I'd save any citrus juice for near the end of the recipe. <A> You surely are trying to get a citrus flavour of lemon which will be pretty much suppressed if you heat it. <S> In case you need lemon aroma, crush lemon grass; tie in a cloth and put it in ur curry and boil.. <S> After few minutes remove the cloth. <S> If you need the Tangy flavor.. <S> Add lemon juice after your curry has settled and a bit cooled.. <S> Not when hot. <S> Hope <S> this helps..
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When you add lime juice to any dish and heat it, the flavours of the dish are lost...
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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> Basically, you mix the ingredients and let it sit for 2-3 days to ferment. <S> The wild yeast just finds it, and it works fine. <S> However, the time it takes to ferment changes based on the average presence of yeast in the air and things like that, so it changes from batch to batch. <S> As a shortcut, and mostly for consistency of results, you can use a sourdough starter. <S> In fact, once you've made your first batch, you can keep an Injera starter, so that you're still just using Teff flour. <S> To be fair, the biggest factor in fermentation time is usually the ambient temperature, rather than the source of the yeast. <A> I've made injera at home several times, and I've never used a starter for it. <S> It ferments/ripens just fine on its own. <A> With acknowledgement to the introduction of @franko's answer: I've made injera at home several times, with mixed results. <S> I've tried: no added yeast or starter: <S> just autolyse and <S> whatever wild yeast happens to be in the teff flour or in the air. <S> I did this twice (that I recall); both were basically successful although took a long time (~3 days) and were more sour than I wanted. <S> my (wheat) sourdough starter: active, and <S> enough quantity to ferment the flour in the amount of time I wanted (12 to 36 hours, or more perhaps). <S> This was okay, but to get the leavening and flavor I wanted I had to use a lot of starter, so it diluted the teff more than I wanted. <S> a small pinch of commercial yeast (a small number of grains of regular active dry yeast). <S> The flavor was still sour (small amount of yeast yields more time for bacteria/sourness to develop) but had good leavening, 100% teff, and predictable (and predictable) rise time. <S> Personally, I preferred the results of the commercial yeast attempt, although this is likely the "least authentic" strategy. <S> Likely the best strategy is to cultivate your own teff starter (as suggested by @Carmi), but you probably need to really like injera to maintain same. <S> Some thoughts for higher probability of success: <S> Use the best teff flour you can find. <S> Organic, fresh, and minimally processed will be better bets; these will be more likely to have higher amounts of nutrients and wild critters intact. <S> The injera I've had at restaurants seems "whiter" (and lighter and tastier ...) than what I have been able to produce. <S> I use a flour that is rather brown, which I assume is due to it being whole-meal. <S> Might be worth trying refined (non-wholemeal) teff. <S> The rest depends on your approach and goals: Make this all the time, or one-off? <S> Do you make lots of other sourdough or breads? <S> Good luck.
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If you bake a lot of bread (of any type) you've probably cultivated a kitchen (and techniques) that will foster good sourdough.
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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! After a few batches the pan gets all charcoaly and the veggies get all grainy and ugly. (We use nonstick spray to do the greenbeans and in a separate saute pan we use a soysauce type mix for the zucchini stuff.) <Q> I have seen various establishments par-cook their vegetables then finish them in whatever sauce is being used or quickly reheat them in a pan or on a flat top in oil or butter. <S> Like part of your morning prep would be to cook off however many zucchinis (broil it? <S> oven fry? <S> up to you, you're making them in bulk so sauteing may not be the most efficient route) <S> you're going to need for the evening, cool them on a half pan in a single layer, then store them in your line until the order comes through. <S> Chuck them in the morning if they don't hold up well overnight, I'm not super sure how well zucchini holds up. <S> Green beans should hold just fine for a day or two. <S> All you need to do then is get a serving out and saute until heated through. <S> Shouldn't take too long, and it shouldn't leave an unwieldy mess in the pan as long as it's oiled appropriately. <A> I've never worked in a commercial kitchen, so it's quite possible that this might not be considered acceptable from a safety point of view. <S> (so it's not so hot that things will scorch as soon as you add the food, but warm enough to keep from needing so long to pre-heat the pan. <S> Another option would be to keep stash it in the oven, but then you'll be working with a hot handle. <S> It's also possible that some of your problems are a result of the non-stick spray; I don't know what the effect of them accumulating in the pan are. <S> I do know that if you're putting a thin layer of oil in a pan that's too hot, it'll polymerize, creating some nasty orange gunk that's a pain to clean. <S> (it's basically the same stuff that we look for when seasning a cast iron pan) <A> Have you considered using a griddle pan instead of a frying pan? <S> That way there will be no need for oil, you'll get a nice stripped effect and no specks all over your food. <S> Otherwise, whats wrong with cleaning the pan between each use? <S> There's only 2 pans in my kitchen that don't get washed after each use. <S> That's my griddle and my fried egg pan. <S> Or in-fact we don't wash our fish pans, as we try to preserve the non-stick as much we can. <S> Instead of washing them we wipe them out with blue roll (Kitchen paper). <S> You could probably do this with your vegetable pans. <S> That way they will still stay hot but not full of burnt badness. <A> Another possible technique, but again, one that I don't know if it'll be acceptable in a commercial kitchen: <S> After cooking, return the pan to the heat, but add some water to the pan. <S> When it comes time to use it, dump out the water, wipe it dry, and then cook your vegetables. <S> This also has the advantage of helping to slightly clean the pan in between usages. <S> If you want it even more clean, deglaze once, dump that, then add clean water before returning it back to the heat. <S> You might have to monitor it to make sure that it doesn't boil dry if you go too long between orders, but as the pan's got less residue on it, it should give you less problems if that happens. <A> Why don't you "pan sear" the green beans on a flat top before service starts then rewarm in the sauce? <S> you also do the saute veg before hand and throw em into the sauce to rewarm? <S> Switch pans <S> every few batches? <S> use oil instead of the spray? <S> If the oil starts to smoke reduce the flame. <S> if its the sauteing that takes to long switch to a larger pan? <S> If you using a stainless steel pan switch to aluminum pan? <S> If it takes that long to make the veg part you should be firing it earlier.
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Keep the pan on a flame lower than what you'll need for cooking.
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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 cleaning, the surface is hurt and since it is an fairly expensive, I am a little worried. I gave it a long soak in hot water and it didn't work. I also found this question which seems to ask the same thing but the answers are not about cleaning but the other part of the question. <Q> I hope you're using cake release ! <S> And you've never actually "seasoned" it (as in covering it with oil and baking it in a very hot oven). <S> If you did season it, that's a problem. <S> I'll get to that in just a second. <S> If necessary, soak it for a half-hour or so in hot soapy water (as in for hand washing, not machine-dishwashing detergent). <S> Then wash it with a dishcloth. <S> If you still have stuff stuck in crannies, use a soft toothbrush. <S> Dry thoroughly. <S> That's it. <S> If you still have stuff stuck on, use a plastic scrubby sponge-like this (my favorite), or this . <S> Do you absolutely know what surface it is? <S> Unless it says otherwise, don't season it. <S> If it is made by Nordic Ware, look for any model number or anything it says on the box about seasoning or not seasoning. <S> If this is your pan, don't season it. <S> I've got their number. <S> I'll call them if you still have questions, and if this is, in fact, your pan. <S> If you seasoned it, please don't do anything else until we contact the manufacturers. <S> Just catch me in chat, you know I'm almost always there. <S> There is an answer somewhere on this site (Seasoned Advice) that says that Nordic Ware tells you to season their pans. <S> Please note that that answer refers to pans that DO NOT have a non-stick coating. <A> What I've found that works for any cake pan is to clean it immediately after removing the cake. <S> Following my mother's example, as soon as I turn a cake (or layer) out, I wipe out any residue in the pan with a dry paper towel. <S> This gets it out while it is still moist and before it has a chance to harden on the surface of the pan. <S> Once it hardens, it can be quite difficult to remove. <S> Then, wash as usual. <A> This has also happened to my pan and it's been soaking and cleaning for two days and still is dirty. <S> So all I've done before is kept soaking and washing till gunk was gone. <S> Nothing else worked.
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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.
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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> There's a chance the extra sugar from the blueberries has helped bring the peppery taste from the kale out a bit more. <S> Kale is known for its light peppery flavor much like watercress but not any where near the heat of horseradish. <S> The addition of sugar, much like salt is great for intensifying flavors. <S> Rather than try and describe the taste of kale myself, I'll use the words of someone else instead. <S> The flavor is peppery and assertive, and can have a pleasantly bitter edge. <S> Source: A Sweet and Savory Life <S> <- A good read if you are more interested in kale. <S> So, in reply to your question. <S> Yes, Kale can taste hot like Horseradish. <A> Yes, it can be hot. <S> I juiced some Kale last night and it was nothing like what I have had before. <S> This kale was like horseradish or hot mustard. <S> The smell was so strong and pungent! <S> And the taste was spicy/hot. <S> It tasted like a wasabi smoothie. <A> Many leafy greens when harvested at full maturity are peppery. <S> They are meant to be harvested young <S> So basically you got sold "old stock" <A> I have never had kale that is hot. <S> I bought what I was told was kale at the farm and art market. <S> When I tried it, it was so hot. <S> I think it was mustard greens. <S> Looking at the pictures, they do look alike. <S> It would not be good in a fruit smoothy. <A> It is present in other Brassica family members as well such as white cabbage or the like. <S> Some varieties of kale might have more of it than others. <S> The thing with glucosinolate is that it looses much of its heat during the cooking process, which is why cooked kale mostly doesn't taste hot. <S> I assume you used raw kale in the smoothie, which means the glucosinolates were still intact. <S> So it is entirely possible that this time you just picked a kale with a higher concentration of glucosinolate than usual.
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As a member of the Brassica family kale contains at least some amount of glucosinolate, which is exactly the stuff that makes horseradish hot.
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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 your own stock solution. <S> I make my stock strong enough so that 1 drop equals 1 teaspoon (4g) sugar in sweetness, 3 drops per tablespoon (12g). <S> For 100 ml: 23.5 gram Stevia powder 20 ml 95% ethanol Bring to 100 ml with water. <S> The alcohol is added both because Stevia isn't that soluble in plain water, but is in 20% ethanol, and as preservative. <S> I've kept a single jar for over three years now, opening periodically; no mold, no growth problems. <S> I find the powder just too fiddly to work with in the kitchen; tiny scoops, or always weighing out 100 mg. <S> Plus the pure powder likes to puff up into the air. <S> A good strong stock solution is far easier to handle cooking-wise. <S> Note: bottle lasted through June 2016 at room temp, with no spoilage or degradation. <S> So 2-3 year shelf life, at least. <A> An alternative would be to simply buy a stevia plant. <S> It's much like mint so hard to kill, easily sourced in England (i have one in my garden which came from a local garden centre) <S> I'm sure they must be available in America too. <S> The leaves are so sickly sweet its unreal. <S> I can't stand the taste but then again I'm pretty sugar free in my diet <S> anyway <S> so even the slightest amount of sweetness makes me feel slightly ill (too long as a pastry chef). <S> Rambling aside, as I mentioned the leaves are so sweet <S> I see no reason why infusing the leaves in water. <S> Like you would for mint tea, wouldn't produce a very sweet water liquid. <S> Stevia is marketed as not containing any calories. <S> As such it will never be a substitute for sugar in baking as apart from being sweet <S> it holds no other reseblense to sugar. <S> It won't for example caramelize nor can it be used as a preservative. <S> Though it will never taste like caramel it may work for fruit coulis and jellys (jello). <A> Yes, you can cook with Stevia, and yes, you can mix it with water to make a liquid sweetener. <S> The Hermesetas website has a few dessert recipes. <S> For a quicky experiment into making a liquid sweetener with Stevia, I mixed nine 1 gram packets of Stevia in the Raw with 3 TBS of water and brought it to a boil. <S> A tsp of the liquid (into which the Stevia completely dissolved when it boiled) was just the right amount to sweeten a cup if tea. <S> Just for comparison sake, Stevia in the Raw contains Stevia and dextrose. <S> It will sweeten like sugar, but it won't "cream" like sugar, nor will it make a syrup like sugar. <S> It should work fine to sweeten jams, jellies and gelatin desserts, but it won't have the preservative action of sugar. <S> The label on your product should tell you how much of the product you will need to equal the sweetness of an amount of sugar.
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As far as a sugar syrup substitute you could infuse the stevia in water and thicken it with xanthan gum.
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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 things do not work: The manufacture recommended two whistles in India, but in Germany it takes 6-7. The aroma can not always help, for example in case of making plain rice. I have been trying to observe this event for the past few days. As the time increases, the duration of the whistle decreases (I have not measured it per se...just an observation). Has anyone else observed this. If this observation is actually correct , can this be scientifically explained? <Q> The short answer to that question is no . <S> The whistling sound is just a signal to reduce the heat. <S> Here's an excerpt from the Hawkins Pressure Cooker Operating Guide: <S> After the pressure regulator is placed on the steam vent, there is at first a very low hissing sound of steam from the pressure regulator. <S> Then steam emission increases to full force and the pressure regulator lifts with a whistling sound. <S> The cooker is now at full operating pressure. <S> This is the point at which to reduce heat and start timing the recipe. <S> So, the timing or frequency of whistles is a function of how hot the pressure cooker is at any given time, and most importantly, a warning to turn down your stove, so that a catastrophe does not ensue. <S> As the Hawkins manual explains, start timing your recipe once the cooker has reached operating pressure. <S> The actual timing of course, will vary, depending on the particular food you're cooking. <A> I have the same problem, as Indian recipes often specify the number of whistles - like 7 or 12. <S> Based on one recipe, I have found that what was said to be 7 whistles took me 80 minutes of slow cooking - an even steady boil. <S> That makes one whistle about 11.5 minutes of standard slow boiling. <A> As far as the indian style pressure cooker, with a seperate weight, the 'number of whistles' typically isn't a standard. <S> It depends on the size, specific weight of the weight, and what you're cooking. <S> and you'd quite often hear "4 whistles if its the little cooker, 3 if its the large one" You'd really want to get familiar with your cooker and experiment a bit, rather than 'assuming' that they all have the same cook-time and pressure. <A> Whistles is very specific to Indian pressure cookers and even then it is not an accurate way specify a recipe. <S> In the west we use time, pressure and release method; such as black beans take 25 minutes at full pressure with natural release. <S> In India, a recipe would say 2-3 whistles. <S> As a conversion, take the mid-point which in this case would be 2.5 whilstles X by 10 minutes = 25 minutes. <S> Though most Indian cooks know how their cooker performs and how to estimate the right cooking time for different ingredients. <S> Chickpeas take about 55 minutes in a western pressure cooker. <S> Most indian recipes will say 5-6 whistles. <S> I have a chart in one of my cookbooks that tells me times for different ingrients -- you'll start to see the correlation as you cook.
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Typically, the number of whistles for a specific recipe tends to depend on the specific cooker
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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 and chopping them up. Perhaps just peeling them will do the trick? <Q> In my own experience, yes you can peel and slice your potatoes if they are beginning to sprout. <S> I know in many of the kitchens where I've worked it's common practice to store peeled potatoes and potatoes that are cut for chips submerged in cold water in the cooler. <S> This will help the potatoes keep longer and prevent the peeled surfaces from browning and drying out, also the cold and lack of oxygen will prevent further sprouting. <A> I don't know if peeling and/or chopping up the potatoes will help prevent them from sprouting but it will result in the potatoes becoming inedible much faster. <S> The skin helps keep the moisture in the potato and protects it from pathogens. <S> If you peel them the exposed surface will dry out quickly and they're no longer safe to store at room temperature. <S> They should be safe for a few days stored in fridge, but that won't prevent them from drying out. <S> Fortunately as the answers to the question Is it safe to eat potatoes which have sprouted? <S> show, you don't have to worry about your potatoes sprouting. <S> As long as they don't go soft they're still safe to eat. <S> If you're finding that your potatoes are actually going bad before you can eat them you could freeze them, but this probably isn't worth the trouble. <S> Just buy fewer potatoes. <A> If you really want to stop your potatoes from sprouting, dig out the eyes. <S> Without the eyes, there are no buds to sprout from. <S> When you plant potatoes, you can take any old potato and cut it into pieces so long as you leave 2 eyes on them (you can get away with 1 eye, but the failure rate is higher). <S> The new plant sprouts from the eyes. <A> A good friend told me once to line a basket (any size) with towels, put your unsprouted potatoes in it and keep covered with the towel til you want to take some out to use them. <S> I've had mine in the towel basket for over a month and none have sprouted - it works every time! <S> They start to get a little soft, but they are still good as long as they are not mushy. <A> If stored potatoes are starting to sprout. <S> Remove the sprouts and then store them in vegetable drawer in fridge.
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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.
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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 indian, and I want to enrich it with milk (no, I won't replace coconut milk, but I want to add milk to the coconut milk curry basically) . how do I do that? or should I add Veloute,Bechamel etc to enrich Thai curry?or is it not favorable (heh) to enrich a coconut-milk based curry with dairy?I can't use ghee (hence won't go to Indian route) because it's too expensive in my country. and I will replace butter with BOS (butter oil substitute), real butter are quite expensive here.any seasoned advice is welcomed. and... I use brown beef stock (roasted beef bone stock), if that matters. EDIT: I won't use this with rice but congee. yeah, curry congee. <Q> Growing up, my mom (Italian-American) would make curry using a bechamel-like white sauce plus curry powder. <S> She said it was her mother's recipe, and I can only assume it was attempting to recreate a meal that she had using ingredients and techniques that she knew. <S> There are is an advantage of using a white sauce over using just cream to enrich the sauce -- the starch will keep the sauce from breaking over higher heat, but it can get a bit too thick and keep the other flavors from really coming through if you make it too thick, and I don't know if the flavors meld the same way as with coconut milk. <S> (it's been years since I've had this dish, and I currently avoid dairy) <S> I've never tried mixing bechamel to something that already had coconut milk ... <S> but I suspect that it could work. <S> I know that I've made a white sauce using vegetable molks before (almond & soy ... <S> coconut is the wrong consistency on its own, but there's 'coconut milk drink' that might work, or you could try thinning it with water) <A> Milk is not an ingredient I think of with Indian recipes, nor would it enrich your curry. <S> It isn't very rich, all you will do is water it down. <S> Bechamel is also not part of any indian recipe I've ever seen. <S> Yogurt is what you are looking for if you don't want to use ghee (and I can't blame you on that one), although you can make your own clarified butter without too much trouble. <S> Yogurt is used widely in indian cuisine and does add a rich quality. <S> I wouldn't add oil or butter substitute, you'll end up with a greasy dish. <S> Indian and Thai both use turmeric, cumin and coriander widely <S> , however Indian curries can use cardamom, black mustard, yellow mustard, fenugreek seeds or leaves, black pepper, asafoetida, nigella seeds, bay, and many more I cannot think of. <S> The combinations used vary widely depending on the region. <S> Try some and see what you think, just remember that the powders should be fried in a bit of oil for a 60 seconds to get their flavors out. <A> If you don't remove coconut milk when you add cows milk, you will water the dish down too much. <S> However you can still add the creamy part of the milk if you wish, keep reading if interested. <S> If you wish to add milky creamy richness I would use marscapone. <S> It will thicken your dish and give you that creaminess without altering the flavor of the recipe like milk cultures can (yogurt, sour cream, etc). <S> a 16 ounce tub costs about $10-16 depending on where you are. <S> Marscapone is also very easy to make if it's not available at the store <S> or you want to save some moeny. <S> 1 <S> qt heavy cream, gently bring to 180 F in stainless steel sauce pan (it's almost there when the cream starts to get frothy when stired), stir in 3 teaspoons of lemon juice, keep stirring. <S> Cream will start to firm up a little bit. <S> Put the whole pot in the refrigerator overnight. <S> In the morning you have a wet marscapone. <S> You can use that if desired, or you can drain it by hanging it up in a sterile handkerchief tied together at the 4 corners and hung up, and letting the whey drip away. <S> Within 24 hours from start to finish, with $3 worth of ingredients you have a $16 tub's worth of marscapone that will add the creaminess you desire without adding more liquid to your dish.
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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.
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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 . <S> You can also find recipes to make your own. <S> This Recipe for Soy Free Soy Sauce Substitute has great reviews and sounds pretty good. <S> It is made with bouillon, molasses, balsamic vinegar and seasonings. <S> A lot of people swear by Bragg Liquid Aminos as a soy free soy sauce alternative, but it actually contains soy. <S> Miso Master makes a chickpea one too. <S> You can also ferment your own chickpea miso, but it takes about a year. <S> There are instructions in The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. <A> The simplest substitute would be salt and beef boulion. <S> It's not exactly the same <S> but it imparts the basic flavors (salt and umami). <S> Depending on how salty, you may not even need to add salt to the beef tea. <A> Both Maggi and Bragg's are made from soy, so don't use them. <S> both give salt, but also bring other qualities that might not be desired. <S> Fish sauce in particular has a much stronger flavor that can overwhelm dishes in large quantities. <S> Another common replacement is black bean pase thinned with water, but every recipe that I've found suggests that one of the ingredients in it is soy sauce. <S> (I don't know if they're all copying from the same recipe, so it might be possible that there are commercially made ones out there without it)
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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 ...
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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 half your volume is crushed ice it seems like the result would be less flavorful. <Q> Yes, it makes it less flavorful. <S> That doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad idea. <S> Often it'll still be plenty flavorful even with a decent amount of ice in it. <S> So by using ice, you save the trouble of having to freeze some ingredients first, and don't go through your fruit quite as fast. <S> You can avoid having to keep fruit juice on hand. <S> It also lets you pretty easily control exactly how cold/icy <S> you want the smoothie. <S> If you live in a hot area, smoothies with a decent amount of ice are actually pretty nice - <S> they stay cold much longer, and the icy graininess can make them more refreshing. <S> I'm sure plenty of people would never dream of using ice and some people do all the time; <S> feel free to go on doing whichever suits you! <S> (I'm originally from Texas, and honestly, in addition to blending some ice in, I used to put whole ice cubes in after blending just to make extra sure it stayed cold.) <S> For a helpful comparison: a lot of really good sorbet recipes use a decent amount of water. <S> For example, David Lebovitz's mango sorbet (from The Perfect Scoop) uses two large mangoes and 2/3 cup of water. <S> Sure, it could use some kind of fruit juice instead, but I promise, it really really tastes like mango, and doesn't taste watered down at all. <A> I make smoothies almost daily and have made them both with and without ice. <S> You can add ice for a variety of reasons but they all come down to personal preference. <S> Some of the reasons that I prefer adding ice include: <S> Adds bulk <S> so it takes longer to drink and fills me up more <S> Gives the drink more texture similar to small cubed ice which I prefer <S> Keeps <S> the beverage colder for longer Ice is very inexpensive when compared to fresh fruit, and is still refreshing <S> I can leave larger chunks of ice if desired to slowly melt depending on when I will consume the smoothy <S> Allows me to add warm/warmer ingredients but still end up with a ice cold beverage <A> I think the central argument for ice is efficiency. <S> Sure, using "4 oz acai, grape, or pomegranate juice" as well as 4 oz amounts of rather potent fruits such as "strawberries, blueberries, peaches" will result in a fantastic smoothie. <S> But the ingredients in the quoted recipe are packed with flavor, and some of them are also quite expensive. <S> Adding ice releases the possibility of using 2 oz amounts of those frozen fruits, using just two of them, or skipping the fruit juice while still having a great smoothie. <S> If the fruits are fully ripe there is often flavor to spare and the taste won't be watered down. <A> Personally, I can't drink thick liquids if they are not icy <S> - I gag. <S> Drinkable yogurt, milkshakes that have melted, ice-less smoothies, etc. are all a complete no-go for me. <S> Sure, most people don't have this reaction, but I'm betting <S> I'm not the only one. <S> For whatever reason, the ice particles make it far more agreeable to me. <S> Additionally, it can help to cut down on calories in two ways. <S> One, obviously, water/ice has no calories, whereas the same volume of additional fruit/juice does. <S> Second, when it's so cold from the ice, you can't chug the stuff quickly, lest you get brain freeze. <S> Prolonging the drinking of it gives your stomach time to process that it's getting filled up, so there's less of a chance you end up grabbing additional food/calories after the smoothie. <S> My 2 cents... <A> It makes no good sense to use ice in smoothies. <S> Alton Brown's smoothie recipe is the highest reviewed on Food Network, and uses no ice at all. <S> 4 ounces plain, low-fat soy milk <S> 4 ounces acai, grape, or pomegranate juice 4 ounces frozen banana <S> 4 ounces frozen strawberries <S> 4 ounces frozen blueberries <S> 4 ounces frozen peaches Directions <S> Combine the soy milk, juice, banana, strawberries, blueberries, and the peaches in the carafe of a blender. <S> Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 8 hours. <S> In the morning, or when the fruit is partially thawed, put the carafe on the base of the blender, start at the lowest speed and slowly accelerate to medium, until you achieve a vortex. <S> Blend on medium for 1 minute. <S> Increase the speed to high and blend for an additional minute. <S> Serve immediately. <S> As you say, all ice is going to do is water the smoothie down. <S> As Catija says in comments, you can make ice cubes out of the juice and/or freeze the fruit, but it makes no sense to use frozen water. <A> I do prefer using ice in my smoothies as it gives it that thicker, but cool and refreshing texture, with a hint of your fruit flavor. <S> Of course I totally see where you're coming from without wishing to use ice, in the end however it all depends on your personal opinion as opposed to the other's.
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Ice, if used wisely, can help create a delicious, cold smoothie that costs less.
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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 likely to be so involved or expensive that I won't want to undertake the project, but for the determined baker, how would it be done? *I eventually found some. NOTE: The question is about making , not sourcing or substituting, baking soda. <Q> I can't see how it could be practical to make at home. <S> You'd need specialized equipment and you might well find that the materials you need aren't any easier to acquire. <S> Baking soda is known by different names, in addition to sodium bicarbonate according to Wikipedia <S> it's also known as bread soda, cooking soda, and bicarbonate of soda. <S> So it's possible <S> it's available in your area on under one of these other names. <S> If you live in area where a language other than English is used then you might find other alternative names in that language's version of the Wikipedia page. <S> If you still can't find any you'll either have to pay to have it shipped to you or find a substitute recipe that uses some other leavening agent. <A> If you really want to do some chemistry, the next questions are: What can you get? <S> Do you know how to handle these safely? <S> If you have a solution of carbonic acid (H2CO3) you can slowly mix in sodium hydroxide (NaOH - in a solution, not a powder!) <S> until the pH is around 10.3, then you'll have a solution of NaHCO3. <S> Or you could do the same thing by bubbling CO2 through a solution of NaOH. <S> You'll then need to dry or concentrate it without heating, or the NaHCO3 will break down (just like it would when baking). <S> Or you could start with sodium carbonate and add hydrochloric acid, but that would give you equal parts of baking soda and table salt in water, not sure how easy they would be to separate. <S> Keep in mind that sodium hydroxide will dissolve any flesh that it touches, and hydrochloric acid will do the same, plus it evaporates. <A> If you can get sodium hydroxide, you can make baking soda. <S> The stuff absorbs CO2 from the air along with water to produce NaHCO3, baking soda. <S> I've had batches of commercial NaOH that were in fact up to 40% NaHCO3. <S> Best way to do it is to dissolve your NaOH in water, and just let it stir a few weeks. <S> It'll suck CO2 out of the air. <S> When the pH gets down to 6.5 or 7, you'll have reasonably pure baking soda. <S> Evaporate the water and you're done. <S> Be aware that heating baking soda in an oven at over 200°F will give you sodium carbonate rather than baking soda, so evaporate gently . <A> If I'm understanding this right, lye dissolved in water and let sit to absorb carbon dioxide from the air will turn into sodium hydroxide. <S> If you then gently evaporate the water (at low temperatures) <S> the residue left will be baking soda. <S> My understanding is that back when everything (more or less) was made at home, lye was made from wood ash, so if my understanding is correct, this should be a way to make baking soda without resort to a pharmacist.
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Sodium bicarbonate, the chemical name of baking soda, has always been manufactured using industrial processes at an industrial scale.
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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 dissolve at all. Is there a creative way to make them dissolve, such as using some sort of binding agent? I already tried to use capsules, but I don't like the idea very much, because you have to open them and pour out the powder. <Q> If it really has to be pills, then I guess you need to mix in something that dissolves more easily than the caffeine powder. <S> I found a couple references to people using it as a binding material for other pills, so presumably it'll work. <S> Depending on how you're making your tea, you could also add the pill while you're boiling the water, to give it more time to dissolve, and to make sure it gets the full heat. <A> Pressing it is probably contributing to making it clumpy. <S> I have had that experience with some powders. <S> (Note: I don't have experience with pure caffeine, but I've had to do this with a lot of medicines when I was younger and had to crack open pills because of problems with swallowing.) <S> EDIT: <S> Upon further research I redact my suggestion to use a spoon/scoop. <S> It is difficult to measure it accurately enough and with the concentration of the pure caffeine powders I looked at being much higher than I expected, far too easy to get an overdose. <S> I would think you can: 1.) <S> Get a spoon -about- <S> the right size.2.) <S> Quickly measure it on a digital scale you leave on your counter, and then just swipe it into your cup. <S> 3.) <S> Wipe the scale off. <S> quite quickly. <S> Measure it out while your water boils. <A> Try cold water, some powders will harden with hot water... <S> e.g. <S> why we add COLD water to flour and not hot water (which turns flour into cement near instantly). <S> Try keeping the powdered caffeine in wax paper packets old school style. <S> Try corn starch as the binding agentTry moistened cane sugar as the binding agent. <S> Or confectioners sugar. <S> don't use talc, talc will float on water even as a powder. <S> You could also try corn starch solids like non-dairy creamers. <S> I hope some of these ideas help.
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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).
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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 a comparable flavor? <Q> Yes, all it is, is flavour. <S> Apple juice and grape juice are 2 things I've used in the past for non-alcohol people. <S> You can also get away with not using anything as a replacement as long as you use enough of everything else (butter and Parmesan etc). <S> Edit: <S> I just read the vegetarian part of your question. <S> I'm assuming you already know, but Parmesan isn't vegetarian, as it is made from rennet <S> ( rennet is extracted from the lining of the inside of the stomach of mammals ), and most commonly from the fourth stomach of young calves. <S> The vegetarian substitutes I've tried in the past (Called pasta cheese), are not great. <S> However, unlike Parmesan, Gruyere is allowed to be made with vegetable rennet and tastes great (I personally prefer it over Parmesan). <A> The main issue is that wine is both acidic (which can affect how quickly things break down when cooking, like onions), and it's a solvent (so it helps to distribute other flavors). <S> Although it does add some flavor on its own, you typically won't miss it. <S> Personally, I just use extra onions, and sometimes add a splash of a sweet vinegar (rice or cider) with the first addition of liquid. <S> I don't use butter or cheese in my risotto, as I find that those can dull some of the other flavors. <A> You can usually substitute vegetable or meat stocks for the wine/alcohol in savory dishes. <A> It's not necessarily the wine that is necessary, it's more of the freshness and acidity. <S> You can imitate this by adding a little bit of citrus (lemon) to brighten it up. <S> Fresh herbs may help too! <A> Since I'm a picky Risotto eater, I usually only make the one kind of flavoured Risotto (Cranberry,Mushrooms, Ramson, PineNuts,S&P) & I use my granny's foundation recipe, that does calls for wine, but she and I both substitute the wine with juice made from Elderberries. <S> But if I don't have EBjuice at hand, I add a splash of Lime or Lemon, and up the broth for liquid and acidity. <S> :) <A> I have an Italian recipe that my mom had and her mom had <S> and it goes on and on. <S> I have never seen any recipes online that has my moms <S> and I'm surprised. <S> It is a great creamy risotto and I make it. <S> I'm a full-blooded Italian. <S> My dad was and so was my mom. <S> This risotto is the best I have ever had. <S> It doesn't have wine in it. <S> I make a sauce with my spices. <S> It's only 1 can. <S> Most people just use wine. <S> I think sauce is much better. <S> I boil a chicken for the broth. <S> I add the rice to the sauce in a large pan. <S> I continue to add the broth to make it thicker. <S> I stir steady on medium for 45 mins. <S> straight and at the end I use Asiago cheese after I grate it. <S> The meat in my sauce that I use is gizzards. <S> It has the best flavor ever.
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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).
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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 cocoa powder though because hot chocolate mix is usually also sugar & sometimes powdered milk. <S> But it's still something to fix a chocolate craving when you don't have much else in the cupboard. <S> I've added hot chocolate mix to waffle mix/pancake mix and always found it delicious, <S> though of course not as chocolate-y as with pure cocoa powder. <A> I have been in the same situation as you and I used hot chocolate mix and it worked just fine. <S> But if you want a stronger taste, use cocoa powder. <S> When I used hot chocolate mix, my cake was a bit bland and not very chocolatey - although it might have just been the hot chocolate mix I was using. <A> I have used hot chocolate mix instead of cocoa powder... <S> As state earlier it is usually a blend of cocoa, sugar and milk powder... <S> so, you need to adjust the sugar levels. <S> However, also be aware that some of the new style hot chocolate mixes that want to emulate the milky froth of a hot chocolate made with an espresso machine also contain a frothing agent... <S> The "rise" I got from this mix was very "interesting". <S> (and the mess was unwanted) <A> I personally would recommend using cocoa powder as it gives it that nice rich chocolaty flavoring. <S> However, if you don't have cocoa powder use hot chocolate mix but keep the sugar down on your original mix as it will become too sweet. <S> Also, the colour of the cake will not be as dark as it would be with cocoa powder
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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.
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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 a perfect world we would all have ready access to scales and all recipes would list ingredients like these by weight instead of volume. <S> That said, reality tends to lean more in favor of the volume-based approach. <S> Brown sugar is a great example of an ingredient that is traditionally packed firmly into the measuring cup. <S> For an herb I would say "almost none" is the right amount of packing. <S> Recipes will usually call for a minced or chopped volume. <S> The herbs should settle down into the measuring cup fairly well. <S> Fill it to be level with the brim like you would with other ingredients. <S> Also, be sure to check if the recipe calls for "1 cup chopped cilantro" or "1 cup cilantro, chopped" as those could indicate if the measurement is to be made before or after chopping. <S> The best part about herbs is that it's completely subjective. <S> Cook to your preference and make a note for next time. <S> Adjust over time to find the right answer for you. <S> As Aronut says in this answer , "Volume measurements of herbs are hopelessly imprecise to begin with... <A> Depends on how finely sliced it should be for the dish 😁. <S> When sliced (or not), sprinkle in a cup, without compressing, when full, done! <A> It's just a guideline. <S> A dip like that is to taste, but a cup of cilantro is a great place to start. <S> You decide how much the cup should hold :)
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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.
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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). However, it seems to me that the unique way in which a microwave delivers heat should open up possibilities for food preparation that simply did not exist before the introduction of this device. Not being an experienced "microwave chef" myself (in fact I never had access to one until very recently) I ask myself: Aren't there any crazy avantgardistic or molecular cuisine type ways of preparing food that exploit the specifics of a microwave oven in an unconventional way? <Q> One creative invention that requires the use of a microwave oven is the Frozen Florida - a reverse Baked Alaska. <S> And seeing as this was invented by Nicholas Kurti, it surely counts as Molecular Cuisine. <S> (see https://blog.khymos.org/molecular-gastronomy/history/ ) <S> The inverted baked Alaska, described as a Frozen Florida, consists of a container made out of meringue. <S> The container is filled with an alcoholic liquor and put in the freezer. <S> After a couple of hours, the container is taken from the freezer and put into a microwave oven. <S> The result is a dessert which is hot inside, but remains cold on the outside <S> I just found something else - a Vacquelin is an egg-white foam stabilized in the microwave oven. <S> I haven't tried it, but it sounds a bit like a cross between warm ice-cream and meringue. <A> You can fry thin leaves such as parsley in a microwave. <S> Use a microwave-safe stretch film to cover a plate or a bowl. <S> Lightly oil the surface and place the leaves. <A> here is a molecular gastronomical cheese sauce method <S> https://skillet.lifehacker.com/make-gooey-melty-slices-out-of-any-cheese-with-melting-1778257068 skip the immersion circulator and make it much more simply in your microwave in a microwave-safe bowl <S> zap <S> everything but the cheese to a boil. <S> dump in the cheese. <S> zap another 30 seconds. <S> stick-blend until smooth. <S> (whisk or electric beaters just won't make it smooth, stick blend or nothing) serve your glorious microwave cheese sauce. <S> very flexible on the types of cheese used
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You can now use the microwave to fry a thin layer of leaves.
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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 far I understand it, they're both wheat-based.) What textural or flavor differences would I encounter with this substitution? <Q> Round lo mein noodles look veeeeery similar to spaghetti: Spaghetti <S> Lo mein <S> The biggest difference, ingredient-wise is that dried pasta (mostly?) does not contain eggs and lo mein noodles do. <S> I know that at least once shopping mall food court chinese food place I've eaten from uses spaghetti for their lo mein. <S> It's kind of obvious, but it's not bad . <S> I feel that lo mein typically has a denser, chewier bite than spaghetti. <S> It won't quite be lo mein, though. <S> My advice would be to try it and see what you think. <S> Be careful to not over-cook your spaghetti. <A> I do it all the time, but I always use whole wheat spaghetti. <S> Regular spaghetti is too mushy for Lo Mein. <S> Also, in a regular grocery store Lo Mein is about $4 for half a pound whereas spaghetti is about $1 for a pound. <A> While the other answers seem to have focused on the eggs, the biggest difference between Italian noodles and many Asian noodles (especially wheat-based noodles, like lo mein) is that the latter are often treated with alkalies like lye-water or alkali salts (potassium/sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate). <S> This can enhance any preexisting yellow pigments in the noodles ( e.g. , if egg yolks are used), but more importantly it also significantly affects the texture of the cooked noodles. <S> Whereas Italian noodles are optimized for an al dente texture, alkali noodles have a distinctively springy texture. <S> They are simultaneously soft and doughy, yet springy and resilient. <S> Achieving that texture is nearly impossible from non-alkali noodles. <S> To replicate that texture, one might consider substituting another alkali noodle like lo mein's cousin, ramen, which is more readily available at most supermarkets these days. <S> Serious Eats has a very good article on the subject . <S> It is also relatively easy to make your own alkali noodles at home. <S> You probably already have all of the ingredients necessary: baking soda, water, flour, and optionally whole eggs. <S> Here is a good instructional video . <A> It's almost the same thing. <S> Dry pasta is <S> eggless fresh pasta has egg <S> Dry Egg Noodles have egg. <S> You can buy egg noodle spagetti. <S> If you want to be vegan, then stick with regular dried spagetti and your "lo mein" will be egg free. <S> If you want your spagetti to be more "lo mein like", learn to cook the pasta with the dried spagetti being added last and absorbing all the moisture very similarly to cooking rice. <A> Plenty of Asian restaurants in the US do use spaghetti, cheaper. <S> People don't know, and do not notice. <S> Fresh pasta vs. dry pasta does not mean it contains egg. <S> Egg is just an option, rare in the US, more frequent in Europe, no matter fresh or dry. <S> I don't know about stores in Asia. <S> Finding dry or fresh pasta with egg is a real challenge in the US, including in Asian grocery stores. <S> Most contain food coloring Yellow 5 <S> (chemical) or turmeric (natural), rarely egg powder or fresh eggs. <S> So many people have it wrong here!Besides, you being in South Carolina, as opposed to California or North-East, good luck finding Asian egg noodles containing egg. <A> Asia invented noodles and everyone has been playing with the recipe for thousands of years. <S> Here in louisiana every region and even every household has a different gumbo recipe... <S> Noodles are kinda the same, all across Asia there are a thousand different recipes with hundreds of different noodle recipes. <S> In short, try it out and see if you like it. <S> Happy cooking! <A> I am going to use Pappardelle (has egg) because I love the texture. <S> They'll be boiled aldente, drained and then tossed with garlic in olive oil. <S> I'll add some well fried Applewood bacon <S> that has been well drained and cut up into small pieces. <S> I also like a bit of soy sauce. <S> It's sort of my version of an Italian/Chinese version of Lo mien. <S> Add lots of black pepper and parmesan cheese. <S> if you like. <S> Bon Appetite! <A> Spaghetti can definitely be used when making pan fried noodles, and they are more economical as well. <S> First, boil the spaghetti as you normally would, being careful to not overcook the pasta. <S> Drain and lightly dry the noodles, then fry -- it is as simple as that. <S> Also, you can adjust the cooking time as needed in order to get the results you prefer. <A> Although the Serious Eats article just mentioned previously is good overall, I believe it wrong about sodium carbonate being responsible for the Yellow color or "hue". <S> Among other things like texture which is why it is principally used, it might fix the dye but it is not the dye. <S> The real problem is the very difficult to avoid Yellow 5 (E102) <S> which the article does not mention at all, while Turmeric or Beta Carotene are the natural but rare acceptable substitutes. <S> Back to the Spaghetti, the best way to me is to first well dry the pasta, including a quick high heat round alone in the pan before tossing with the other ingredients in the end. <S> Lo mein is tossed, chow mein is fried, let's meet half way, while trying to avoid bucatini but try to experiment with thin spaghetti instead of thick for a change. <S> (note: <S> Both Bucatini and Thin spaghetti are tougher to find than thick/regular ones.) <S> What about the eggs? <S> Forget about it! <S> Keep the concern for the day you'll be making you own fresh pasta while preparing your next Italian dish or German Spaetzle. <A> I use thin spaghetti but pan fry to crisp up with possibly some red pepper flakes and garlic. <S> Putting sesame seeds into oil before the noodles seems to reduce sticking. <S> Or oven crisp with a little oil. <S> Just plain spaghetti doesn't sound very good.
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In a pinch, spaghetti will make a tasty noodle dish.
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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 desperation? <Q> The problem is that a lot of substitutions are based on what you have on hand. <S> For instance, I have both liquid smoke and smoked paprika, both of which would add that smoky quality that people associate with cumin. <S> We also need to consider what other ingredients are going into the dish. <S> I have spice blends that contain cumin in varying degrees (garam masala, taco seasoning, a rub for ribs), and if they contain other ingredients that I might be using anyway, I'd consider replacing all of them with the spice blend. <A> Chili powder and things like chili or taco spice mixes will normally have cumin as an ingredient. <S> Of course they have other ingredients as well, but they might work well in a lentil soup. <A> In India, when we make lentils we finish it by tempering with cumin or black mustard seeds. <S> Infact these two are used interchangeably with many other dishes and gives the right kind of flavour required for any such dishes. <S> Incase you don't have even that on hand, flavour your dish with othe spices like chilli powder and garam masala and it should turn out just fine. <A> Coriander might give you the right general sort of flavor, but I think it's darker and heavier than cumin <S> (I'm struggling to describe this well, obviously). <S> Perhaps mixed with paprika to brighten it up a little? <S> If you've got some, give it a sniff and see; it might work for the desperation, if nothing else. <A> My first instinct was curry powder and perhaps some garam masala. <S> Not really like cumin, but also a classic combination with lentils and onions - an indian twist, so to speak. <S> (Amp up the heat with chili and top with a dollop of yoghurt, if you like.)
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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.
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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 bottle) but it looks pretty fatty (I can see the fat separate a bit on top before you shake the bottle) Can this type of milk be used to make marscapone cheese? If not why? <Q> Practically all dairy starts with full fat milk, this is all that comes out of a cow. <S> The process of cheesemaking centers around separating the curds from the whey (except for making true ricotta, which is made from whey). <S> The fat stays with the curds. <S> So the fat content of your cheese goes sharply up compared to the liquid you started with, because you are throwing out most of the water, as well as some proteins and carbohydrates, but keeping all the fat. <S> There are cheeses which start with cream. <S> In theory, they can also be said to be started from milk, because cream itself is made from milk. <S> In practice, if you want to make them at home, you will start with store-bought cream. <S> As far as I'm aware, it is not possible to make mascarpone or cream cheese when starting from milk. <S> If there is a way, it would require a recipe different from the one starting from cream. <S> Else, even if you manage to get the correct fat percentage, the ratio of proteins to fat or water to fat won't be right. <S> But if you just have the milk and want to make any fresh cheese, you can make one of the many fresh cheeses which are not started with cream. <S> Tvorog, paneer and quark are all milk based fresh cheeses, and delicious in their own right. <A> Cottage cheese, and its close cousin <S> "Farmer cheese" can both be made from whole milk. <A> According to one recipe for marscapone , the ideal butterfat content for the final product is 20-25%. <S> US Whole milk is only 3.25% , so you'd need to boost things with some heavy cream (36%). <S> (UK is 3.5%) <S> But there are less fatty cheeses that can be made with whole milk.
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So, if you have a recipe which asks for cream, you should follow it with cream and not with milk.
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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 addition -- stir the grated apple in after the wet and dry are combined. <A> Wet. <S> You'll notice how much apple juice you end up with when you try to grate an apple. <A> Kitchen tradition just uses confusing names for the ingredients which go into the two different piles of a two-step method. <S> Dry ingredients don't have to be literally dry, and wet ingredients don't have to be literally wet. <S> I find Erica's approach best, it doesn't belong to neither the dry nor the wet ingredients, and it will be best to add it later to the batter, after dry and wet <S> are mixed. <S> But if you are insisting on a two-step method, I'd say it's a "dry" ingredient, that is, an ingredient which gets mixed in the "flour" bowl and not the "egg" bowl. <S> The reason: fruit pieces sink to the bottom of a quickbread, and flouring them reduces this problem. <S> So throwing the apple pieces into the flour will ensure a more even distribution. <S> Just make sure that they don't land on top of the baking powder before you start mixing. <S> Making them a wet ingredient not only means you miss the opportunity to get them floured, but they will also interfere with foaming the wet ingredients. <S> While quickbreads with grated apples with them are expected to be coarser than cakes made with a more elaborate method than a simple dry+wet mixing, you still want all the air bubbles you can get without sacrificing convenience, so there is no need to reduce them by mixing the apple with the eggs and sugar.
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Of course, a grated apple is literally wet, but this has little to do with what "type of ingredient" it is.
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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 give it time to release flavor into the water. <S> You'll still have to stir a bit to keep it from settling out, though! <S> If you're using instant cocoa mix, which is sweetened and processed to make it dissolve evenly, you can just add it at the end. <S> There's no benefit from adding it earlier, and it'll be easiest to stir and dissolve it in already hot water. <A> My vote would be to use whole cocoa beans mixed into the coffee. <S> This could just be a personal preference but sometimes I add a touch of salt to cut the bitterness from fresh roasted coffee beans. <S> So, with the addition of some whole cocoa beans, I would only assume it would be wonderful. <S> I would only suggest this if you're aim is to a subtle flavor and not a flavor explosion. <S> Since the current application is cocoa power <S> then you're effectively doing the exact same thing to scenario 1 and 2. <S> Before heating, you're pouring hot coffee atop your cocoa power (which I would presume would be in your mug), after heating you're stirring the contents of the cocoa into the mug post pour, during heating is where you might get some different reaction from the sheer amount of time the cocoa is exposed to the heat. <S> I see no difference in the amount of time being put into either, though I would think you might get some lingering powder if the coffee isn't hot enough from method 2. <S> Where as the first and second could yield the same results, the third may in add a bit more flavor because you're essentially cooking the cocoa for a longer period of time <S> (given this is a conventional coffee maker or french press). <S> I hope this answers your question. <A> I mix 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon of instant coffee in a coffee cup with 2 teaspoons of sugar and pour in a little bit of milk,stir till completely mixed,then add hot water from my kettle while stirring. <S> It works out great!
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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.
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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 this case made from minced chicken, egg, breadcrumb and green herbs) which the chef boiled until cooked in a pan of water and then afterwards browned in butter. Can anyone tell me what the benefits would be of this reversal of the normal process where you sear/fry the meatballs first and then cook them in a jus, sauce, or oven? <Q> There's a few reasons for utilizing this method: <S> It'll be rounder and more plump because it was cooked in a liquid. <S> You'll be 100% sure that it was cooked thoroughly without being burned. <S> The reason for the pan browning is just a reverse sear - purely for color/crunchiness and perhaps some flavor from a browned meat and the butter. <A> My Mother has always cooked her meatballs in water. <S> Why? <S> Well, first the meatballs had rice in the the meatball, <S> parsley and depending on the cook prepared it, some other spices like minced garlic and all the indgredients listed above. <S> She was making a soup with the liquid she was cooking the meatballs in and the meatballs <S> were the size of tangerines, perfectly round and very unappetizing in color. <S> That's why the meatballs stayed in the soup pot, the broth was very delicious, the meatballs were great and in Armenian cuisine called "kufta" (meatball) soup, Many various types of "kuftas", fried and then out into a broth and again delicious served. <S> Sometimes a little bit of tomatoes paste was put in the water/broth when cooking to add not only flavor but color. <S> So that was a reason why some people cooked in water and <S> another reason was they did this because it was cheaper than frying it in oil <S> and so they were able to make it into 2 meals and stretch they money. <S> This could be more of the "poor mans meal" even though it is alot of work and hearty but back in the day people had to make due and be more creative. <S> Even today. <S> if you make smaller meatballs, you can add potatoes, carrots, onions and have a great hearty soup. <S> Albondigas soup is a great example of this and so is tortilla soup. <S> It is all good. <S> The flavor sets in from the beginning and there is no loss of meat <S> and you do not have all the extra fat from frying the meat in oil or baking you loss what is there to begin with. <A> The only benefit I can think of is that it would be faster than pan-frying, because surrounding them with boiling water will get more heat into them more quickly. <S> But from a flavor standpoint, they will not turn out as well, because some of the flavor of the meatballs will leach into the water you're cooking them in. <S> This isn't a problem with frying, then braising them because the braising liquid is the sauce you're going to eat them with. <S> But if you're cooking them in water and then throwing out the water, you're throwing out some good meatball flavor with it. <S> I have to disagree with bullet points 1 and 2 in jsanc623's answer, the meatball may seem "juicier" but that "juice" is just the cooking water. <A> Boiling would set the shape of the meatballs and cook them more thoroughly, but you would lose a lot of the flavor! <S> Baking would be a better way to cook them through. <A> My second generation Italian American mother always made her tomato "gravy" & added raw meatballs to that sauce. <S> The result is a perfectly round meat ball, moist & full of flavor. <S> She soaked any grease from the meat (in the sauce) up with thinly sliced potatoes floated on top for about 1/2 hr. <S> My dad ate the potatoes as a snack! <A> I recently cooked beef meatballs in beef broth, following a combination of Polish recipes. <S> They baked in a tomato sauce after the broth. <S> They were fantastic, tender and juicy. <S> I was wondering why, which led me to this page. <S> I think the broth may have removed some of the fat, and added flavor rather than taking it away.
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You'll end up with a juicier meatball, as it is cooked in liquid.
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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 area <S> and you'll be fine, even though nothing will be exactly right. <S> Peppermint leaves, lemon basil or Thai basil will all give a nice look and a pleasant flavor, even if it won't be quite the same. <S> A combination of mint and and Thai or Holy basil might be your best bet. <S> A tiny, tiny drop of toasted sesame oil will get you even a little bit closer. <S> I just read from a totally unknown (to me) source that lemon thyme hits a lot of the same notes, but obviously that would look completely different. <S> Again, perhaps a combination will get you closest. <A> There are basically no substitutes for shiso. <S> Yes, it's in the mint family, but that doesn't mean much; you can't replace turnips with mustard, even though it's the same species ! <S> In Australia, it's next to impossible to find Japanese shiso (I'm aware of one grocery in the country that stocks it, and only sporadically), while the Vietnamese community is large enough that it's reasonably straightforward to find. <S> As a side note, Koreans also eat a variety of perilla, but despite a deceptively similar appearance, it tastes quite different — more harsh and peppery — and is not a workable substitute. <A> Did you also look for "sesame leaves" ;)? <S> Thats how you would find it in Germany at least. <S> On a side-note: my korean mother in law grows them in her garden in frankfurt, so depending how urgently you need them, just grow them yourself.
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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.
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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), and cook for several hours at about 325F. I'm getting good results texture-wise, but the inside of meat is always bland. What techniques can I use to season the inside of the meat? It seems like if I could just get some salt in there it would help. With the pork, maybe brining is the way to go? Not sure if you can even brine a beef roast, though. <Q> I have only a partial answer that you may find interesting anyway. <S> In case of your beef recipes you might be able to use the chemical composition of the muscle fibers and they way they react to heating and cooling to your advantage. <S> When you heat beef, the muscle fibers contract, pushing out some of the moisture. <S> A phenomenon every cook will have encoutered. <S> A little used fact in kitchens is that this effect is reversible. <S> Once let the meat cool back down to below the 60C temperature point the muscle fibers extend back out and "suck in" some of the stewing liquid that it is in contact with. <S> I use this effect very succesfully with lamb stews and espcially Rendang and other Indonesian stew dishes. <S> It is often used as a partial explanation for why stews taste better the next day (Others provided here ) , but I have found that you can achieve similar results on the same day by rapidly force cooling the dish and then gently reheating before serving. <S> I must admit I'm not sure if you can use this effect to its full potential with larger cuts of meat, but I am quite sure it will help some with flavour penetration. <A> For Smaller meat items that i sear and then oven finish. <S> I use a technique that I call cross flavoring. <S> I get my wooden chopping board and drop some olive or vegetable oil on it.then drop the spices directly into the oil. <S> such as pepper corns, garlic, Chile & rosemary. <S> work the seasoning into the chopping board. <S> then push the seasoning mater to one side of the board leaving the infused oil. <S> add some salt to the board <S> the rub the meat on the infused chopping board. <S> This method works well when you want to subtly flavour the meat when using things such as garlic and rosemary with out over powering the finished dish. <A> You can stab the roast every couple of inches, and shove a sliver of garlic, or a paste of salt and herbs in each one. <S> You can also get giant syringes, so that you can inject a flavorful liquid into the roast. <S> Yet another option is to slice the roast open, pound it flat, and turn it into a roulade ... although you often use some other cut for that technique.
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The main ways of getting flavoring deeper into a roast involve putting the flavoring below the surface.
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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? <S> My opinion is that the only cases when you should rinse pasta after cooking is if you're making a cold pasta salad, or if you're going to serve it plain. <S> The reason why you should avoid this method of cooling it in virtually every other case is because in a great majority of the time you'll be adding a sauce to your pasta and you want the starch that's covering the surface of the pasta to help the sauce stick. <S> This way all of the ingredients in your dish will be well incorporated and just give it that little nudge that makes all the difference. <S> Ultimately if you end up with overcooked pasta out of the oven you can always reduce the cooking time in the pot and if your sauce has enough moisture the pasta will keep cooking through in the oven (which would most likely be the cause of your problem in the first place, but we're clever, we'll work around it, take advantage of that!!). <A> I've never chilled them in the fridge, though. <S> I don't know what that would go to their elasticity. <S> I would fear that for manicotti, they'd firm up too much and keep their crushed shape if they're not pliable enough when filling (thus, not acepting the same amount of filling). <S> If you're looking for a way to speed up your manicotti production, and hoping to split up the cooking the noodles and filling them to dramatically different times -- I've never had issues filling things the day before I bake them. <S> Another option for faster filling is to use crepes instead of noodles; you can still use a bag to pipe out the filling before rolling so that they're all of a similar size, but it's not as finiky as you don't have to shove it all in from the ends ... <S> although making a lot of crepes can be time consuming. <A> Sure. <S> Lots of recipes actually recommend that you let them cool: Disclaimer, this is just a list of recipes. <S> I have never tried them and do not necessarily recommend them. <S> Beef and Cheese Manicotti , Giada De Laurentiis: <S> Using a slotted spoon, transfer the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool. <S> Easy Baked Manicotti , Kraft Foods cooked manicotti shells, rinsed in cold water (generally, rinsing pasta is not recommended)
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I generally let shells cool 'til thy're comfortable to work with (running them uner cold water, then draining).
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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 bit of butter and keep grilling on the pan Rest, collect the juices, and use as sauce over the steak. If I don't want to use the butter (or any dairy product) for the above step, what else can I use in that rubbing step instead of the butter ? What exactly does the butter rubbing do, what effect would there be if I skip that alltogether, and what can I do to preserve the effect? He mentioned that you can add butter to the resting juices to sweeten them, but didn't explain what rubbing when grilling does. <Q> The butter is there for flavor, mouth feel, and to add some body to the sauce you make. <S> I'd replace the butter with.... nothing at all. <S> Many of the flavor compounds in garlic and rosemary are fat soluble and fat <S> is not exactly in short supply when it comes to steak, so you should be able to run those on directly and still get some flavor. <S> Alternatively you could steep some olive oil with the garlic and rosemary and brush a bit on, but I would just simmer them in the juices for a minute instead and then spoon them on the cooked steak. <S> I have a few comment's on Jamie's recipe: <S> Do not use olive oil when frying steak, it has too low a smoke point and may turn bitter. <S> Use vegetable oil (canola/rapeseed, corn, peanut, sunflower, safflower, or blend) instead. <S> Do not pepper the steak before frying as pepper will burn and turn bitter. <S> Add fresh pepper just after you remove it from the pan to rest. <S> If you want a pepper flavor inside the steak use a marinade. <S> Salting before is fine <S> The oil is not a seasoning, that's the salt and pepper. <S> The oil's purpose is to help conduct the heat from the pan to the steak until the steak's juices come out There flip repeatedly method works <S> but it isn't the only way to do it, I prefer to flip once after about 65% of the cooking time has elapsed. <S> Doing a 65-35 rather than a 50-50 flip will make your steak evenly pink in the middle and means you can turn your attention to other things. <S> I also think you get a better sear when using a pan. <S> I use the 1 minute flip over charcoal though as it keeps the steak from getting too crispy <A> The only effects of rubbing a bit of butter on the steak in the middle of frying it <S> I can think of are: <S> Add a hint of buttery flavour. <S> Provide more fat to help keep the steak from sticking to the pan. <S> Salt the steak a tiny bit, assuming you used salted butter. <S> I think only the second effect would be important enough to make it worthwhile find a substitute for. <S> However you can probably get away with not doing anything to replace the butter. <S> In addition to the oil you've already seasoned the steak with, fat rendered from the steak itself should keep it from sticking. <S> If you find it sticks anyways, then next time you can rub on some more oil. <S> I don't think it would be worthwhile to find some non-dairy substitute for the flavour of the butter. <S> If you think the steak is going to miss that bit of salt the butter provides, I would just add a dash of salt to the juices you're using as a sauce. <A> If you don't want to use dairy then don't. <S> However, butter on a steak has very distinct flavor a feel effects. <S> There is no substitute to replace this. <A> You could try ghee / unclarified butter. <S> You can make it pretty easily with unsalted butter, which will remove the dairy solids, or you can buy it at Trader Joe's, online and at many grocery stores, including Walmart (look in the Ethnic foods section with Indian products). <A> I think you could just do without the butter. <S> It does add a certain enhancement to the steak, but nothing that will be missed too badly. <S> You may want to grill the steak for better flavor (that's just my opinion) instead of frying it--and you will easily do without the butter. <A> I found this recipe online, which seems closest to the Jamie Oliver recipe you mention in brief. <S> The only divergence is no mention of turning the steak over regularly, and I agree with @GdD's method. <S> http://www.precisionnutrition.com/the-perfect-steak <S> Coconut oil is similar smoke point to butter, so that will help sear the steak with a slightly different flavour. <S> Avocado oil has an even higher smoke point, so is another good substitute. <S> However, you might want to try beef tallow or similar? <S> You can get the temperature much higher. <S> Some people say get the steak to room temperature, whilst others say freeze it first. <S> I am going to try the latter method next time (but only when using a meat thermometer!!) <S> Finally, where your steak comes from and cut will make the most difference, so pay a bit extra and go to a butchers or choose a better cut. <S> I prefer fattier steaks, my wife prefers prime, so we just buy one of each and everyone is happy.
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Rubbing the steak with some more olive oil, dairy-free margarine or even just spraying with cooking spray, should work as a substitute.
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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 a few options, as you're dealing with high-heat cooking Only fry the garlic for a few seconds before adding something else to cool down the pan. <S> You don't want it to cook 'til it shows color ... <S> just a few seconds then toss in some onion or other high-moisture items. <S> Add the garlic with something else (eg, ginger), to keep it from burning quite as quickly. <S> Leave the garlic in larger bits, so it'll take longer to burn (as the moisture doesn't cook off immediately). <S> Really crush the garlic well. <S> Not chopped, but pulp it into a paste before using it, so it both holds together as a mass, and releases all of its moisture. <S> Move the garlic to the edge of the wok after cooking it (use a wok scoop or rounded spatula to make sure you get it all) ... then add your next ingredients, but don't bring the garlic back down 'til plenty of other stuff is in the pan. <S> And of course, make sure that you've cut up everything before you add the garlic <S> -- you're cooking over such high heat that you want to be able to quickly add other things, otherwise you risk cooking the garlic for too long while you're dealing with some other ingredient. <A> So once you start smelling that glorious frying garlic smell, start throwing more stuff into the fry. <S> Comes out lovely. <S> Of course, if fried garlic is all you're doing, then it should be the very last, or at the very least scooped out of the oil. <S> I attempted to do a garlic/olive oil grilled cheese (yum!) <S> but the garlic was in brown chunks afterwards, stuck to the bread. <S> I know now to toast the bread in oil, throw the garlic on, then quickly flip the sandwich around and serve. <A> if you work it into a paste with salt then stir frying it first seems to release the aromatics into the oil where as chopping the garlic turns it brown, hard and bitterIf <S> i want a strong garlic taste, then i make a paste and add it at the end of cooking - you only need one raw garlic to really give a punchy taste to a dish rather then 6-8 cloves that have been stewed of all their flavour
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I have a recipe book that advocates stir frying garlic for "10 seconds or until fragrant."
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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 not notice any extreme bitterness. Why is that so? <Q> I'm not familiar with that brand, but cocoa powder can be processed differently. <S> The major categories are "natural" and "dutch processed", the latter being less acidic and having a somewhat milder flavor. <S> And of course various brands may vary. <A> if you mix the cocoa for longer in a process called conching it can loses bitterness. <S> its mainly the European chocolate makers that do extra long chonching (a type of mixing that develops the chocolate smoothness and flavour in contact with air)But I see that it contains flavoring which means that they have cheated.it will be cheap cocoa powder Notice that they have removed all the fat. <S> and then they have added a flavoring into it. <A> In panama they are using a new variety (agriculturally new anyway) of cocoa tree called something like VH47, because cocoa was suffering from a horrible disease. <S> This tree is not only resistant, but it's a prolific bean producer, the problem is the cocoa tastes nasty when processed the normal way. <S> It needs to be fermented in the sun first. <S> Even then, although the taste becomes pleasant, it's still very inferior to better varieties. <S> However, almost all of the chocolate you eat has at least 15-20% of this cocoa, otherwise quite frankly there would be a shortage of chocolate if it wasn't incorporated. <S> So, some cocoa when plain tastes bitter, some is naturally sweet (not chocolate sweet), some is bittersweet, some tastes like flour unless it's mixed into something.
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In addition to the methods of processing cocoa, there are also many different varieties of cocoa tree each with it's own flavor profile.
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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 Wild Rice box. What's the best way to add spices to it now that it's finished, and what are some good spices to add to this soup (Ingredients thus far are: Chicken, long grain and wild rice, carrots, celery, onions, chicken broth, heavy cream). Thanks! Thanks for the extra questions. Here's the recipe I used: http://www.food.com/recipe/copy-cat-panera-cream-of-chicken-and-wild-rice-soup-438883 As for what's in the seasoning mix. It was the pre-package of seasoning in Uncle Ben's Long and Wild Rice Box. Per the box, the seasoning blend contains a mixture of the following: Hydrolyzed corn/soy/wheat protein; dried onion; dried parsley; sugar; autolyzed yeast extract; dried spinach; garlic powder; salt; spices; torula yeast; celery; onion powder; hydrolyzed yeast protein; nautral smoke flavor; natural flavors; dried tomato; dried carrot; extractives of paprika <Q> This may not be your issue, but the number one problem that cooks have is in the area of salt. <S> Soup needs a lot of salt unfortunately or it tastes bleh and insipid. <A> I'm going out on a limb here and assume that using heavy cream might have dulled the percieved intensity of the flavours. <S> So to add more "omph" <S> you should add more of what is already in there . <S> As the soup is done, you can't use anything that requires a long cooking time because you'd be turning everythinhg to mush. <S> Granted, you could cut more vegies, sauté them separately and add to the soup, but that would be probably too much effort. <S> The veggies in this recipe are a classic mirepoix or, in other words, the flavour base for a soup. <S> In a pinch, I'd add either (part of) <S> a stock cube and/or a bit of extra salt and a generous dash of pepper. <S> If this still needs more "herby" accents, try adding what is in the seasoning mix, but stay clear from all herbs in your cupboard that are to large or woody, because they would need a while to soften. <S> Powdered or fresh is your friend here: I'd try some powdered allspice and a quick grating of nutmeg, black pepper and a pea-sized blob or two of yeast extract (stir well), if at hand. <S> a pinch of oregano, and a very small pinch of basil and perhaps a dusting of dried rosemary or 1/2 to 1 tsp of paprika, a hint of chili and perhaps some cumin or fresh parsley or fresh chives, or some chilantro, <S> but I know that that's either love or hate for most. <S> If you happen to have fresh lovage, that would be my first choice: chop finely, add a teaspoon or so for a really intense "soupy" flavour. <S> Cook for another minute or two to mellow the flavour, serve. <A> Powdered soup mix can be a little light on flavors. <S> Fortunately, a few common spices make for great additives to your soup. <S> Here's a few things you can try. <S> Bay Leaf : A tried and true flavor additive to any soup. <S> Add one or two for a little extra flavor. <S> Bullion Cube : <S> Sometimes the broth doesn't have quite enough flavor, and adding a proper bullion cube (in this case, Chicken) can liven it up a bit. <S> Take care, as bullion cubes are high in sodium. <S> Don't add more than one. <S> Salt <S> As Escroce said, some soups just need a little extra salt to bring out the flavor. <S> Don't overdo it, for the same reason you don't want to overdo the bullion cubes. <S> Another option is to just add more of what the spice pack supposedly has already. <S> Out of the listed ingredients, you could add more: <S> dried parsley; sugar; garlic powder; salt; onion powder; paprika Out of those options <S> Final suggestion: Since these are seasonings, you should add them a little bit at a time after the soup is done cooking, mixing it in and taking a small taste to see how it affects the flavor. <S> You'll eventually find the flavor you're looking for. <A> Are you cooking the celery, carrots and onions before you add them to the soup? <S> As @Stephie says, you've got a classic mirepoix in those ingredients. <S> I like to chop them pretty finely (though a food processor gives results that are much too fine, like a paste; don't use one for this) and cook them together in a tablespoon of olive oil until the onions are soft, translucent and golden. <S> Throw a couple cloves of garlic or a shallot in there, too. <S> My other suggestions are a little sprig of fresh dill or chopping up one of the entire tops of the frilly leaves of the top of a carrot, if you have carrots that come with leaves. <S> Also, if you ever buy hard cheese, use the uneaten rinds as an ingredient. <S> The rinds of Parmesan work well. <S> Grocery stores that sell fancy hard cheeses in plastic-wrapped blocks can also sell you rinds if you ask at the cheese section. <S> Like a bay leaf, rinds are meant to be removed before you serve the soup. <S> This can increase the perceived saltiness, so adjust your salt, but it adds many earthy and wonderful flavors that are softened by cream.
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, 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.
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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" because in the context of cooking nothing is ever 100%. <S> Not all alcohol boils it off a sauce. <S> Not all microbes are killed. <S> Etc. <S> The longer and hotter <S> you cook the more are killed until there are too few to be an issue. <S> We're content if 99.99% of bacteria or yeast are dead - but there are always a few that survive. <S> As an example- Russian kvass is made by putting well toasted black bread in water with a little sugar until it is carbonated. <S> There is enough yeast alive in the bread even after baking and well toasting. <A> The thermal death point for yeast cells is 130° F–140° F (55° C–60° C). <S> Most bread is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 200 F or 100 C. <S> The yeast is dead. <A> The most realistic answer, including many correct comments above, is 99.9999..% dead. <S> Yeast and bacteria can sporulate, and spores can survive very harsh conditions. <S> A spore is basically a solid: a cell which has been dried out, packed with sugars and wrapped in an extra thick cell wall. <S> They are not metabolically active, so they can stay that way for thousands of years. <S> And they can survive boiling temperatures for a little while too, that's why temperatures above boiling are needed for sterilization. <S> So if any of the yeast in your dough (or bacteria that are in there too) decided to sporulate before the bake, your could find them alive later. <S> But they would not be active just after the bread is baked, the temperature at which they can grow is, as others have mentioned, quite a bit lower than boiling. <S> I don't know whether baker's yeast actually sporulates much, but it is said that brewers yeast are very unlikely to make spores. <S> Maybe they've had it too easy at the brewery. <S> But I'm pretty confident that after you've baked your bread, there will be more active yeast and bacteria falling onto the outside than there are live yeast on the inside. <S> BTW - if you used dried yeast from a package, they are not spores, they are actually made be freeze drying live yeast, which is why its so important to rehydrate them with water, as written on the package.
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Almost all the yeast is dead when the bread is done.
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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 them, because the chefs says the mushrooms get waterlogged, and they believe something happens to the taste. Well, as a little girl my Dad took me to a mushroom farm. It was disgusting because of the smell of manure. The mushrooms were in trays, enveloped totally in the manure in trays, that were stacked high according to the sizes and I don't remember what else. We were in darkness, and my Dad would go from one area to the next buying trays from all over. Years later, I became the buyer and I don't remember much other than the awful smell, the sizes, the darkness and how much I still loved to eat mushrooms. To prepare I washed them with water, got off all the excess manure, and depending on how the mushroom was to be prepared, stuffed, quick boiled in lots of salt then kept in that same salted water to be eaten with sour cream, fried with butter, prepared them many ways. My question is, why do chefs insist that you should not wash, only use their method, lightly brush or towel off the mushroom? Isn't safety a reason to wash? And washing doesn't change the flavor, right? <Q> I have read a couple of experiments (in Dutch <S> so I will not link them here) where people cooked the same dish from the same shrooms, with one batch brushed and the other washed. <S> The washed batch did need higher temparature to actually fry, instead of just boiling in their own moisture and the texture in the finished dish remained different. <S> There does seem to to be some merit to the culinary traditions here. <S> As for the safety aspects, perhaps this will ease your mind somewhat: Research minimizes effects of federal produce standards on mushroom industry : <S> But a new study shows that heat generated during the traditional composting process -- originally developed to kill insect and fungal pests of mushrooms -- is adequate for eliminating human pathogens that might be present, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. <S> If you got sick from eating a dish, the cause may not have been in the nutrition beds the shrooms were grown on. <A> Alton Brown, Harold McGee, Robert Wolke, and Kenji Lopez Alt have all tested washing mushrooms by weighing them pre and post wash, and found they absorb an insignificant amount of water that does not significantly affect cooking time. <S> Both McGee and Wolke tested by soaking the mushroom for five minutes rather than simply rinsing. <S> They all encourage washing mushrooms. <S> Several suggest washing them, using a salad spinner, and then cooking slightly longer. <S> For example, Lopez Alt's testing found they absorbed only about 2% of their total weight which translated to an extra 15 to 30 seconds of cooking time. <S> McGee describes his process in <S> The Curious Cook , Wolke in <S> What Einstein Told His Cook , Lopez Alt in <S> The Food Lab (and also Serious Eats ) and the best I could find for Alton Brown were transcripts from the Good Eats Fan Page . <S> Wash right before using - not storage. <S> Also, as Wolke notes, mushrooms are already mostly water to begin with - if your mushrooms are steaming rather than browning, it's more likely that your pan is too crowded, rather than a function of having washed them. <A> Honestly, I would wash them. <S> I don't care if that affects the taste slightly. <S> Then pat dry with a towel, and let air dry, before adding them to your dish. <A> Most mushrooms are not grown in manure but rather in dirt under a layer of peat moss. <S> Mushrooms consist mostly of water so rinsing them quickly and drying with paper towel will not change the flavor or browning time. <A> I thought everyone peeled mushroom caps with a pairing knife. <S> That's how I was taught to clean them. <S> It's a bit labor intensive, but usually the number of mushrooms used is not that large. <S> Holding the stem with a paper towel usually cleans it, or simply cut the stem and do not use it.
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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.
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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 $750,000, with a bottle of gold. <S> That could be real, except that it doesn't appear to be. <S> You can spend that much on a bottle of Russian vodka, but none of the bottles look like that. <S> 10 Most expensive vodkas <A> Osobaya Sayanskaya literally translates to Sayanskaya Deluxe or Special Sayanskaya , possibly implying that its origins are in the Sayan Mountains region. <S> There is no real brand of vodka like that, although Sayanskaya Kristaljnaya ( Crystal Sayanskaya ) vodka does seem to exist . <S> It’s not at all famous or of known special quality however. <A>
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No, it's not real, but it was probably based on russobaltique vodka.
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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 freezing damages the structure. <S> It may make it to St. Patrick's day in the fridge <S> but it will lose some flavor <S> , I'd suggest using it and buying more then. <A> I do, but I like cooked cabbage. <S> It will change it a little. <S> It's a little tougher but still taste great. <S> Can only be used for cooking. <S> I cut mine to the size I want before the freezing process. <S> Hope this helps. <A> I wouldn't suggest freezing cabbage raw. <S> You're better off quartering and blanching it . <S> For the 2 weeks that you're looking at 'til St. Patricks day, if it hasn't already spent months at the store, you should be fine with it in the fridge, wrapped in plastic. <S> (although cabbage is useful & cheap enough item that it's worth using what you have and buying another head next week ... or buy brussel sprouts if you want an easier way to get a specific quantity of cabbage without waste.) <A> I cut out the hard end of the core, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze whole cabbage. <S> Thaw and peel off limp leaves for stuffed cabbage rolls. <S> No blanching needed. <S> I add about 5-10 extra minutes cooking time to the cabbage rolls. <A> Cabbage stored in a freezer tends to be watery and limp when thawed. <S> We would never store cabbage in our freezers.
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You can freeze cabbage after you blanch it. You're better off keeping it in the fridge or just using it.
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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 design and had colored sugar only on the raised design. I am guessing those cookies are some type of shortbread cookie (a cookie with little or no leavening so the imprint stays sharp) either baked in a mold or stamped before baking. However, I cannot find any information on how to decorating just the raised image or the just the imprint. Every web site I have looked at basically covers the entire cookie with colored sugar or uses some variety of royal icing. How do you decorate just the embossed part of the imprint with colored sugar? Are cookies like this made with stamps, molds, or stencils? Any help would be much appreciated. <Q> Basically, there are two options: Use a stencil. <S> This means, your design can be only slightly raised (or not at all), because the sugar will create a 3D illusion. <S> There are plenty of examples online, here is one from Martha Stewart (in honour of upcoming St. Patricks Day). <S> This can be done befor baking or afterwards by sugaring an image stenciled with thin icing. <S> Dip the cookie upside down. <S> You will need a rather distinct raised image for this. <S> Depending on your dough you might have to use some water first to make the sugar stick better. <S> You will need a rather thick and well-cooled cookie that can keep its shape while handling. <S> If you want to decorate baked cookies, brush very little thin icing on the raised part, then dip. <S> Make sure to use the absolute minimum of icing, because otherwise it will start running down either when turning the cookie or while drying, taking the sanding sugar with it in the worst case... <A> Put the sugar on a flat surface, put the cookies in upside down. <S> Getting the sugar to stick will depend on your type of cookie. <S> You might try brushing the cookies with a bit of water to moisten the raised parts. <A> I immediately thought of the sand laying technique used in Mandalas . <S> I can't find a straight description of the technique itself, but it involves rapping a solid rod on a hollow, usually ridged tube filled with colored sand (or in your case, sugar). <S> It's an incredibly exacting technique, to be sure, but that makes it easier to practice and get right in my limited artistic experience. <S> http://youtu.be/10084L3Pqsc?t=2m4s <S> I hope I'm not being blasphemous, but if someone knows a better a better metaphor for a beautiful work of art that's "ritualistically dismantled once it has been completed and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are finished to symbolize the Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life" than a cookie , then I don't even know what to believe any more.
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Dip the cookie upside own into a bowl/plate of sugar, making sure to touch the surface only with the raised parts.
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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 puddles on top. What can I do? Note: Is there also a "best" tomato for pizzas and any moisture/tomato seasoning tips? <Q> The texture retains some character and they get warm to hot in that amount of time. <S> Basically I just take the pizza out a minute or two before I expect the pizza to be fully cooked, top the pizza with sliced or chopped tomatoes, and stick it back in briefly. <S> Alternatively, if you don't mind the tomatoes being lukewarm or colder, you can slice them and add them just after baking is complete and serve. <S> If I have particularly good quality tomatoes, I'll typically skip cooking them. <A> Your best bet is to oven dry your tomatoes a bit. <S> This will remove some of the moisture which will mean no puddles on your pizza and more intense tomato flavor. <S> Slice your tomatoes as you would like them, then put them on a baking sheet. <S> Bake them on the lowest possible temperature, opening the oven door every 10 minutes to let the moisture out. <S> How long to do this depends on the type of tomato (ie it's moisture content) and how thick the slices are, you'll know when you're there when the pieces firm up a bit. <A> Like JasonTrue, I add tomato slices at the very end, but generally I broil the tomatoes for the last two minutes in order to zap out moisture quickly. <S> This also works for premade pizzas ordered in.
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If I want to top a pizza with tomatoes, I generally only add them in the last two minutes of baking.
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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 that, even if I get the color I want, I'll end up dyeing the mouths of the people who eat the cookies/cupcakes/whatever that I dust with the powdered sugar. Is blending/processing colored sanding sugar and adding a bit of cornstarch an option? Will it ever mimic actual powdered sugar? Edit: I've tried the above (sanding sugar with cornstarch) and it does not make a good solution. <Q> From my experience coloring regular sugar with ordinary food coloring, drying it, and then crushing it in a mortar yields good results. <S> Be careful to not use too much food coloring though, or it will never dry properly! <S> I haven't tried to see if cornstarch might save it, but as long as you do the drying properly and don't overdo the amount of color it shouldn't be necessary. <S> As for the powdered food coloring option you suggested, I found a source that said they don't have to be wet to take effect, but it doesn't say anything about whether the eaters will be colored =) <A> I think i can help you here if anyone is interested. <S> It's an easy process that costs almost nothing. <S> No grinders are required. <S> The issue with using liquid colours is they cause the icing sugar to clump, hence the need to dry the sugar and then grind it. <S> Using powdered colours still require a liquid to be added so you're back at step one. <S> Grinding whilst colouring is the answer. <S> Here is the trick: <S> Take some rice and add the food colour to it. <S> You'll need a slightly more brightly coloured rice than you want the sugar but make sure the rice is not wet. <S> With a gloved hand, completely mix the colour into the rice. <S> Add the icing sugar and thoroughly mix. <S> The rice will break the sugar down as it clumps whilst at the same time giving you the colour. <S> Now you just sift the rice from the icing suagr and Viola! <A> Note, you will lose much of your intensity of color. <S> PS - Make sure your spice grinder/coffee grinder is VERY clean. <A> You could try using decorating dust such as cake decorators use to apply color to flowers and other decorations on cakes. <S> I know it is most common in metallic colors <S> but it does come in other colors as well. <S> Just be sure to look for dust that is labeled as "food safe," as some are not intended for eating.
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Colored sanding sugars can be run through a spice grinder to gain this effect.
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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 that the pH of your bread changed during baking. <S> Beets are red because of their anthocyanins. <S> According to Wikipedia : Anthocyanins can be used as pH indicators because their color changes with pH; they are pink in acidic solutions (pH < 7), purple in neutral solutions (pH ~ 7), greenish-yellow in alkaline solutions (pH > 7), and colourless in very alkaline solutions, where the pigment is completely reduced.[5] <S> You would have to post your recipe or analyze it yourself to determine what is alkalizing your dough, perhaps baking soda? <S> You could look for another recipe that uses acidic ingredients, such as butter milk that might off set the color change. <S> The pink looks very pretty though. <A> Adding a small amount (0.2% of dough) of ascorbic or citric acid to the dough will help stabilize the red/pink color. <S> MiMintzer's answer explains why. <A> You will have to use food coloring if you want colored dough. <S> There are multiple problems with using fruit to color other food. <S> First, the concentration is seldom high enough to get a noticeable color without using large amounts of the fruit, which would change the recipe texture if simply added. <S> In this case, you were lucky to want the fruit there in the first place. <S> But the other problem is that these colors are not chemically stable. <S> They can be destroyed by temperature, or by pH changes, as MiMintzer pointed out. <S> But I wouldn't go messing with the pH of your dough. <S> If you change it sufficiently to get the color to change, you will 1) change the leavening totally <S> (probably get no leavening), and 2) change the taste a lot, so you end up with either sour bread or soap tasting bread. <S> If what you are making is a yeast bread and not a quickbread, you'll still mess up with the yeast and therefore get bad leavening. <S> Beside the pH changes, you'll also get some change due to the different texture. <S> The small amounts of dye sufficient to color a piece of solid dough will seem lighter after baking, when you're seeing a foam instead of a solid block. <S> This won't account for the large difference in your pictures, but could contribute. <S> Bottom line: if you want pink bread, you have to color it with a real dye. <S> Accidental colorations from berries are practically impossible to control.
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Changing your recipe to make it more acidic may change the textureof your bread.
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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 for the info, but couldn't find anything. <Q> I had an application not long ago for which I needed the answer to the question as written. <S> America's Test Kitchen (sorry, paywalled) has a recipe for banana bread that I love. <S> I save over-ripe banana chunks in the freezer until I feel like making banana bread. <S> The recipe calls for "6 large very ripe bananas (about 2 1/4 pounds), peeled". <S> My bananas were already peeled and chunked. <S> I wanted to follow the recipe very precisely because the recipe and particular methods were new to me. <S> So how much peeled banana equals 2.25 pounds of unpeeled banana? <S> My doctor has been nagging me to eat breakfast, so most days I manage to eat a banana early in my day. <S> For one week I weighed the banana unpeeled and peeled. <S> Then I struck an average. <S> My average banana weighed 183 grams unpeeled, 116 grams peeled. <S> 185/116=1.58. <S> So, 2.25 pounds (1021 grams) of unpeeled banana = 1.43 pounds (647 grams) of peeled banana. <S> My average banana (very average in the store, Dole brand) was 62.4% edible. <A> https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2159?format=Full <A> Just tested one <S> (I'm sure it would be close enough to average for my purposes) to see if it was more equitable to purchase a bulk box of frozen organic banana chunks. <S> Peel = <S> 93g, fruit = <S> 125g = 57% edible . <A> I don't know any caloric measurements for bananas that include the peel. <S> They assume you're discarding it. <S> Since you don't have a scale, you can also get the approximate calories by looking at the length of a banana. <S> +-------------+---------------------------+---------------+-----------+| Banana Size | Length <S> | <S> Weight | Calories |+-------------+---------------------------+---------------+-----------+| <S> Extra Small | <S> Under 6 inches (15 cm) <S> | 2.9 oz (81g) | 72 || <S> Small | 6 <S> – 7 inches (15 – 18 cm) <S> | 3.6 oz (101g) <S> | 90 || Medium <S> | 7 – 8 inches (18 – 20 cm) <S> | <S> 4.2 oz (118g) <S> | 105 || <S> Large | 8 – 9 inches (20 – 23 cm) <S> | 4.8 oz (136g) <S> | 121 || Extra <S> Large | Over 9 inches (23 cm) <S> | 5.4 oz (152g) <S> | 135 |+-------------+---------------------------+---------------+-----------+ Source: <S> HealthFitnessExperts.com <S> Bananas vary: sizes and corresponding weights are approximate. <S> Calories based on the weight shown in grams. <S> There are many different varieties of bananas, they vary in length, and even change weight as they ripen. <S> So using an "average weight" to count your calories isn't very accurate. <S> As you can see from the approximate calories above, this can be a significant caloric difference, and if used in a recipe could greatly affect the outcome.
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Per the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 28, the "refuse" content of a banana is 36%, attributed to the peeling.
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*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 dried crust on top... even though I covered it with a clear shower cap), and I also preheated the oven for 45 minutes with a cast iron pan of water in the bottom of the oven, and a pizza stone. I placed the bread pan directly on the pizza stone. The theory for oven spring is that the bubbles in the dough heat rapidly and expand. So there needs to be room for expansion (humid oven, no solid "crust" preventing it from expanding), and rapid heat transfer (pre-heated pizza stone). It. Just. Won't. Work. Any ideas? P.S. - This is for gluten-free bread-making, but it should work just the same. All the recipes I try all assume that you'll get that oven spring. But I never do. Ugh. In case anyone is wondering, the latest recipe I have tried is this one: http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2014/04/light-fluffy-gluten-free-bread-recipe.html <Q> I've since figured it out. <S> Gluten free bread is very particular, and the moisture has to be just right. <S> If there's not enough water, the dough is too dense and won't rise. <S> If there's too much water, it will rise, but in the oven, the bubbles bubble through the too, causing the loaf to collapse (I sat and stared and watched it happen). <S> I've since learned what the dough must look like. <S> It looks like thick cake batter. <S> Should be smooth looking, but not soupy. <A> <A> I've worked very little with gluten free dough recipes but I have made a number of styles and recipes, and here's what experience and a little thought is telling me. <S> Maybe you have too much steam. <S> Some bread recipes actually prefer a very dry, hot oven. <S> If your bread has more protein than starch/gluten the moisture may be weakening the structure of the bread while cooking before it has a chance to "lock in" the shape, causing the collapse. <S> My suggestion is go to a hot oven, and depending on your loaf size up your temp by 20-30 degrees. <S> This may give you the lift you're looking for. <A> I think the problem is that the dough structure is not strong enough to hold the gas during baking <S> so that's why you didn't see oven spring. <S> I would suggest you to use psyllium instead of xanthan gum, and I found psyllium generally works better than xanthan in high moisture product like bread/donuts. <S> Different from regular wheat bread, gluten free bread structure relies on starch gelling property, so it is very important do not over mixing your dough/batter. <S> It is important to mix until all ingredients just combined. <S> Hope that helps.
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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.
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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 out or brown too quickly. I thought it was supposed to just bake things more evenly. <Q> A convection oven has a fan that blows hot air around the items being baked. <S> The air flow will draw moisture from the food. <S> To stop the drying out, you could tent the baking items with aluminum foil but that has two drawbacks: you waste aluminum foil and lots of times you do want your baking items to lose moisture during baking. <S> Another issue as you noticed, it messes up the browning (Maillard reaction) of the baking process. <S> Where you place your item to be baked with a regular oven has a big effect as well as the container. <S> The top of oven is hotter while the bottom of the oven is better for slow cooking. <S> Place the dough in dark container for better browning. <S> Convection ovens change all of those variables. <S> I recommend that you use recipes tailored for that type of oven. <S> If you are concerned about being energy efficient. <S> Bake more than one thing at a time. <S> That's what I do. <S> I use multiple timers and the location in the oven to place the various items for a fantastic meal or bake. <A> From your description, it seems that you are simply setting it too hot. <S> It seems that you expected to just set it 25 degrees lower than the old one. <S> There are three reasons why it might now work. <S> First, this advice usually assumes 25 Celsius, I don't know which units you are using, 25 F wouldn't have been enough. <S> Second, it is rough advice, the difference needed is not perfectly linear. <S> Third, ovens seldom have good thermostats. <S> If your old oven was running a bit low, and the new one is running a bit high, then your new one will consistently overbake your old recipes if you use the same baking vessels and leave them inside for the same time. <S> You will just have to get a feel for it until you know which temperature setting is good for which dish. <A> They really shouldn't call these convection ovens. <S> They should be called blower ovens. <S> Normal ovens without the blower are convection ovens with the heat rising up the middle and cooler air falling around the outer lamination (shells) of air. <S> That's convection. <S> When you place a cookie sheet, the hot air mushrooms in from the sides down on top of the cookie or biscuits or whatever, as well as directly heating the bottom surface. <S> You don't have this with a blower oven. <S> A blower moves the hot air around and it's like the opposite of "wind chill" on a cold day. <S> Because the air is blowing, it draws more heat from the heating elements as well as deposits more heat to all the surfaces. <S> So for instance 400 degrees with 5 MPH of wind might feel like (and heat heat YOU up like 425 degrees. <A> Well all you need to do is bake on a lower stand which is given with microwave as it will cook it from the bottom as well as wont burn the top..
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No need for a resource, just experiment until you have found the correct temperature which works for you.
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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 by unfreezing. <S> After several attempts, I found it best to freeze viennoiseries such as croissants , pains au chocolat <S> (croissants leavened puff pastry), pains aux raisins <S> (danish leavened puff pastry) and brioches suisses (small brioches filled with chocolate chips and crème pâtissière ) after shaping and before the final rise and coating. <S> I leave them at room temperature at 10-11pm, directly from the freezer and brush them with dorure (blended eggs) in the morning (6am) while the oven is pre-heating. <S> (I also freeze blended eggs in ice cubes and unfreeze the proper quantity for every batch). <S> This works for a week, not that the yeast dies afterwards but it matches the family consumption rate of these viennoiseries . <A> The recipe that I first followed recommended that the dough be smooshed flat to ensure it freezes quickly. <S> As to whether you can shape a loaf prior to freezing, I am not a good resource. <S> I have always shaped after freezing, even with store bought frozen dough. <S> Edit: I should mention that there does seem to be a shelf life. <S> If the dough is kept in the freezer for too long, it will not come back to life. <A> I do this every week but with breakfast buns. <S> I mix up my dough, do the kneading and first rise, then shape and freeze immediately. <S> Then, every evening, I take the frozen shaped bun dough out of the freezer, put it in the baking pan, and let it rise overnight. <S> The next morning (6:30am), I bake it. <S> I've been doing this for several years. <S> It works great, but only for relatively fresh dough. <S> Dough that's been in the freezer more than, say, two or three weeks takes longer to rise after the thaw.
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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.
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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 water, which avoids the need to wrap the pan in foil. Do these two separate methods create any discernible difference in the final result? Is one better than the other? <Q> The purpose of the water is to cook the custard slowly- essentially poaching it. <S> It takes out some insurance against it overheating and breaking. <S> Suspending the cheesecake over the water would not have the same effect- steam can get hotter than the curdling temperature of eggs. <S> It would be a thermal mass that might even out some temperature variation in your oven <S> and it would keep things humid. <S> If your oven is working well these effects aren't needed. <S> Plenty of cheesecake recipes don't take out the water-bath-insurance. <S> My opinion is that suspending the cake above the pan would not be helpful. <A> I have to disagree with Sobachatina in this case: the thermal mass is not the sole purpose of the water bath. <S> Cheesecakes are prone to cracking, because the moisture of the outer layer of the filling evaporates. <S> They don't just form a skin the way a standard custard would, they get dry enough to crack later. <S> So, if you just suspend the cheesecake, you get half the benefits of the water. <S> It is entirely possible to bake the cheesecake without submerging it, or without using any water at all. <S> But you will get better results with water than without, and you will get better results if you submerge than if you just suspend. <A> I just baked a cheesecake suspended above a water bath. <S> It seriously cracked. <S> I am trying the immersion method next time and hope for better results. <A> I bake lots of cheesecakes and have never used the water bath. <S> The trick to baking a cheesecake is to use a low temperature and longer baking time. <S> Cool very slowly to avoid cracking. <A> I have baked cheesecakes both with and without waterbaths. <S> I also have used the direct in water method and the pan under the rack with the cheesecake. <S> By far, wrapping and placing the springform pan directly in the water is the best. <S> Even, non-burnt, and no cracking. <S> There's no comparison. <S> I will never cook a dry cheesecake again. :) <A> ok i treid last night. <S> baking pan full of hot water my spring form pan in a glass pie pan. baked twice as long to get the top "crust" to brown, 2 hours instead of 1 hour. <S> oven set at 350 <S> like i do with water bath. <S> results looked to be good as i inserted a long toothpick into thecenter that looked to be "set". <S> Oven off for 1 more hour with cake in oven.i looked great however noted these differences:-outer side what would have been a darkend "crust" (since I use buttered pan coated with powdered sugar, no bottom or side crust) was just darkened on the part that rose above the pan edge while cooking. <S> seems like the metal side did not get enough heat to carmelize the sugar.- thecenter <S> was very custard like though solid enough to cut slice that held together, however the part of the cake closer to the pan edge had been cooked more and was more like what i get in a water bath cooking cycleso now I move to use a metal pan between the spring form and the baking pan water. <S> I figure it would get a little warmer than the glass pan but still not as warm as a direct water bath. <S> I might do another after that one using my convection oven cycle with a lower oven temp say 300. <S> i love my NY cheesecake <S> an don't mind eating all of my experimantal bakes. <S> My wife however wants the water bath ones that is the goal to be measured against. <S> i may need to have friends over as 3 or 4 cheesecakes to eat by myself might be very ostentatious. <S> CI <A> I wish I knew why--I guess we need a food scientist for that answer. <S> I do think that if you overbeat the eggs into the beaten cheese, you might get cracks. <S> I go heavy on the cheese and light on the cream; maybe that helps.
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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.
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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 stuck to the surface. I turned the cooktop off, but it was still stuck. I finally was able to slide it to the edge and pull it off, throwing hot milk all over my kitchen. Has anyone experienced this with an induction cooktop before? Is it considered a malfunction? And should I blame the pot or the cooktop? <Q> I am guessing you had a bit of fluid either on the bottom of the pan or on the top of your stove. <S> It could have been almost any fluid including water. <S> Even though your pans can get really hot, water trapped under a pan doesn't seem to boil away very quickly, and the longer the pot sits on top of the fluid, the thinner it is pressed, thus turning into a suction problem because there is no effective fluid surface (thickness) for air to slurp in under the pot. <S> I cook mostly with cast iron, so the irregularity of the surface minimizes this effect a great deal. <S> Make sure your pot bottoms and stove surface are dry and clean. <S> Obviously they'll still get greasy, especially during heavy cooking sessions, but try to keep the grease level to a minimum, and wipe down the stove between the burners as you go. <A> Many materials will just not warm up if you put them on an induction stove. <S> But if you have aluminium which is thin enough, it can melt. <S> There are people who melt alu foil on induction cooktops as a prank. <S> I suspect that, if your pot was thin enough, or if it was layered with aluminium as the contact surface (and layered/sandwich bottoms are common in cookware), it could have heated too, and melted and fused with the cooktop. <S> Another way to fuse would in principle be bad enamel, if the pot itself heated enough to soften a thin layer of enamel. <S> But this is very unlikely, since enamel has a much higher melting point than aluminium. <S> I have used enameled pots, including cheap ones, without any problem. <S> This is not the only possibility, of course. <S> As Escoce said, a burnt-on liquid can also make it stick somewhat. <S> But if this is the case, you should be able to separate it without damaging the glass by simply pushing harder on the pot. <S> If they are completely fused, a melted bottom is more likely. <S> If this is what happened, you should blame the pot, and only use pots with a "ready for induction" sign on the bottom. <S> The only exception should be cookware for which you are sure that its bottom layer is either steel or iron. <S> Check steel with a magnet for conductivity. <A> I used to work in a foundry that used induction oven to melt aluminum,zinc, and brass. <S> I would say it was liquid suction
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It is entirely possible that your pan melted a bit.
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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 same way. Is there some "additive" to make it less sticky? Is it a must to add wheat for that? The sourdough starter I maintain is simple: 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of water. I dissolve malt syrup, molasses, salt, and spices in a warm .5-1 cup of water. Then I add starter, 4 cups of flour, mix it and transfer right away into loaf pan. AFAIK there is no need to fold 100% rye bread and it raises fast. I bake it at 350˚F for slightly over an hour. I sometimes use Nu Wave infrared oven (40 min), but the very bottom is not quite crispy. The final bread looks and tastes good. But that stickiness on the knife and rolled "crumbs" are driving me crazy. Is there something I can do to minimize it? I heard that an over-proofed starter can help lower pH; helping pentosans keep bread structure and making them absorb less water. I tried making the bread with a well proofed starter, but it made no difference. Do I have not enough starter for that amount of flour? Shall I move some flour there to prevent pH from raising much? Here is the pic to get an idea. It is not the best one to show the issue. The bread is almost a week old and the issue is not as acute. For 1 day old bread, it sticks incredibly. <Q> Amylase action is slowed down by increasing acidity. <S> You can increase the acidity by adding a small amount of lemon juice or cream of tartar to your dough as described here . <S> In his books "Whole Grain Breads" and "Crust and Crumb", <S> Peter Reinhart comments that you can use ascorbic acid (1/8 tsp / 125 mg per loaf) to increase acidity and inhibit both amylase and protease activity. <S> Since rye bread doesn't have significant gluten for structure, but instead relies completely on starches and pentosans, it is imperative to let the loaf cool completely before cutting it so that the starches crystallize and the gums solidify. <A> Bake longer. <S> If the outside is getting overdone when you bake longer, bake longer at a lower temperature (usually first 10-15 minutes hottest for maximum spring, then turn down as needed so the inside is done without the outside being burnt.) <S> Perhaps 350F for 15 min <S> and then 325 for an additional hour and 15 <S> (90 total), if the top is as black as it seems to be in the picture from an hour at 350F <S> (sugars in there, so that makes sense - can't be too hot for too long with molasses, malt, etc. <S> in the dough.) <S> That's a starting guess, adjust as needed depending on results. <A> There's no need to add malt, especially not diastatic malt. <S> No molasses or any other sugar either. <S> Because proper rye has an enormous amount of starch attacking enzymes, needs enough sourdough to inactivate them and sets free an abundance of sugar for the yeasts. <S> So there's more than enough nutrition and yeast activity is higher than in wheat, the capability of holding trapped gas bubbles is lower. <S> Any surplus of sugar leads to that gumminess!In <S> a 100 % rye you should give in 35 % of all the flour into the levain build. <S> If you are able to do a well made 3-stage sourdough it will be very mild and you can increase the amount of pre-fermented flour to 45 %. <S> Another point: mixing! <S> It's an old opinion to give the dough only a short mix. <S> Recent developments in breadmaking showed only a long slow mixing will fully develop the doughs structure. <S> If you have a machine give it a slow 35 minutes. <S> If you do it by hand give it three times a good mixing, with a few minutes break in between. <S> Good luck!(further reading: Hamelman, "Bread" and Kräling, "Brot")
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One cause of gumminess in 100% rye breads is excessive starch degradation related to amylase enzyme actions.
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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 substitute for bread flour, so if you can get bread flour, as Catija suggested, use it. <S> If you can't, you need another recipe. <S> Especially if your goal is to "not make it complicated", don't use substitutes. <S> Substitutes are always complicated. <S> The easy thing is to follow a recipe without making changes, and there are thousands of good recipes, so if you can't make one, choosing a different one is easier than looking for substitutes. <S> In seitan, the gluten is already set, but you want it "raw" for making dough. <A> Try Xanthan Gum, but you will need to play with the quantity. <S> 1/2 to 1 tsp should be good, depending on how thick you like your pizza crust. <S> My friend has Celiac, and I find this works well in place of Vital Wheat Gluten. <A> Just use regular all purpose flour. <S> Bread flour does produce a somewhat better rise but I made bread for years without it and it still rises well and tastes delicious. <A> General purpose flour contains about the lowest amount of protein where you bring out the gluten through the process of keading. <S> I start with a small amount of flour mix and add water slowly until it flows like pancake batter. <S> Whip <S> this quickly for several minutes to bring out the gluten and form long stretchy bands within the mix, then add small quantities at a time the remaining flour mix. <S> Resting the dough also helps form the gluten. <S> Semolina flour contains a good quantity of protein, is good tasting, and firm. <S> A combination of semolina and general purpose flour will provide the protein/gluten needed.
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Seitan is not a substitute for gluten, even if you grind it up.
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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 enough? Or if I put strawberry extract into it, is it then going to be as if I blended whatever amount of strawberries with milk without the added bulk of the fruit? I guess I'm just a bit confused as to what I'm getting, since I've never used them before. I see a lot of baking recipes call for them, but then they also call for significant amounts of sugar on top of it, as well. What if you had, say, strawberry extract and just added more of instead of sugar. What would that do to the taste/sweetness? <Q> I think you're conflating syrups and extracts. <S> Extracts are some flavoring oil plus alcohol. <S> For example, Vanilla Extract : <S> Vanilla extract is a solution containing the flavor compound vanillin as the primary ingredient. <S> Pure vanilla extract is made by macerating and percolating vanilla beans in a solution of ethyl alcohol and water. <S> In the United States, in order for a vanilla extract to be called pure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that the solution contains a minimum of 35% alcohol and 100g of vanilla beans per litre (13.35 ounces per gallon). <S> very concentrated flavoring... with a bit of alcohol. <S> It generally comes in very small bottles though large bottles are available for commercial uses. <S> If you want sweetness and the flavor, try flavored syrups (like they use in coffee bars to make lattes)... but only in beverages and other similar recipes. <S> You can't use these instead of sugar and extract in baking. <A> I know this is years later, but this may give more info. <S> If there is any sugar in an extract, the amount is so small it would not be noticeable. <S> Too much extract to try to gain sweetness <S> and you'll end up with something tasting horrible. <S> Extracts are concentrated flavors from the plant oils, either pure or with additives. <S> "Pure" means the flavor must be derived just from that source. <S> They are concentrated to the point the nuances and complexity of the original plant/fruit/nut flavor are lost. <S> To use your example of putting strawberry extract in milk; you can mix a 1/4 tsp. <S> strawberry extract with a drop of lemon extract to create a more balanced flavor. <S> Use maple with a bit of vanilla to create something a bit more complex and pleasing the way the original flavor would be. <S> But you would have to add sweetener to your liking. <S> Whether or not sugar is in an extract or a flavoring depends on the manufacturer as there is no set standard. <S> Beanilla, Simply Organic, Watkins and McCormick, for example, do not add sugar to their pure extracts. <S> Beanilla and Simply Organic do not add sugar to their other flavorings as well. <S> Nielsen-Massey DOES add sugar to their pure vanilla extracts, but not to other flavor extracts like lemon, peppermint or rose water. <A> As stated in the other answers, extracts don't contain sweeteners, or if they do, the dose is miniscule. <S> So you won't actually be adding sweeteners to your product. <S> But the human sense of taste doesn't work like an analytic chemistry device. <S> It depends on what is in the brain as much as on what is in the mouth. <S> So, for people who have learned to associate sweetness with a certain aroma, the resulting dish will taste sweeter than without the extract. <S> The classic example is vanilla extract for people who grew up with classic European or US baking, they taste it sweet.
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There's no sugar in extracts, it's just flavoring...
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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 consider that to be an advantage when baking bread and cooking roasts. <A> There are two answers to this question, both are right and they disagree with each other. <S> Some ovens are better for certain things, electric ovens are good for pastries, gas is better for roasts. <S> An oven is an oven. <S> A skilled cook can cook a pineapple upside down cake or high tea over a campfire, wood fired pizza oven, or commercial stove with equal panache! <S> There are differences between types of ovens, and some ovens are superior for certain tasks, but any functional oven can be used to bake almost anything. <S> (Some wood fired bread and pizza ovens are very difficult to cook large roasts in.) <A> Everything can be cooked in a gas oven, but some things will be done differently. <S> Anything thats needs heat from above (such as garlic bread) needs to be cooked in the broiler. <S> That's the drawer at the bottom. <S> Not a storage space!
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You can cook anything in a gas oven that you can cook in an electric oven.
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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 rosemary and a red pepper. Float a little oil on top. Let sit in a cool, dark place for 30 days. I opened the lemons last night, and a considerable amount of gas escaped from the lemon juice, which bubbled for about 2-3 minutes before calming down. The cap on the jar wasn't distended, and the mixture wasn't malodorous in any way. My instinct is to say, "This is bad; throw this away", but I haven't canned anything before so I'm not sure what to expect. What little information I can find on google is either contradictory or tongue-in-cheek and suggest it's fermentation. What's up with my lemons? Are the gas bubbles escaping from the mixture a sure sign of spoilage? EDIT: After a week, I'm still not not sure which answer to accept, as this, too, contains contradictory information... I suppose time and votes will tell. <Q> This is totally not a problem. <S> This style of lemon preservation relies on fermentation. <S> The salt is not intended to halt all fermentation- <S> it just restricts it to the tasty kind. <S> Fermented pickles are a common and traditional way to preserve food because the salt and acid and thriving tasty bacteria make a very inhospitable environment for bad bugs. <S> The production of gas is just a symptom of the fermentation and not a problem. <S> I regularly make Indian lemon pickle , which sounds like a similar recipe, and it produces some amount of gas. <S> Recipes will typically call for the lid to be gently closed to allow some of the gas to escape- just to prevent the bottle from exploding. <S> This is not your typical canning. <S> Typical canning uses acid or high temps to stop all bacterial growth. <S> In that kind of canning gas production would be a very bad sign and you would have to throw it out. <A> It's probably fermentation, and as that requires microbial activity <S> it's a sign your food has not been preserved. <S> Unless the recipe specifically says this is expected and desired I would not eat it. <A> You didn't "can" anything this time, either. <S> You made "SaeurLemon" ( a salt-fermented "cure" like sauerkraut, only with lemons, not cabbage) <S> - Gas is perfectly normal. <S> If you HAD "canned" it, bubbles would be bad. <S> There, you're sterilizing (or trying to) <S> the food with high heat and vacuum sealing it. <S> It should remain pretty much as canned, and there should be a vacuum seal until you open the jar. <S> Anything making gas in "canned" food is highly suspect. <S> That is not what you did... <A> The recipe you describe is a "wild fermentation" recipe. <S> So, as @Sobachatina said, the bubbles are a good sign, not a bad sign. <S> The strategy with "wild fermentation" is to create an environment that gives "good microbes" an edge over "bad" ones, in such a way that their advantage continues to increase over time. <S> Salt gives the good ones an initial edge--most bad microbes are halophobic. <S> Beyond that, most good microbes digest carbohydrates and produce CO2 plus acids and/or alcohols, and most good microbes tolerate acidic environments and up to moderate amounts of alcohol better than the bad microbes. <S> At some point, the baddies have zero chance of making any progress. <S> Canning is a very different strategy: create a hermetic seal, then kill them all, good and bad, with heat. <S> The challenge is that if you fail to seal it tight, or if you fail to kill them all, then what you have is a tabla rasa for whatever microbes wind up in there. <S> And some of the microbes that enjoy a mid-pH high-moisture anaerobic environment can cause serious problems, like botulism! <S> So for fermented foods, bubbly = good. <S> PS I would discourage you from putting a float of oil on top of any ferment. <S> Little bits of stuff suspended in oil can create just the sort of environment that botulism microbes enjoy. <S> Lemons are acidic enough that it may not be a problem in this case, but it's a bad practice. <A> This sounds to me like a wild fermentation. <S> Yeast will happily consume the sugars in your jar and create carbon dioxide (the gas you noted) and perhaps some ethanol and various flavor esters. <S> This in itself isn't necessarily a problem, but where yeast can thrive so can many other organisms. <S> The key to avoiding this in the future is to make sure everything that touches the ingredients is sanitized (the jar, spoons, juicer, etc). <S> What you have many not be too bad <S> (depends on what else is growing in there) <S> but it probably won't taste good either. <S> I'd toss it and try again.
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For canned foods, bubbly = bad.
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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 major component of the food experience. However, I have found that serving a sandwich the standard way, with on bread slice down, often results in a severe reduction in crispness, especially if the sandwich contains meat or other juicy items. Even if the sandwich insides are not so juicy, like for a grilled cheese, the release of water vapor due to the fact that the sandwich is hot, and having it trapped there between the sandwich and the plate, is enough to completely nullify the crispness of that piece of bread. My personal solution to this is to cut the sandwich, typically diagonally, and plate it with the cut side down, so as to allow the release of water vapor to the air, and to mitigate juices going straight to the bread. I have found this to work quite well, as long as the sandwich is one that basically holds itself together decently well. (a toothpick can help.) My question is whether this is a known plating technique for sandwiches, where the purpose of such plating is to maintain bread texture properties. <Q> I think this is a perfectly legitimate question. <S> Grilling with thicker or denser bread somewhat alleviates the problem, as well as grilling with a roll sliced and grilled on the cut side. <S> As for presentation, your method is definitely not unheard of. <S> The comment about the Club Sandwich is point on. <S> You might also consider serving your sandwich with one half of the sandwich laying against some chips or veggie slices (carrot or celery sticks). <S> That would keep the steam from developing under the sandwich. <S> Then place the second half on the plate, barely overlapping the first. <S> Grilled sandwiches are just one of those things that don't hold too long for service. <A> A Google image search for "grilled cheese sandwich" shows the traditional bread-on-plate plating is far and away the most common. <S> In some cases, one of the halves is leaning on another (presumably salvaging the crispiness of that half somewhat). <S> However, I've definitely been served vertically plated hot sandwiches. <S> You sort of need to find the sweet spot between "nice restaurant that thinks carefully about presentation and food quality" and "casual enough restaurant that it sells a grilled cheese sandwich." <S> The biggest challenge to vertical plating is that it's more difficult to preserve the appearance between kitchen and table, since the sandwich is less stable when standing on end and therefore falls over more easily. <S> I assume that's one of the main reasons it isn't more widely used. <S> Leaning the halves against one another, or even quartering the sandwich (the pieces are smaller and more stable), help alleviate that instability. <S> I'd imagine clever use of toothpicks could help even more. <A> If the whole problem is the bottom getting soggy, you can try several things. <S> consider keeping the sandwich on a cake cooling grille, or one of the smaller pot cooling grilles, even serving it on them on informal occasions. <S> Alternatively, put the sandwich on a napkin and not directly on porcelain, to minimize condensation and have some of the moisture seep into the paper instead of the sandwich. <S> But this can backfire if the paper is so thin and fluffy that it glues itself onto the sandwich, so choose the napkin carefully. <S> serve the sandwich on a non-oiled wooden board, it will reduce (but not remove) condensation. <S> Note that if it's a cutting board, the steam will leach food odors, especially stale onion, into the sandwich, so don't use that. <S> If you have a coaster made of flat wooden beads, use one of them on a plate. <S> if you are serving the sandwich with something on the side, prop it there, either on a slant or even flat with enough support. <S> What you use and how you arrange it depends on the complete ingredients of your meal. <S> If keeping it vertical works for you, you can surely go on doing it, the food police won't come to arrest you :) <S> But like other posters, I'd be afraid of sliding, it probably doesn't go well with any sandwich.
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Flat plating of a grilled sandwich will almost always result in the bottom piece of bread being steamed by the time it is eaten.
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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 overnight rise without adding any extra yeast, or should I still use the full amount of yeast in each recipe that I use without the beer? <Q> Made bread today by replacing the yeast and half the water with hefeweizen beer <S> I brewed recently. <S> I used equal parts beer and water, along with a little sugar, to make a yeast starter, thereby multiplying the amount of yeast present. <S> Works great and provides hints of the distinctive hefeweizen underflavors of clove and banana. <S> My advice is to experiment! <S> Use unfiltered, unpasteurized beer to make a starter, remembering yeast is very sensitive to rapid temperature changes. <S> Gradually warm everything to room temperature before combining! <A> Depends on the beer. <S> In Germany we a beer called "Weißbier" or "Hefeweizen" which you can actually use for baking. <S> The recipe 100ml "Hefeweizen" 15g flour 10g sugar = <S> > <S> mix it = <S> > <S> after 20h you have the equivalent of 25g yeast <A> I don't believe you would want to try to leaven bread with beer only, though you could certainly use it as a flavoring. <S> First, the amount of yeast still present in a brewed batch of beer is very low. <S> Beers that have been bottle carbonated (or bottle conditioned) will have more than others but, particularly with high gravity beers (beers with a lot of alcohol), a lot of the yeast has died due to the alcohol content or been removed by the manufacturer to clarify the brew (yeasts make beer cloudy). <S> Plus, beer yeast and bread yeast are very different things: From the info here : <S> Different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae produce different proportions of carbon dioxide and alcohol. <S> Baker's yeast is a blend of several strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chosen for their flavor and ability to make carbon dioxide, which causes bread to rise. <S> Brewer's yeast is considered an inactive yeast while baker's yeast is an active yeast. <S> In an active yeast the yeast cells are still alive, whereas they are killed in the process of making inactive yeasts, like brewer's yeast. <S> Brewer's yeast is used to brew homemade wines and beers, while baker's yeast makes bread rise. <S> You can't brew alcohol with baker's yeast and you can't leaven bread with brewer's yeast. <A> As Catija has mentioned, the yeast in beer is dead and typically filtered out. <S> There does exist a class of recipes that are 'beer breads', in which you add beer or similar bubbly beverage ... <S> but they're quick breads, not yeast breads. <S> Unlike using sparkling water in tempura, or beer cider in a beer batter, where you rely on the trapped bubbles to give the lift when it's fried, most beer breads also add some baking powder or baking soda to assist on the lifting. <S> I am not aware of any baked loaf breads that rely on lift solely from beer. <S> You might have some flatbreads flavored with beer, that don't have other lifting agents, but that's not your typical loaf bread. <A> I've harvested some yeast from bottle conditioned beer and started it off with a small amount of cooled boiled water and sucrose. <S> Not much seemed to happen at first but <S> after a couple of days it's apparent that the yeast is live. <S> Next step is to grow the amount of yeast to a sensible amount for baking. <S> Another teaspoon of sucrose and whirl it around resulted in massive improvement in the froth on top of the culture. <S> Should be ready to bake in a couple of days <S> and I'll be keeping some culture back to use on another bake if the taste is good.
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Brewer's yeast is made of strains chosen for their alcohol-producing ability and tends to have a bitter flavor.
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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 would allow me to finish the meal at the same time? <Q> Actually did this last night while roasting a chicken, made some schmaltz from the fat I trimmed off the quarters, large diced them and coated them with the clarified chicken fat, S&P on hot cast iron and into the oven @ <S> 375 with the chicken <S> about 20 minutes before the chicken was done. <S> Raised the temp to 475 and took the chicken out to rest. <S> Raised the rack to the top for another 15 mins+/- finished under the broiler. <S> Nice and crispy outside and fluffy but not mushy i.e., over cooked. <S> Very similar to cooking FF or Pommes Frites 2x in 2 different temps of oil <A> You could try tossing the potatoes in at the same time as the meat and then take them out ten to fifteen minutes before the meat is done. <S> Then, brush the potatoes with some oil and go over the surface with a blowtorch to crisp it up. <S> I've also found that coating potatoes in sugar (brown sugar in particular) and melting the sugar with a blowtorch forms a wonderful sort of glaze over potatoes, which when cooled turns crispy and adds a nice sweet touch to them. <A> I put the potatoes in at some point while the meat is cooking, depending on how long the meat needs to cook, so that they cook through and then crank the heat while the meat is resting to crisp up the potatoes. <S> Either way, make sure you have a good bit of fat in the pan to aid in crisping <S> (I almost always go with bacon fat), and don't over crowd the dish that the potatoes are in, otherwise they are basically just steaming each other instead of roasting.
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Another option would be to par-boil them first and then put in the oven once the meat is cooked.
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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 shaking or tapping. So do I leave it there to build up for future proofing or should I get a brush and get it all out? <Q> I have several bannetons (also called brotforms). <S> Two are wicker and 2 are cane <S> (you can also find them made from wood pulp). <S> so the flour dries and it is easier to brush away. <S> I have even given the canes a quick rinse <S> but I do make sure to thoroughly dry before storing. <S> In addition to rice flour, I have used AP and bread flour with success. <S> With the wicker ones, sometimes I use food grade linen that I flour and line the banneton with to proof the bread. <S> I have also used plastic wrap that has a light spray of olive oil. <S> These two methods eliminate the need to flour the banneton. <S> It just depends on my mood and the surface <S> finish <S> I want on the baked loaf. <A> In theory, you should always clean your bannetons very meticulously. <S> The main steps (as I was taught from a bunch of very experienced old ladies) would be: Knock them upside-down on your workbench two or three times to let loose material fall out. <S> Take a stiff-bristled brush and scrub along the ridges to loosen stuck flour. <S> Work carefully but firmly to get everything out. <S> Knock the loosened flour out again like in the first step. <S> Cleaning the baskets well is very important because flour residue that stays there during storage invites little guests of the creepy-crawly kind. <S> You may even think about tucking the baskets in the (slightly cooled!) <S> oven after baking to heat them through once in a while. <S> I'd caution against using water: If you remember that you can make a "glue" out of flour/starch and water, you might end up with a concrete-like layer of "flour-glue" down in the ridges. <S> And this attracts bugs again. <S> Besides, some materials tend to warp and depending on how the canes are fixed together, there might be even nails or pins that start to rust. <S> But honestly, if you are baking at least once a week, a solid "smack on the bottom" should be enough for day-to-day upkeep, but always store them in a dry space (again: humidity+flour=glue...). <A> I gently tap, so it doesn't get all over the cupboard, and just leave it.
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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
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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 (Had a very easy marinade for a couple of hours as well) Anyways, since Pasta Salad/Cooked Chicken typically lasts 3-5 days in the fridge apparently (and i'd rather err on the side of caution) I said we should just stick it in the freezer and then take out our little Tupperware (we just made individual portions for the week) Anyways my wife thinks this won't work or will make it taste terrible, I figure a week shouldn't affect anything? Plus we get the added benefit of it not going bad? Does this seem like a good plan? or just dumb? <Q> I'd seriously doubt it going bad in 5 days if your fridge is set to a proper temperature <S> and it was prepared with some semblance of proper sanitation. <S> A vat of the stuff taken out of the fridge for serving 4 times, yes. <S> An individual serving stored in the fridge the whole time, I doubt. <S> The pasta texture will get weird from freezing/thawing. <S> Should not actually affect the flavor if it's properly sealed. <S> You may or may not find the texture change acceptable. <S> Your wife may or may not agree with you. <S> As usual, experimentation will be your best guide as to whether you find it acceptable or not, so freeze one and don't freeze one and compare the two when you eat them. <A> As someone who loves leftovers, I have eaten meals that have been in my refrigerator for up to a week with no issues. <S> The key here is to use a thermometer to make sure your refrigerator maintains a temp around 35 degrees. <S> This keeps food far enough from the danger zone of 40+ degrees and above freezing. <S> I also freeze a lot of leftovers for a couple months at a time. <S> Here the key is how you store. <S> I think that vacuum sealing is ideal but if properly wrapped and sealed you will be able to minimize the freezer ice that inevitably forms. <S> Also keep in mind that some things freeze better than others. <S> To be fair, I have never froze pasta salad <S> but I have froze lasagna, ravioli and other pastas with no problems. <S> May I suggest you freeze a small portion as a tester so that, if your pasta salad/chicken meal is a regular, you will know for the future. <S> And you can let us all know :) <A> You should have no problem freezing pasta, especially if it's only for a week. <S> You want to minimise the amount of air around the pasta, so using a freezer bag and giving it a (gentle) squeeze is advisable. <S> Remember to defrost it safely - don't leave it on the counter overnight. <S> The chicken shouldn't be at room temperature for more than a couple of hours, assuming it was properly refrigerated throughout it's pre-frozen time (the couple of hours is cumulative).
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Freezing for a week should be no problem.
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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, about 1 lb each before cleaning, probably 10"+ long without the head, probably 5-6 times as much meat as the little ones I usually get. I remember trying to cook that before and they came out very tough and with a bit of unpleasant odor. Is there a way to marinate and tenderize large squid and to somehow neutralize the odor? <Q> Another option is papaya enzyme tablets found in the supplement section of drugstore. <S> Either can be added to the recipe while marinating or cooking. <S> The tablets have the advantage of imparting no flavor. <S> I can't judge the amount without a recipe, but pretty hard to go wrong. <S> Also squid and octopus must be flash grilled or cooked for a long time. <S> Anything in between results in tough meat. <A> In Africa they tenderize them by beating them with rocks, like you would do with a steak tenderizer. <S> A bit of manual labour, but well worth the effort. <S> The by far most tender calamare I've ever had was in Namibia, and that was beaten before cooking. <A> I agree that a long braise would be one way to go <S> but I also use large squid to make one of my favorite chowders, faux conch chowder. <S> I use my meat grinder attachment for my KA stand mixer to grind the squid, tentacles and bodies, and then combine them with chopped clams in a traditional Caribbean conch chowder broth. <S> I find that the ground squid mimics the texture and nice chewiness you would get with ground conch. <S> My family and friends love it and if I didn't tell them, they would have no idea that it wasn't real conch in the chowder. <A> marinating over-nite helps to keep it tender. <A> Kiwi fruit. <S> Works <S> so well don't do it too long! <A> You might try using some Korean pomgranite wine as a 6 hr or more marinade or try a dry rub with baking soda and wash it off in 2-4 hrs.
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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.
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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 monitor the level of boiling. Are there any advantages of metal lids? E.g. do they keep more heat inside if you keep it on vs letting heat out? <Q> They don't break if you drop it on the floor. <S> That about covers the advantages of a metal lid here. <S> The "heat kept in" is largely a matter of the steam condensing on the lid, and is pretty much exactly the same for metal or glass lids, or a sheet of tinfoil over the pot. <S> If they are on, it is, if they are off, it's not. <A> I like my metal lid stockpot because it can go in the oven if I need it to. <S> Glass lids can often go in the oven, but are sometimes limited to temps of 300-350. <S> Many are 400, but you'd want to check. <S> As for heat, metal is a better heat conductor than glass, per unit of thickness, but given that most metal lids are thinner than glass lids, I'm not sure what the overall difference is. <S> Probably not much, since you're providing a much better heat source from below. <S> You do get to see more with glass lids, helping deal with potential boil-overs. <S> Lastly, I find that metal lids are in general flatter and easier to store than glass lids, though for all lids I recommend getting some stick-on coat hooks and doing this: . <A> I like glass lids because you can see what's going on without having to "check" all the time. <S> I like metal lids because they are more durable. <S> Even the metal ring around glass lids seem to be more susceptible to bending and warping than a full metal lids.
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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.
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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 of gross. I tried to get down to basics. From what I've read, sassafrass is the key ingredient, so I thought I'd make a tea out of just that and see how that goes. (Yes, I know there are claims that sassafrass has a cancer causing agent, and that it's not used anymore, and people use wintergreen or sarsaparilla instead. But, health concerns aside, everything I've read seems to have a consensus that sassafrass is the original flavour for root beer.) When I open my bag of sassafrass root bark, it has a smell lightly evocative of root beer, but also kind of earthy (I'm bad at describing smells). Most recipes I've seen call for steeping the sassafrass for about 20 to 25 minutes, with a ratio of about one tablespoon of sassafrass for each cup of water. Starting with that basis, I've tried various combinations of adjusting times and ratios, and also two different brands of sassafrass, but the fundamental problem remains. It's always bitter. Too bitter to cover up with any amount sweetener or other ingredients. Sweetener and other ingredients (cinnamon, vanilla, star anise, allspice...) don't cover bitterness, they just exist alongside it. When I look on Amazon at reviews by people who have bought the same sassafrass root bark that I did, there are all these statements saying "we made root beer and it was great!" or "brought back childhood memories of home made root beer!" and that sort of thing, accompanied by five stars. But all I have is a brown liquid that is on one level a pale imitation of root beer, and on another level has a bitterness that won't go away. Where am I going wrong? <Q> When I was younger, a friend of mine used to bring us some sassafras root in order for us to make this tea. <S> He always recommended never to make it too strong because of the affects of the bitterness on the stomach. <S> Try using smaller doses of sassafras in your tea. <S> It should be more on the pale shade of color rather than too dark. <S> Here is how to make sassafras tea. <S> It is true that the original root beer was derived from the sassafras root, however the modern root beer does not contain any sassafras in it confection. <A> In my experience, homemade root beer can not be made with sassafras alone. <S> You need a blend of flavors. <S> Cut back on the amount of sassafras and add some wintergreen oil or sweet birch. <S> Also throw in some licorice root, vanilla, or sarsaparilla. <S> For sweeteners, use some sorghum or molasses. <S> Find a blend of spices and flavors that you like, which contains sassafras as a component. <S> Sassafras will always be bitter. <A> a small pinch of salt really helps <A> Some salt can help as was suggested. <S> This is because salt, specifically sodium, blocks the taste buds from sensing the bitterness to a degree. <S> Here's another post discussing bitterness in coffee
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Sassafras tea will naturally taste a little bitter.
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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 the bread making process? I'm very green at bread making, as you probably have ascertained. <Q> The bread proofer machine serves mainly one purpose: <S> Keeping a choosen temperature. <S> This comes to play whenever you want to let yeast grow and multiply. <S> Yeast can develop at very different temperature ranges, from fridge to warm room. <S> But "cosy & warm" is usually the temperature where it's most active. <S> The most obvious use is: proofing dough, both during bulk and final rise <S> But looking closely there are other yeast-related uses: refreshing sourdough brewing (don't ask me for details here!) <S> And even non-yeast uses like making yoghurt <S> Now, you are asking for a sourdough bread. <S> I won't give you a fixed recipe, but encourage you to choose something nice from the vast realms of the WWW. <S> Try The Fresh Loaf , Wild Yeast or whatever strikes your fancy. <S> I'd assume a Sourdough bread to be made with - obviously - sourdough. <S> But that doesn't exclude yeast, some recipes use both. <S> The main differences are that sourdough (which contains yeasts and strains of lactobacillus in symbiosis) is more the slow-and-steady type of dough with rather long rising times (as in hours up to days) <S> whereas pure yeast-based dough may be ready to bake after only one to two hours or so. <S> (But there are yeast-only recipes like baguette which take days of proofing in the fridge.) <S> Choose a simple recipe to start and use your proofing machine whenever the recipe says something along the lines of "let dough rise in a warm place / oven with pilot light / ... for X time / until doubled in bulk. <S> Remember: When you start baking, it's a good idea to follow the instructions, note what you didn't like and work from there. <S> Perhaps you'll be back here with a more specific question after a few trial-and-error runs - we'll be happy to answer again. <S> And: Have fun! <A> Bread making means that you are tending a culture of live yeasts - and, in sourdough, also bacteria. <S> Just like the lizard in a terrarium, they thrive best when given optimal temperature, humidity and food. <S> Your dough already takes care of the food and pH of the environment, but if you want your bread to rise either with a given speed (to fit your schedule) or in a given manner, you can use a proofing machine. <S> "Given manner" means that the yeast colony will create different byproducts depending on growth rate and the presence of overpopulation stress. <S> These byproducts taste differently, so your bread will have a different taste depending on the circumstances under which it rose. <S> "Proofing" is a synonym for letting the bread rises. <S> It is simply a controlled environment when you set up your preferred temperature and humidity and the box maintains it for you. <S> So much for the theory. <S> In practice, I'm surprised that somebody so new at baking bread has this piece of equipment, as it is quite uncommon. <S> It is something which can give a specialist the last 5% of quality which are hard to achieve any other way, but until you have arrived at that point, it is unlikely to give you much advantage over proofing on the counter or in the refrigerator. <S> Still, now that you have it, the way to learn to bake bread is to first learn the right process. <S> There are many extensive books on this, but you can also find shorter resources on the Internet, Stephie linked some sites which have articles on bread baking. <S> After that, you'll know when the proofing step is, and then you will be able to use your machine when a recipe says to proof on the counter. <A> The big difference between a sourdough based bread and one made with what you are calling active yeast is the sourdough yeasts are wild and take a while to develop into a starter that is as strong as purchased yeast. <S> The biggest difference is in the flavor and texture of the bread. <S> As I understand a proofer just adds another level of control to the environment and thud ultimately the taste. <S> A starter that is"new" won't produce the same bread as one that is older and more robust. <S> My first loaves were like hockey pucks, but I love what I am able to do today (5 years later). <S> I usually start my bread process the day before I plan to bake, so if a quick loaf is desired use commercial (store bought yeast), and if you can wait, the sourdough is the best way to go, BUT you have to have an active starter which at the beginning is a time investment of days into a week.
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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 proofing machine to achieve it.
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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 teflon pan that has some grease stuck on the outside. Since there's no way to treat only the outside {it's the fumes that do the work, you don't immerse things} is that safe? <Q> After asking this in multiple places and finding nobody with an answer I decided to test with the gunkiest cover. <S> The handle came through fine. <S> I'm not going to try the teflon pan. <A> Do not use on teflon! <S> I tried that and all the Teflon peeled off. <S> I had to throw out the pans. <A> That way only your metal pan is exposed to the fumes, the plastic handle remains outside of the bag. <S> The other thing to try is the general advice when you're not sure if some chemical will damage some material. <S> Dab a tiny bit on hidden or less visible part of the handle and see what damage it does. <S> You could try something like the above with your Teflon pan <S> but it would be trickier. <S> You could try using plastic wrap to seal the top of the pan before sticking it in the bag. <S> You might need to tape it to make sure it doesn't come off. <A> Instead of ammonia, you should try "Barkeepers Friend" <S> that stuff is great. <S> It takes off the burnt on grease easily. <S> It is very gentle of my pans. <S> I own all clad cookware, stainless steel. <S> It works wonders, and shines it up real nice. <S> Once food starts to stick to the pan, even after a rinse in hot water, it's <S> non sticking powers are just about depleted. <A> Enamel coated roaster, stainless steel & ceramicIs safe to clean using ammonia & garbage bag. <S> I put 1/4 cup of ammonia in the roaster & lid & tied up the garbage bag & put it down stairs. <S> Brought it up stairs to clean a couple of days later, dumped it in the sink & rinsed everything in hot water. <S> Rolled up the garbage bag & threw it out. <S> All the burnt on grease etc on the outside of the roaster & lid, it just peeled off the roaster. <S> I rubbed a scrubbie over it all to get at the hard to reach places: handles & rim edge. <S> All clean...... looks like new. <S> Can do the same with stove top pans & rings & racks from oven - I do over night for those. <S> 1/4 cup of ammonia or less & put everything in a garbage bag & tie it up & place it out of the way over night. <S> Come morning your clean up will be so easy. <S> Rinse in hot water & wear rubber gloves & use a stainless steel scubbie to get at hard to reach spots for a better clean. <S> Use in pots that got burnt on food.... <S> overnight ammonia & alittle water: wash with hot water in the morning.
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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 plastic).
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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 that it gets dissolved automatically? Why? <Q> No, it is not a good idea at all. <S> It will be worse, not better. <S> So there is no reason why methods for dissolving stuff would work with cocoa powder. <S> You will need to use a method created for colloid-producing powders like cocoa powder, which is mostly starch with fat. <S> This is why the answers to the other question recommend the slurry method. <S> When you are dispersing an absorptive powder like starch, you always run a risk of clumping, and the slurry is designed to work around that problem. <S> But starch also thickens much more under heat, so if you were to not just forego the slurry, but simply drop the cocoa powder into hot water, this would be the worst choice possible, leading to instant unbreakable clumps. <S> The slurry method wouldn't work with hot water either, you'll get clumps before you have created the slurry. <A> Add liquid to powder and not the other way round, an ideally (not so practical in a home kitchen), mist the liquid into the powder. <S> @rumtscho is right in stating that there is no dissolving, only dispersion. <S> Many fine powders clump, even some highly soluble and hydrophilic substances behave that way <S> (polysaccharides like agar for example). <S> The mechanisms are quite different, but surface tension of the liquid is always a factor, the finer the powder, the bigger role it plays in resisting wetting. <S> You are making a colloid. <S> For effective dispersion, you need high shear. <S> With enough shear force, liquid temperature becomes a non-issue for most combinations. <S> So an electric hand blending will overcome the problem of clumping very quickly. <S> Alternatively, even with near boiling water or milk, if you add a small amount at a time and form a thick paste first with a fork or a stick, you will find that a low moisture paste (say 25-35% w/w) is not only fairly painless to make, but also painless to thin down with more liquid. <S> Incremental wetting and incremental expansion of the liquid phase is much less energy intensive. <S> With a hot liquid, left with clumps standing in it, the reduced surface tension will usually allow some of the clumps to break down given time. <S> Add liquid to powder and not the other way round, regardless of whether you are using a blender or making a paste by hand. <S> Hot or cold liquid should not make that much of a difference. <A> Adding to @rumtscho's answer, which is mainly about the effects of heat to the starch in cocoa powder, that cocoa fat is well known to have a melting point around body temperature. <S> From my own experience, having clumps of cocoa powder in cold milk that is being heated - after some time i.e. at some temperature you can see the clumps breaking up, which doesn't seem to happen in cold milk. <S> Which might be the reason for so much people to assume instinctively that hot milk or water is better than cold. <S> So from my point of view, the milk should be around or just above body temperature in order to ease the dispersion of the fat but not to have the negaive effects of clumping the starch as described by @rumtscho. <S> To answer the question: Yes it will be a good idea, but take care not to make it too hot. <S> And do not just put everything into the pot but take the time and make the slurry. <A> You can mix it into a small amount of very hot water, then when it's well mixed add the milk. <S> I do this very frequently. <S> Don't add the water to the cocao, or use milk to start with. <S> Stir with the handle of a table knife, or some sort of swizzle stick.
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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).
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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 French. I was wondering if any one has come up with a solution to obtaining one of these cooking utilities without having to go out and spend a bunch of money. If so... What do I need to get to make one? <Q> You could probably do it on the cheap, but the temperature precision might suffer in the process: ($0-$3) <S> A container for water that can handle being warmed up a bit. <S> (recycle something or buy a 5 gallon bucket) <S> (~$20) <S> A small submersible garden pump. <S> (I have no idea what temperature they're rated for, but I use one in my greenhouse hydroponics systems, and it gets rather warm in there in the summer) ($10-20) <S> An immersion heater <S> (~$65) : a thermostat control unit Total : <S> ~$100 <S> If you're comfortable wiring up your own circuits, you could likely make your own temperature control unit for less, as that's the bulk of the cost. <S> If you're not comfortable with all of this, then the Anova Precision Cooker is under $200. <S> (currently $25 off, bringing it to ~$155). <S> You'll have to supply your own water container. <S> Update : Ecnerwal got me thinking -- vessels with thermostat controls. <S> (heater is easy, it's the thermostat that's expensive). <S> Crock pots have the unfortunate problem that they only have one to three present temperatures (low, high and warm). <S> There are, however, a few things that might be useful : a deep-fat fryer. <S> Preferably cleaned, or one that can be disassembled to clean. <S> They tend to have very powerful heating elements, so you may need a screen to ensure that the pump and the food don't get to close to it. <S> You'll also want to check the dial for the lowest temperature that it can maintain. <S> (it might not go below 200°F) <S> electric skillet. <S> They're quite shallow, but if you're just cooking a steak for 1 or 2, it might work. <S> (again, check the dial to see what the minimum temp it'll hold is). <S> Depending on he size, it might be possible to put another container inside it to hold more water. <S> Coffee urns. <S> They can be much larger, but they typically just have one setting, so you'dd need a termostat on it. <A> You have several possibilities to approximate sous vide cooking at home. <S> Manually control a heater in a pot . <S> Absolutely not recommended, needs constant babysitting and is never precise enough. <S> But there are people who try it out as a step in the process of convincing themselves to spend the money. <S> Beer cooler . <S> Inexpensive (especially if you already have the beer cooler), not precise enough for certain recipes. <S> The idea is simply to preheat the water, fill into an insulated vessel and leave it there, hoping that it won't cool down too much in the next hours. <S> Kenji Lopez Alt published a column about it claiming decent results. <S> Can probably be combined with baby sitting if you have an immersion heater, will need much less frequent adjustment. <S> Joe already explained it in his answer. <S> I don't know how exact these controllers are, hopefully there is some tolerance rating in the product description. <S> Build your own, programming your own controller . <S> Perfectly flexible, you can do whatever you want with it, for example write an app to control it from your smartphone. <S> It's also the cheapest option - I started the project some time ago and paid just under 50 Euro for everything (electronics, container, heater, pump). <S> The downside is that you have to be able to solder a circuit and program a microcontroller, and have the free time to do it. <S> It is also suitable as somebody's first microcontroller project, as the logic is very simple, and there are already good schematics on the Internet, so you don't have to design your own circuit. <S> I wouldn't suggest doing it if you have never worked with electronics though, as the circuit has a mains side running on 220 volt, and debugging can literally kill you. <S> So if you are new to this kind of thing, get a friend experienced with electronics to construct this part with you and teach you appropriate working habits for being around live circuits in the process. <S> Note that the market is finally catching up with demand, so getting a commercial device is already quite attractive when you compare it to the price/effort ratio of the DIY solutions. <A> I found this video searching the web for sous vide videos. <S> I found this video that reminded me of a question I posted on cooking.stackexchange on how to make a Sous Vide style cooking vessel. <S> This is the YouTube video link explaining how.
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Build your own using an existing controller .
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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. This has the advantage of being easy to clean up, and convienient. However, it's not nearly as strong as the drip tea. How can I make my tea stronger? Do I simply need to put more tea in? Nb. I'm talking about for black tea. For green tea, I'm putting in 1.5 teaspoons, and adding a little cold water first, and that comes out fine. <Q> You cannot make it stronger with this style of pot. <S> You are limited by Nernst's law: the amount of solute extracted from the leaf into the tea does not depend only on the amount of tea leaves, but also on the current concentration of solute in the liquid surrounding the leaves. <S> If you make tea using loose leaves in a teapot, they float everywhere, with sufficient distance between leaves. <S> Several processes in the teapot (convection, diffusion, etc.) let the solutes move around easier, and you get an even, weak, concentration throughout the teapot, so the layer of tea surrounding each leaf has low concentration and works against the leaf from all sides, extracting lots of stuff. <S> If you make it using a drip style method, the leaves are packed together, but the water moving through them doing the extracting is fresh and has no solute in it at all, so it is able to extract a lot. <S> But with your style of teapot, the water is of course able to get into the infuser through the tiny slits, but once this has happened, there is very little exchange between the infuser and the rest of the teapot. <S> The slits create a bottleneck, and you end up with an area of highly concentrated tea in the infuser and an area of low concentrated tea outside, with little communication between the two. <S> The concentrated tea in the infuser can't extract the tea well. <S> You could always increase the amount of tea or the time you infuse, but both methods have their drawbacks. <S> Bottom line: you have to decide between well extracted tea or conveniently extracted tea. <S> The same methods which make teapots easy to clean (concentrating the tea leaves in a small area without too much communication with the rest of the pot) reduce the extraction quality and strength. <A> While Rumtscho has a point regarding the ultimate effectiveness of the tea pot, looking at the picture you've posted, the teapot you're using is far from optimal with regards to the trade-off between brew strength and easy cleaning. <S> Your basic teapot uses a mesh to keep the leaves from floating away: <S> You can see how that would give a lot more exposure to the water than tiny slits! <S> There are even similar products that have tiny holes all over instead of slits only at the bottom: <S> If you try a pot like that and still can't get it strong enough, you might need to switch to drip-filter, though in general, the more tea you use, the stronger the brew will be. <A> The infuser you have will not give you a good result because the holes are way too small for the water to properly circulate around the tea leaves. <S> Replace it with a wire mesh infuser, or simply put the leaves in straight and then strain them out as you pour. <A> A method I've liked for (somewhat) convenient, and well extracted brews is to use my French press and fresh, loose leaves. <S> Steeping and then pressing allows for a decent extraction, and still fairly simple cleanup. <S> After removing and rinsing the press, I add a minimal (1/4 - 1/2 cup of water) and just get the leaves swirling, then dump them in the grounds/leaves composter. <A> Maybe you can try to put more tea leaves and perform tea-washing job (just several spoons hot water about 60-70℃ to clean the impurities on leaves). <A> There's a few things you can do: <S> Tea form: crushed tea (tea bags) will generally give you a stronger brew than full leaf tea. <S> This is because tea bags will fully release their flavor in a single brew, while loose leaf teas release less, but last for more brews. <S> Most likely your colleague's tea is pretty crushed, almost like coffee, which is why it releases so much flavor. <S> Tea type & oxidation: more oxidized tea types such as black, oolong and pu erh, generally taste stronger than less oxidized teas such as white and green tea. <S> This isn't relevant for you since you're already brewing black tea, but perhaps try a 'ripe pu erh'. <S> Those usually have a really strong and thick soup, and the flavor isn't too far from a black tea. <S> Temperature: brewing at higher temperatures will result in stronger teas. <S> If you aren't brewing at boiling temperature, you can give it a try and see if it works. <S> The extreme end of this is cold brewing, where tea brewed with cold water, but applying a super long steeping time to compensate for this, see for example this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Oyg_xWjZ4 <S> Teaware material: ceramic, porcelain and clay <S> teapots are worth to try out, because they isolate heat better than glass teapots. <S> This also helps you to draw more flavor out of teas.
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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.
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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 after 10 minutes beating it looks like it was never going get fluffy. So I've got a mixture of about 1 litre of cream, 5 egg yolks, 100gm sugar, and some Marsala. It's a light liquid. It tastes quite nice, but isn't suitable for a tiramisu. What can I do with it? <Q> What you have sounds like a cross between a zabaione and a custard. <S> Depending on what equipment you have, you might consider: heating it slowly in a double boiler while whipping it. <S> chill it, then use it to make ice cream. <S> It's likely too runny to use as a soufle base ( <S> fold it into whipped egg whites, then bake). <S> You might be able to augment it with more egg yolks, or try cooking it like in the first item, then adding it to the egg whites. <S> update: one more possiblity: use it as the custard for french toast. <A> If you have some stale bread, or even bread that will eventually become stale (it really depends on preference), and some raisins or any dehydrated fruit, this would make some tasty bread pudding. <S> Re-hydrate the fruit with some of the alcohol. <S> Heck, you might even have a favorite bread pudding recipe. <A> As Erica says in the comments, it would make a great eggnog. <S> Add some hard alcohol <S> (there are lots of recipes out there - bourbon, rum, brandy, or some combo). <S> Whip the egg whites and then beat them lightly into the nog. <S> Sprinkle with nutmeg, serve. <S> The amounts you have will make a nog that has a higher cream:egg ratio than most, but it should still taste quite good. <S> Here are a couple recipe links to give you some ideas. <S> http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/eggnog-recipe2.html <S> http://www.chow.com/recipes/10758-best-eggnog <S> http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/eggnog-201146
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I would use the base as a bread pudding base.
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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 proportional to the distance from the boundary between the two materials. <S> If you pour a thin stream of hot milk into tepid eggs, most of the eggs don't get heated, because they are far away from the boundary. <S> They only come into contact with the milk after it has cooled down a bit. <S> Also, the milk you pour is somewhat cooled down before it hits the eggs because 1) there is no burner underneath it (which may still be on, or, if you are not on gas, will give off considerable heat even after turning off) and 2) it cools down while being poured through the air. <S> Thus tempering prevents the localized overheating which would happen if you would add small amounts of egg to hot milk. <S> But there is also some magic that I can't explain, although I've seen it referenced in reliable books (Cookwise). <S> The temperature at which eggs overcoagulate is dependent on the speed with which they are heated . <S> The coagulation of an egg is a slow process, and there are many intermediate stages along it, from absolutely liquid to absolute rubbery. <S> But the weird thing is that this process's speed depends on the rate of heating - eggs which have been heated from 25 Celsius to 80 Celsius slowly can create a pleasant soft custard, while eggs which have been heated from 4 Celsius to 80 Celsius quickly can curdle the mixture. <S> I wish I knew why this is so, and hope that somebody else will provide this final piece of the puzzle in another answer. <S> So, by tempering, you achieve a slower, more even heating, which extends the temperature interval between raw and curdled, and gives you a pleasant texture overall. <S> As for the chemical process of thickening-and-curdling in eggs, Chef Code explains it well. <S> It starts with a soft web of coagulated protein which loosely holds the liquid trapped (tasty custard) and ends up with a very strong web of very deformed protein which expels liquid (curdling). <A> Found part of the answer here is a link <S> www.exploratorium.edu <S> this website explains how the amino acids in the proteins change in different applications that are applied to eggs. <S> It does not provide the chemical composition changes you might see in a lab <S> although. <S> I hope this is helpful. <S> Revised Answer <S> Egg Science: Egg proteins change <S> when you heat them, beat them, or mix them with other ingredients. <S> Understanding these changes can help you understand the roles that eggs play in cooking. <S> Proteins are made of long chains of amino acids. <S> The proteins in an egg white are globular proteins, which means that the long protein molecule is twisted and folded and curled up into a more or less spherical shape. <S> A variety of weak chemical bonds keep the protein curled up tight as it drifts placidly in the water that surrounds it. <S> Heat ’em <S> When you apply heat, you agitate those placidly drifting egg-white proteins, bouncing them around. <S> They slam into the surrounding water molecules; they bash into each other. <S> All this bashing about breaks the weak bonds that kept the protein curled up. <S> The egg proteins uncurl and bump into other proteins that have also uncurled. <S> New chemical bonds form—but rather than binding the protein to itself, these bonds connect one protein to another. <S> After enough of this bashing and bonding, the solitary egg proteins are solitary no longer. <S> They’ve formed a network of interconnected proteins. <S> The water in which the proteins once floated is captured and held in the protein web. <S> If you leave the eggs at a high temperature too long, too many bonds form and the egg white becomes rubbery. <A> The difference in tempering is that since the heat is rising very slowly, and you are presumably stirring, the proteins do not clump up into scrambled eggs.
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The egg proteins still coagulate and cook.
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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. Flushing it down the toilet is no option, since it is still food and we are worried about the damage it might cause to the pipes. The organic waste bin might be a way to dispose of it, however, I'd feel sorry about throwing out all the valuable ingredients. It basically consists of semolina, yogurt, quark, sugar, eggs, carrots and milk. Do you have any suggestion on what to do with it, eventually how to reuse it culinarily (chopping it is still possible, I got the right tools)? EDIT :Thank you everyone for your ideas. Dehydrating worked quite well. I added some of it into my crunchy Muesli mixture and I'm keeping some of it for the ice cream thing. Since it was quite a bit, farmer friends of ours were pleased to get the rest of it as chicken food. We got some fresh eggs in turn for baking a new cake. <Q> ...mix into ice cream... <S> dry in low oven or dehydrator and use as "breadcrumbs" <S> ...use as struesel topping on another cake....?? <A> In Denmark (and in other countries around the world), we have this wonderful thing called rum balls . <S> It's basically old cake leftovers mixed with cocoa and, depending on the recipe, something sticky, such as jam. <S> They can include rum or rum essence, but don't have to. <S> I have yet to find a type of cake <S> this doesn't work with. <S> Danish bakers make them from whatever they have laying around at the end of the day, often including danishes and more margerine as the sticky part, and sell them cheaply the next day to students and others. <A> Slice it and fry it. <S> Then, in the pan, add some sugared milk and let it absorb the milk like in French toasts . <S> Or just fried, add some maple sirup or custard? <S> EDIT : @ <S> rumtscho is saying that the French toast is a bad option, maybe crumble ? <A> I know you already have an answer you picked and many more good ideas, I would like to add one more to this long list of good ideas. <S> What I do is slice up the cake in pieces about a half inch thick or so, and whether it is a round, square or rectangle cake. <S> I slice the pieces about 2 inches by 3 inches. <S> Then I put them on a cookie sheet on 300 degrees F and cook them until they are nice and dry, it takes about 30 minutes. <S> I would check in 15 minutes to turn over and see how hard they are and even taste them. <S> Put your timer on <S> so you do not forget and you may want to start it at 250 degrees F. <S> Take them out when dried and crispy and let they cool on cookie sheet. <S> Then you can put some powdered sugar or cocoa or not. <S> Believe me when I tell you they disappear so fast on a plate in the kitchen <S> you wonder if you ever made it at all. <S> Good Luck <A> Slice thin, bake til hard, use as teething biscuits or, <S> if not too hard, cookie type things. <S> I'm going try this with my gingerbread disaster. <A> I made a nice pudding, by cutting the cake up into small pieces, drying out in a low oven (100 degrees C) for some time, then adding some sliced apple, a sprinkling of cane sugar, and a few knobs of butter. <S> Bake at 175 C. for about an hour. <S> Serve with cream or ice cream. <A> Have you considered cake pops? <S> Crumble the cake tto crumb stage, probably best done in a food processor. <S> Mix with a stiff frosting type binder. <S> I would use a buttercream which would get firm in the fridge. <S> Incorporate eh crumbs into the frosting. <S> Roll into balls. <S> Roll eh balls in a covering such as sprinkles. <S> Place on a paper cupcake liner. <S> Chill. <S> If you have sticks, stick them in; if not, just eat like the rum ball described above. <S> Or, use the Momofuko MilkBar recipe for Fruit Loop Meringues using your crumbs instead of crushed Fruit Loop. <S> Here is the link. <S> http://milkbarstore.com/main/press/recipes-and-how-tos/#Froot%20Loops
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In Denmark, they're usually rolled in sprinkles, shredded coconut or just more cocoa powder if you like a chocolaty taste.
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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 meat I used a nonstick pan over medium heat for a few minutes. Is my cut of beef to blame, my technique, or perhaps both? <Q> My experience has shown that you need to slice the meat against the grain when preparing it for sautéing. <S> The shortened muscle fibers make for a more tender piece of meat. <S> After that, the quicker you can cook the meat, the better. <S> Round steak tends to be best either quickly cooked or cooked for an extended period of time -- there's not too much of a middle ground for it. <A> For a detailed explanation of meat toughness, see What makes a moist steak (or roast)? <S> As for your specific case: I also don't know about American cut names, so there are two possibilities. <S> Either you chose a collagen-rich meat, or you chose a cut low in collagen. <S> If you didn't, you have to change the cut (or not cook it like a steak, as Rorschach120 advises). <S> If you have tender muscle and it becomes tough, you have overcooked it. <S> " <S> A few minutes" sounds too much for such thin strips. <S> They are cooked until they first show color (browned, not just grey). <S> If they get tough until they show color, you need to increase the temperature, and possibly ditch the nonstick pan. <S> Another option is to fry it as thicker steaks or oven-roast it. <S> Then you can use a meat thermometer and achieve your preferred level of doneness. <S> Cut afterwards and sear or torch the newly exposed surface. <A> The toughness in meat comes from the amount of collagen in it. <S> In order to break down this collagen so you are left with tender flaky beef, you have to either slice it very thin <S> so it has an easier time in the pan, slow-cook the beef in a crockpot, or pressure pressure cook it (the best way IMO). <S> After slow-cooking or pressure cooking, stick it in a KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment and run it for a minute. <S> When you cook it in a pan (really hot pan) stir it all around for about 5 seconds and then add some Worcestershire sauce or other liquid to quench a bit of the heat and then let it heat up again and it should be done by then. <S> Happens very fast. <S> Eye of round is a relatively lean steak and not quite as good for cheesesteak unless you use the first method of slicing it really thinly before cooking it. <S> I would use chuck or rib for cheesesteak.
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Assuming that you want fry steak in the pan and not have it become tough, you should choose meat which is low in collagen.
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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 of the ribs. I'm not really sure what its proper name is ("rib meat"?), so here's a couple pictures to make it clear: I'm talking about the large slab of fat and meat in my hand in the second picture. As far as I can tell, it's usually just discarded, but there seems to be a good deal of meat there, and it was expensive, so I'd hate to just toss it. I'm fairly patient and good at separating the fat and meat on membranes, so I can probably isolate a good portion of the meat, if necessary. Is there anything I can do/make to avoid throwing out so much good meat? For the record, I got about 12 oz of usable meat out of this. Didn't weigh the fat, but probably 20-24 oz. <Q> I'm not sure what you would do with lamb stock, but it would probably make a good sauce to use on lamb. <S> The fat that renders out is also useful for future cooking of whatever it came from (duck fat for duck confit, for example). <S> I just throw all the scraps into a slow cooker with celery, carrot, and onion (veggies are optional) and let it cook for a day (or two). <S> You can pick out the meat if you like <S> (after a day it will be easy to separate) and use it for anything you might use shredded lamb for (pot pie, shepherd's pie, etc.). <S> I use rendered chicken or turkey fat instead of butter for making pot pie dough, to cook more chicken in, or for matzo balls, and beef fat instead of butter for making gravy, replacing the butter in a beurre manié <S> (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beurre_mani%C3%A9 ). <A> Why are you taking it off. <S> This is the most delicious part of the rack of lamb. <S> It is a complete ruination of a beautiful cut. <S> Whoever invented frenching of lamb racks and cutlets should go back to the basics of what gives lamb its flavour. <S> I am hare pressed to find a traditional old fashioned cut style of a lamb cutlet. <S> It is usually a stick of bone with a little bit of meat <S> the size of a 50cent piece attached to it and rare as all get out. <S> No way. <S> Leave the back strap on. <S> Never take it off. <S> People can if they want to when they are eating it <S> but I'll bet you will end up with bones chewed down to bare if you don't. <S> I'm trying to teach my butcher <S> but he just doesn't get it. <S> Get a retired butcher to teach you. <A> We used to raise sheep. <S> I never liked lamb, but mutton was good. <S> You mentioned your skills with separating meat from fat. <S> Render the fat down and use it to make pie crust. <S> Cut, sear and brown the meat, and use it to make lamb pot pie. <S> This way, all of the "discards" are used up, and supper is delicious! <A> In the southern U.S., a "crackling" (or pork rind) is the fried skin of a pig. <S> I have found that after cooking a rack of lamb (frenched or not), the fat layer(s) or "skin" of the lamb rack makes a fine crackling with the addition of a slight amount of salt, pepper, or not. <S> Best, you can harvest a crop of crackling every time you skim the fatty side of the lamb cut, after reintroducing it into the oven at 350F for about 20 minutes and skimming; re-enter the balance to the oven for some more. <A> <A> One solution is to sprinkle it with salt and pepper, place it in a small baking dish covered with aluminum foil, and bake in a 325 degree oven for about an hour or so. <S> The fat will render nice and slowly and the meat will crisp up in certain areas. <S> The meat will be delicious in tacos, sandwiches, over pasta, or on its own! <A> I have found a great use for the little nuggets of meat/fat in between the ribs that you have to cut out to get that bone to hold on to for your lollipop lamb chops. <S> Just saute meat in a wok over high heat to render as much fat as you can, about 15-20 minutes, pour off all the fat then add a marinade/sauce <S> I like Korean Kalbi or a Red wine demi and slowly cook <S> /braise it out for another 15-20 on low heat. <S> I add a little blanched veggies, diced onion, re-season and let the sauce coat everything <S> well 3-4 minutes. <S> Serve over rice or noodles.............. <S> AMAZING!!!!!
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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.
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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 shall smoke it for another 8 hours between 90-100 degrees celcius (194-212 degrees faranheit). I'll have internal thermometers etc so i know it will hit the correct temps, i am just wondering if I will end up drying the crap out of it. I can't give a weight on the pork shoulder as I don't have it yet, it will be the entire shoulder though around 4.5 kg maybe What do people think, good plan or bad plan? I will be using a temperature probe, I forgot to mention that there would also be a cider bath in the oven and smoker as well. Can't change the order of the cook as I won't be there for the time it spends in the oven (I would have just gone for smoker straight through if I had). Thanks for your advice, I'll let you know how it goes. <Q> Don't cook by time, cook it until it's done (you can slide a probe into all parts of the shoulder with practically zero resistance. <S> That said, 16 hours for a 4.5 kg (10 pound) shoulder doesn't seem outrageous. <S> In fact, at those cooking temperatures, I would be surprised if your pork was done cooking by then. <S> Bear in mind, I am assuming that your intention is to make pulled/shredded pork. <S> I would suggest starting the shoulder in your smoker, and transferring it to your oven to finish, rather than vice versa. <S> The reason you would want to do this is because you can kick up the temperature in your oven to speed cooking and get past the stall . <S> Temperature control will be much easier in the oven, and it will be the latter part of cooking where you would want to vary temperatures. <S> Otherwise, you are dooming yourself to being stuck waiting an extra 3-4 hours waiting for your shoulder to finish cooking. <A> He also said that he would cook it for longer periods, up to 18 hours, so your 16 hours at a lower temperature seems to be fine. <A> Ideally you should cook to temperature and texture you are looking for you not time. <S> Since size, composition, moisture levels, heating control of your cooking vessel all influence the cooking in ways you really can't account for. <S> If you have you a temp sensor, just stick in the meat deepest part and cook to approximately 90-95C. 16 hours <S> isn't crazy for that size piece of meat <S> but I still wouldn't base the cook on time alone.
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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.
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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 and black, is high in polyphenols. <S> Try putting some strong green tea in a misting-type spray bottle and treating the air and the surfaces. <A> Leave some stale bread or biscuits, lime/lemon rind in the affected area. <A> Soak some cotton balls in Peppermint Oil(available @ <S> Whole Foods Market) and leave in a disposable container in the Garage. <S> Replenish the oil as needed until odor is gone. <S> This oil is not extract, and it is not edible. <S> I had a dead squirrel in my attic (in an unreachable area) in the summer time and my house smelled soooooooo bad. <S> This dissipated the odor. <S> It took a few weeks, but it worked! <S> The garlic smell probably won't take that long to be gone. <S> You can also try leaving an OPEN bag of charcoal in the garage. <S> The charcoal will absorb the odor.
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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.
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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 got were pressurized cartridge bottles for making whipped cream. I don't want it to make whipped cream, just squeeze out little swirls. <Q> My suggestion would be to use a piping bag. <S> You can get various tips so you can change up the swirls and lines as you like. <S> Added by Jolenealaska: <S> I hope you look at the comments and all of the answers here. <S> I have used both pastry bags (many times), and a caulk-gun thing once before I threw it away. <S> Disposable bags are not expensive unless you use a lot of them. <S> And there is no clean up, 'cause you just throw them away. <S> The caulk gun looking thing is cumbersome and a pain to clean, pastry bags are a much better option. <S> I realize that is a subjective thing to say, but there is a reason you never see pastry chefs using the caulk-gun thing. <S> Different tips give different results. <S> A coupler makes it easy to change tips or to use the same tip for different bags (colors). <S> Then you just throw the bag away and wash whatever tips you used. <S> Disposable Pastry Bags, 100 count <S> You can even just snip the end of the bag and not use a tip at all. <S> You can do that with a baggie too, but a pastry bag will give you more control. <A> The chaulk gun for kitchens is called cookie press and looks like this: I know that some use it to decorate cakes and with whipped cream, too (some come with decorating tips, some don't), but <S> IMHO <S> it's a wiser idea to learn how to handle a pastry bag - the results will be better with sufficient practise. <S> But if you should have problems with your hands or simply love all kinds of "machinery", the cookie press might be an option worth checking out. <S> You can either "pull the trigger" for a pre-defined amount or unlock it and simply push the plunger. <A> While a cookie press would at least have the nominal excuse of being multi-purpose 1 , it's... awkward to use for icing/whipped cream. <S> While a decorating bag is vastly more useful, not to mention easier to store, an icing press can be useful for utter beginners and/or those with very hot hands who tend to melt the contents of decorating bags. <S> Just make sure to check the reviews thoroughly, because some presses are so shoddily made or badly designed that they're worse than useless. <S> 1 <S> Note that in my experience, a cookie press sucks at making cookies, making it a zero-tasker. <S> Technically, that doesn't break Alton Brown's "there's only one uni-tasker allowed in the kitchen" rule, right?
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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").
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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 try nudging both up? <Q> When you reheat something, the heat from the oven is usually just penetrating the outside layers of the food. <S> Conduction within the food is what carries the heat into the center. <S> To demonstrate this, you can try putting something cold (not frozen), and thick in the microwave on high for about 30-45 seconds. <S> Take it out, then cut it in half. <S> The outside 1/4-1/2 inch will have warmed up while the core will remain very cold. <S> What this means is that in order to get the center hotter, usually you need more time, not more heat. <S> While more heat will accomplish it (more heat conduction because of a greater heat gradient), it will also overcook the outer layers and leave them dry or burnt. <S> You could actually try decreasing the temperature and increasing the time. <S> Trying it at 350 degrees for an hour may actually work better than 400 for 45-50 minutes. <S> It will cook the outer layers more slowly, so you lose less moisture, AND give the heat more time to penetrate into the center of the dish. <S> This is going to be true for pretty much any frozen/chilled food, not just eggplant, and in any cooking method (oven, microwave, sous vide, etc.). <S> Note that frozen food in the microwave presents its own challenge, because ice is not a good absorber of microwaves, but water is quite good, so you can end up with part of the dish being really hot and part of it being still frozen, depending on your microwave's hot spots. <A> Time is definitely the better option since cranking up the temperature too high can result in a cooked (or even burnt) outside with a cold or frozen inside. <S> Once it's cooked through you can bring up the temperature for a little last-minute browning. <A> It depends, usually longer is better to get heat into the middle unless you need to develop a better crust, in which case more heat may be called for. <S> If longer is developing enough or more crust than desired, then lower the temp and lengthen the time some more.
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Since you want to retain moisture, increase the time, not the temperature.
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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> This variety of chickpea, or other chickpea varieties, may be easier to find. <S> My experience with Scandinavian countries leads me to believe that legumes in general are much less popular. <S> You might have better luck just ordering urad dal online. <A> You could always make Rava Dosa - it's made with semolina and rice flour. <A> Unfortunately a traditional dosa recipe calls for urad dal. <S> But since u can't avail it, u can prepare dosa using wheat flour, or a simple rava dosa using sooji as main ingredient. <S> There is a special dosa called neer dosa which is a regional recipe from Karnataka state of India. <S> It uses only rice luckily. <S> Grind rice along with some fresh shredded coconut and salt to a thin batter. <S> Mix water to make it even more thinner. <S> It shouldn't coat the back of the laddle. <S> It's the correct consistency. <S> Make dosas with it . <S> Swirl the dosa pan rather than spreading the batter by laddle. <S> But you ll get soft dosas only. <S> Hope this helps. <S> Good luck. <A> I make it with chana dal (split chickpeas) or green split hulled dal as a substitute to urad by choice.
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Urad dal is the most common legume used in traditional dosa recipes but it is by no means the only legume used.
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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 sticking, and in varying quantities, cleaning the pan after each failed attempt (so there isn't any burnt stuff from the previous attempt to cause issues), and varying the amount of milk/flour in the batter Was there something else I should have tried, or was it a hopeless endeavor to being with? <Q> Crepes were made long before teflon was invented. <S> I use a quality steel pan and non stick spray. <S> I reapply the spray <S> every 3rd or 4th crepe to avoid sticking. <S> Everything else is temperature control. <S> If your temps are too high then the crepes will toast and burn before they set on top. <S> If the temp is too low then they are more prone to sticking. <S> It takes some trial and error and the first few are usually wrong- <S> I eat those. <S> The temperature is always very low though- between low and medium-low on my stove. <A> Please try the South Indian method of making Dosai/Dosa. <S> You can use any type of Griddle such as non-stick, cast iron, stainless steel or even Hard Anodised. <S> The trick lies in treating the griddle with oil and regulating the heat underneath. <S> Take half Tsp of oil on a paper tissue/napkin, apply a thin layer of oil by rubbing/applying the oily tissue on the warm griddle. <S> Now adjust the heat to medium high, sprinkle some water on the hot griddle, if the water evaporates instantly, it means that the griddle is hot. <S> Now reduce the heat of the stove/ heater and pour the batter for the Crepe ( of any type/mix), it will never stick. <A> Most professional crepe makers are cast iron and NOT coated with a non-stick material. <S> You have to 'season' them before use. <S> You might have to season them again in the future, depending on how frequently you use it and how you use it. <S> Seasoning means something like "burning mutiple thin layers of oil on your pan". <S> Note though that Krampouz crepe pans have fine ridges in them which probably help keep the seasoning layer in place. <S> Here's how Krampouz recommends seasoning their cast iron crepe <S> pans:(from <S> here , page 11): <S> Caution: <S> this operation (lasting 1 to 1 ½ hour) is necessary whengriddles are new Use frying oil without other ingredient. <S> Forsuccessful seasoning: <S> Plug the power supply cable Switch on the appliance Heat <S> the appliance in heated to 270°C. <S> Your appliance reaches the required temperature when the orange indicator light goes out. <S> Keepthe appliance at this temperature for the duration of seasoning. <S> Pour the equivalent of a tablespoon of cooking of frying oil into the centre of the griddle. <S> Using a wiper pads ATG1 or ATG8 Krampouzspread this oil evenly, and then let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes sothat the griddle becomes burnished and completely dry. <S> Repeat previous operation eight times, decreasing the amount of oil used each time, but carefully respecting the 5 to 10 minutes cookingtime for each layer of oil. <S> A well-seasoned griddle is chestnutcoloured (dark brown) and has a shine. <S> The wiper pad mentioned is just a pad with something resembling a siff filt on the end for spreading oil. <S> Even though the pan is seasoned, you still a thin coat of oil for your first crepe, and then less or none for your next ones, depending on your batter. <S> Do it in a very well ventilated area or outside, it smokes like hell. <A> the only little "trick" beside temperature control is in my experience to keep the batter a little more liquid, after all you can fry an egg in an oiled pan <S> what sticks is the flour, so i used less of it and it worked. <S> And i did have a good thick cast iron pan which makes it easier with the temperature i think, if you use a thin alluminium pan on gas fire <S> i guess it'd be a real challenge. <A> I use a properly cleaned and seasoned cast-iron skillet, with just a little butter. <S> Use a high heat and a thin crepe batter; a pastry spatula works well to loosen for the flip.
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If your pan is an cast iron (I'd never to this to different material), you could try seasoning it.
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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> Spring onions, leeks and chives might work as well but do keep in mind that they're hardly perfect substitutes as they're more peppery than they are sharp and pungent. <S> However, if you don't want to use onions due to an allergy, I can only recall having read about an ingredient known as "asafoetida" but that's the extent of my knowledge. <S> You might want to check that out. <A> maybe this is not very "cheffy" <S> but then i am not a cheffy cook anyway... <S> Chive <S> i like especially <S> but i use differently from onions, in red sauces <S> especially i keep about half of it back and add it to the sauce with 3-5 min to go so it doesnt only work as a substitute but also add abit of another dimention to the dish. <S> In casseroles and baked dishes the same celery and Leek work really very well. <S> For celery and Leek you need to find the right "cut" to acheive the desired effect and possibly think of an other ingredient such as ginger or nutmeg to balance out the exra sweetnees you are bringing to the dish. <A> Leek is really great for people who think onion is "too strong". <S> I have used leek in recipes calling for onion on multiple occasions to get rid of some leek.
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In sauces i've used Chive, Celery (long) and Leek with moderate success.
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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. <S> When you take it out, just flour it again. <S> The thicker flour crust will make it somewhat closer to a schnitzel, but it won't taste bad. <S> If you already had a very thick flour/egg/flour layering on it, it's probably better to wash it off and dry with a paper towel before storing, then redo the panading procedure for the next fry. <A> Actually, there is at least one Southern restaurant known for their fried chicken that leaves the chicken pieces in the bowl of seasoned flour (lot's of flour) over-night. <S> It creates a drier coating and bonds the flour mixture to the bird and the very crispy crust does NOT fall off. <S> Excellent! <A> Uncooked chicken breasts are really only good for 1-2 days in the fridge (assuming that they were thawed), and I wouldn't recommend storing them floured in the freezer. <S> I think the most practical solution would be to fry or bake them, and then flash freeze them. <S> You can reheat them in microwave or oven, and they will be as tasty as the day you made them.
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I'd suggest to simply store it in the fridge as you would do with unfloured meat.
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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 gochujang , which in addition to spice has a bit of a yeasty, fermented flavor not unlike miso <S> (no surprise, since both include fermented soybean). <S> Sambal oelek will be brighter, generally hotter, and looser in texture. <S> It's less of a paste than the chili stuff used here, so the resulting sauce will be a bit thinner once mixed and may not adhere to the pork as well. <S> If it's all you've got, then substitute away! <S> You'll probably still enjoy the end result. <S> However, if you'd like to get a bit closer, here are a couple things you could try, in descending order of effort: <S> Add about 1/2 teaspoon or so of cornstarch to the sauce to thicken and balance the texture of the sambal oelek. <S> Add a small dab of miso paste to the sauce (hard to measure exactly, <S> but I'd say 1/2 to 1 teaspoon depending on your brand of miso). <S> This will have a similar thickening effect and get you a little closer to the flavor of the original gochujang paste. <S> Head to a local asian market and find yourself some gochujang, then substitute for equal quantity for the chili paste in the recipe. <S> Don't worry about having extra, you could use this in a huge range of asian-inspired marinades or other sauces. <S> As a final aside that has nothing to do with your question, I just noticed that the author of the linked recipe lists one of the last steps as sauteeing the carrots and bean sprouts together. <S> I'd suggest that you definitely not do this to your poor bean sprouts. <S> Go and cook the carrots, or you could cheat and use the coarse side of a box grater to serve them raw with a much nicer texture. <S> That's what I'd do with a dish like this. <A> As Richard mentioned, Sambal Oelek is made from fresh chilies and little else, so the flavor will be different. <S> Conveniently, I happen to have various chili pastes in my fridge and pantry: <S> Sambal Oelek (Huy Fong Foods) : <S> chili, salt, distilled vinegar, potasium sorbate and potasium bisulfite as preservatives. <S> Red Chili Paste (Thai Kitchen) : red chili, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, salt, onion, kafir lime, coriander, pepper Roasted Red Chili Paste (Thai Kitchen) : (ingredient list is so tiny, I can't read it ... <S> I think the second item is garlic ... <S> wow, is that eye strain) <S> update : and just as I was writing my answer, logophobe posted, suggesting that the substitution was going the other way than I had thought it was, and that this was in turn a substitute for korean chili paste. <S> I don't know if the store bought stuff that I have is fermented or not: <S> Hot Pepper Paste, level 3 (Rhee Bros, Inc.) : <S> Red pepper powder, corn syrup, water, red pepper seasoning (red pepper, water, salt, garlic, onion), wheat flour, salt, rice powder, soybean powder, glucost, garlic powder, monosodium l-glutimate <S> A blend of sambal and miso might be a good alternative, or sambal manis, you have it. <S> To approximate the recipe that you linked to, you'd also need to add garlic and other slides. <S> If you don't have lemongrass, try a small bit of lemon zest. <S> As you likely don't have galangal, substitute ginger. <S> But even with just sambal and miso, or sambal and garlic, it'll probably come out fine. <A> Sambal Oelek is made with raw chili peppers and salt, ground together in a mortar. <S> The author of the recipe seems to have used a paste made from smoked chili's out of a jar. <S> Both will always add chili heat to your dish, but there is a good chance that the taste of the end product will be slightly different. <S> Given the number of other big tasting ingredients in this recipe <S> I think I would simply go for it.
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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.
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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 shines through. <Q> Capsaicin is an extremely bitter (in addition to spicy) off-white crystalline powder. <S> The bitterness is also very dependent on the individual . <S> You'll need to add a lot more sugar or possibly vinegar to offset this. <S> The flavor of certain fruits play well with chilies including stone fruits and mango. <S> And, anecdotally at least, are know to counteract the bitter effect of the capsaicin. <S> Or you could use a milder chili. <A> I use pineapple, garlic, onions, carrot, apple cider vinegar; citric acid. <S> Have played with roasting the above vs not; gives a more complex flavor. <S> The carrot and onion seem to calm down the bitterness. <S> Alternatively; you can try my jelly recipe minus the pectin <S> (very sweet base you could build off of):4 cups granulated sugarstrawberrieshabaneros1 orange, 1 lime, 1 lemon apple cider vingear Typical jam steps; add ingredients; bring to 200. <A> I've used citrus, salt, sugar and the bitterness still shines through. <S> Yes, that's how it's going to be. <S> Once a taste, especially bitterness, is present in a dish, you cannot remove it any more. <S> I assume you don't want to dilute, because this will also dilute the super hot peppers, so you will end up with something as hot as regular chili. <S> You found out that the distraction strategy is not working for you, you still notice the bitterness. <S> So there is nothing more you can do. <S> The taste is there to stay, the only option is to get accustomed to it - it is entirely possible to get an acquired taste for bitter foods when you expose yourself to them enough. <A> This has to me at least the effect of gently activating the pepper flavours and infuses the pepper with other flavours that albeit don't take the bitterness away <S> at least mask them ever so slightly.
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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.
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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? (Low-GI carbs basically) <Q> You likely need to define 'egg pancake', because to me, it would seem that the ideal solution would be something without flour or sugar at all -- an omelette. <S> And there are many other similar items that could also qualify, <S> if you want more than just eggs in there -- if you add potato, you can make the Jewish latkes (aka, 'potato pancakes') or Spanish tortilla de patatas. <S> If you used mashed potatoes and a little bit of a flour (not necessarily wheat), you could make French matafan (which looks more like an American pancake). <S> If you add shreaded vegetables, and mayme some sort of flour (again, not necessarily wheat), you can make the Japanese okonomiyaki or the Korean jeon. <S> If you're really set on using oats, then look for recipes for Scottish oatcakes (again, some recipes call for sugar and flour, but not all). <S> Although they're cooked like a pancake (or 'drop scone' for the Brits), they come out more cookie-like in texture. <S> (or biscuit-like for the Brits). <S> update <S> : I should've also mentioned that many of the items that I've listed are can be served at room temp, which makes them ideal for transporting ... and while adding this, I remembered that you said 'slow carbs' ... <S> so the potato-based ones are out. <S> The tortilla de patatas or the matafan could likely be made with sweet potatoes instead. <S> For the latkes, I'd specifically look for a recipe that calls for sweet potato, rather than trying to adapt it on your own. <S> And for those without the potato restriction, there's also German potato pancakes (which can be similar to latkes) <A> Pancakes made with besan flour (garbanzo bean flour, Gram flour , chickpea flour) can be quite tasty even without adding an egg. <S> For variety, you can add all sorts of crazy things to the basic flour/milk or water/salt recipe. <S> The stuff can be hard to find. <S> Usually Indian stores carry it. <A> It should be possible, yes. <S> A traditional option will be to make buckwheat pancakes and not sweeten them. <S> But note that buckwheat pancakes still have white flour, so you'll have to tweak somewhat. <S> The problem is that all nonwheat flours lack gluten, so your pancakes will be prone to rising badly and falling apart. <S> The easiest option is to add vital gluten to the nonwheat flour, it is a protein, so it does not change your carbs calculations. <S> The ratio should be around 10% gluten to 90% flour. <S> If you can't find gluten, your options are much more limited. <S> You'll probably need to still use a significant proportion of wheat flour (25 to 50%) mixed with the other flour. <S> And you'll have to put up with inferior texture, and be much more precise in temperature and shape control while baking them, to prevent falling apart. <S> Also, making mini pancakes will help. <S> As for the sugar, it is only there for taste and some browning. <S> My suggestion is to leave it out completely, a pancake does not have to be sweet. <S> The lighter color is less appetizing, but not tragic. <S> You can also use artificial sweeteners if you insist on sweeter pancakes, although it wouldn't be my choice, they often have an off taste. <S> Natural sweeteners are simply different sugars, and it's up to you to know if your diet allows you to use them. <S> The above assumes that you can have flour of some kind - grain flour, not almond "flour" or other milled nuts. <S> Of course, oatmeal flour has a much higher GI than whole oatmeal. <S> If you can't have flours, you can't have anything pancake like, <S> the best you can hope for is some kind of omelette. <S> And if you are there, mixing whole grains into it is not going to add anything tastewise, so you are better off experimenting in other directions. <A> As other mentioned; skipping the flour all together usaully results in something that is not a pancake. <S> So it really depends on if you want 0 gluten/gi or just low GI. <S> For low GI; you can do many recipes and typically replace 3/4ths of the flour with some other product. <S> Have used; rolled oats, buckwheat, flax seed, rice flour, etc... <S> Many of the red mills products have gluten free or low GI flour subs you can play with. <S> Have tried skipping flour all together; never comes out well. <S> For sugar part; any favorite fruit will work well instead; either cooked in or added when you eat. <S> (i used to make a fruit yogurt spread; instead of syrup)
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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.
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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 of the fruit is taken up by the seed-interspersed portion, I don't want to throw it out and only eat the small seedless part between the center and the rind. But spitting everything out is tedious. Assuming that I want to eat raw guava, is there any trick to getting rid of the seeds more easily? <Q> The only ways I've figured to use the inter-seed pulp is to juice it or mechanically sieve it, such as in a food mill, coarse stainer, or colander. <S> This article from EHow suggests to blend or process the seed-pulp mixture, possibly with a bit of water, then sieve or strain. <S> It sounds like guava seeds are edible , so if you damage them it's not harmful, but may make straining more tedious or less effective. <S> I use a manual food mill and it works adequately. <S> If you're going the pure juicing route, see also this previous SA question on how to make guava juice . <S> I have the same problem with other fruits with similarly tricky seeds, like prickly pear cactus fruit. <S> Pages like this one <S> a rather brute-force (or perhaps "scorched earth") sounding policy of juicing the whole thing. <S> However, all of those are a little dissatisfying (to me) because they destroy the texture of the flesh, and oxidise even more quickly. <A> Being from Brazil I have eaten guavas my whole childhood. <S> My recommendation: eat them whole, including the seeds. <S> The seeds are tasty, not too hard and good for your digestion. <S> Any way you may try to deseed it will just ruin the texture of the fruit. <S> No need to peel them either. <S> Ripe guava is one of the best fruits around, enjoy it! <A> I just bought my first guavas and was initially perplexed by the seeds, which I did not want to swallow. <S> The way I found to get rid of them and still be able to eat most of the fruit is: Cut the outer fruit off from the center seedy area in 4 to 6 slices. <S> Some of the seeds will still be in those fruit slices, but they push out easily with a thumbnail. <S> Then you are left with slices of guava with no seeds. <S> I found this way, though messy, to make them fairly easy to eat with no seeds. <A> The puree tastes good if added to a fruit salad or smoothie
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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.
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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 and absorb all the moisture. Because it's buffet-style, though, I'm having difficulty imagining putting the noodles in a separate bowl (which is what I'd normally do) for people to serve themselves, because I suspect they would turn into a starchy, uniform Borg of noodle. Any solutions? <Q> You might also want to take a look at <S> How do canned soup companies keep their noodles from absorbing all the liquid in the can? <A> Fairly impossible; noodles are thirsty. <S> :) <S> Ever had a canned soup noodle that wasn't soggy? <S> Typically the closest you can get is what you mentioned; Cook noodles VERY al dente with salt and olive oil; 1-2 mins under typical al dente. <S> Then wash with butter and salt (or olive oil). <S> Serve on side with a light amount of butter and broth mixed in. <S> Try to use a pasta with durumn or semolina flour. <A> I drain the pasta, then add one stick of butter to coat. <S> Creates a barrier between the pasta and chicken broth.
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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.
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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 did a quick search on the web, got spooked and threw them away. My question is: what causes this discolouration and, have I needlessly thrown three very tasty looking sausages in the bin? <Q> My question is: what causes this discolouration Many meats are dyed to make them look fresher. <S> They add red, cause meat is red <S> right? <S> Well no. <S> Most meat will "brown" or "gray" as it is exposed to the air and the blood dries up (or drains out). <S> This is not, in any way, a sign of bad meat. <S> In fact it "may" be a sign of good, natural meat. <S> A YouTube Video that explains it and, have I needlessly thrown three very tasty looking sausages in the bin? <S> Yes, probably. <S> Important note <S> When in doubt throw it out. <S> A week in the fridge (not freezer) is border line for me. <S> I would have probably cooked it, but I wouldn't fault someone else for not cooking it. <S> You can usually look for smell or slime to tell if meat is bad. <A> The one on top was probably exposed to air and its surface dried out which darkened it. <S> It's always better to be safe than sorry. <S> I am a little more edgy and eat things others don't, but I have my limits of acceptable also. <S> I wouldn't eat something a week old unless I was sure it was packed and stored properly. <A> The same thing would happen, only more slowly, if you'd frozen the sausages. <S> The problem is possible bacterial growth. <S> By the time the bacteria levels become high enough to be visible, it's far past the point where the bacteria are dangerous. <S> Further, many bacterial excrete toxic substances that aren't inactivated by cooking. <S> This is why you should usually go with expiration dates rather than " <S> what it looks like" to determine if food is safe to eat. <S> (There are some exceptions, where either spoilage is visible or it simply doesn't spoil at all, but sausage isn't one of them.)
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The discoloring isn't a problem: it's just the meat reacting with oxygen in the air.
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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 knives? <Q> The edge of a knife is extremely narrow. <S> As a result, regular use will push the edge to the left or right, leading to burrs. <S> Hard impacts accelerate this process, and can even cause the edge of the blade to chip. <S> Knife blades stay sharp longest when they are used gently and on soft cutting surfaces. <A> He probably didn't "destroy" them... <S> all knives dull with use depending on what you are cutting, what you are cutting ON, frequency of use... <S> etc. <S> Whether you slice, dice or chop, you should get in the habit of sharpening and honing your knives regularly. <S> Higher quality blades stay sharp longer (and take a sharpening better), but over time, all knives need care if you want them to have a useful life <A> Probably not, if it's onions <S> Onions are a soft product so <S> the damage from chopping this (weird) way is much more affected by what kind of cutting surface he's using rather than the product itself. <S> This is because the greatest impact pressure on the knife will be the point where it hits the hard surface of the board. <S> If you're worried about knife damage, just make sure he: <S> * Uses a softer cutting board ( <S> those cheap, thick white plastic boards are pretty good for this) <S> * Doesn't try to do this with products harder than onions, like coconuts, bone, or his own fingers...
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Hard chopping will not destroy the knife, but it will dull the knife faster.
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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 situation? I will make it when I am flavoring my own dishes. But I have a new one I'd like to try, and I am not sure if I can do it. I am going to make Bourbon Chicken, which calls for the pepper flakes. The flakes would be sauteing / reducing in the sauce. I've read this might be a situation where the substitution would not work. Just wanted to hear what fellow chefs did. <Q> However, beyond the spiciness level they may not give the same flavor to the dish. <S> In the particular recipe that you're citing, since it calls for sauteing the flakes some of the spiciness will be drawn out of the flakes and carried with the sauce, while some of it would stay with the flakes and provide those bursts of heat that your wife doesn't seem to like. <S> As Willem says, you can use fresh chile peppers, add them like you would the flakes, and then take them out before serving. <S> That is probably the closest you can get to the same flavor without having those "surprise spicy" moments. <S> (1 red chile per 3/4 teaspoon flakes). <S> Adding ground cayenne pepper towards the end of the sauce would allow the sauce to have a pretty uniform spiciness, without any surprises, but may not give it the same flavor. <S> Cayenne pepper is usually just the ground up cayenne pepper (a specific variety). <S> Red pepper flakes may consist of a couple different types of dried red peppers, and they often include the dried up seeds in addition to the the dried peppers themselves. <S> So, the cayenne will add the spice, but probably not the same complexity. <S> My suggestion: Make half the sauce with cayenne and half with red pepper flakes and see what you think! <A> I think the issue here is more of a texture issue, where crushed red pepper might surprise a person now and again with a hot bite, while cayenne pepper is ground to a powder. <S> Really all you have to do is grind your red pepper flake if you wish to continue using those instead of cayenne. <A> For your particular case, as you're specifically making Bourbon Chicken ... you could replace some of the vinegar with hot sauce. <S> For other cases, I wouldn't actually use fresh chilies -- I'd use a a few dried cayenne peppers, or a similar heat & size pepper that I could easily remove from the dish before serving. <S> As it dried, you can toast it and get some of the same qualities that you'd have gotten from toasting the pepper flakes. <S> As it's a few inches long, it won't get lost as a thai bird chili might. <S> If you go this route, you'll typically need to increase the volume slightly -- the peppers won't necessaily leach as much heat into the dish, as the inside seed membranes where most of the capsicum is are on the inside can't come into direct contact with the sauce. <S> I would not slice them open because then you have to go to the trouble of deseeding to make sure to avoid a 'surprise'. <A> Just need to add after deglaze step and not before like you would normally. <S> You will loose a little flavor as your not sauteing the flakes in oil. <S> maybe make a infused olive oil with the pepper flakes? <A> As an alternative, you could use fresh chili's. <S> Cut them lengthwise in two halves, put them in like you would the flakes, and either fish them out in the end, or leave them in (or serve separately) for those that do like a bite. <S> They'll be easy to avoid for those that don't want them.
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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).
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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 fun in that. So here's my question does the sugar in Maple syrup or any product for that matter inhibit the growth of mold. Also if its true, how much sugar is needed percentage wise? Does it matter what type of sugar? <Q> Water activity is the big issue in preventing microorganism growth in sugary solutions. <S> Water Activity of Foods Table Includes limit points for various types of bugs. <S> A few molds will grow down to 0.60Aw. <S> Another foods <S> Aw table <S> Water Activity of Sucrose and NaCl <S> Solutions <S> From which: 180 g sucrose + <S> 100 g water will give you a 64% sucrose solution. <S> That'll have a water activity of 0.87, which is low enough to prevent proliferation of most bacteria, but not molds or quite , yeasts. <S> Oh yes, the question: A water activity below 0.8 will prevent growth of most molds, so at room temp. <S> your syrup (Aw ~.85) will likely eventually pick up some mold, but not much in the way of bacteria. <A> TLDR; <S> Yes. <S> Sugar does inhibit growth of mold. <S> How does this work? <S> Several reasons: Sugar prohibits growth through osmosis / dehydration. <S> "The most notable is simple osmosis, or dehydration. <S> Salt or sugar, whether in solid or aqueous form, attempts to reach equilibrium with the salt or sugar content of the food product with which it is in contact." <S> Source: <S> http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-salt-and-sugar-pre/ Sugar weakens the molecular structure of pathogens' DNA Salt and sugar's other antimicrobial mechanisms <S> include interference with a microbe's enzyme activity and weakening the molecular structure of its DNA. <S> Sugar may also provide an indirect form of preservation by serving to accelerate accumulation of antimicrobial compounds from the growth of certain other organisms. <S> Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-salt-and-sugar-pre/ <A> I can try to answer that question in terms of jam <S> (I have a glass of strawberry jam in front of me right now). <S> The sugar content is about 50% by weight, <S> so 50g of sugar in 100g of strawberry jam. <S> The label claims there are no other preserving agents in the product and that you may store it for a long time (about a year or more) in the refrigerator. <S> I guess the osmotic effect will also drain water from the cells of the mold. <S> It is important to keep other impurities out of the jar (like breadcrumbs), since mold might start to grow THERE and spread to the remainder of the jar eventually. <S> I know people who successfully store jam <S> non-refrigerated for many months without any problems with mold. <S> For the type of sugar, I believe there are differences (fructose is said to react a lot faster with protein, for example) <S> but I don't know how they affect the growth of mold. <S> My glass of jam contains regular white, refined glucose. <A> Heavy Sugar syrups (including maple) are dessicants. <S> They inhibit bacterial growth and many molds, there are however molds that grow on sugar syrups. <S> Those sugar syrup molds however take weeks or months to develop and they'll float right on top.
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The sugar is supposed to bind the available water, which helps to inhibit the growth of mold.
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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 remove the white "skin." It really looks like the garlic has eczema or measles. Does anyone know what these spots are? Is this a form of garlic mold? <Q> The brown spots can be a bruise from handling or a bruise caused by heavy soil. <S> We learned the hard way to avoid planting in heavy clay. <S> Loads of brown spots from cloves trying to swell against hard soil, or a rock or buried root etc. <S> The bacteria get into the bruised clove and quickly discolour it. <S> We added lots of compost and tried to make our garlic patch soil the lightest, fluffiest texture possible. <S> The softest soil produced the cleanest bulbs. <S> Also far less bruising from harvesting since they pull so easily out of the ground. <A> The excerpt below from <S> wikihow <S> echoes what most say about it. <S> Check over the clove for any brown spots. <S> Usually if a small spot you can trim off and the garlic is still good. <S> If two or more spots, just pitch it in the trash can and get another clove. <A> IMO, its just minor bruising. <S> I rarely discard it unless its really pronounced, or more than, say, 20% of the bulb's surface. <S> The one in the pic? <S> I'd mince it right up with the others. <A> If the garlic is otherwise firm and not discolored inside, I just cut away and discard those surface brown spots. <S> So far in my long life this has caused no ill either to me (health) or to my cooking (taste/texture).
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Most of the websites I found say that the brown spots are a sign of the garlic going bad.
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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-release is not a result of the cooking process but of the quality of the chicken. <S> Try the following experiment: <S> Buy halal or kosher chicken breast <S> Now put two pans on the stove, and put the industrial chicken breast in the left pan and put the kosher/halal in the right. <S> Ensure both pans have the same heat setting, the same amount of fat (I prefer duck fat for frying chicken breast) and watch the amount of moisture coming out of the left one and the fat actually being soaked up by the right one. <S> So the easiest way to avoid this is to buy good quality chicken... <A> It sounds like you're buying a cheaper cut of meat - one that's likely been infused with water to plump and to rapidly chill the meat to a safe temperature after butchery. <S> Look for packages that state 'air-chilled' instead. <A> Most chicken breasts sold (at least the of the cheaper variety) that I have seen, say something about being infused with up to 15% chicken broth. <S> My guess is that most of the water you are seeing is the added chicken broth. <S> So look at the packaging of the chicken breasts before you buy them. <S> Most of the high quality chicken sold that I have seen <S> do not say that they are infused with chicken broth. <A> Since every chicken farmer in America does it (plumping is the industry standard) <S> you should look for a brand that says "no added water" or "no retained water". <S> I have found only 2 brands that say this. <S> One is at Harris Teeter super market. <S> The industry standard is 12%. <S> That means you must assume all of the chicken is plumped unless it says otherwise. <S> The problem with chicken that is pumped full of water is it never gets to the right temperature for a proper texture, instead it is rubbery and the real chicken flavor is washed away. <S> If you decide to brine your chicken it will have a hard time absorbing because it is already pumped full of flavorless salt water. <A> Sear the outside of the chicken on HIGH heat with butter or oil to seal in the juices and flavour. <S> You can also try dredging the chicken in flour to give it a crust. <S> Cook again in high heat with butter or oil to seal. <S> Personally I do BOTH the first two options to get a crisp crust and a juicy tender inside <S> but you can very easily do all three. <A> The water infusion described above was news to me, but I have certainly observed this exact same problem when cooking chicken in a sauce (usually curries). <S> My solution (using cheap frozen chicken breasts that produce a ton of liquid) has been to cook the chicken separately – for example, grilling it on a BBQ or pan-frying it in a separate pan, or even boiling it in broth in a slow-cooker. <S> You don't need to over-cook it, but this gets rid of the excess liquid and then you add it back into the sauce to simmer <S> and you avoid watering the sauce down. <A> I suggest massaging the meat with flour and letting it absorb it for some time, that is, until the flour absorbs moisture from the meat and changes color from white to yellow-ish, and becomes sticky. <S> This should allow the meat to retain some of the water while cooking.
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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.
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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 a few more minutes it gets burnt. I've tried this a few times and get same result - the quinoa is half cooked and inedible. What am I doing wrong? Note: I'm very new to cooking. About 3 weeks since I entered the kitchen. <Q> Quinoa is cooked exactly like rice. <S> In fact- if you have a rice cooker you can use that and not worry about it. <S> Your procedure is ok. <S> This is the way I make my quinoa. <S> Rice is nice this way <S> so there is less risk of making rice paste. <S> If you are having trouble with your grain not rehydrating properly, the first thing to try would be to skip the oil step. <S> It isn't required. <S> If you find that your water is evaporating before the quinoa is steamed then it is likely that your lid isn't tight enough. <A> As Sobachatina said, it's cooked like many grains, and behaves very similar to rice. <S> You could try continuing the steaming method, and if it does not get done by the time all the water has turned to steam, start it with a bit more water. <S> Sobachatina's suggestion of a tight lid is also worth considering, but pay attention to the pot then, so you don't get it boiling over. <S> An alternative is to use a boiling method. <S> With or without toasting it first, add 3.5 parts of water to 1 part quinoa. <S> Cook until soft, and put through a sieve to discard the superfluous water. <S> The upside is that, unless you are using too high a temperature, there is no way to burn it. <A> Cook uncovered the entire time. <S> When all the water is soaked up, take it off the heat and then cover it. <S> That’s when it opens up the kernels and gets fluffy.
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Toasting grains in oil before steaming them is delicious and results in grains that are more nutty and more individual.
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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 couple years ago to knock the lemon flavor out of the park. <S> I'm sure it would work for lime too: make a lime syrup and pour it into the bottom of the cake after poking it all over with a thin skewer. <S> The more lime you like, the more syrup you use. <S> As a bonus, it also adds some moisture to the cake. <S> Note that you may need to refrigerate the cake after this step (if it lasts more than a few hours). <A> Without seeing the recipe, it's difficult to know what can be improved. <S> Here are some possibiliies: <S> Your easiest addition would be to add more lime zest -- it contains much of the flavor, and it won't significantly throw off the moisture or acid balance in the cake. <S> (and the tops of the cake can slide off ... which makes for an interesting talking point, but not typically what you want when the cake layers look like they're throwing themselves off the cake). <S> If you're not stacking the cake, use a skewer to poke vertical holes all over the cake, and then pour a lime syrup over it, so it can soak into the cake. <S> You may need to let it dry for a couple of hours or overnight before decorating. <S> If you're going to be decorating the cake, use lime zest and juice in the frosting. <S> I'd actually recommend a royal icing over a whipped frosting. <S> Start with half of the liquid called for as lime juice, mix it, and then add water to get it to the consistency you want. <S> You can also mix in the lime zest if you're just covering the cake and not trying to pipe decorations. <S> If you're not going to be decorating the cake, make a glaze from lime juice, lime zest and and powdered sugar, and pour that over the cake. <A> I suggest adding more lime zest and use key lime juice (bottled juice would be okay for <S> baking - Nellies makes a good product and it's widely available <S> (usually sold with mixers) <A> make sure you are getting the most out of your limes with <S> 5 Fabulous Lime Tips remember Key limes are more tart than Tahitian limes (given the choice...) <S> if the recipe calls for salt -- reduce the amount (salt increases the sweetness, muting the tart & tang of the limes) <S> you might add a little concentrated lime juice (just a splash!) <S> Good luck with the cake :)
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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.
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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 contain sugar? <Q> It is not simply a common phrase, it is true caramelization. <S> They have 4.24 g of sugar per 100 g in total (wet weight). <S> For dry weight 40% is sugar. <S> See the USDA nutrient database for more details. <A> Onion does contain sugars when raw, but they are pretty much indigestible and tasteless. <S> Cellulose (vegetable fiber), for example, is a complex carbohydrate which only ruminants can digest with the aid of bacteria in their stomach. <S> With caramelization, complex sugars in onion split into simpler ones, which are the ones we can taste, by the action of heat. <S> Therefore, fried onion tastes sweeter, and so does tomato, etc. <S> When sugar cane crops are ready to be harvested, dry leaves are burnt in situ in order to increase the yield of sucrose by the same effect: a fraction of the existing complex sugars are turned into sucrose (saccharose). <A> The answer is: An onion contains sugar whether you "caramelize" it or not. <S> "Caramelizing" an onion (or anything else) helps to emphasize the natural sweetness of the onion. <S> You're basically cooking off the water in the onion and concentrating the sugars. <A> Onions are very sugary. <S> People eat so much sugar these days however, that they don't notice. <S> When someone does something like the atkin's diet or similar, they begin to taste how sweet all those veg really are.
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Yes, onions contain sugar, just like most fruit and vegetables.
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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 of it off, and effectively decant it: <S> Place the peanuts into a hard-sided container at least twice the volume of the peanuts that you can seal tightly. <S> Shake the peanuts. <S> A lot. <S> Not too hard, though, as the goal is to knock some of the salt off, not to smash the peanuts up. <S> Finish by shaking the peanuts side to side, or placing it on something that vibrates (like a washing machine) <S> Open the container, and scoop the peanuts out, being careful to leave the excess salt at the bottom. <S> You save yourself some effort, you might be able to do the whole work on top of your washing machine, or leave the container in the trunk of your car for a few trips. <S> The larger the salt crystals, the easier this will be to remove. <S> If it was applied as a wet spray or while the oils were on the surface of the peanuts, it's going to bind more to the peanuts, and be more difficult to remove. <S> Although the diluting trick will work, you can also use the peanuts in a recipe that would have otherwise called for salt and leave out the additional salt. <S> You could also crush them up and use them as a topping for something that could use a little extra salt. <S> (ice cream, Pad Thai, etc.) <A> Remove all surface salt by quickly rinsing them and thoroughly drying them as fast as possible. <A> Since salted nuts are already roasted, they don't "roast again" very well at all (or in general behave like raw peanuts when cooked) <S> but you can certainly rinse to remove excess salt and dry at low temperatures. <S> If you want to just eat them immediately you can just eat them damp, but to preserve the quality or to use for something like peanut butter, they need to be dried again. <S> Getting them unsalted in the first place is more desirable, but not always feasible due to oddities of pricing (where unsalted nuts may cost 2-3 times as much as the same things with salt.) <A> Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, then add the peanuts and a small potato and simmer for half an hour. <S> The salt will travel from the surface of the peanuts into the potato, which you can then discard. <S> Since the peanuts are for peanut butter, boiling them <S> shouldn't affect the final taste, though you can try a lower temperature if you're concerned, or if you want to preserve crunchiness. <S> I used to use this method when boiling super-salty gammon steaks. <S> In this case, it should actually be more effective, since the salt is only on the surface of the peanuts, rather than begin suffused through them. <A> You really can't un-ring that bell... <S> you can, however, dilute the "extra salty" peanuts with other, unsalted, peanuts until the you get the desired saltiness in your peanut butter. <A> You could put them in an industrial sifter and use that to knock the salt off and separate the peanuts from the salt in one step, but that's probably overkill unless you have a lot of nuts. <S> Instead knock the salt off first, either with the shaking method that Joe mentioned or by placing the nuts between two sheets of clean fabric or clean, food safe paper and rolling and gently scrubbing them. <S> Then do the sifting step using a normal kitchen sifter/strainer. <A> For eating in general, I took around 400grams of salted mixed nuts, followed Ecnerwal's and Charles Moore's Idea (thank you), rinsed it a couple of times, <S> Preheat conventional oven at 350F <S> , I used an aluminum foil sheet, and spread these nuts on them, Leave them for 3 mins, turned most of them with a couple of swipes with the hand, Leave them again for 3 mins and turn off the oven, <S> Let it cool for 3-5 mins and take them to a plate and let it cool again, before you move them into an airtight container. <S> I prefer to do this few at a time, than the whole 2.5lb container. <S> Here are some pics. <S> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bzj_F7fR53q6NnlfanpmUloyWlE <A> Wash, shake off excess water, put in baking pan, place in oven for 7 minutes at 350 degree, remove and let them set until cooled rebag and eat. <S> Now I want to know how much salt is retained in the nuts? <A> Put similar types of these two bowls together and shake them vigorously above a sink or any receiver and after few minutes most of the salt will be removed
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I have rinsed salted nuts well in water to remove the excessive salt and then dried in the oven.
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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 continuously for 10 minutes. I get tired. What can be done so that they do get roasted properly without the brown spots? <Q> Roasting peanuts in a pan on a stove cooks them primarily via conduction ( i.e. , the surface of the peanuts touching the hot surface of the pan). <S> Since peanuts are round, each part of the peanut must touch the pan for an equal amount of time during the cooking process to be evenly roasted. <S> That's nearly impossible without something like a barrel roaster (which very few people will have in a home kitchen). <S> Cooking with convection ( i.e. , hot air) will produce much more even results since the heat will transfer to all sides of the peanut relatively evenly. <S> Roast the peanuts at 175°C/350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan half-way. <S> You can also try putting the peanuts on a wire rack (as opposed to directly on the sheet tray), which will help the hot air to more evenly cook their bottoms. <S> If it does not interfere with your ultimate use of the peanuts, you can also try coating them in peanut oil before cooking (roughly 30ml of oil per kilo of peanuts). <S> The oil will help the heat transfer more evenly to the peanuts. <S> Finally, you can also use the Chinese method of deep-frying the peanuts in your kadhai; roughly 15 to 20 minutes. <A> Use salt in the kadhai - about 300-400 gramms or more. <S> Heat it, then add peanuts and roast until they smell for about 6-8 minutes on medium gas. <S> Your peanuts will not burn as heat is transferred to all parts of the peanuts. <A> You can roast the peanuts on a gas stove by simply leaving the seed coat on while roasting the peanuts. <S> The seed coat will prevent the actual nut inside from burning and producing those brown spots. <S> You’ll also have to keep on stirring the peanut as usual however. <A> Use washed, clean, dry, fine sand. <S> Heat the sand and peanuts (shelled/unshelled) in a kadhai over stove stirring with a steel spatula. <S> The stirring need not be so continuous that it tires your arm. <S> Use a steel spoon with holes as used for frying pakoras to separate the sand and peanuts. <S> Store the sand for future use (of course after it has cooled off) <A> The process of roasting is to remove moisture from the peanut by heating. <S> The heating starts from the outer surface. <S> The temperature starts increasing slowly, bringing the inner moisture to the surface and then evaporating it. <S> The heat transfer is by conduction through the contact point of the peanut and the kadhai. <S> The larger the size of the peanut, the higher is the temperature required. <S> Usually, the peanut turns black indicating a high temperature at the contact point. <S> It is necessary to turn the peanut contineously so that the black spot does not appear. <S> For the moisture to come out, I did several experiments by piercing the peanut. <S> With this hole, it was easier for the moisture to come out with a lower temperature. <S> The time required was reduced by about 40%. <S> And when salted, the taste of peanut was very good as the salt has entered in the peanut. <S> We prepared a small manufacturing gadget which could make holes in for 30-40 peanuts at a time. <S> There were no black spots on the peanut.
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Immersion in hot oil will cook the peanuts evenly.
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