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Can a sourdough starter be kept alive if you live in a dry climate? I have recently moved to Colorado and now I live in a dry climate at about 5,000 ft (the western slope). I had a starter in Sacramento CA with me for years, but I'm told that it is too dry here to keep the starter alive. Is that true? My fridge sure is humid and I would think that would be fine. Anyone have any advice? Thanks! <Q> if things can rot in colorado, you can keep a sourdough starter alive in colorado. <S> Just make sure you to keep an eye on the moisture content and maybe use a larger ratio of water to flour when feeding. <A> There will be no problems with keeping it alive, however, it will likely change over time. <S> The local diversity of microbes will be significantly different than where you used to live, and some new bugs will get in and take hold, likely pushing others out. <S> Also, if the humidity affects the overall hydration (water/flour ratio) of your starter, you will see selection pressure on a different subset of microbes. <S> I believe that a dryer starter will favor acetic acid bacteria while wet starters favor lactic acid bacteria. <A> I moved from Monterey CA to Bullhead City AZ, a very arid climate. <S> I brought my starter with me. <S> The biggest change I had to make was using cling wrap and a rubber band around the jar. <S> I didn’t do that in the beginning <S> and I always had a dry skin across the top. <S> This fixed my issue. <S> My bread is just as great as before. <S> I did also need to hydrate the dough a bit more. <S> Otherwise it has been a success for me. <A> I agree that you should have no problems. <S> As an alternate approach, if you were interested in longer terms storage of your starter, it could be dried. <S> Point being, while I am suggesting a state of dormancy, dry is not really a problem.
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You can dehydrate a sourdough starter, seal it in a jar in an air-tight situation, and store it in the pantry for months.
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Can I selectively breed my sourdough starter? I have a nice bowl of sourdough starter sitting in my kitchen, and I love making my bread as sour as possible. Right now I let my loaves rise for a little longer, but is there a way I can alter my starter's environment to select for a sourer mix of microorganisms ("selective breading" would probably be the appropriate phrase)? <Q> Yes, but it might have other effects that make it less effective as a leaven. <S> When I was experimenting with sourdough in the past year <S> or so after a long hiatus, I had a pretty good batch going and parked half in the fridge, then had some life events that caused the part that was out to be left 24 or more, not 12 hours between feedings, and it turned very, very sour - <S> but it also didn't do much for raising the bread. <A> Given that you are working with a combination of bacteria and yeasts in a "wild yeast" culture, it's going to be very difficult to specifically engineer that. <S> Indeed, the tendency is that, eventually, whatever wild yeast combination is native to your area eventually infiltrates or even takes over most cultures. <S> If your just looking for a little bit more "sour" you could try "sour salt," which is pure citric acid. <S> Some view that as cheating, but as an enhancement to a natural sourdough culture, as opposed to trying to fabricate it, entirely, it comes out not tasting forced. <A> From what I read in Flour Water Salt Yeast, if you let your starter ferment at lower temperatures it should encourage the production of acetic acid, which is more "sour" than lactic acid normally produced by your lactobacilli .
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Unless you are fixated on getting there via sourdough, I'd suggest picking up some citric acid if you like your bread "as sour as possible" - though even that might do in your yeast if you use too much - of course, there's always really sour flatbread, I suppose, by either method.
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Split pea soup won't soften. Any way to soften the peas without burning? I am trying to make split pea soup. The first time I did it the peas softened just fine but the soup was scorched. I am trying again but at a lower heat, and the peas are refusing to soften. Ingredients are 1 bag each of split peas, frozen carrots, and frozen onions, plus a small amount of Spike seasoning. How can I soften the peas without scorching the soup? Is a slow cooker the best option? <Q> Starting with more water than you think you need, keeping the lid on for a bit and then stirring a lot while it reduces to the desired consistency should be all you need to do. <S> Don't go far from it once it starts to thicken because it will need too much stirring. <S> You can cook split peas in a slow cooker, but I haven't found the softening very reliable. <S> A fast boil before you start might help. <A> The reason your split peas are hard is that you added salt or stock to the water before they finished cooking. <S> From your initial post, you say you've added something called "Spike seasoning". <S> I'm guessing that's the culprit. <S> It's probably got salt in it. <S> You have to cook split peas in just water for at least an hour, then stir to break them down and add any vegetables to flavor the soup. <S> Only after another 30 minutes or so should you add salt to taste. <A> You can cook them in a pressure cooker. <S> This will soften them in a relatively short amount of time. <S> Another option is to soak them longer in advance of the cooking (for a day or so) in water, and baking soda... <A> I am alarmed to see a response that says to cook split peas in a pressure cooker. <S> I use a Presto pressure cooker for many things, but its instructions are spelled out, "DO NOT COOK SPLIT PEAS. <S> " Please follow instructions for your pressure cooker to avoid a disaster in the kitchen.
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If after overnight soaking and cooking split peas for the normal time in the recipe, you might consider putting a portion into a blender or food processor to see if that gives the desired smoothness and creaminess.
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Tomato Soup substitute in cake Can I substitute Carrot Juice for Tomato Soup, in 'Tomato Soup cake'? Do I need to adjust the recipe in other ways? <Q> Tomato soup is thicker and richer than carrot juice. <S> Using carrot juice will change the moisture content of the cake, and it will not rise or bake properly. <A> Grab some vegetable juice ( V8 or something like it) and bring it to a gentle simmer. <S> Put a teaspoon of corn starch in 3/4 tablespoon of water, stir the mixture rapidly for a bit, then stir that rapidly into the vegetable juice. <S> Taste for salt. <S> Bring it briefly to a rolling boil and then take it off the heat. <S> It should coat the back of a spoon. <S> Keep stirring, occasionally as it cools, and you'll have something you can use. <S> I share Sharlyn's concern about the cake rising properly and evenly. <S> You could try a puree of carrot, thicken it a bit as described above, and go with that, but the minimal viscosity you need is probably that of vegetable juice after being thickened. <A> Adding a similar amount of juice as what is contained in a can of soup (10-11 ounces) might be too much liquid since the soup is condensed (tomato paste, corn syrup, flour). <S> I haven't tried it, but it might work if you used 1/2 cup of juice, and increased the flour by 1/4 cup.
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You can't directly substitute carrot juice for condensed soup, and simply thickening carrot juice in a similar manner as what I described above is going to give the cake strange sweet and wet spots after it bakes.
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How can I make my Garlic Bread less soggy? I want to make simple garlic bread pieces without getting them too soggy in the middle due to butter. Most of the restaurants near my area get this wrong - the bread pieces are soggy and yellow due to the butter they use and crunchy and tough on the crust. I want to try and making garlic bread but I want to avoid getting them soggy. <Q> Easy -- don't use butter. <S> Put the sliced bread in the oven 'til it's toasted, then remove, and take a garlic clove and rub it over the sliced & toasted side. <S> The texture of the toasted bread should act like sandpaper, and slowly grate off bits of the garlic clove. <S> As you get to the end of the clove, you might need to abandon it and get another whole clove to use. <A> Restaurants are making garlic bread quickly and in bulk, that can effect their processes, and results. <S> They are usually content to smear the garlic butter quickly, and mostly over the center, because it quickly covers most of the bread. <S> It is forgiving enough, and spreads enough, that the garlic bread they make this way is still pretty good - but being a little more careful might be all you need to make it better for your tastes. <S> If you're worried about sogginess, use a thin layer of garlic butter to start with, and spread it evenly towards the edges of your bread. <S> If you really want to be careful, scrape the garlic butter back off the very center of your bread. <S> This way, you won't have an extra puddle of butter in the center, and your edges won't get hard and dry from having less. <S> Additionally, make sure your garlic bread is toasted fairly quickly and at a high enough temperature. <S> If it is toasted at a much lower temperature or sits for a longer time afterwards, it is more likely to melt and puddle and soak the butter into the bread before it finishes toasting. <S> All you really should need for your garlic bread is to warm the bread and toast the top a little. <S> This can be done quickly, and the bread toasted and eaten while still warm and fresh, so it doesn't have time to get soggy. <S> If you're really wanting a drier garlic bread, you might consider lightly toasting the bread before you put the garlic butter on - and toasting again (or not) afterwards at your preference. <S> This will draw some of the moisture out from the bread, and form a drier crust between the bread and butter, which should help keep it from getting too soggy. <A> Toast your bread in the oven under a broiler first to the desired color, then when you pull it out of the oven, baste the bread with a baster and melted garlic butter. <S> I love crunchy garlic bread <S> and this is how I achieve it.
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Another alternative is to roast your garlic, and then use it as a spread on the toasted bread.
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Dense pizza dough- need help! How to make lighter and more airy pizza? I am trying to make New York style pizza at home. I have tried many different recipes and different types of flours. I live in India, so I don't have access to bread flour brands like King Arthur etc, but I have managed to find high quality bread flour that are high gluten. I have tried to lower or increasing the moisture in the dough by the amount of water in the recipe but I am having the same problem. The pizza dough is very dense or heavy and does not rise when cooked. Also, the pizza crust (edge) is more dense and often time it stays raw. I am trying to get a pizza crust that is light, airy and many air pockets just like you find in a very good New York style pizza. My dough is good and soft after kneading it by hand; my proofing time is 4-6 hours in which the size of the dough doubles in size. Finally, I shape and stretch the dough by hand and put it in preheated oven at the very bottom level to get maximum heat. Below is the recipe that I use (I have also tried baker's formula). For a 200g dough ball I use the following recipe: High gluten bread flour 120g Water 76g Salt 0.42 tsp Oil 0.24 tsp Yeast 0.3 tsp Sugar 0.24 tsp I use a home oven that is able to reach a maximum temperature of 450 Fahrenheit. Can someone please tell me what my problem might be? I am thinking my problem is with the temperature of the oven. I am going to try to use a pizza stone to see if a get better results. Baker's formula (proportions) I have used: NY Style Pizza Dough Formula Flour 100% Water 63% Salt 1.75% Oil 1% Yeast 0.25% <Q> I think you might not be giving your dough enough time between shaping and baking. <S> Proofing lets little bubbles build up in your dough, letting it rise as you mentioned - stretching and shaping will deflate the dough and let the little bubbles loose, even with careful handling. <S> Letting the dough rest after shaping and before baking will help the dough recover. <S> Also, you didn't mention your proofing method much, but it sounded like regular counter-top proofing. <S> Several recipes I looked at prefer a cold ferment for new york style pizza, citing more complex flavors and better gluten development, and also that stretching cold fermented dough tends to produce a fluffier crust (since it holds the pockets of gas from rising through the stretching better). <S> The pictures look quite convincing that this will let you have an airier crust. <S> Since this would involve making your dough several days in advance, and letting it rise in your fridge, it may not be your ideal solution - but if you don't mind planning ahead (best results apparently 3-5 days), it may help. <S> Also, you might want to check how long you knead - <S> a dough that isn't kneaded enough will end up dense and heavy. <S> You might make sure your dough is kneaded enough to pass <S> the windowpane test - stretch a marble-sized ball of dough between your fingers, it is developed enough when you can get it thin enough to be translucent enough to see your fingers through. <S> This article talks bout the importance of kneading (and also suggests using a food processor for better gluten formation quicker), since having well developed gluten should trap the bubbles from rising better and give you a more airy crust. <S> Of course, getting more heat in the oven might help - it might even be all you need, and if your problems are solved after getting a pizza stone, so much the better. <S> But these tips I found might also help you get the effect you're looking for in the meantime - or possibly stack several of them to get the pizza just the way you like it. <S> Good Luck! <A> NYC Pizza (3 pies) 100% flour - 510g <S> 62% water - 316g 2% oil - 10g 2.35% salt - 12g 2% L-DMP - 10g 1% sugar - 6g 0.39% IDY - 2g <S> (1/2 teaspoon) <S> Mix 1/3 of the flour with all of the water. <S> Rest 20 minutes. <S> Add salt, sugar and oil and mix to combine. <S> Add malt and yeast and mix to combine. <S> Gradually add the remaining flour while mixing (five minutes). <S> Rest for 20 minutes. <S> Dump onto counter dusted with flour. <S> Knead for up to five minutes or until dough looks smooth. <S> Separate into thirds, form into balls, and place in (very) lightly oiled containers. <S> (L - DMP is optional, but is very helpful for browning when baking under 600 degrees) <A> You're currently making your dough with 63% hydration. <S> For a lighter dough, you want about 75% hydration— <S> This means that for each 100 grams of flour, you want 75 grams of water. <S> You should be using a stone, and baking it as hot as your oven can go. <S> 450º F will work, but if your oven has a broiler function, you might consider heating the oven up to 450º on "bake", then switching to "broil" when you put your pizza in the oven. <S> This should allow it to cook at a slightly higher temperature.
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Some methods of shaping will deflate the dough more than others, and if you're stretching by hand you should try to be careful not to handle too roughly, especially around the edges where you want a fluffy crust.
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What would the best Cornflour substitute be for a Pavlova? Our local stores do not sell cornflour so I need a substitute. Online I'm finding people saying use normal flour, or you can use arrowroot or you can use cornstarch at half the quantity. But these substitutions are given for purposes like thickening agents. Really I don't know if something like 'flour' would be a good substitute in a Pavlova . What is the right substitute for the purpose of a Pavlova? <Q> Cornflour in that sense being just starch, you should be able to use many starches with decent results. <S> So corn starch, wheat starch, potato starch, rice starch, etc. will work, <S> no matter what name they are sold under (e.g. you are more likely to find "rice flour" than "rice starch"). <S> Try to avoid starches that are high in amylopectin ("waxy" starches), for the pavlova you want fluffiness in the starch. <S> If you are willing to experiment and end up with results that are farther away from the original, consider trying random flours from gluten free plants. <S> I don't mean the "gluten-free flour mixes" in the supermarket which are enriched with gums <S> , I mean things like oat flour, chestnut flour, etc. <A> Apologies for the short answer, but yes, you can use cornstarch. <S> Cornstarch is interchangeable (as shown in this recipe here ) <A> I am allergic to cornstarch and use Wheaten Cornflour. <S> My mum was a champion prize winning cook. <S> Her secret ingredient is this product for Pavs, cakes, sponges, and for a beautiful textured gravy. <S> I give my friends Wheaten Cornflour so that when they are cooking and intend to give me something, like melting moments, anything with icing, they use it. <S> There are recipes for sponges and other baked goods on the Fielders box.
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There is a Fielders "Wheaten Cornflour" that is made from wheat.
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I don't care about the non stick property of a non stick pot. Is there any harm in washing it in a dishwasher? I have this T-Fal non stick pot, and really I don't have any use for the non stick coating. I'm wondering if there's any harm in washing it in the dishwasher aside from the non-stick coating wearing off. In particular I am wondering about food safety. <Q> It already looks like the coating has worn off significantly. <S> ... <S> maybe, just time for a new pot. <A> Most non-stick can survive dishwashers anyway. <S> If it's already scratched the scratches <S> might get bigger but not necessarily. <S> Depending on the metal underneath, there's a chance of it starting to flake off. <S> Once that happens, it's pretty much gone. <S> The downside of the coating coming off is that food sticks worse than it would to a pan that was bare metal to start with. <S> This may have something to do with intermediate surface treatments, and isn't a problem if you're using it for just boiling things in water. <A> According to this manual, it is actually dishwasher safe t-fal manual
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Without making any health claims (as I don't know what the impact of ingesting particles of T-fal coating), I don't think the dishwasher is going to do more damage, or release any more coating, than your use of inappropriate non-stick utensils already has.
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When does baking/cooking in bulk have an advantage? I often wonder (in the cases of spanish rice, soup, & bread) if my local restaurants have an advantage over what I can do at home because they're working at a different scale. How does this affect the flavors and prep? Are there other results of working at scale I wouldn't think of? <Q> Mostly, it's just more efficient from a time perspective. <S> You <S> can do all the stuff that a restaurant kitchen does at home on a smaller scale, but it may seem like a lot of work for just a small portion. <S> For example, the prep time to make homemade broth, then put together ingredients and cook a homemade soup for 4 servings might take you most of an afternoon. <S> Maybe by adding an extra hour for processing ingredients, you could easily make 100 servings of that same soup. <S> The difference between making 1 loaf of bread and 20 loaves of bread is minor, assuming you have equipment to handle the larger quantities. <S> You'll spend a few more minutes dividing and shaping, but otherwise most of the time is just waiting for the dough to rise and then bake. <S> So it's really about efficiency. <S> If a recipe says "stir for 20 minutes while simmering," you'll probably have to do that for roughly 20 minutes whether you're making a cup or 3 gallons. <S> And because all that prep work is tedious for just a few servings, many home cooks won't bother -- they'll substitute store-bought broth or bullion, they'll buy pre-mixed bread dough, etc. <S> Those "shortcuts" are often one main difference that can make your home cooking not as good. <S> Otherwise, there really aren't specific advantages for most dishes. <S> In some cases, you may need to adapt techniques or recipes to handle larger vs. smaller quantities. <S> But flavors can be effectively developed in most dishes whether you're making one portion or a hundred. <A> Fermentation is more active in larger batches, and at scale you can backslop to sustain operations instead of starting from scratch with a yeast packet (or hoping for the best from whatever state your tiny sourdough starter is in). <S> Also feedings, a larger operation can more easily afford multiple feedings of sourdough per day, while someone who makes a loaf or two per week would likely stick to only one feeding. <A> Something like a broth. <S> A high end kitchen would make a fresh broth daily. <S> At home you probably would not. <S> If you have and take the time for all the steps then I don't think a restaurant has any advantage. <S> There may be some suppliers that will only sell restaurants. <S> You may not have access to some of the same goods. <A> It is a disadvantage of course if you need to rapidly change temperature. <S> Larger batches tend to be more forgiving of measuring errors. <S> Something calls for a level teaspoon and home in a two cup recipe and you use a rounded or short teaspoon it may be more noticeable than in a large batch calling for a level cup and you slightly round or short it. <S> Large measures also tend to be less prone to error especially if you can use pre-measured amounts like a pound of butter rather than an ounce. <S> There are also some processes that just will never work as well in small batches, such as how does one prepare a single serving of a standing rib roast and duplicate the effect of roasting a full or half rib? <S> In general I think you hit some of the types that can benefit, slow processes like soups, items like bread where a home recipe might call for a pinch of salt but a large batch can have a much more accurate measure and add in to the category things which need more of a temperature reserve and even application than you can provide at home.
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A couple additional advantages in large batch I can think of, temperature control can be easier for processes calling for steady temperature or slow changes as adding an ingredient to a small batch will have less effect on the temperature of the batch.
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How to make instant noodle with egg? I made instant noodle, just put the noodle into boiling water for about 3 minutes, and noodle is already. But this time I want make this with an egg, how? should I break the egg first and then put the egg into a boiling water for a minutes then I put the noodle or vice versa? <Q> It depends on whether you're adding the water to the noodles or vice versa. <S> If I'm boiling the noodles on the stove for three minutes, I measure the right amount of water, and after the noodles are cooked I usually lift (most) of the noodles out of the water and into the bowl, drop the egg in and let it cook in the water while I add the seasoning to the noodles, then pour the egg (and as much water as I want) into the bowl. <S> I tend to lift the noodles out because they splash more when pouring, but no reason you couldn't add the egg to the noodles and water straight after they're cooked, or even during cooking. <S> If you do you add the egg as soon as the stove is turned off, the residual heat in the water cooks it enough. <S> If you don't want extra water in your noodles, you can lift it out with a slotted spoon, or pour most of the water out first, then add to your noodles. <S> In this case, the water will cool too much to cook the egg fairly fast, so it needs to be there from the start, and almost scrambled to cook more evenly. <A> As a student in Singapore, we often eat instant noodles because we tend to be lazy and we lack the time to cook. <S> So here's how i usually do my instant noodles. <S> Always make sure the water is boiling hot that it bubbles rapidly. <S> Next, you can just put your noodle in. <S> Add the seasoning on the top of the noodles because if large amount of seasoning comes in contact with boiling water, the water bubbles out of the pot easily. <S> Eggs by itself, do not necessary need a hot boiling water, as long as the water is hot, it will still cook by itself. <S> Usually, i will place my egg about 1.5 minute later near the bubbling area <S> (that is the hottest part of the pot) and let it boil for 20 second before offing the flames. <S> Hence, i'll get my perfect half-cooked eggs with my favourite instant noodles. <A> I have tried many ways of making egg noodles. <S> I suggest to boil the noodles first with all the necessary ingredients and keep it aside. <S> Then beat eggs in a vessel .Heat <S> frying pan. <S> Add oil. <S> Add finely chopped onions and greenchillies and a pinch of salt. <S> Wait till onions impart a brown colour. <S> To this add beated eggs and fry continously stirring. <S> Mix this to your noodles. <S> Serve hot. <S> The egg wil remain crispier and tastier if done this way
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If I'm pouring boiling water onto the noodles (already in the bowl), I add the egg first, even break the yolk and stir a little, lay the noodles on top, and pour the boiling water.
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What is the name of this style of knife? Several years ago I found this knife at a thrift store: I like this knife a lot because it is very effective at transmitting force to the food I am cutting. But I am anxious because I do not know how to find a replacement if this one breaks or is lost. Does this style of knife (where the handle is directly above the blade so you can transmit force vertically) have a name I can type into a search engine? <Q> I believe it is a frozen food saw. <S> The serration is very small like you would need to saw through frozen fish for example. <S> While I couldn't find that exact style from them, they did make some that were very similar. <S> Google Image Search "yax frozen food saw" and you'll see several. <A> While that knife is not one <S> I'm familiar with (as interesting as it looks), there are a few knives I do know of that have the handle directly above the blade. <S> It transmits force very cleanly <S> , you're right, it makes it much easier to leverage for cutting. <S> The ones I've seen are curved, for a rocking rather than slicing method of cutting - but you might find it interesting to look into them anyway, either as well as your knife, or if you can't find the same. <S> It is an all purpose knife, its actually the first knife of this type that I found. <S> There are a couple variations, including slightly different curves or handle types, but the standard one is shown below. <S> Another type of knife is the "mezzaluna", out of Italy. <S> Many of these tend to be two-handled (although ones similar to the ulu in shape do exist), which will give the option of more force, instead of trying to two-hand the little handle of the ulu (center of force is your whole torso), or more control over the rocking motion. <S> Others, will have more than one blade mounted next to each other, the set of two or three blades meant to quickly cut finely - often for herbs, but no real reason you couldn't use it to cut anything else if you wanted, twice as much slicing per cut. <S> And finally, there exist much larger versions (where the two-hand grip really works), which might be used for long, controlled cuts (like a pizza cutter or something). <S> And finally, you might look up "vertical grip" knives (also vertical force, or vertical handle) <S> - this will get you to some odder knife shapes, maybe from modern day re-imagining or re-engineering for ease of use, or maybe intended for assistive use (for those with reduced abilities or the like) <S> - <S> but if you like them, no reason not to go ahead and look. <S> one site which has a few is here . <A> This is a frozen food knife or a bone saw. <S> It is made by YAX. <S> It is very similar to the knife you are asking about. <S> At times you can find one on EBay. <S> Hope this helps and good luck.
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You might look for "Ulu" knives, which are found in Alaska (and nowadays, online , of course). Given that it was made in Japan, I believe it is a YAX brand knife/saw.
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Why should (or shouldn't) we wash rice before cooking? There are pretty confusing articles on this topic on the internet.Some suggest that we should wash them to remove starch, talc, etc. Some suggest that we should not wash them because they are fortified with minerals. This also varies according to the type of rice - short grain, Jasmine, Basmati, etc. It would be great to have logical reasons instead of just instructions. <Q> Reasons to wash your rice: <S> Reduce/Control Starch levels <S> Often when you're cooking rice you want distinct grains of rice and for your rice to have texture. <S> In the case of Chinese fried rice for example, you specifically want your rice grains to not stick to one another. <S> If you're talking white rice especially, there will be a lot more loose starch that will form a thickish paste if if you don't rinse it away. <S> To clean out impurities <S> I imagine there was a time when there were a lot more impurities (dirt, dust, bugs, etc...). <S> I don't know if that's necessarily the case these days with modern manufacturing. <S> If you're concerned about your source, then this may be a factor for you. <S> There's also the occasional random article that suggest rinsing to reduce levels of something like arsenic (see FDA warning on arsenic in rice)... <S> I think 1. <S> is your bigger factor here though. <S> Reasons to not wash your rice: <S> It removes nutrients. <S> This is true for fortified rice. <S> See here for more information on the fortification process. <S> Note, whole grain/brown rices are less often fortified <S> (I want to say they're not fortified, but I actually don't know for sure). <S> So it would depend on what kind of product you're buying and where it came from. <S> You actually want to keep the extra starch. <S> This is the case for things like risotto where the starch is what gives the dish <S> it's creaminess. <S> Serious Eats has a great article that talks about the process. <A> Most white rice produced in the US is thoroughly washed then fortified. <S> So, Americans don't usually wash white rice. <S> It's fine if you do, though. <S> Rice imported from other countries may not be either washed nor fortified. <S> Look at the label for clues. <A> For Japanese (like me), our white rice is always thoroughly washed in cold water until the water runs clear. <S> Steamed white rice is at the very core of most of our diets, and we take it really seriously. <S> In fact, the Japanese word for "meal" and for "rice" are the same ("gohan"). <S> American white rice (I think by law) is pre-washed then "fortified" (meaning that a dusting of vitamins is added), which is probably where the argument that "you are washing away nutrients" comes from. <A> Why? <S> If there's any bugs, it'll float. <S> This is pretty important if you buy rice in bulk of any sort. <S> A quick swish and dump would do here. <S> This is the reason I got told that its done. <S> Bugs icky. <S> If you don't want your rice clumping together. <S> This is not a measure of stickiness - how sticky rice is depends on the content of a specific protein. <S> I've had rice that was nice and chewey, and came out as a block. <S> " <S> Wash until it runs clear" is basically "Wash until you get all the accidentally created starch from processing out". <S> In theory, I suppose you could pack rice precleaned, I guess. <A> Also, keep in mind that sometimes you DO want your rice to be sticky. <S> For example, when you make sushi rolls, you want the rice to bind together. <S> Search Google for "sticky rice" <S> and you'll see that it's quite an art form just to get the rice to stick, while some other recipes or uses would find this stickiness to be a problem. <A> Unwashed. <S> Sticky rice. <S> Has more starch. <S> Slightly under cook. <S> Eat. <S> this stays with you. <S> So you can work till noon. <S> Give you more energy <S> Why many in Asia eat it that way. <S> Washed rice. <S> less starch. <S> for light fluffy rice, fried rice. <S> But in 2 hours you are hungry again. <S> Unless oil added.
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We almost always wash rice.
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How sharp should a paring knife be? Recent bought a chef's knive and a paring knife, both are high carbon stainless steel. The chef's knife is quite sharp and can cut a piece of butcher's twine just by touching it, with little or no pressure. The paring knife cannot. In fact, I can even grip the blade quite hard and it doesn't cut me. Should I have it sharpened? <Q> All cutting (slicing, chopping) <S> knives should be as sharp as you can get them, really. <S> A dull knife is much more likely to cause an accident and cut you. <S> Dull knives are more difficult to use properly and any knife used improperly is likely to lead to accidents. <S> The duller the knife <S> the more pressure you need to apply in order to cut your food, leading to a higher chance of slipping and hurting yourself <A> It needs to be sharp enough to cut easily and cleanly. <S> A sharp knife grips the food, cuts better, and is easier to control. <S> Food also has a nicer presentation with a clean cut. <S> It does not need to be razor sharp and cut hair. <S> Cut paper is plenty sharp for meat, fruits, and vegetables. <S> You can also buy a sharpening kit to do it yourself. <S> Many options where you get cooking supplies. <S> Or pay to have it professional sharpened. <S> A knife does not hold an edge very long. <S> A honing steel <S> will re-align the microscopic teeth and can be used frequently- even after each use. <S> You will get one with most knife sets. <S> I hone before each use. <S> You will feel when the knife does not bite. <S> Something like a cucumber will bite easily. <S> A tomato takes a sharp edge. <S> When it does not easily penetrate the skin then hone. <S> wusthof.com care-and-sharpening using-a-steel <A> We had an axiom when I worked in a kitchen: <S> A sharp knife is a safe knife. <S> That applies to all types, in my opinion. <S> You want to maximize your control while cutting. <S> If you are slicing an apple or a tomato with a dull paring knife, your chance of injuring yourself will be elevated. <S> Using a dull knife also makes it more difficult to make something beautiful . <S> In order to fan out most fruits/vegetables, you need sharp, precise cuts. <S> See also Why Dull Knives are More Dangerous in the Kitchen <A> I laughed out loud when I read the question and some of the answers. <S> I am notorious, at least in my family, for not sharpening my knives regularly (or very fully even when I do). <S> Every time my brother visits me, he complains about my knives and sharpens them, and as as result I invariably cut myself while I'm washing dishes or actually paring. <S> As a result of this result, he is now barred from my kitchen. <S> I think you should have a paring knife with a cutting blade you're comfortable with. <S> If you're comfortable with a sharp one, use it. <S> If you like them a bit dull and know how to maneuver them properly, do that. <S> I really don't think this is one of those questions that has a right answer. <S> Each cook needs to decide what s/he likes and use it accordingly in this case. <S> The point, after all, is simply to be able to pare things!
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A sharp knife is safer because it is easier to control.
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Cooking rice with limited equipment I will be cooking in my dorm this coming year, and I only have an electric kettle at the moment. Is there a way for me to cook rice with only this (i.e. without a stove), or should I just get one of those plastic microwave rice cookers to use in the floor lounge? <Q> Typically an electric kettle is used for boiling liquids and unless you somehow defeat the safety shut off when the liquid boils, which is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! <S> and absolutely not recommended!! <S> you won't be able to hold a boil. <A> Stick to the microwave. <S> Many college dorms are somewhat underwired for everybody bringing high-wattage appliances, have (as yours would seem to ) rules against those, and many college life safety departments will quite happily confiscate high-wattage appliances that are forbidden. <S> Burning the place down is a BIT of a concern. <A> Ask whether a simple electric rice cooker would be allowed (the 0.6L, 300-400W variety can be had for around $20). <A> if you can't use a rice cooker or a microwave in your dorm, i would say your only option with the electric kettle is instant rice. <S> all you have to do is add boiling water and cover it for a few minutes.
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Use the cooking facilities provided (there might even be a real stove someplace in the dorm you can use if you expand beyond the microwave - but if a microwave is all you have, learn to make the most of it.)
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Could you smoke a sauce? I want to add smoke flavour to a somewhat runny pepper sauce. I thought of letting it simmer on the barbeque and also have some wood chips in water to provide lots of smoke. Keep the lid of the pot off and just put the lid of the weber on. Can you actually impart smoke flavours to a liquid like this or would it be better just to roast the peppers before you make the sauce? <Q> What you're describing isn't all that different from how they make various products like Liquid Smoke (make smoke along with steam, then condense that steam). <S> You will need to make sure that some actual condensation occurs (for example, by having a lid for the smokey vapor to condense onto). <S> However, it may be simpler to add a liquid smoke-type product directly; at least the main brands are actually smoke distillates (and not artificial flavorings or similar) and thus should be effectively identical to this process, but quicker. <A> I've definitely done this with ketchup before, with a couple key tweaks: Spreading the sauce onto a rimmed baking sheet. <S> This is to maximize surface area for smoking. <S> I used a Traeger pellet-smoker, so I'm not sure how a Weber might work. <S> I'm not sure how effective this'll be in your case, but the general principle is sound (and delicious). <S> Example recipe using the same process <A> This will definitely work, but I would recommend stirring it every once in a while as it will mostly be affecting only the surface. <S> A shallow vessel with a larger surface area will also impart more smokiness faster. <A> Better or worse is a judgement call. <S> Smoking the peppers then making the sauce v. smoking the sauce will produce different results, but both will impart smokiness. <S> For example, I've smoked water, then used it to cook eggs.
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So, you can, in fact, impart smoke flavor in a liquid by using a smoker.
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How much salt should be used in dishes for the best flavor? Is there a way to determine how much salt per quantity of food is required? For example if I use 1kg of ingredients then I need at most one tbsp of salt. Any such metrics? The quantity of salt to be added to food is a major problem for many people just learning to cook. <Q> There's a reason so many recipes say "salt to taste": there's no single answer. <S> Most of the time, we use close to 0.5% salt by weight <S> (so 1kg food has 5g or 1 teaspoon of salt), but "close to" leaves plenty of wiggle room about what exactly is best . <S> Different people have different tastes. <S> What's perfectly salted for one person may be oversalted or undersalted for another. <S> Different dishes need different ratios too. <S> Some things are supposed to taste a bit salty, while some just need a hint to amplify other flavors. <S> Sure, you can get approximate starting points, e.g. bread might be around 1% salt by weight , cookie dough might be about 0.5% , soups and stews <S> might be something like 0.5% (with tons of variation <S> - that's a couple random recipes). <S> So very roughly, 1kg of food often comes with 5 grams of salt (1 teaspoon) with exceptions ranging up to 10 grams (2 teaspoons). <S> But your best bet is always going to be to find a good recipe for the specific dish you're making, and possibly adjust it if you know your preferences lean one way or another. <S> Failing that, when cooking something improvised or new, or using one of the many recipes that just says "salt to taste", letting you do what suits you, trust the instincts that you've developed for your own tastes. <S> If you're cooking for others, with possibly varying tastes, it gets trickier. <S> For things where salt can be added after the fact, you can use less salt and let everyone individually salt to taste. <S> For things you can't mix after cooking, you pretty much have to compromise somewhere in the middle and hope it works for everyone. <S> Beyond that, if you can't decide what the right amount of salt is, don't worry about it. <S> There's surely a range that works for you, so if two different amounts both taste good, there you are. <S> And if you find yourself disagreeing with someone about what amount of salt results in the best flavor, stop. <S> You probably just have different tastes from the person you're arguing with. <A> Here is my answer from a related question : You can do a pretty good job seasoning your food simply by measuring its weight. <S> From the book Ideas in Food : <S> Interestingly, as we have become more diligent about recording our recipes, we have noticed that our personal salt concentrations are very stable. <S> There are a few exceptions where the level creeps up to 0.75 percent or down to 0.4 percent, but generally speaking, our palates are amazingly consistent. <S> [Emphasis is mine.] <A> One practical roblem with stating an amount like in ESultanik's answer is not having the answer but casually implementing it - 0.5% would mean measuring out 5g of salt for a kg of food or 0.5g for 100g, and many kitchen scales will be difficult to use with any degree of accuracy at that level. <S> Traditional tsp/tbsp measurements will be imprecise enough to seriously spoil or underseason a dish if followed by an inexperienced cook unless actual measuring spoons are used. <S> Variables to take into account <S> : Differences in regional taste, differences in cuisine and dish (how other common seasonings balance with the salt and how much a briny/salty flavor is desired or undesirable), liquid content of the food and how the salt is distributed in it (or sprinkled on)."Balance" is especially important if other bitter seasonings/aromatics are introduced in quantity (eg in curry dishes). <S> Also, there are scientifically accepted recommendations by medical organizations (at time of writing, 500mg minimum and 2300mg maximum) for daily sodium intake, in which salt plays a big role but not the only role; baking soda and MSG, for example, have sodium too. <S> Sodium intake from salt = grams of salt times 0.4 .
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Some ingredients need more salt to balance them than others. Across the board, regardless of the recipe, we tend to season our food at a level of 0.5 percent of the weight of what we are cooking.
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Chemistry of making carbonated water? I've found guides online for making carbonated (soda) water at home using a CO2 tank, a regulator and a plastic bottle. The guides suggest using "ice cold" water, filling the bottle 1/2 to 2/3 full, but differ on how much to shake the bottle, how many times to refill the bottle and what pressure to fill the bottle to. I was wondering if someone could provide an explanation for what the effect of temperature, pressure and agitation plays on the carbonation process and what a best practice might be for making soda water at home on demand. EDIT: A regulator tells you the pressure in the bottle--it doesn't tell you how much CO2 has entered the bottle. So my question is two parts: What's the "optimal" amount of CO2 per 1L H2O for a carbonated beverage and how do you tell when you've hit this amount? Say I have a 1L bottle filled with 0.5L H2O. At what pressure should the bottle be at 10°C for "optimum carbonation"? Cheers <Q> that's why warm soda bottles will usually look more bubbly inside. <S> Shaking the bottle greatly increases the surface area of interaction between water and gas, helping to speed up the process of carbonation. <A> First you must understand what the regulator does. <S> If you set it for 20 lbs/sq inch then as CO2 dissolves into the water the regulator will release more CO2 from the high pressure tank to keep the gas pressure at 20 lbs <S> /sq. <S> inch. <S> CO2 actually dissolves better in cold water vs hot water. <S> This is an equilibrium condition. <S> More CO2 dissolves into the water as the pressure is increased. <S> This is an equilibrium condition. <S> Shaking increases the surface area of the water so the CO2 will dissolved into the water faster. <S> For a given temperature and pressure though only so much CO2 will dissolve into the water. <S> Shaking the water won't make "more" CO2 dissolve into the water, it will only make the water/CO2 system come to equilibrium faster. <A> Only a partial answer - a gas is more soluble in cold water. <S> (solid is more soluble in hot liquid) <S> Please provide a link to one of the videos. <S> Video I saw he barely shook.
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CO2 actually dissolves better in cold water vs hot water.
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Can i make ice cream with artificial sweetener I wonder if an artificial sweetener like sucralose or erythritol could be used to make a reasonably soft ice cream. <Q> Weeeellll...remember, the sugar in ice cream helps it not form into a solid chunk of ice (as does the fat). <S> Often reduced-sugar recipes call for alcohol, which can help do the same thing. <S> You're really going to need something to keep all those ice crystals from forming. <S> If you want to play with artificial sweetener, I'd be tempted to suggest going more towards a frozen custard. <S> My first trial for such things would be milk, a sweetener, and cornstarch. <S> Once you have a custard that you're ok with, try running through your ice cream maker. <S> I've tried something similar, but I didn't have an ice cream maker at the time. <S> I ended up with something like a pudding pop. <S> It was still yummy. <A> Breyers, Ben & Jerry's, and various diet brands use Splenda or similar sucralose based artificial sweeteners in their ice cream. <S> You can too! <S> Best Low Carb Sugar Free Ice Cream Recipes <S> Best Low Carb Ice Cream Recipes <A> Erythritol (or a comparable compound) is a sugar alcohol that will have some of the physical properties of an actual sugar, and will be a bulk ingredient. <S> It will likely have a textural impact on an ice cream compared to there being no sugar at all, which might or might not be desirable.
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Sucralose is a 600x strength artifical sweetener that you would, in its pure form, usually only add in far too small quantities to have any textural impact, so you would get the same result as making the ice cream with no sugar.
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Ceramic knives for boning? I have read that one shouldn't use ceramic knives for cutting THROUGH bones, but how about for cutting AROUND bones? Examples would include cutting breasts off a chicken, carving around bones in steaks, etc. So the knife would probably come into occasional contact with a bone, but not with any serious amount of force. <Q> Any slip into bone can cause chips in your blade <S> so I would just not use them when bones are involved. <A> Save your ceramics for fruits and vegetables. <S> Warnings are not limited to THROUGH bones. <S> For me a meat cuts fine with metal. <A> I would agree, a ceramic knife would not be the best knife for de-boning. <S> They were not intended to be used for this purpose. <S> The size, shape and weight are not suitable for de-bone most proteins. <S> I believe in the long run you would damage the knife. <S> Some bones, say pork or beef bones are harder, and if you hit them too hard with a ceramic knife, it could damage the edge. <S> Also some techniques require you to hit and break a bone to remove the meat from the bone. <S> A ceramic knife would probably shatter from the repeated impact.
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the problem with ceramic knives and bones is that they are incredibly brittle.
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How to clean red tea stains from cracked glaze Japanese tea cups I have a set of green, cracked glaze Japane tea cups.A totally unused one is pictured in Figure 1. Figure 1: A clean, unused tea cup. As I have used one of these cups several times with African red tea, the cup has begun to take on a stain, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2: A used and reddish/brown stained tea cup. What method can remove this stain while preserving all parts of the cup, including the glaze? <Q> For these types of cups with a cracked finish is the purpose is actually that over time, the tea fills up the cracks. <S> This sounds a bit strange, but the same happens with porous Yixing clay teapots. <S> The pores are filled with tea over time, which helps to improve the brew. <S> Given that you want to remove the strains I wouldn't use any detergent or soap. <S> If that is sucked in the cracks it can be released when you serve tea in the future. <S> This might negatively affect the flavor of tea. <S> To clean, I suggest the same method that's used to ' season ' Yixing clay pots. <S> You can cook the cup in hot water until the strains are gone. <A> A few suggestions that might help with the tea stains include rubbing with baking soda and water , or soaking in hot water and dishwasher detergent several hours, even overnight, before washing. <S> Alternately, it may help to lightly scrub with salt or a paste of salt and vinegar (as salt may be able to get into cracks, supposedly will not harm ceramics, and can be dissolved out afterwards). <S> Or a paste of corn starch and vinegar , which feels like a work around for just soaking in vinegar. <S> In any case, once you have cleaned the cups to your satisfaction, you might want to take steps to prevent this happening again - not just for aesthetic purposes, but from the way the color concentrated along the lines of the cracked glaze, it looks like maybe a potential safety issue if tea residues can't be cleanly washed out of the crazes, whether they can be seen or not. <S> Of course, it depends on what you are willing to risk. <S> A very thin layer of transparent or clear food grade epoxy might work, without spoiling the beauty of your cups (you should be able to see the pattern through them). <A> I would try bleach, at varying concentrations of bleach in water. <S> I'd start with something like 1 part bleach in 50 parts water. <S> The trick is that you want to bleach out the red color while not otherwise harming the appearance of the ceramic and glaze. <S> Test with your worst-stained (and hopefully chipped) bowl until you get it right or give up. <A> Put about a teaspoon of baking soda in the cup, and add white vinegar mixed with water (half and half). <S> Swirl gently, and let sit for about 30 minutes. <S> Toothpaste might also work, although I've not tried this method; use a non-gel type.
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I've had success in removing tea stains (although not Rooibos) from pottery mugs by using baking soda and vinegar.
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Why aren't my vanilla beans imparting vanilla flavor? Has anyone noticed the lack of vanilla flavor in vanilla beans? I have tried several varieties, from different countries and suppliers. While there is a hint of vanilla, I am using triple the beans plus extract and gain some but not much effect. I have taken all the beans, (new ones) and made vanilla paste, which should be omg this kitchen reeks with vanilla! But it does not. <Q> The aroma of vanilla beans is not easy to release. <S> You have to extract it somehow. <S> The most popular way is a prolonged extraction with alcohol, but you can also boil the seeds in milk or other dairy (that method is especially popular for custards). <S> If you simply throw seeds into whatever you are making, you are not going to get much aroma. <A> I recently made vanilla gelato with vanilla bean. <S> It soaked in my "sauce" overnight. <S> There was an amazing aroma. <S> Maybe vanilla bean flavor needs "released," i.e., in liquid, etc. <S> I am fairly new to cooking, so I'm no expert, but again, mine was heavenly. <A> While using the whole bean makes most economic sense, for the most concentrated flavour use only the seeds scraped out of the inside of the pod. <S> I also find the seeds have less of the slightly herbal bitterness that the whole pod imparts into food. <S> @iDoVooDoo makes a good point that flavour will only continue to be released over time, so try preparing things ahead when possible. <S> I don't know how you are making your bean paste, but you should try simmering the whole or chopped up beans in water before adding sugar and reducing to make a syrup that will turn into a satisfyingly rich and thick paste after blending everything. <S> The inital simmering will make sure the flavour compounds in the bean are released into the 'substrate' of the paste. <S> This will not happen as effectively if you only simmer them in sugar syrup, as the syrup is not a good solvent.
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If you are using the whole bean, there is a significant dilution of flavour caused by the actual 'pod' of the bean.
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How to make cake mix less sweet I recently made a simple box cake, the one where you just add water and oil to the mix, but once I ate it I thought that it was way too sweet. I looked up how to temper this sweetness, but the best I could find was a suggestion to add lemon rind or - I assume - lemon essence (to a vanilla mix cake), to try and balance the sweetness. Is there a better way to do this? The best I could think of is to add flour, but the website also said not to do that as it would make the cake ingredients disproportionate. What could I do instead? <Q> There's not really anything easy you can do. <S> Even adding lemon zest or essence isn't really going to help; it'll just give you a lemony but still sweet cake. <S> I suppose theoretically you could add sour things, since that does tend to balance out sweetness, but it's tricky since acid will interact with the leavening. <S> A sour icing, or a sour sauce to serve it with, might be a better bet in that vein. <S> You might be able to use the nutrition facts to help get a sense of how sweet they are before you buy them. <A> Add 2/3 cup Flour, 1 egg, 1 Tsp baking powder and 1/2 cup water to the mix ( u need to incorporate this added ingredients to those already listed on the box (ex: egg, water , oil, etc)... <A> You need an alternative to regular boxed cake mixes, rather than trying to compensate for them. <S> Rather than going the "from scratch" route, you could buy a box of cake flour at your store. <S> Some have simple cake recipes on the box. <S> You do have to add additional ingredients, but since the sugar is added, you can adjust it however you like. <S> If the product has a website you might find some recipes there too. <S> For example: http://www.pillsburybaking.com/products/softasilk-764 has some recipes. <A> Stop buying cake mix. <S> Instead, find a solid cake recipe to test and love, then buy all those components and preblend your dry ingredients. <S> Make your own cake mix with less sugar!
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So unfortunately, you'd be best off shopping around for cake mixes that are more the level of sweetness you want.
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Are cans dishwasher safe I use canned food from tins from time to time (cat food, chickpeas etc.). I need to clean them before throwing away as I don't have that many recyclable items to throw them away daily and I don't want the smell. I started wondering if I can clean them up in dishwasher? Usually there is some free space either on top or bottom and (as far as I know) the practically same amount of water is used anyway so I would save both time and water. However - is it safe to do it? <Q> Washing cans in your dishwasher is not a good idea because of the labels. <S> Most cans have paper labels which are held on by glue, in the dishwasher the labels will soften and come off, getting sucked into the mechanism and getting stuck to dishes and glasses. <S> The dry cycle will harden the paper in place and be very hard to get off. <S> The glue will also probably melt with a similar result. <S> Cat food cans do tend to get a bit stinky, but a quick sink cleanup usually does the trick. <S> Soak them in water for 10 minutes or so and then use a bottle brush with a drop of dish soap to clean them. <A> We put cans through the dishwasher all the time wiot no problems. <S> I suggest removing the bulk of the label if it's easy (many cans have <S> just a thin glued strip and one quick rip removes the vast majority). <S> Our dishwasher (Zanussi) has a pretty good filter arrangement and any bits of label that do some off are caught and easily disposed of (more easily than stray peas or bits of onion, for example). <S> If you put a lot of cans through in one go, it's more important to remove the labels as they could block the filter just by sitting on top of it. <A> it stops them from smelling as well as deters bugs etc from the recycle bin.
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Personally I give all cans a rinse with hot water to remove any food then spray them with a common lemon kitchen cleaner -
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Fork left in microwave, hole in microwave wall I left a fork in my microwave and there were no sparks but there is now a small hole on the inside wall. The microwave works fine but is there anything dangerous about this? <Q> First off, what is the hole in? <S> Is it just a hole in the plastic interior, or is a hole clean through the metal shielding? <S> If you're confident it's just the plastic, that should be fine - <S> that's not part of what's keeping it safe. <S> If it's actually a hole through the metal, then the power transmitted is roughly proportional to (d/λ)^4, that is, the fourth power of the ratio of diameter to wavelength. <S> (See this question on physics , with more details found on another question there . <S> That proportionality is from a simplified version of the problem, but it should be an okay approximation.) <S> With a 12.2cm microwave wavelength, using a 12.2cm hole as the baseline, 0.01% as much leaks through a 1.2cm hole, 0.1% through a 2.1cm hole, 1% through a 3.8cm hole, and 10% though a 6.7cm hole. <S> And the full power of the microwave is 750-1500W, so the absolute worst case power leaked through those holes is .15W, 1.5W, 15W, and 150W. <S> So for holes less than 1cm (leaking at most <S> .15W) you should not have to worry. <S> A 2cm hole (leaking at most 1.5W) also would likely be safe, since the energy shouldn't be too focused, but that's the range where I'd start getting nervous. <A> The wavelength of the microwaves in the oven is roughly 12 centimeters or 4.7 inches. <S> If the hole is smaller than this, then the waves won’t leak. <S> If the hole is larger, microwaves might leak. <S> If they escape, the microwaves would dissipate (or die out) quickly in air, not causing any harm, and likely going unnoticed... <S> Source: <S> Science ABC: <S> What Happens <S> if There’s a Hole in Your Microwave <A> One thing that can also happen is that this setup will cause interference to radio communications (WIFI, HAM radio...) or even damage someone's radio. <S> While not a direct threat of injury, if you interrupt somebody's business with interference from a known defective device, they can hold you liable for damages.
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However, even if the waves leak out, it is highly unlikely that they will cause any damage, as microwaves are non-ionizing in nature and do not carry much energy as individual waves in open space. Therefore, for any of the microwaves to escape the interior of the oven, the hole would have to be 4.7 inches in diameter.
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What can I substitute for Cointreau I want to make cocktails that call for Cointreau (Orange Liquor), but it's rather expensive for a college student as myself. What can I substitute Cointreau for that wont break the bank? Options should be obtainable at SAQ (in Quebec, Canada) Note: I heard of Meaghers triple sec , is this a good option? <Q> Cointreau is just one particular brand. <S> You can substitute any other triple sec/orange liquor. <S> Some may suit your tastes better than others, but there's really no reason to insist on the fanciest most well-known brands, especially since you're mixing it into cocktails. <S> So sure, try the Meaghers, or anything else that looks promising. <S> And when in doubt, just ask the folks at SAQ to help you out! <A> You can, generally, substitute another brand Triple Sec for that, since that is what Cointreau is. <S> If you're used to Cointreau, you might want to transition to brands known for being of decent quality, vs. bargain basement (like, say Mr Boston), so the adjustment isn't too much of a shock. <S> Keep in mind that Grand Marnier, while an orange liqueur, is actually a "curacao," not a triple sec (Cointreau is a triple sec, AND a curacao). <S> Triple secs have a neutral spirit as their base, while Grand Marnier is brandy-based. <S> I think all triple secs are curacaos, but not all curacaos are triple sec. <S> Article comparing brands of Triple Sec, with prices and links to reviews <A> Cointreau is a "curacao" or orange liqueur, and more specifically it is a top-shelf brand of triple sec. <A> Some things have substitutes that are acceptable, depending on use. <S> The only real way to know is to try. <S> In some cases the substitutes will turn out not to be suitable (varies with taste, opinions, etc. - not something you can really depend on anything but your own experiments to know for sure.) <S> I find a particular low-end-brand of creme de cassis to be superior for my purposes/tastes to several supposedly higher end (and <S> certainly higher priced) versions I have tried occasionally. <S> For other things the definitive brand is well worth it (and was even when I was in college/on a tight budget), at the rate I drink, anyway, and clearly superior in taste (to my taste.) <S> Some liqueurs can be be effectively knocked off with vodka/grain alcohol, sugar, and flavorings/fruit, (often +time) if you are on a budget and like projects. <S> I did a pretty satisfying plum "wine" (as it's typically called) that way, but it took about a year to do, which might be beyond your planning horizon as a college student. <S> Things that don't involve steeping actual fruit can be much faster, but might not save much money, depending on the cost of the flavoring(s). <S> At least of the bottles I have had in stock, Cointreau and triple sec are rather different, though both are orange-flavored, with the Cointreau being 40% ABV while the triple-sec was either 15 or 7.5%. <S> Your linked version is 35%, so that obviously varies. <S> Quality of the fruit flavor and lack of off flavors will matter more than the precise alcohol content, generally. <A> You could substitute Bols Curacao Triple Sec which has an ABV of 38%, close enough to that of Cointreau. <S> If that isn't available in Quebec, Meaghers Triple Sec with an ABV of 35% certainly is. <A> You can substitute Patron's Citronge, or Combier orange liquor. <S> Both are about $26 here in the Bethlehem, PA, which is about $10 cheaper than Cointreau. <S> I have used both in Winter White Cosmos and regular Cosmos and each <S> works well. <S> And each actually DOES taste like Contreau. <A> I use the Cointreau in my margaritas, which I make with fresh limes and a quality tequila. <S> (Cazadores reposado is my first choice). <S> I have not found a suitable substitute. <S> Gran Marnier is different: it isn't clear and has a very different taste. <S> Not acceptable to me. <S> I also tried Patron orange liquer. <S> Didn't like it. <S> Pretty sure I would not like the triple secs mentioned here.
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Any other triple sec, as will other curacaos and orange liqueurs such as Grand Marnier, GranGala, Combier, various Blue Curacaos, etc, will get you a similar result, possibly with color and minor flavor changes.
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Is beef ever brined? I quite often will brine poultry and sometimes pork but I have never (or ever heard of anyone) brining beef? Does anyone know why it doesn't seem to be as popular with beef or has anyone tried it? If so, how are the results? <Q> People often marinate beef cuts like flank steak or skirt steak. <S> Dry brining (pre-salting) <S> beef is pretty common, such as for prepping many steaks . <S> Wet brining is also pretty common -- <S> corned beef is brined. <S> Beef tongue is often pickled and brined as well. <A> Yes. <S> To make pastrami or corned beef, one must brine the meat for about a week. <S> Corning, brining, and pickling are all variants of the same process - curing meat in <S> a sugar- and/or salt-water solution, regardless of whether it is in fact kosher. <S> For pastrami, and maybe corned beef, you add nitrates to the solution. <S> I made Pastrami once. <S> The total process took almost a month and my 8-pound brisket yielded about 3 or 4 pounds of edible meat. <S> Even though most people I served it to thought it was delicious, I will never make it again. <S> I now know that the $20 sandwich served at Katz' in NYC or Langers in LA is a bargain. <A> In a manner of speaking, kashering is a form of brining, albeit one meant to remove blood from the meat, rather than to flavour it. <S> Despite the specialisation of the link, kashering is done for all kosher meat, including (especially) beef and sheep. <A>
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Yes, most obviously salt beef (treated wth brine), but also corn(ed) beed (treated with corns of rock salt), bully beef, pastrami, and beef jerky / biltong (both dried as well as salted).
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Can someone identify this herb? I found this herb in an Asian supermarket. The label didn't actually say what it was, and the clerks at the store didn't speak English well enough to ask them. My first thought was mint, but I would expect mint leaves to be more wrinkly than that. My second thought was holy basil , which would be a pleasant surprise as that's generally very hard to find. I looked at pictures of holy basil online, and it looks pretty close, although these leaves look a bit more pointy than in those pictures. Can someone identify the herb in the picture? <Q> I don't think it's shiso, as that tends to have a more jagged edge. <S> http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/07/seriously-asian-perilla-leaves.html <S> http://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/perilla-leaves <S> (but I can't discount bitter leaf, as that's not something I'm familiar with) <A> I believe that is a picture of shiso. <A> I think this is Bitter Leaf, renowned for its nutritional properties. <S> See http://www.prosisupermarket.com/admin/Product/bitter-leaf-10.jpg <S> (I am not related in any way :) ) <S> Hope this helps <A> It is kinh giới, Elsholtzia ciliata. <S> Different from Korean perilla. <S> Korean perilla (sesame leaf) is not sold in bulk like that because you need big leaves. <S> They sell them stacked and they are expensive. <S> If you grow Korean perilla by yourself and don't select out the big leaves, it looks like the picture, but why sell it like that? <S> The other perilla-like leaf used in Vietnamese cuisine is tía tô , which is purple. <S> To the left is ngo gai , so the OP is in the Vietnamese section, and kinh giới is easy to propagate and reasonably shelf stable, so it's one of the most common herbs you see. <S> That's why it is cheap, and it's sold all over. <S> Rule out <S> Japanese shiso because Japanese herbs usually aren't sold in "Asian" supermarkets. <A> For me it looks like nettles. <S> But while I have eaten those in the past I have yet to see a store selling them, so I might be mistaken.
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I suspect it's the botanically related Korean kkaennip (aka 'sesame leaf', which is also of the family Perilla):
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Will pizza dough stick on steel platform in conventional oven? I'm trying to avoid cornmeal, although it used to be the ideal choice since the dough tasted too much like flour when I used corn flour. But now I've moved on to using a steel surface to bake. Should I worry about adding semolina, flour, or cornmeal to the steel in the oven? Or will the pizza not stick to the steel platform? I saw this thread, any reason to put cornmeal/semolina on hot pizza stone or steel? , but it sounded like it depends on the dough hydration, and I'm clueless as to how to determine that. Would putting the dough on parchment paper, then sliding it in work? <Q> I ended up skipping the parchment paper. <S> I had 6 small-medium pizza worth of dough, and padded all pizza-dough with semolina , as well as padded peel with semolina prior to each slide-in-to-oven . <S> Prior to first pizza I put some semolina on the steel in the oven (though it might've been unnecessary... yet to confirm) <S> All 6 pizzas turned out great, with quality crust. <S> It wasn't really messy <S> , might've been two three burnt spots, simply before the steel cooled off, I grabbed a wooden cooking spoon, lightly scratch, and pushed it out onto another plate. <S> Update <S> Confirmed <S> you don't have to add anysemolina flour or anything to the steel, pizza won't stick. <A> I would put the dough on parchment paper. <S> The dough <S> probably won't stick, but parchment paper makes there be much less mess taking it in and out of the oven, and pizza on parchment cooks just the same. <S> Otherwise your dough will stick to the peel, and you will end up making what I call a "plalzone"— a pizza that you scrape off the peel into the oven out of frustration and fold it over on itself in a terrible mess. <A> No , you don't need to put anything on a steel in your oven prior to launching a pizza on it. <S> Even with 75%+ hydration(quite high dough), I've never had a problem myself. <S> The reason to use semolina or flour is to prevent sticking to your pizza peel and a failed launch into the oven. <S> If you can get away without any additions to your peel, you likely have a low hydration dough which is just fine. <S> For those, try a grill cleaning stone to scrub off the surface once it's cooled down. <S> As for calculating your own hydration percentage, check out: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/professional/bakers-percentage.html <A> It may stick to the stone/steel initially, but as it cooks it will de-stick itself. <S> What this means is that you may have difficulty sliding it onto the stone/steel without the dough catching and you accidentally folding or scrunching the pizza which is a pain. <S> It can also be difficult to reposition or turn the pizza until it's developed much of a crust on the bottom. <S> If you find these aren't issues for you then flour or cornmeal isn't needed.
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Now what will stick to a steel is sauce, cheese, and toppings that slide off of the pizza and melt/burn long after your pizza is done. If you're using a pizza peel (the large wood spatula for sliding the pizza in), you should definitely use parchment if you aren't using cornmeal.
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Cooking meat directly above the flame of a gas stove What's the easiest way of cooking meat holding it over the flame of a gas stove burner? Is there any device to help with it? How I am doing it right now is holding a skewer a couple of inches over the flame. What annoys me more is the oil dripping on the stove and having to hold it. <Q> Stoves aren't grills. <S> They're not meant to have food in contact with them. <S> If you're doing something like warming a tortilla above it <S> that's fine, but as soon as you mention things dripping into the flame that's a red flag, especially if it's fat. <S> You really don't want to start a grease fire, especially one that's down in the burner. <S> A couple alternatives: use an actual gas grill, outside use the broiler in your oven, with a broiler pan (they have grates so <S> the food is held above the pan) use a very hot skillet or a tabletop/countertop electric grill; it's not the same <S> but it's still good! <A> Generally speaking, this is why people buy gas grills, which are not for indoor use, because open flame cooking inside is messy, smoky, and dangerous. <S> If you really want to apply flame directly to meat inside your house, I'd suggest buying a propane torch and a flame spreader or diffuser and cooking small pieces at a time. <S> These kinds of torches are often used for searing and toasting, and are probably safer than trying to use a gas stove or oven. <A> That is a safety hazard and a lot of cleaning <S> You could get a grease fire going <S> Not just what is dripping off meat the grease that built up in the stove <S> I don't think you can safely direct flame meat in your house on regular range <S> Char <S> a bell pepper over the flame is OK There are commercial products . <S> Not sure if there are charboilers designed for home use. <A> It's possible that you might be able to pull this off, but it's quite hazardous. <S> If my only heat source was a gas burner, I'd start it off in a pan of water, pricking the sausage in a few places, so that you can render some of the fat and have it leak out. <S> If you're willing to cook it in the pan, just wait until the water boils off, then keep rolling them around to crisp up the skin. <S> It you still want to cook it over an open flame <S> , I'd first try to render off the fat in the water, then work over the flame. <S> If you have something heat-safe <S> that's narrow <S> , I'd fill it with water and try to roast over the container so that the fat drips into the water, not the stove. <S> Another alternative would be to use some alternate fuel source -- sterno, white gas, high-proof alcohol, etc. <S> If you don't have any of those, and really want to cook over the gas burner (which I wouldn't suggest), I'd keep a plate with some paper towels in it over on the side of the burner, so if I saw it look like it was getting too glossy (from oils), I could roll it on the paper to get most of the oils off. <S> I'd also beware of cooking over too hot of a flame, as that can lead to the side bursting and lots of juices running out suddenly. <S> And keep a fire extinguisher around if you're going to be taking these sort of risks. <A> Putting food you'd like to cook in the oven or broiler is just not the same as it being grilled over an open flame. <S> It uses induction heat transfer and is as close to indoor grilling you can get. <S> They sell them in many retail stores.
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There's something called a kitchen stove grill that you can use to place over your stove's burner.
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Can I freeze beef stew? I've made too much beef stew, and I'd love to be able to freeze it instead of letting it go bad. It's a stew with cooked vegetables and chunks of beef. Will this freeze and defrost well? (If it matters, I bought the beef frozen, not fresh -- but I think the "don't refreeze" guideline is before cooking.) <Q> Yes, you can freeze stew. <S> You may find that the vegetables are a bit softer or broken into smaller pieces after thawing. <S> If you used a thickening agent (flour, cornstarch), it may separate as it thaws in the refrigerator overnight. <S> To remedy that, remove a bit of the liquid, simmer with a bit more thickener and whisk so that it stabilizes. <S> Then, gently stir into the stew as you reheat it. <S> And, you're correct, 'don't refreeze' applies to the raw meat, not to when it has been cooked. <A> Having some ready meals in the freezer is a wise move, come winter or on a hectic day you'll probably be grateful for it. <S> Your meat won't suffer and while the veggies might get a bit mushier, I assume in a stew they will be quite soft already. <S> The don't re-freeze is more about quality of raw meat than about food safety - if you defrost in the refrigerator where the meat will never get in the "danger zone". <A> I would add to cool the stew a bit in the freezing container(s) on the countertop first, then in the fridge for a couple of hours before putting in the freezer. <S> This helps the liquid/gravy not to separate in the freezer.
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By all means, freeze the stew!
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Air bubbles in sausage Are air bubbles/pockets/loose casing in raw sausages okay food safety-wise? I don't know if it's just because they didn't fill them as full or if they formed from gases/bacteria. They are five days before the best before date Merguez sausages. Thanks! <Q> It is most likely just a void. <S> It is hard to pack a casing 100%. <S> There will be voids. <S> Could it be (toxic) bacterial gas? <S> Maybe but not likely. <A> To avoid it, you'd need to pack them in a way that makes them more like hot dogs than sausages. <S> Hot dogs are a smooth emulsion of (usually) reclaimed meat, fat and spices. <S> Sausages are mince that's been somewhat loosely packed and cooked (usually smoked) in a casing along with herbs, fat and spices. <S> With synthetic casings, you can pump a bit more pressure resulting in a denser sausage with less air, but there's still going to be some. <S> However, the hallmark of a great quality sausage is a natural casing, with little nooks of air, fat, spices, etc. <S> What you have sounds like quality sausage in a natural casing, and you should positively consume it when it's fresh (ideally within days of buying it!). <S> But there's nothing wrong with leaving them out in the back of the fridge to age a little bit (really helps bring out the flavor of fennel / anise) prior to cooking them up, and they will be a little loose and crumbly. <S> If you pick up on even a slight acrid taste or smell, don't use them. <S> Otherwise, you're fine. <A> The casing on a fresh sausage needs to be left somewhat loose because the casing will contract when it's cooked. <S> If it were stuffed as tightly as possible, it would be almost certain to split open in the frying pan. <S> Even for a sausage that will be poached first ( boudin blanc , e.g.), which causes the casing to shrink much more gently, you must account for that shrinking. <S> Air bubbles are simply a natural consequence, as Tim Post says, of the size of the grind. <S> You notice that tennis balls in their can also have "air bubbles" around them. <S> This is again to prevent splitting: the air will expand when it's heated and that can rupture the casing. <S> The pockets are not a danger sign by any means, though. <S> (My guess would be that'd just be harmless yeast, but) <S> When in doubt, throw it out.
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The only worrisome hypothetical I can think of would be that they appear to inflate on their own while the sausage is in cold storage: that means something alive is producing gas. If there are a lot of bubbles, it's a sign of perhaps not-quite-painstaking manufacture: usually the bubbles are pierced after the links are formed.
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What is the difference between bread dough and pizza dough? Our local supermarket sells bread dough, and I was wondering whether I could use it for a pizza base, or whether it would rise too much. At present we've been using frozen pizza bases, but something fresh would really be nice, -I just don't always have a chance to make it myself. <Q> You can use frozen bread dough, just fine. <S> You'll often see it suggested in recipes. <S> Pizza dough sometimes is made from higher gluten flour, or goes through a slower rise to make it more chewey and stretchy, but bread dough is definitely a major upgrade over pre-cooked crusts. <S> Another option is call around to some local pizza shops (national chains usually won't do this) - many of them will sell their dough for about $1 a ball (good for about a 14" pizza). <A> Sure you can use it for a Pizza <S> and you know why ? <S> Because one of the most gratifying part of cooking is experimenting :) <S> Seriously, there are a lot of variations in pizza dough out there <S> , some of them clamed to be THE real ones, other just pretend to. <S> The reality is that if it's made with good ingredients and you already baked bread out of it, chances are also a pizza would be tasty. <S> As @dlb wrote, it all boils down to personal tastes and how you like your pizza, but this shouldn't stop you from trying (afterall <S> , you're not asking if it's ok to bake a pizza using pasta ;) ) <A> I have not found that there is a definitive answer, the most common I know is that it depends on what you like for a pizza dough. <S> I know many people who use a common bread dough for pizza. <S> I personally find that too "bready", but they like it that way. <S> When I first learned, I was taught use a basic french bread recipe and add a couple Table Spoons of oil then allow to rise in cool environment rather than warm. <S> Many use a higher gluten flour, but if you prefer a more cracker like thin crust then whole grain and a extra pinch a salt and immediately cook after rolling out with only one rise. <S> If you like a thicker, chewy crust, then I suggest letting the dough do a second 10-15 minute rise after you have it ready for toppings <S> but before you put them on. <S> Most times what many of us consider a better pizza crust, regardless of if we like thin, thick, crispy, chewy, or some odd combo is one with smaller fermentation bubbles which calls for slower rising than bread. <S> Higher gluten, a more elastic knead, a bit extra oil and a pinch of salt can all help get this. <S> Starting with a regular break dough would restrict you down to only being able to go with a slower rise in my mind. <A> Pizza dough = <S> Bread dough + white corn meal+ olive oil + 12-36 hours in fridge, (well sealed in air-tight container) <S> Scratch mix tip: <S> flour ratio: 2/3 <S> all purpose, 1/3 whole wheat <S> Other: <S> Use milk or distilled water or filtered waterOptional: 1 tablespoon of vinegar for ph balance. <S> Never use any alcohol based liquids such as wine etc--kills yeast!Garlic and yeast seem to love each other in fresh dough! <S> Garlic can be mashed or put into blender with water or milk <S> Always use fresh ingredients in dough and toppings <A> As somebody who has been experimenting with different dough recipes and cooking techniques for pizza over the past 3-4 years, I can tell you that you can definitely use bread dough for pizza. <S> What you have to bear in mind is that there is a huge amount of variation in dough recipes for pizza - some are "no knead" doughs where you mix the ingredients together and leave them without kneading, some ask for eggs to be included in the dough, some rise in an hour, some rise for 5 days <S> , the hydration of the doughs vary wildly... <S> One of the main differences to me seems to be that the different kinds of dough suit different cooking methods. <S> Some doughs are well-suited to being stretched super-thin and cooking for a very short time <S> (~5 mins) at a very high heat (400°C), others are suited for thicker bases and slower cooking, some are best-suited to deep-pan cooking methods where you oil a pan and the base more-or-less fries in the pan. <S> For what it's worth I would say generally (and I can only speak generally) the "breadier" doughs work better in a deep-pan situation to be cooked with oil rather than e.g. directly on a pizza stone. <S> Furthermore, a particular type of dough may not conform to what your idea of "good pizza" is. <S> Odds are whatever you come up with is [i]somebody[/i]'s idea of good pizza. <S> In my opinion you need a relatively wet dough, a really hot oven and a fast cooking time to get a really great pizza with a crunchy-but-chewy base, but that's just my opinion and my favourite kind of pizza. <S> The best thing you can do is to try it.
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The main thing you will find is you can get decent pizza from most types of dough, but you will need to experiment with how to prepare and cook the dough to get the best out of it.
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Can one preserve cooked fish with salt? I am attempting to replicate a Thai delicacy called 'Pla Tuu'.It is a small fish that is salted, cooked in water, and then reheated periodically to preserve it. My question is: Should the initial salting be done before the fish is cooked for the first time, or afterwards? My worry is that the salt will be washed off or leached out during cooking, and the preservative effects will be lost. On the other hand, I have never heard of preserving a fish or meat after it has been cooked. <Q> Disclaimer - I'm not familiar with the recipe, and I also couldn't find much on it when I looked, so I just had some thoughts to possibly offer in the absence of anything more offical. <S> If the salting is done before cooking, it wouldn't depend on the presence of salt "not being washed away" while cooking, but on the changes in the fish that happened while in the salt - it might be used for a short time to quickly draw water out of the fish, so it is drier and firmer when cooking, or it might be left in the salt longer, actually stored in salt for a while, to cure (like salt beef or pork). <S> The difference might be identified by how dry (and salty) <S> the finished product is, since something cured in salt will tend to be very dry, maybe tough, and jerky-like in consistency, since salt is very efficient in extracting water, and may need to be washed and rehydrated before subsequent cooking, while something softer in consistency was likely salted for a short period of time and will depend on the cooking to stay unspoiled. <S> If the salting was done after cooking, you would get different tastes and textures - probably mellower, less raw, and not needing further preparation (though it can be, it is a food moreso than an ingredient), something like that. <S> It isn't unheard of to preserve meats after cooking - you might look at confits or potted meats , to get ideas for how it would work. <S> Confits are also often briefly cured in salt and aromatics before cooking and storage, so this might be a related technique (or at least give some ideas). <S> Of course, confits and potted meats are also cooked or stored in fats (specifically for the air- and water-tight qualities, which keep bacteria from finding the food), which may be quite different from your Pla Tuu - and possibly the reason it needs periodic reheating to keep it safe while it is being, transformed?, during the storage or curing process or whatever. <A> Pla Tuu. <S> Are smaller fish. <S> Split open then hung on the bow of the boat to catch salt water spray. <S> Then once ashore cold smoked dried. <S> then boiled to eat. <S> Philippine stile. <S> Not sure of Thi. <S> It will make the water cooked in salty. <S> Some times hung on the bow lines of a fishing outrigger for over a week to catch salt spray & soak in. <S> o sea salt sprayed & sun dried on the boat. <S> Smoked once ashore. <A> If you want to preserve it for a long time, then give salts before cooking it.
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Salt-cured meat usually needs to be prepared further before eating (it is an ingredient, not a ready-made food).
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Drying store bought bread for stuffing I am drying a loaf of sourdough on my counter. There is a lot of it, so I will need to store some of the dried cubes. My question is, how do I store it and how will I know if it is no longer good to cook with? Also, is it better to just put it in the oven to dry it rather than on the counter? <Q> There are two types of bread for stuffing. <S> If you're aiming for the dry type, a very low oven would be better. <A> I dry cut cubes, spread in a single layer, in a low (170°F 77°C) oven for 10 mins, then let the oven cool down before removing the bread. <S> The bread will tell when it's gone off by developing a rancid oil smell. <S> That'll take months to a year or more. <A> Cube it, bake at 200°F for 2 hrs, cool then store in ziplock . <S> Make sure it's really dry first. <S> Depends on initial moisture content of bread.
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If you have room in your freezer, that would be a good place to store the bread you're planning to use later to make stuffing.
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Does adding olive oil in pasta while boiling make it sticky? I am planning to make a pasta dish and would like to know if adding 1Tb spoon of olive oil while boiling 500 gram of pasta make it sticky. What are the other advantages and disadvantages of this approach? <Q> Adding a tablespoon of oil to pasta water won't affect the outcome in the slightest, doing that is a waste of a good ingredient. <S> Adding olive oil to pasta after it has been drained on the other hand will keep the pasta from sticking. <S> It will also make it oily, which may not be what you want. <A> For most Italian pasta dishes, adding oil to cooking water is typically not recommended. <S> The assumptions are (a) <S> the oil floats on the surface and does little to impact the pasta, or (b) <S> the oil coats the pasta making it more difficult for the condiment to adhere when it is combined with the pasta. <S> The exception might be to add some oil to drained pasta that will be used for a pasta salad. <S> This would keep the cooling noodles from sticking together. <A> Adding a little bit of olive oil to boiling pasta will prevent the water from foaming up and boiling over. <S> I use it all the time; it's a very useful trick. <S> I have never noticed anything different about the resulting pasta. <S> In short: no.
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Some people think adding olive oil to pasta water will keep the pasta from sticking, but in reality it does absolutely nothing.
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How to prevent eggplant having a tough or rubbery texture I'm planning on cooking an Asian style eggplant with garlic sauce soon. However, I am concerned (perhaps even paranoid) about getting the texture right. My goal is for the eggplant to be very soft ("melt in your mouth"). In the past, I've had eggplant turn tough and chewy when cooked. How can I make sure it turns out how I want? I don't typically salt my eggplant before cooking, because I don't find the taste to be unpleasantly bitter. Would that help? <Q> Make sure your initial cooking is reasonably fast and hot, and from there just cook it until it's soft enough for your tastes. <S> Many vegetables firm up when cooked at lower temperatures, especially in the presence of salt. <S> If preheated to 130-140F/55-60C for 20-30 minutes, these foods develop a persistent firmness that survives prolonged final cooking. <S> ... <S> Firm-able vegetables and fruits have an enzyme in their cell walls that becomes activated at around 50C (and inactivated above 70C), and alters the cell-wall pectins so that they're more easily cross-linked by calcium ions. <S> At the same time, calcium ions are being released as the cell contents leak through damaged membranes, and they cross-link <S> the pectin so that it will be much more resistant to removal or breakdown at boiling temperatures. <S> Eggplant isn't on that list, but I believe the enzyme in question is pectinesterase and is present to some degree in many vegetables, and I've had eggplant that stayed fairly tough through longer cooking, so I suspect it's a possibility here. <A> You need a minimum cooking time and water for it to be cooked thoroughly. <S> You mentioned that once they turned out tough and chewy: then they were not cooked fully through. <S> Vegetables are not like meat, which turn rubbery when overcooked. <S> They turn soft rather. <S> Watch out for the opposite as well <S> : Eggplants when cooked for a long time may turn mushy. <S> Cut them and keep them immersed in cool water prior to cooking to avoid discoloring. <S> Then start by cooking with minimal water. <S> Cover and cook. <S> Keep stirring in between. <S> Cut with a spoon to check if it is cooked. <S> The spoon should softly pass through the piece. <S> You can also taste it: if you achieve the melt in your mouth (not mushy though) stop your cooking process. <A> I cook with eggplant very often. <S> Nearly always I microwave them first, either whole or in pieces, for up to ten minutes at about 750w. <S> This leaves them soft and less bitter, and ready for browning in the frying pan or oven. <A> I find for eggplant parm, slicing thin is the key. <S> If too thick can be tough and rubbery...awful and inedible. <A> I cooked two eggplants earlier today, both very large, in halfs. <S> The two larger slices came out rubbery and inedible, and the other two, (smaller) were cooked through and through and came out soft like whip cream, and delicious. <S> So thickness made all the difference here because all the other factors - temperature, salt, humidity etc., were the same. <S> The larger half of each eggplant came out bad and the other half bad. <S> From now on I'll be cooking <S> medium or small size eggplants see what happens...
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From On Food and Cooking: It turns out that in certain vegetables and fruits - including potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, beans, cauliflower, tomatoes, cherries, apples - the usual softening during cooking can be reduced by a low-temperature precooking step.
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How do I clean a vintage carbon steel pastry cutter? How do I remove old rusty spots from a 70-year-old pastry blender & make "food safe"? Prefer not to use polishes or other volatile, caustic products. <Q> Look up what has been written on restoring carbon steel knives, similar techniques apply. <A> So for a liquid non-toxic cleaner go with Enviro Care Washroom Cleaner. <S> (I know right!?!) <S> It's made in the US. <S> Pastry cutters are odd shaped and have hard to get at spots. <S> Soaking is better than spraying to get right into those spots. <S> Soapy water and a Scotch Brite pad (lightly) is useful after the soak. <S> Rinse and dry thoroughly. <A> Mechanical abrasion, using sandpaper or steel wool or wire brushes, should work to get most of the rust off the surface of the pastry cutter. <S> rackandboneman's answer has already mentioned this, I confess. <S> After the rust, or most of the rust, has been removed - you might try seasoning the pastry cutter, to prevent it from rusting in the future. <S> You should be able to build up an oil-based seasoning , brushing on thin layers and heating to form thin layers of seasoning. <S> You might be able to build up a tea-based seasoning , soaking it in thickly brewed boiling tea and letting dry, again several times, to build up layers of tannins deposited on the surface. <S> I expect your choice might have to do with what sorts of products you expect the pastry cutter to be used with, and which you wouldn't mind wearing off into your pastry. <S> Both techniques are usually used to keep cast iron from rusting (the oil-based usually for frying pans, the tea-based for teapots). <S> But, I see no reason that they can't be used to form a protective coating for your carbon steel pastry cutter to prevent rusting, if you're uncertain about rackandboneman's suggestion of using acid to build a patina with acid. <S> I would think that the pastry cutter should rarely need re-seasoning <S> , I don't imagine it will get a lot of really hard use of the sort that will wear the seasoning away, but you can of course repeat the seasoning process whenever needed.
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To clean up loose rust, steel wool, sandpaper and wire brushes will help; afterwards, you might want to try and build a patina by treating it with a food-safe acid (vinegar, lemon...).
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Can you cook quince whole? All the instructions I've read for cooking quince talk about how much of a pain it is to peel and quarter them before cooking them till they are soft. Am I missing something, or could I cook them till soft and then cut and core them? <Q> No, this should work. <S> But you need to get that precise point between too hard and too soft to cut . <S> And during cooking the fruit will soften from the outside inwards: You might find yourself handling the fruit during cooking, so either you have to touch hot fruit or interrupt the cooking, let cool, <S> peel, cook again.... <S> You'll need a pretty large pot though, if you want to cook whole fruits vs. smaller pieces. <S> On the other hand, if you have a reasonable sharp and heavy chef's knife and a sharp paring knife, I suggest you try cutting a raw quince first. <S> You might find it less difficult than it's often said. <A> With quince the tedious part is peeling, not cutting, because the skin is tough and quince fruit is strangely shaped with lots of difficult areas. <S> Once you have them peeled quartering them is just 2 cuts, which is not time consuming. <S> If you have peeled them you may as well cook them in pieces and make your life easier. <S> You won't save time cooking them whole, in fact it will take longer if you want a good result. <S> Think about a roast versus a steak - it's the same meat but the steak has a much higher surface area in proportion to its weight <S> so it cooks an order of magnitude faster than the roast does. <S> The same principle applies to quince - quartering the fruit means more surface area and therefore much faster and more even cooking. <S> If you put a whole quince in liquid and boil it the outer part will cook much faster than the inner part and you'd end up with a soggy outside and raw inside, so to cook a whole quince properly you'd need to use a low temperature for a long time. <S> One thing you could try to speed things up with less effort would be to quarter the quince without peeling it, then cook it and skin it afterwards. <S> This works for potatoes, but I have never tried it with quince <S> and I really don't know if it will work. <S> If you try it and it does please let us know. <A> I regularly cook my quince by washing the bloom off, quartering and chopping down the core section, and cooking with skins on. <S> It's easy to slip off the cooked skin--in fact, if cooked too long, it will start to peel back on its own.
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If you are aiming for quince puree, just rub off the fuzz, cook the fruit and then push it through a food mill or sieve.
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What am I doing wrong with my rice cooker? I have a Breville rice cooker and follow the instructions exactly (for 2 cups of rice). There are two settings - on or off (keep warm). The manual says: But no matter what type of (white) rice I use, there is always a layer of hard (overcooked) rice at the bottom. I've tried various timings, stirring between cooking and resting etc. but that releases the steam and I still had the same problem. The manual has some tips: But again, even changing the amount of water slightly (tip 1) seems to do very little to the end result. I must say, apart from the layer at the bottom the rest of the rice is absolutely fine. However when you're cooking only 2 cups and losing half a cup or more it isn't exactly efficient. Is it just because I'm cooking such a small amount of rice in a relatively large/shallow cooker? I've already searched Google, and I'm going to try some other methods. I was wondering though if anyone can see anything obviously wrong with the manual that I have, or if I'm simply missing an additional step that would solve the problem? I already rinse the rice beforehand. I came back from visiting the Philippines with a rice addiction after eating so much of it, but until now have never really cooked it much myself. Very much an amateur... Any advice or constructive criticism welcome :) EDIT May 2018: I've been using it as a steamer with the included thingy and for that it works wonderfully! <Q> Does your rice cooker have a scale up the inside of the bowl? <S> With mine, you add a number of scoops of rice, then fill with water up to the correct number on the side of the bowl. <S> Maybe it is just that the manual is badly worded, and this isn't clear? <S> It's a long shot, I know, but just thought I'd mention it in case you hadn't noticed :) <A> I observe the same behavior with my own rice cooker. <S> The reason this is happening seems to be due to the simple, but in my opinion incredibly smart principle behind the rice cooker's operation. <S> It just turns off when the bottom of the pot reaches temperatures above the boiling point of water - it means that there is no more water left, so the rice must be cooked. <S> I learned that the following procedure greatly reduces the amount and crunchiness of the crust: <S> Do not use the 'keep warm' feature of the rice cooker. <S> Immediately after it turns off, I turn it off completely. <S> There's no need to add more heat to the rice now. <S> Take the lid off, let the condensed water drip into the rice. <S> Fluff up the rice. <S> This helps to mix the dryer bottom layers of the rice with the upper layers, which are more moister. <S> Put the lid back on to prevent the rice from drying up. <S> Put the pot on a cold surface (I just put it on the floor). <S> This makes steam condensate under and on the crust at the bottom of the pot and not so much on the lid. <S> The crust gets rehydrated by the condensation. <S> Wait for some time. <S> After about 5-10 minutes the rice will still not be too cold but the crust will be much softer. <S> When taking the rice out of the pot, the rice should be much easier to scrape off the surface. <S> I usually eat the remaining crust (which is now rather pliable) because I find it tasty due to the small amount of Maillard reaction that occurs at the bottom. <S> Enjoy! <A> Basic, inexpensive rice cookers do a good job of cooking rice evenly, without a crusty layer at the bottom. <S> I find it rather surprising that a Breville product (which are pricey) would fail to do this basic feature properly. <S> The crust is generally associated with cooking in a pot on the stove, rather than a rice cooker. <S> This cup should be calibrated with the water lines in the main pot, but is probably not a cup in the imperial measurement sense. <S> In other words, do not substitute an imperial cup for the rice cooker cup. <A> Maybe you are just underresting the rice (a seemingly hard or even stuck layer of rice that becomes palatable when rested is common with simple rice cookers), or using a water ratio that is ill-suited to the actual brand and type of rice you are using? <A> You can try stirring a tablespoon or 2 of oil to the mix after washing but before cooking the rice. <S> I find that this prevents rice from sticking to the bottom. <S> At least to me, the oil does not seem to affect the taste or texture of the rice very much. <S> As an aside, some people actually enjoy the overcooked "sheet" of rice at the bottom. <S> It may be inevitable that you get at a least a bit of overcooking on the bottom if you enjoy your rice with some bite like me.
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I would make sure that you are using the "cup" that comes with the rice cooker.
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How can you judge whether juice is really freshly squeezed? I already know that boxed or cartoned juice is less likely to have been freshly squeezed, but what about transparent bottled juice especially in the refrigerated section of supermarkets? This article from the Atlantic and Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice evidence that modifiers like 'freshly squeezed' and/or '100%' and/or 'pure' can mislead and prove false. <Q> This isn't exactly scientific but.. Taste. <S> Specifically looking for the taste difference between pasteurized and un-pasteurized juice. <S> Pasteurized orange juice has a distinct tart taste that just isn't there with fresh juice. <S> I guess it depends on your exact meaning of "fresh", but if it hasn't been pasteurized then it will have a shelf-life of only a few days. <S> The legal specifics of the terms will vary from country to country, so if you have one in mind then you might have to mention that. <S> Although as you hinted at, the legally defined terms are often side-stepped and might not be much use. <A> According to Juice and Cider: Make Sure <S> They're <S> Safe Some grocery stores, health food stores, cider mills, and farm markets sell packaged juice that was made on site that has not been pasteurized or processed to ensure its safety. <S> These untreated products should be kept refrigerated and are required to carry the following warning label: <S> WARNING: <S> This product has not been pasteurized and therefore may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems. <S> So if it carries the 'has-not-been-pasteurized' warning then it is freshly squeezed. <A> I'd say that the first clue is in the fact that the juice is in the supermarket at all. <S> Unless you see an actual apparatus on site that does the squeezing while you wait, you have to assume that the juice was produced somewhere off site and then transported to the store you are visiting. <A> Nothing beats experience. <S> Have you ever tasted juice just squeezed from oranges or apples? <S> Nothing else compares to this. <S> If you know the taste of freshly squeezed juice you will never be fooled again.
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In restaurants or shops you often get "freshly squeezed" juice that only once was freshly squeezed - a long time ago.
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Can gluten-free flour be cooked and eaten as a hot breakfast cereal? I'm talking about single flours, such as quinoa flour, amaranth flour, and buckwheat flour, not flour blends or hot cereal mixes. <Q> Yes, you can do it. <S> It will taste more like a pudding (not necessarily wheat pudding) than like a cereal. <S> The consistency will depend on the grind size, and can get down to standard starch pudding, or be a bit gritty like semolina pudding. <S> Most people won't find the taste of a pure flour + water or even flour + milk pudding interesting enough, so you can experiment adding stuff to it. <S> You're only limited by your own imagination. <A> All you need to do is, dry roast the flour a little bit keeping in mind not to burn it. <S> Perfectly roasted flour emanates a special smell(aroma) which is a bit sweet. <S> Thereafter add some water to the flour to make a slurry out of it, alongside you can add some fried potatoes or leftover hash-browns with fried spinach or anything you like which is cooked <S> al dente(just a suggestion) and blend them in the flour(slurry). <S> I'd suggest, cook the slurry for a bit till it reaches the desired form where everything is perfectly blended and in perfect harmony. <S> There you have a nutritious breakfast! <A> I do lightly brown my gluten free flour, brown rice, sorghum, and millet are my favorites. <S> Then make a slurry as the first answer suggested. <S> The amount of flour to water (or milk) ratio depends on the flour and how thick you like your porridge. <S> Personally I found brown rice to be 2-3Tbsp of browned flour to 1 cup of water, but some of the other flours take more. <S> We like to sweeten ours after it is cooked with a little honey (brown sugar would also work) or your sweetener of choice.
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Yes definitely you can use flour as a breakfast dish.
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Why is soba not entirely buckwheat flour? I thought that soba was completely made of buckwheat flour, but I learned that it's actually around 80% buckwheat and 20% wheat flour. Is there a reason for this mixture ? Is it for flavour or ease of preparation or cost ? <Q> Buckwheat flour is gluten free. <S> The small amount of wheat flour gives it more stretch, and helps it stay together a bit better. <S> For more information, check out this article . <A> In traditional (wheat) breads, the binder is gluten, which is formed as the dough is being worked - it is that formation which makes the mixture a dough, rather than a wet paste or grit. <S> Other kinds of flours can bind to themselves in different ways - rice flour is used to make dumplings and mochi, even though it is gluten free, because the rice can stick to itself and be worked into a smooth paste. <S> Buckwheat flour doesn't produce its own binder in the same way. <S> A dough made from just buckwheat flour and water will prefer to crumble , instead of come together in a dough. <S> If you let the mix dry out, it will separate back into clumped up flour, if you add too much water, it will dissolve - since the flour particles aren't really sticking to each other. <S> A pure buckwheat flour noodle therefore takes a lot of work or skill, to keep working the mix until it comes apart enough in the water and mechanical working to produce some kind of binder. <S> The binder produced this way is weak, though, so the noodles are often still fragile, and prone to coming apart when agitated or disturbed, or when introduced to too much water (ie, when boiled). <S> So, yes, there are 100% buckwheat noodles made of buckwheat flour and water. <S> There are probably buckwheat noodles that use the flour and a different kind of binder - adding milk or eggs <S> would probably help bring the dough together, though it will also change the noodle. <S> Adding flour is probably easier or makes less of a change, and wheat four is very often used in recipes either because it is very common, or else because it pairs well with the buckwheat (not sure which, I haven't tested it). <S> But, adding any kind of binder should work to make a noodle. <A> As @margaio said, Buckwheat flour doesn't have gluten, but there exists 100% buckwheat noodles. <S> It is very fragile, and breaks as soon as chopstick touches the noodle.
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It isn't only that buckwheat flour doesn't have gluten (though that is true), but that it needs a binder, and using wheat flour is an easy methods of introducing one.
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Chef at restaurant seemed to be using really flimsy pans I was at a restaurant and sat at the chef's table where I could see the chef making the entrees. He seemed to be using thin pans that were battered and dented. I couldn't tell what material they were (either alu or steel; they weren't copper), but they were thin and/or soft enough to be battered and dented. Still, he was able to cook lamb, chicken, duck, and salmon without any burning or sticking. The pans were heated very hot and well oiled. If anything, the thinness of the pans seemed to make heat transfer even easier. This caused me to come home and look a bit askance at my heavy, all-clad, triple-ply cookware. Are thin-pans totally usable and it's just all in the chef? This seems to upend my purchasing habits entirely. <Q> Are thin-pans totally usable and it's just all in the chef? <S> Yes, <S> and no. <S> As usual, skill matters more than tool choice. <S> A great cook with a bad pan will usually outcook an intermediate cook with a great pan. <S> But the same intermediate cook will turn out better food with a great pan than with a terrible pan. <S> The difference the pan makes is mostly the evenness of heating, and somewhat in the food layer which gets heated. <S> A professional cook typically pays more attention to the food and knows how to react to uneven heating, e.g. by stirring/flipping at the best moment. <S> The pan in the professional kitchen is also better preheated, instead of being taken out for the current dish only. <S> In some parts of Europe, the home cook also cooks on a resistive stove, so each dent or warp is very problematic, unlike cooking on gas. <S> Then there come the cooking techniques. <S> The thin pan limits you there. <S> It is well suited for standard frying and stir frying. <S> That is, you use enough oil and keep the food moving. <S> Many home cooks love to apply an almost imperceptible amount of oil, which means that the pan's heating evenness is much more important. <S> Also, if you want to leave your food sitting there, an overheated pan (or a pan with overheated spots) will burn it. <S> There are also results which I think not even a pro can achieve with thin steel pans. <S> For example, I have never seen crepes get a beautiful even dark color when made on a thin alu pan, while mine get it automatically in the cast iron at home. <S> In the end, your purchasing habit is your personal decision. <S> A thin pan is not equivalent to a thick pan in handling and outcome, and it is up to you to choose what tradeoffs you are willing to make. <A> Good answers with science. <S> I'll reply with operations perspective. <S> Things move quick in a restaurant. <S> You want to get the most out of each employee and each square foot of equipment space and also please the customer with timely service. <S> Faster cooking while retaining quality is the goal. <S> Thin pans and very high BTU stove top, and things cook quick. <S> That Chef (more likely a line cook in this case) was probably hustling, like a well trained multi-tasking athlete to keep up with his orders. <S> A home cook doesn't need to operate this way. <S> Note: you can be sure that there are also high quality pans in the kitchen as well. <S> They would be used by the Sous Chef and Prep Cooks. <S> Your pans are perfect for you. <S> (I remember the cooks doing allot of items in pie tins, using tongs as a handle) <A> It depends on the heat source and how it is used - A strong gas or induction stove can be used to resupply heat very rapidly when needed - <S> but that will be something the cook has to manage. <S> A cast-plate electric or coal stove offers a thermal mass to store heat so a pan does not need to bring another thermal mass. <S> A lower power stove, or one that depends mostly on radiation for heat transfer (electric open coil, glass ceramic, halogen), will struggle to keep a thin pan evenly heated. <S> If the pan goes in an oven, the speed with which it assumes oven temperature varies on thickness.
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A bad cook won't turn out good food with a great pan.
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Is it different to add seasoning at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of cooking? I think the question doesn't need more explanation, just if you have to add any seasoning, from pepper to any other kind, specially if you have a variety of them, do you decide an order for them? <Q> The taste varies depending on when the seasoning ingredients are added. <S> As for as stir fries or any dry fries are concerned, it doesn't make much difference. <S> But in water based dishes like sauces, curries, gravies, and soups it could impact a great deal. <S> The water absorbs the spices added , making its flavor incorporate completely. <S> Also the raw smell of the spices vanish to a great extent if they are added at the beginning. <S> Also in case of pepper in gravies and other dishes, the sooner it is added, the hotter the dish becomes after a considerable amount of time. <S> It is due to the time taken for the spice to infuse the flavor/taste completely through the dish. <S> Dishes based with vegetables, the sooner you add salt, better the vegetables absorb . <S> They could be bland if salt and spices are added last. <S> In India, in most of the curries masala (ground mix of spices, like cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, fennel ) is sprinkled at last to give the dish an extra flavor, though it is also added in the beginning during preparation. <S> Hence taste could vary depending upon the time you season the dish. <S> There may be exceptions. <S> But that is the general theory for most of the dishes. <A> Some herbs lose a lot of taste when added too soon, other spices need time and heat to give off their full power. <S> For example when cooking a curry I always add the spices first into the heating pan, then add onions, ginger, garlic and then oil and let it all fry a little. <S> Only then do I add moist ingredients because those flavours would never develop when just adding the same spices to water or tomato sauce. <S> If I later feel I have too few spices I sometimes even take a new pan, make a fresh mixture and add it to the first instead of just adding more spices. <S> But if you make tomato sauce for pasta <S> and you add your basil too soon all it does <S> is add little green bits, because the flavour doesn't stand too much cooking. <S> A little bit over-simplified: <S> Fresh herbs later (some as late as on the plate) <S> spices or died herbs earlier (for water based dishes maybe before adding the water) <S> But I feel that adding a list with all spices with a time to add would be too much for this site and rather fill a book. <A> Apart from herbs and spices (covered in other answers already), the timing of when you add: sugar (which can caramelize or mess with osmosis if added early, stay gritty if added too late), salt (osmosis again, grittyness again), acids and bases (citrus, vinegar, baking soda... <S> influence how some ingredients will cook. <S> Also, citrus juices will change flavor when cooked), alcohols (flavor extraction, evaporation), watery extracts (eg soy sauce, broth <S> - they can reduce and even caramelize/burn, or dilute the cooking liquid, or get infused deeper into ingredients) matters. <S> These are all part of seasoning too if used.
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Yes it does make a difference when you add the seasoning.
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Why did apple filling in the pie turn to mush? I'm not talking about the crusts. Those came out fine. But the fruit of my apple pie came out dark brown without any crunch at all. They turned to mush, like a thick pudding or sauce. I used 2 pounds of Granny Smith apples sliced thinly, 3 teaspoons of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon allspice, 0.25 teaspoon salt, 0.25 ground nutmeg, 0.25 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons ground Saigon cinnamon, and 0.75 cups of sugar. I didn't cook the apples on a pan, just mixed the apples with the sugar and the flour and allspice and stuff and let it cook in the pie in the oven for 90 minutes(the first 30 minutes at 375 degrees and the 60 at 350 degrees. <Q> Hold back a bit on the lemon, or toss 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in the filling. <S> 90 minutes is a rather long time, but I'd expect them to hold up quite a bit better than 'mush'. <S> You could also try blind baking your bottom crust for 15 or so minutes so the final cooking time is shortened, which presents less opportunity for the apples to soften. <S> Ideally, you want to be in the 45 minute to one hour range. <S> If it were me, I'd probably try both. <S> Keep trying and experimenting, bringing a fresh pie to the table is one of the most satisfying ways to delight your friends and family :) <A> The filling of the pie turned to mush because Granny Smith apples completely collapse and do turn to mush when fully cooked. <S> (They are great for applesauce for that reason.) <S> Many other apples will become soft but hold their apple shape - not Granny Smith. <S> You indicate you don't have much choice in apple varieties. <S> In that case if you want defined apple shapes, you should slightly undercook them; they will be a little "al dente", but still wonderful. <S> Surprised that they turned dark brown though. <S> Granny S. usually stay nice and delicately light colored. <S> Other apples often turn quite brown when cooked. <S> ... <S> Maybe the apple mush became colored by the spices. <S> Brown spices won't be able to penetrate an "al dente" apple piece. <A> If you are cooking for a longer time for a golden crust, try slicing your apples all a uniform 1/2 inch thick. <S> Granny Smiths are a good choice since they are full of pectin, a natural thickening agent. <S> They should keep the bottom from getting soggy. <S> I always use either Granny Smiths or Fujis or a mix of the two for pies/baking. <S> Mine turn out firm and retain their color if I use a little lemon after I cut them. <A> Heating speed of the apples could matter, and precooking them at low temperature (mind the danger zone though!) <S> will potentially help - I have to refer to "On Food and Cooking" where it discusses "firming" vegetables for details, given that I have not too much experience with the technique and want to avoid copying from the book. <A> Why did it happen? <S> The apples were probably old (my bet) unless you harvested them yourself. <S> Maybe your slices are too thin. <S> Maybe the oven is too hot and you burned the apples because your crust was too oily. <S> Hard to say without pics. <S> You could also blanch the slices for one minute in boiling water and immediately cool them down in ice water and drain. <S> Then chill 1/2 of the slices in a freezer for one hour. <S> Prebake the bottom crust and then mix the almost frozen apple slices with the merely blanched slices and add the rest of your ingredients. <S> I would generally tend to use thicker slices, too.
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I don't see any other cause for the apples to have completely macerated in your recipe other than the acid content to cooking time.
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What was the mysterious ingredient in making of Japanese sweet bean paste (an or あん) from the movie? The Japanese movie Sweet Bean (あん) shows the process of making red bean paste in one of the scenes. The cook uses a clear gelatinous substance which presumably is the sweetener for this paste. What is it exactly? <Q> The ingredient is Mizuame (水飴), a Japanese sweetener. <S> It adds sweetness and gives a luster. <S> When they need large amount, professional cooks usually scoops it with their bare hands, as she does in the movie. <S> I'm not sure of the reason, but Mizuame is very sticky <S> and it is troublesome to handle with tools. <S> And this behavior explains that she has long experiences in making read bean paste. <A> I've not seen the movie but from my knowledge and the recipes I just reviewed, bean paste is typically sweetened with regular granulated sugar. <S> Could the gelatinous substance maybe be a thick simple syrup of water and sugar? <S> I tried to find clips from that specific scene online and didn't have any luck. <A> Agar, unlike gelatin made from animals, can remain in a gelatin form at various temperatures, so it's likely they had gelatinized it, then were re-liquefying it into the mixture in order to gelatinize it again later.
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I would assume that it is Agar, a seaweed gelatin common to Asia. There are also candies that use red bean paste as an ingredient that include gelatin.
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Iron cast cookware: rust-ish or black coat even on new cookware, is it safe? Some time ago I got iron cast dutch oven, alomost right away I noticed that when I wash it (just water, no soap) when I wipe it with white paper towel I get something black on it (see pictures). Today I got a new cast iron fry pan (same manufacturer, Lodge) when I washed it with hot water and wiped with paper towel - I got rust-ish coar on the towel (see pictures). Similar thing I saw in Martha Stewart's video where she shows how to season a fry pan, on 2:25 when she wipes just seasoned pan. I notice this thing every time I wash my dutch oven after cooking (and I put oil on it when I store it), it it should not require seasoning, looks fine and oily. And fry pan... wel it is brand new and supposed to be preseasoned... So the questions: Is it safe? Is it even possible to get rid of it? I am seasoning my cookware while writing this post, will see in couple hours when I will have a chance to wash and wipe it again, but I am not sure it will change anything. UPD: So I seasoned fry pan, one layer (like in video below) and tried to fry some meat and potatoes on it - it suck and burn a little :) I didn't want to use washing liquid so i scraped it with tools i had. After that - i got the same black residue on my white paper towel, same as on photo I took wiping my dutch oven. So, I guess I will have to season it again, this time couple of layers. <Q> Lodge is an ideal choice because it comes <S> pre -seasoned. <S> While I expect to wash a bit of muck out of them after bringing one home, it should only be stuff the pan has accumulated after it was seasoned in the factory. <S> And I don't mind that, because they're pans after all and designed to accumulate things. <S> If you're still seeing that after uses and washes, I'd get in touch with them. <S> You might be in need of replacements, which the warranty (fortunately also great) would cover. <S> I can't tell from the photos if it's iron oxide or not, and obviously you can't either - I'd call the warranty line and let them know what you're seeing. <S> It's certainly not what I've seen (I love them!) <S> after an initial rinsing with hot water and drying prior to first use. <S> Something seems off to me. <A> I've used cast iron cookware for years. <S> From new, they should be washed and rinsed well to get rid of the manufacturing oils. <S> Then they should be seasoned according to the manufacturers instructions. <S> This typically involves wiping with a vegetable oil, burning it off, wiping, and repeating. <S> Frying pans should only be wiped with oil and paper after use, saucepans can be washed with soapy water, rinsed well, and dried thoroughly before wiping with oil. <S> And yes, the paper will have some rust appearing on it. <S> After they've been used a number of times, there will be a build up of black carbon. <S> This is normal, and shouldn't be scraped off. <S> I use my (45 year old) <S> Dutch oven about once a year, and give it a quick wash and dry, then a wipe with oil before using it. <S> Hope this helps! <A> "Pre-seasoning" is not seasoning. <S> It is a spray-on of multitudes of pans at the Lodge factory, and it will not last long. <S> I don't buy new cast iron, but I see the black stuff shown in your last photo after I have taken crusty old cast iron out of a lye bath and then cleaned it off as well as I can with a brush. <S> The black continues to come off when I oil it and remove the oil right before first seasoning, when the iron is still raw. <S> But cast iron that is fully seasoned does not do this. <S> Do you dry off all the oil when you put a pan away? <S> I haven't watched Martha Stewart and don't intend to, but I will tell you that any oil put on the pan during seasoning and during storage should be wiped off thoroughly. <S> The cast iron will absorb what it needs, and you don't want superfluous oil on it. <A> ALSO: You say you're seasoning and will see when that's done in a couple of hours?! <S> Sorry, <S> but I think you should be thinking about a couple of days. <S> You should not expect any kind of performance out of a cast iron pan, certainly not a modern Lodge, with one coat of seasoning. <S> Put the pan in the oven. <S> Heat the oven to its lowest temp, then take the pan out and smother it in Crisco. <S> Then try your best to take all of the Crisco off, no matter how many paper or cotton towels it takes. <S> (You will see black residue on the towel, and that's normal for this stage.) <S> Put the pan (upside down; if you followed directions, there is no need for aluminum foil below) in the oven at low temp, and when it reaches that, raise the temp a hundred or two hundred degrees. <S> When it reaches that, raise the temp more. <S> Keep going till you get to 450 or 500, and when the oven reaches that, cut it off. <S> Don't open the oven door until it and the pan are cold. <S> Then repeat the process three more times. <S> One coat of seasoning is nothing .
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This is quite normal, and is harmless.
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Kneading dough with long nails; latex gloves? Is it possible/recommended to knead dough with disposable latex gloves on? I'm asking because I have quite long nails and don't find it a very hygienic idea to knead dough with long nails. Not to mention the amount of dough I'd have to pick out from under my nails later on... Will it transfer any smell/taste to the dough?Would washing your hands with the gloves on change this? <Q> Long nails will puncture smooth thin latex gloves (the surgical type) very quickly, especially during something like kneading where the gloves slide against your fingers all the time. <S> Also, they are usually not food safe. <S> If you really need something, I guess clear wide plastic gloves, like the ones in hair colorant packs, will work better, but I don't know where you can get them as explicitly food safe. <S> Personally, I would just knead barehanded. <S> The underside of long nails can be washed just as easily as the upper side, and nobody finds it unhygienic to have the upper side of nails (short or long) touch dough. <S> The real problem would come if you keep short nails and cannot remove the dirt which sticks between the nailtip and the meat of the finger. <S> Long nails are much easier in that regard. <A> Get food grade disposable latex gloves. <S> Some times they use the term food safe. <S> There are also dough gloves <A> Why are your fingernails involved in kneading? <S> I've made bread regularly since I was 16, time off for college when I had no kitchen at my disposal, but that's still 30 years of making bread. <S> My nails are always out-turned, with the bread dough beneath my palms. <S> I can't imagine wearing gloves for kneading; the whole experience of knowing when the bread is sufficiently kneaded has to do with the <S> feel of the dough, and your hand will not be sensitive to that with gloves on. <A> I make my bread in my Kitchenaid mixer. <S> I only use my hands to shape the dough before putting it into the tin, or onto a baking sheet. <S> My nails, whether long or short, don't get any dough under then, as I only use the heel of my palm for the handling process.
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Thick latex gloves, like the one for washing dishes, will be more durable, but they are also grippy and a lot of dough will stick. You should be kneading with the open ball of your hand, and your nails should not be involved at all.
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How to toughen cookies I have a problem with my cookies becoming crumbly as they hang-out in room/warm afternoon temperatures. I bake cookies -- a lot for fundraisers. Normally these cookies are stored in display cases within main halls and sold by students. What happens whenever I test them in the middle of the day, is that they've lost their tender toughness, which is more akin to a freshly baked batch or one from the refrigerator. Since the cookies won't be sold through a refrigerated display-case for the foreseeable future, I wonder what's a good ingredient to make the cookies tougher within warm ambient temperatures? I suppose grocery-store cookies have this certain ingredient to a higher extent. Thanks for your help! The recipe is as follows (Makes 120-130 cookies) Wet: 1 lb butter (2x 220g), caramelized/browned to 300 F -- cooled 10 oz granulated sugar + 4 eggs + 4 tsp vanilla extract 10 oz brown sugar Dry: 20 oz APF 6g baking soda, 8g iodized salt 2 tbsp corn starch 16 oz dark chocolate chips* *I should disclose this. I use couverture chocolate chips so they're slightly melty, but also because they're cheaper than bakeproof ones. <Q> Both eggs and cornstarch tend to make cookies more delicate. <S> I'd cut the eggs in half and add in 2 tbsp of water to make up the moisture content. <S> The cookies won't puff as nicely, but they will not crumble so easily, either. <S> If that doesn't toughen the cookies enough, halve or eliminate the cornstarch. <A> I'd imagine these are being stored in a simple glass / plastic display similar to what you'd see at a sari-sari store. <S> Shalryn's suggestion is good, but it compromises the quality of the cookie a bit. <S> I'd look at using some sort of desiccant first, and a simple electric fan behind the display to move the air around in order to take advantage of it. <S> Humidity and lack of air movement is definitely a big problem here, and if you can find a way to control that, you might not have to alter the recipe (which sounds positively delicious <S> and I'm going to try it). <S> You'd have to experiment a bit, and ultimately you might have to alter your recipe, but those cookies are surely a hit <S> and I'd hate to see you have to make them harder for logistic's sake :) <S> If they're being sold in boxes, just add a silica gel pack and let folks know that they can't hit direct sunlight for too long. <S> They are incredibly cheap (they run around 1.25 pesos from anywhere between 2-3 gram packets). <A> You probably do not want a cookie to be "tough" in the meaning it usually has in baking - <S> that kind of tough <S> you would get by encouraging gluten development, but you would end up with something bready/cakey. <S> A "chewy" consistency, which is probably desired, has more to do with the kinds of sugars used, you want something somewhat sticky that does not crystallize out hard - eg molasses, inverted syrup. <S> The use of some brown sugar is likely a step in the right direction already. <S> The massive amount of fat could help or could cause your problems ( <S> nearly 1:1 fat/flour ratio could end up with you literally frying the flour). <S> Check what kind of brown sugar you are using - are you interpreting brown sugar as "raw unbleached cane sugar" while the recipe writer ( if this is your recipe, the recipes you derived from) intended "common fake brown sugar, being white sugar drenched in molasses"?
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Some rice flour in a small shallow tin might just be enough to do it.
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What supermarket fish is good for frying, besides tilapia? I've been frying tilapia fillets in flour for a while and I like it, easy and tasty, just getting a bit tired of the same fish. Is there any other fish available in most supermarkets that is just as good for frying (I know some fish can't be fried easily)? I'm not looking for any exotic dishes, just some basic fried fish fillets to mix things up a bit. <Q> Farm-raised fried catfish is very popular in the US South, and not much more expensive than Tillapia. <A> Basa has the advantage of being inexpensive as well. <S> Any firm white fish is a good candidate for frying, for that matter. <A> Tilapia is actually a bit on the delicate side, so if you're able <S> to pan-fry it to your liking, then any fish as firm or firmer would be good. <S> Trout or milkfish (bangus) are both quite delightful pan-fried. <S> A very popular breakfast or brunch in The Philippines is daing na bangus , the same recipe pairs brilliantly with trout as well. <S> Consider leaving the skin on :) <S> Another thing to try is asking your supermarket fishmonger for belly cuts; halibut belly is positively amazing pan-fried. <S> I use cold-pressed grapeseed oil for frying fish because it's so flavor neutral and has a very high smoke point, but vegetable or palm oil would work just as well for the recipe I linked above. <S> Anyway, in short - go for the denser, meatier fish. <S> Use a good quality and healthy oil. <S> And don't be afraid to try searing it in a pan and finishing it in a hot oven. <S> If it feels like it's going to flake more easily than tilapia, you're probably going to need some practice before you can start and finish it in a pan. <A> These are high quality fishes you can fry at home: silver pomfret, grouper, mullets, black sea bream, red snapper, carp, and tilapia.
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In addition to catfish, basa (a Vietnamese catfish) fries very nicely, as does haddock or cod.
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Clarified butter for gumbo roux I don't have much regular butter on hand to make a roux. Is it a good idea to use clarified butter instead? What could go wrong? <Q> Making your roux with clarified butter will certainly work, and work well. <S> Clarifiying removes the milk solids, which add nutty flavor when browned. <S> Without them, the roux would be far less likely to burn, particularly if you want a lighter roux. <S> Whether you're going for white, blond, brown, or dark brown roux, using clarified butter should not present a problem. <A> When I have time for the extra step, that's how I make bechamel. <S> If my kids sniff even a trace of flour in their cheese sauce I'll be left to eat a whole lot of mac-n-cheese alone. <S> (You want a dark roux for gumbo, but the combination is good for either light or dark. <S> It's also common to use vegetable oil as the fat if you're making a very large quantity of gumbo or etouffee). <S> Now, it doesn't make sense to use clarified butter with flour with a beurre manié even if it seems like essentially the same thing. <S> You generally finish a sauce with that to thicken it and give it that lovely sheen, and that (especially the latter) works best with whole butter, in addition to being quite a bit easier to handle. <S> I haven't tried using clarified butter with a beurre blanc, though. <S> I suspect it'd work in a pinch if that's all you had, but it wouldn't occur to me to try it deliberately since it's a little odd to work to remove milk fat just to end up putting a whole lot more back in :) <A> Most chefs use clarified butter for almost everything. <S> It is never in recipes probably because it is not common in home kitchens and a lot more expensive. <S> Easy to make your own <S> and then you can store in fridge for a week. <S> Restaurant kitchens usually make a bowl for the day and then have it next to the stove where it stays liquid and easy to use. <S> Different types of sauce of course need different type of butter. <S> Generally clarified butter can be used in any sauce that is using butter as a thickener; all cream (or God forbid milk) sauces made with standard butter as there would be milk protein anyway; emulsions with egg yolk are in fact better with clarified butter. <S> The exception would be "beurre blanc": as it is a butter sauce with no other emulsifier, it uses the non-fat milk protein to help the emulsion stay together. <S> Happy cooking and enjoy the taste!
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Your roux will actually be easier to cook out (getting rid of that flour-y taste) if you use clarified butter, so you can cook a very very light roux that doesn't taste like a dough ball.
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Does milk make eggs more fluffy? I just heard that putting milk in eggs make it more fluffy, but is it really a good idea? Some people say putting milk/cream in eggs makes it more fluffy, but some people say that it makes the eggs loses flavor. So, is is it true that putting milk in eggs make it more fluffy? <Q> While adding milk may change the flavor slightly, such a small amount is used that it is not likely to be an extreme loss of flavor. <S> Some people add a small amount of water. <S> With a small amount, flavor loss should not be noticeable. <S> And since most people scramble their eggs with butter or some other type of oil, there is a measure of fat included. <S> (Ref. <S> to below quote.) <S> Yahoo Food explains the effect and differences: <S> Some recipes for scrambled eggs call for water or milk. <S> Does this do anything for the eggs? <S> When eggs are scrambled, the mechanism that transforms the liquidy beaten eggs into a fluffy mound on the plate is protein coagulation—the process by which, when exposed to heat, proteins unfold and then tangle up with one another and set, forming a latticed gel. <S> The more tender the scrambled eggs, the more loosely the proteins have coagulated. <S> Adding water to scrambled eggs dilutes the proteins a little, thereby raising the temperature at which they coagulate and making it harder to overcook the scramble. <S> Water also increases the amount of steam, which puffs up the eggs, producing fluffy scrambled eggs. <S> As for milk, it contains water but also fat, which coats the protein molecules so that they can’t bind with one another as tightly. <S> The key to scrambled eggs that are both fluffy and tender is a balance of water and fat. <S> Also you can choose not to add anything and just whisk the eggs <S> very well before cooking. <S> This will incorporate air and result in fluffier eggs. <S> In the end, it will be your choice. <S> I would suggest trying all three ways and deciding which you like best. <A> From my experience, the thing that makes the eggs more fluffy is whisking them before cooking, since you allow particles of air to be introduced among the eggs, then due to heat these air particles will expand a little givving more volume to your eggs. <A> Yes in my experience eggs will fluff more with milk. <S> Some people like that. <S> Yes milk will change the flavor. <S> Some people like that flavor. <S> When you mix the milk helps it to become homogeneous. <S> In bulk I would mix the eggs slow and then add just enough whole milk or cream to get it blend out. <S> It is more about how you cook them. <S> If you keep the egg(s) moving they will fluff more. <S> With milk even more.
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However milk or cream give more nutrients to your meal, and yes decreases the eggs flavor a little bit.
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UV lamp to disinfect raw sushi fish slices I'm considering exposing raw fish slices to a UV lamp to kill bacteria before making it into sushi. Would this help? Is there a practice of doing this? And what could be the drawbacks, if any? UPDATE Thank you very much for your answers. A couple of points to clarify. I am talking about: Using UV-C light wand Using it on freshly defrosted fish, that is in addition to freezing, not instead of it The goal is to further reduce risk of bacterial infection, not to completely sterilize the fish, as that wouldn't be possible Furthermore, while digging on the Internet I found this : For some types of food this [surface treatment] may well be sufficient, for example, muscle flesh from a healthy animal immediately after slaughter is, for all intents, sterile. Where contamination does occur, it will be as a result of contact with contaminated surfaces or fluids and this will initially manifest itself at the surface. The efficacy of UV surface treatment will be strongly influenced by surface topography. Crevices, and similar features, of dimensions comparable to the size of microorganisms (i.e., a few microns) may shield microorganisms from potentially lethal UV rays and enable them to survive. This was cited in recent work as the reason why the UV treatment of fish fillets from a smooth-fleshed species was more effective than that of a rough-fleshed one. This seems to imply that what I proposed had been tried and even proven somewhat effective. I have not however found any mentions that UV exposure can cause changes in raw fish that would make it harmful to eat. In other words to make fish less safe than before. If anyone saw such effects being mentioned, please let me know (preferably without a pay wall). Thank you again. <Q> That is an interesting idea, but I would not recommend it. <S> It is true that UV light is able to kill microorganisms, and it has been used to treat water for quite some time now. <S> It has also been used to treat some types of juices, and is even used in the food industry (factories). <S> It is an alternative to pasteurization, since it provides an alternative way to killing harmful bacteria without altering the food taste. <S> However, the uses of UV light in solid foods (and even liquids) do require extensive study about the food properties . <S> This means that, in order to effectively use UV light to kill bacteria in fish, one would have to seriously study how it interacts with the specific type of fish you plan on using. <S> I am not sure if such study for fishes exists. <S> So, it is best to avoid using this technique, since it could potentially make people sick. <S> A good read about this topic is this academic paper , entitled "Review: Advantages and Limitations on Processing Foods by UV Light". <A> Partial answer, but here are some important facts before someone gets hurt: <S> Germicidal UV (UV-C) lamps are NOT the same as blacklight/anti-counterfeit/tanning (UV-A/UV-B) lamps. <S> Parasites and microbes are two distinct risks with raw fish, and need different measures. <S> Something (the bulk of the food, or packaging around it, or material used to protect skin or eyes) being transparent or opaque to visible light and/or <S> UV-A/UV-B says nothing about it being transparent or opaque to UV-C. <S> Strong UV-C needs careful handling since it can quickly cause eye irritation or even eye injuries. <A> If bacteria is present on the surface of the fish then it is could also be present inside the fish. <S> If the bacteria requires oxygen then then it would not penetrate far. <S> According to this not all bacteria requires oxygen. <S> It would likely reduce the risk. <A> UV lamps only kill bacteria on the surface of food, not in the food itself. <S> If there are harmful bacteria inside the fish then no amount of UV will make it safe. <S> If there are no harmful bacteria inside the fish then the only concern is harmful bacteria on the outside. <S> If there are harmful bacteria on the outside (ie the surfaces of the prepared fish) after preparation will be there because it was exposed to it during the process of preparation. <S> You can make sure the surfaces of the fish is safe by being clean, if you have clean surfaces, knives and hands then UV won't be needed. <S> If UV is needed to make the fish safe then your preparation is at fault.
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Limitation with the UV wand is that is only kills bacteria on the surface.
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How to Bake Banana into Banoffee Pie A friend recently went to Ireland and had a banoffee pie with the bananas somehow made into the caramel. How would one go about replicating this? The only recipes I can find have the banana slices on top. <Q> My recipe, from the originators' Nigel Mackenzie and Ian Dowding cookbook , The Deeper Secrets of the Hungry Monk, has the bananas sliced, arranged over crust, and the caramel poured over the bananas. <S> The only part that is cooked is the sweetened condensed milk and butter, boiled down to make the caramel. <S> Since we don't do recipes on SE, I've given you the Wikibooks link which has the full ingredients and directions. <A> Allow to cool, top with whipped cream and eat ( <S> ensuring to call emergency services before insulin coma sets in). <S> Alternatively, You could cook the bananas in a pan with sugar and butter, chop them up and mix with the caramel before constructing the pie. <A> I have seen a hot version of banoffee pie, made with bananas, and caramel, and marshmallows (since whipped cream doesn't bake well, and it gives a bit of the lighter, creamy flavor, and is also good toasted hot). <S> So you can have a hot version of the pie, and specifically it is possible to have a pretty good banoffe pie with cooked banana, which is helpful in figuring out how a banana caramel might work. <S> You might get a similar banana and caramel mixed effect as your friend's description just by heating the bananas with the caramel, as the above version does, so the flavors meld. <S> You might, depending on how it is layered and cooked, get some caramelization of the top of the bananas when the pie is being heated. <S> I'm thinking if you layer carefully with bananas on top and use a broiler, since otherwise the crust (or caramel) might burn. <S> Or you might cook the bananas separately, <S> just pan fry them until they are caramelizing. <S> Or else cook them with the caramel, or with regular milk and sugar (or condensed milk) so that the caramel forms with the bananas already being cooked into a filling, the same way caramelized apple tarts work. <S> Then once you have your banana caramel, you can fill your pie tart, heat (or even chill, whatever), add your creamy whatever to balance the taste (marshmallows, whipped cream, ice cream), and go for it.
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Banoffee pie is a no-bake dish but what you suggest could be achieved by constructing the dish as normal (biscuit base, covered in caramel and then sliced banana), then sprinkling lightly with sugar and browning under the grill.
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How do I properly cut a bell pepper into strips? I often cut bell peppers up for uses in chili, stir-fry, salsas, salads, or any other similar use. What type of knife should I use and how should I cut it? I'm most interested in the techniques associated with efficiency and safety. Here is an example of what I'm trying to achieve: <Q> I've seen cooking shows where they take the top & bottom off to make a tube, and then slice it on one side, and slice that up ... <S> and you do end up with straighter sticks that way. <S> (no curved ends, other <S> then when you cut up the bottom ... and maybe slice what you can off the top) ... <S> but I find it slower overall. <S> The way I learned growing up was to but around the green bit on the stem end, and then pull the seeds out, and then start cutting -- but you waste way too much time dealing with the seeds that way. <S> update: for safety, it's better to cut the planks individually, and with the skin down. <A> I would cut the bell pepper on the sides first. <S> What I mean by that is, cut the side of the pepper widely on all four sides such that you end up with four big somewhat rectangular portions of the pepper and the seeds portion will be left out. <S> Discard that. <S> Of the big pieces, proceed slicing them the way you want. <S> Horizontal or vertical depending upon the length you desire. <S> I hope the type of knife doesn't matter for this. <S> I always do this and pretty much end up with slices shown in the picture. <A> If you don't care about the strips being straight, then cutting the pepper into rings is probably the fastest and easiest approach. <S> One quick slice to remove the top, pull out the seeds and ribs, then slice into 6 to 8 rings. <S> Cut the rings in halves or quarters, then pop the stem out of the top and slice it and the bottom up separately. <S> With a little practice, you can cut the top so that the stem, ribs and seeds all come out with a twist. <A> Cut off top and bottom, and either: make a cut through the flesh straight next to a rib, lay the whole cylinder on the board, and "unroll" with a knife that is laid flat on the flesh, cutting through the remaining ribs. <S> or cut the ribs loose with a narrow enough knife. <S> The rest (making strips of the flesh and if desired also the top and bottom) is "straight" chopping technique. <S> Cutting skin side up or skin side down is a matter of debate. <S> Skin side up takes a decently sharp knife but makes "accordioning" mistakes (incomplete cuts) easier to mitigate.
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For efficiency, I cut planks off of the outside of the pepper, then slice those planks into strips.
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Storing spices against mold I'm storing spices and dried herbs, as I always did, in glass containers into a spice only-drawer. It always worked fine. But looks that this house is particularly humid, because ground spices, and even seeds like fennel, started to become moldy, and they're not THAT old...I don't always have access to new spices, so I must buy them all around once in a year.Is there amy storage tip for avoiding mold? <Q> Have you considered vacuum sealing? <S> As you are buying larger amounts of spices to use for a whole year, here's what I would recommend. <S> Obtain <S> some vacuum seal containers sized for the amount of each spice you are going to purchase. <S> Get some smaller glass bottles for your daily use. <S> When you purchase your spices and get them home, fill the small bottles with enough of each spice to last 2 or 3 weeks. <S> Then vacuum seal the remainder of each spice in the larger containers. <S> As you use up the spices in the small bottles, you can refill them from the sealed containers and then reseal them. <A> Hello from the humid Philippines! <S> I'll answer regarding the amount you keep in the jar out of storage. <S> I completely agree with the idea of vacuum-sealing any excess spice. <S> That's what I do, because I can only buy certain spices (brown cardamom, sumac, etc) in bulk. <S> I use a desiccant in my spice jars, which have rubber gaskets for an air-tight seal. <S> Cut some to fit the bottom of your spice jar exactly, put some sushi rice (basmati also works if you can't find the really fat variety) and then put the screen on top of it. <S> Then, put in your spice of choice. <S> The rice is enough to draw out any humidity you introduce into the jar each time you open it, so your spices stay fresh and are much less likely to clump together. <S> If you can't find non-reactive screen material, some cheesecloth will work. <S> You can also just mix the rice into the spice (not recommended as rice is starchy, and the spice will clump around the grains as they absorb moisture). <A> Firstly, if you have any mold on your spices, then throw them out, do not risk it. <S> When you say that you buy them at the same time of the year, I am assuming that you are buying quite quantities. <S> Divide your spices into manageable quantities, then place into sealed containers, it might help to also go around the lid of the container with some tape to really keep them airtight. <S> This works for me living in a humid environment. <S> My curry powder is still great after more than a year using this method. <S> I worry about the rice method, as the rice will absorb the moisture and then become prone to mold in itself. <S> It is possible to buy cheap humidity absorbers from most supermarkets, place one in the area where your spices are stored. <S> Good luck... <A> I think the vacuum advice is excellent. <S> If you can't do that or if you want to protect spices that you currently use, get some silica gel packets and add them to the spices. <A> Next, you should probably clean out <S> the drawer pretty thoroughly - humidity is a problem, but the presence of mold spores are also a prerequisite for your molding spices. <S> Having something moldy around makes it more likely other spices will contact the mold, from the spores getting on hands, or on jars, and getting inside as they are opened and handled. <S> You might even swap your spice drawer out for a different drawer's contents, store something the mold spores won't effect in that drawer, if you're not sure of your cleaning. <S> For your new, or newly cleaned, spice drawer, you want to make sure it is as dry as possible, especially after cleaning, perhaps line it with paper or something if you think the mold might have settled into corners or edges. <S> And make sure any jars and/or spices you add back are freshly clean (or new). <S> You might, as MirekE suggests, add a handful of desiccant packets to the drawer to keep it from getting too humid in the future <S> (maybe keep an eye out for the desiccants packets that sometimes show up in other things to keep in the drawer, if you don't want to keep buying fresh). <S> Or occasionally aim a fan at the open drawer, so that air circulation can maybe dry things out. <S> If you keep checking and keep the drawer clean and dry, you might prevent the mold from re-infecting the drawer (and spices), or at least catch it early enough not to lose all your spices.
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First, I would suggest moving any spices that still seem good (that don't look like there's mold, and don't smell off, or anything like that), and any new spices you buy, to the fridge or even to the freezer for a bit - that should let them store safely for a while, so you don't get new spices growing mold. If you go to your local hardware store, you should be able to find screen material made out of plastic.
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When's the best time to buy a Thanksgiving turkey? I know this is about buying, not cooking, but gathering your ingredients is the first step, and right now this is the one worrying me most. I'll be cooking the Thanksgiving bird this year, due to my wife's work schedule. I know that in the past she's had issues with getting to the store after the entire selection is picked over, and having trouble finding any left that are the right size. The tempting thing to do is just go buy one now and stick it in the freezer, but this early I'd worry about it getting frostburn in the intervening month. So when is the best time to go pick out a turkey? <Q> It all depends what you want: <S> Best quality: Fresh, organic, heritage turkey. <S> Good quality, reasonable price: Frozen organic turkey. <S> Buy now Good quality <S> , normal price: Fresh turkey. <S> Order now, pick up maximum 1 week beforehand <S> OK price: Frozen turkey. <S> Buy now <S> Best price: Buy a large chicken and tell everyone it's a small turkey! <S> :-) <S> When buying fresh, store in the coolest part of the fridge . <A> Most turkeys sold in the United States for Thanksgiving are frozen. <S> It simply is not feasible for meat processors to process the huge spike in turkeys for the holiday and provide everyone a fresh turkey. <S> Expect to pay a premium for a fresh turkey over a frozen one. <S> If you buy a frozen turkey, from a quality standpoint it does not matter whether you buy a turkey a month out from Thanksgiving (now) or wait to buy the turkey later. <S> You will basically get the same product. <A> Beyond what others have already mentioned, I'll add to it that I've worked before at cold storage (warehouses) in the United States where they quite literally spend all year adding inventory of frozen turkeys just to prepare for Thanksgiving. <S> The vast majority of Thanksgiving turkeys are frozen, and those aren't just magically processed in the weeks coming up to the season either; it takes all year to build up that inventory. <S> For that reason and in addition to what was already stated, when you buy it is much more of a question in convenience to you of when you buy a frozen turkey. <A> You can eat turkey any time. <S> Buy the proper size frozen now. <S> Look for a fresh turkey a few days in advance. <S> If you don't find a fresh turkey the proper size then put the frozen the fridge to thaw.
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If you want a fresh turkey, that of course you should pre-order and pickup no earlier than a few days before you plan to prepare it. Order now, pick up maximum 1 week beforehand
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Is it OK to wash other things than dishes with the same sponge scrub? My friend does it and I argued with her that the dish sponge scrub should only be used for dishes and not the sink or the counter top because it will make the sponge too dirty for future uses for the dishes. <Q> Yes, it's ok to wash other things with the sponge. <S> You can easily use it for counter-tops, the sink, stove top, the floor - anything like that wthout a problem. <S> The sponge will become dirty, of course, as you clean with it, but the same is true of washing dirty dishes with it. <S> You will find the sponge is worn after fewer dishes , specifically - but the absolute amount of cleaning should be the same, just the extra wear and tear happened while cleaning other things. <S> While you can use the sponge to clean most things without issue, if you're using the sponge to wash dishes and food preparation surfaces you should be very careful if using it to clean messes that aren't people-safe, in case the sponge should become contaminated with enough non-food-safe substances to leave a residue. <S> The aforementioned sink, counters, stove, and kitchen floor and in fact most household areas should all be fine, they are surfaces that you come in contact with regularly and should not leave anything on the sponge that regular cleaning won't take care of. <S> But you might want a separate sponge if you're regularly using it for things like paints and solvents, mechanical lubricants, motor oil or adhesives, heavy chemicals, pesticides, or anything of that nature - that is, things you wouldn't allow in your living space without extra precautions. <A> Some religions will also not allow you to you your dishes sponge or cloth on anything other than dishes. <S> I know some South Africans believe you can only wash dishes in your sink <S> and you can only clean your hands and teeth in your basin. <S> It is a sin to put a dish in the basin or clean your hands and teeth in the sink. <S> They would therefor need a different cloth or sponge for each and every household chore. <A> This is rather dependent on what hygiene routine <S> those other surfaces are subject to. <S> A big difference between dishes/used cookware/... and floors/furniture is that, especially as a cook, you are somewhat in control of what kind of "contamination" is on the former - former food and whatever microbes/yeasts like your cooking style. <S> Contrast that to a floor, especially one that is walked on in street or gardening shoes, or a countertop that is regularly used to, for example, unpack shopping bags that have been stood on a street - or that gets occasionally cleaned with harsh and residue-forming cleaners (and is routinely not used for direct food contact. <S> There is a far wider spectrum of possible contaminants, including bacteria and virii that don't tend to live in food, parasites!, possibly metal shavings or tiny pieces of broken glass or stone, and whatever toxic organic or anorganic chemicals - could be gasoline/motor oil spills, freshly sprayed herbicide, drugs, battery juice, wood impregnation with creosote or mercury - you stepped in. <S> To keep separate, same color, sponges organized, marking them eg by cutting slits in or cutting/ripping off corners progressively helps: <S> eg. <S> fresh sponge that is used for things like non-dishwasher-proof knives and raw-garnish cutting boards, all corners there. <S> Used for general purpose dishwashing, two corners same edge gone. <S> For counter, two opposing corners gone (wouldn't suggest to use former-dishwashing for that!). <S> Three corners gone, floor...
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If you can clean a sponge well enough to keep using it on dishes until it's soft and thin, you can clean it well enough to also use it on counters, sinks, and so on, the cleaning process is just the same.
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How to contain trash/waste food smells? After using certain foods e.g. fish, spinach the remaining trash/waste food starts to smell and my tiny flat starts smelling of fish etc. I cannot take the rubbish out daily and if I put them in plastic bags I notice the smell keeps coming out, maybe these bags are porous. I'm thinking the best thing is to put them in plastic containers and take them out once a week. Any ideas? If I get those small plastic bags with air tight written on them will that be sufficient to contain any smells? In the same light, when putting foods inside a fridge/freezer is there a specific type of bag one should use to ensure odours do not travel. I notice that some refrigerator bags are so thin they might not actually contain smells? <Q> I put potentially malodorous food scraps in the trash if I know I will have enough to take the trash out that day (I hate wasting trash bags, blame my OCD). <S> If not, I will put scraps in freezer bags and leave them in the fridge temporarily. <S> The difference between freezer bags and regular plastic bags is they are much thicker and tougher. <S> If you get a good quality bag the zipper part seals air-tight and the plastic will not breathe. <S> The key here is <S> don't be cheap: <S> You get what you pay for. <S> Freezer bags easily hold in odors for several days until you have enough for a load of trash to take out to the dumpster. <A> As "politically and ecologically incorrect" as it sounds - before subjecting yourself to odor pollution and/or a hygiene hazard, consider cutting the specific smelly waste (not: all of your kitchen waste!) <S> up and disposing it down the toilet. <A> I can't help with the fish, but there are plenty of compost pails that you can get for dealing with your vegetable scraps. <S> (most assume that you're then taking it out to a larger compost pile, but you can also just dispose of it when it's time ... they usually have a tight lid or a carbon filter to reduce odors) <S> I have one that was listed as being 'odor free' ... <S> and then I discovered that it requires 'biodegradable bags' ... <S> which don't degrade at the heats that my compost pile gets to. <S> .... <S> As another options, my former roommate bought a box of scented trash bags once. <S> I can't remember the brand, but it looks like both Glad and Hefty make them. <S> It mostly helped with any lingering odors when you didn't dispose of the trash before it started getting ... interesting. <S> I didn't do any tests to see if it extended the time before smells started getting bad or not. <S> Also, beware of potatoes. <S> They are one of the most foul smells if they go off.
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Alternatively, soaking the smelly parts in bleach until disposal could help, but will potentially create another odor problem; also mind that bleach can dissolve plastic garbage bags.
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Can we use white sugar, instead of brown sugar? I want to bake a cake but I don't have light brown sugar. Can I replace it with white sugar? <Q> You can substitute white sugar for light brown sugar with no problem, in my experience. <S> Make sure you substitute by weight (grams/oz), and not by volume(cups/spoons). <S> This is because brown sugar is slightly more dense, so you get more sugar in a cup than you do with light brown. <A> The result might not be exactly the same (in color/taste/texture), but basically, the substitution will work. <S> Textural change will be due to the original recipe taking advantage of the molasses content of what is commonly sold as brown sugar. <A> As explained on Cook's Country (paywall): <S> In the test kitchen, we’ve found that pulsing 1 cup of granulated sugar in the food processor with 1 tablespoon of molasses makes a fine substitute for light brown sugar. <S> For dark brown sugar, use 2 tablespoons of molasses for the same 1 cup of granulated sugar. <S> THE BOTTOM LINE <S> : Don’t have any brown sugar in the cupboard? <S> Make your own by mixing molasses into white granulated sugar. <S> Or simply add the molasses along with the wet ingredients in your recipe. <A> Yes, you can substitute brown sugar with white sugar but brown sugar is usually less sweet <S> so I would suggest ever so slightly increasing the amount sugar you put into the cake mixture.
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You can make brown sugar from white sugar if you don't have brown sugar on hand.
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Can I use an oven instead of a dehydrator to prepare lentils for milling at home Can I use an oven instead of a dehydrator for grains and pulses? Dehydrators are not so common in my neck of the woods. <Q> From what I've heard you might be able to if your oven can be set on 170 degrees Fahrenheit and left propped open with a wooden spoon or something so the air escapes better <A> Here is just one of many sites out there - How to make sprouted grain flour <A> Thank you, Andrew for your reply and link. <S> In the meanwhile I decided to try and see for myself. <S> I put some buckwheat on a flat surface in the oven for about 30 min. <S> I took the same amount of buckwheat and left it as is. <S> Then I tried milling the two batches. <S> The oven batch yielded flour much more quickly than the other, untreated batch. <S> One other suggested solution I found, was, to cook the lentils, puree the mass and dehydrate before milling. <S> I have yet to try this for myself. <S> We'll see...
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Using ovens as a dehydrator is pretty universal for any kind of food that can be dried.
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Can one bake a cake with a cooked egg instead of a raw one? This recent question about a person who wanted to bake a cake but only had a cooked egg left suggested me an even stupider one: is it possible to bake a cake with a cooked egg instead of a raw one? After all, the egg is going to end up cooked inside the cake anyway. I imagine that it's going to be tricky to mix it with the dough, but with a hand mixer and a sufficient amount of violence everything is possible. Or are the chemical processes of boiling an egg and cooking it inside the dough fundamentally different? <Q> I would say no. <S> The function of the egg in the cake is to go in raw, mix with the other stuff, and once the raw egg has penetrated and coated the other ingredients thoroughly, bind it all together with that bouncy, sticky solidified eggy property which comes into existence as the egg cooks. <S> Cooking the egg first all by itself, then adding to a cake would be like drying some crazy glue, then grinding up that hardened crust and putting the resulting powder between two things you want to stick together. <S> The gluing action is all over when the glue has dried. <A> It is possible, but only if you do not want it to act as glue. <S> are the chemical processes of boiling an egg and cooking it inside the dough fundamentally different? <S> As mentioned in earlier answers - no, <S> but the point is that you need these processes during baking. <S> One notable exception is shortcrust pastry <S> You can use boiled egg to bake it. <S> It is meant to be crusty, fragile. <S> That's why you mix flour with fat first - to prevent gluing. <S> When you use a boiled egg yolk instead of raw one, you have one less factor for gluing. <S> It's easy to make pastry too delicate that way, but it is doable. <S> I did it with success. <A> While I tend to somewhat agree with the previous answer, raw eggs have more properties than just taste or binding. <S> They have a binding effect, a rising effect, thickening effect, etc. <S> Additionally they are part of the liquid ingredients in a cake. <S> You can't replicate the effects with only a cooked egg in place of a raw egg. <S> Now, that doesn't mean that you can't replicate the effects. <S> It only means that you can't do it with just a cooked egg. <S> I'm sure <S> that with the addition of the right liquids and the additional ingredients required to create the desired result, a cooked egg could be used. <A> As a metaphor you can’t make a wall with pre-set cement as it can’t bind with the sand and bricks. <S> When baking a cake, the egg acts like cement in concrete. <A> If shortcakes count as a cake, then I'd say yes. <S> I've made James Beard's shortcake recipe several times, and it calls for two hard-boiled eggs (none raw), and the results are deliciously flaky. <S> As mentioned above, this might better fit into the pastry category, though. <A> In Italy we go as far as cooking salty cakes with boiled eggs, they are decorative but can be peeled and eaten. <S> We indeed put them in the oven with all the shell. <S> The recipe is from Naples, and is called Casatiello Napoletano Salato (Casatiello stays for little house, don't ask me why, the other two words mean neapolitan and salty). <S> Cfr. <S> : http://www.lucianopignataro.it/a/ricetta-casatiello-napoli/70835 <A> The cooked egg will work as a filler/texturing/flavoring ingredient, it will not have the baking (leavening, binding..) <S> properties of the raw egg, so a recipe that is really dependent on these properties (some are, some are not really and will come out with a different but acceptable texture) will fail.
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No you can’t: chemical reactions do happen to the egg (not necessarily with the other ingredients) as the proteins in the egg are changed during the cooking process.
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How do I label already-frozen bags? We have a question about how to label things for the freezer in general, but that's for if you've managed to plan ahead. What if you have a bag in the freezer, already thoroughly frozen, so tape doesn't stick well and markers don't write well? What's a good way to label it at that point? <Q> If you can’t get the marker to work, just add another bag around the old one. <A> Get a piece of paper, preferably a bit thicker. <S> Write on it with black marker. <S> Wet small part of it with warm water and stick to the frozen thing. <S> The water will freeze acting as a glue. <A> I've used freezer bag clips labelled in marker or chinagraph pencil. <S> You could write on a room temperature clip then swap it for whatever closure you use, or add it to a tied bag. <S> To reuse, chinagraph comes off with a wet cloth (e.g. washing up), most markers come off with alcohol (surgical spirit for example). <S> Some marker pens do work so long as you wipe the bag immediately and write fast before condensation forms. <A> I usually wrap my freezer bags with some brown paper (similar to what you'd get from a butcher). <S> This lets me label the front and sides, because I often need to put frozen stuff side-up as I'm rotating things in the freezer. <S> Also comes in handy to see if your freezer was off for a period of time, as you'll see watermarks on the paper if anything managed to thaw more than a tiny bit.
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So, you can just cut a brown paper bag so it wraps around whatever you need to label, and a tiny bit of tape to secure the ends of the paper once it's around your frozen bag.
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Why aren't my chocolate chip cookies coming out the way I'd like them? I'm making chocolate chip cookies. Am I doing something wrong if my cookies look flat on top, and soft, and brown on the bottom. They're soft on top and are crunchier at the bottom. They taste fully cooked and good, but not exactly like cookies should right? Am I undercooking them or preparing them a wrong way? Or is this normal? Here's the recipe I used, and the picture that's on the page. Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar 1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened 2 teaspoons vanilla 3 eggs 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 to 2 bags (12 oz each) semisweet chocolate chips (2 to 4 cups) Directions: Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs until well blended. Beat in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. <Q> What you're describing is something that I'd consider normal in a cookie. <S> Some cookies are <S> more cake-like, some are chewy, some are crunchy, some are flatter than others - but they're all good. <S> Almost any factor - from the type of fat, to the type of liquid, to the leavener, to the temperature of both the oven and the dough can affect the cookie's texture. <S> I'd make two recommendations if you want your cookie less flat: 1) chill the dough for a few hours, or overnight. <S> Then, form them and get them into the oven quickly, while the dough is stone cold. <S> 2) Try a different recipe. <S> Do a visual internet search for the type of cookie that you're after. <S> Good recipes are hard to find, and sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs... <A> Here is a link to a site on ' the science of the best chocolate chip cookies '. <S> It breaks down the different ingredients in standard chocolate chip cookie recipes and explains what they do. <S> One of the observations was this: Making cookies with varying degrees of both soda and powder, I found that baking powder generally produces cakier cookies that rise higher during baking, producing smoother, shinier tops, while soda yields cookies that are craggier and denser in texture <S> The site also experiments with alterations (different flours, sweeteners, creamed butter vs melted, baking soda vs powder, etc) and shows/describes the results. <S> Perhaps it can help you alter your recipe to achieve the cookie consistency you're aiming for. <A> It sounds like you're describing cookies that aren't rising. <S> Make sure you're using baking soda not baking powder. <S> You can add flour a little at a time if the dough seems too wet. <S> If your cookies still come out flat pop the dough in the fridge for about an hour before baking. <A> Chocolate chip cookies very depending on your oven, altitude, and cookie sheet. <S> I split the baking soda with powder for a thivk moist cookie!
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Play with your recipe until you have a cookie to your liking
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Is it safe to reheat tea with milk? I have leftover tea from last night but it has milk in it. Is it safe to reheat it the next day and drink it? Or should I just bin it? <Q> The official answer from your health department is no, it's not safe. <S> After four hours at room temperature, you have to pitch it. <S> That standard is a little on the paranoid side. <S> Which is appropriate, since they have to protect people for whom a little salmonella is potentially life-threatening (the infirm, babies, the elderly, etc.) <S> If you're young and healthy, the odds are it will do you no harm whatsoever. <S> Even a glass of milk out overnight is merely going to be sour rather than toxic. <S> So, it's up to you. <S> I'd say it's a cup of tea <S> and it will taste better if you make a fresh one, even if the risk to your health is small-but-not-zero. <A> Pasteurized milk is nice in that it spoils to our nose and palate far before it becomes unsafe. <A> I generally don't recommend it, but when you store the tea in the refrigerator it should be safe. <S> Make sure to cover the cup with a lid, because it's easy for the tea to absorb flavours in the refrigerator. <S> If you've meat, fish etc... <S> in your fridge you're not gonna love it. <S> A tea bag (or even loose tea) isn't that expensive anyway, when prepared at home, so the best would be to just enjoy fresh tea.
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So if the tea still smells and tastes fine, it is safe to drink, assuming that your milk is pasteurized.
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Baking in drinking glasses -- heat vs. logo paint, other issues I've made this chocolate Guinness cake (Nigella Lawson) before. It's delicious and looks good. But it would look even better baked in pint glasses (or half pint). It's a moist, slow-baking cake so should be fairly forgiving on cooking time.What should I consider before doing the experiment? Things I have thought of: The glass breaking from heat. Obviously this is a risk. I believe it would be a small risk if I place the glasses on a cold, thick baking sheet so they warm gradually without thermal shock. If anyone has tried this and proved me wrong, I'd like to know. Paint on the glass. Best of all would be to use a Guinness glass. But what would happen to the painted logo in the oven? What haven't I thought of? <Q> What you want to do has been done successfully. <S> There is a video and instructions here: <S> Guinness Cake baked in Guinness glasses <S> I believe the greatest risk of thermal shock would come when you remove the cakes from the oven. <S> Do not take the glasses out of the baking pan and place on a cool counter top (doing this can break some heat safe glass). <S> Cool in the baking pan on a cooling rack or on a pot holder/towel. <S> As far as the painted logo on the glass, if it is commercailly produced, the logo would have been heat processed/baked on, so the heat in your oven should not be a problem. <A> Even a canning jar is not built to withstand oven temperatures higher than 120 C/250 F degrees. <S> True, it's been done, baking cakes in a jar meant for preserving. <S> Far safer would be to use tempered glass containers, which are designed to withstand oven temperatures as high as 300°C/572°F such as these ramekins on Amazon . <S> @ElendilTheTall has the best approach <S> : bake the cake and pack it into your lovely, full set of Guinness glasses. <A> I'd worry that it's not going to rise and set properly. <S> A pint glass isn't uniform. <S> The bottom will set before the top does. <S> There's a good chance you'll end up with something like a molten lava cake -- not necessarily a bad thing, but perhaps not what you're looking for. <S> (And I would be very careful about serving it hot: people will expect to touch the glass, which will be very hot.) <S> You could try cooking it in a water bath, which will protect the logo as well. <S> (If you could find one with an etched rather than painted logo, it would survive oven heat.) <S> The top may feel a bit tacky at the end; conceivably a minute under the broiler (but set on the bottom rack, to protect the glass) would fix that. <A> Place the glasses on a cold, thick baking sheet would be more thermal stress. <S> Your best bet would be not to preheat and let it cool in the oven Not best for the cake but best for the glass <S> Glass is pretty heat resilient <A> What type of glass? <S> If it is Borosilicate glass (used in lab glassware and corning made PYREX kitchenware before the PYREX brand was sold) <S> (Borosilicate glass is slightly more brittle than the more common soda lime glass but has better thermal properties making it a good choice for use in ovens and some stoves). <S> Soda lime glass may also be acceptable if it is tempered but it requires a different type of care as it is less impact brittle but more vulnerable to thermal shocks.
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You should not have any problems as long as you handle your glassware carefully Using drinking glasses, or even canning jars, risks the glass cracking, splintering, exploding, or shattering.
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What percentage of my chicken legs are bone I usually buy chicken legs in a pack of four from the supermarket and the packet comes at 1000grams. This would mean that each leg should be 250 grams. I am trying to calculate how many calories are in each leg after I cook them. (I cook them on the bone without the skin in the oven) I usually eat my chicken legs on the go so weighing them before and after I eat the meat is not an option. I am not sure if my chicken legs would be considered small, medium or large and am trying to calculate the amount of calories I eat when I eat each chicken leg. If anybody has any idea this would be of great help <Q> 27% is the percentage of raw bone in a chicken leg. <S> Source: Bone Percentage in Raw Meaty Bones <A> I'll refer to this article : Cost and Yield Comparison of Ready-To-Cook <S> Chicken Product by J.H. Denton and D.B. Mellor, <S> Extension Poultry Marketing Specializtis, The Texas A&M University System, Texas Agricultural Extension Service L-2290 <S> This is Table 1 of the article: <S> The table assumes you start with 1 pound of the chicken product, and the quantities in the raw column are the weight of the meat&skin (or meat) <S> that's edible. <S> The cooked columns are the amount of edible stuff after cooking in those methods (so a fried chicken has the coating, meat and skin, for example). <A> 1/4th to <S> 1/3 rd is normal for bone in fowl. <S> Small legs on the high side for bone. <S> When buying fowl. <S> The bigger the fowl the less bone to meat ratio. <S> This is for rough figuring. <S> On chicken & turkey at the store. <S> Legs would be 50 t0 60% bone. <S> Breast far less. <S> bone. <S> Per. meat. <S> This is raw fowl. <S> This is why when you buy a turkey at thanksgiving you always buy one over 18lb. <S> For max. <S> meat to bone ratio. <S> Same with chicken. <S> Ducks are different build.
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Larger legs are on the low side for bone.
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Appliance to wash or scrub fruit and vegetables? Washer or scrubber I need to wash or scrub 20 lb of oranges a day. Some have a layer of white stuff on them and I never tried juicing those without scrubbing. Does anyone know of a household sized automated machine for this? The best I have found Cuisine cleaner at AMZ seems intended for more delicate things. Will the ozone help in any way? Would ultrasonic? I hope I will not have to DIY something out of a paint buffer or back and forth towel mover machine. <Q> I'm not sure how sticky this coating is ... <S> Can you construct a huge wire tub (basket) and then hose them down with the garden hose outside? <S> My husband suggested created opposite rotating brushes where they enter at a slope and roll out after being brushed and washed at the same time. <S> It depends upon how much work space you have. <A> PaulB suggested video <S> Crazy Russian's drill and brush potato washer. <S> I tried it. <S> My version. <S> I bought a 12 Qt bucket and toilet brush. <S> I sawed off the brush handle and drilled in the sawed end using a small bit. <S> That eventually came out but the next one I used wide flatish bit did not. <S> This method works but has problems. <S> Now I put the fruit in the bucket and scrub with 1.20$ shower scrub gloved hands. <S> The water always sploshed out and I do not know where to buy a cover with a hole for the bucket. <S> Depending on time and pressure soft spots in oranges would be dug out. <S> However, at the same time, citrien oil in the rind would be removed as well and that is a very good thing. <S> The process so far takes some concentration. <S> It also does not work on more than 3 pounds at a time. <S> Without refinement this process is not significantly better for me than bucket-and-scrub-gloves. <S> It needs a bigger bucket, bucket cover, and a scrub-like surface on the inside of the bucket. <A> Buy the one with the round cloth opening. <S> Buy one round baking rack with feet,legs to place in bottom. <S> These are not agitation machines but the ones with the water movers in the bottom. <S> So need rack to fit over them or damage to fruit. <S> Add fruit, add water, add soap?, set to soft wash. <S> Set timer. <S> Turn on. <S> Once cycle is done drain. <S> If soap used next refill machine with water. <S> set timer, turn on for rinse. <S> Drain remove fruit. <S> You can also wash your cloths in them. <S> Look under Japan appliances not American. <S> Hanabishi seem to hold up well. <S> Very simple wiring <S> , most switches can be replaced with toggle switches if they break. <S> Safety with a stout cord & such. <S> Machines not made for the American market so will need to order to there.
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Hanabishi wash machines are good for this.
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Microwave oven first time use — "10 minutes with water"? My Samsung ME731K microwave oven just arrived. There is this instruction (in less than perfect English) and I'm not sure how to interpret it. Before using the your oven first time, oven should be operated with the water during 10 minute and then used. Does it mean I should put a bowl of water inside and let the oven run for 10 minutes? <Q> The reason is, it allows things to "break-in" and assures that you don't have any direct issues with the device and that all nasty solvents are given proper time to "burn off. <S> " <S> This is so you don't end up with nasty plastic smells and flavors in your first meal. <S> For safety reasons, I would recommend placing a wooden spoon in the bowl. <S> This provides plenty of nucleations sites and will prevent "super-heating" of the water. <S> Always use microwave appropriate containers, and allow the bowl to come to reasonable (warm to room temp) prior to handling. <A> Yes, that's what it will mean. <S> Put a bowl of water in the microwave and heat on normal high setting for the 10 minutes. <S> Ensure that the bowl you use is glass or ceramic certified heat proof for the oven and be careful how you handle the bowl once it has finished as it will be hotter than you think! <S> You will end up with the whole microwave covered in condensed water which you can just wipe down. <S> Possibly this is their way of ensuring that any residual dust, etc., is cleared from the microwave before it is first used. <S> This is also a useful way to clean your microwave if you get any burnt on food during use. <S> But you wouldn't have to do it for 10 minutes then. <S> Just long enough to loosen the burnt on food - possibly 2-3 minutes. <A> I don't know how dangerous, but I have been told that running a microwave without anything in it can be dangerous. <S> So, as pointed out, maybe the first ten minute run loosens up the moving parts. <S> They suggest water, just because you can throw it out immediately, and on the cheap.
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The directions are in fact asking you to place a bowl of water in the Microwave Oven and run it for 10mins.
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How to reduce cracking and increase browning in sourdough loaves? Lately I've been learning how to make these delicious sourdough breads and I have managed to create very flavorful breads but I always get very ugly results... The picture below is my latest try. Notice how my scores seem totally useless, since the bread just ruptured. Also, it's really hard to get even the slightest browning (I'm using only wheat flour with a bit of sugar hoping it would help in this regard) without burning the bottom. I didn't follow any specific recipe but a combination of techniques I found around the internet: Mix flour, water, salt, sugar (about 80% hydration) . Autolyse for 1h +- Add starter and work the dough. Stretch and fold method 3 times with 15 min rest in between. Shape and (try to) build surface tension. Bulk fermentation in fridge for around 10h Score and bake for 45 min @ 250°C (no Dutch oven, but sprayed some water inside to make crust crisper) Anyone have any tips to improve the appearance of my sourdough? <Q> For the scoring, you didn't score deep enough. <S> You need a lot more depth to allow for enough expansion. <S> For the browning, you cannot expect much from a sourdough in a home oven. <S> Both the ingredients and the temperature are wrong for a dark crust. <S> The best you can do is to work with washes, milk should brown well <S> , yolk is also OK but not as usual on sourdough. <A> I'd recommend getting a dutch oven. <S> I use a Lodge cast iron two piece combo cooker. <S> Preheat it in your oven, pop your dough in on the skillet side and cover with the deep pan part. <S> It gives an incredible golden crust! <A> Yes, the slashes are not deep enough. <S> Slashes are not meant to be solely decorative - they also function to let the dough expand easier. <S> As for browning... I've baked solely with sourdough bread for the last decade, and I've had no problem at all getting my bread to brown. <S> I don't use flour for kneading my dough. <S> I use oil on my hands. <S> I'm not a fan of the flour <S> look on baked bread anyway. <S> I heat my oven up as hot as it can possibly go, and when it's hot, put the dough in the middle of the oven. <S> Then, about fifteen minutes after I put it in, I lower the temperature to around 175-200C for the remainder of the bake. <S> The high heat at the beginning gives the bread better oven spring. <S> My bread is plenty brown when it's done. <S> If you're still having a problem with burnt bottoms but pale everywhere else, try putting a pizza stone or clay tile in the bottom of the oven to help keep the oven temperatures more even. <A> The loaf ruptures due to pressure building up after the crust has hardened. <S> See http://www.thefreshloaf.com/handbook/scoring for more information on scoring bread. <S> I typically expect–after shaping–the bread to increase in volume by approximately a third. <S> It will expand further in the baking process as well, but usually only so much as to make the scored marks look appealing. <S> Regarding a darker crust: I would try modifying your method. <S> Most of your fermentation time is in the fridge. <S> If it is close to 0ºC in your fridge this may stop most of the fermentation from happening (which would also lead to the rupturing above). <S> The fermentation process should breakdown the complex carbohydrates (the flour in your dough) into simple sugars and these will increase the darkness of the loaf. <S> A couple of things to try: let the loaf sit for an hour before refrigeration (to jump start the process); letting the loaf sit for an hour after it comes out of the fridge; leaving it in a cool place (~15ºC) instead of using the fridge. <S> Try one of these not all of them ;) <A> The scoring/slashing stuff mentioned in other answers should decrease the cracking. <S> Slip it in the oven before you turn the oven on. <S> It will take you much longer to preheat the oven when the tile is there (my oven takes about an hour to preheat to 450F with the tile) but it has improved the crustiness and darkness of my breads. <S> This is true whether you bake a dough directly on the tile, or bake it in a pan then remove the pan to finish a loaf directly on the stone. <S> An added benefit of the tile is that you can cook pizzas directly on the tile, and they turn out a lot better than just pizza on a metal sheet with no tile.
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Another way to decrease rupturing is to ensure that sufficient rising occurs before the bread is put in the oven. To improve browning I recommend using a baker's tile. This can be decreased by scoring which creates an intentional weak point in the crust.
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What foods to cook in a new cast iron skillet that will help improve the seasoning? I've never cooked with cast iron before and just picked up a couple Lodge cast iron skillets (6" and 12"). They come preseasoned, but I imagine some additional seasoning is desired. I tried bacon, which took a lot longer than I expected, and left a lot of brown bits. I also tried grilled cheese, which wound up being a terrible mess that I threw away, since so much of the bread stuck. I had buttered the bread, and put some oil in the pan, but still went back to my non stick pan. I know there are some foods that really require a good season on the skillet to cook properly (like eggs). Are there any foods that help improve the seasoning? <Q> Frying chicken, searing steak, etc. <S> Anything that has to do with heating oil. <S> The things that can damage <S> the seasoning are acidic mixes, and in long duration. <S> An example: Simmering tomato sauce. <S> I would also like to add that actually seasoning the pan, and proper handling and storage <S> will give you much better results in improving your seasoning. <S> One good starting point is Kenji Lopez alt's advice on cast iron pans. <S> There are other very good sources on this too. <A> The best foods to make is protein swimming in lots of fat. <S> For example, shallow-fried frikadellen. <S> Take care to not simply use the pan as a griddle and spread a tiny layer of fat, fry in at least half a centimeter of fat, if not more. <S> Meat and (not scrambled) eggs are good, but don't use fish. <S> Take care to have pure meat and not any short carbs (sugar) or long dry carbs kicking around. <S> For example, bacon strips from bacon brined in a sweetened solution are bad. <S> This stuff will caramelize on the pan and make it stickier than before. <S> Bread or very doughy griddle-cake varieties (english muffins, etc.) are also bad, as they will char onto your pan. <S> I find that Ruhlmann style crepes work great (2 parts egg, 2 parts milk, 1 part flour, by weight). <S> Make sure to use enough oil before the first crepe. <S> For later crepes, watch the pan permanently, and turn the crepe in the short time after it has self-released but before it has burnt onto the pan. <S> You might need to play with the heat, remember that cast iron reacts slowly. <S> Mekiza/lagos will also work well, if the pan is deep enough that you can comfortably fill it with enough oil (it doesn't have to be enough for deep frying, but you still need over a centimeter, and then enough space above it to avoid large splashes). <S> I wouldn't do vegetables at first, because they tend to sweat a lot of water, and may char onto the surface if you leave them alone for a short time. <S> Also, don't use butter at the beginning. <S> Lard works really great for the beginning in a seasoned pan, coconut oil is also good. <S> If you are using less saturated oils, don't do lineseed, that's very sticky when it polymerizes. <S> Once the seasoning "holds" better, you can expand to other things, of course. <S> Still, your grilled cheese sandwiches are not something I would do in a seasoned pan at all, even with established seasoning. <A> When I get a new cast iron (pre seasoned or not) I always add a thin layer of oil to the entire skillet, usually vegetable oil, and bake it in the oven at 325° for about an hour. <S> I also do this every now and then between uses to make sure it remains well seasoned and non stick. <S> Also, to help prevent sticking, preheat your pan well before cooking. <S> Hope this helps. <S> Good luck! <A> I love to deep fry stuff, even like french fries. <S> Most of the french/european carbon steel/cast iron pans like you to fry potato skins inside the pan before using. <S> Well after you have thoroughly cleaned the cooking surface. <S> Peel the skins off the potatoes and then fry them in the pan. <S> then when the skins are nice and burnt and crispy throw them away. <S> Clean the pan and then deep fry the left over potatoes as either chips or as fries.
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To improve seasoning, any frying or searing will help. Some doughy things are good for the seasoning, if they are not stick-prone.
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Utensil that forms meat into cylinders I'm making some kebabs, which involves taking a mixture of ground meat and spices, then rolling them into small cylinders. I usually hand roll, but I have to make them in large volume soon and would like them to look a little more like perfect cylinders. I cannot figure out the name for a tool that might be a cheap, small hand tool that would form ground meat into small cylinders. I picture something that has a scissor handle and a cylinder end, like a meat baller but cylindrical instead of spherical. Does something like this exist and have a name? <Q> Seems like the bamboo mat used for making sushi rolls would be a good choice for this. <S> Line it with heavy plastic wrap or parchment paper, of course. <A> This seems to be one of those gag gift products you find on the web that has attracted attention for its absurdity... reading through the questions and reviews, it's difficult to tell which are jokes and which are genuine... <S> And, at the low, low price of $7.99, can you afford not giving it a try? <S> Probably! <S> Serious Eats has a walkthrough of how it works: Unlike the other gadgets in this roundup, it doesn't even pretend to be practical. <S> It's a plastic mold that shapes burger meat into a bun-sized log. <S> Figure out how to work it right, and you can even stuff your hamdogs with a thin strip of whatever you'd like <S> (I really can't imagine fitting anything but a little cheese into the narrow trough the mold creates). <S> Novelty: 7 Usefulness: 4 Construction quality/ease of use: <S> 8 <S> Overall assessment <S> : It does exactly what they claim it will do, but leaves you wondering "why?" <A> I believe you can get PVC-like pipe that is regarded as food safe. <S> See here for example. <S> You could just purchase the diameter that makes sense...stuff it....push it out... <S> cut the product to length. <A> What it sounds like you are looking for is an Extrusion Device . <S> Something like these Jerky Guns . <S> Here is a youtube video using it to make typical jerky , but as you can see the tips are interchangeable and would allow you to make something akin to a "slim Jim" with a wider diameter. <A> You could always just roll the ground meat in some clear plastic food wrap and then twist the edges so it's like a giant tootsie roll. <S> The tighter you twist the edges the rounder it gets. <S> I think the sushi roll mat is ok, but it doesn't get the very edges as tight as using this method. <S> Depending on the fat content of the meat in question, it can stick or pull the plastic wrap away from the mat. <S> I know I was making some yakitori and made the ground meat, i also just every so slightly par boiled the meat to make it more solid and easier to grill later. <S> Also you can could cut them into coin shapes instead of keeping it in the hot dog or tube shape. <S> But the mat also works, <S> but like i said the edges are not as tight and tend to fall apart like regular sushi has the tendency to as well. <A> A pastry bag may do the job; create long cylinders on a table top and cut to size. <S> That's what my mom did when I was a child for croquettes, which are somewhat softer, but I guess I'd worth a try. <S> Chances are you already have one at home, so no need to purchase anything. <A> People are suggesting extrusion devices, and indeed, here's video evidence of such a solution working perfectly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opTXaBZ1kPYA
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regardless, it seems that the " Ham Dogger ", a device for making hot dog-shaped hamburger "patties", may do what you're looking for. Where you can press out the meat mixture into long cylinders and then cut off at the lengths you desire. If you really don't feel like using pipes to do the trick, maybe you could use one of those gnocci extrusion apparatuses:
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Suggestions for easy peanut butter clean-up I have a family member who sometimes likes to eat peanut butter by itself -- no bread, crackers, etc. For sanitary reasons, we do discourage eating directly from the jar, but that poses a quandary in terms of clean-up. (He also has a habit of not quite finishing, leaving a spoonful or two of peanut butter on the plate/bowl/whatever.) Not only do I generally end up with a couple dirty spoons, but also some small container or plate with leftover peanut butter. Of all the things I have to clean in the kitchen, I have to say peanut butter is perhaps the most annoying. If you put it in the dishwasher directly, I still sometimes find residue left (and if there's too much peanut butter left on, the oil can even leave residue on other dishes). It doesn't dissolve easily even in hot water (at least not in any reasonable amount of time), it "gunks up" just about any cleaning device you might use (sponge, rag, brush, even gloves worn while dishwashing, etc.), and the oily element ends up contaminating any dishwater or other dishes around. My only solution so far is to always leave any peanut-butter contaminated stuff to the very end of any handwashing of dishes I'm doing, then use the remaining dishwater to rub off most of it with my bare hands (to avoid contaminating other scrubbing devices), then put the stuff in the dishwasher for a final cleaning. That still often coats the sink or any dishwashing bin with a bit of peanut-smelling oil, which then has to be rinsed again (with more soap). And my hands end up smelling of peanuts. I always feel that I end up wasting a lot of hot water just to deal with a few peanut butter utensils or containers. Alternatively, I have sometimes resorted to paper towels, which also seems wasteful. Is there a better/easier way to wash away peanut butter, or even a better way of handling/finding an eating surface for peanut butter? EDIT: I perhaps went into too much detail about my own situation, but I'd also be interested in any general suggestions for cleaning up peanut butter more easily. (I'm sure we've all wished for an easier way to clean dirty jars, etc.) <Q> The problem is the fat. <S> You would have the same problem with a spoon full of shortening. <S> Since fat doesn't normally mix with water the fat makes a film that gets on everything. <S> You are trying to wash away a very large quantity of fat <S> so it takes a lot of soap. <S> Instead, scrape the majority of the fat into the garbage. <S> Apply a liberal amount of soap and work it into a solution with the peanut butter residue. <S> The peanut oil, now in solution, will wash away nicely without coating everything. <A> The answer I've found is waste paper—newspaper, junk mail, whatever I have handy in the recycling bin. <S> As you've probably noticed, peanut butter doesn't wash off very well, but it does wipe off quite easily. <S> The oil that makes it so hard to wash with water makes it slide right off with the right kind of friction. <S> Of course you don't want to use anything that itself needs to be washed, since then you're back to the "peanut butter doesn't wash" problem, and for big or frequent jobs paper towels do seem rather wasteful. <S> Luckily, since you will be washing the dishes after they are wiped, you don't need sterile paper towels. <S> Using any moderately sturdy (but not too stiff) paper, you should be able to wipe off virtually all of the excess peanut butter. <S> Dispose of the paper and peanut butter in the trash or compost, and wash the dishes the usual way. <A> One solution that I've seen proposed for measuring fatty ingredients, like olive oil, is to coat your container with water before filling it with fat. <S> Because the water and fat repel each other, less fat will stick to the container. <S> There will still be some residue where the water coating wasn't completely covering the surface, but it should be less. <S> However, this technique might be less appealing for serving fats, as you need a significantly wet plate or bowl for this to work. <S> You'll need to see whether it is acceptable to your small person. <A> When it comes to peanut butter, which is fairly solid, I find it generally helps a lot to use baby-wipes to round up most of the peanut butter. <S> My own kid also eats a lot of it and smears it on his tray or the table, but a quick wipe on his plastic tray is enough to clean off all the residue. <S> After that, any dishes can safely go in the washer. <A> Use a small, smooth, round bowl. <S> Glass is especially good for making sure it's smooth: <S> First thing scrape with rubber spatula and soak with water and detergent. <S> I like a bowl as it is easier to hold in one hand while scraping but a small plate should work. <S> Then save for last and sponge out. <S> I know not <S> the stated question but peanutes are very easy to clean up after. <S> Give them the option of peanuts. <S> Salted, unsalted, dry roasted, and honey covered. <S> Peanuts and peanut butter are very high in fat. <S> Make em chew if it will slow them down. <A> then wash it with detergent as usual. <A> You could serve the portion of peanut butter on a disposable base, eg clingfilm, tinfoil, parchment, kitchen paper, paper plate, a muffin tin liner....
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I use paper towel or used paper napkin to wipe away the peanut butter also do the same on any extra greasy cup or plates. The solution to fat- or rather to make a solution of fat- you use soap. On most surfaces, it's pretty easy to gather it up and toss it in the bin.
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Are there any fish bones which are edible without canning or pressure cooking? As the question states, are there any. I know things like sardines require pressure cooking or canning but what about thuings like anchovies or other, is the bone edible without having to pressure cook? My goal is to get calcium from bones with the least amount of cooking, if any at all. <Q> Sprat and even larger fish like small jack mackerels (up to 10 cm length) are typically eaten with their spine bones when fried. <S> The fins and heads are removed though. <A> <A> Anchovies are sold dried in bags of small or tiny whole fish. <S> One generally pinches off the head and stomach and eats the rest, so, yes <S> the bones don't need to be softened by heat, but these fish are very small, even compared to what winds up as fillets in the tins. <A> You can eat just about ANY fish bones. <S> I don't know if this qualifies with your "least amount of cooking". <S> But, you can Deep-fry or Pan Fry <S> (I use my wok with a bout a half inch of oil for this) anything from a smaller whitefish to a salmon. <S> I cook at about 375F until it's a light brown, at which point it's crispy and easily edible. <S> Usually only a couple minutes. <S> I season with Salt, Pepper, Lemon or Soy and Green onion. <S> Here's a recipe from serious eats if that helps:- Serious Eats
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Japanese cuisine knows the practice of eating Hamo eel after shortening the bones by mincing them IN the fish (special knife techniques) and poaching it....
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Can I decrease salty flavor after brining a turkey? I brined my turkey but it came out tooooo salty. Any suggestions to save it? It's really good, juicy and tasty. I will cut it up and cook in turkey gravy, but is there something I can do to remove some of the salty taste? I will not be using the turkey drippings from this bird. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. <Q> The hard part is making good gravy with low enough salt, since low salt turkey flavor is hard to find. <S> You might consider a bit of an odd idea. <S> You can make milk gravy with ground turkey, much like what in the Army we called SOS . <S> Use the bare minimum of salt. <S> Serving the turkey with that, perhaps in an open-faced sandwich, could be good. <S> Consider that with slightly under-seasoned mashed potatoes. <S> Good Luck! <S> Let us know what you end up doing and your results. <A> Another idea is to take some of the turkey and use it as a filling for a savory pie. <S> Start with a light blonde roux, add in low sodium chicken stock, cook that out a bit and then toss in some shredded or cubed turkey. <S> Add veggies and whatever else, and a healthy amount of cooking cream. <S> Taste for seasoning (it might, believe it or not, need a tiny bit of salt) <S> Use any pastry crust you like, or just put the filling in some ramekins and top with puff pastry to bake. <S> If you need a start to a good pastry crust, try this . <S> You could do individual pot-pie sorts, or something bigger shepherd's pie style. <S> That's probably a good way to save it and still serve it in a manner similar to what you intended. <A> Adjust the salt in your brine because after the fact your kind of well stuck with it. <S> So, in other words, no.
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If you make good turkey gravy with little or no salt, and simmer and store the turkey in that, I think that's the best you can do.
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Am I supposed to eat frozen cherries directly I just got a bag of frozen cherries. Are they supposed to eat directly, or after they are unfrozen, or after I cook them? I have never eaten frozen berries before, but just fresh berries. <Q> Frozen berries as noted elsewhere have a mushier texture than fresh, so perhaps aren't great for eating in the hand; but they are excellent to pair with plain yogurt. <S> My wife eats plain yogurt with cherries or blueberries directly out of the freezer, not fully thawed, all the time. <S> She usually microwaves them briefly to take the chill off and partially thaw them, but I don't believe she fully thaws them. <S> Smoothies are the other main use I have for frozen berries, they go directly in and make the smoothie nice and cold. <S> Fully frozen cherries would be too hard to eat really, you could suck on them I guess <S> but that seems like a stretch. <A> Like all foods, therw is no one correct way to eat cherries. <S> Here are some things I like to do with frozen berries. <S> If these cherries are pitted, all of these suggestions apply. <S> Otherwise, you will need to either eat them whole or thaw them and pit them yourself to use them in anything, unless you plan to eat them whole, which is tasty aso well. <S> Eat them frozen. <S> Eat them thawed. <S> Eat them partially thawed. <S> Eat them frozen in a bowl with cream-- <S> it's like ice cream, but with less work and no sugar. <S> Blend them with milk and banana for a smoothie. <S> Put them in a bowl of oatmeal. <S> You don't even need to thaw them first. <S> Heat them up with a bit of water, and some sweetener if you want, to make a fruit syrup. <S> Mix them in with pancake batter. <S> Make cherry muffins. <S> Make a pie. <A> Frozen fruits like that (cherries or cranberries) will give better results when cooked. <S> Cranberries can be eaten raw, but they are tart and should be eaten very fresh; most of the time they are cooked. <S> Thawing the fruits will render them mushy. <A> You can eat them frozen or put them in a smoothie frozen. <S> If you are going to thaw them then do it slowly in the refrigerator. <S> If you rapid thaw it will create more thermal stress and break the fruit up. <S> In a delicate fruit like a strawberry a rapid thaw will turn it to a soup. <S> I worked in restaurants and saw it time and time again. <S> In freezing same thing. <S> Cool them first in fridge and then freeze. <A> I like to suck on frozen cherries. <S> But mostly defrost them and add them to yogurt. <S> Frozen grapes are lovely to chew on, and both cherries and grapes are nice added to a glass of cold water, especially in the summer. <S> I also put cherries, and other fruits in ice lolly Molds, add cherry juice, or other juice, and freeze. <A> Frozen cherries, the sour ones, are my yearly snack. <S> We fill up zipper bags with kilos of cherries and freeze them. <S> I serve them straight out of the freezer in a bowl, give them a light salting and let them sit for 5 minutes, then dig in. <S> Basically anything sour with salt is amazing.
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Cherries can be eating raw if they are fresh, when frozen, better to cook them.
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Mug cakes in the oven? I'm planning a party and want to make multiple mug cakes, but since I need to make about 100 and don't have a microwave that big I was wondering if I could make them in the oven and if there were oven safe mugs. I've been looking but they all seem to say dishwasher and microwave safe but nothing about the oven. Would it be easier to make them in the microwave one at a time? Just seems like a hassle. <Q> A microwave has a very different mechanism of heating than an oven, and recipes for the two are not interchangeable. <S> The results of making microwave-optimized cakes in the oven will be unpredictable. <S> And this will be a much larger problem than having the right mugs. <S> A better option would be to find a recipe for muffins or cupcakes that is intended to go in the oven, and bake it in the oven. <S> Do test it in a small batch before giving it to 100+ guests, because not all recipes floating around are good - but still, it is more likely to produce good results than baking your microwave cakes in an oven. <A> Not all mugs are oven safe. <S> I do have a couple that are from corningware that say specifically that they're used in the oven. <S> Mine are 20oz, but I've found 11oz ones on Amazon that are about $4.12 each if buying in lots of 6. <S> (so 17 6-packs would be $415.82+tax to get 102 mugs). <S> Other places might have better prices (I know that's true for the 20oz ones). <S> It's also possible that restaurant supply stores might have something cheaper. <S> If you already have your 100 mugs, and they're all the same manufacturer & model, you can try testing one of them ... but put a sheet pan on the shelf below just in case it explodes to try to contain the mess. <S> If they do explode in the oven, you could run a trial in a water bath, but that's likely to affect cooking times dramatically and be more dense. <S> (pour in near-boiling water after the cups are in place for best results ... <S> but then you also have to be careful about removing them <S> (I'd recommend canning tongs). <S> For working in bulk, if you're really careful about sliding the shelf out <S> so you don't slosh the water into the water or on yourself, you might be able to pull the cups, then add back in a new batch, replace any evaporated water, then bake. <S> As for microwaving, you could try doing it that way. <S> If you have a carousel and can fit a few on there, I'd try arranging them in a circle, microwaving about half way through, rotating them 180 degrees, and then finish cooking. <S> (but test this out before hand, so you can figure out proper time as it's likely to be longer than just cooking one (and to see if it even works) <A> A big part of microwave mug cakes is warm, freshly-baked cakes, and you'd expect to be able to hold the handle. <S> So if you cooked them in the oven you would have to let them cool quite a lot before serving. <S> And the mug cake recipes I've eaten aren't that good when they've cooled down <S> (some compromises must be made to make them work in the microwave <S> I guess, <S> or maybe it's an effect of the microwaving process). <S> So if you go for it <S> I suggest a normal cupcake recipe. <A> If you want to try the mugs you already have (or can buy), you should test it beforehand. <S> You might put them into a cold oven, and let them warm up there and cool in the oven afterwards - it might not be best for the cake, but it will reduce the thermal shock to the mugs. <S> Another possibility you may not have thought of - you can make cupcakes, and settle them into the mugs afterwards (might take a bit of trimming to make fit). <S> Or make a full cake and cut pieces out to size - most of the joins will be covered over by the mug itself, if you do layers or fill one or two with all edges or something, as long as the top looks good (which can be neat and careful cutting, or else frosting or some other topping, your choice). <S> Your mugs should almost certainly stand up to gentle warming in the oven, as long as it doesn't get too hot (and you will want the mugs cool enough to handle, anyway). <S> Or you can serve it cool, if the "in mugs" part is the important bit. <S> I admit I got both answers from the oven-safe drinking glasses question.
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While there are good reasons to be wary of some mugs in the oven, if you get plain (not painted) glazed mugs with the glaze undamaged, you should be able to just put them straight in.
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Is garlic peel safe to eat? I ask NOT about the white outer layers that must be peeled and I do peel. But I lack the time to peel the red peel off cloves. Is it safe to eat? picture source <Q> Garlic peel isn't dangerous to eat. <S> There's not really any difference between the outer and inner layers of the peel. <S> The color is just an attribute of certain varieties of garlic; some garlic has that red/purple peel, while other garlic just has white (or off-white/pale brown) peel the whole way through. <S> If it's only about spending effort to peel, see <S> How do you peel garlic easily? <S> - it's never going to be instant, but it shouldn't be terribly time-consuming either. <S> If it seems like it's adding a significant amount to your cooking prep time, there's probably room for improvement. <A> Sure, they are not poisonous or anything, although I suspect eating a large chunk of that "paper" would be unpleasant. <S> The skins then come right off. <S> To peel many at once, put them inside a hollow sphere made of two opposing metal mixing bowls and shake vigorously for a minute -- all the peels will have fallen off! <A> Yup, you can eat it. <S> There are dishes where the peel isn't removed and the garlic cloves are thrown in whole such as Sri Lankan pulliyanum. <S> I once peeled the garlic and onions for the pulliyanum while my Sri Lankan mother in law was on the phone - <S> when she saw what I had done, she grabbed more garlic and onions, not peeled, and tossed those in instead of using the ones I'd peeled.
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Peeling the skin off is quite easy -- lay the cloves on your cutting board, cover with the flat side of your chef's knife, and crush them a bit with your palm on the knife. Most people wouldn't want to eat it, since it's pretty papery and can sometimes be a bit tough and fibrous, but I guess if you don't mind, go for it.
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How shall I arrange my slowly-eating plan and preserve a box of 5Lb frozen eggs over a long period? I have a box of 5Lb of frozen eggs with citric acid, where 1 Lb is 9 large eggs Unopened product should be used within 3 days of thrawing. Unused portion should be kept refrigerated and used within 24 hours of opening I can't eat all after thrawing and opening it. I can only eat 1 egg i.e. 3 table spoon per day. How shall I arrange my slowly-eating plan and store the remaining frozen eggs over a long period? <Q> I would thaw one pound, and make something with it that I can freeze. <S> For example. <S> I bake quiches in leek and chard season - each quiche uses three eggs. <S> They freeze beautifully once cooked (I slice them into servings before I freeze them) and it's easy to remove one slice, warm it in the microwave, and enjoy. <S> So make three quiches and freeze them, you could eat two slices a day if you wanted to. <S> The internet is full of recipes for frittatas, quiches, soufflees, egg casseroles, and the like. <S> Just remember to cook your creations before freezing, and to partition them for serving. <A> Probably the most useful idea is to thaw the whole box, and promptly open it and refreeze in single-egg sized, or divisible into single-egg sized portions (maybe using an ice cube tray? <S> three, one tbs cubes per "egg"). <S> Frozen egg cubes can probably be packed in the box again for storage purposes - or else some freezer-safe container, clearly labeled. <S> You might wait until you have some egg-intensive need (baking day?) <S> that will let you use up a fair portion of the product all at once - and recall that egg cooked into something will have its own safe storage times, likely longer than just the 24 hours if properly stored. <S> Once the box is thawed and opened, you have twenty four hours before it needs to be used - that can include refreezing (which pauses the time spent), as long as you remember that the time that has passed is still gone - ie, assume your re-frozen egg portions are only good for 20 hours in the fridge after re-thawing, if it took you 4 hours to freeze all the egg. <S> Of course, if you really don't want to thaw and re-portion before re-freezing, the only other option I can think of is to very carefully cut the box off of the still-frozen eggs, and while keeping it very cold (intermittently sticking back in the freezer if it looks like it's thawing?), cut into smaller, more manageable cubes freehand, then quickly pack up and store in the freezer again. <S> Also worth pointing out - you can cook with the egg, and keep the products for longer than just the egg. <S> Foods kept in the fridge usually have 5-7 days, I think, but you can freeze foods that have been cooked with egg as well, nearly indefinitely. <S> It likely won't use up your five pounds, unless you do a major holiday baking day to feed the whole family plus gifts, but it may use up a fair portion and then you can refreeze the rest. <A> You have 45 eggs and can only eat one per day. <S> By the rules you would only be able to eat 2 <S> (consume open within 24 hours). <S> I assume the 24 hours is based on oxygen contact. <S> Let's say it thaws in 1 day then quickly pour some off in a small container you fill up <S> so there is no oxygen. <S> You should be able to get a full 3 days out of that <S> but then you are still only up to 4 days. <S> Cook what is left over from the first and freeze 2-3 day portions. <S> According to this can get 4 months. <S> how to freeze cooked eggs
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You could experiment with a variety of egg dishes that are not just "one egg, scrambled", or "one egg, fried" to use 9 eggs at a time.
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My dough is cracking (not crumbling) and more water does not help I am following this Serious Eats pie crust recipe . It's the second time already where I struggle with the dough folding stage. The dough is too crumbly when I take it out of the processor. When I (gradually) add water it stops being crumbly but then it gets too cracky. You can't really move it around or roll it. Adding flour or water does not improve the situation. <Q> The serious eats article that accompanies this recipe does a good job of explaining what you are trying to accomplish. <S> You are trying to have wheat gluten that is interspersed with pockets of fat. <S> The fat pockets are tender, the gluten is flaky. <S> Perfect balance. <S> They dough that you have doesn't have any gluten development and is basically shortbread. <S> If you press it into a pie crust it will be tender and flavorful but not flaky. <S> It's still delicious so <S> don't throw it out- <S> it just won't be perfect. <S> There are three ways that you could have too little gluten: <S> Flour with too little protein <S> The recipe calls for all purpose flour. <S> It needs to have some gluten but not as much as bread flour. <S> Too much mixing in the second stage <S> This recipe calls for some of the flour to be completely blended with the fat and then flour added in a second stage and only just cut in. <S> If this second addition of flour is too thoroughly blended into the fat you get shortbread. <S> Not enough resting time The recipe calls for resting the dough for at least a few hours and up to a few days. <S> This is important. <S> Only some of the flour in the dough has access to water to form gluten. <S> The dough needs to be given time to rest to allow the flour to hydrate. <S> I love this pie crust recipe. <S> It turns the traditional method on its head and it works very well. <S> It has fewer tricky points for failure than the traditional method <S> but it still helps to know what you are doing. <S> I highly recommend reading the article that accompanies the recipe. <S> http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2011/07/the-food-lab-the-science-of-pie-how-to-make-pie-crust-easy-recipe.html <A> In addition to the excellent answers already provided, I would add that the temperature of the dough needs to be taken into account as well. <S> If all of your ingredients are cold, or if you allow the dough to rest in a cold space, your dough will be cold and difficult to work with. <S> Cracking will be one of the ways that the dough will react. <A> There are two possibilities I can think of. <S> The first is there's a problem with mixing - you said you gradually add water, <S> does that mean you start mixing it into the dough as you add it, or that you let it sit between additions? <S> It looks like the recipe adds the water all at once, maybe lets it sit for a bit to hydrate, and then folds it all in together. <S> If you're mixing in between each addition, your dough might not be wet enough, with parts that are getting overworked (which makes it stiff) and parts not getting hydrated as well (making it crumbly). <S> The other possibility is, you mentioned that the flour you're using is called white wheat flour. <S> There is a kind of flour called "white whole wheat flour", which is functionally between the highly processed all purpose and regular whole wheat - <S> if this is the case with your flour, you may not be adding enough water... <S> whole wheat usually takes a little more water than all purpose flour, and I think it does better if given longer to hydrate. <S> In any case, even if your flour is different from white whole wheat, just being a different brand might be causing some of the problem, since all purpose is processed specifically to make it very predictable in recipes. <S> In either case, I would suggest sprinkling all the water the recipe calls for, plus a few teaspoons extra, and letting it sit a bit longer before you start to fold the dough. <S> The extra water should make it a bit more pliable, and the dough being easier to fold should mean the fat has a better chance to stay in pockets with a looser dough flowing around it, so it doesn't get smooshed around into the flour as much because a stiffer dough means you need more force when mixing - which would make it crumbly instead of flaky.
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In addition to making sure that your dough is well hydrated and that you are using the right flour, you will also want to ensure that your dough is room temperature or slightly warmer.
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Dark grey residue from newly purchased stainless steel kitchen items? I have had this happen a few times now. What happens is that I purchase a new kitchen item made of stainless steel. When cleaning it, I find out that there is some kind of dark grey residue that comes off of it. The items that have done this are supposed to be used to cook or they come into contact with food. Is this metalic residue? If not, what is it? <Q> Method for Removal: <S> Hand wiping with alkaline cleaners, followed by hot water rinsing. <S> May require multiple applications until wipe testing results are satisfactory. <S> http://www.ispeboston.org/files/july_2010_tech_talk.pdf <A> As I said last week in the comments, I've been having this problem too, and I finally think I've worked it out. <S> It happens with my steel bottom pots and pans. <S> It doesn't happen on my induction <S> stove-top ever. <S> It only ever happens when I use them on the electric, metal-top stove. <S> Basically, it seems to be metal/rust residue from the electric stove-top, rather than anything from the pot itself. <S> Taking a cleaning rag over the stove-top gets the same gray residue. <S> It seems we both need a better quality stove. <A> it is a food safe silicone,used as a manufacturing process coating
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It could be stainless steel and abrasive residue created from polishing.
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How can I get my flavorings to flavor my carnitas all the way through the pork? So, I've been trying for a while to mimic taqueria carnitas at home with my slow cooker. I initially tried a recipe that had you put some water in and then cook in its own juices, with seasoning; that was good, but it was a bit dry, and the seasoning all stayed on the outside. since there were multiple options for what recipe to use, I asked the folks at the tacqueria I go to which recipe they use, and they said they use oranges and milk. So I tried a couple different recipes with those properties, and they still only flavored the outside. So I tried experiments with submerging it in lard - an experiment each with spices smeared over the meat, then with them mixed into the lard. Still only flavored the outside. I tried using more of the spices; that was good, but it was emphatically not the right thing. So for comparison, what I'm trying to reproduce - the carnitas from the tacqueria - is pretty subtly flavored, and notably, basically does not taste like pork at all . It pretty much tastes like milk flavored pork. Furthermore, it's super moist all the way through but it's as though it's moist with milk - when you cut into it, the runoff from inside looks like milk mixed with a small amount of pork fat. and it looks grey most of the way through, with only small spots of pink, whereas mine look pink in the middle. My current hypotheses: they might be using a pressure cooker or deep fryer rather than a slow cooker they might be marinating it with milk they might be adding the milk afterwards they might be shredding it then cooking it further (seems unlikely, they often give me large chunks) they might be using better meat (mine is the cheapest pork butt/shoulder I can find) they might be cooking it in a smaller pot, as described as beneficial on serious eats (but I already tried packing my slow cooker with meat and nothing else and it was exactly the same) they might be using a completely different spice mix than cumin and oregano (but I can hardly taste any spice in theirs at all, whereas it's always obvious in mine, so they're at least doing something to blend it in better) they might be using more milk than I am (I'm using a cup for 3lbs to 7lbs of pork, they might be going as far as to submerge it) they might be using a meat tenderizer they might be cooking on a much higher heat they might be using more orange than I'd expect, maybe marinating in orange tenderizes such that milk soaks through? I don't have any pictures of theirs, unfortunately. <Q> One of your possible answers is pretty close to what I think is the correct one. <S> To flavor carnitas all the way through, put them back in the braising liquid that has been reduced since cooking the pork . <S> You can create a kind of glaze out of the braising liquid, and toss the shredded pork in that (defat the braising liquid before reducing it). <S> BTW, I never fry carnitas. <S> I may throw them on a greased grill, but I never deep or shallow fry them. <A> Similar to Jolene's answer, this is what I do when I make a shredded beef filling - <S> The meat is slow-cooked in seasonings, spices and some liquid. <S> The meat is removed and shredded. <S> The liquid is poured into a container and de-fatted. <S> A set amount of that liquid is put into a blender with some additional spices and seasonings and mixed well. <S> It goes back into the crock pot along with the shredded meat. <S> It's all mixed well and kept hot. <A> It is hard to know how does the carnitas tastes in the taqueria you visit, but I live in México, about 15 minutes away from the place the carnitas were created <S> so I can tell you something about how are they made. <S> You're right about cooking it with lard, that's the original way of doing it. <S> And also about the orange juice. <S> You need to make a bath for the meat and first you put the lard and the orange juice and some oranges cut in quarters. <S> Then you add very slow and very carefully water and orange <S> soda (yes, you heard that right). <S> like the proportion I could not tell because carnitas are usually prepared in huge quantity <S> but I guess the problem is that carnitas are actually submerged in this boiling preparation of orange, lard and herbs such as laurel and cumin. <S> And this results in very flavour meat and very tender texture. <S> And the type of pork meat used is leg, tenderloin and rib <S> so maybe you could try with them. <S> I definitely know that there is not milk at all.
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When looking at carnitas recipes for the slow cooker, if you find a method that adds the seasoned cooking liquids back into the post-shredded meat, that's probably your ticket for distributing those flavors more thoroughly.
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Over easy eggs sticking in copper pan I was given a new copper pan and tried to cook my over easy eggs in the pan without butter, as it says in the ads. However, the eggs stuck in the pan horribly. I usually use butter to cook even in my other not stick pan and they come out fine. What am I doing wrong? <Q> Eggs are very hard to get right on a non-teflon pan, but do-able. <S> First, you need oil or butter. <S> I don't care what the infomercials say, I've never been able to fry eggs on a metal pan without oil. <S> Second you need to get the heat right. <S> Oil forms a barrier between the pan and the egg, and also conducts heat better, <S> what actually keeps an egg from sticking is the steam produced by the egg cooking. <S> If the pan is too cold, or the transfer of heat to the egg is not fast enough then steam will not be produced quickly enough to keep the egg from sticking. <S> You need to get the heat up on your pan. <S> If the egg burns before it's cooked you've gone too far. <A> You're not doing anything wrong, except perhaps buying into the advertising. <S> It takes a true expert to fry eggs, even with butter, in anything but a nonstick pan. <S> Even ceramic nonstick pans can become problematic pretty quickly. <S> So far teflon is the only surface that I routinely use to fry eggs. <A> I regularly use cast-iron and other "sticky" pans to cook eggs successfully. <S> It gets under the eggs and helps them lift. <S> You can aid the process using the egg-flipper. <S> Even better, about half-way though add a bit of water and put the lid on. <S> Not only will they be easy to get out, also the tops of the eggs will cook from the steam but the yolk will still be runny. <A> Using a copper pan, I fried six eggs at once. <S> The key for me was spraying the spatula (on both sides) with non stick spray. <S> Flipping the eggs was simple -- none of the yokes broke. <S> Hope that helps!
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Even with butter, eggs stick in anything that isn't a nonstick pan. The secret is to add a small amount of water (few millimeters on bottom of pan) to the pan about half-way through cooking.
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How to prepare an easy and fast snack rich in protein? I'm going to the gym, usually, everyday. I'm looking for a simple and easy snack, something that I can carry with me to work, to the office, and would help me to recover from my workout. :) I know some recipes rich in carbohydrates but none rich in proteins :((Besides whey protein, of course) Any tips or recommendation ? Thanks in advance! <Q> A hard boiled egg is high in protein and comes in a handy natural container. <A> How about low-fat cottage cheese? <S> It would be easy to put in your bag; it is fairly high in protein, and low in carbohydrates. <S> You can throw it into a smoothy too. <A> A real quick search brings up a list of high-protein snacks that are easy to make up. <S> Source Crispy Lentil Energy Bites (8.6 g protein per two bites) <S> The Best Homemade Granola (8 g protein per half-cup) <S> No <S> -Bake Quinoa <S> Roasted Chickpeas (21 g protein per ¼-cup serving) <S> Portobello Eggs with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese (16.8 g protein per cap) <S> PBJ Yogurt Bowl (22 g protein per serving) <S> Paleo Cinnamon Raisin Flatbread (12.2 g protein per flatbread) Roasted Edamame, Three Ways (15 g protein per cup) Savory Greek Yogurt <S> Three Ways (17 g protein per cup) Protein “Brookies” (7 g protein per cookie) Follow the link above for photos/recipes <S> Also, some simpler options HERE Just searching for "high protein snacks" prompts a huge amount of resources to play with.
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Peanut Butter Crunch Cups (8 g protein per two cups) Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars (5.8 g protein per bar) Dark Chocolate Crunchy Coconut Cashew Sesame Bars (9.5 g protein per bar) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Balls (5 g protein per ball) Protein Muffins with Quinoa, Prunes, Dates and Coconut (18.2 g protein per muffin) Zesty Black Bean Hummus (16 g protein per ½-cup serving)
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Using sugar when making pizza dough A lot of the recipes that I've seen on YouTube and different forums have used four main ingredients when making pizza dough - flour, water, yeast, and salt. I'm confused because I though sugar is also a main ingredient since yeast feeds on it. Would y'all recommend always adding sugar to the pizza dough recipe? Also, what if the flour that's being used already has a few grams of sugar - should I still add sugar to the list of ingredients? <Q> There are plenty of fermentable sugars in the flours commonly used in pizza making. <S> Additional sugar is completely unnecessary. <A> Sugar helps the dough rise faster, and increases browning. <S> So using it is a matter of taste, and what you like in a pizza. <S> If you're in for a day-long rise in the refrigerator (for example), you won't need any extra sugar. <S> If you want it faster (say, an hour rise in a warm proofing box), a little extra sugar can help. <S> If you're happy with the way your pizza browns, leave it out. <S> If you feel like your pizza could use an extra pinch of Maillardy goodness, add a little sugar (and be prepared for a shift in rising times). <A> The Enzyme Amylase helps break down flour starches into complex sugars that add to crust color, taste of the final produce and feed the yeast to produce Carbon Dioxide (bubbles). <S> Slow rise gives the enzymes time to do their jobs. <S> A quick discription
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Extra sugar could even cause it to burn, especially if you're using very high heat.
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Why isn't Almond Milk (and other non-animal based 'milk') considered juice? As per the title, I consider "Milk" to be the substance secreted by living being to sustain their young, whether they be human, cow, dog, etc... Almonds do not produce milk to sustain their young, in fact they are simply crushed. This reminds me more of juice than milk. So why don't people call it "Almond Juice"? Wouldn't this be more accurate? The only reason I can think of as to why they would call it Milk would be to attempt to market it as a "milk alternative". Is that all there is to it? Or is there some defining feature that actually makes it fit the definition? EDIT- Looks like I'm not the only one who finds this strange <Q> One reason is simple appearance, I think - opaque white liquids or saps have long been called "milky", including nut milks, coconut milk, dandelion or milk thistle saps, and several other white substances. <S> Nut milks get called milk because they look like milk to the eye. <S> Another reason is that nut milks behave like milks in recipes - they are emulsions with sugars, proteins, and fats... <S> fruit juices tend to have nutrients and sugars, mostly, they behave rather differently in cooking. <S> Almond milk was a long held substitute for animal milk in medieval times because it was more reliable - the nuts would be shelf-stable, while actual milk could spoil within hours. <S> Also, it is probably worth noting that nut milks taste like milk, as well - a mellow flavor, very mild and a bit rich. <S> They are different from cow's milk, true, but perhaps nut milks are not immensely more different from cow's milk than it is different from sheep's milk or goat's milk. <S> In the end, nut milks get called milk because they seem similar, and there's no other category they fit into more neatly. <S> If it is to label them as an alternative, it is a very old label, and for an alternative that works very well in nearly all applications. <S> Ps: if it helps, the nutrients extracted from the almonds into the milk were produced by the parent tree and intended to sustain the baby almond-plant... <S> so the major difference is that the plant stores the milk in solid form, not whether it was meant for the next generation or not <A> I consider "Milk" to be the substance excreted from living being to sustain their young, whether they be human, cow, dog, etc... <S> Therein lies your problem. <S> Other people consider "milk" to have a wider definition than this. <S> The Oxford English Dictionary <S> (subscription required) gives a number of definitions of "milk" that are relevant to cooking: 1a. <S> A whitish fluid, rich in fat and protein, secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals (including humans) for the nourishment of their young, and taken from cows, sheep, etc., as an article of the human diet. <S> 2a. <S> A milky juice or latex present in the stems or other parts of various plants, which exudes when the plant is cut, and is often acrid, irritant, or toxic. <S> Also: [specifically] the drinkable watery liquid found in the hollow space inside the fruit of the coconut. <S> 5a. <S> A culinary, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, or other preparation resembling milk, esp. <S> in colour. <S> Usually with the principal ingredient or use specified by a preceding or following word. <S> [Here, it specifically mentions soya milk, rice milk, almond milk and a number of alarming medical preparations from former times, such as "milk of mercury".] <S> 5b. <S> milk of almonds = <S> almond milk 7. <S> [originally North American] <S> Strong alcoholic drink, often of a particular type, esp. whisky or beer. <S> Sometimes with a preceding word suggestive of strength or ferocity, as in cougar milk, wild-mare's milk, etc. <S> For example, Wiktionary gives similar definitions, as will any other dictionary you might care to consult. <S> Your assertion that milk is only the substance mammals use to feed their young is an example of what is known as the etymological fallacy : the belief that, because a word originally meant one particular thing, it must only mean that particular thing today. <A> Your definition for the word is not sufficiently broad. <S> After all- coconut milk is a thing <S> and it's more like juice than almond and rice milk are. <S> These liquids are called milk because they are milky: white, opaque, sometimes have protein and fat. <S> Either way, they aren't much like juice. <S> The nuts aren't just crushed. <S> They are ground and then soaked in water to leach out the good stuff. <A> It's called "milk" because that is what it most resembles in taste, texture and appearance, and it is also used as a substitute for people who can't or don't want to drink traditional cow's milk. <S> What a biologist might refer to as "milk" is not a consideration. <S> From a cultural viewpoint, the stuff that Taco Bell churns out in no way resembles the actual foodstuffs they are named after. <S> Vegetarian "burgers" are not all that much like the meat "burgers" they take their name from. <S> The green "wasabi" you get at most Asian/Japanese sushi eateries contains no actual wasabi. <S> There is often confusion when talking about what the layperson thinks of as a "theory" vs how science uses the term. <S> Society is filled with examples everywhere of terms that are used that don't strictly fit a technical or scientific definition. <S> The name is chosen for familiarity and a convenient point of reference for consumers. <S> I don't think "juice" would not be more accurate, since almonds are seeds/nuts, not fruits or vegetables. <A> An edible almond is rather dry - and part of it (the shell) is even inedible and not useful to make food of at all. <S> If you just pressed it, without adding water and heat, you would likely end up with impure almond oil and not a thin liquid like almond milk is. <S> This would be like pressing dried beef instead of milking a cow and expecting milk. <S> The same applies to rice, grains, cashews (where using the whole fruit would be actually poisonous!) and most other sources of plant milks.
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It is worth pointing out that nut milks were substitute for so long because they worked in dishes calling for milk, at both the chemical level and for rough flavor profiling. The flavor isn't strong or sweet like other juices. The choice of what they call it is strictly a product marketing decision, so strict scientific accuracy is not a consideration.
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Why does my invert sugar always crystallize? I often use invert sugar as a humectant in confections. The problem is that it always crystallizes after a few days. My recipe is fairly simple. 1 kg refined sugar 200 ml filtered water 1 g cream of tartar Bring to boil at 110C. Let cool. The syrup is definitely inverted, as the taste is distinct. The invert sugar is also completely transparent which tells me there are no obvious undissolved sugar crystals. Crystallization typically begins slowly at the point where I insert a spoon to portion out the syrup for recipes. I store the syrup at room temperature in a glass syrup jar. I have had no luck boiling the jar in water to liquify the syrup, as it appears saturated and it returns to the crystallized state. Also I suspect the boiling temperature is above 100C, which the waterbath cannot exceed. <Q> The crystalization is to be expected, that's what inverted sugar does. <S> It is the same thing as with honey, which is chemically nothing but a contaminated inverted sugar. <S> So, you are not doing anything wrong. <S> In an inverted sugar at sucrose ratios, you will get sucrose crystalizing back out of the solution, just as you are observing now. <S> If you really need it smooth, you can try changing the ratio by adding some fructose, as such a mixture is less prone to crystalizing. <S> The one thing that puzzles me in your description is that you cannot get it back smooth by heating, this should in principle be possible. <S> Maybe try adding a bit of water to the syrup itself during heating, so it can dissolve again. <A> Did you wash down sugar on the sites while it was boiling to reach the desired temperature? <A> From what you describe, I seems to me that sucrose in your syrup is just poorly hydrolyzed. <S> In other words, the syrup still has a lot of sucrose so sucrose crystals form when possible: <S> when disturbed with a spoon when heated up The taste will be distinct anyway because of cream of tartar, so I doubt it's a robust criterion of invert syrup. <S> Possible causes: boiling time. <S> Time is crucial for sucrose hydrolysis <S> and you haven'tspecify how fast do you boil it up to 110 C. From a hugesucrose/water ratio <S> my guess is - not too much. <S> I would suggest 20-30min boiling time. <S> You would need less heat, more water and more ofCoT for that. <S> the quantity of cream of tartar. <S> I know that 1g per 1kg sugar is acommon recipe found on the internet, but it doesn't make any sense tome. <S> Cream of tartar (and all possible acid substitutes) is not areagent here but a catalyst and <S> what matters is pH, thus, CoT's ratioto water. <S> This is to keep in mind if you would consider increasingamount of water for longer boiling. <S> As for you case the amount ofcream of tartar is enough, though you may consider rising it up to 2g. <S> possible undissolved crystals. <S> You said, you don't see any <S> and that's a good sign. <S> But there still might be really tiny ones. <S> I would actually suspect them to be there because that amount of sugar only dissolves completely in that amount of water at 100 C and it seems it doesn't have much time to finish dissolving till 110 C when you start cooling. <A> Also, you may have luck using a microwave for re-liquification. <S> Myself, I have always ended up scorching honey when I have tried, but many swear by it, and if you can do it with honey, you should also be able to do it with invert sugar solution.
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My first guess would be your pan was dirty or not completely clean, happens quite a lot when boiling sugar that spits from the boiling cristalize on the side and "infect" the other sugar.
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Is cereal a soup? Just curious, no other answer seems to be specific. I'm not looking for a discussion here, just an answer and an explanation. <Q> I would say no, cereal in milk is more simply comparable to a food in sauce - there's very little interaction between the cereal and the milk to make it a single dish, it is not a cohesive whole - and in fact it is considered the same dish (cereal) if eaten dry. <S> It might work as a simple sweet pudding if allowed to soak and meld a bit, perhaps, instead of being eaten crunchy (which is where I was getting the food-in-sauce likeness). <S> Something thicker, like a gummy oatmeal, would probably be more closely related to a pudding, but a thin one might well be soup. <S> Even cold cereal might work as a (sweet) soup if there was more going on with the milk, some other ingredients and flavorings - then it would be a cold, sweet milk soup with the cereal bits acting like dumplings. <S> The dictionary definition of soup is basically a savory definition, citing a combination of liquids, or meat and vegetables in broth or water (with other ingredients for flavor and texture), though there is a secondary definition that covers mixtures or substances resembling soup - which is how sweet soups, cold soups, and other more unusual sorts of soups earn the name. <S> I think (cold) cereal is just too far removed to earn that label, being cold instead of hot and sweet instead of savory and separable into its parts instead of married into a single dish and only having two ingredients, that is, not being a complex mixture or a greater-than-its-parts whole, and having other words which are better definition matches (cereals, puddings, foods with sauce, etc). <S> A soup can still be a soup with a couple of these alterations, I think having all of them is too many for it to fit that category. <A> Cereal in milk is not soup. <S> From Wikipedia : Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. <S> Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth. <S> Traditionally, soups are classified into two main groups: clear soups and thick soups. <S> The established French classifications of clear soups are bouillon and consommé. <S> Thick soups are classified depending upon the type of thickening agent used: purées are vegetable soups thickened with starch; bisques are made from puréed shellfish or vegetables thickened with cream; cream soups may be thickened with béchamel sauce; and veloutés are thickened with eggs, butter, and cream. <S> Other ingredients commonly used to thicken soups and broths include egg,[1] rice, lentils, flour, and grains; many popular soups also include carrots and potatoes. <S> There is much more information on the linked page <S> but I can't see any way that cereal in milk would be classed as a soup. <A> Milk is the broth and the cereal is the chunks, in what twisted world is that not TECHNICALLY a soup. <S> I understand that most soups are boiled together, broth and chunks, however, I believe a soup is a dish that has chunks in a liquid and therefore cereal in milk is a soup.
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Hot cereals might count a (sweet) soup, especially if there are other ingredients (like a gruel with grain and milk, and spices, dried fruits, and egg yolks to thicken) - though I think it would depend on consistency.
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Replace or reduce sugar in milk? Is there any company that produces milk with the sugar removed or replaced? If not, is there any way to do this on your own? I love skim milk and mostly buy Fair Life Skim Milk, which is filtered to improve nutritional value, but it still has way too much sugar. <Q> So, there's no method to get sugar out of milk, as far as I know. <S> You can look for milk products where some of the sugar is used up (fermented, like Chris H mentioned), but this will significantly change taste and texture - sugar is a major part of what milk is , fats and sugars and proteins, and you're removing most of the actual substance. <S> You're likely to do better with an unsweetened nut milk or rice milk, especially if you make your own so you can tweak to taste. <S> These may have more fats, depending on your choice of recipe, but will likely have sugar closer to your desired range <S> One thing you might try, if you're really determined, is to dilute your milk (maybe up to half) and add artificial sweeteners. <S> You'll still get some of the flavor components from the added milk, and some sweetening to make up the difference in taste, but there will be less sugar because the actual amount of milk is less. <S> Hopefully the added artificial sweetener might make it taste less watery, but maybe add just a half a pinch of salt if it still tastes too thin. <S> in the end, ~6g sugar per cup, I guess? <S> Another possibility is to use unflavored whey powder to flavor the diluting water (again, probably no more than half of your "milk"), then adding artificial sweetener to taste. <S> The whey should have some of the flavors from the proteins in milk, and at least from the powder I checked it doesn't have much of the sugar or fat you're objecting to. <S> It might help the diluted milk taste less watery. <S> ~7g sugar, because I think the whey powder has a gram and a half per serving. <S> Or even use it on its own, if the flavor works for you. <S> The amount of sugar isn't stated, but it has to be under 1g because that's all the carbs there are per serving - though it does add a half gram of fat back in. <A> Lactose free milk usually contains 11.5-12% sugars! <S> The less sugary is Barambah Organic <S> but I am talking about Australia. <S> I look for the less sugary full fat <S> and I skim it at home by heating it to boiling point and leaving it to cool down then getting off the fat solidified on top. <S> I save the cream for cakes, pastry made at home! <A> It seems only industrial processes can separate the sugars out of milk so the best seems to be to reconstitute milk at home and use allulose to recover the sweetness. <S> Allulose is a sugar very similar to glucose that humans don’t metabolize. <S> Tastes great, apparently bakes great, almost zero calories. <S> So.. I make my own milk as follows. <S> The salts are just what I have on hand <S> .. a more careful approach would more closely mimic true ‘milk ash’ (see http://www.milkfacts.info/Nutrition%20Facts/Nutrient%20Content.htm ). <S> 1 gallon keto-milk: <S> 4000ml water 4cups plain protein, 50-80% caesin, remainder whey. <S> Personally use 50% for simplicity of ordering ingredients. <S> 1 cup heavy cream, preferably grass-fed for flavor profile. <S> e.g. Naked protein or BulkSupplements. <S> 1/2 cup allulose <S> 16x <S> 125mg/50mg/50mg magnesium/potassium/taurine caps, NOW brand. <S> or equivalent, or custom salt blend. <S> 2 tsp table salt 2 tsp buttermilk (optional. seems to improve flavor profile a little) <S> Add everything but cream, mix as little as possible to remove lumps using stick blender. <S> (A tall narrow vessel helps to concentrate the lumps together for mixing). <S> Then lightly mix in cream. <S> Voila. <S> Keto milk that’s pretty close to original. <S> Costs $10-$15 gallon depending on the protein used. <S> Perhaps could be made at $8/gal with some finessing. <S> Tastes pretty darn good on its own, makes a great ice-coffee and goes great with Magic Spoon brand keto-cereal. <S> I haven't tried baking with it yet. <S> I am not affiliated with any brands.. <S> just reporting my personal experience.
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Final possibility I thought of - you can maybe grab some creamer powder and use that to flavor your diluted milk (again, not more than half and sweeten to taste).
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Kitchen knife rust after one day of use? I've taken the plunge to buy two expensive kitchen knives and somehow they picked up these stains (rust?) in less than 24 hours of use. I dried them, I thought completely, before putting into the block last night. I tried to remove with vinegar but the stains didn't come off. Any suggestions are highly appreciated. Many thanks. <Q> This happens a lot when the knives are more carbon steel vs. stainless steel. <S> I use a Japanese rust eraser, and most if not all rust will come off, and it will not scratch the knife's surface if you run along the grain of the metal. <S> These eraser are pretty inexpensive at your local japanese market, or you can get them on line. <S> They have a small amount of abrasive on it. <S> In your case, it will be a bit difficult, as the grain of your knife is going up and down the knife. <S> But if you don't care too much about a bit of scratching, then you could run the eraser length wise or side to side, along your knife. <S> Another alternative is to use a non scratching powdered cleanser, such as Bon Ami or Bar Keepers Friend and a cut potato or dai-kon (asian radish) to polish the blade. <S> Try a small area first <S> and then if it works, polish the whole blade. <S> Wash and dry immediately. <S> To see a demonstration of this technique I would watch some youtube videos by, Jon Broida, at Japanese Knife Imports. <S> He is a master knife sharpener and knife shop owner in Los Angeles. <A> I would check with where you bought it or the manufacturer before doing anything harsh. <S> A light coating of vegetable oil will slow down any future rust. <S> If it is stainless steel it should not hurt it. <S> From the looks it could be carbon steel. <S> And the spots could be rust. <S> You can try WD40 with a soft cloth. <S> Probably won't work but worth a try. <S> Try baking soda with a little water and a scotch bright pad. <S> If you search the web you will see use of harsh chemicals and even sand paper. <S> I would hold off on anything harsh. <S> Hopefully the shop where you bought it can tell you what kind of steel and how to care for it. <S> I would assume it is carbon steel until you find out otherwise. <A> Having checked the manufacturers site it seems that your knife which looks like stainless steel, is infact stainless steel. <S> In which case it begs the question, why go spotty after such a short time? <S> There is a possibility that this is a counterfeit product, in which case I would contact the company direct and get into dialog with them - try this link - http://www.world-of-knives.ch/en/products . <S> It does however seem to me that your knife is made of poor quality stainless, again contact the company, it could be that they are unaware of this issue. <S> As an aside, and a reflection on your 'cheap' knives, as I live on a boat the marine setting is very hard on my utensils, salty air is unavoidable, and a lot of my cheap knives put up with this, my victorinox knives get rust spots regularly. <S> You could try wiping a very thin layer of cooking oil over the knife with a piece of kitchen towel (NOT WD40), but you will find that this is not a long term situation, and will encourage critters eventually.
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I have many Japanese knives, and this happens when I don't immediately wipe off the blade after washing, or when cutting up more acidic foods, and not wiping the knife off with a damp towel.
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I have a water-logged meat thermometer (non-digital) How do I dry it out? I recently and very stupidly ran an analog (non-digital) meat thermometer through the dish washer. It came out full of water, like a fish tank or a pimp's aquarium heels, and it has not dried a milliliter since then (over a week). The brand name is Thermo Geneve, if it matters, and the dial reads from 140 to 190 Farenheit, with each 10-step temperature segment (except the 190) featuring one, two or three cuts of meat optimal at that temp. For example, 140 F has ham, rare-cooked beef to 180 F that just lists fresh turkey. Here's the image: Photo of Thermo Geneve Meat Thermometer Imagine it foggy and water logged to the physical 160 or 170 F level, and maybe a tiny goldfish swimming around. Any ideas on getting it dry? Many thanks for reading fellow home cooks! <Q> If water got in you can get it out. <S> Your thermometer is the circular analog type and it has more than one piece. <S> There's one piece with the probe and dial, and then there's a circular cover with the glass on it. <S> The water got into the thermometer through the seam where the 2 pieces meet, and this is where you'll get the water out, you just have to figure out how. <S> Be careful not to poke yourself if you try that though, it's easy to do. <S> If you do get it dripping out <S> then you'll need to find a way to hold it in place at about a 45 degree angle from vertical in the direction of the pin to allow the water to run out. <S> Sticking it in a piece of styrofoam or a potato should do the trick. <S> Another option would be to put it in a warm (call it 150-160F, 70C) oven at about a 45 degree angle from vertical. <S> You could also combine these 2 methods. <S> Another option I would consider is to put the thermometer on its side in a sealed container full of uncooked rice. <S> The rice absorbs water and makes the air very dry, it's a method which works to dry out watches and even mobile phones. <A> Do The rice. <S> I just did the same thing and <S> I am putting it in rice as it worked on my coffee drenched cell phone very nicely. <S> Another thing I did first was to use a hair dryer on it <S> and it did a pretty good job <S> but there is still condensation <S> so I think the rice is the way to go. <A> I would strongly suggest disposing of it and replacing it. <S> It is a device that you depend on for food safety which has (perhaps due to poor workmanship, as the majority of analog meat thermometers I've ever met are claimed to be dishwasher-safe) gotten water into its delicate working parts - they may no longer delicately work correctly, even if they are dried out. <S> If it does not claim to be dishwasher-safe, I'd put that down as a poor design choice and something to look for when buying a replacement. <A> use a shop vac. <S> on the face and tilt from side to side.
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What I would do first is to get a safety pin and see if I can pry the gap between the 2 pieces apart a bit to let the water run out. Sticking it through a medium size potato will keep it stable, don't use styrofoam as the fumes will be toxic.
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What can I safely put between my cast iron skillet and induction glass top stove to prevent scratches? I moved into a new flat and it comes with a brand-new induction glass top stove. Unfortunately, it seems like the glass rather easily scratches: There is already a visible scratch in it (likely caused by me, but I have no idea what caused it). This is why I don't want to put my Lodge cast iron skillet (with a rough bottom) directly on it. I've found several pages stating that I can easily prevent scratches by putting something between the cast iron skillet and the glass top, such as paper towels, newspaper or parchment paper, as long as I'm not going for a very high heat sear. However, that is mostly the purpose of my cast iron skillet: To sear meat at very high temperature. Has anyone used any of the above objects successfully as a protective layer between cast iron skillet and induction glass top, while searing at very high temperature? Or is some other sort of layer even more preferable? <Q> I don't know if it will work with your induction cooker, but I have used a very old and worn out sheet of silpat, silicon baking sheet. <S> I have not had a problem as long as the pan you are using is induction ready and the silpat is pretty thin. <S> But my induction cooker is quite old and perhaps this won't work on newer ones. <A> You could use a thin disc of copper... <S> Copper has a much higher melting point than does aluminum (1,984ºF or 1,084ºC vs 1,221ºF or 661ºC), is not ferromagnetic, and a thin (.025" or less <S> ) sheet should not have a profound effect on the magnetic field induced in the iron skillet. <S> I have not tried this method, but it is scientifically plausible as well as cost effective at about $25. <S> The copper surface could be sanded smooth and could be used in a similar way as a heat diffuser. <S> It should get no hotter than the bottom of the cast iron skillet, since the induction 'burner' should not induce any magnetic field in the copper sheet itself. <S> The only heating of the copper would be from conduction or radiation from the cast iron pan. <A> No, don't use paper or textile, they will char at meat searing temperatures. <S> It is good for lower temperatures like simmering or sweating vegetables. <S> At that heat, there is not much in the household you can use. <S> Very thin wood won't catch fire, but it will deform. <S> Metal is problematic because it might be feromagnetic and get hot instead of the pot. <S> So, if you can find a really thin ceramic tile, that might work, but be a bit problematic in handling (easy to break). <S> Slate would be a good material, and you can probably get it thin enough, but you will have to test if it doesn't scratch the glass by itself. <S> So, you will have to get creative. <S> Maybe look in a lab supply store for something usable. <A> You can use some sandpaper to smooth the skillet out. <S> However there is another problem, assuming as the metal heats up, some of the seasoning oil becomes liquid again, this leaves hard to remove stains on the glass cooktop. <S> I tried: parchment paper <S> - it just scorched/burned. <S> aluminum foil seemed to work, but wikipedia claims it can melt and fuse with the glass, so better safe than sorry. <S> 0.5мм copper sheet, did not work. <S> I don't know how the induction cooktop knows, but it knows. <S> With just the skillet i pulled from the socket 2200w(220v), with just copper sheet 200w, with copper sheet and skillet on top 220w. <S> 4mm fireplace window glass. <S> Pulling 2200w and works fine. <S> (I tested beforehand with stacking cards 4mm high and checking if the distance is too much). <A> If you put something between your pan and the stove it may not detect the pan if it is not in contact, and you may not get a good result. <S> I have an induction (hate it, it's like trying to cook on an ipad) and I have a lodge cast iron pan <S> , I've had no issues with scratching at all. <S> If your pan is really rough <S> then I would suggest replacing it with one that is smooth, or smoothing down the coating on the bottom with an electric sander. <S> You could spend more on a solution to save your pan than you would to buy another one. <A> Turns out that cotton doesn't ignite all that easily. <S> Works a treat, costs nothing. <S> Grill plate doesn't slip or scratch. <S> Easy to clean!
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I have an older induction cooker and used the silpat to protect the cooking surface from scratches and from the food/oil splatter that happens so often when I cook. Basically, what would work would be ceramic or glass, but you need a rather thin one (inverse square law, etc.), and the glass would need to be heat resistant. I've been cooking steaks and burgers on my Lodge plate using a cotton kitchen towel!
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Choice of new seasonable cookware (iron/carbon steel, pan/wok) I am interested in getting some form of cookware that will... take seasoning? Become seasoned? Cast-iron, carbon-steel, et cetera. I currently have two pots (one tall, one short) and one nonstick stainless-and-aluminum pan. I do not have infinite money or shelves so I do not want to buy all possible cookware. I am also uncertain whether a pan or a wok would be preferable. For any pairing of (carbon steel, cast-iron, forged iron) and (wok, pan), what would be preferred? <Q> I think any of the suggestions you made are great. <S> I would add, what type of food/style are you cooking or interested in? <S> More into the stir-frying, than a wok would be a good choice, besides they are quite multi-functional (fryer, steamer, stir fry, smoker). <S> They are also pretty inexpensive when made out of thin carbon steel. <S> If you are not into that, then a cast iron or my favorite are carbon steel pans. <S> Nearly all the seasonability of cast iron without the weight. <S> The carbon steel is usually also much less expensive. <S> But most carbon steel pans use rivets to secure the handles to the pan. <S> If you are getting fancy, there is a German brand of carbon steel pans, which makes them out of one piece like a cast iron, no rivets. <S> The brand is named, Turk, Albert Turk GmbH. <S> Good luck. <A> Your stove is a significant factor in whether a wok is worthwhile versus a flat bottomed pan. <S> Woks benefit from very high heat. <S> Some people think you need a professional stove to use a wok properly because a residential stove heat output is too low. <S> There is a characteristic wok hei flavor that is a result of using this heat that probably is not reproducible with a residential stove. <S> You can preheat a cast iron pan for awhile before cooking to sear, but this does not work with a wok. <S> You need to continuously apply high heat to sear in a wok. <S> With an electric stove, I prefer to stir fry in a cast iron pan over a wok, while over natural gas, I prefer to stir fry in a wok. <S> Over an electric stove, you need to divide the cooking into small batches to prevent your stir fry from becoming a simmer/boiling. <S> I have no firsthand experience with induction stoves, but I have heard they are better than electric for use with woks. <S> To summarize, if you have a high heat stove, consider a wok. <S> Otherwise get a pan. <A> I would choose cast iron and pan, but I don't know that my preferences have much to do with what you should buy. <S> I have a steel wok - can't recall the last time I used it; I last used the cast iron pan, day before yesterday. <S> I've never really "gotten into" wok-ing, so my results tend to be better with other methods. <S> For other people with other cooking habits, that will be different, as seen in the "related" questions off to the side. <A> I'd recommend a Lodge Cast Iron Skillet (12" or 15 1/4") and a Lodge Cast Iron Wok . <S> Both options are fantastic values, will last literally forever, and are a joy to cook with.
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Lodge makes a set of carbon steel pans. A wok does not have the heat capacity of a cast iron pan because it is relatively thin.
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What's a good spicy salt with only heat, and not a lot of flavor? I'm looking for something I can sprinkle on my food to add heat, but not change the flavor. I typically add salt to just about everything I eat anyway, so I am considering a spicy salt, however, if there is some other spicy "powder", that would be perfect. I have started using crushed red pepper flake, but it takes a fair amount to get the desired heat. When I do that, the flavor is still normally fine, but the pepper flakes make the food gritty, and I can feel the dried bits as I chew... it ruins the texture of the food. I've looked into pure capsaicin from an eye dropper, but that will be hard to spread over my wife's prepared dinners without adding too much heat. Any idea's? <Q> Try mixing up some salt and cayenne powder into an old spice shaker. <S> That should make life easier. <S> Start with a low amount of salt and adjust up to your level of heat. <S> If you end up putting it in a paprika container you may want to label it! <A> Sprinkling powders or flakes made from hotter types of dried chili pepper (which you need to use if you dont want the end result tasting of paprika) directly over food will end up giving you a rather harsh type of heat. <S> Consider using a chili-infused oil, or actually cooking a finer ground dried chili in oil for a moment before adding the mixture to the food (be careful with the fumes). <S> Capsaicin is oil soluble and tastes much better to most people if solute in oil. <S> Be careful experimenting with pure capsaicin (or >>100000 scoville peppers or preparations), it is actually considered a hazardous substance for a reason. <A> There are plenty of hot sauces that really don't taste like much but heat. <S> That won't really have a noticeable texture at all, unless you're putting it on something dry. <S> You might not want it too hot, since it's hard to sprinkle perfectly evenly, but in any case you can find a level of heat that works for you. <S> You could also mix it with salt yourself if you like the spicy salt idea, and find a good ratio of salt and heat. <S> Cayenne is probably the most common in the US, but there are plenty of other peppers out there, especially if you start looking at Indian stores.
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Or, you can just get a hot chili powder and either use it by itself or mix it with salt.
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Vegan egg substitute in sweet roll dough Every Christmas we have home made sweet rolls. The recipe calls for 1 egg. Is there anything I could use to replace the egg so the new vegan people in the family can still eat the rolls? Or can I just leave the egg out? <Q> You can use either chia seeds or ground linseed. <S> Mix a tablespoon of chia/linseed with 3 tablespoons of water and let it sit on the counter for about twenty minutes. <S> That mixture will replace the egg in almost any recipe for bread/mixed cake. <S> The rest period is important, as it allows the water to soak up the sticky proteins from the linseed/chia. <A> Going out on a limb here, because I'm not a bread expert, but since your recipe includes plenty of water, yeast and flour, which are known --by themselves-- to produce delicious results, my feeling is 1 egg can safely be left out without causing a massive disruption in the balance of the rest of the ingredients. <S> Common sense tells me any loss of richness from one missing egg will be barely noticed in a mixture with 6.5 to 7 cups of flour. <S> (My 2 cents worth.) <A> Soy flour, chickpea flour or other legume flours (mixed in with the main flour at 1:20 to 1:5 by weight) work well for some recipes - experimentation needed. <S> These are strong,sticky binders (a slurry of chickpea flour can be turned into a viable omelette); how they will effect the final texture is quite dependent on leavening methods etc.
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Eggs add oily richness, so sometimes it helps to throw in a teaspoon or so of extra vegetable oil to help with that homey yummy "oomph", but in this case, the caring gesture of inclusiveness toward the new members of your family will probably more than compensate for the loss of an egg.
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How do I keep cake from collapsing when adding lemon juice? I am trying to perfect a nice lemon bundt cake recipe that uses lemon juice and zest for flavor. I have achieved the flavor profile I want, but the cake does not rise much and comes out a little too dense. I figured it was the acidity of the 5 lemons I juiced into the batter. Is there a way I can keep that much acidity in the batter and still have a good rise on my bake? Thanks in advance. UPDATE I completely forgot to post the recipe, sorry about that. I am going for a moist and dense cake texture with a vibrant lemon flavor that slaps your mouth. I am a beginner baker though... 3 cups sifted cake flour. 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. 1/2 teaspoons salt. 1 3/4 cups sugar. 2/3 cup butter or margarine. 4 eggs (4 yokes . 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. 1 1/4 cups milk 1/2 cup sour cream 1 pkg lemon pudding mix (ideally i would like it to be a completely from scratch cake but 1 step at a time.) 5 lemons ( juicing and zesting all the lemons) <Q> I think your fat-to-flour ratio for that kind of flour might be too high. <S> Cake flour can't handle a lot of fat. <S> As another answer suggested, try a higher protein flour--start with all-purpose (AP) flour <S> and, if that isn't enough, use bread flour but remember to barely stir it together or you will make a mess. <S> I would mix everything together except the flour first, then carefully stir it in. <A> Does the batter type used rely on gluten development? <S> Acids and enzymes from very concentrated fruit juices can weaken gluten - if it would be strong enough to tenderize meat (denature protein), it is not unlikely to break down or influence <S> (even already developed) gluten (which is a protein). <S> Using a "stronger" flour than normally recommended for cakes, or adding extra gluten, or adding an additional binder could help. <A> I read that adding extra baking soda, like a teaspoon, to the recipe will help counter the effect of the acidic acid on your leaving agent. <S> But, in my case, I zested just one lemon and added the juice of half a lemon, to brighten the flavor. <S> you may need to add a whole tablespoon in your case? <A> I think the issue with this recipe is simply too many lemons! <S> You were blaming the acidity of the lemons for your issue: this explains the problems at least partially. <S> This blog post bakes cakes with different amount of acid and explains the results. <S> In summary, excess acidity will inhibit browning and impede rising. <S> While adding baking soda can neutralize the cake, too much simply tastes bad. <S> Lemon bring a few other properties to the mix. <S> As one of the comments mentions, lemon juice is mostly water. <S> The excess moisture will leave your cake with less structural integrity; it may collapse. <S> You could possibly fix this by adding more flour or starch, but it sounds difficult. <S> If you are not attached to your recipe, I recommend you just use a battle-tested and well-reviewed lemon cake recipe. <S> The lemon bliss cake from King Arthur Flour looks like a good candidate. <S> To avoid the issues caused by lemon juice, they use other techniques to incorporate lemon flavor: <S> Lemon <S> zest: <S> the zest of a lemon has a ton of flavor but no acidity or moisture. <S> Lemon oil (optional): <S> much like zest, adds flavor without changing the chemistry of the cake. <S> Glaze: <S> a lemon juice-spiked glaze is applied after the cake is baked. <S> This way it does not effect the baking process, but adds lemon flavor and moisture. <S> Icing: after the glaze, a lemon juice icing adds even more lemon flavor. <S> But if you really wanted to modify the recipe you gave above, you can still try to learn from the lessons in the KAF recipe. <S> You can use less juice and more zest, you could add a glaze, you could use lemon oil. <S> Anything to remove excess lemon juice from your cake will likely improve the texture.
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Also adding 1/4 tsp of baking soda could counteract some of the acidity.
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What are the downsides to "low and slow" when cooking meat? In many cooking resources, "low and slow" is given as a solution to cooking juicy, tender meat (after it has been seared). Cooking slowly is also highly recommended when making stews and various other sauces. My question is - what are the downsides? Is going too "low and slow" will make your meat soggy? Can you ever be "too slow"? <Q> The big downside, of course, is time. <S> You don't always want to spend all day cooking something. <S> For relatively thin pieces of meat (a steak, a chicken breast, a fish fillet) there's just no need to take a long time making it. <S> Worse, you risk making it so tender that it just falls apart. <S> Pulled pork is a wonderful thing, but some days you want slices. <S> Other cooking methods can add more flavor. <S> In addition to the Maillard reaction, flavorful fats in sautee can bring flavors of their own. <S> Low and slow maximizes tenderness, but there are other desirable textures. <S> Frying brings crunchiness, which you can't get from low-and-slow. <S> Baked fish takes on a firm texture. <S> And so on. <S> Low and slow is a crucial tool to have in your arsenal, but it's not the only technique you should learn. <S> Some days you just want to slap something in a pan. <A> Meats that have a higher percentage of connective tissues in them come out tough if you don't break that collagen down. <S> Extracting that also adds depth and richness to the dish. <S> Cuts that are just the muscle and marbled fat, on the other hand, don't really benefit from that. <S> That's why the stews and soups you mentioned, where you are shooting for a rich melange of flavors, call for those cheaper cuts. <S> A burger, steak, stir-fry would all come out bland and relatively flavorless using that method. <S> Now, sometimes there is a variation on this to more evenly cook <S> the meat - Cook's Illustrated has a method where you cook a thick steak in the oven at a low temperature <S> so it's evenly cooked to medium-rare throughout, <S> but then you finish the steak by searing in a hot skillet or pan. <S> The idea there is they want the sear, but they want the maximum amount of meat throughout to be medium rare and not be well-done/grey. <A> Although you can get some great flavors by extracting collagen and such out of meat, you don't get any browning from the Maillard reaction. <S> The browning is the result of new chemical compounds being produced ... <S> but it doesn't happen until you get to around 285°F / 140 <S> °C. <S> It's part of the reason why steamed chicken has nowhere near the flavor of grilled. <S> (poached is similar to steamed, but you're also moving some of the existing flavors into the cooking liquid. <S> And you can compensate by using a flavorful liquid to get flavors into the poultry). <S> .... <S> but in your scenario, you specifically mentioned 'low and slow' only after searing, so we still do have the Maillard reaction. <S> Maybe it's not as deep as it would have been if we had kept the food over higher heat the whole time, but it's typically a good trade-off. <S> (resulting in food that tastes good, and doesn't require 5 minutes to chew each bite). <S> As for the 'soggy' bit -- unless you're cooking it in a liquid, you won't have more liquid in the meat than when you started cooking it. <S> Even if you started with a brined or injected bird, it's actually quite difficult to end up with 'soggy' meat. <S> 'Mushy' maybe ... <S> if you overcooked via a slow poach. <S> Sou vide is effectively poaching, as the juices that get squeezed out have nowhere to go, so stay in the bag right next to the meat. <S> Sou vide on its own (without a sear before or after) is actually quite bland. <S> You really need to add herbs and such to compensate.
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Low and slow is best for certain types of dishes and certain cuts of meat. The downside is flavor. Cooking on a grill introduces smoky flavors.
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Why is my pizza coming out "soggy"? I am an owner of a small pizzeria. Im noticing my pizzas are coming out "soggy".. The crust and bottom of the pizza is cooking good, nice golden brown. But there seems to be an excess of water on the pizza sometimes. The more toppings the worse it is. I use canned mushrooms but I drain them and squeeze them out, but it happens on pizzas that have no mushrooms as well. I use a middleby marshall oven set at 475 degrees cook time 9 minutes. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. <Q> First of all, like Max said you should definitely be cooking your pizzas at a higher temperature. <S> In any case, this doesn't sound like an oven problem. <S> Even if you strain canned mushrooms they will still retain a lot of water. <S> Some cheeses have a lot of water in them, but this mostly happens with fresh mozzarellas. <S> In general I'd say experiment by cooking pizzas with only one topping to see which are releasing water, then make the necessary adjustments. <A> IMO, 475 is not enough, turn up the heat to as high <S> you can get it, <S> 600 <S> + if possible. <S> You want to bake the pizza as quick as possible. <S> Check the tomato sauce <S> , maybe you put too much on your pizza. <A> Make sure you give your sauce a quick stir before use. <S> If it's a heavy topping pizza use your judgement and compensate with less sauce and cheese. <S> Also check air flow of the oven. <S> Regulating the cook time for top of the pizza may help evaporate the moisture. <S> Experiment first it's easy to cook the top too fast <A> I got to study abroad in Italy this past summer. <S> We dropped by a pizzeria and talked to the owner on how he makes his pizza the way he does. <S> Here was his advice: <S> Make sure you knead the dough thoroughly, adding more flour as you go (especially under the center). <S> The only ingredients that should have a saucy component (or additional water) would be your marinara. <S> Here in the states, I would suggest adding tomato paste or just a can of tomato paste to can of diced tomatoes. <S> Ingredients are going to increase the cooking time, especially in the center; but this doesn't matter. <S> The man used a brick oven with logs (so no regulation of temperature). <S> He said that "You know when to put it in by the color of the brick." This deep dark red is usually at 600-650 and is only meant for 5 minutes. "From start to finish, a pizza should only take 15 minutes to get to the table." <S> Lastly, he mentioned you know the pizza is done by two factors. <S> The sides of the pizza are a dark golden brown. <S> The bottom of the pizza is charred at sporadic locations. <S> Note: <S> True Italian style pizzas actually come out more soggy than their American counterparts and should be eaten with a fork and knife. <S> To answer your question, look to my second bullet point. <S> My family has always mays a thicker sauce that we spread very thinly. <S> The tomato paste will help cut down on the runniness of your current sauce.
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If the more toppings you put then the more watery your pizzas get, it would only makes sense that your toppings are releasing water. Use fresh ingredients, especially mushrooms, they tend to absorb a lot of water if canned (and hard to remove).
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when to add the curry powder I heard that if I put the curry powder early, the cooking heat will destroy the flavour, and that it should be put at the end, before turning off the heat but I can't find anywhere on the internet confirmation for this statement. is that true ? when is the best time to put the curry powder ? <Q> None of these is categorically true. <S> It does make a big difference whether the powder is added into oil, water, or an emulsion. <S> For the most "complete" flavor, add it twice - part goes in the oil when your aromatics are mostly done, before adding bulk liquids; part goes in a few minutes before taking the dish off the heat (optionally bloomed in oil). <A> Most spices in curry powder are oil soluable, not just in oil, but oil that you are actively heating, <S> ie: frying. <S> the trick is not to burn your spices. <S> You will need to place your curry powder in with your browned onions, on a slightly lowered heat, ensuring that you have sufficient oil for the job in hand. <S> If your spices start to clump or are cooking too uickly, use small amounts of water and continue to cook, the water will soon evaporate. <S> If you add your powder at the end of your cooking process it will result in a bitter, grainy and unpalatable product. <A> It depends on the time and temperature. <S> Usually you use high heat to brown your food <S> and then you use a lower heat to finish cooking. <S> Add the curry when you lower the heat to avoid burning the curry. <S> It's probably similar to how you would treat saffron
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Adding it early or late will give different flavor, adding it at the very end of cooking will usually leave you with an unpleasant raw spice taste unless it is a roasted variety of curry powder. I'd say "it depends".
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How do you minimize the heat loss from adding meat to a hot pan? Yesterday as soon as I added 2 chicken breast fillets to a 350°F (175°C) pan (the oil) it dropped all the way to 250°F (120°C). And it took forever for the heat to climb back up. Is there a way to minimize the heat you lose when you add ingredients? <Q> Yes, you need to place the meat in a system which can keep more heat. <S> This means 1) more mass, and 2) less conduction. <S> This is generally done with cast iron pans, because they are great for that purpose. <S> You have to wait until they are properly heated, but once they are there, adding food does not faze them <S> and they keep the original temperature pretty steadily. <S> Also, if you use too little oil, the oil itself will cool down quickly. <S> Fill the pan generously, to come a bit above half of the chicken breasts, and then you will see much less heat loss. <S> You can also deep fry them, which keeps the temperature really stable, but then you need something much deeper than a pan for safety reasons. <A> That seems like a big drop. <S> Some temperature drop is expected. <S> The temperature and mass of the chicken is a factor. <S> Don't use frozen chicken. <S> You could pull the chicken from the fridge a few minutes before and let it warm up a bit. <S> But just a few minutes for food safety. <S> Add more mass / heat capacitance to the pan as covered by rumtscho. <S> The target cooking temperature is like 300°F to 325°F (150-165°C). <S> Start with a higher temperature (up to the smoke point). <S> Find what starting temp works for your conditions. <S> A lid will reduce heat loss even if it is tilted for some circulation. <S> An odd idea. <S> Lean them up against each other and stand them on side for a short time. <A> One additional factor: moisture. <S> The more there is on the exterior of your chicken, the more energy is lost turning that moisture into steam. <S> That is probably only a part of your problem though, a drop from 350 to 250 probably means you need more thermal mass in the pan as the other answers say. <S> Drying the exterior of your meat is more important if you're searing than deep- or shallow-frying.
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Try patting your chicken dry with paper towels or just a clean dish towel before frying.
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