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Flaky pie crust for sweet fruit pie: butter, shortening, lard, or combination? I specify sweet fruit here because I think there would different good answers for a savory or a custard based pie. <Q> You might think they're all the same, but you'd be wrong. <S> When I was taught how to make pies, we used shortening, and the crusts were perfect. <S> However, I was told that for home baking, the shortening you buy in supermarkets (Crisco, normally) just isn't going to cut it and to use Tenderflake (lard) instead. <S> I actually verified this once and found out that he was right - using the exact same technique, the supermarket shortening just didn't turn out the way the "industrial" shortening did. <S> The crust is always too mealy and dry and tastes "off" somehow. <S> Unless a lot has changed in the past 5 years, lard is actually much closer to the good shortening that's being used in bakeries. <S> You won't get anywhere near the flakiness of shortening or lard. <S> Half-and-half is a decent compromise, but the result is neither as flavourful nor as flaky as lard. <S> So, generally, I would stick to lard. <S> You could take plor's suggestion and mix it with some butter, but I've found that the flavour and texture is very good with just lard; if you do decide to mix, be careful not to overdo it, otherwise you'll lose all the wonderful flakiness that the lard imparts (I'd recommend 75% lard). <S> Don't mix lard with shortening. <S> That can only take away from all aspects of the quality, and unless you're worried about nutrition (in which case, why are you using lard at all, or eating pie for that matter?) <S> then there's absolutely no reason to "taint" the lard this way. <S> P.S. Don't forget to add some sugar. <S> A little goes a long way in pie crusts. <A> I've always tended to use butter in pastry, be it sweet or savoury. <S> The trick in making it flaky is to minimise how much you work the dough, and trying to keep the fat from melting. <S> A food processor is ideal for this, as you can pulse it to quickly combine the flour and fat. <S> You can also add icing sugar to a sweet pastry, which I've found can make a crispier pastry, and will hold a wet filling much better (when blind-baked) <A> I actually use about 2 parts lard (or shortening if you can't get lard) and one part butter. <S> That way it is flaky but still gets some of the buttery flavor. <A> Lard makes flakier crusts, but I think that butter makes better crust because it imparts more flavor. <A> Like Rowland said: use butter, and don't push it around too much. <S> If you don't have a food processor the old way to try to stop the butter melting was to dip your hands in cold water (then dry them) first... <A> I freeze the butter first and use a food processor - then freeze the mixture before rolling it out. <S> Butter is just tastier than lard - I'll sacrifice a little flakiness for much more flavor.
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Butter would, obviously, impart a much richer flavour than shortening, but I wouldn't use just butter in a fruit pie. It actually depends on the quality of the shortening you're able to get.
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Why are Italian eggs so yellow? I've noticed when I've bought Italian eggs from delis here in Europe that the yolks are very yellow - almost orange. Why is this? Assume it's the hen's diet. What are they feeding chickens there? <Q> The yellow color comes (primarily) from vitamin A in the eggs. <S> The eggs are high in vitamin A when the chickens are fed a natural diet of seeds, vegitation and insects. <S> This makes them lay faster and more economicly, but the mix is somewhat nutrient poor, so the eggs are less colorful. <S> This also used to happen in cows: the milk was yellow in the summer when they ate grass, but white in the winter when they ate hay and grains. <S> If you find good yellow eggs, that is a good sign that the chickens led a good life on a natural diet. <S> Of course, the feed could just be doped with vitamin A to make the eggs look more yellow. <A> Alternatively, the chickens may have been fed maize (corn); they market a specific maize-fed brand over here and the yokes of those eggs are a very deep yellow as well. <A> Farmers can control the colour of the yolk by controlling the chickens' diet. <S> Some farms add colour to the chicken feed to produce different coloured yolks. <S> See the yolk section of the Wikipedia article on eggs . <A> Don't know about Italian chickens in particular, but I know that when my mom's neighbors in Hungary feed their chickens the leftovers from making paprika, the resulting eggs have very dark yolks indeed. <A> One of the most unique uses for oleoresin paprika is that it is added to poultry feed in order to give the yolks in chicken eggs a darker yellow appearance than is natural for them. <S> Due to the fact that is is derived from natural food sources as a food colorant, in the United States, it is exempt from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification. <S> It receives equally lenient treatment under European law, where it is grouped with similar colorants of capsanthin and capsorubin. <A> Quoting from the KCRW Good-food podcast, episode Italy comes to LA, cauliflower, and Kachka of 6 Jan 2018: the hens are feed marigold petals. <A> This was also true in Spain. <S> I do know that our own backyard hens have this deep orangish color yoke because they have access to the outdoors, greens, and bugs <S> , I think only factory farmed eggs are pale yellow <S> and I wonder if the EU has regulations about factory farming chickens.
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Most of the eggs that you buy in the states are factory farmed and pale because the chickens are fed a special protein mix that has a lot of corn.
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How long should it take to bbq half a chicken? I know how to tell if a chicken is cooked, but has anyone got any idea of approximately how long it would take to bbq half a chicken in an uncovered barbecue? To clarify:I'm thinking of cleaving a 1.5kg (maybe slightly smaller) chicken in two, and putting each half on the bbq. The chicken will be between fridge and ambient temperature. The chicken will possibly be the first thing on the bbq after it's ready to cook on (I use charcoal). I'm just looking for a ballpark figure. In addition if anyone has any reasons for why this isn't a good idea then let me know :). <Q> Way too many variables. <S> If you knew how warm the chicken was before cooking, how hot the cooking area is (and whether that will change during the cooking time) <S> , how thick the chicken is, whether you're cooking white or dark meat, and more, you might be able to make a good guess. <S> I would not recommend cooking just thawed, thick pieces of chicken on an uncovered grill. <S> Too easy to make it hard on the outside and dry on the inside. <S> I wouldn't estimate lower than 20 minutes, but it will almost certainly be longer. <S> Edit: Here's a "Good Eats" video about doing chicken on a grill. <S> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAvy4YksJgM&feature=related <S> It's better to go ahead and cut the chicken up the rest of the way for grilling so that each type and size of meat can be on it's own cooking schedule. <A> Like Tim Gilbert pointed out, even if you follow a recipe perfectly you should expect variations in cooking time. <S> Differences of 30% in baking time are common. <S> When I barbecue whole chicken breasts, I have them out of the fridge for 30 minutes and they take 20 minutes with the burners on medium. <S> I use the finger test , refined over many attempts with a thermometer. <A> I usually spatchcock them. <S> Cut out the spine, and lay the entire bird flat, folding the wings and legs over top. <S> Then press down enough to break the breast bone. <S> 5 minutes of grilling/searing, and then 15 more, bone side down, with the lid closed over low heat. <S> (although I usually leave a burner on high on the other side of the grill.
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Generally, it takes about 20 minutes.
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Should meat be seasoned before or after cooking? When should meat be seasoned? I heard that salting meat prior to cooking draws out the moisture but I have noticed that a number of chefs season their meat prior to cooking. <Q> There are different 'camps' when it comes to seasoning but essentially If you season meat too early before cooking, the salt will draw out the moisture, meaning a less juicy piece of meat, however if you season just before cooking the seasoning will help to impart flavour into the meat. <S> If you seal the meat and then season it, the sealed meat will not release any juice. <S> Hence the two theories. <A> Salt is a very unique "spice" (technically it's a rock). <S> You could literally spend an hour just learning the various ways it affects foods. <S> A general rule of thumb is that the longer the meat is exposed to the spice, the more it will pick up the flavor, but there are many variables in how fast this happens, how deep the flavor penetrates, etc. <S> For example, in brining (soaking the meat in a salty liquid), first the lower salt juice is drawn out of the meat, then the saltier water is drawn in along with the other spices in the brine mixture. <S> The salt actually helps the meat retain the moisture better during cooking. <A> I am hooked on Dario Cecchini's seasoned salt. <S> I have found that grilling the steak first and then seasoning just before removing from the grill gives me better clarity with the subtle flavor of his very fine grind seasoned salt. <S> And I use much less which is good because trips to Chianti are rare. <S> Also, I do not grind pepper on the steak which would compete with the seasoning. <S> Bottom line I am now in the season after camp (only when grilling) because I like the pure steak meat taste combined with the mouthfeel of the seasoning as a power chord from the outside crust of my steak as opposed to the melted in flavor of a seasoned and slow cooked braised meat like short rib that carries the same flavor throughout the meat.
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Covering a raw steak with salt for a while before grilling will draw out the moisture and change how the steak is seared.
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How do you halve a recipe that calls for 1 egg? How do you halve a recipe that calls for 1 egg? Clarification: I do not want to have to make the full recipe just to use half and I don't have powdered egg substitute. <Q> If you use eggs frequently, you could probably save the other half for a day or two – otherwise, it's like 8 cents out of your pocket. <A> Freeze the egg and carefully saw in half, end to end. <S> Thaw and you're good to go :) <A> Measure half by weight. <S> Simply crack an egg into a bowl on a zeroed scale, note the weight. <S> Beat the egg with a whisk or fork until combined. <S> Rezero your scale with a new empty dish and pour half the egg by weight into it. <A> Depending on the recipe and number of eggs total, you can separate the white from the yolk. <S> This doesn't work well if you're dealing with just one egg total (throws the fat content too far off), but I've done this when going from 3 -> 1 1/2 with good success in baking recipes. <S> I've also used it to fine-tune the amount of fat in the recipe if I didn't like the original consistency. <A> Depending on what you're making, there may be a good egg substitute other than that powdered stuff. <S> e.g. if you are making some kind of baked good, I've had good results from using bananas or apple sauce. <S> (bananas sometimes add a banana-y flavour though... <S> which is often a welcome addition :-)) <S> There are a wide variety of egg substitutes out there, and each lend themselves to different kinds of recipes... <S> Perhaps one of these could solve your problem.
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Crack the egg into a cup or bowl, whisk it, and measure out half of the contents.
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What do "virgin" and "extra virgin" mean in regards to olive oil? I have seen the terms "virgin" and "extra virgin" on bottles of olive oil. What do these terms mean, and how do they affect the flavor and cooking properties of the oil? <Q> In the US, "extra virgin" isn't a legally protected term - some of the stuff sold as EVOO here would never, ever pass as it elsewhere. <S> From Wikipedia : <S> Extra-virgin olive oil comes from virgin oil production only, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. <S> Extra Virgin olive oil accounts for less than 10% of oil in many producing countries. <S> It is used on salads, added at the table to soups and stews and for dipping. <S> Virgin olive oil comes from virgin oil production only, has an acidity less than 2%, and is judged to have a good taste. <S> Pure olive oil. <S> Cooking-wise, the extra virgin stuff is best used in situations where it won't be highly heated. <S> Salad dressings, dipping oils, finishing a dish, etc. <S> are where it shines. <A> There are typicality four types of olive oil available, with Extra Virgin being at the top of the quality tree: Extra virgin olive oil is mechanically pressed (you may see the term cold pressed) rather than being produced by chemical means. <S> I has an acidity level of less than 0.8%. <S> It is also tasted for flavour before being certified. <S> Fine or Virgin Olive Oil has an acidity of less than 2%. <S> It often uses slighter riper olives. <S> Olive oils with the low acidity of extra virgin but which haven’t passed the official taste test also fall into this category. <S> Ordinary Olive Oil is usually used to produce refined oils with a bland flavour. <S> Pomace Oil is processed from the paste left after the first pressing. <S> It is generally quite flavourless and of low quality, usually only used for deep frying. <S> Exceptional quality Extra Virgin olive oil is still made on hand presses and hence the cost can be quite high. <A> The International Olive Council (IOC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have standards for what constitutes "Extra Virgin" olive oil. <S> It's based mostly on measurable chemical properties, but also some more subjective "sensory" criteria. <S> If you really want to geek out and know the details, there is a recent study by the UC Davis Olive Center that you should read. <S> They tested major North American brands of Extra Virgin olive oil to see whether they meet the criteria to carry the designation. <S> The results were quite poor. <S> The paper goes into quite a lot of detail about the specific criteria. <S> Get the PDF at http://www.olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/news-events/news/files/olive%20oil%20final%20071410%20.pdf . <A> Olive oil is defined by free fatty acid content. <S> Less than 0.8% acid makes it extra virgin, less than 2% is virgin, 2% to 3% acid content is "pure". <S> Cold pressing is antiquated, slow and messy (i have been involved) <S> Continuous processing with centrifuges is quicker, cleaner and at the same temperature. <S> Look for oil which shows the acid content.
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Oils labeled as Pure olive oil or Olive oil are usually a blend of refined and virgin production oil.
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At what point is eating left-overs or perishables not just daring but dumb? I am a college student who is sometimes a foodie, sometimes a garbage disposal. There is plenty of good food that some of my peers would turn their noses up at. But sometimes I wonder if this is not just disgusting, but actually bad for my health. Food service standards are not what I am looking for here. Those are already clearly too stringent to me. Rather, I am looking for some rules of thumb about when I should not just cut or scrape the bad parts but trash the whole thing. <Q> It's cheaper than a hospital visit. <S> If you are wanting to save money, be proactive and find out the best way to store each food, and how long it can be stored. <S> Some things lose taste and texture as they age (even in the proper environment), while some things begin to grow dangerous kinds of bacteria or molds. <S> For example, hard dry bread gets turned into french toast. <S> Moldy bread gets thrown away. <A> Yeah, seriously. <S> When in doubt, throw it out: <S> if it has become moldy. <S> Old wisdom was that with cheese, just scrape away the mold and you're fine. <S> Problem is, mold spores can penetrate very deep, and some of them can be toxic. <S> if it is soft and squidgy when it should be firm, and vice versa. <S> any visible rot. <S> With potatoes, cutting it away is fine. <S> With small fruits, I wouldn't bother. <S> any off-odour. <S> Contrary to common knowledge, you cannot always detect spoilage via your nose. <S> But you can guarantee that anything that smells bad is bad. <S> slime or ooze. <S> if it is a dangerous material (raw meat, dairy, etc) and is well past its best before date. <S> One day after? <S> Maybe okay; it's your digestive tract. <S> Much more than that? <S> No. <A> If you don't remember when you got it, throw it out. <S> My general rule is 1 week.
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When in doubt, throw it out.
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"Prepared" pizza base - does that mean cooked? I have reproduced on my website a recipe for a pizza, out of my Mediterranean cookbook: http://www.justrightmenus.com/recipe.php?id=275 What I'm looking for help on is whether they more likely meant for one to start with a raw-dough pizza crust or one that's already been cooked. The recipe in the book said to use a "prepared" pizza base. <Q> I would imagine, if the book is of reasonable quality, by prepared, they mean one that you have prepared earlier. <S> If there's a recipe for pizza base in the book, that's probably what they'd like you to use. <S> Personally, if you're going to the trouble of making home-made pizza, make your own base. <S> Invariably, the pre-made bases you can buy from stores taste like chalk. <S> There's a few topics here that may be useful: <S> What is the best flour to use for pizza dough? <S> How to make pizza crust thin and elastic at the same time? <S> For Pizza cooking at home. <S> What is the best alternative to the pizza stone? <A> It would depend on what your pizza dough recipe calls for... <S> Often you just make the dough, roll it out, and thus it is "prepared" and ready for the pizza ingredients, however I have seen pizza dough recipes in which they recommend prebaking the crust a bit before adding other stuff; in this case, it would be "prepared" after that prebake. <A> A lot of pizza recipes use a "prepared base" to simplify the recipe since making dough is something that usually calls for its own recipe. <S> It means use a store bought base (e.g. Boboli), make your own dough, or buy dough or use something as a "canvas" for your pizza. <S> The bread is such an important part of the pizza, the recipe should suggest using homemade or store bought dough over premade crusts. <S> A lot of pizzerias will sell you balls of dough at a very reasonable price.
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Basically, "prepared" means you've completed your pizza dough recipe (or have bough a prepared crust from the store).
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Should tomatoes be stored in the fridge? Storing tomatoes in the fridge tends to make them last a bit longer, but I've heard that the flavor is negatively affected. What is the best way to store them? <Q> From the great Harold McGee, they may last longer in the fridge, but they will taste like cardboard: <S> Tomatoes came originally from a warm climate, and should be stored at room temperature. <S> Their fresh flavor readily suffers from refrigeration. <S> Tomatoes at the mature-green stage are especially sensitive to chilling at temperatures below about 55°F/13°C, and suffer damage to their membranes <S> that results in minimal flavor development, blotchy coloration, and a soft, mealy texture when they're brought back to room temperature. <S> Excerpted from "On Food And Cooking", by Harold McGee <A> Tomatoes will last longer if kept in the fridge, but I actually recommend against keeping them there. <S> Tomatoes lose much of their flavor when their temperature is brought below 50 degrees F. Keep them in the pantry. <S> They will still last a few days at least, and they'll taste a lot better. <A> This depends on the shelf life of the cultivar of tomato you purchased. <S> Some varieties of cherry tomato, for instance, can stay fresh for over two weeks in room temperature, others less than a few days. <S> My advice: experiment. <S> Try separating a batch of tomatoes into two groups, store one in the fridge and the other outside and keep track of their state after a few days. <S> As for the flavor thing - I find that it is the texture <S> that's most affected from refrigeration. <A> Tomatoes do well when stored in a place with good air flow and out of direct sunlight <S> (I keep mine in a mini-colander). <S> Tomatoes that are refrigerated lose their flavor because their flavoring compounds shut down (and won't turn on again even when the tomatoes are allowed to return to room temperature). <A> Where do you live though? <S> if you live in a hot / humid climate with no air condition, then put them in the fridge. <S> It also depends what are you using the tomatoes for. <S> if you're cooking salads with them, then fresh and not in fridge is great; however if you're making sauces out of them, or cooking them, then I don't think it really makes that much of a difference. <S> Some might argue that it does, but how noticeable is the difference, especially if the above mentioned tomatoes are store bought and not home grown <A> According to CargoHandBook ripe <S> tomatoes should be stored at 8-10 <S> °C at 90-95% humidity, for optimum shelf life. <S> Reduced oxygen/increased CO₂ also helps. <S> It also adds that tomatoes stored at 10°C were rated lower in flavour and aroma than those held at 13°C. <S> The quote from McGee refers to the mature-green stage, not fully ripe. <S> The quote continues: <S> Fully ripe tomatoes are less sensitive, but lose flavour due to the loss of flavour-producing enzyme activity. <S> Some of this activity can come back, so refrigerated tomatoes should be allowed to recover at room temperature for a day or two before eating. <S> Putting them in a wine fridge (~16°C) is probably not a bad idea. <S> You get stable temperature and high-ish humidity. <S> But take them out a day or so before eating. <A> No. <S> However obviously they will take a bit longer to ripen (probably what is affecting the taste) if you put them in the fridge, but they do not need to be stored in the fridge. <S> Try to buy only as many as you will use so you don't need to keep them for too long. <A> Putting tomatoes in the fridge destroys everything that makes them good to begin with. <S> They will lose flavor, and their texture will become gritty and mealy. <S> Yes, they will last longer before they go rotten. <S> But if you've got an abundance of tomatoes, cook them down and do something with them, don't try to stretch out their existence at the expense of their splendor. <A> Put em in the wine cooler at 57 degrees. <A> Foodland Ontario, the consumer facing arm of the Ministry of Agriculture has this to say: Store at room temperature, away from direct sunlight, to prevent uneven ripening. <S> Only in extreme heat, or if overripe, should tomatoes be stored in the refrigerator butter compartment. <S> But to ensure full flavour, allow them to reach room temperature before serving. <S> http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/vegetables/fieldtomatoes/buy-store-prepare.html <A> And I found great tip on storing unripe tomatoes and making them ripen faster: http://www.listonic.com/protips/get/ozhdfpuszg <--I <S> can only add, that you should put tomatoes and banana in paper bag.
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According to me, it's better to store ripe tomatoes outside the fridge, stem-end down to keep them from rotting too quickly.
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What are good techniques for getting gluten free bread to rise? I make gluten free bread in a bread maker , however I can never get it to rise as much as 'regular' bread and is usually a little heavy. What techniques/recipes/substitutions can I try to get my gluten free bread to rise more? I currently use a recipe that is similar to this one here , but with a bit of tapioca starch instead of buckwheat flour. <Q> Irish soda bread can be gluten-free, and uses baking soda for its rising action. <S> The crumb is fairly loose though, did you want something that would hold together better? <A> You need something to make the batter a little more sticky so that bubbles from yeast or baking soda <S> stay trapped as the bread bakes. <S> I generally use a little bit of xantham gum and a couple of tablespoons of arrowroot flour. <S> To make sure they're fully hydrated (for optimal sliminess) let the wet batter sit for a couple of minutes before adding baking soda. <S> A little lemon juice or vinegar in the wet ingredients will help too. <A> I have had problems using bread makers myself, and therefor don't use them anymore. <S> I have added my best tip for gluten free yeast baking in the thread <S> Gluten free cooking . <S> At least this works fine for me, and my girlfriend actually envy me for my nice bread, which tastes and looks better then the ones she buy in the store.
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Baking soda comes to mind.
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Using skim or low-fat milk in recipes When a recipe calls for milk, does using skim or low-fat milk over whole milk matter? Even though the difference between whole and skim milk is about 2 percent fat, will it affect the result? Is this more important in baked goods (like muffins and cakes) or in cooking? <Q> There is less of a difference than you might think. <S> Heck, with the addition of a little calcium chloride (to help bind the milk particles), you can even make cheese with skim milk. <S> I flipped through Harold McGee's section on low-fat milk, and he doesn't give any warnings about using it in cooking. <S> Of course, keep in mind that your result won't have quite the same texture. <S> I doubt you'll notice unless the milk is the primary ingredient in the sauce <S> (and there's no other thickening agent) or primary liquid in the dough. <S> If I was forced to come up with a way to adjust to using low-fat, I'd probably add a little more milk if I was going for flavor, or a little less if I was going for texture. <A> Just make sure to look at the recipe. <S> It depends on how much fat and moisture that milk is contributing to the overall batter or dough. <S> If is is a high percentage of either content then it may make the final product less moist, less rich, and have a dryer texture. <A> I always feel whole milk gives a better taste.
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I don't think there is too much of a difference, i believe there is just a slight difference in texture but unless catering for people with certain dietary or recipes with a certain requirements i prefer to use whole milk. Yes there will be a slight difference in texture but ultimately it is a acceptable substitution.
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Do free range eggs have different cooking properties? I've heard the slogan 'Happy chooks make for happy cooks', implying that free-range eggs make for more successful cooking. Do eggs from free roaming chickens actually have a discernible difference in baking or cooking? I am not asking for a moral opinion, purely a cooking/baking question. <Q> Free range chickens are allowed to supplement their diets with naturally found grubs, inscets etc. <S> You might find this of interest: Nutrition – Free-Range vs. <S> Battery-Cage Eggs: <S> Hens with Outdoor Access Produce <S> More Nutritious Eggs <A> Kenji López-Alt from Serious Eats made a randomized, single-blind and kind of placebo-controlled study with six kinds of eggs : Plain old factory farmed eggs Eggs with 325 mg Omega-3 Fatty Acid per egg (not organic or cage free) Organic Cage Free eggs with 200 mg Omega-3 Fatty Acid per egg <S> Cage Free eggs with 100 mg Omega-3 Fatty Acid per egg <S> Organic eggs, no other specifications Organic eggs from free-roaming, pasture-raised chickens His verdict after making scrambled eggs in a controlled environment: It doesn't matter. <S> Instead the actual contents of the eggs the color determines the perceived taste. <S> Concerning frying the eggs sunny side-up of poaching: Freshness matters. <S> The fresher the egg, the tighter the egg white and yolk. <S> If the egg is older, the yolk and the egg white will lose liquid which is the looser albumen part of the raw egg. <S> This causes the egg to spread while frying, making tegg less appetizing than an egg with taller standing yolk. <S> When poaching, the looser egg white causes the ugly white flakes ( https://youtu.be/66btvAWmp7g?t=1m25s (1:25 min to 1:48 min)). <S> I guess, if you get eggs from free-roaming chickens the eggs might be just fresher than the factory farmed eggs and this is why eggs from free-roaming chicken might tastes better and are easier to process in some cases. <S> (Not, if you plan to boil those .) <A> I think they're generally higher quality, larger, have firmer, brighter yolks, and taste better. <S> They also tend to have a higher proportion of omega-3 fats then caged/grain fed eggs. <S> I think it matters less for baking, but I notice the difference when slow-boiling, sauteeing, or making an omelet. <A> It definitely takes longer to hard boil free range eggs. <S> noticed that when I came to Jamaica - almost twice as long.
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True free range eggs are noticeably different in terms of yolk colour (a much deeper yellow) and taste.
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What brand of roasting dish would you recommend? Over the last few years I've gone through at least 3 roasting trays that have some kind of coating that has worn off - mostly ones bought in supermarkets. I'd like to get something that will last, having discovered that decent cast-iron pans and casseroles are worth the investment. What will it be used for? Mostly chicken - sometimes dry, sometimes in stock and wine - but reasonably often for duck and beef, so preferably something that has a rack. I'm based in the UK, so preferably not a US-only brand - although many US brands are imported. (More importantly - any seriously bad experiences with stuff not living up to it's reputation?) <Q> Consider the castiron stuff from Le Creuset; my father-in-law has one that's at least 50 years old <S> and it's still going strong. <S> Lifetime warranty, too. <S> http://www.lecreuset.co.uk/Product-Range-uk/Cast-Iron-Cookware/Oven-Dishes/ <S> They have roasting racks to fit as well. <A> I don't know if these brands are available in the UK, but I have a review from Cook's Country a few years back that recommended the stainless roasting pans from Calphalon, Cuisinart, and KitchenAid. <A> This weekend I discovered a Römertopf in my kitchen :) <S> (I think it was a wedding present!) <S> I know almost nothing about it, apparently it could be a good alternative for roasting meat without it drying out. <S> Here's a photo: <A> They're not like a true roaster with lid and all that, but a much nicer alternative to the standard thin metal 9 <S> " x 13" pan. <S> They work just as well for cooking, clean more easily and can go directly to the table because they look nice. <S> The one downside, of course, is that they're breakable. <S> They won't likely break in normal use, but I wouldn't want to drop them. <S> I think one is LeCreuset ceramic and one if Emile Henry.
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We have a couple of high-quality ceramic roasting pans that we like.
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Is it safe to use plastic wrap in boiling water? While I've come across one or two recipes that call for using plastic wrap in pots of boiling water (for example, to cook eggs ), I've always been a bit wary of putting the wrap in boiling water. Can someone confirm or deny whether it is safe (or a good idea) to put plastic wrap in boiling water? <Q> Agree with ceejayoz that melting isn't the issue. <S> Melting is just the upper bound for problems. <S> The common concern is about leaching , the diffusion of chemical toxins from the plastic into the food. <S> It's known to be accelerated through fats and at heat, hence the concern. <S> There seems to be consensus that "some" leaching occurs; the issue is that it's unclear how much, from which plastics, whether the body absorbs or excretes it, and if it matters. <S> Alarmists will tell you that the chemical run-off is toxic and causes everything from cancer to birth-defects. <S> Governments have looked into the issue but not come out with a hard no. <S> Industry groups are fighting the issue, but losing public opinion on things like waterbottles (see nalgene, which removed Bisphenol A (BP-A)from their formula). <S> Chefs generally care more about results than fringe chances of non-lethal toxicity and they have been using plastic wrap for as long as it's been around. <S> What should you do? <S> It depends. <S> Weigh fear with convenience. <S> Use good quality products if you do use it. <S> Don't do it too often. <S> Or just enjoy it. <A> Official: No definitive answer, there are different governing bodies and plastic wraps (cling films) in the US/Europe. <S> There are also different plastic wraps for different purposes, microwave safe, safe for use with fatty foods, so on. <S> Whether its safe or not will depend on the product used and most likely the time boiled for. <S> broken link - <S> "Do not use cling films where they may melt into the food, such as in conventional ovens or with pots and pans on cooker hobs". <S> The cling film industry are understandably much more positive. <S> Practical: <S> I've poached eggs using cling film for ages and I'm still here. <S> Read the plastic wrap boxes for warnings and choose the plastic wrap that's most suited. <S> Poach an egg as described here <S> (as of 2016, link requires registration to read) and check if the wrap comes away cleanly, If so you're good. <S> I'd revisit this advice if your recipe called for cooking like this for longer than 5-10 minutes <S> , there are likely more suitable products/recipes for extensive boil-in-the-bag manoeuvres. <S> EDIT <S> Many meals have passed, I'm less gung-ho on heating cling film/plastics. <S> It's amusingly still as contentious as ever <S> and I certainly wouldn't brush the film with butter/oil/fat. <S> My totally unscientific advice now would be learn how to poach an egg properly, It's fun, tasty, and significantly less boring than reading this answer. <S> I like Ocaasi's answer, FWIW. <A> This article (1) says that plastic can release cancerous toxins, while this one (2) says this is a hoax. <S> I would be careful and do some more research before using the plastic in this situation. <S> (1): <S> www.foodproductiondaily.com/Packaging/Research-suggests-cancer-link-to-plastic-packaging (2): www.hoax-slayer.com/plastic-cancer-link-hoax.html <A> Water boils at 100c(212f). <S> Good quality plastic wrap has a melting point between 120 and 140c(250 to 290f) <S> So the answer is, it's ok, <S> Just make sure you read the carton when buying the wrap, it should tell you the safe temperatures. <S> You can view my comments here <S> How should I poach an egg? <S> regarding the poaching of eggs in plastic wrap. <S> It's something I do quite often. <A> The UK Food Standards Agency says "Do not use cling films where they may melt into the food, such as in conventional ovens or with pots and pans on cooker hobs." <S> Here is the link , this is the first bullet point under the second Q&A list of answers. <S> This was from 2002, 13 years ago. <A> Any non food grade plastic (and even those) when heated to certain temperatures (unless through incineration, around 1000c) will leach toxins, specifically dibenzofurans/dioxins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioxins_and_dioxin-like_compounds <S> So no, using cling wrap under any circumstance other than cold, is not recommended, period.
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The UKs Food Standard Agency said no (in 2012!)
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Do I need a stand mixer to make good pizza dough? If so what should I get? A lot of recipes I read for pizza dough call for a mixer. Is that the best way? If so, which mixer should I get? I've seen the kitchen aid and a electrolux. What else should I consider? <Q> You don't need a stand mixer, but it's a shortcut for those of us who don't like kneading the dough. <S> You could also use a bread machine (most have an option to mix and kneed, but not bake), or a food processor (use a dough blade), or just knead by hand. <S> If you look, you can find some no-knead, or at least less-knead pizza dough recipes, and there's some styles of pizza crust that are more biscuit like than what most people think of as pizza. <S> (It's popular in Maryland, and it has the advantage that you don't have to wait or things to rise, etc, so there's no advance planning necessary other than pre-heating <S> an oven). <S> ... <S> As for brands of mixer ... <S> I won't get into that discussion, as I haven't owned enough of them to be able to give a good comparison. <S> Just make sure it has a warranty or a return policy, as my neighbor had some problems with the first model she bought ... <S> she ended up going with a different brand because of all of the problems. <A> All the "made from scratch" pizza dough I've seen made was mixed by hand, and it was always delicious, so I would say no, you don't need a mixer to make good pizza dough. <S> In fact, I'm sure even modern style pizza predates the common use of electricity and mixers. <A> You don't NEED a mixer, but if you're making a lot of dough it certainly can speed things up. <S> Also if you don't have a nice stand mixer and do a lot of baking they are well worth the investment. <S> As for picking I would stick with one of the well known brands. <S> I've my Kitchen Aid for nearly 10 years and love it. <S> My mother's lasted 30 years before she burned out the motors and replaced it with a new one of the same. <S> I've heard positive things about both the Electronolux and Cuisinart, but I've never used either personally. <A> Nope! <S> Check out Jim Lahey's no-knead pizza dough. <S> Really easy, simple, requires little of your time, and no special equipment needed (you can use a cookie sheet for the pizza stone. <S> Won't be quite as as good, but i still love it). <S> The dough still has to rise for a while <S> (Jim Lahey lets the yeast do the kneading, instead of having to do it yourself), so you gotta plan ahead. <S> I've only made the pizza dough recipe from his book, which hasn't been released online, but this one is fairly similar: <S> http://tastingtable.com/entry_detail/99/Jim_Lahey_reveals_his_recipe_for_no-knead_pizza_dough_.htm BTW, I'd really recommend his book. <S> It's awesome for beginning bakers. <S> Made my first bread out of it 6 months ago, and I still make bread from the same recipe weekly for some bonified foodies who love it. <A> Fanzoo, I've made several hundred batches of pizza dough over the last 7 years. <S> There two main reasons you should consider using one though: <S> Consistency <S> - If you mix your dough for a specific period of time (say 8 minutes), you'll be able to do that more consistently. <S> Mixing by hand is a little more subjective. <S> Ease - If you're making large batches of dough, it'll make your life easier. <S> KitchenAids are the most common. <S> But I've found they can be a little bit of a pain because the hook doesn't always cut through the ball of dough. <S> Instead, the ball just bounces around in the bowl. <S> The Electrolux DLX line, although more expensive, is a better mixer for making pizza dough. <S> There are also fork mixers (I believe Santos makes a great one). <S> You'll be able to make great pizza dough with any of the three. <A> You can also use a food processor to knead dough if you have one. <S> Just pull a fist size peice off and throw it in, the blade will kneed it. <S> When done put in in a bowl and do the next fist size piece until all of your dough is done. <S> It kneads a lot faster than a mixer so be careful. <A> You don't need a mixer to make a proper pizza dough, but it does come in handy. <S> I like my Kitchen-Aid a lot <S> , I hear Kenwoods are nice as well (and a lot more affordable). <A> Much as I love my KitchenAid, you don't need it for pizza dough. <S> I typically use this recipe (with half whole wheat flour): http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/basic-pizza-crust/ -- and don't bother hauling out the mixer, even though she uses it. <S> Easy as pie and really fast. <A> As the others have said, you definitely don't need a mixer for pizza dough. <S> I don't have a fancy mixer at all, but I did start off trying to use a regular hand mixer with the dough hook attachment. <S> I thought it was a pain, so I tried kneading by hand the second time. <S> It was much easier and worked just as well. <S> On a side note, do you have a baking stone for your pizza? <S> I noticed that made a huge difference in the texture of the dough.
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The short answer is no, you don't need a mixer to make great pizza dough.
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How to remove bits of egg shell from a cracked egg? Sometimes when I crack eggs, I end up with a bit of shell in the egg. How can I easily get the shell out, as it always seems to evade my fingers? <Q> Use part of the shell you just cracked to scoop it up; it will attract the broken bit. <S> Also, if you frequently end up with bits of shell in your eggs, you should revise your cracking technique. <S> Eggs should be cracked on a flat surface (countertop or plate) not a sharper surface like the edge of a bowl. <A> If the egg is going to get mixed up anyway, go ahead and mix it with the shell in there. <S> Then, pour it through a colander (with a bowl underneath, of course). <S> It doesn't work well to use a fine wire mesh colander; the egg won't go through it. <S> Even with a plastic colander, you'll still lose a bit of egg. <A> I tend to just stab right down with my finger and trap the shell on the bottom of the bowl, then slide out. <S> But yeah.. refine your cracking technique and <S> you'll find this happening less and less. <S> On average I crack 65 eggs every few days (all at once) when making creme brulee and a couple other things at work. <S> Sheer blinding repetition will make your cracking skills much, much better, trust me.
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Also, sometimes just pouring the egg from one bowl to another leaves the bit of shell behind.
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Storing knives: wood block or magnetic stripe? What's better for storing your knives? Wood block or magnetic stripe? And why? <Q> I prefer the block. <S> I've used the strip before, but if it was knocked accidentally when bustling about the kitchen, it caused a rain of sharp metal death. <S> It was also possible to get the blade of the knife being pulled off under another and cause an extra knife to come shooting off the strip. <S> These could probably be overcome by being less of a clutz or getting a better magnetic strip rack, but I've transitioned to something like this , which you can make at home for about $10. <S> Works great. <S> No need to worry about sizes of knives to holes, and doesn't let the blades rub against anything metal. <A> I have (wait for it) . <S> . . <S> It's a heavy wooden block with magnetic plates on each side. <S> You're not worried about knives fitting in holes etc, it takes everything from small paring knives to my cleaver, and everything in between. <S> I vote for a magnetic block :) <A> I prefer the magnet method and have used it for about 4 years now. <S> It's all about proper wall mounting, placement, and having one long enough to space out the knives for comfortable retrieval and return. <S> With a strong magnet you don't have to worry about slippage or knives falling out even with a bump. <S> Unless you're reckless in returning the knife to the holder you shouldn't be damaging their edges. <S> Plus, they're pretty cheap compared to overly cosmetic knife blocks and save counter space. <A> I use both, as well, I have too many knives. <S> In my case, I actually have the magnetic bar hanging vertically, just because that was the only place to mount it. <S> (it's a bit tricky, as you have to get the bolster of the knife in tight against the magnet, or it'll try to rotate due to gravity.) <S> What I don't like about my knife block is that it takes up too much counter space, and you're rather forced into what size of items you can place in it. <S> I've never managed to find an under-counter knife block, and I don't have enough drawers in my kitchen to justify giving one up for a drawer knife block like we had growing up. <S> If I ever redo my kitchen, I'm going to do what my grandfather had <S> -- a section of the countertop was butcher block, with slits cut along the back wall -- knifes were dropped in there, so only the handles were showing above the counter, and the blades dropped into the cabinet below. (with the top shelf having a back that'd prevent you from shoving anything back there and hitting the knives). <S> Oh, and because I have too many knives, I keep some of my larger knives in cases, in a drawer. <S> (specifically, LamsonSharp Knife Safe; also useful for when you need to transport your knives for sharpening or picnics or whatever) <A> My kitchen has a dearth of open wall-space, especially near the areas I do most of my cutting, so a mag-stripe method is counter-indicated. <S> I have a lot of unpowered counter-space, so this works for me. <A> I prefer wooden blocks as well, because it guards/protects the sharp edges.
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a magnetic block!Honestly, best of both worlds. The wooden knife block (with horizontal holes) has a very good knife-density-to-counter-space ratio going for it.
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Sardines as a snack We like to eat sardines with crackers for a lunchtime snack. What are some good sauces and toppings for sardines? <Q> Fish tacos! <S> 1 <S> avocado 1 tomato small white onion <S> cumin <S> juice of 1 lime salt sardines cilantro <S> Fry <S> the sardines in their own oil for a minute (this is optional), add the cumin, fry 30 more seconds, dump into a bowl, and add the other ingredients, finely chopped, mix well. <S> Takes about 2 minutes. <S> Delicious. <A> We like a mix of sauce of ketchup and Goldens honey mustard, with a side of tomato avocado and cheese. <A> <A> Sardines, being so salty and fishy, need something to soften the taste. <S> For a very simple open-faced sandwich, ideally on some dark-grain bread, top a layer of sardine filets with slices of hard-boiled egg. <S> Lightly salted and peppered with a little bit of red onion, as a garnish, this is a really nice way to enjoy the fish. <S> This is a really common snack , out here in Estonia. <A> Simple and easy is to sprinkle with berbere , which is actually easy to make at home (though it requires blending a lot of spices). <S> Old Bay would be another fine topping.
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You should try (if the sardines are canned with oil): french bread + some onions chopped + sardines and season with salt + lemon. I find hard-boiled egg to be an excellent accompaniment, with this in mind.
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Does putting knives in a wooden block blade down wear out the blade? I'd always wondered. The blocks usually seemed designed to have the knives go in blade down, so that the blade touched wood coming in and out. But I know that when I whittle, cutting the wood wears the blade of a knife down very, very quickly. I'd always wondered if that regular contact with the wood from sliding into and out of the blocks could be wearing my knives down. Does it? If so, does putting them in blade up (against the design of the block - it would seem) do any better for them? <Q> Wooden blocks are ideal for knife storage because they keep the blades dry (the wood absorbs some of the humidity in the air), preventing rusting. <S> The motion of inserting and withdrawing blades over wood will not noticeably dull them, because you're not actually cutting the wood or indeed even applying any pressure as you do so. <S> A good tip is to use a good quality steel to sharpen your knives with just one or two passes on each side before each use. <S> Wash them with hot water by hand, avoiding dishwashers unless you like replacing your knives annually, then return them to the block once they're fully dried. <A> Technically, yes. <S> While wood is a preferable surface to many others for drawing your blade across it will still cause wear. <S> If you're using a block, the slots should be horizontal. <S> Your knife block is poorly designed. <S> I have a Shun knife block, the blades go in sideways. <S> I just searched for J.A. Henckels and Wusthof blocks on Amazon as well, all horizontal. <S> Is this worth buying a new block over? <S> Probably not, as the other answers in this thread indicate, it's not that big of a deal. <S> It is less than ideal however. <A> We have two knife blocks. <S> One has vertical holes, the other has horizontal holes. <S> The horizontal block gives us all the advantages of wood, without the big disadvantage you just pointed out. <S> The cutting edges don't rest against wood all the time, and are less likely to be in contact with said wood when being placed/removed. <A> I'm not a whittler, but I think that what causes the blade to wear is pulling it across the wood. <S> The blade should be fine as long as it is drawn lengthwise (like you are cutting something in half). <S> Blades are very strong this way, but since the edge is very thin, it can easily be bent by having things pull across it. <S> It it were pushed very hard into the wood, it might bend, but under normal use, I can't see any problems. <A> It's much better to put the knife in a wooden block than to put it in a drawer and have it rattle around with other metallic objects. <S> Most pro knife sets come with a wooden block so I would assume that is the preferred storage method. <S> If you are concerned that pulling the knives out along the wood will dull the blade than as you pull out, also pull away from the blade side so the knife blade doesn't rub against the wood. <A> It shouldn't matter all that much. <S> I prefer a magnetic strip on the wall, though. <A> Frankly, I think the constant up and down and sliding across the maple cutting board will do much more to dull my knives than storing them in a vertical slot block. <A> Yes, they can wear a bit in a vertical block, but only if you store them point-side down. <S> When I had a vertical block, I stored them points-up. <S> Assuming there's a little extra room in the slots, the tip should touch nothing when you remove the knives.
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Since wood is much softer than metal, I suspect there would be very little impact on the integrity of the blade.
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How do I properly freeze and reheat a cooked, marinated steak? I just grilled up a steak marinated in vinegar, rosemary, and olive oil. Problem is I made too much. What's the proper way to freeze, store, and subsequently reheat this steak to get it as close to as delicious and tender as it now? <Q> You can spoon some of the juices from cooking into the bag with the steak so that when it defrosts again the juices will be in there working to keep it moist. <S> When you defrost it, do so in your fridge leaving it overnight so that it defrosts gradually, keeping it in the freezer bag so it doesn't lose any more moisture. <S> It should then be good to reheat, probably best in a shallow pan rather than a microwave to retain moisture. <A> My favorite way to handle this situation is to allow the steak to defrost in the refrigerator and then slice it thinly for a steak sandwich with provolone cheese. <A> Generally speaking, you don't. <S> If you really must freeze steak, freeze it before cooking and slowly defrost it in a collander overnight. <S> Re: your current problem <S> - I would wrap in tinfoil and heat in the oven. <S> A pan may overcook it. <A> In general, you can't (just to back up the other answers). <S> But you can do other things with the steak! <S> Leftover Steak Recipes has some pretty nice recipes. <S> It's sponsored by Fleming's , so <S> , I'd like to think that's worth something as far as the calibre of the recipes go. <S> Update: My wife says that while it's not ideal to freeze it after cooking, you can use a vacuum sealer (if you have one) to help reduce the chance of frosting, and keep the moisture in as it thaws. <S> Zip-Loc is also selling a bag that's supposed to do much of the same, but we haven't tried it. <S> But getting as much air out as possible is the key. <A> First wrap in foil. <S> You don't want plastic anywhere near your steak if you can help it to avoid that plastic frozen dinner taste. <S> Then wrap airtight in plasric wrap - not plastic bag.
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I'd recommend letting it cool to near room-temperature, then place it in an airtight sealed plastic freezer bag before it dries out too much.
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When is the right time to pick blueberries? My neighbor brought over a fresh batch of blueberries. Some are sweet and some are sour. He told us to come over and pick some whenever we wanted, but I don't know the right time to pick them so that they taste the best. Any advice? <Q> When it's plump, and happily jumps off when lightly tickled. :-) <S> Seriously, you can put a container under the berries and whichever ones easily fall off (with gentle encouragement) <S> are the right ones to get. <S> If you had to really pull them off, then they're not ready yet. <A> The berries that are on the sunniest side of the bushes will ripen first. <S> The greater more sun exposure they receive the quicker they ripen, thus the reason that a grouping of berries even in one area will ripen at different rates. <S> Many people say that the larger berries are sweeter but my experience is that is more anecdotal than preciese. <S> Most fruits will be more plump with access to more water during the growing season but that doesn't necessarily make them sweeter. <S> Grapes that have to struggle generally tend to produce better wines with more concentrated flavor because the natural sugars aren't watered down by high quantities of water. <S> To reiterate, look for deep dark color and ease of picking. <A> In my experience, if they come off the branch easily, they're good. <S> If you have to exercise force to pick them, you're usually in for a bunch of sourness. <A> This varies significantly by state and variety: For Louisiana, the season starts in May and goes through July For Maine it will be later
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In the case of most bush berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) depth of color and ease of picking are the most indicative signs of ripeness.
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Adjusting cookie recipes for high altitude When baking cakes, I often find that there are instructions for high altitude, which usually is just a matter of adding some extra flour. I understand the concept of high altitudes having less atmospheric pressure, which then allows baked goods to rise more easily (too much), and thus the addition of flour. However such alterations are not often provided with cookie recipes. What is a good way to know how to adjust cookies for high altitude, or if such an adjustment is even necessary? <Q> There is a fairly detailed answer to this available here . <S> If you have a cookie that has a great deal of air in it you'll have the same problem as cakes do. <S> If you are working with a very dense cookie that can't really fall (since there isn't anywhere to go). <S> At that point you're just down to watching baking times and temperatures, which are easier to monitor. <A> I would look at recipes which do give a high-altitude version, such as the Toll House recipe on the chocolate chips bag, and make proportional reductions / changes to the recipe you have that doesn't give a high-altitude version. <S> e.g. if Toll House increases flour from 2 1/4 c to 2 1/2 cups, I would multiply the flour in your recipe by 1.111 (10/9) <A> I cook at a summer camp at 9200 ft. above sea level. <S> I add 1/4 cup flour to a batch of 36 chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies. <S> They rise and look beautiful, but are hard after one day, so need to be served the day I bake them. <S> I usually make my cookies from scratch. <S> I have figured this out through trial and error; the higher the altitude, the more the adjustment. <S> If I do use a box mix, and follow the directions on a box, the cookies are flat. <S> I think this is because they are basing high altitude at above 5000 feet, but we are a lot higher! <S> Good Luck!
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It appears that the answer depends a little on the type of cookie.
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Is canned or jarred minced garlic substantially different from fresh garlic? I am always in favor of fresh ingredients when possible. I recently discovered that minced (and crushed and chopped) garlic is available in very inexpensive jars in the produce section of the grocery store. I've always bought garlic and chopped it for a given meal, but I wonder if such jars of prepared garlic are worthwhile. Would purchasing prepared garlic in a jar be a time saver in some situations, or is the quality reduced such that it is not recommended? As a side question, does minced garlic in a jar keep for very long once opened? <Q> Yes, it is different. <S> Does it matter? <S> It depends. <S> If you're going to use garlic in a stew or anything else that would 'dissolve' the regular garlic anyway, it doesn't really matter all that much in my opinion. <S> Sidenote: most of the prepared garlic comes with additives, consider if you want to have those as a part of your diet. <S> As for keeping time once opened: <S> no worries really - bacteria <S> really don't like garlic all that much, so refrigerated you should have no problems hitting 6+ months. <A> I think the main reason pre-prepared garlic exists is that some people don't like working with raw garlic directly i.e. getting their fingers/hands smelly. <S> You can't go wrong with raw garlic <S> and it's easy to keep and prepare. <A> I think fresh garlic is much more flavorful! <S> I tried the jarred garlic before, and I could definitely taste a difference. <S> Yes, it's more convenient, but it's not as strong as fresh. <S> A hand grater is useful when using fresh garlic. <S> You won't have to chop <S> and it helps prevent biting into larger pieces. <A> The other benefit to choosing fresh garlic is that you can remove it. <S> Sometimes, particularly for a saute or other pan-cooked dish, I want the flavor of garlic, but I don't necessarily want to bite in to it. <S> I'll cut the garlic into thick slices, or just smash it and throw it in whole, with the intention of removing it before serving. <A> In my experience, fresh garlic is great for when you want texture, or to slow down the flavour infusion. <S> For example, when baking potato chunks, I put fresh garlic in, and then the flavour doesn't take over the entire dish. <S> For other times, especially recipes that call for minced garlic, I have a jar of frozen crushed garlic that I bought at my local grocery. <S> I'm not sure what's available where in the world, but in my area, the frozen garlic is cheap and has no additives in it at all. <S> Generally, one heaped teaspoon of frozen crushed garlic is equivalent to an average garlic clove. <S> On the other hand, for those times when you do want fresh garlic, a few drops of lemon juice on your hands afterwards and a quick rub will get the garlic smell off your fingers. <A> Production line, people! <S> I’m Italian <S> and we use garlic! <S> So once a month I buy garlic bulbs, cut off the big ends, split the bulb to peel and drop them all into a nut chopper to speed-mince. <S> Then I place 2-3t into a jello-shot container, snap on lid, place several into ziplock sandwich bag. <S> Then I place as many of these bags as I think I may use in a week into a freezer proof gal.ziploc, date it and pitch into deep freezer basket-InstaMincedGarlic!! <A> I believe one cannot taste the difference between minced(canned) and fresh garlic once it is cooked. <S> Especially if it's been stewed for hours in a slow cooker) <S> So if I want a lot of garlic in my stew, I use minced one and save time! <A> You can always buy fresh garlic, then chop it up yourself and freeze it in a plastic bag. <S> Then when you need it, just take out one teaspoon or so for each clove you need and store the rest. <A> I think some jarred garlic tends to have sort of a "sour" taste and doesn't have that delectable garlic sensation that gives garlic its reputation. <A> I've used both. <S> I do use the jarred for those who don't like the fresh sliced one. <S> They don't know the difference. <S> I personally like fresh sliced garlic in everything. <S> Think of it this way <S> , people do not like onions, so I use onion flakes. <S> I like the flavor of BOTH!
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If you want to preserve the texture and/or create a more 'urgent' garlic flavour in short-cooked food, I'd go with fresh.
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Do I need clarified butter to make mac-n-cheese? Ok, someone mentioned Mac-n-Cheese. Which led me to a mornay sauce. Which requires a bechamel. Leading to roux. Dropping me on the doorstep of clarified butter. I haven't ever used or made it. Is there a reasonable way to make it? Can I make a huge batch and keep it forever? Should I even bother for a mac-n-cheese? <Q> Clarified butter is rather simple to make. <S> It's simply butter that has had the milk solids and water removed. <S> It does last longer than regular butter, and can be stored for several weeks in the refrigerator. <S> It also has a higher smoke point than regular butter, so you can use it when higher temperatures are called for without it smoking or burning. <S> Slowly melt your butter and let it sit for a bit to separate Skim off the foam from the top Gently pour the butter off of the milk solids which have settled <S> You'll be left with about 75% of what you started with. <S> I'm not sure what you mean by huge batch , but I usually make about a sticks worth at a time, as needed. <A> A really easy way to make it can be found here, on Cooking for Engineers . <A> Yeah, you really don't need clarified butter for roux. <S> When making me (heh) <S> I just use equal parts butter and flour, tossed into a medium-hot pan and cooked together. <S> Stir (wooden spoon is preferable) until the raw flour taste is cooked out. <S> Then to make your bechamel, whisk in your milk--slowly at first! <S> You want to loosen up the roux, change it from a paste to a thick liquid then an actual sauce. <S> Nutmeg is traditional at this point for bechamel. <S> Then to turn it into a Mornay, whisk in handfuls of grated cheese until you reach your desired cheese level. <S> Again, go slowly, it can split if you're over-aggressive. <S> Then add pasta, bake, etc. <A> Clarified butter, also known as ghee, is wonderful. <S> Stores in the fridge forever, has a great mouth feel, has a particular scent, and, unlike butter, doesn't burn! <S> You can buy some the first time, so you know what you're going for, but afterwards you can make your own. <S> I always have some in the fridge, and use it primarily when cooking Indian food.
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Clarified butter is for higher-heat applications, generally, or making the hollandaise family of sauces. You should definitely try it.
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What methods are there of getting fresh local meat & produce? I often go to Whole Foods, but I feel like I'm getting ripped off there. I can walk out having spent $120 on a single bag of groceries. I try to get to a Farmer's Market occasionally, but not often enough I guess. Are there other ways to buy as close to the farm as possible? <Q> You can look for a CSA in your area, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community-supported_agriculture : <S> You can use http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ to try to find one in your area. <A> I've had friends and family go in on "buying a cow" from a farm. <S> You order a whole cow from them, they will get it butchered <S> and you get all the various cuts from it, ground beef, etc. <S> You can do it yourself and fill up a big chest freezer and thaw as you go. <S> If you have other people in your area interested, you could always buy together, divide up the goods and that way be able to order more frequently with less freezer usage. <S> Here is an article about it hitting on some good points http://www.culinate.com/articles/culinate8/cow_sharing <A> Similar to @Nick's CSA suggestion , I've got friends who formed a (sort of) food conglomerate. <S> It needs to be a decent size (4 - 8 families). <S> Once a week, one family goes to the wholesale markets and buys the fruit & veg for all families. <S> Its one of those things where it is financially cheaper, but time and resource expensive. <S> (8 families of fruit is a lot of apples and wont fit on your backseat) <S> Once you have your routine down, it is very effective! <A> Just taking the "produce" part of your question, what about growing your own? <S> Even if you don't have a lot of garden most sources of advice for novice gardeners will talk about how to make the most of even limited space. <S> Foodies & cooks will want to focus on: a) produce which tastes substantially better homegrown <S> e.g.: <S> tomatoes (especially) <S> strawberries <S> cucumbers <S> peas b) produce which is expensive and/or stores badly, so that having a fresh and abundant supply outside the kitchen door is really a cook's delight <S> e.g.: <S> herbs lettuce rocket <S> beans <S> For these reasons I tend not to bother too much with cabbage, leeks, potatoes, onions, courgettes (arguably) etc all of which are cheap and store well and taste decent from the shops. <S> But I got into an argument the other day with someone who reckoned I had onions completely wrong and <S> didn't I know homegrown onions were divine. <S> So I could be wrong. <A> Really, a Farmer's Market is your best choice. <S> You need to start going there more than "occasionally" :) <S> You have full control on what you are getting (unlike a CSA), you can taste the same produce (e.g. a Peach) sold by different vendors and decide who has the best tasting one, etc. <S> etc. <S> @hobodave, your profile says "Chicago, IL" -- here is a website I found with a list of Farmer's markets in Chicago: http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/event_landing/special_events/mose/chicago_farmers_market.html
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CSAs consist of a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables and fruit in a vegetable box scheme, sometimes including dairy products and meat.
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How do you sharpen a serrated knife? I have some quality serrated knives but over time they get dull. How do I sharpen them? <Q> Take them to a professional. <S> Nothing you can affordably buy in your home will work well. <S> Personally, I don't buy quality serrated knives. <S> I buy cheap and replace when dull. <S> Only my normal blades are quality, and these I have sharpened yearly. <A> dmckee is right - that you can use a rod & file to fix - but that's a HUGE pain and very difficult to do. <S> not preferred unless absolutely necessary. <S> michael has a point, that some electric sharpeners allow you to hone serrated edges. <S> this is because those machines use a flexible rubber wheel on the honing stage. <S> this doesn't correct misaligned teeth though. <S> it will help. <S> you CAN use a stone to re-align the flat side, <S> if your teeth are bent on that side, that can also help - but again, requires great care and skill. <S> the best solution is to NOT damage the teeth to begin with. <S> don't cut on glass / stone. <S> use a knife block or store the serrated blade in a sheath. <S> don't EVER dump the blade in with other knives, the teeth are easily damaged. <S> if you take care of it, a serrated blade will last you a lifetime. <A> The Chefs Choice 130, which I absolutely love, can hone serrated knives on the third (polishing) stone only. <S> This is enough to improve the cutting significantly, without having to take it out for a professional sharpening. <A> In my experience, serrated knives are sculpted from one side of the bevel only. <S> The other is flat. <S> My stone's mounted on a wooden paddle <S> so it's easy to use for sharpening kitchen knives. <S> Yes, I'm probably just sharpening the tips of the serrated edge, not the gullets, but that's the part of the knife that does most of the work and needs it most. <S> You just need a bit of practice with a honing stone to be quick and effective in restoring your knife edges to keenness. <A> Very labor intensive as you have to do each serration separately. <S> The results were better than nothing, but not particularly good. <S> It you are going to try it, you will need to find a file with a diameter that matches the serration. <A> I hone it with a steel. <S> I was a little surprised the first time I saw someone do this <S> but it really works. <A> This kit from Spyderco is not cheap but it does a great job. <S> Only use the triangle corners. <S> Also mini steels designed for serrated.
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I just hone mine on a fine oil-stone, using a stream of water at the sink faucet for lubrication. I have experimented with a rat-tail file for course work and a straighting rod for fine (basically following my old boy-scout instructions for knives and axes).
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Substituting table salt or sea salt for kosher salt? The roasted chicken recipe I'm following of course calls for kosher salt, but I don't have any, and getting some is out of the question. I have sea salt and table salt on hand. Can I substitute one of those instead, and if so, what is the proper ratio of the kosher salt the recipe calls for to either sea salt or table salt? <Q> I don't know how well a substitution will work in this case, because I don't know how the salt is being used in the recipe. <S> If you're mixing the salt into something where it will dissolve, then go ahead and substitute, using the chart that @ManiacZX linked to . <S> If you're mixing it into cold things, and it doesn't sit for very long, I'd go with a finer salt if you have it. <S> If it's a recipe that calls for a salt rub, where you rub the bird down with salt, let it sit, then pat dry and roast, you're not going to have as good of results with a replacement. <S> The issue is the size and shape of the crystals; kosher salt specifically sticks well to moist surfaces to draw out the liquid, and as a result, some of the salt is taken into the meat. <S> You're not going to get the same behavior with other salts (or at least, not in the same amount of time). <A> If you are measuring by volume, e.g. 1/2 tsp then you need to adjust as appropriate for the size of the salt granules. <S> 1 tsp of table salt is much more salt than 1 tsp of kosher salt. <S> The tiny grains pack together much closer, giving you more salt. <S> That said, sea salt is typically closer to the size of kosher salt granules; <S> so use that. <S> There is no hard and fast ratio. <S> If the grains are smaller use a little less; if bigger use a little more. <S> Finally, if the recipe calls for salt by weight, then they are all equivalently interchangeable. <A> You can substitute between kosher, table and sea salt. <S> The issue in the amount for substitution is the difference of size in the grains of salt cause volume measurements to not equal the same amount of salt. <S> Here is a conversion chart from Morton, should be a good guideline. <S> http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-home/culinary-salts/salt-conversion-chart
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Yes you can substitute.
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What to do with seized / split chocolate? My kids love making brownies, but every now and then the water gets into the bowl while they are melting the chocolate. The chocolate then seizes or splits, and you have a sodden mess. Can this chocolate be used for anything? At the moment, it just goes in the bin. <Q> If you're not talking about very much water getting into the bowl, then these techniques should help. <S> Remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat source. <S> For every ounce of chocolate, add one tablespoon of one of these: warm water, melted butter, vegetable oil, hot milk/cream. <S> Stir or whisk until smooth. <S> Add a bit more liquid if needed. <S> Use the repaired chocolate for sauce, frosting, or a batter (like for your brownies!). <S> It won't work well for coating candy. <S> You may also want to check out this discussion on how to melt chocolate without getting it wet. <A> If it was just a few drops of water, keep mixing for two or three minutes while keeping the chocolate warm. <S> The water will evaporate and the chocolate will remix. <S> If it is more water, use it as @JustRightMenus suggested. <A> At the very least, put it in a sauce pot with some milk for killer milk chocolate. <S> Or: Eat it right out of the bowl. <S> Mix with eggs, flour, oil, and milk for chocolate cake. <A> I found this thread looking for a solution to the sample problem... <S> Over cooked my whitenchocolatE. From advice of the entry regarding adding water and oil, I mixed In peanut butter. <S> The mixture softened up and coated some crackers quite well! <S> It was for eating, not for selling so <S> I can't say how it turned out for presentation, but it was delish. <S> Thanks for the hints folks.
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Put it inside a rolled up puffed pastry/pie dough for a homemade strudel/thingy.
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How does Korean chili powder differ from "US" chili powder? I've been looking at a number of kim chi recipes and they all call for 'Korean chili powder'. My visit to the local Asian grocer only yielded 'Asian' chili powder and other nondescript chili powders. Is there a particular chili powder that is Korean? Can I simply use cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes? <Q> Korean chilli is a little different as it has a slight smoky flavour, in addition to being slightly sweet and also quite hot. <S> The actual name of the chilli use in kimchi and for that matter, most Korean dishes is gochugaru (고추가루). <S> It comes in a variety of preparations, typically, finely ground, flakes and a paste. <S> You should be able to find this in most good supermarkets or an Asian store. <S> If you can't get this, you can still use a good quality chilli powder or possibly, a paste. <A> Chili powders are different. <S> For one thing, the heat they produce can notably effect different areas of the mouth. <S> Still, they are all chili peppers and many are hot and all are red, when ripe and dry. <S> Also, there are sweet peppers, like paprika, that are not hot at all, or only very mildly, and these pack quite a flavor punch without heat, so it is not only about heat. <S> There are many subtle and not so subtle differences. <S> I made my first Kimchi with mexi-style "California" chili, as they are labeled in this state. <S> "California" chili is supposed to be mild. <S> I also add some homegrown dried Fresno chilis and some other ground up hot chilis, which may have been what they label as "Japanese" chilis. <S> I used a blend. <S> At first I was disappointed with the flavor, but after the flavors had mingled after 24 and then 48 hours, I found the flavor of my Kimchi very much improved, quite hot, and more than satisfactory. <S> While personally I would really like to try some authentic Korean chili, if you are interested in making kimchi and can't get a hold of Korean chili or find it difficult, don't let it be and obstacle to making kimchi right now! <S> Just use whatever you can get your hands on that suits your heat preference. <S> Season to taste. <S> I found myself using much less chili than my favorite recipe advised and my kimchi was still well seasoned and quite richly red hot. <S> Kimchi, cabbage and salt is such a magical enzymatic, probiotic, herbal, medicinal product, that I advise you not to procrastinate but make some right now! <S> I also emptied a two super probiotic capsules into my kimchi to give it a headstart into lactic acid land and help avoid yeasty pitfalls, as well as make my kimchi more medicinally viable. <S> But they magic with the cabbage and salt <S> starts really early on in the culturing process. <S> After just 45 minutes of soaking my washed cabbage in salt it tasted magically enzymatic. <S> Every stage of kimchi has it's own virtues. <S> By all means make kimchi with whatever ground chili you can get your hands on! <A> The difference may be the conditions the chili grew in. <S> It's the same pepper, except it grew in a different place. <S> In each recipe with hot chili, you can exchange it for any other kind of hot pepper, since most hot peppers are almost solely used for hotness and don't have much taste. <S> You just need to adjust the quantities a bit so it would be as hot as you like it to be. <A> For a quick fix in case you can't get gochugaru <S> I recommend cayenne pepper mixed with sweet paprika powder. <S> The smoked component is not so strong as to require Spanish smoked paprika, but you may want to try. <S> Despite what people say: If you are used to Indian, Thai or Caribbean cuisine gochugaru will be rather mild. <S> It's content in capsaicin is 3000-8000 Scoville Units, thus in the same range than (dried) chipotle chiles. <S> There is BTW also a type of kimchi that has no gochugaru and is not spicy at all and which is also delicious, it's called Baek Kimchi ( 백김치 ) Baek Kimchi recipe at Maangchi.com <A> Gochugaru is available in Korean/Asian grocery stores, in 1lb or 3 lb bags. <S> If you live in New York City, it's easy to find. <S> You can also buy it online, at http://www.hmart.com/ . <S> Make sure you buy the pure kind, with no added salt or anything else. <A> There are quite a difference in chili and korean red pepper have a full rich almost smokey taste besides the heat. <S> In asian shops you kan find hot or mild gouchugaru and also red pepper powder. <S> The powder you can use for making paste like gouchuchang or in marinade and sause, not to good in kimchi as you want the chiliflakes to be more coarse when they are sitting for a longer time, kimchi would rest for at least a week and I let it rest for 2 weeks. <S> If you use the mild you can have more chili <S> and it adds it color and more of the sweet smokey taste. <S> The only spice close to korean red pepper would be cayenne pepper. <S> I tried other chili <S> but they either to hot or not rich enough taste. <S> If you don't use much store it cool.
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You can easily buy korean red pepper flakes from Amazon, they got all three types.
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Expiration Date on Milk What does the expiration date on milk cartons mean? I have different experiences with the date: There is still about a week before the expiration date but the milk has gone bad It is 1-2 days after the expiration date but the milk doesn't smell or taste bad In both case, the milk was kept in the fridge. <Q> There is a lot of variability in how fast milk will go bad. <S> How long the milk has been opened Pasteurized vs ultra-pasteurized Temperature <S> the milk is kept at Thermal cycling: <S> how long and how often is it kept above 40º <S> Where in the fridge it is kept. <S> The door will have more thermal cycling than a shelf, higher shelves tend to be warmer than lower ones. <S> All of these influence how long milk stays good. <S> The big date on the top is used by grocers to determine when it can't be sold. <S> If you look closer there will be text to the effect of, "Use within 7 days after opening". <S> This isn't a guarantee. <S> Leaving the carton out while you cook will allow it to go bad faster, as will keeping it in the door. <S> Also if your fridge is too warm for some reason, things will spoil faster. <A> If it was a bit warmer than usual it can expire a week early. <S> It also matters when you actually opened the bottle. <S> This is why every time you use milk you should smell it (or taste it) before use. <S> the first thing that goes off in milk is the taste - this is because the germs cause fermentation before it is actually unsafe to consume. <A> The date stamped on milk cartons is neither an expiration date, nor a best by date (at least in the USA). <S> Milk cartons are stamped with a sell by date. <S> This is distinctly different. <S> This is used solely to designate when the store must sell it by. <S> The date the milk goes bad is some time after that. <S> From personal experience opened milk keeps in my refrigerator for 7-10 days beyond the sell by date. <S> Smell your milk before drinking or using it. <S> Obviously if it's chunky <S> it's also well past bad. <S> With regards to sell by dates they are generally specified to give the "average" consumer time to consume the product once purchased. <A> In addition to the things others have mentioned, how the milk is handled during shipping can have an impact on whether or not it lasts to the best before date. <S> Most of the time it goes from one refrigerator to another, but if a driver gets busy and leaves it sitting out for a while and if the store also leaves it out for a while, it can warm up enough to shorten the lifespan. <A> The rule of thumb a few decades ago was: pasteurized milk has 2 weeks from out of the cow until spoiled. <S> I imagine that depending on different variables (such as those listed by sysadmin1138) and improved technology, you might get up to about 3 weeks total. <A> It means nothing. <S> Go by smell. <S> If it smells normal or even sweet, you're fine. <S> IF it's slightly acidic, you're getting close. <S> If it's sour or worse, don't even try it. <S> I give the milk a quick swirl to get rid of the gas which accumulates at the top of the bottle and can be a bit stronger. <S> Texture is the final determinant. <S> If it's not smooth, run. <S> p.s. <S> I have never used UHT milk, so <S> I'm curious if it spoils with the same pattern. <A> Like most other dates on food - it is a best before date, that means that the packager/store guarantees that, if stored properly, it will be good until that date. <S> So if it goes bad before then, as it may, as you are dealing with real-world objects, you can return it to the store. <S> After that, a store is less likely to refund. <A> We get our milk delivered so it doesn't normally have a date on it and <S> the bottles get mixed and i forget what order i'm supposed to open them in. <S> So I think the best way to tell is to use your nose and or take a little taste. <S> if its not tasting good or smelling proper then bin it. <S> unless your going for sour milk to cook with. <A> Keep in mind that an expiry date applies only to an unopened container. <S> That commercial caesar salad dressing with an expiry date 18 months in the future? <S> Throw it out 60 days after opening. <S> High acid foods like pickles, mustards etc, will last along time, as will "Italian" dressings, but anything creamy has a pretty short life span. <A> Based on this highly scientific reference source, I can assume they feed people whatever the food or drink is, and then once people start getting ill, they subtract one day for the shelf life time they will add to the production date -
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What determines the date the milk will actually expire, is the conditions it was stored in. The given date is a sell by date, like others said. Other times, it can expire after the given date. In short, if it smells good, use it.
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How does commercial whole grain bread stay fresh for so long? Every recipe for whole grain bread I have tried has the end result that the bread turns very hard within an hour of baking. I'd like something I could eat over the course of a couple days (breakfast toast and such). The 100% whole wheat bread from the store lasts two weeks - how do they do it? <Q> Industrial breads use 'dough conditioners' that soften the dough and make working with it easier. <S> You can buy such mixes online, here for instance, and I've seen them for sale in natural food stores and the like. <S> Other things that might work are adding a starch or a fat, or heat treating some of your flour in the microwave (a minute for a cup, don't do this to all the flour, it destroys some of the gluten). <S> Guar gum or xanthan gum will help to keep things moist as well. <S> I've never used these techniques, so some experimentation might be necessary. <S> Store bread in plastic bags as soon as it cools, and don't slice right away. <A> They do it via liberal use of sugar, mainly, as well as a host of industrial techniques that are simply not replicable in the home kitchen. <S> Bear in mind that such breads are made for longevity and not flavour. <S> If your bread is going that hard an hour after baking, you may well be overcooking it. <A> Most bread is made from wheat and / or barley flour. <S> A "hard" flour contains more wheat. <S> The higher the proportion of wheat flour <S> , the better it tastes (especially the crust) but the poorer its keeping qualities. <S> Commercial bread that keeps for a long time has more barley flour. <A> Another trick is to add more fat. <S> I have been told that harder fats (butter, lard) are better this way, but I normally use olive or rape oil. <S> (About 5% or flour weight.) <S> It impedes the rise a little bit, but not too bad. <S> (I think it interferes with the gluten formation, but I'm not 100% sure how.)
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In addition, some bakeries add a little vinegar to the dough after proving, which also makes the bread keep longer.
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Is there any way to remove stains (e.g. from curries and pasta sauces) from plastic containers? I like using microwaveable plastic containers to bring my lunch in as they are my lighter than the Pyrex/glass versions. However, reheating my food up creates unsightly stains. <Q> After washing them, fill them with a mild bleach solution (one tablespoon for each cup of water) and let them out in the sun exposing the stain for a whole day. <S> Make sure children and animals cannot reach the containers with bleach. <S> There used to be a product called Cascade Plastic Booster that you could add to your dishwasher that would remove the stains. <S> It's no longer sold but its main ingredient was benzoyl peroxide at 5%, which you may buy in most drugstores. <A> Start with equal parts white vinegar and water, perhaps with some lemon juice mixed in. <S> Sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of your container. <S> Pour in the liquid mixture. <S> Scrub thoroughly. <S> This should help lift the stain and baking soda is a natural odor neutralizer. <S> You can also try drying it in a sunny spot, as sunlight is a natural bleaching agent. <S> You may also want to look into freezer-grade glass containers. <S> Glass containers pick up smell and color much less readily than plastic. <A> To prevent the stain in the first place, we usually spray the insides with Pam (or whatever cooking oil spray you use) before putting the food in. <A> I haven't tried it, but the answer from justkt got me thinking... <S> you might be able to use Bar Keeper's Friend to remove the stains. <A> You can use baking soda to remove the stains. <S> This usually does the trick. <S> Make sure the plastic containers are meant to be used in the microwave, otherwise, it's best to use glass containers.
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After washing your container, place some baking soda in the container then use a wet sponge (but not too wet)& scrub the container.
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How can I remove the peel and pit of an avocado without the whole thing turning into mush? Making solid pieces out of a ripe avocado is a difficult business (for me, anyway). What is the best way to remove the peel and pit without ending up with a pile of green mush? I can sometimes remove the peel without too much difficulty, but that pit always gives me grief. <Q> The California Avocado Commission recommends this (safe but wimpy - see below for a better way) three-step process: <S> Start with a ripe avocado and cut it lengthwise around the seed. <S> Rotate the halves to separate. <S> Remove the seed by sliding the tip of a spoon gently underneath and lifting out. <S> The other common seed-extraction method - striking the seed with a knife and twisting - requires some skill and is not recommended. <S> Or simply scoop out the avocado meat with a spoon. <S> Be sure to sprinkle all cut surfaces with lemon or lime juice or white vinegar to prevent discoloration. <S> Source: California Avocado Commission <S> Notes: <S> Another (and my favorite) way to remove the pit is by holding the half with the pit in one hand and striking the sharp edge of the knife used in step one into the pit, then twisting to remove. <S> This is the "pro" way to do it, but takes a little practice. <S> The video Nate referenced in the comments shows how to do it , it's not that hard. <S> If you're going to be chopping the avocado up, you slice it up using the tip of the knife still in the shell, then scoop the sliced avocado meat out with a spoon. <A> After 4 years... the classical spoon based method for avocado processing is obsolete. <S> The Triptych Peel Method <S> This combines a well known method to remove the seed, with a scheme for conservatively reducing the skin tension by a series of shallow cuts along the surface. <S> This process allows for direct removal of both seed and skin, with minimal effort and minimal wasted fruit. <S> Get a ripe avocado and make sure your workspace is clear for cutting on. <S> If there is a produce sticker, remove it. <S> Gently cut through the skin until you find the seed. <S> Rotate the avocado itself 360 degrees, firmly maintaining the knife against the seed. <S> Take the avocado with both hands, and twist each half in opposite directions, to unlock one half from the seed. <S> (Sorry for the blurry image, the camera rig got bumped during exposure) Gently press the knife into the seed, until you have gripped it well. <S> Use the leverage of the knife to turn the seed until it unlocks. <S> (Sometimes moving back and forth helps here.) <S> This concludes the standard seed removal, now for the triptych skin removal. <S> Cut a small notch upwards, out of the avocado at the 1/3rd point. <S> Cut another small notch upwards, out of the avocado at the 2/3rds point. <S> Hold the avocado on your cutting surface so your notches are at the top, be sure your grip does not put your fingers in harms way! <S> Now make two shallow scratches down the surface of the avocado, starting from each notch, just deep enough to split the skin. <S> Take the skin by a corner and peel it off. <S> Make sure to start on the side with no hole, to avoid the skin cracking. <S> Enjoy! <S> I have exaggerated the lines here as a visual aid, but the avocado half is still in one solid piece. <S> Can be sliced into "rings" which are wonderfully convenient for sandwiches. <A> A related tip to prevent browning:Put lemon juice <S> On the avocado that you are serving and On the half that you are putting into the fridge with plastic wrap. <S> The vitamin C (ascorbic acid) prevents the oxidation that turns the flesh brown. <S> UPDATE: <S> The top answer on this question: Browning Avocados <S> - What Helps? <S> strongly suggests that my answer here is incorrect and just the propagation of a food urban legend. <A> Cut the avocado in half (around the pit) <S> Jab the pit with the pointy end of a knife Twist the knife to dislodge the pit, hit it on the side of your sink until the pit flies off and hits you in the head Use a big spoon to scoop the flesh out of the skin of the two halves. <A> You need to have a ripe fruit. <S> It is ripe when the neck (narrow part) just gives under a light squeeze. <S> You can tell a ripe fruit because the peel will come off in large pieces, not sticking to the fruit and tearing or coming off easily and crumbling. <S> Take a knife with a sharp tip and cut through just the skin as if cutting the fruit in quarters lengthwise. <S> Then, following the previous cutting of the skin only, cut the fruit in half to the seed. <S> Then twist the two halves apart, the seed will stay in one half. <S> Hack the knife into the seed embedded in the half avacado and twist the seed out. <S> Then peel the two pieces of skin off of each half, if you have a ripe avacado, each 1/4 skin will come off as one piece. <S> Enjoy.
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Peel the fruit by placing the cut side down and removing the skin with a knife or your fingers, starting at the small end.
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How do you remove garlic smells from your fingers? I've heard touching stainless steel after chopping and handling garlic helps but I haven't found it to work all that well. <Q> The smell of garlic is due to sulfur compounds. <S> Rubbing your hands against an iron object does not work . <S> The sulfur smell compounds are water soluble to slightly water soluble, so rinsing your hands in cold water and then soap and water should work as well as the recipes suggesting Noxzema, lemon juice, salt, baking soda, raw potatoes, tomato paste solutions, or mouthwash. <A> A quick rinse with some lemon juice. <S> Then wash your hands normally with soap and you're done. <A> Stainless steel does work, but you have to rub it over your hands under running water. <S> As noted above, this causes a chemical reaction that breaks down the garlic oils so they can be rinsed away. <S> Using hand or dish soap in addition to the steel helps speed this process. <A> <A> I always use a stainless steel 'hand soap', such as this one with a little bit of regular hand soap. <S> Wash for about 30 seconds and the garlic smell's gone. <A> I always have some coffee around to remove smells like that from my hands. <S> It's not so sci-fi like rubbing steel over your hands, but works for me. <A> I find that cold water and lemon juice works best. <S> There's also a theory that cutting a potato in half and rubbing it on your hands will work <S> but so far I've never tried it! <A> I was recently reading up on this subject because, not matter how many times I washed my hands after chopping garlic, the smell would still be there even a couple days later. <S> I tried the "stainless steel" approach, but didn't see any results. <S> The "coffee grounds" approach did help some, it works well to cover up the smell at least. <S> At the same time I was trying these methods, I accidentally discovered a better solution. <S> I imagine this has something to do with the chemical reaction with stainless steel mentioned in this string, but copper seemed to work a lot better. <S> Further testing may be needed, but wanted to share what I had found.
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Washing your hands by rubbing your fingers on a stainless steel knive under running water works really well. When you rub your hands against stainless steel, the iron of the stainless steel will react with some small volume of those compounds, but much more will remain in your hands. I was building an evaporative fan, using copper tubing and in handling it, the garlic smell instantly went away and my fingers and slightly smelled like copper but no garlic!!
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How to cook/serve Confit de Canard? I was in France some time ago and bought some Confit de Canard with me back home. But how do I cook it for best result? And what do I serve with it? Also, what would be a good desert? I'm thinking of Foie Gras as entrée. <Q> Usually it is removed from the fat, and warmed in an oven. <S> The exact instructions will probably be on the tin, but from memory <S> I think it was about 15 mins @ 180c, as you only really need to warm them through and remove the excess fat. <S> We have always served it with potatoes roast in some of the fat from the tin. <S> Usually par-boiled, minced garlic added, then shaken in the boiling pan (with a lid on) to mix the garlic in and to rough up the edges <S> so you get some nice crispy bits, then put into a hot tray of duck fat <S> (go on be generous with the fat, it's delicious) and into a hot oven till crispy. <S> Accompanied by french beans or broccoli or some other green veg, and some crusty French bread to mop up the fat with. <S> mmmm. <S> Makes me want to go and get my tin out of the cupboard for tonight. <A> I fry them. <S> Face down for about half an hour, medium heat. <S> You can cook rostis in the duck fat. <S> Makes the top go crisp. <S> Good with a simple green salad and a good burgundy :) <A> How about a cassoulet? <S> Duck confit is a traditional ingredient.
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You could also serve it with dauphinoise potatoes, which would also be great.
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How to do frozen yogurt I would like to do at home frozen yogurt. Do I have to use an ice cream machine, or is there a technique to prepare it without a machine? PS: I don't really like ice cream without the machine as the ice crystals are too big. I wonder if the highest density of yogurt helps. <Q> You can do it sans machine, but you are limited to small batches, and it tends to form crystals. <S> You have two choices, bags or freezer container. <S> Bags tends to make less crystallized product, and is a bit faster. <S> Bags Get a large 1 gallon ziploc bag, lots of ice, a ~2 cups salt, a small, 1 quart bag and the mix to be turned into ice cream (or frozen yogurt). <S> Chill the mix in the fridge beforehand. <S> This helps the mix cool more quickly and evenly, meaning smaller crystals, meaning creamier product. <S> Place the cream mix in the small bag, and leave a bit of air. <S> Make sure it is sealed well, you may want to double bag it. <S> Put the small bag in the big bag. <S> Fill the big bag about half way with ice and add a few tablespoons of salt. <S> Seal the big bag and start mushing the small bag from outside the big bag, moving it around and getting it in contact with the ice. <S> You probably want gloves or to wrap it in a towel: it gets really cold. <S> After the ice melts down, add more ice and salt, keep squishing until the stuff in the bag gets hard. <S> You can toss it on the floor and squish it with your feet while watching TV or reading. <S> Put it in the freezer for a few hours to condition. <S> This isn't quite as nice as a machine. <S> To compensate for the extra crystallization, you can add more fat and sugar, since those stop large crystals from forming. <S> With frozen yogurt, I don't think there is much you can do. <S> Freezer Container <S> This is easier, but makes lower quality product. <S> Simply put your mix in a large container (leave at least half empty), and place in the freezer. <S> Take it out every 10 minutes and shake vigorously for a few seconds. <S> Repeat until it won't move anymore. <S> Use a fork to fluff the mix. <A> If you want the ice to remain soft you have to stir it while freezing. <S> It is possible to do it by hand, but you will wish you had bought an ice cream machine. <S> If you want to make frozen yoghurt popsicles you can do so without stirring. <S> You can use improvised small containers for this, but there are also special containers on the market. <S> My kids love them :) <A> You can use a whisk/fork/wooden spoon whatever for this. <S> The amount of time between beatings depends on how cold the mixture already is, so at the beginning when you first put it in you can leave it 20-30 mins before you need to beat it, but as it freezes more and more you need to beat it more regularly, up to every 5-10 mins. <S> The more often you beat it <S> the more likely you are to get it 'creamy' <S> I assume the same would apply to yogurt, although I've never tried it without a machine personally. <S> You may need to adjust the time between beatings for yogurt though.
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With most icecreams you can make it without a machine by putting in the freezer and getting out every once in a while and beat it to break up the crystals as they form.
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Advice for low temperature cooking I want to try out low temperature cooking of some meat, e.g. beef I don't have a reliable oven and am looking for advice before starting. Or alternatives to ovens. I heard some people use meat in vacuum sealed plastic bags that they cook in a pot of water, (easier to measure temperature?) What are the timings for weight/temperature combinations? What dis/advantages does low temperature cooking have compared to grilled? Anything else I should now before trying out? <Q> They're cheap, and it will cook your food slowly in around 6 hours. <S> Don't overcomplicate things: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_cooker <A> Cooking in a water bath in vacuum sealed bags is called sous vide . <S> The advantages include: <S> all of the meat is cooked to the desired temperature, and no higher, so you get 'perfect' doneness. <S> The fibres of he meat don't contract due to the high temperatures and squeeze out the moisture, so the meat stays very tender <S> if you have the right setup, you can put it on an leave it <S> you can include flavourings in the vacuum bag <S> so your meat steeps in the flavouring whilst it cooks. <S> Disadvantages include: it can be expensive to set up (though not always , as work arounds exist) <S> it can be difficult to keep at a constant temperature if you don't have an expensive set up <S> the meat does not have any outer crust (although this is easily remedied after the cooking) <S> takes a lot longer to cook. <S> I think it will be difficult to do in an oven as it is not often that ovens go as low as this type of cooking requires. <A> If you want low temp, you should go with braising. <S> The low temp and moisture work wonders on meat with lots of connective tissue. <S> Plus, no expensive tools are required. <S> The downside is it takes TIME...possibly measured in hours. <S> You cannot cheat a braise from what I've seen or you'll still end up with tough meat full of connective tissue and not deliciously broken down tissue. <S> Cheap tools of the trade are aluminum foil and a cast iron dutch oven. <S> Sear the meat first to get some good browning. <S> Toss in the foil and make a pouch and put in some marinade. <S> Seal up tight. <S> Toss in the dutch oven and then into the real oven. <S> Sous vide looks great on TV, but most people have what they need to braise sitting in their kitchen at this very moment. <S> Especially if you have a little something called a Crock-Pot. <S> An aside: Crock-Pots are a great alternative to an unreliable oven that probably wastes lots of energy. <A> Here's the best link on sous vide at home <S> I know: <S> http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/cook-your-meat-in-a-beer-cooler-the-worlds-best-sous-vide-hack.html <S> I've done this and it works pretty well. <A> For a few of your questions, a query of your favorite search engine will suffice; however, a skimmed version follows: <S> timings and weights advantages of low heat <S> yes: <S> it all depends really on the cut of meat, and your ultimate goal. <S> Some might not agree with me, but you need to sear the meat. <S> either before or after the cooking. <S> some sear it on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side and then put the meat in the oven; others cook the meat and sear it at the end. <S> it's your choice! <S> season it with salt and pepper. <S> be generous with the salt. <S> buy an oven thermometer, they're like $4 and adjust your oven accordingly
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For meat, you can do small cuts for short periods (hours) at low temperatures (under 150) in a beer cooler. Buy a slow cooker.
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Does fresh garlic have any specialized uses? I have some fresh garlic that I have just harvested from the allotment, and am drying out. I notice that the fresh garlic has a different texture from the shop bought stuff, and I was wondering if there are things that are more suitable for fresh garlic? Does it slow roast better? Is it better to use raw? <Q> I love fresh (also called green) garlic. <S> Add some white wine and reduce. <S> Make a soup Clean whole bulbs from dirt, remove the external peel, wrap in tinfoil, sprinkle some salt, olive oil and thyme and bake for an hour. <S> The garlic will turn into a paste which you can then squeeze and spread on fresh loaves of bread. <A> I find wet garlic (as freshly harvested garlic is sometimes known) makes a nicer garlic butter than its stored counter-part, which you can then keep for "quite a while" without spoiling -- depending on the size of the bulb, I'd normally use about two bulbs and some of the stalks for each pound of butter (or half kilo). <S> I've kept prepared garlic butter in the fridge, and have used it all long before it has spoiled in the past, too. <A> chop the tops off a few bulbs and put salt pepper olive oil and balslamic vinigar. <S> Bake at 450 F for 30 mins, peel and eat!
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Some uses: For a quick, simple and delicious pasta sauce, chop a whole bulb of garlic (with peel and all) and sautee in some olive oil, rosmary and chili peppers.
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How do I remove kiwifruit skin without losing a lot of the fruit's flesh? Is there a way to loosen the skin from the flesh before peeling a kiwifruit with a paring knife or peeler? I'm not a deft hand with a paring knife, and I suspect that it's time to buy a peeler with a sharper blade, but any tips on peeling technique with regard to kiwifruit would be welcome. <Q> I normally cut the fruit in half then use a grapefruit spoon (serrated tip) to scoop the fruit out of the flesh. <A> I use a potato peeler to peel it. <S> I cut off the top then peel down in strips. <S> with a good peeler you can save most of the flesh this way. <S> I use a 'Y' style peeler . <A> I find it easier to peel when it's already sliced EDIT .. and will make for excellent garnish. <S> but usually when i'm using kiwi in a presentation, I use a small pairing knife and ribbon around the kiwi <A> I know a way that is amazing. <S> You just cut off the 2 ends like regular and use a regular spoon to wedge between the skin and the meat of the fruit. <S> Work your way around <S> and then you can just "plop" the meat of the fruit out. <S> I'm not going to take credit for somebody else's work <S> so here is the link with the video. <S> How to cut and peel a kiwi fruit. <A> I chop the two ends <S> so you have a kiwi cylinder and then lay the kiwi on <S> it's side and make a small slice into it and keep the knife parallel to the cutting board as close to the bottom and just let it roll until it goes a full 360 degrees and the skin is off. <S> Then you can cut as desired. <A> I'm having trouble finding one online, but there is a serrated blade that is curved sideways used for cutting pineapple. <S> Because it curves sideways, it can cut more skin off and less meat off a round piece of fruit than a knife with a straight blade. <S> It's very similar to this: http://www.bbqproshop.com/melon-and-fruit-knife.html <A> Has anyone tried using a melon baller? <S> If you follow the tip about cutting it in half and then using the melon baller, I would think you could get quite a bit out easily. <S> (Note, I have not actually tried this...) <A> They sell peelers that are specifically for soft fruits and veg - peaches, tomatoes, and kiwis generally feature on the packaging. <S> My chef-daughter has one and reports they do a nice job. <S> Among other things they are wicked sharp and if you use one on a potato you will probably cut yourself. <S> That said, I cut the ends off so my ordinary peeler can "get started" under the kiwi skin and have no trouble peeling them that way. <S> I'm not a big uni-tasker fan. <A> Most people purchase Kiwifruit that has been stored and shipped long distances in special chillers, and are then chemically ripened before final point of sale. <S> These Kiwifruit will often have minor bruising (mushy texture) directly under the skin, so using a knife to remove reasonable slabs of skin and bruised flesh is the ideal way
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Using a peeler or a spoon around the skin is fine for a truly fresh Kiwifruit straight from the vine
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Does kimchi go bad? I bought some kimchi a few weeks ago, ate half the jar, and then forgot about it. I found it in my fridge yesterday and tried it. It tastes the same, but there isn't a date stamped on the jar. Does it go bad or should it be fine since it's fermented/pickled? <Q> A great resource for how long foods can be kept is Stilltasty.com . <S> According to them , commercially bottled pickles (and kimchee would fall into this category) can be kept after opening for one year in the refrigerator. <A> Most Koreans won't eat kimchi if a) <S> the veggies have become significantly mushy b) <S> the juices taste 'sparkly' <S> , it's hard to describe this flavor exactly, but when you taste it, you'll know what I mean. <S> A year seems like a long time for opened kimchi to me, but I would just use my tastebuds to assess the above. <A> Kimchi is rotten cabbage. <S> It's already bad :) <S> Seriously though, if it isn't moldy, it's probably fine. <S> If you have the kind in the jar that has a carbonated taste, and it's still carbonated, it's fine. <A> In every Korean kitchen I have encountered, everyone has been extremely particular in that clean utensils should be used when extracting the kimchee from the jar, being very careful not to contaminate the kimchee. <S> I have been told on many occasions that contaminating the kimchee can shorten the shelf life of the kimchee and taint the flavor. <S> My family will begin eating the raw kimchee about a week after it has been bought fresh from the grocery, after one month (if it is still around) I use whats left, cooking it with various dishes. <S> The more salt that is added to the kimchee and the cooler the temp it is stored at, the slower it will ferment. <S> Seems to me everybody has a different 'sweet spot' <S> when it comes to the duration of fermentation they feel produces the best flavor. <S> But I have never heard anybody storing kimchee for a year, and believe traditionally it was kept in Korea from one growing season to the next, in clay pots, underground. <S> I have never heard of someone getting sick from eating old kimchee, but it definitely turns, and that in my mind constitutes as "going bad" <A> "Bad" is a relative term for fermented pickles -- the whole point of the things is that they are a bit spoiled. <S> It should get more sour/pricklier/funkier as time goes on and still be fine, but use your eyes and nose: if it gets stinky in some new and exciting way or looks strange, I'd avoid. <A> I made Napa Cabbage Kimchi about 2 and a half months ago and had two containers in the back of the fridge. <S> One was half full in a plastic honey container and a full one. <S> I was worried that it had spoiled by this time <S> but when I tried it, it was delicious. <S> I am not Korean <S> but I have enjoyed really sour kimchi for a long time. <S> I'm so stoked that I have another 1 liter ice cream pail of the stuff. <A> I don't think it can go bad, but the flavour profile does change over time with homemade kimchi. <S> Usually once it's past a certain point my Korean friend will use it for flavouring soups and stews rather than eating it straight. <S> So it's just up to your personal preference. <A> I make Kimchi for the local farmers market and have a good following. <S> I made a batch one year ago and kept some in the fridge. <S> I just sold that one-year-old batch <S> and it was delicious. <S> The flavor was more mellow and a little more complex. <S> It's fine. <S> They had not been opened, however. <S> I've heard of excellent 3-year-old Kimchi, unopened and kept cool. <S> I typically sell mine after a couple of weeks of fermentation (one week fermented unrefrigerated). <S> Best to keep it in the large container it's made in. <S> I tried jarring it during fermentation and it was too messy. <S> Even with the lids on loose I had to burp them every day so they wouldn't ooze over the tops!Fermenting in a 5 gallon bucket <S> works best for me, then putting in the jars. <A> When I make kimchi, I usually leave it in a dark, cool corner of my utility room for 1-2 months before we start to eat it. <S> We usually eat half the batch (1L) at once, then refrigerate. <S> The second half is usually gone in a few weeks. <S> Last night, however, we finished a batch that had been forgotten about and sat in the fridge for about 4 months. <S> It tasted great, although the cabbage had lost some texture. <S> I say as long as it isn't moldy, its still good. <S> I would probably throw it out after 6 months though, just so I could justify making a new batch. <A> The process where cabbage and other ingredients becomes kimchee is a fermentation and pickling process. <S> While the "sour" taste of kimchee comes from vinegar produced, which means there probably would not be a danger due to bacterial contamination, that pickling and souring process will continue. <S> The kimchee might be safe to eat, but it might be very, very and excessively sour after a period of time. <S> So, "bad" depends on whether you mean "just as tasty as it was when I first ate it," or "safe to eat." <A> However, I have once witnessed a kimchi that was several years old (somebody had stored it in her cellar), and it had actually chemically decayed, tasting somewhat like wax. <S> Very interesting, but utterly unpalatable. <S> On another note, I noticed that my kimchi turns LESS sour after a while; does anybody have an explanation for this, preferably one that makes biological sense? :)
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Even when it gets "too sour" bad, it's still usable for dishes like kimchee chigae (kimchee stew), even if it might be too sour for your tastes to eat on its own. If it's really sour, it's unlikely to rot unless maybe from some extreme mold.
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Cheeses for pastas, off the beaten path I'm looking for some cheese recommendations to serve grated or shredded over pasta. However I'd like to get away from the obvious ones that everybody knows, such as parmesan, mozarella, ricotta, or even feta. What other delicious cheeses are there that go well with pastas? <Q> try gruyere or gouda <A> Pecorino romano is my absolute favorite cheese for pretty much any situation, especially for putting on pasta. <A> Asiago is very similar to Parmesan and crumbles well. <S> Smoked gouda may also prove to give a creamy, buttery flavor to certain pastas. <S> Or you could try gorgonzola, fontina, romano, or many more. <S> This site may help you to find more that you'd be interested in: http://www.cheese.com/ <A> try breaking broccoli into very small florets and steaming, then warming a mild blue cheese like dolcelatte with some cream, adding the florets and mixing through the pasta. <A> I've just been given some good Spanish Manchego cheese. <S> It's hard enough to be gratable, but stil quite fatty. <S> I haven't made pasta in a while, but I tasted some, and I think it would go well with pasta if the sauce isn't too rich. <S> Another recommendation, if your pasta has greens in it, like spinach or mangold, would be to use some nice blue cheese like roquefort. <S> Stilton works too, but the flavour is very powerful. <A> During my college days, we used to go to the Old Spaghetti Factory for cheap eats. <S> Most of the stuff was horrible (cloyingly sweet sauces served over overcooked pasta) but one thing I really enjoyed was the [mizithra][1] cheese and browned butter sauce. <S> It's a Greek goat's milk cheese that has a great tangy flavor when aged a bit. <S> Their menus used to state that Homer (Odyssey not Simpson) ate the stuff. <S> I still crave it! <A> at the cheese section of your favorite grocery store: Pick a random hard cheese <S> Freeze it <S> Grate it on top of your pasta <S> EDIT <S> What I meant is, that there are a lot of cheeses out there, and the hard ones (Except for blue cheese) really go well grated. <S> So go and get that purple-red hard cheese and try it out. <S> I personally don't like grated cheese on my pasta <A> Where I live (central Texas) <S> our local grocery stores are overrun with "Beemster" Dutch cheeses. <S> They're all basically Gouda-like semi-soft cheeses, though there's an aged one that's hard enough to grate. <S> However, the "garlic" variety is a great addition to a cheese sauce. <S> In fact, that plus Ford Farm "Coastal" cheddar makes a cheese sauce that's almost perfect. <S> Soft chevre makes a really nice addition to cheese sauces, or it can be just dropped in chunks on pasta for a more salad-like dish. <A> I do like to use fontina in creamy or mushroomy sauces in pasta and also sometimes reblochon (though I normally use this more with potatoes). <S> But it depends so much upon what else you are putting with the pasta and what you can get hold of, <S> french cheese especially are often not (easily) available much outside their region. <A> I've been doing Mizithra lately, as I've been eating less cow-milk based cheeses. <S> With a bit of olive oil, garlic, and scallions, you get nice top notes, full body, and the "pastoral" finish of a solid sheep's cheese. <A> Gran Padano is worth looking for as an alternative to Parmesan - it's very similar (hard, salty) <S> but, in the UK at least, is about two-thirds of the price :-) <A> Roquefort is great on pasta. <S> Even better, you can make a roquefort sauce by melting it with some cream and black pepper. <S> Gorgonzola is good as well... <A> Can't go wrong with a bit of Raclette... <A> Another good cheese to try with pasta is Tallegio , this is a soft cheese so you won't be able to grate it <S> but it goes great with a bit of cream and some broccoli.
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Also, the Irish cheese marketed as "Ivernia" is sort-of like a Parmesan, but quite tasty in its own right.
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How to Make the perfect French Custard? I've tried numerous recipes, watched different videos, and adopted different techniques, but to this day I can't make good plain custard. Some of the issues with previous custards: Egg taste ( I realize this is probably due to me pouring hot over eggs, but I assure you it's not, I do it very very slowly) Deflation (the custard deflates in the middle) I'm assuming this is due to me over mixing, or not adding flour / baking powder. Texture ( sometimes the taste is frigging amazing, but it's either too runny or too hard. I've given up on making custard and by mine "fresh" from a local baker. Recipe I use: 3 beaten eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 1 1/3 cup of sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Method: Combine until not foamy bake in a water bath until stiff <Q> Custard should taste eggy. <S> This is a feature, not a bug. <S> However, from your mention of flour, I think what you're talking about is a souffle, not something like a creme brulee or along those lines. <S> Would that be correct? <S> Edited based on subsequent clarifications: <S> Ah. <S> Your method is sorely lacking, and your ingredients are off. <S> You need to temper the yolks first, you need to use yolks only, and use cream instead of milk. <S> Here is a smaller version of what I use at work for creme brulee: - 1L 35% cream - 11 egg yolks - 1C sugar - 1 vanilla bean, scraped Bring cream to a simmer with the vanilla seeds and pod (you can use approx 1.5tsp vanilla extract, pure not artificial, instead). <S> While it is heating, beat the yolks and sugar together until just incorporated. <S> Pour the cream into the eggs whisking briskly to prevent curdling. <S> Pour mixture through a fine chinois. <S> Skim off foam, pour into ramekins. <S> Place ramekins in a pan, add water to 1/2way up the sides. <S> Cover pan with foil. <S> Bake at 275 (convection) or 325 (non convection) for approx 40 minutes, until wobbly in the centre but set. <S> Chill until set, eat. <S> The deflation is caused by a souffle effect coming from including the egg whites, which are never used in a custard--custards, creme anglaise, etc, are always yolks only. <S> When you include the whites, air will be trapped inside temporarily, and will escape/collapse when the mixture cools. <S> If you bake until fully stiff with my method, you will get hard and rubbery custard by the time it is set in the fridge. <S> Also, save the whites--they freeze well--for meringues or souffles. <A> Is the milk / cream too hot (/or cold) when you whisk it with the egg yolks? <S> Do you return the mixture to the pan and cook it for long enough (slowly enough?) <S> Which recipe are you using? <S> EDIT <S> As roux mentioned in the comments to your question, the recipe you're using doesn't sound like it's up to the job. <S> I've used this recipe for Crème Anglaise with success in the past. <S> Maybe it could be adapted to your requirements? <S> http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Creme-Anglaise-4984 <A> If you want to try another recipe, here's a great one from Delia Smith (author, food critic and British institution). <S> http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/sweet/traditional-english-custard.html PS. <S> Interesting to note that in America you call it French custard, while in France its known as Crème Anglaise (English cream). <S> Here in Britain, its just 'custard' ;-) <A> First, do not use exclusively whole eggs, you got to have more yolk than whole eggs in your mixture otherwise the texture is compromised. <S> Never forget that you're dealing with a specialization of a base mixture. <S> The ingredient you provided would make a somewhat eggy crème anglaise, whereas you're seeking the perfect crème patissière. <S> Crème patissière is a variant of crème anglaise as you need to add a little flour either with a roux or a technique called singer, which is basically pouring flour lightly over the mixture as it heat. <S> This preparation requires less care as the flour will prevent chemically the yolk from forming lump as you stir and the sauce thickens. <S> From crème anglaise you can cook crème brulé, crème caramel and serve it on dessert / breakfast items. <S> From this base recipe you can derive it and add flour and it will turn into a creme patissiere, which is basically the ultimate custard item, it is rather simple to execute , you just gotta make sure you dont use whole eggs exclusively and don't overpour flour in the mixture.
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Crème anglaise is simply eggs / yolks mixed with vanilla extract and a bit of sugar on which you pour milk and heat slowly until the yolk starts to thicken the sauce, you have to take it off the heat as soon as it thickens and immediately cool it off, it would be wise to have a batch of ice in the sink to lay the saucepan on it, dont forget to stir rapidly so the heat will evaporate thus preventing the egg yolk to coagulate more.
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BBQ Beef Brisket on a Propane Grill? Is it possible to make really good beef brisket, with a smoke ring and everything, on a Propane Grill? A good charcoal grill/smoker is on our list of things to get, but it's probably not going to happen this summer. Am I doomed to have mediocre brisket, or are there tricks that will work with a propane grill to approximate the results I'd get with a "real" grill/smoker? <Q> You can get extremely edible results, which is good enough for me. <S> The smoke-ring may be lacking from a competition grade result, but the flavour will be fine. <S> Presume <S> you have a big-enough BBQ to have at least two burners. <S> Only use the burner the meat is not on. <S> If you have any prevailing wind and are not completely sheltered, make the hot side the upwind side. <S> Either get a smoke-box, or do what I used to and use foil. <S> Soak 1/3 to 1/2 your wood chips in water to slow them down. <S> Foil worked just fine for me, made a pouch, put in the chips and poked the up-flat-side with a knife to make smoke holes. <S> If you have a larger BBQ, consider adding in bricks or stones (no river stone!) <S> to help maintain even heat. <S> By having less air and more thermal mass, you will do better. <S> Let me meat come to room temperature before you put it on. <S> Also no need to smoke right away, as the meat will not take it until it heats up further in the BBQ. <S> Happy Eating <A> So, on the one hand, you've got good heat control with a propane grill. <S> I use mine to smoke sometimes. <S> On the other hand, you're going to have a hard time getting that super smoky flavor on the brisket. <S> Here's what I did to mine to make it more amenable to smoking: 1) <S> I dumped a couple of bags of lava rocks in the grill to smooth out the flames <S> 2) I used a hole saw to drill a hole on the right side of the grill lid to encourage smoke to flow out that way <S> When I smoke with it, I use one burner, on the left, and keep a thermometer in there to assess temperature. <S> Above it, I put the wood. <S> When things go well, Smoke rises out of the hole made with the hole saw, temperature is even, and I'm happy. <S> Unlike a weber smoker, you're going to want to rotate the meat using this method. <S> Maybe it would have been better to put the hole in the middle, and use the two outside burners, but this would be too hot for my usage in my grill. <S> I don't personally use a foil box <S> , I just put wood right on the left side of the grill, or on top of the lava rocks, and occasionally blow out the ash. <S> p.s. <S> If you take your meat out a while beforehand, get it up to room temp, and then put in the path of a fan for a while, it will become slightly 'sticky' on the outside. <S> This significantly enhances how much smoke will attach to the meat. <S> Try it! <A> My experience with a gas grill is that it dries out meat quicker. <S> When you are going low and slow it's worse. <S> To compensate I would add a pan of water to make it more humid. <S> I would also experiment with a "crutch". <S> The down side to this is that your crust can get a bit soggy. <S> I have also heard of people injecting beef broth into brisket to make it more moist. <S> Good luck! <A> I wash my brisket in cold water then add rub to both sides. <S> With grill pre heated to 200 degrees. <S> I then splash top of brisket with liquid smoke and let sit on counter top for an hour. <S> Then place on grill fat side down for 30 min. <S> Then flip to fat side up and spirits with liquid smoke. <S> ( only use outside burners. <S> No direct heat) let cook for about 4 hours or until done the way you like it. <S> Spirits every so often to keep moist. <S> I get great flavor ( smoked flavor) and tender brisket but no smoke ring. <S> But Aslong as it tastes great <S> I don't care bout a perty smoke ring.
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Try wrapping the brisket up in foil after it develops a crust.
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Can you freeze mirepoix? Can I chop up and freeze mirepoix raw, or do the vegetables have to be blanched first?Thanks! <Q> Yes, you can freeze mirepoix, but it'll be pretty soft once defrosted, as Peter V noted. <S> Onions and celery do not freeze well, <S> though carrots do okay. <S> All three vegetables, when whole, should be blanched for a few minutes before freezing. <S> For vegetable-specific freezing instructions see the National Center for Home Food Preservation's Freezing Guide . <S> It's best to use fresh, but blanched for 1-2 minutes <S> then frozen works <S> okay. <S> I do not blanch diced vegetables for more than 2 minutes. <A> What will you be doing with this mirepoix? <S> If it's just going to be a basis for a stock, you could probably freeze it without ill effect. <S> If you're going to be caramelizing it in some butter, and then using it in a final dish, I'm not sure that I would freeze it; the veggies seem likely to get mushy, regardless of whether or not they were blanched first. <A> If you are planning on using the mirepoix as-is, as in it will be seen on the plate, yes <S> This will help retain texture. <S> Otherwise, if you're using for stock or whatever, go ahead and freeze.
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you should blanch first and then freeze as fast as you possibly can.
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What's the best method for making iced coffee? How should we make iced coffee at home? We only have a French press. <Q> Do you like it cold-brewed? <S> The absolute best thing to do from my perspective is to stir half a cup of grounds into a quart of water and let sit overnight; you can then filter it using your french press or a regular plastic filter the next day to get a low-acid coffee concentrate. <S> Mix one part of this with 1-2 parts of water (hot or cold, adjust for strength) to get coffee. <S> The concentrate keeps well in the fridge too. <S> The only problem is that the coffee you get will be very low acid; if you like your iced coffee more acidic, this won't help. <S> For my palate it's great, but YMMV. <A> French presses work pretty well for cold brewed coffee. <S> Just put the coffee and the water in and let it "brew" for a long period of time, then press it down to remove the grounds. <S> Recipe for cold brewed coffee from the New York Times . <A> First of all, I highly recommend you buy an Aeropress. <S> I have no affiliation, I'm just a fabulously happy customer, and my french press is now gathering dust. <S> I haven't tried the cold-brewed methods above, but I if you don't want to do them, you are looking at a two step process with a french press: 1) <S> Make ice coffee cubes: make some coffee, put it in ice cube trays, and freeze it. <S> 2) <S> This is probably the lowest-acid method I have done using only a french press. <A> I always just take old coffee, add sugar then ice. <S> Its just iced coffee, not rocket science. <A> There was a New York Times article from 2007 on cold-brewed iced coffee. <S> I've used their method ever since it was published. <S> Essentially, it is Dennis's version from above, but it makes a more concentrated brew that you can dilute with water or milk. <S> I typically use about 3 parts concentrate to 1 part milk and sometimes stir in a Splenda packet. <S> Recipe: <S> In a jar, stir together 1/3 cup ground coffee (medium-coarse grind is best) and 1 1/2 cups water. <S> Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours. <S> Strain twice through a coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve [ my preference ] or a sieve lined with cheesecloth. <S> In a tall glass filled with ice, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste. <S> If desired, add milk. <S> Yield: Two drinks. <S> NOTE: <S> To make hot coffee, dilute concentrate one-to-one with water and heat in the microwave. <A> Try using some additional flavoring syrups, such as vanilla or caramel. <A> If you don't want to cold-brew, you can make coffee as you normally would and refrigerate before using. <S> This works better than adding ice cubes to hot coffee, since the melting ice dilutes the coffee.
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For iced coffee, make coffee regularly, put a few oz of the hot fresh coffee in a cup, and fill up with coffee cubes.
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How long does tahini last past expiration date? I have a jar of organic tahini which expired one year ago. It smells good and tastes ok. I don't know how it was stored, it was however always sealed (but already opened). Is it safe to eat in large ammount ? <Q> For what it's worth, you can safely store opened sesame oil in a refrigerator for one year ( stilltasty.com ). <S> Peanut butter can be kept for 3 months in the cupboard, then another 3-4 months in the refrigerator. <S> To be safe, I'd say keep it refrigerated once it's been opened, and use it within 6 months. <S> I've had some for about that long, and it's just fine still. <S> Remember: <S> bad odors indicate bad food. <A> To the best of my understanding, Tahini is a lot like honey in this respect. <S> It has no moisture in it, and will therefore suck the life out of anything that tries to land on it. <S> Theoretically, as long as there's no water there, it'll basically last forever. <S> I usually keep mine in the fridge, not for temperature control but to keep the humidity away. <S> I do live in a swamp though. <S> I'm still using some I bought about 7 months ago, and it's fine. <S> Once it's been prepared (i.e. mixed with water) <S> it's good for 3-4 days. <A> Maybe. <S> I don't think that it would support botulism, so you probably won't die (unless you have a deadly sesame allergy). <S> I don't imagine a lot of bacteria will grow on it, either. <S> The only thing I can think that might happen is that is oxidizes or picks up strange flavors, at which point it would just taste bad. <S> This is mostly guesswork. <S> Proceed at your own risk (I'd eat it). <A> Tahini is sesame seed paste, which means it's mostly an oil emulsion. <S> That much oil, without other preserving intervention, will harbor bacteria and oxidize. <S> If it isn't giving off any funky flavors or odors, it might be fine. <S> Still, tahini is cheap, why chance it? <A> However, as time passes Tehini tends to lose its flavor, so it's best used as soon after opening as possible. <A> Just tried some in a tightly sealed jar. <S> Just as good as the day it was bought,except it was hard to scoop some out. <S> Neede a fork. <S> Jar was filled with oil. <S> Delicious for 10 year old tahini. <S> Price was 3.29 for about a 500 ml bottle
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As long as it's kept in an airtight jar, it can hold for more than one year after opening.
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Why does my bread collapse in my bread machine? I have a bread machine and when I follow the recipes in the included booklet that came with the machine, the bread rises for about an hour, but the collapses back on itself and comes out rock hard and, usually, undercooked (doughy). I've tried adding flour, which helped a little, but didn't cure the problem. When I bake bread in the oven (hand-kneading, etc.) it comes out just fine. Some additional info: I've had similar problems with chocolate-chip cookies. Recipes that work perfectly for other people collapse in our kitchen (even the recipe from the Nestle chocolate chips package). My only theory is that since we live one block from a very large lake the air is somehow more humid, or dense, or something. Adding almost twice as much flour to the cookies has make them stay up, but now they taste "cakey." Does anyone know what might be going on and what I could try to help the problem? I'm stabbing in the dark, since I don't know the science behind what's going on. <Q> It may be because of the type of yeast being used. <S> Quick-cooking bread machines (1 hour cycle) typically requires "instant" yeast which rises much faster. <S> Standard-cooking bread machines (2-3 hour cycle) need regular yeast, which is active longer. <S> It sounds like you're using instant yeast in a standard recipe; thus the yeast stops working before the bread machine gets to the second rise cycle. <S> Under-cooking may be because the resultant dough is denser than the machine expects, thus doesn't heat through in time. <S> Unfortunately the trade names for "Regular Active Dry" yeast and "Instant Dry" yeast can be very confusing. <A> Suggestions: <S> Proof the yeast first by adding it to water at 115 degrees F along with sugar or honey. <S> Decrease <S> the amount of salt in the recipe. <S> Buy a barometer. <S> Bake bread when air pressure is steady or rising. <S> Don't bake when air pressure is dropping. <S> Knead the dough longer/ <S> faster. <S> Use filtered water instead of tap water. <S> Try using different kinds of flour. <S> Don't add more flour without adding more leavening agent. <A> The cookie deal may not be related. <S> Cookies made with a higher butter-to-shortening ratio will spread and harden due to the butter melting. <S> If you're using a lot of butter, that's the answer there. <S> Then, if I'm right about your cookies, it sounds like your bread machine could just very well be broken. <S> The "undercooked" remark being the ultimate clue.
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Add slightly more yeast, baking soda, or baking powder than the recipe calls for.
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I love "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Can someone recommend similar books for other cuisines? Mastering the Art of French Cooking does a fantastic job of teaching what you need to do to cook all of the classic French recipes and why you need to do it the way that is recommended. Can anyone recommend similar books for Northern and Southern Italian, Spanish, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese (Cantonese, Szechuan ...) ... etc? <Q> Elizabeth David - French <S> Provincial Cooking <S> I've also heard great things about Dorie Greenspan's recent Around My French Table, although reviewers note that as a contemporary French cooking has a lot of influences from around the globe (Asia, North Africa and even USA). <S> However, if you'd like to find out what French people are likely too cook at home these days, this has to be a great resource. <S> Spanish Cuisine Penelopa Casas - <S> The Foods and Wines of Spain, Tapas <S> Portuguese Jean Anderson - The Food of Portugal Italian <S> Marcella Hazan - The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking <S> Mexican Rick Bayless - Authentic Mexican, Mexico One Plate <S> At a Time <S> Russian Anya von Bremzen <S> - Please to the Table: <S> The Russian Cookbook German Mimi Sheraton - <S> The German Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Mastering Authentic German Cooking Japanese Shizuo Tsuji <S> - Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art Chinese Irene Kuo - The Key To Chinese Cooking <S> Barbara Tropp - <S> The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking <S> Thai <S> David Thompson - Thai Food Indian Julie Sani - Classic Indian Cooking, Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grains Cooking Madhur Jaffrey - Indian Cooking, An Invitation to Indian Cooking, A Taste of India Middle-Eastern Claudia Roden - <S> The New Book of Middle Eastern Food <S> Greek Susanna Hoffman - The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking <S> Diane Kochilas - <S> The Food and Wine of Greece South American <S> Filipe Rojas-Lombardi - <S> The Art of South-American Cooking Copeland Marks - False Tongues and Sunday Bread <S> Elisabeth L. Ortiz - A Taste of Latin America <A> I too love Julia Child's book. <S> She describes techniques and philosophies of the cuisine, touches on regional information, and answers the many "whys" about the idiosyncrasies of each recipe. <S> I can't recommend it enough. <A> Thai Food by David Thompson is one of the best regional cook books I have seen. <S> It goes into a lot of detail of the ingredients, methods and history of Thai Cooking. <S> I have had some great successes and a few epic fails using it. <S> It can be too much for some, and it makes no compromises on ingredients so if you don't have an Asian store near by it <S> may not been too useful to you. <A> This is a great book for Mexican Food. <S> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mexican-Food-Simple-Thomasina-Miers/dp/0340994975/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279568735&sr=1-1 <S> This lady was in Master Chef UK and was a fantastic chef in the competition. <S> Not sure if it is a 'Mastering the Art Of' type of book, but she has some great ideas on food. <A> Mimi Sheraton's classic <S> The German Cookbook comes to mind - similar era, comprehensive, etc. <S> Diana Kennedy's The Cuisines of Mexico also. <A> For Jewish food, The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna to the Present Day is brilliant, with some lovely stories to go along with the food. <A> If you love books on cooking that explain the what and the why, here are two for you: <S> "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee <S> "Cookwise" by Shirley O. Corriher <A> The Constance Spry Cookery Book. <S> http://www.amazon.com/Constance-Spry-Cookery-Book/dp/1904010970 <A> For Szechuan cuisine, Land Of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop. <S> http://www.amazon.com/Land-Plenty-Treasury-Authentic-Sichuan/dp/0393051773 <A> Marcella Hazan is probably the Italian equivalent to Julia: http://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Classic-Italian-Cooking-Marcella/dp/039458404X <S> Of course, Julia was persnickety in a way that Italians aren't. <S> Italians are picky about fresh ingredients, mostly. <A> For Chinese, look at Betty Crocker's Chinese Cookbook , by Leeann Chin. <S> It's not the complete Tome like Mastering , but it will get you started. <S> I see there is a different tile, Betty Crocker's New Chinese Cookbook , which I take to be a revision, but I've never seen it. <A> For Mexican cuisine, Rick Bayless's Authentic Mexican is tops in terms of breadth of coverage and detailed explanations of preparation methods. <S> You really get a strong sense of how food is prepared and consumed in Mexico, and some excellent instruction on how to prepare those foods in a non-Mexican kitchen. <S> I also highly recommend Rick Bayless's television program "Mexico One Plate at a Time". <S> In each episode he goes to Mexico and shows you how some dish or ingredient is used and eaten in Mexico, and then goes back to his kitchen in Chicago and shows you how to prepare a version of it at home. <S> Diana Kennedy's Mexican cookbooks are also highly rated, and I have one, but I didn't find it quite as engaging as Bayless's book. <A> I almost forgot my other favorate cookbook of all time <S> The Moro Cookook , this is by the owners of Moro restaurant in london. <S> It has two follow ups <S> but I think the first is the best. <S> While it is not as deep as some of the books mentioned here. <S> It has a good variety of north african influenced cuisine, with some tastes that all but the most adventurous cooks will find new. <A> If techniques apply, Mastering the Grill by Andrew Schloss <S> ( Amazon Link ). <S> It's encyclopedic--covers all ingredients, preparations, timing, techniques, marinades, sauces, brines, rubs, cuisines, dishes, spices, trivia. <S> Plus it's very well organized and visually accesible. <A> Jamie Oliver books are pretty epic when it comes to Italian and English cooking . <S> Though i highly recommend that you watch the videos instead :)
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French Cuisine (other than JC): Patricia Wells - Bistro Cooking, At Home in Provence Paula Wolfert - The Cooking of Southwest France (if you love ducks, that's the book for you) The Italian equivalent is without doubt "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" by Marcella Hazan.
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How do you cook quinoa? How do you cook quinoa? I mean what equipment do you use (electric cooker, pressure cooker, stove top)? Do you add spices or vegetables to it while cooking it? <Q> Quinoa naturally contains a bitter compound on the outside of the seed. <S> Usually you have to rinse the quinoa to remove the bitterness but <S> most commercial quinoa seems to have already been rinsed. <S> So, I no longer rinse my quinoa. <S> If you have time, it's nice to heat a pan and add the quinoa and toast it a little (for a nutty flavor and fluffier texture), then add water and salt. <S> I typically bring the water to a boil (2 cups water to 1 cup quinoa plus 1/4 tsp salt), cover and reduce the heat to a simmer for 10-20 minutes (or until the little tails release). <S> I usually just do quinoa, water and sea salt <S> but you can add spices while cooking it if you want to enhance the flavor. <S> I would add vegetables afterwards. <S> Quinoa is so quick-cooking <S> I wouldn't see the need for a pressure cooker. <A> I use it in 3 different ways: "Raw": I put it as a crust for many of my breads, or deep fry coatings. <S> Boiled: I boil it like couscous and enjoy it that way as a rice substitute. <S> Flour substitute: I usually substitute it for flour (max of a 1/2 cup). <A> I generally cover it with water in a saucepan, boil it for around 10 minutes, drain it and then use it in the same way I'd serve rice. <S> I find it tastier than rice and like the texture. <S> I don't usually add anything, but I'm sure you could.
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Lately I've found that using a rice cooker is a no-fuss way to prepare quinoa.
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Does brining a chicken/turkey before roasting really make a difference? I've tried brining a chicken (brine = 1 cup salt to 16 cups water, over 10 hours) and couldn't taste a difference. <Q> Assuming you don't normally buy pre-brined / injected birds, you should notice a difference... <S> As roux notes , it should be noticeably moist and tender, especially the white meat. <S> A couple of things to try: Increase the time in the brine. <S> 10 hours is plenty for breasts or quarters, but a whole chicken may take longer. <S> A whole turkey will definitely take longer! <S> Check your salt. <S> A cup of small-crystal table salt per gallon of water should be fine, but if you're using flakes (kosher and some sea salt), you may be producing too weak a brine! <S> If in doubt, weight it out. <S> See also: <S> What are the basics and options of brining meat, for example chicken? <A> The difference should be in texture--the bird should be moister. <A> We almost always brine our chicken breasts. <S> 1/4 cup Salt and 1/4 cup sugar to about a quart of water. <S> Keeps the meat moist and makes it difficult to over cook. <A> I've tried brining turkey, and wasn't satisfied with the results. <S> The main problem is that the skin comes out too salty, no matter how well I rinse the bird. <S> Another major issue is that the gravy comes out pretty close to inedible. <S> Thirdly, you can't stuff a brined turkey. <S> So I've developed the following technique which gives me a moist breast, almost as good as a brined breast, but also allows for the traditional brown skin and succulent gravy. <S> The secret ingredient is ONIONS. <S> Slice several onions and line the bottom of the pan with them. <S> The idea is that the onions don't allow any of the skin to touch the metal of the pan, so that skin won't stick. <S> Also add about two or three tablespoons of water/wine/stock/ just to cover the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking until the juices start flowing. <S> Stuff <S> the bird if you are going to (Use a hot stuffing, it will help the bird cook faster, and you have less worries about undercooked stuffing). <S> Otherwise, just stuff a couple of onions and celery stalks in. <S> (Or stuff with mirepoix) <S> Assume a 3 hour cooking time, roast BREAST DOWN for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. <S> Basting as needed. <S> When the bird is about 120 degrees (Still needs about 40-45 degrees more). <S> Flip it over carefully, clean off any onions stuck to the skin, and bring the oven temperature up to 450. <S> Leave it about 20 minutes, until skin is brown and crispy, and take it out at about 140 degrees. <S> (if it's getting too warm, turn on the broiler to speed up crisping.) <S> Let stand out of any draughts for at least 20 minutes until the carry over takes it to 165 degrees. <S> Turkey has a huge thermal mass, and will continue cooking for at least 20 minutes. <S> This is also probably just the right amount of time to do the rest of the meal. <S> Cooking the bird upside down will result in a moist, succulent breast, without the oversalted skin and gravy that brining produces. <A> If you want to get the flavor of brining without all the work of trying it, you can buy kosher turkey. <S> Part of the preparation for kosher meat is to pack it in kashering salt (where the term "kosher salt" comes from) to draw out all the blood. <S> This means that the meat is essentially already brined. <S> The most common brand in the U.S. is Empire , and they have both fresh and frozen meat.
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I find that using buttermilk as a brining liquid, no salt, and whatever herbs you like produces an incredibly flavourful and moist bird.
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What is ground beef? I keep hearing about Ground Beef, but I'm from Australia and I've never actually seen it before. Is it the same thing as Minced Beef? Or different? Is Minced beef an acceptible substitute if they're not the same thing? <Q> Here's a picture of some raw ground beef from the Wikipedia ground beef article so that you can see for yourself. <A> Yes, it is the same as minced beef. <S> American versus English english. <A> I've been trying to do a little research on this this, and I know that "ground beef" and "minced beef" are functionally similar, but I'm trying to verify that they're actually <S> the same thing (as "mincing" and "grinding" are different processes.) <S> As they're produced from a different processes, it's possible that there might be some slight differences between the two (minor variations in texture). <S> And of course, there's coarse grind vs. fine grind, and occassionally you can get a really coarse 'chili grind'. <S> I've never lived in the UK, so I don't know how much variation there is in the size of minced beef. <S> Also, for good quality ground meat, you need to keep the fats very cold so they don't melt; it's possible that that minced meat doesn't have as much friction involved, making this less likely, but I can't be certain that's the case. <S> (can someone from the UK weigh in on this?) <S> And we can also throw in the term "hamburger meat" which is ground beef with extra fat trimmings, as well as "meatloaf mix" which is typically a blend of either beef and pork, or beef, pork and veal, and "mincemeat" which is a combination of meat, fruit and alcohol. <A> When i've seen ground meat on american cooking programmes,the meat is a lot finer than how UK mince meat ends up after browning in a pan. <S> Mince meat is slightly chunkier. <A> You can also get most specialty meat cutters to grind any cut of meat for you. <S> Most ground beef you buy in the supermarket will be made from lower quality cuts. <S> If you grind a higher quality cut you'll have the most amazing hamburgers ever. <S> I never have time to cook a whole chuck roast <S> so I end up having most of those larger cuts put into the ground beef when I purchase part of a cow. <S> Now that is a tasty burger. <A> My hubby <S> it's a chef <S> & he says that ground meat is similar to sausage meat. <S> In other words it is a kind of mince that is less chunky or finely ground. <S> If you massage your mince beef it turns into ground beef. <S> Hope that helps x <A> When you use the old fashioned mincing machine the Americans call it a grinder ,we call it a mincer ,so it must have been exactly the same in the olden days. <S> Different qualities of mince in England contain different amounts of fat .the best quality hardly any fat! <A> Just for reference, the official U.S. spec from 7 CFR § 319.15 (a) Chopped beef, ground beef. <S> “Chopped Beef” or “Ground Beef” shall consist of chopped fresh and/or frozen beef with or without seasoning and without the addition of beef fat as such, shall not contain more than 30 percent fat, and shall not contain added water, phosphates, binders, or extenders. <S> When beef cheek meat (trimmed beef cheeks) is used in the preparation of chopped or ground beef, the amount of such cheek meat shall be limited to 25 percent; and if in excess of natural proportions, its presence shall be declared on the label, in the ingredient statement required by §317.2 of this subchapter, if any, and otherwise contiguous to the name of the product. <S> I was pleased that the spec forbid " added water, phosphates, binders, or extenders " and toying around too much with the fat content. <S> Compare that to the gruesome <S> Fabricated Steak further down on the page.
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Basically it is beef that has been run through a meat grinder, great for making taco meat, hamburgers, and the like.
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Does searing meat lock in moisture? I just saw a claim to this end in another thread, and it is perpetuated about the internet and in many cookbooks. So: Is it true? Does making a nice crust ( maillard reaction ) on a roast seal in juice and yield a juicer end product? <Q> No. <S> As you noted, searing beef performs what's called the Maillard Process (or Reaction) which is a specific form of caramelization. <S> Nothing is "sealed" into the meat because the meat isn't sealed by the process. <S> It's still porous and will therefore leech moisture during cooking. <S> You can retain moisture in cooked beef by buying quality beef and not cooking it beyond medium-rare to medium. <A> Alton Brown did an experiment in an episode of Good Eats called "Myth Smashers". <S> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW9npAc2Sgw <S> However, if you are new to cooking and trying to measure doneness by the outward appearance you see at a steakhouse, then by the time the steak looks "done enough", it will probably bone dry inside. <S> On the other hand, there is usually a reason behind most myths. <S> It might be that the savory result of the crust combined the greater contrast between the texture of the crust and the center of the meat <S> makes your brain interpret it as juicier. <S> What matters most is what you enjoy, so cook one steak with searing and another without. <S> Do a blind taste test and see which one you actually like more. <A> Searing meat is beneficial for developing color (color = flavor in cooking) and for "jump-starting" the cooking process. <S> As noted in the previous answers the more browning and crusting (within reason) that you develop the more flavorful the meat will be. <S> A good experiment to compare the difference that browning has on the flavor of food is to saute a piece of chicken breast and poach another chicken breast. <S> The sauteed will have a richer "meatier" flavor than the poached one. <S> Searing also "jump-starts" the cooking process by quickly transferring the heat to the interior of the meat so that it will take less time when roasting in the oven. <S> If a large roast is simply seasoned and placed in a preheated oven the exterior of the meat has to first heat up before the heat is conveyed to the interior. <S> If another roast of the same size is first seared and then transferred to the oven at the same time the first one is put in, the second roast will reach its finished desired temperature quicker because the exterior has already been heated and the oven heat will continue to keep the exterior temp. <S> elevated to quicker convey to the center and cook. <A> Bill Buford in [HEAT][1] discussed this, and came up with the conclusion that we brown meat simply because it tastes better. <S> There are many fallacies that have crept into our kitchen culture because of careless cookbook authors. <S> For example, The Joy of Cooking is responsible for the American need to rinse off pasta before saucing. <S> (Something you should never! do). <S> As well, it has been shown that there is no harm in washing mushrooms, other than the hot fat/water splatter if you don't pat them dry. <S> [1]: http://www.amazon.com/Heat-Adventures-Pasta-Maker-Apprentice-Dante-Quoting/dp/1400034477/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279638666&sr=8-3 HEAT! <A> To eliminate the juice, the best thing to do is to let the meat rest for around 10 minutes after you take it off the heat. <S> If you start cutting the meat before it has rested, the juices will run no matter how much it was seared.
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If you are measuring the overall progress by internal temperature, then searing the outside will not result in juicier meat.
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Is there any reason to scald milk? I recently found an old family cream pie recipe that called for scalding the milk. Is there any reason to do this other than to kill bacteria? If not, isn't this an unnecessary step if using pasteurized milk? <Q> However, there are places where it is called for. <S> In particular, when making Béchamel (which is made by combining milk and roux), it is important to scald or at least warm the milk, <S> otherwise you can and most likely will end up with lumps. <S> The reason to actually scald as oppose to simply warming the milk tends to be one of cooking time; the hotter the milk is, the less time you have to spend whisking. <S> In general, any recipe that calls for milk and needs to thicken tends to benefit from scalding for the latter reason - it just takes less time to thicken that way. <A> Wikipedia has also other uses for Scalded milk besides killing bacteria: <S> Uses <S> Since these early recipes predate pasteurization, this was a necessary step. <S> Scalded milk is used in bread to make a more tender loaf. <S> Scalded milk is used in yogurt to make the proteins unfold. <S> The acid produced during the yogurt development causes less whey separation and a firmer yogurt. <S> Café au lait, baked milk, and ryazhenka also use scalded milk. <S> Scalded milk is used in many doughnut recipes. <A> There's different types of pasteurization -- you can heat it up a lot, for a short period time, or hold it at a lower temperature for longer. <S> Scalding the milk makes sure you denature the proteins, no matter the type of pasteurization used, which can affect how some breads rise, so in baking, if it calls for scalded milk, I still scald the milk. <S> In a cream pie recipe ... <S> I'm not so sure if it was just a process to pasteurize, or if it might've served some other purpose. <S> You could always try making two pies, one scalded, one not, and compare the differences. <S> (and, as I've said before -- I don't warm the milk for bechamel -- I just add the milk in small amounts at the beginning, stirring well after each addition, and I've never had problems with lumps ... <S> it's the way my great grandmother taught me, and it keeps me from washing another pot ... <S> I also use a wooden spatula, not a whisk, both <S> because that's how I was taught, I can get into the corners, and I really hate cleaning whisks) <A> The reason I now scald my milk when making pies, custard and quiches: (I hope I can express this correctly) <S> It isn't just about thickening the liquid or a jump start. <S> I now scald my milk 20 to 30 minutes at 185 degrees F. <S> I use a candy thermometer gently stirring all the while. <S> This scalding process has made all the difference in my pies, custard and quiches. <S> Something molecularly changes and binds... the proteins... <S> I believe. <S> It adds strength and stretchiness to the milk. <S> Now I never have puddles of liquid in the bottom or on the top of my pies, custard and quiches. <S> It isn't about evaporation or thickening. <S> It is about changing its nature.
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Scalded milk is called for in the original recipes for béchamel sauce, to prevent the sauce from thickening excessively. If you've found a very old recipe that calls for scalding for food safety reasons, then yes, it is probably unnecessary.
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How to prepare pie dough in bulk at home? Common knowledge dictates keeping the fats cool and the tools chilled. But when you are preparing more than 8X quantity, this poses some difficulties, or at least some stress. The ambient air, the size of home blenders and food processors--it’s all a mess. I worked out an answer a week ago, so I'm posting it. But I would love to see a better answer. <Q> Keep the fats as cold as possible before you start. <S> Done right, it will more than compensate for the warmth of hands, blender/processor parts, and ambient temperature. <S> Having somewhat chilled your choice of fats, separate them into small, 1 inch sized pieces, working with copious flour to keep them from sticking to one another. <S> Place this in the freezer overnight. <S> This allows the blade to chew up even near-frozen bits. <S> I haven’t noticed much degradation with this method, though I wouldn’t the leave fats in for much longer than that. <S> Mix your dry ingredients together. <S> Put the thoroughly chilled fats in a blender/mixer, leaving some room. <S> Then, using only as much dry ingredients as necessary, pulse the fats until you have pearls slightly smaller than fish gravel. <S> This works especially good for blenders where the ingredients tend to get stuck at the bottom. <S> If you get the chance, stow the blended stuff in the freezer while you work with the next batch. <S> Once you have completed the blending en masse , you can add the rest of the dry ingredients. <S> You should have a uniform texture to the whole mixture. <S> Add water until the dough comes together with limited kneading. <S> Wrap and return to fridge as soon as possible. <A> I always mix pie dough by hand. <S> And... I don't chill anything until half-way through the process. <S> Sacrilege, I know. <S> I aim for about three good-sized crusts per batch, mixing flour, salt, and half the lard until well combined. <S> Then I throw in the rest of the lard, mix roughly, and into the fridge or freezer <S> it goes (which one depends on how much time I need to work on fillings or whatever), along with the water and vodka mix for later hydration. <S> The next batch goes in when the first one comes out, to chill while I quickly work in the now-firm lard, add the cold liquid, mix briefly and return to the fridge (always the fridge) to let it rest and hydrate. <S> So on and so forth... <S> Even if I have someone helping me, there's only so much dough that can be rolled (much less baked) at any given time, so I don't find this process terribly annoying, especially if I'm par-baking the crusts or using a filling that can be prepared in parallel with the dough. <S> Once going, there's a new batch of dough ready every 20 minutes or so, which usually means I have several chilling while waiting to go in the oven. <A> Also sausage makers might grind into a bowl in an icebath; not sure how practical these methods are for pastry, but it can't hurt to know them, right?
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A technique in sausage making, where the fat also has to be kept really cold, is to freeze the mixer parts for at least an hour before mixing. Adam and roux nailed it in their comments above , you absolutely want to work in batches: I've never gone over four crusts in one batch without finding the results a bit too tough from over-mixing.
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Tips for cooking a whole lamb in a fire pit? A while ago we tried to cook a whole lamb in a fire pit. Basically we dug a pit about 2-2.5 feet deep, lined it with rocks to try and retain the heat, made a large fire in it, and started to drink. Then when the fire had died down a bit we lined the fire with some damp straw, put in the hessian wrapped lamb, put more damp straw on top then covered the whole thing with earth and left for 24 hours. When we dug it up, the lamb was done beautifully on the fire side, but raw on the top. What might we have done wrong, apart from getting drunk whilst the fire was burning? Has anyone done this before and what are the things that we should bear in mind if we do it again? <Q> Don't really know what sort of rocks, but I've been involved in sessions that use bricks. <S> Point is that you needs some way to "envelope" the heat around the thing you are cooking so what we did was put the rocks into the fire to heat them up. <S> Carefully remove the rocks before putting the lamb in and then put the hot rocks on top of the hessian covered meat before putting the dirt back on top. <S> Let it sit for a while <S> and you should get a much more <S> even result <A> The best way to cook a Lamb (leg) in a Pit: <S> We do this on hunting trips, its the best thing you can have when you are tired, beat and hungry as hell. <S> Firstly use a lamb leg (or two, but lay them flat in the ground. <S> the whole lamb is very complex. <S> requires at least 12 hours of cooking with a wood stack of 20 to 25kgLamb leg Technique: <S> dig up a pit in ground 1 foot. <S> marinate the lamb leg (at least 2 to 3 hours)(use <S> any recipe for marination) <S> Cover it with think layer of dough (like the pizzas dough, if you cannot do this step than skip it) <S> Cover the dough with aluminium foil (triple if no dough) <S> Plan the lamb leg in the pit cover about 8 to 10 inches <S> only Place the wood on top, stack about 5 to 6 kg of wood. <S> allow 5 hours of cooking time.(if the meat is not done for any odd reason that re foil it and cook it on the coal from the wood) <S> And when its done the cooked dough and the meat is magical. <S> specially when its in the middle of no where. <S> I hope this helps: <A> I've always done "Fire on both bottom and top" and came out with a lamb that falls apart every time. <S> But make only a gentle fire on top after the initial burial. <S> It also depends on how well you cover your meat with soil and which soil your pit is in. <A> Try forming some sort of wire cage with some reinforcing mesh to place over the rocks (under the meat) as well as over the meat (leaving a bit of a gap between the top mesh and the meat and not touching the meat) that will allow the heat from the rocks underneath to circulate around all of the meat. <S> Line the bottom of the cage with banana palm leaves, cabbage leaves or tinfoil as a last resort. <S> Place the meat in the cage/tray, cover the meat with some damp cheesecloth followed by some wet hessian sacks over the mesh cage. <S> Cover that with soil over the top and around the edges to seal the heat in. <S> That should ensure a nice even cook of the meat. <S> Chuck in (with the meat but not in contact with it) <S> a muslin bag of frozen peas and a separate bag of spuds & that's dinner :-) <S> Should take about three hours but depends on how hot the rocks are.
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In the past when I've cooked in the ground I put rocks into the fire.
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How do you efficiently clean a leek? I've often found dirt deep within a leek, under several layers. Going through it all can be a very tiresome process. Is there any trick you can use to clean a leek, without cutting it up and ruining it's natural shape? <Q> Trim the tops and discard the out leaves. <S> Then cut from 2 or 3 inches above the root to the top, turn 180 degrees and cut again (they should look like the picture). <S> You can then get the water down inside and get all the dirt out. <A> Most dishes require a chopped leek in any case, but for an uncut leek you will have to separate by hand and wash each leaf separately. <S> If you want the leek in an untouched form I think you're out of luck. <S> You could try reassembling it after separating and washing :) <S> Depending on the form you want your leaves in there are different ways. <S> If you want them in strips you just cut lengthwise from above the root - keep the root on for now. <S> Then you can rinse the leaves as they should be easy to separate. <S> After rinsing remove the root. <S> For 'chopped' leaves cut the leek lengthwise and chop crosswise, removing the root in the process. <S> The leaves will separate, and you can then wash the dirt from them in a colander. <S> Skipping the lengthwise cut will usually make the leaves stay together, trapping the grit you want to get at. <S> If you want to make doubly sure, you could first place the cut leeks in a bowl and swirl it around. <S> The dirt will separate to the bottom. <S> You can then take out the leeks and finish rinsing in the colander. <S> Don't pour the bowl into the colander as this just pours the grit over the leaves. <A> Not that I'm aware of. <A> The tips I've always used are to always wash them root end up under running water, and then to rinse them in a colander again, under running water, once you've chopped them.
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My Mum has spent decades cleaning leeks by slicing the bottom of them to the core and working the layers under the tap to get the water in there and wash the dirt out, and I've never been able to figure out a better alternative which doesn't involve chopping several inches off the bottom of the thing and throwing it on the compost heap.
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Is there a difference between green and spring onions? I've seen some recipes call for green onions but always use spring onions? Is there a difference between them? Is there a better substitute? <Q> It's a regional preference on what they're called. <S> When you're buying seeds, they're also called "bunching onions", and I grew up calling them "scallions", although I think that scallion specifically don't have a bulb yet formed, while green/spring onions might. <S> update <S> : A little research suggests that "spring onion" is the preferred term in the UK, AU and Canada, "green onion" in the US south, and "scallion" in the US northeast, <S> however I'm not sure what the exact boundries are as in the US mid-atlantic <S> , I'll see both "green onions" and "scallions" for sale, with "green onions" being larger (scallions with no bulb, maybe 12"/30cm long, while green onions might have a 2"/5cm bulb, and have over 24"/60cm of green top). <S> It's possible that "green onion" might be a polysemous term that varies by region. <A> <A> Spring onions have a large bulb at the base. <S> The bulb is mild in flavor and the flavor in the stalk is more intense. <S> Green onions have a much smaller white end. <S> The stalk of the green onion is milder than the bulb/end.
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Southeast US: Scallions and green onions are basically the same thing, no bulb; spring onions have a bulb.
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Cup measurements: shake or scrape? When you are measuring out your flour, sugar, etc with the measuring cups, is it better to scoop and then shake the cup to get a leveled cup, or scoop and then use a knife to scrape off the excess. I have been using the first method but will it make a difference? <Q> I suggest to measure by weight as you'll never go wrong. <S> Otherwise, I use your second method which is to scoop then use a knifed to rid of excess flour. <S> Flour is so fluffy and needs to be compacted (somewhat) to get a true cup, therefore measuring by weight always guarantees the same amount of flour. <A> The real answer is that it depends on the measurement methodology used by the person who wrote the recipe. <S> I have one book that actually calls for measuring by scooping with the measuring cup and scraping it with the side of the bag, which is how the average person tends to measure flour, and results in about 30% more flour by weight per cup. <S> King Arthur flour (and most other recipe sources) use the "sprinkle the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon and then level with a knife" which most closely simulates measuring sifted flour. <S> This method will generally be appropriate when using professional recipes, unless the cookbook calls for another method. <S> These recipes generally do <S> not want compacted flour. <S> If you are compacting your flour you are almost certain to be using too much. <S> Many instructional style cookbooks will lay out their measuring methodology at the beginning of the baking section (or the beginning of the book if it is a baking book). <S> But since every methodology and every individual's use of that methodology comes out with a different weight per cup, working by weight really is your best bet. <A> For bread recipes, measuring by weight is the only way to go. <S> (And yes that means that almost all bread recipes printed need to be converted by guesswork, because you have no 100% certain way to know what the author really experienced.) <S> "Pro" bread bakers express recipes with formulas using percentages based on the weight of the flour. <S> The flour weight is always 100% implicitly, and then other ingredients are smaller percentages of that (like 0.8% instant yeast, 1.5% salt, 60% water). <A> Michael Ruhlman's Ratio is a good reference for how the proportions should work. <A> I was taught to sift then measure, and to scrape the excess off with a knife. <S> Frankly, I'll measure then sift. <S> The only exception is Brown Sugar, which is usually lightly compacted. <A> As others have said, you're essentially screwed if you're using volume to measure flour. <S> For reference: a cup of flour is between four and five oz (up to a 25% swing, depending on measurement and flour type). <S> A sifted cup of flour is usually quite close to 4 oz; this is the major reason that you are told to sift flour when baking -- for precision. <S> Of course, weight is also not perfect, since humidity can affect the weight. <S> But, it's FAR more consistent than volume measurements. <S> I usually trial convert a recipe at something like 4.5 oz per cup and adjust from there.
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Weight is the preferred measurement method for baking as the ratios have to be rather precise and volume is affected by settling, humidity, and storage methods.
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Substituting butter for oil: Does it matter for baked goods? When a recipe (like for muffins) calls for vegetable oil, does it matter if I substitute the oil for butter because I want that buttery taste in the muffins? Do I need to compensate for the difference by adding/subtracting the amount of butter added? <Q> Butter is at most 82% oil and the rest is water. <S> So, you're going to need to add more butter for the same amount of oil. <S> Besides, you need to adjust the liquid content accordingly since you are going to have more water than you planned. <S> Just make sure they are of same state (i.e. melted butter instead of vegetable oil or vice versa) <A> If you're making something like muffins, then in my experience the water content is a non-issue. <S> Yes, there's some water. <S> But muffin batter has such a broad range of tolerance that as long as you're basically familiar with the target consistency it'll be fine. <S> That said, the amount of oil or butter that goes into a batch of muffins is not really enough to impart much butter flavor. <A> You'd be better off using clarified butter than melted butter, as butter is about 15% water, and could affect the texture if not compensated for properly. <A> If I am substituting butter for oil, I like to do a mixture of 1/2 butter and half shortening, this allows the richness of the butter as well as keeping the consistency of the recipe. <S> I also add clear butter extract (flavoring) to the recipe. <S> I use about 1/2 tsp butter extract per 1/2c of shortening and cream the butter/shortening mixture with eggs, sugar and vanilla first before I add any other ingredients. <S> I also substitute shortening for butter sometimes, only I also add 1tbs of water per 1/2c shortening along with the extract. <S> Hope this helps! <A> two options spring to mind:1) consider either adding butter flavoring (I have only seen the imitation version int eh extract flavoring options at the stores) <S> 2) or just adding a little butter to the batter (substituting part or even just throwing in the leftovers of a stick)
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If you are going to use the same amount of oil, then it will not make any difference other than the taste.
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Is there a secret to flavouring with herbs I am a strictly amateur cook. Most of my output is OK, certainly edible, but I seem to lack the ability to impart flavour through herbs. I can throw in an inordinate amount, but still no flavour (not even an overpowering one). Yet, I have a simple recipe for a vegetable stew in which the listed seasoning mix works beautifully. Do you have a guide for the best way to deal with herbs ? <Q> If you're adding inordinate amounts of herbs with no effect, then that sounds to me like a problem with the herbs themselves. <S> If you're using dried herbs, they could just be too old. <S> To me, dried basil and oregano and marjoram just never taste like much. <S> Fresh, however, they're quite strong. <S> Tarragon, chervil, and dill, on the other hand, do "work" in dried form, and in fact you have to be careful with tarragon. <S> I guess I'd put rosemary in that category too but <S> thanks to some out-of-control plants I've got more fresh rosemary than I could ever possibly use cooking for an army. <A> For tender herbs, keep them fresh, use them at the last minute and use plenty of them. <S> For the woodier herbs like Rosemary, you can use them at the start of the cooking process but you will probably need to be more restrained with the quantities. <A> For non-leafy herbs, you might try toasting them a little first. <S> Some herbs (looking at you paprika), don't taste like anything if they're not toasted a little first. <A> as mentioned if theyre old, then they wont have much flavor. <S> as hard as it seems throw them out every so many months. <S> i find the best technique in cooking for getting the most out of dried herbs is to use them at the start. <S> since almost everything i cook begins with a base of heating olive oil, then adding fresh [minced/diced/grated/pasted] garlic, and then adding 1/2-1 onion i typically add dried herbs at the point where the onion is half softened. <S> this keeps the scent there <S> so i can continue to add them as needed to balance out their lack of flavor. <S> of course this doesnt work with every recipe but it will help for many. <S> more important than that, when you add dried herbs crush them in your hands as you are doing so. <A> Hence I tend to use them in sauces and casseroles based on something like tomatoes, or things that have water in them anyway, like a casserole. <S> I also find that a little acid, lemon juice or balsamic are my favourites, helps bring out the herbs' flavour. <S> On the other hand, spices (ground powders of seeds and roots and such, like paprika or nutmeg or cumin) release flavour best into fat. <S> Therefore, when I'm making a tomato sauce for my pasta, I add the nutmeg to the sauteeing onions at the start. <S> I only add the oregano near the end, after the tomatoes are in and releasing their juice. <A> The best way I'd say to learn with herbs is to isolate them - only use one at a time to get an idea of the different notes that they can add. <S> Also try to add them at different points. <S> For example, parsley is only added at the end where rosemary tends to work well added near the end. <S> Similarly some herbs work better when boiled with other ingredients where others are more suitable for frying. <S> Trial and error is the best way to really get a handle on how to add them properly. <S> Also, on the whole dried herbs are a waste of time with a few exceptions. <S> Dried oregano or tarragon are OK for example - although different in taste to the fresh ones. <S> Use fresh ones if you can ideally.
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I have generally found that herbs (i.e. dried bits of leaves, such as oregano or thyme) impart their flavour best into a water-based solution.
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How to caramelise onions? Often recipes ask for caramelised onions. What are some good techniques for cooking them this way, as it seems to take a while, and often even if they are on a low heat they can brown a bit too much if they are not stirred continually. <Q> You can add some broth and simmer them down (as opposed to just cooking them in oil) but make sure you add little enough that it will all evaporate... <S> Don't want to be pouring off flavor. <A> In addition to what everyone else has said, you may want to add some salt as the onions caramelize. <S> The salt will help draw out the sugars, and allow them to caramelize more. <S> Some techniques I've seen also suggest a little sugar to help the caramelizing process... <S> but personally I think that's cheating. <S> That's up to you though. <A> I think you've answered your own question. <S> Low & slow, with constant stiring. <S> To hot & fast will burn the sugars you are attempting to bring out of the onion. <S> I don't believe there are alternatives to doing this. <S> But maybe someone will correct me. <A> In a very low effort way you can do it with a crock pot . <S> Put in 2-4oz of butter depening on crock pot size and as many onions as the crock pot will hold. <S> Set it on low. <S> Come back 8 hrs later. <A> I generally use butter, EarthBalance, or extra virgin olive oil, and lots of time. <S> If I'm in a rush I will sometimes turn the heat up a little, but the that nearly always causes an inconsistent or lower quality result. <S> Also I find it helpful to separate them onions early in the process. <S> Generally we slice them into rings before cooking. <S> I separate the disks as I place them in the pan. <S> I've found that while this increases the space they require for cooking, it greatly improves the quality of the results (again supports even cooking). <A> Take a warm pan, add oil, add onions. <S> The higher the temperature of the pan, to about medium levels, the more frequently the onions need to be stirred in order to not burn them. <S> Lower temperatures take longer to produce the caramelization but mostly give a more uniform result, as one can keep the onions on the heat longer. <S> You'll need to find out what heat works best for you by experimenting a bit. <S> Also different oils make for different flavors, I prefer x virgin olive oil.
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Low and slow is the only way to go, I'm afraid.
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Can I freeze caramelised onions? Caramelised onions seem easier to make in large batches, so could I make a big batch then freeze them in say, ice cube trays, for later use? Or would this have a detrimental effect on them? <Q> I would say it depends. <S> I find once you freeze an item <S> the flavor/texture/propeties of the item is changed (for better or for worse) <S> the next time you goto use it. <S> If your using caramelized onions in a soup, or stew, something where flavors blend together for a longer period of time, then yes go ahead. <S> however if your using the caramelized onions on top of a steak or something similar. <S> Then my answer would be no. <A> They will keep reasonably well if you put them in a clean jar and cover in oil. <A> I've never done this myself, but my guess is that the primary negative effect is that they may become mushy; being as they're mushy already, I'm pretty sure you can go right ahead. <A> I agree with Tree77. <S> Depends on what you plan on using them for. <S> so the onions are almost liquefied by the end anyway. <S> I would say if you plan to try this as a garnish on something like meat, you should get a better then usual vacuum seal on them before freezing and even then it might not work out.
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I've successfully frozen them and used them in risotto, but risotto simmers for quite some time
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Should I roast meat/bones before making stock out of it? Usually when making a chicken stock I just boil up some chicken wings/legs with some veggies. The other day when cooking with my brother he added roasted lamb bones to the strained chicken stock when making a lamb jus. This got me thinking why I don't roast the wings/legs when making a chicken stock, and why he didn't just add raw bones to the chicken stock. So should I roast my chicken bones before boiling them up for stock? And can I add lamb bones to my stock raw? <Q> The roast flavor may or may not be desired, it depends on your preferences. <S> This is from the article I've posted below: "Roasting caramelizes them, heightening sweetness and deepening flavor. <S> But any blackening will make meat stock bitter. ' <S> You don't want that burned bone thing,' cautions Keller. <S> " <S> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/31/FD0JSAGEJ.DTL <A> For chicken stock, you probably want to roast the bones, and add a little tomato paste as well. <S> I say this assuming that you want to use the chicken stock as the general stock in your kitchen, possibly reducing some of it to demi-glace state, etc. <S> If you know you will want some very light stock, say, for a soup that absolutely requires light clear broth, or ... <S> I'm blanking on other reasons ... <S> then don't roast the chicken bones. <S> If, on the other hand, you are already making veal stock for your kitchen (which by the way is nice, roasted and unroasted), then I would suggest you go light, as there's no situation that I can think of in which dark veal stock is worse than dark chicken stock. <A> While roasting bones does affect the flavor it will also darken the stock as well. <S> Roasting bones is usually done with beef and veal. <S> Usually when chicken bones are roasted it is to make a brown chicken stock.
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Roasting the bones first will add a deeper flavor.
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How should I store a cut bell pepper? Recently I'm finding that I'm ending up using only part of a bell pepper for a meal, and so wish to store the rest for later. So how should I best store half-used bell peppers so that they stay as fresh as possible? <Q> Put in a ziplock bag with a piece of paper towel to absorb moisture, and stick in the fridge. <S> Also applies to lettuce. <A> Bell peppers suffer from cold storage stress: their respiration rate goes up when they are stored in a cold place, which makes them spoil faster. <S> One trick to get around this is to dip them in warm water (130°F / 55°C) for a few seconds (12 on average), dry them, and store in the warmer parts of the refrigerator wrapped in a paper towel and in a ziploc as @Tim Gilbert explained. <A> Due to general time constraints after work right now, I actually purchase all my peppers in bulk and freeze them. <S> I take a Saturday or Sunday and cut them all into a combination of strips and dices, freeze them on baking sheets in our second freezer (my home version of IQF), and then store them in ziploc bags in the kitchen freezer for easy use. <S> When a recipe calls for any kind of peppers, onions, or garlic, I just reach into the freezer and grab a handful. <S> Because they're frozen individually <S> they don't stick together, so they're easy to portion, and since I generally sautee them anyway, they defrost extremely quickly in the pan (or in a casserole as it bakes). <S> My wife prefers the texture of frozen-then-cooked onions to fresh-cut onions; I personally don't have a preference, both are just fine to me. <A> I cut the pepper along it's "seams" and around the "shoulder," discarding the center with the seeds. <S> Then I trim the membrane from each section and discard. <S> I stack the sections, skin side down, in a large enough plastic container (I use a clean Cool Whip container.) <S> to hold them without hitting the lid. <S> I use chopped green pepper in my salads and the pepper has lasted two weeks or more. <A> Never had any problems with it staying fresh, but I do go through peppers pretty quickly <S> (i.e. once cut it is in the fridge at most two days). <A> I've got some Tupperware Fridgesmart <S> and I think they're great. <S> The peppers & lettuce last so long and keep so well. <S> Disclaimer I don't work for or receive any commissions from Tupperware (though my cousin is a rep)
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I only cut what I need keeping the center with the leftover parts and put it in a plastic container like a sour cream container in the fridge.
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How should I use extra summer squash? My CSA delivers me a lot of summer squash, more than I can actually find the time to cook in a week. Can I freeze the remainder in some way? Is there a quick recipe I should be making that stores well? I'm not thinking primarily of meals here -- if I had the time to cook dinners more regularly I wouldn't be overwhelmed -- but of things I can store for a while. <Q> I feel your pain. <S> If only I liked summer squash better... <S> Later, thaw and use with recipes that don't require ultra-crisp squash. <A> I blanch it, run it under cold water or put into ice water to stop any further cooking. <S> Then I pat dry and store individual portions in the freezer. <S> I love to make fritters with them and this makes it easy to do, not to mention it is a great way to save the wonderful flavors of summer squash. <S> Hope <S> this is helpful. <S> SORRY <S> , I see somebody else already answered. <S> Still, now you know at least two of us agree that squash can be frozen. :-) <A> If you have recipes that take shredded squash (or zucchini while you're at it), you can shred the squash and then place it in a freezer bag and then into the freezer. <S> This works really well for zucchini <S> that's bound for bread, but squash for some soups, bread, or similar uses would work as well. <A> Have you tried Squash/ <S> Pumpkin Ravioli?The filling is very easy to make (Squash, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon, Cream)and freezes very well. <A> I slice it and cook 10 min in a little olive oil. <S> Sometimes I add peppers,onions,eggplant,or tomatoes. <S> Freeze in bags and pop into recipes such as sauces,soups, or stews. <S> The squash actually has a bit of crunch to it doing it this way. <A> I just made refrigerator pickles out of a couple. <S> Treat it just like you do cucumbers.
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You definitely can freeze squash -- thick slice it, blanch it in salty water briefly until almost tender, transfer to an ice bath until it's chilled, bag it, and put in the freezer.
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Should I let stock cool with the bones/veg still in it? I've just made some stock and its bed time now. Do I need to strain my stock before I go to bed, or can I leave it overnight with all the stuff in it and strain it in the morning? Is one preferable to the other? Why? <Q> You need to strain the stock and cool it until it's 40 degrees F. or below before you refrigerate it. <S> The temperature danger zone is between 40 and 140 degrees. <S> This is the range that is prime for the growth of bacteria. <S> Food safety guidelines require that it cool to 70 degrees or below within 2 hours and then below 40 degrees within another 4 hours time. <S> Total maximimum time that it should take to get to 40 degrees is 6 hours. <S> Even if you get it cooled down now with all of the vegetbles and bones in it, the problem will be that you have to heat it back up in the morning to strain it as it's going to gelatinze overnight (provided it's been cooked long enough to extract a good amount of gelatin - usually about 4-6 hours for a good chicken stock and 12-16 hours for veal/beef stock). <S> When it's reheated you're running the risk that the carrots and other vegetables will break up into smaller bits and end up clouding the stock. <S> Strain it and cool it down tonight before putting in the refrigerator. <S> To cool quickly, either divide amongst several pans (greater surface area is better than depth as it will dispel heat quicker) or if you don't have a BIG pot of stock, strain it and put it in an ice bath (water and ice cubes) in your plugged kitchen sink. <S> If you make stock a lot, you can save plastic milk jugs and fill them 3/4 with water and keep in the freezer. <S> After straining the stock you can place one of those inside the pot of stock to also help cool it from the inside out. <S> In the morning you can then skim the layer of congealed fat from the top. <S> If it's chicken stock, save the fat for frying potatoes with extra flavor! <A> The main concern with popping a hot pot of freshly made stock - strained or not - in the fridge is that it'll heat up other items, promoting bacterial growth. <A> Just leave the stock turned on, verry very low, all night. <S> Do it all the time, then cool it in an open window in the morning and strain it. <S> If your stove top won't turn down enough, put it in the oven set at 90 C / 190 F. <A> In addition to the other posts about bacteria growth, you would want to strain the stock because the vegetables would continue to breakdown which would make your stock cloudy. <S> Leaving certain things in there too long could have a negative effect on flavor as well. <A> I wouldn't suggest leaving a meat stock overnight at room temperature for all the reasons Darin noted in his response. <S> If it's just veggie stock, particularly if I was planning to can it, I might let it sit and reheat boil it the next day before placing in canning jars; veggie stock obviously doesn't have the same concerns about gelatin as meat and you can shorten your initial cooking if you're worried about clouding. <S> With meat stock you're asking for trouble.
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Leaving it to cool overnight on the stove is going to create a bacteria cesspool.
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Are the leftovers from making stock good for anything? Having made stock and strained it, can the meat and vegetables boiled up in the stock be used for anything, or should they go in the bin? <Q> The veggies aren't very palatable after such a long simmering (unless you like celery paste, I guess), but if you've thrown a whole chicken in the resulting meat is wonderfully tender and flavorful. <A> I recently made vegetable broth and used the leftovers as the base for a creamy potato soup: <S> I threw out onion skins and bay leaves, but kept the rest and added an equal weight of potatoes, water to cover, boiled and seasoned it, blended, and simmered with cream. <S> Simple, efficient. <A> I would dump them, with the caveat that some chefs reserve bones for making a second, lighter stock. <S> I've only heard of this being done with Veal, so your mileage may vary. <S> This offends me on many levels, but I'll just say that it probably makes for bad chicken salad, and also almost certainly makes for cloudy stock. <A> I actually Googled this myself because I was wondering about the same thing. <S> Someone else also suggested pureeing the veggies and adding them to spaghetti sauce. <S> http://vegetarian.betterrecipes.com/vegetable-puree-leftover-vegetables-after-making-vegetable-stock.html <A> If there's any flavor left in chicken meat on the bone, or much collagen left in the bones after stock making, I'd say it hasn't simmered long enough. <S> The stock should be both flavorful and unctuous, which means the meat will be flavorless and the bones brittle. <S> Overnight is great for this, at a very low temperature - but with aromatics added later. <S> If you boil your stock, the tiny orifices in the bones from where collagen leaches will be sealed off, and the result will be much thinner than it could otherwise be. <A> I pureed all the left over vegetables, added garlic powder, Adobe seasoning, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. <S> Oh, and a little powdered chicken bullion. <S> Put in bowl and topped with dollop of sour cream. <S> Yummy!
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I've also heard of people combining stock and chicken salad making by throwing a whole chicken in to the stock pot, then using the white meat for salad.
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How can I avoid my knife from "dragging" across my unbaked bread when making slashes to let steam escape while baking? My slashes seem to be OK (not great) before I put the bread in the oven but never really open up during baking. I'm thinking the slashes aren't deep enough but since I use a no knead method, I'm reluctant to press any harder. Is there a trick to help the knife move more easily? I use a serrated knife. <Q> Professional bakers use straight razors. <S> Chances are they are sharper than your knife, and easier to keep that way (or cheaper to replace, at least). <S> Also: wet the blade before making slashes. <S> This helps lubricate the blade as it cuts, and keeps the cut bread from sticking. <A> I noticed a much bigger expansion and fluffier loaves when I switched to slashing before or during the last rise instead of right before baking. <A> I use disposable carpet cutter blades, very sharp, longer and thinner than utility knife blades, and one side lasts me a whole season (don't do sourdough in the hot weather). <S> And I don't get them wet, rather I dip the cutting edge in fresh flour before each cut....and don't slice the loaf too quickly. <A> You're right in hesitating to put pressure on an unbaked loaf, but there isn't really a trick to the slits. <S> If your knife isn't cutting it (haha!) get a sharper knife. <A> Try a very sharp non-serrated knife. <A> I've made these mistakes myself, so I will air them openly. <S> If the dough is too well hydrated then the blade will stick no matter what. <S> If the dough is too well proofed, then the loaf will fall no matter how good your scoring technique. <S> Using a cloth or permeable media to cover instead of cling wrap will yield much better results.
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Use a knife that has a straight blade, is thin, extremely sharp, and lubricated slightly. As far as drag, it can come from a dull edge, a serrated edge, a dry blade, and a large surface area in contact with the bread. While knife type and wetting can help, they will not correct technical errors in baking. In my experience (assuming your hydration level is correct), the final proofing should be done in relatively lower humidity than previous proofings to allow a skin to form.
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What is a suitable Low carb rice alternative? For the first time since i started dieting, I'm making a stir fry dish for dinner. Usually, I include white rice with the finished product to absorb some of the sauce and provide that fluffy texture. What is a low carb, or even carb free, alternative I can use that provide a similar texture and absorbent quality? <Q> Quinoa. <S> I only recently discovered it as part of doing P90X, and man, it's so, so delicious. <S> It's kind of a nutty flavour that goes really well with sauces. <S> It's also pretty high in protein, which is good. <S> Note that this isn't "no-carb", though it is lower in carbs than rice. <S> It's important that you wash quinoa before you prepare it. <S> Otherwise, it's prepared in a very similar way, 2-1 water-to-quinoa, boiled and simmered. <A> Cauliflower rice works. <S> There are lots of variations, but basically you grate cauliflower and boil it in lightly salted water for 1-2 minutes. <S> Add some butter. <S> Mine looks something like this: Cauliflower rice with chicken <A> I actually recommend whole grain rice as a substitute for white rice. <S> First, a stir-fry is just weird without rice. <S> Second, whole grain rice tastes and acts almost exactly the same. <S> However, the carb/fibre ratio is adjusted quite well in your favour, and you get all that nice vitamin B-1 as well. <S> I dare say, <S> rice is never the enemy in a diet. <S> How many fat Chinese people have you seen? <A> Whole oats aren't the most convenient of foods, two cycles of a rice cooker on the brown rice setting, but they more than make up for the effort with flavor, versatility and healthfulness.
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Whole oat groats make a good replacement for rice when something with more fiber and a lower glycemic index is wanted.
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What are other uses for a pizza stone? I recently acquired a pizza stone to use for baking bread. Other than pizza and bread, are there other uses for it in the kitchen? <Q> A pizza stone can help an older or cheaper oven hold temperature as it will retain heat because of its mass, releasing it when the thermostat turns off the coil and reducing the variability in oven temperature. <S> So, keep your pizza stone in the oven. <A> Baking bread, pita, crusty French, crusty Italian, etc. <S> Was in a wonderful restaurant in Shanghai where they brought out very hot stones on wooden trays with holders for food on the side which (in my instance) held the largest shrimp I've ever seen and a large assortment of vegetables. <S> We cooked the food on the hot stone and had a great old time, what fun! <S> Ended up with only minor burns:) <S> Let your mind wander...not too far though; soup, I'm pretty sure, wouldn't work. <A> I use mine as a heat shield in my grill to create indirect heat for slow smoked BBQ. <S> I also use it to cook pizza on my grill, but that's not really a different use. <A> Ours is good for cookies. <A>
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There are probably a lot of other uses depending on how porous the stone is; if it is granite or something like that, use it for broiling steak after the stone is hot; wouldn't have to flip the steak. Heston Blumenthal took all of the racks out of his oven and placed the stone in vertically against the side of the oven and used it as a makeshift tandoor oven to cook naan bread in it.
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Does it matter what kind of sugar is used in baking? The baking recipes I use specify many kinds of sugar e.g. caster, raw, white, soft etc. Generally, I always just use raw sugar, mainly for convenience. Does it really make a difference? <Q> Yes! <S> Sugar is often used as a "wet" ingredient in baking. <S> That means it needs to be dissolved in the water in order to prevent too much gluten from being produced (making the result fluffy/flaky, and not chewy). <S> Too small and your cake will be rubber; too large and your biscuit will fall apart. <S> Also, if you're using the sugar for creaming (with fat), you generally need to use a coarser sugar. <S> Superfine sugar will dissolve too quickly and won't allow enough air to be incorporated. <S> Confectioner's sugar is good for creaming but has completely different properties from crystal sugar - it's been "processed" and has cornstarch added, so you can't just substitute in equal quantities. <S> Of course, it goes without saying that the taste is different as well. <S> But even more important than the taste are the solubility characteristics which, as explained above, will have noticeable effects on other parts of the recipe. <S> It does depend what you're baking; if the sugar is being used purely for flavouring, then you can use whatever sugar you like. <S> Much of the time in baking though, sugar is used for more than just sweetening, and it's important to be aware of that. <S> If the sugar is being creamed or dissolved, don't substitute unless you're sure you know what you're doing. <A> There's also a difference between brown and white sugar even though they have roughly the same texture/consistency. <S> Cookies will be chewier if you use more brown sugar. <A> Yes, very much so. <S> There are many types sugar: icing/confectioners sugar, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, caster/super fine sugar,Demerara sugar, granulated sugar to name just a few. <S> Each of these (with the exception of brown sugars and Demerara) can be also found in a 'raw' form (as opposed to 'white') <S> where the molasses (a dark, treacle-like by-product of sugar production) is added back into the sugar resulting in a darker sugar. <S> These raw sugars can be substituted into any baking product specifying for white sugars (as can white sugar visor-versa) resulting in products with a more pronounced 'caramel' flavour. <S> The only thing to note is that raw sugars in a meringue results in a softer meringue. <S> Icing sugar is generally only used in frostings and icings, particularly in 'quick frostings' and glacé icings. <S> In cake products they give the finished product a drier, almost 'crusty' result. <S> However, they are used in melting moment biscuits. <S> Caster sugar and granulated sugar can be substituted for each other, although using caster sugar creates better meringues which 'melt in the mouth' better as the finer crystals are more easily dissolved. <S> Saying that, it wouldn't be a disaster at all if granulated sugar was used. <S> Brown sugars have more moisture in them due to the presence of more molasses but can also be substituted in most uses. <S> Dark brown sugar has more molasses than light brown sugar. <S> Demerara sugar is often used in crumble toppings and occasionally in some biscuits owing to its coarse texture. <S> However it is not often found in cakes or frostings. <A> I make Biscotti and have had great success in following my own recipe, however when visiting my daughter who uses only raw sugar, when I added it to the beaten eggs and melted butter it changed the whole structure of the cookie. <S> It puffed up like a huge marshmallow, however I continued to add the rest of the ingredients. <S> Upon baking the loaf, it did not raise as expected, it was somewhat raw in the middle of the cookie and it required a much longer time to be completely baked. <S> It tasted great, but I do not recommend using raw sugar in baking unless you do some research first.
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Different sugars hold different amounts of moisture (for example, brown sugar holds more than white) and using sugar with crystals that are too large (or too small) will make the texture come out completely wrong.
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What are some good ways to Roast Peppers I'm looking for a safe method to remove the skin. <Q> If you have a gas range, just fire up a burner. <S> Make sure to have some tongs ready if you can't rest the pepper at a good height above the flame. <S> (You'll probably want them to turn the pepper anyways.) <S> Once sufficiently blackened (and not on fire mind you) toss in a paper bag and close it. <S> Let it rest and the residual heat inside the pepper will continue to steam it from the inside out. <S> Once cooled, remove the skin. <S> Feel free to use water to cool or help remove the skin, but you may wash away some flavorful oils. <S> I prefer this method as it lets me keep an eye on the pepper the whole time instead of having to peek at a hidden broiler. <S> Plus, you can make sure you get an even roast. <A> Here's the procedure I use: broil or grill peppers until blackened and blistered all around. <S> immediately pop into pot just large enough to hold. <S> cover pot tightly sing two versus of some sea shanty (just joking, really, wait 5 minutes) <S> remove peppers and discover that you can easily scrape off the blackened, burned, skin. <A> I roast them in the oven till the skin gets dark (blackens, actually). <S> Then I put them in a paper bag to cool. <S> The skins slide off easily. <S> I'm not sure if plastic bags would work but the paper ones do a good job. <S> Hope this helps. <A> If you have a gas range, roast them on the stovetop. <S> Once the pepper is completely charred wrap it in aluminum foil. <S> Let it cool for about 15 minutes, then scrape the charred skins off and enjoy.
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Simply place the pepper directly in the flame, and turn it as it blackens.
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What's a good vegetarian substitute for Worcestershire sauce? The only thing I really miss since I started the whole rampant vegetarian thing is the taste of Worcester sauce in all sorts of dishes.Is there a way to get close to the flavour without doing anything rude to any anchovies? <Q> I have found a few recipes on the web: <S> Vegan Worcestershire sauce Vegetarian oyster sauce <S> There are also a few hard to find ready-made vegan Worcestershire sauces on the market, such as Annie's . <S> When I read these recipes (which I have never made) I can tell that their flavor profile is missing some key aromas present in the original Worcestershire sauce. <S> As strange as it may sound these sauces could use some of the aromas found in Parmigiano-Reggiano and in broccoli. <S> Whichever recipe works out, someone should write a blog post on this topic. <A> I had to do the same last year when I was making an egg-mayonaise salad, and found out too late we didn't have any Worcestershire sauce anymore. <S> What worked nicely for me was combining HP brown sauce (bought while on holiday in the UK) with a smoke-flavoured barbecue sauce . <S> It was two teaspoons of one (probably HP, but I'm not sure anymore) and one of the other. <S> While the mixture itself seemed to resemble Worcestershire sauce only approximately, there wasn't any way to make out the difference in the finished dish. <S> I did ask people who knew the recipe if they thought it was any different than usual, and nobody did. <S> Both ingredients say "suitable for vegetarians" on the bottle, so I guess this should do... <A> Sadly it is only well-known in a small area around Sheffield where it is made, and it is difficult to find it once you get some distance away. <A> If there is a Trader Joe's near you, I've found a vegetarian Worcestershire sauce there <S> and it has been pretty good. <S> Also a quick Google search finds a few other options. <A> I use miso as a substitute. <S> It adds some of the same type of depth that worcestershire sauce adds. <A> You could try experimenting with vinegar, sugar and tamarind, you should get a close approximation. <A> as the anchovies contain umami , maybe you could try miso mixed with vegan 'Parmesan' cheese as an alternative. <S> I've not tried this <S> , I'm just making an off-the-top of my head suggestion. <A> Try Hoisin sauce mixed with Soy sauce and a bit of vinegar. <S> That'll get you close. <A> you can try to make the original recipe without any fish sauce added, and even replace that perhaps with pommegrenate paste or something similar <A> Marmite or Vegemite with a splash of lemon juice or soy sauce with lemon juice is also a good replacement. <S> Marmite is my favorite replacement so far but you only require a small amount dissolved in some hot water. <A> Don't be fooled by the name, it is a thin, brown sauce with plenty of savory flavor, not really similar to the thick tomato stuff we are familiar with. <S> Given the relative historical timing, it may be that Worcestershire sauce was a substitute for mushroom catsup in traditional cooking. <S> I've tried several commercial vegetarian Worcestershire sauce versions - including cornet bay, bourbon barrel, and Annie's, and while they're all great I still prefer mushroom catsup. <S> The recipe I've used can be found here https://savoringthepast.net/2012/08/01/did-george-washington-use-ketchup/ , or bottles of the Geo Wakins brand can be purchased through the site's store or on amazon. <A> There are quite a few vegan Worcestershire sauces on the market already. <S> I've used both Annie's and The Wizard's lately, and both are adequate <S> (I think I prefer the latter; it has a more traditional flavor). <A> You can get Vegetarian Oyster sauce which doesn't replicate the full Worcestershire sauce experience but does give some of it.
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If you can find it, Henderson's Relish is an excellent vegetarian substitute. One of the best substitutes I've found is Mushroom Catsup.
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Why add salt to the water when cooking pasta? What is the effect of adding salt to the water when cooking pasta? <Q> The starch in food is the form of microscopic grains. <S> When these grains come into contact with water, they will trap some of it (think cornstarch in cold water), but when the water is hot they swell up like balloons and merge with each other, and you have starch gelation. <S> Another thing you may want to add to the pasta water is some acid (lemon or cream of tartar). <S> Tap water in most cities is made alkaline, which increases the starch loss from the pasta to the water, making the pasta stickier. <A> It means that the pasta is seasoned as it is cooked. <S> To see if this matters to you, cook up some pasta in plain water and then some in salted water and see if you can taste the difference. <A> The addition of salt has at least 2 things going for it: <S> It <S> does help keep the pasta from cooking into water, thus improving texture (less sticky/gummy). <S> When less of the starch and protein is leached out of the pasta, it will foam less as well!(Perform the 2 batch test, side by side. <S> The salted water will foam less, and it will be less murky when the cooking is done) <S> It <S> does improve the flavour (at least for most of us). <S> Just don't go crazy with the salt, and you'll be fine! <S> Yes, you can omit the salt, and you can acidify the water, but neither will produce a finished product that I'd care to eat. <A> Personally, I add salt to water to reduce the bubbling while the water is boiling and allows me to walk away from the pot for a minute. <S> I hate it when the pot bubbles over and some water falls over the sides of the pot. <S> Something about the salt changes the waters ability to create bubbles. <S> This is just my observation. <A> As has been mentioned, whether you add salt or not it is for taste. <S> Salt will decrease the amount of time to boil, but only if used in significant quantity. <S> 80% water 20% salt will only increase the boiling point of the water 4 degrees. <S> The same volume of straight water will take longer to boil for the simple fact there is more water. <S> Pasta sticking is in large part due to the water itself. <S> Most tap water is leans to the alkaline side of the chart. <S> Adding some vinegar or lemon juice to water to raise its acidity will keep the pasta from sticking. <S> How much? <S> You'll have to experiment. <A> I have found that adding salt to pasta water helps the pasta hold the water when it comes in contact with the salt in the sauce. <S> When the pasta was not cooked in salted water it weeps when sauce is served on top of undressed pasta. <S> Dont know why? <S> Just an observation.
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The salt adds flavor, but it also helps reduce the gelation of the starch in the pasta.
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What is the proper way to cool sushi rice after cooking? I've heard a couple of suggestions for cooling the rice prior to making rolls and both seem to contradict each other. What works for you guys (and gals)? What I do is just remove the liner from the steamer, add rice vinegar solution and fold the rice while fanning it for a few minutes, then just leave it alone for 30 minutes with a towel over the container to prevent drying. Seems to work for me, but I don't like waiting that long to start making the rolls. <Q> It looks like your process is the accepted one around the web. <S> Otherwise, cooling it to room temperature just seems to take a bit of time. <A> If you're impatient, you can plop it in front of a fan ad continue folding until it is cool enough to handle. <S> It shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of your batch. <S> Make sure to lift the rice when folding to expose plenty of the rice to the moving air. <A> The instructions I use are out of my Sushi book... <S> The big difference from the other answers and what I do seems to be the container used. <S> Place the hot rice in a wooden rice tub or a large, nonmetallic, flat-bottomed bowl. <S> I actually use a 13x9 glass casserole pan. <S> This is key - have it in something wide and shallow. <S> Use a flat wooden paddle to stir the rice, slicing it across the bowl rather than normal stirring. <S> Make some space in the center of the rice and slowly add the vinegar dressing. <S> Continue lifting and mixing the rice with the paddle, using a slicing motion. <S> Use either an electric or hand-held fan while you're doing this. <S> Put rice into a rice holder that has a lid and will keep it warm. <S> Spread a piece of damp cheesecloth over the top, and put the lid on. <A> I like to use a large non-metallic board (preferably unfinished wood), I spread the rice across the board so the rice is less than 2cm high. <S> I then add my seasoned vinegar and fold the rice over until it is well mixed. <S> I make sure the spread it out again <S> and will then either let it cool alone or fan it, depending what I'm using it for.
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If you put a cool, damp (not wet), clean kitchen towel on your counter and fold the rice on top of it in front of a fan may help to cool it more quickly.
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Substitute for onions and garlic I love the taste of onions and garlic and it seems lots of other people do too. But they upset my stomach so much that I can't really cook with them. What can I use in their place to give my food a similar flavour? <Q> Many South Asian recipes use a (fairly weird) spice called "hing" or asafoetida powder. <S> It's got a vaguely similar aroma. <S> Generally you add a pinch to hot oil before beginning a dish. <S> A half-teaspoon is usually enough for a four- to six-serving preparation. <S> You can find it quite easily at South Asian grocery stores and online. <S> Oh, and it's "weird" because of the way it's gathered. <S> Unlike other spices, it's not from a seed or seed pod or bark — it's sap , dried and ground. <S> (Most hing powders are packaged with some filler.) <A> Some herbs, daikon, or asafoetida powder which is an Indian spice often time used as an onion substitute. <S> You can find it here: <S> http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/asafoetida-powder <S> Asafoetida may also be used as a substitute for garlic. <S> Garlic chives may also work but are still fairly oniony/garlicy. <S> I'd browse around this site a bit. <S> They have quite a few great substitutions for various ingredients: http://www.foodsubs.com <A> If the recipe calls for onion and garlic, then shallots would be a great substitute, especially if you trying to make the food less "heavy." <S> (I believe it's due to the amount of phenols, but don't quote me on that). <S> People ask very often what they can substitute for shallots, and the best answer I've found is onions and garlic in a 2:1 ratio - but it's not quite the same, the result ends up being a lot stronger than a shallot. <S> In fact, I believe that many recipes calling for garlic and onion actually should be calling for shallots, but that the writers of these recipes assume that the readers won't have them (or in some cases even know where to get them). <S> And that's a shame, because too much onion and garlic can do a lot of damage to a delicate recipe. <S> I cannot promise that this will "sit" better with you - <S> that really depends on your digestive system and how exactly you react to onions - but in most cases shallots tend to be milder on the stomach for the same reason that they're milder on the taste buds. <S> So give it's worth trying something that may actually enhance the flavour of your dish as opposed to making it blander! <A> If you want to try something less orthodox, I'd use wild garlic , collected in spring in the forests. <S> When collecting, be careful not to confound it with "may lily" which is a toxic plant. <S> You can make a great pesto of it too. <A> If you are making garlic bread and need a sub, asofoeteda (hing) and <S> some nutritional yeast <S> a is a good option. <S> In Indian cooking, hing with ginger can be added for flavor replacement of onion and garlic. <S> Diakon, finely cut, with a pinch of hing is a good replacement for raw onions in chevdas, etc Onions, garlic and others from the Alium family are prohibited in Hindu cooking because they have a Thamasik effect on a person. <S> Tamasik propensity like laziness, lack of interest in higher taste, over eating, over sleeping, etc. <A> Dehydrated onion powder. <S> It works well in soups and stews, but obviously won't be a good substitute for a pile of sautéed onions on top of your steak. <S> Also, in May an June, you might be able to find Ramps (Wild Leeks, Wild Garlic, Mountain Garlic) - Allium tricoccum, which has a lovely subtle flavour and is a bit easier on the stomach. <A> green onions or chives can be a substitute for onion if you can handle those. <S> Garlic is tough to replace, but it depends on the recipe. <S> Some recipes like salad dressings, you can get buy by omitting it or just replacing it by something on the bitterish side like pickles or picked beats. <S> if you're substituing it in cooking, then perhaps a high quality onion and garlic powder (not salt) would suffice. <S> NOTE that this advice should only be used by people who can't eat onion/garlic and not by lazy folks who don't want to peal and cut <A> Scallions work really well as a replacement onions and garlic, yes they flavor will be milder but scallions have flavor components of both in my humble opinion. <S> Green onions/spring onions add a nice onionly flavor and chives are also good sprinkled on top of burgers, and even steak for a nice, yet mild onion flavor.
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Shallots are related to onions but much milder than onions, and also have a taste that's similar to garlic
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What is coriander root and where can you get it? I mentioned the book Thai Food in an answer to another question. This reminded me of one of my longest running quandaries with it. Many of the recipes mention “coriander root”. I am aware of being able to buy the seeds (whole or ground) or the leaves, but I have never seen for sale anything calling itself coriander root. Has anyone managed to source this, or am I missing something obvious? <Q> It is just the root of the coriander plant. <S> Certainly at least here (UK) you can buy living coriander plants in the supermarket; you could pull one out of the pot and use the root from that. <S> Apparently you can also subsitute 2 stems of coriander for every piece of root called for in the recipe, but I've never tried this. <A> In the USA, Coriander is referred to Cilantro, when used in context of herb/green. <S> Possible sources (to purchase Cilantro aka Coriander with root): <S> vendors at some farmer's markets (this is where I get mine) "South East Asian" or "Latin American" grocery stores <S> "Indian" Grocery stores <A> If it's not carried in a local Asian market (and they won't order it) then try asking at a local Thai or Asian restaurant. <S> If they're using it they might very likely be willing to sell to you or order from their supplier. <A> The following is a quote from the Blue Dragon website , I hope it helps:- <S> Coriander roots are notoriously difficult to come by (even in well stocked Oriental supermarkets), as in the UK coriander is sold rootless. <S> This isn't much good for budding Thai cooks!! <S> To get the same intense coriander flavour you would get from one root, use ten stems stripped of the leaves and pound to a paste in a paste and mortar. <S> Use in the same way as you would have done with the root. <S> N.B. <A> "Cilantro" is actually a stage of growth of the Coriander plant; it is when the leaves are broad and light green, prior to flowering (aka Bolting). <S> If the plant has flowered the taste becomes increasingly bitter and should not be used in recipes calling for coriander. <S> I would second the suggestion to buy a live plant and simply take the root. <S> I've also been told that you can use the stems as a substitute but haven't tried it. <A> The only place I have seen coriander roots thick enough to be used in cooking is in Thailand. <S> The coriander we find in Europe has roots so thin you can't use them. <S> The roots are much more fragrant than the leaves and yield much better flavouring results when used for cooking. <A> According to Thai Supermarket Online - http://importfood.com/ - 'A fine quality coriander seed can been used in various curry pastes and other condiment recipes as an excellent substitute for corriander root'. <A> The best way of getting coriander root is to grow your own coriander on a sunny windowsill; don't bother trying to use it for your cooking as it'll go from scrawny and unable to offer up any leaves, to suddenly it's bolted if you turn your back. <S> Just leave it, you'll then get seeds that you can dry and great roots. <S> I've grown the Calypso variety from seed, <S> because it claimed to not bolt (didn't have any luck with that), and got really good sized roots. <S> You do need to leave it to really get good and beefy. <S> You also need to take ages to clean them as the compost gets into every nook and cranny, but if you're wanting coriander root <S> it's worth it. <S> And I personally just froze it afterwards. <A> Traditional Thailand <S> we use coriander root as a flavoring. <S> You can use stems and some leaves for substitute or you can use MSG.
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Many supermarkets in the UK stock live coriander plants growing in small pots but as previously observed the roots are to small to use.
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What is the best way to pop popcorn on the stove? I have a kettle-corn popcorn recipe that I have to pop on the stove as I don't have a popcorn maker and I wouldn't want to add the sugar to the popcorn maker. This makes me wonder what the best way to pop popcorn, in a pot with a lid, over the stove is? <Q> Use a large heavy-bottomed pot (idealy 3-4 quart size) and place it over medium to medium-high heat until you can hold your hand about 6 inches above the bottom surface and feel the heat radiating off it. <S> At that point add about 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan, tilting to coat the bottom evenly. <S> Drop in a kernel or two and cover. <S> When the kernels pop, quickly add in the remaining, cover and shake the pan on the heat to keep the unpopped kernels on the bottom where they'll heat the best. <S> Cook and shake until the popping stops. <S> In order to have enough volume for the popped corn, you'll need to do it in batches of about 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels at a time if you're doing a large amount. <A> Use a carbon-steel wok! <S> The shape works very well to keep the unpopped kernels in the hot oil, while the popped kernels end up on the cooler sides. <S> I usually use about 2 T of oil and 1/3 c of popcorn to make enough for two people. <S> If you want to keep with the Chinese theme, Szechuan peppercorn-salt goes extremely well on popcorn! <S> To make it, grind Szechuan peppercorns and kosher salt in a spice grinder. <A> All these answers are basically correct. <S> Something to add. <S> I have found that covering the bottom of whatever pan you are using (except the wok or other round bottoms) with kernels (so that the kernels are evenly distributed and there are no kernels on top of one another) <S> just so it is covered, but no more, the volume of corn, once popped, is close to the top. <S> Also, a neat change of pace for a topping: nutritional yeast ;--) <A> Put the oil and one or two kernels over medium heat and wait for them to pop. <S> Then add the rest of the kernels and shake the pot back and forth until the popcorn popping slows or stops. <S> You can use a wide range of oils to have different tastes. <A> Soak the popcorn in water for about 10 minutes, drain, pop - this will help to pop all of the kernels and should make them more fluffy... <A> 1.) <S> I would also suggest using a Whirley Pop Popper on the stove over a standard pot always. <S> The concept of if is exactly the same as what you'd find in a Movie theater. <S> The Whirley Popper gives you the advantage of keeping the kernels moving around so that they can all cook evenly and eliminating the chance of burning them. <S> It takes about 2 minutes from start to finish. <S> Close to the same amount of time for microwave popcorn but better for you and much, much better flavor. <S> 2.) <S> The right kind of kernels are very important. <S> I have found that white popcorn kernels tend to have the most flavor once it has been popped. <S> And the one's I've purchased tend to be larger kernels than most of the yellow kernel corn. <S> Keep in mind, that cheaper is never better when it comes to corn kernels. <S> 3.) <S> The most flavorful and best kind of oil to use is coconut oil, hands down. <S> Why waste your time on vegetable or canola oil when the flavorful essence of the coconut oil truly enhances the flavor of your popped corn? <S> The flavor that it creates even eliminates the need for butter! <S> It actually tastes so good without it. <S> 4.) <S> Last thing is the salt. <S> The right type of salt is paramount to taking your popcorn flavor to the next level. <S> I highly suggest FINE grain popcorn salt, specifically. <S> It will spread more evenly, giving you a higher rate of coverage on your pieces. <A> Add a tablespoon <S> or so <S> (I don't measure) of your favorite high temp oil <S> (corn and safflower come to mind) along with your popping corn <S> (I think I use between 75 and 100 grams). <S> Cover the lid with a piece of aluminum foil, poke a bunch of vents in it with a knife, and place over medium high heat. <S> You will need to shake it as it pops so make sure you have some high temp gloves or the like. <S> Warning: <S> My bowl has been difficult to get totally clean after this... treat those burnt looking scuffs as a badge of honor! <A> I am making popcorn that is better than popcorn at the movie theater. <S> Buy a Whirly-pop popcorn popper. <S> It cost me about $15 at Bed Bath and beyond with a coupon. <S> It has an arm that you crank to move the kernels around. <S> It also has vent holes in the lid to let the steam out. <S> Steam will cause the popcorn to get tough and chewy. <S> My oil is from Sam's Club. <S> It is a butter flavored popcorn oil. <S> About $9 for a gallon. <S> The salt also comes from Sam's Club. <S> You'll get two containers... <S> enough to last a couple of years for $4. <S> Use regular old yellow popcorn from the grocery. <S> Need to butter your popcorn? <S> You'll get some butter flavor from the butter <S> flavored oil? <S> Want more? <S> Put in more oil. <S> Want real butter on your popcorn without it getting soggy? <S> Then you need to clarify your butter before adding it to your popcorn. <S> To clarify your butter:1. <S> Melt it.2. <S> Put it in the fridge. <S> It will solify again, but separated from whatever water was in there.3. <S> Drain off the water.4. <S> You now have clarified butter. <S> Melt the clarified butter and drizzle on your popcorn. <S> Drizzle, mix, drizzle, mix, drizzle, mix.
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I use a very large stainless steel bowl, with a flat bottom placed directly on the burner.
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Beef Broth - What Went Wrong? Home-cooked Phở is my white whale. Anyway, before I can cook Phở, I need to be able to make beef broth, and so far I've failed completely. My broth is greenish-gray in color, mostly flavorless, and smells like a swamp. Here is what I did. Keep in mind, this happened TWICE: I purchased a few pounds of beef knuckles from the store. I placed them in a stock pot, and covered them with water. I boiled them for a half hour or so. I emptied the pot, along with all of the scum. I did my best to scrub all of the scum away from the knuckles (very difficult). I re-filled the pot with water. I brought it to a boil. I added some chunks of beef. I skimmed the top frequently. 3 hours later: disgusting pond water. Since this process is so time-consuming, I am not keen on experimenting with it again until I have a pretty good idea of what went wrong. I've asked around for some advice. Some told me I should roast the knuckles first. Some told me I should start with cold water. Ok, this sounds like good advice, but these seem like small potatoes. They certainly don't seem like the sort of thing that could turn a pot of beautiful, delicious beef brother into pond water. I must be doing something horribly, horribly, horribly wrong. I'm hoping to find someone who has had a similar experience, and has a pretty good idea of why this is happening to me. =( <Q> Some of your 'shortcuts' are not good ideas. <S> Definitely start with cold water. <S> Definitely bring up the temp slowly. <S> Definitely do not boil. <S> Do add aromatics upfront to the broth, but remove them as they get mushy so they don't cloud it. <S> Standard ratio for beef broth would be: 8 pounds of bones to 6 quarts of water to 1 pound of veggies (onion, leek, carrot) to one 'boquet garni', essentially garlic, rosemary, anise flavoring for pho, and bay leaf, plus <S> whatever else I forgot. <S> If you have 'pond water', which I interpret as thin-tasting, you probably put too much water in the second time -- this is fixable by slowly evaporating out the water until it gets to a good texture. <S> If you skimmed properly, it will be clear as you do this. <S> I will typically strain through a kitchen towel or cheesecloth as the liquid evaporates down. <S> I'm guessing you put in like a gallon of water, <S> so you had like three or four times too much water. <S> As a warning which you probably already know, you are not going to be able to duplicate your local pho joint's broth -- the broth recipe is the thing for pho makers, and they probably have a bunch of tricks they use, including using a neverending supply of yesterdays pho, that you won't be able to do at home. <S> That said, you should be able to get a good beef broth if you follow some basic rules for making stock. <A> Caveat: <S> I'm now a vegetarian Back when I made stock/broth a lot, I always browned the meat under a hot broiler before cooking. <S> That makes a serious difference, because the browning reactions of the meet definitely have a big flavor impact. <S> I also added one or two brown onions (also quartered and roasted until somewhat browned), and two or three carrots (ditto). <S> I never did that rinse/scrub process. <S> Skim the flotsam, but keep the heat down so that it's barely simmering and it shouldn't be a problem. <S> You can get very useful fine-mesh skimmers at Asian grocery stores. <S> Finally, I cooked it for a long time - like 10 or 12 hours sometimes, adding water as necessary. <S> When it cooled, I'd skim off most of the fat (sometimes saving it because it's great to use in vegetable dishes like Bubble & Squeak) then transfer to storage jars. <S> Don't season the stock with spices or herbs until you're ready to use it. <S> That way it remains versatile. <A> I made a pretty successful beef pho recently. <S> I agree with the other comments about the importance of roasting the bones first, bringing up the temperature of the water slowly, adding vegetables (onion, celery and carrot for a basic beef stock, plus a hunk of ginger root, along with cinnamon stick, star anise, and peppercorns tied up in a little cheesecloth bundle for pho.)The biggest thing I believe you did wrong though? <S> Three hours is no where near long enough to make good beef stock. <S> I let mine simmer (never boiling!) <S> For...no lie... <S> About 24-36 hours. <S> Sounds crazy but the longer you can cook it the richer and better it will be. <S> After only 3 hours any stock will look like pond water. <S> Don't worry, you can turn the stove off when you leave the house and then turn it back on again so you're not a total slave to the stock for 2 days. <S> But yeah, that's it <S> I think. <S> Just lots more time. <S> I'd probably also recommend a mix of bones including marrow bones, rib or neck bones with some meat on them, and maybe a foot for extra gelatin if you can get it, in addition to the knuckles. <A> Roasting the knuckles is a must, since the way the Maillard reaction affects anything animal-based is priceless for enhancing flavor. <S> Another important thing is to use vegetables when making stock. <S> Add coarsely cut carrots and celery, whole or half onions to the pot along with the bones. <S> Straining the stock is important to remove congealed proteins from the end product. <S> The thinner the filter, the better. <A> First, let me say I've never made pho. <S> However there is already some good advice here with regards to stock: <S> Should I roast meat/bones before making stock out of it? <S> though I personally would also roast carrots, onion, celery with fresh herbs in with the bones. <S> Should I let stock cool with the bones/veg still in it? <S> Are the leftovers from making stock good for anything? <S> What are you skimming with? <S> I'd pour the liquid through some cheese cloth, that should at least help with appearance a bit. <A> There should never be greenish scum in your broth. <S> Bones are eather very old or from a sick animal. <S> If you see greenish foam in your pot, it's poisoning, don't eat it. <S> I was raised on organic farm. <S> We had bone soups every day. <S> Believe me, it has to look good in order to be good for you. <S> The foam, if any, should be very light in color and very small in amount.
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Get bones from trusted farmers, if you want good quality broth.
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How do you make homemade sausage without meat grinder/sausage stuffer? I have no desire to spend hundreds of dollars on this specialized equipment to make sausage, which I may only use a few times a year. There must be some other alternatives! edit: no Kitchen Aid mixer (yes I know it makes this even more difficult) <Q> Well, you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars, but you might need to put in more elbow grease. <S> You can get a hand-crank meat grinder for about $30 or so and a manual sausage stuffer for about the same. <S> You could save on the grinder if you have a food processor or blender that can have its way with the meat. <A> Do you have a KitchenAid stand mixer? <S> If so, I'd suggest getting these attachments: <S> KitchenAid FGA Food Grinder Attachment for Stand Mixers and KitchenAid SSA Sausage Stuffer Kit Attachment for Food Grinder . <S> They're under $50 combined, and small enough to fit in a deep drawer or cabinet. <A> I'd second the suggestions to buy a used grinder or a kitchen aid and attachment <S> (Seriously, the kitchen aid is a must have. <S> You'll use it all the time.) <A> You can buy different ingredients depending on how much effort you are willing to put in: Many places will do premade sausagemeat which you can but into casing yourself (you could add your own seasonings to this meat). <S> A good butcher will grind meat for you - <S> I'm sure they would even advise you on the proportions of particular meat (I would use pork belly and shoulder with maybe a little extra fat in) and you could probably even get them to use different meats too (beef?). <S> One method i've seen (but not personally tried) is using a piping bag with the casing on the end to squeeze the sausage meat into the casing, you'd need to tie it every now and then (unless you wanted giant sausage of course :D ) <A> Well if you want to go totally old school you go out and buy some cull fat. <S> It's the membrane that holds the insides together. <S> Your local butcher can get you some. <S> Get your meats and fat then start chopping like crazy to make it as small a dice as possible. <S> (Or go to your local butcher and ask him/her to grind it for you. <S> It won't cost much.)Mix in your spices and such until it's what you want. <S> You know, follow your favourite recipe. <S> Start making patties/logs/egg-shapped mounds/ <S> whatever shape you like of meat and wrap them in the cull fat. <S> A nice addition is putting a bay leaf inside each wrap. <S> To cook, you brown them off and either braise them off like a few traditional British dishes (which have a name which isn't very PC) or just toss them into the oven and roast them off. <S> There you have it. <S> A minced meat like sausage that can be made without the use of modern gadgits. <S> Mind you there is alot to be said about those cheap $25 hand grinders!
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If you're good with the knife work, you can just dice up everything super fine for sausage, but it won't taste as good; you're going to have some temperature control issues when whipping it as well.
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How best to pan-fry tofu? I love fried tofu, but I don't want to have a deep fryer in my home (I'll use it too much!). I've tried a few different techniques for pan-frying tofu, but it always comes out unsatisfying - too dry, too thin, too wet; I'll admit, I'm not a genius when it comes to tofu, but I'd imagine there is some way to prepare it that will give me decent results consistently. Note : I do have a large wok, but I generally fry my tofu in a frying pan. I've had poor results in my wok. <Q> For pan frying you probably want to start with a firm tofu. <S> It's a good idea to press the tofu to remove excess water: wrap the tofu in a cloth and place it between two cutting boards, weighting the top cutting board with a heavy book or other similar object. <S> Wait at least twenty minutes (you can prepare the rest of the vegetables/onions for the stir fry at this point. <S> Once the tofu has been pressed, cut it into the desired pieces. <S> It's a good idea to fry it at medium-high heat in only oil first, then add sauces (soy sauce, vinegar, whatever) only after the tofu begins to brown slightly. <S> Note: <S> the above won't simulate deep-fried tofu. <S> For deep fried tofu, you may want to use a softer tofu, still press it before using, and coat the cubes in corn starch before frying. <S> Of course you probably know you can deep-fry at home with just a large pot of oil. <S> For a different texture you can freeze the tofu before frying. <S> Although not fried, I would also recommend that you try baked (marinaded) tofu to see if you like that texture/flavor better. <S> You would still want to press the tofu, then slice it rather thinly. <S> You can reapply the marinade during baking for more flavor. <A> Having pan-fried about a zillion pounds of tofu in my life, I can help you out here. <S> Kevin is on the right track with getting the water out, but you don't need to get it out of the whole thickness of the bean curd, just the surface, so that it will brown and get crisp. <S> Here's how I do it, works every time: <S> (1) Cut the tofu into the desired shape - cubes, slabs, rectangles, triangles... <S> the best thickness is <S> about 3/8".(2) Preheat a big cast iron skillet to scorching hot.(4) <S> Just before you are ready to fry, pat the tofu dry with paper towels.(5) <S> Pour a pretty generous amount of a purified oil in the skillet (one with a high smoke point), say 3-4 tablespoons.(6) <S> Carefully add the tofu in a single layer.(7) Fry for a couple minutes until well browned on one side, then flip and cook the other side. <S> This works way better than dumping in a double-layer of tofu and stirring, hoping it will brown. <S> If you are making a stir-fry, you may need to cook 2 or more batches of tofu, reserve it to the side, then put it back in after the vegetables are cooked. <A> A cast iron pot and a good thermometer should serve you fine for deep frying the tofu. <S> Unlike a dedicated deep fryer you will have to monitor the temperature of the oil more. <A> There are two methods to prevent the either too dry or too mushy issue. <S> Use a batter with a fair amount of oil (1 quarter inch or deeper). <S> Cornstarch will create a nice batter and prevent the tofu from having a 'wet/moist texture'. <S> It will still be wet on the inside, as mentioned do drain it well. <S> or Use very, very little oil (mere drops) and focus on searing it. <S> This will give the outside a nice texture. <S> This is a saute, low oil, high heat and keep it moving by flipping the pan (don't use a utensil). <S> The texture is an important part of taste and having a firmness on the outside of tofu is quite important when nomming. <S> Yet it should be mushy on the inside. <S> What makes this task so tricky is that while cooking tofu, it is constantly bleeding moisture (the steam is forced out and collects on the outside). <S> Unfortunately this moisture evaporation is a very powerful coolant and can prevent a seared texture from developing. <S> In fact it will remain mushy as though it were never cooked for awhile. <S> Once it looses enough moisture, the heat is no longer buffered into the moisture and/or the evaporation is no longer cooling the tofu . <S> At this point, it begins to very rapidly burn and hardened completely leaving it inedible. <A> It interacts nicely with the rest of the dish, actually making some people think it's chicken. <S> It's not vegan, but it's good.. <A> Bacon grease makes almost anything it is cooked in taste delicious, but most won't eat it because it is bad for the heart or they don't eat meat. <S> I roll the tofu in corn starch, <S> then fry it in olive oil using seasoned salt on the tofu. <S> Sometimes I use Dash because I can't eat a lot of salt and dash has a variety of seasonings to choose from. <A> I've tried some of the methods mentioned in other answers - and perhaps will again as it may just take practice - but the one and only way I've ever gotten tofu to come out palatable is to truly stir-fry it in a large wok. <S> That is, put in some oil (sesame oil, preferably), crank up the heat to at least medium-high, and stir your heart out. <S> Do that for 5-7 minutes with plenty of wrist action and it should turn out well - as long as you have extra firm, quality tofu that can take all that action!
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When I make Pad Thai, I usually crack an egg into the wok while frying the tofu, creating a nice tasty coating for the tofu.
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Why is there a watery run-off after cooking my bolognese? It's a fairly standard recipe with passata and wine, simmering on a low heat for a couple of hours. After stirring and putting the bolognese onto the pasta, after a couple of minutes the sauce separates a watery run off onto the bottom of the plate. The pasta is fully drained, and the bolognese seems good in the pot. How can I reduce the wateryness, simply cook the bolognese for much longer? I haven't wanted to risk drying it out/burning. <Q> A few things that can help, if it's not an issue with fat like @Aaronut suggested: Tomato paste. <S> Yes, I know it's a sacrelige, but it'll act as a thickener. <S> Take the pasta out before it's gotten to al dente, and finish cooking it in the sauce; the pasta will absorb any extra liquid, and help to thicken the sauce. <S> Do not rinse off the pasta after you drain it. <S> Way too many people do, and it washes off the starch that you want for the sauce to bind to the pasta properly, and may introduce extra water. <A> Cooking longer and slowly will help. <S> Also, are your vegetables fully cooked when you add them to your base? <S> That could be the problem if they are not. <A> Touch or taste a bit of the liquid; if it seems oily at all, then it's fat. <S> When making bolognese, if you don't want this to happen, you need to frequently skim off the fat that rises to the top. <S> If you just stir it back in, it will separate again later. <S> You should also cook it slowly (skimming often) for a good 4 hours or so. <S> I should note that the fat is not necessarily evil and some cooks insist that you should never skim, because that's where the flavour is. <S> Personally, I've never found much difference in the flavour whether you skim or not - but if you don't skim, the fat content causes the mixture to separate later. <S> The same thing happens with chili, or any dish where you're using ground chuck that hasn't already had all the fat removed by deep browning. <S> Eventually, during cooking, that fat will leave the meat, and you have to either skim it off, cook it off, or contend with greasiness. <A> I have had this problem of water on the plate too. <S> Sauce made with passata, wine, fully cooked veggies - and cooked for hours. <S> After all this, still that small pool of water on the plate. <S> Annoying. <S> My solution is to pour the sauce into a sieve / strainer and let the small amount of water run out. <S> It is just water, not fat, and not adding any flavor. <A> It seems that all spagetti sauce separates, regardless of who makes it, excepting those who use starch to thicken it....ugh. <S> Simple, make nests of spagetti, ladle the sauce on it, tilt the plate, and lay a few paper towels at the edge of the nest of sauce laden spagetti. <S> In a minute or two the watery stuff separates and goes into the paper towel. <S> Remove the watery laden towel and throw it away and voila! <S> The remaining sauces is no longer watery. <S> And no...all the sauces that do this--it's not fat separating <S> it's water. <A> To avoid watery spaghetti on the plate, drain spaghetti, do not rinse. <S> Dump the spaghetti into the sauce. <S> Make sure its al dente. <S> Wait about 10 minutes and serve. <S> You will have no watery spaghetti on your plate. <A> Passata is not the base of any authentic Bolognese sauce. <S> That is your problem. <S> Soffritto is the base of Bolognese, and only a small amount of tomato should be added to it mid-way. <S> Look up Marcella Hazan's recipe. <A> So after years and years of the same problem i finally had full success last night. <S> The key was heat! <S> Heat as in don't let the sauce or noodles be too hot! <S> If your like me you cook your meat sauce for an hour or two and put it on top of your noodles. <S> I've tried everything in this posts without much luck. <S> While adding your noodles to your sauce does work my problem is i usually make a pretty big batch of sauce. <S> Who wants all sauce with a few noodles, or all noodles with little sauce? <S> After you've cooked your sauce to your satisfaction take the lid off and let it sit/ cool with an occasional stir while you cook your noodles. <S> Drain your noodles and let them quit steaming. <S> Put it all together and problem solved. <S> Both the noodles and sauce are still plenty hot enough to enjoy but by doing this neither are hot enough to allow the moisture in the noodles to end up pooling water on the bottom of your plate.
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Fully drained pasta (not rinsed) and added back to the dry pot for extra drying out. Switching from tomato-based to soffritto-based sauce fixed my Bolognese, and I bet it will for you as well. That run-off you're seeing is probably not water, but fat separating.
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How to brownies from a box/mix with a flaky top? I buy and make box brownies all the time, but the top crust always ends up looking more like the topping of a cake, rather than the flaky top shown in the picture on the box. It's pretty easy to follow the 4 steps on the box; is there something I am missing? <Q> Doing this increases the crust, which is actually meringue. <S> This is what you should try with your box mix, since the sugar is already included in box. <S> Use white sugar (granulated sugar) with a from-scratch brownie recipe. <S> Brown sugar and corn syrup contain more moisture than white sugar, which will reduce the shiny crackly crust. <A> Also, try using butter instead of oil. <S> Using butter, as in flaky pastries, will help promote pockets of fat and stream that will create those flaky and moist brownies you're looking for. <S> You might want to add more leavening power. <S> This will help the brownies rise more and will help separate the layers of brownie. <A> Leaving the pan in the oven a few extra minutes will help with the flaky top. <S> Also, try combining the ingredients less vigorously. <S> Less gluten means a flakier consistency overall. <A> reduce the amount of egg to 1 works everytime... <S> more egg you have cake!
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To get a shiny, flaky, crackly, light-colored crust on the top of your brownies, there are two effective changes you can make: Beat the brownie batter for longer after adding the eggs.
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How does food cook differently on an open top grill than a covered one? The title pretty much says it all, how does food cook differently on an open top grill than a covered one? <Q> I believe it is kind of like the difference between broiling and baking. " <S> Open top grill <S> " only cooks from underneath (kind of like broiling but not from above). <S> Baked or "covered" grill will distribute the heat more evenly. <S> For more information see: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/howtocook/primers/grilling_lightingandgrilling <S> That's <S> where I double checked my assumption and got the metaphor of broiling and baking. <A> It's the difference between radiant heat, and convective heat. <S> Radiant heat is great for searing, and is produced by your charcoal/burners. <S> You're always going to have (approximately) <S> the same amount of radiant heat, regardless of whether the top is up or down. <S> Convective heat is just as good for cooking, but you're not going to get the delicious crust. <S> When you have the grill covered, you're going to get a lot more convective heat, and uncovered, a lot less. <A> I won't go into the physics of it, because it's not terribly interesting. <S> The flame itself is also hotter, because of the better airflow. <S> When you close the grill, the fire itself is cooler (still enough to burn you though), but the heat remains locked in the grill. <S> That way you get a more even cooking, and it's actually a bit faster, because the environment of the food is much hotter than it would be in open air. <S> There is also a secondary effect, where closing the grill traps some of the smoke in, and gives a smoky flavour to the food.
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Basically, on an open grill, you're heating up one side of whatever it is you're cooking, and letting heat escape from the other side.
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Order of combining wet and dry ingredients when baking I've always learnt that you add the wet ingredients to the dry ones. Looking at some recipes: "Combine the dry ingredients, the flour ... Add the other wet ingredients, melted butter ..." "Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until just combined" "Mix dry ingredients together, Mix wet ingredients together, and Combine wet and dry together and bake!" "Make a well in the dry ingredients and then pour the wet ingredients into the well and mix" Is there a reason to always add wet to dry and not the other way around? Are there any types of recipes that , in fact, reverse the order? <Q> The dry ingredients are lighter, less dense, and less viscous than the wet, which means they'll have a tendency to float on top of the wet. <S> The dry ingredients that come in contact with the wet will form a sort-of skin, preventing the wet from distributing throughout the dry. <S> You end up with clumps of dry, unmixed, and (ultimately) uncooked dry ingredients. <S> Pouring wet into dry forces agitation and more uniform distribution. <A> Most cakes, muffins, biscuits and cookies are made from two primary mixing methods: - The "Two-Bowl Method" (aka Muffin Method): This mixing method is used primarily when a liquid fat is being used, typically oil but sometimes melted butter. <S> This mixing method has the dry ingredients done in one bowl with a well made in the center so that the liquid ingredients can be added. <S> Mixing the wet and dry ingredients separate from one another allows each type to be thoroughly mixed/blended without fear of overmixing and thus toughening the texture. <S> Toughness is due to agitation when water-based liquids are introduced to wheat flour. <S> The well in the center of dry ingredients allows the dry ingredients to be folded over on top of the liquid and then gently incorporated just until mixed. <S> Adding the liquid flat on top or the flour on top of the liquid would lead to overmixing. <S> - The "Creaming Method": This mixing method is used for items where a finer crumb is desired (cakes, fine crumbed muffins.. <S> typically blueberry)and uses solid fats that are creamed with sugar for aeration and then have the flavorings added (added to the fat as most extracts are oil soluble and distribute flavor better in the fat rather than water based ingredients) followed by eggs. <S> Finally the milk and dry ingredients are usually added alternately, starting and ending with the flour. <S> The creaming method produces a finer more tender crumb due to: higher ratio of fat to flour (more fat = tenderness) more sugar used than in the "two-bowl" method. <S> Sugar is a tenderizing agent (among many other things)due to its hygroscopic nature (ability to attract moisture from surrounding atmosphere. <S> Look here for more on sugar. <S> Adding the flour first helps to coat the proteins (gluten) with fat so that it can't form strong bonds with other gluten strands <S> , thus "shortening" the gluten strands and producing a more tender cake. <S> If liquid is introduced first, the gluten won't be lubricated as well by the fat and if too much liquid is added to the fat (particularly if it the liquid isn't at room temperature) it can cause the fat to clump and the mix will appear curdled. <S> This will lead to a coarser texture in the cake. <S> The liquid needs to be emulsified in the fat rather than having the fat surrounded by the liquid. <A> When I mix mortar for stone work in the wheelbarrow, I put the water in first then add the cement, mix it in, then the lime, mix it in, then the sand and adjust the mix to get the consistency I want. <S> The reason I do this is to keep the dry ingredients from sticking in pockets in the corners of the barrow. <S> With cooking or baking, we have really nice tools to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl, removing any chance of having pockets of unmixed dry ingredients anywhere. <S> When we pour the wet on top of the dry the dust expelled during the mixing process is reduced. <S> It may produce a better distributed mix to add the wet to the dry, for example when I make pancake or waffle batter I put the egg and milk mixture on a well in the dry stuff and then add the melted butter. <S> If I did that first, the milk mix, cooling the melted butter might make it clump up a bit before I could get the dry stuff stirred down into it. <S> When I put the wet on the dry, I always mix immediately, incorporating the wet well into the dry before any separation occurs. <S> Which is the same way we used to make mortar using a small cement mixer. <S> Other than as noted above, have never run across a regular cook book recipe that calls for adding dry to wet.... <S> at least that I can recall. <S> Actually never thought about it before, hope this helps. <A> As yock explained, adding wet to dry is usually best. <S> There are additional concerns with some of your examples. <S> Some baked goods (backing powder biscuits, cornbread) degrade quickly once moisture is introduced to the dry ingredients. <S> There's a point where good mixing degrades the end result. <S> Other times, not enough mixing may prevent the wet and dry from homogenizing properly. <S> Cakes and brownies can be touchy on the too-much/too-little spectrum. <S> How moist the batter should be (the general ratio of wet:dry) can change the mixing method dramatically. <A> I've encountered a Martha Stewart recipe for Coconut Cupcakes that has you add the dry to the wet. <S> You mix the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla together (wet ingredients). <S> Then alternating you add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet.
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Seems like when I was a baker (a long time ago) we added the wet ingredients to the big commercial mixers first and then added the pre formulated dry concoctions a bit at a time as the dry became incorporated with the wet.
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How should I clean anodized cookware? I'd been bought an anodised wok as a birthday present a couple of years back, but recently, when using a honey/mustard marinade, I managed to burn some of the excess marinade, and now can't seem to get the wok clean, not even when putting it through the dishwasher (it is dishwasher safe). What can I do to clean it off that won't affect the anodised coating? <Q> We love to using Baking Soda and water to gently clean cookware. <S> A little bit of hot water seems to work best. <A> In cookeries that use woks, they immediately put water into the wok (from a faucet built right into the stove area) and boil it, using a bamboo whisk to clean up the junk. <S> Possibly some type of oil or one of those new orange based cleaning solvents (have heard of something called goo gone) would work. <S> Wouldn't suggest oven cleaner, as I think most of those contain lye, which dissolves aluminum. <S> Anything abrasive will also take off the very thin layer of anodization. <S> Good luck. <A> This will probably be enough to get the marinade off, or at least loosen it <S> so you can wash it off. <S> In general though hard anodised cookware should be cleanable with a scourer and a bit of elbow grease. <A> I never underestimate the power of a good, long soak (1-3 days) in some hot, soapy water. <S> It seems to work it's magic slowly, enhanced by a good scrub along the way. <S> I'd hesitate to use ajax, although baking soda is a nice abrasive. <A> You can use Comet or similar as well as 3M plastic scrubbing pads (aka meany greenies). <A> I'd also suggest 3M's Dobie sponges, available just about everywhere kitchen supplies are sold. <S> They've got a good plastic coating that's safe on non-stick and anodized cookware, but tough enough to remove stubborn burned bits. <S> My parents have been using them for years on their pans, and I've been using them for a shorter number of years on my own.
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To get the marinade off I would fill the wok with water until all of the offending marinade is covered, then I would boil the water in the wok.
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Using charcoal in kettle grill I learned that in kettle grill the coal should be placed on one side of the grill and meat on the other side. What is the advantage of this method against grilling on direct fire? Adding a water pan is recommended. Does it really make a difference? When should I cover the grill and why? <Q> Well, the answer in each case is really "it depends. <S> " <S> Indirect grilling is a way to reduce the radiant heat from the coals reaching your food, slowing cooking. <S> It's useful for cooking thick, dense foods where the radiant heat might overcook the outside before the inside is cooked through. <S> This isn't desirable for thin foods, where you want to brown the outside of the food while the inside cooks-through. <S> I'm not sure what the water might be for. <S> I suspect that, because of water's very high specific heat, some folks might believe that it helps evenly heat the air in the grill. <S> Only problem with that is that is <S> your grill has an outlet, either in the form of a vent in the cover or a chimney on larger models. <S> Water vapor is just going to escape. <S> What does stay in the grill is just going to condense on the inner surface of the grill and run down the sides and drop onto your food. <S> Old soot isn't a flavor I want imparted to my ribeye. <S> Again, this is for helping to cook through foods that might be burned if cooked only by radiant heat. <A> Piling the charcoal on one side gives you more control over your cooking -- because the grill isn't evenly hot, you can move the food around if its cooking too fast. <S> In some cases, you specifically want the lower heat of indirect cooking, such as when dealing with roasts and other large cuts of meat. <S> The pan of water is often used when dealing with indirect cooking to reduce flare ups -- as the fat renders off, it lands in the water rather than the hot coals starting a grease fire and suddenly heating the item being grilled. <S> As @deroberts points out, it also keeps the air moist, preventing the meat from drying out during the longer cooking period. <S> You always cover the grill to retain heat for indirect cooking; you're effectively creating an oven, so the item cooks evenly. <S> Not covering the grill will mean your food won't cook evenly, if at al. <S> For thicker items <S> (more than 2 inch / 5 cm thick), even if using direct cooking, you may wish to close the lid, rather than just cooking from the radiant heat of the coals. <S> You will need to be careful, however, as it means you'll have to watch for smoke, as the fat renders off and falls into the coals. <S> You should be prepared to open the lid to move the food should this happen, or keep a spray bottle of water to take down the flames. <A> Indirect cooking is used for longer cooks, like spare ribs or pork shoulder (i.e. true barbecue). <S> The water pan is used as a heat sink. <S> You can get away without it, although you may find your cooking area is prone to larger temperature swings. <S> Some people (myself include) like to use fire bricks for temperature maintenance.
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Covering the grill keeps hot air near your food, helping to cook the food by convection.
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How should I add wine to the sauce for my duck? I have some chicken stock that I've made, that I want to use as a base for a sauce for some duck. I am roasting the duck bones at the moment and will simmer them in the chicken stock for a while. If I want to add red wine to this should I reduce the red wine first then add the duck/chicken broth and reduce further, add red wine to the broth and reduce at the same time or reduce the broth and add red wine then reduce that. Or not reduce at all? What would be the consequences of each? <Q> Your question makes me think of demi-glace. <S> From your question, I would say that you're trying to get a nice shiny thick sauce for your duck, one that tastes of red wine. <S> If that's your goal, I would recommend you Reduce your stock down until it's about the total volume of liquid that you're going to want. <S> The stock reduction should be roughly the consistency you want your final sauce to be. <S> Add an equal volume of wine Reduce down to desired consistency (so about by half). <S> This will give you a lovely sauce, with lots of that sticky goodness that reduced stocks deliver so nicely. <S> You might do this with all of your stock, then freeze cubes of unused sauce for later; they make a great addition to other bases. <S> Left-over alcohol is not going to be an issue here, by the way, you'll have long since boiled/simmered it off. <A> If this is a full duck, I would suggest doing 1qt of stock, 1 bottle of wine and reduce it by half. <S> For the wine may I suggest a Chianti as well as it should go great with your duck. <S> Since you will be slowly reducing this sauce and for a learning experience every 5 minutes give it a taste. <S> This will help you when you make other sauces to gauge times and thickness to what the actual sauce will be. <A> Then you can add slowly while testing the sauce. <S> Keep in mind that you'll probably reduce the sauce further, so <S> it's like adding too much salt too early in a sauce and having the end result be too salty. <A> If you're trying to cook away the alcohol , you'll need to reduce the wine first, and then add the stock, and reduce further. <S> Mixing the two together first, or reducing the stock first will not remove as much alcohol, although it may be that you prefer having the alcohol in there.
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My hunch would be if you want to play it safe, it might make sense to reduce first so you can taste it and make sure it's about the flavor you want in sweetness.
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Can you purée without a food processor? I'd like to experiment with making purées (particularly carrot and parsnip, if it matters), but I don't have a food processor or any other mechanical mixing/blending tool. Is there anything I can do or is a processor necessary? <Q> I think some sort of mechanical aid to macerate the food is necessary for your project. <S> Depending on what dish you attempt, there are few options. <S> A ricer (or food mill, depending on who you buy from) is a manual device (non-electric) that you might run cooked potatoes or parsnips through. <S> Many people do mashed potatoes this way. <S> Depending how cooked your parsnips get, a hand blender (or immersion blender, stick blender) may work. <S> However, all of this requires you to shell out some cash for a device. <S> I'm not sure, from your post, if that's an option. <S> Good luck! <A> You're just not going to get the same texture with anything that doesn't have spinning knives (blender, food processor, etc.) <S> You might be able to get close with enough cooking + a masher, then a hand mixer (or do the old hand-crank ones still count as mechanical?). <S> As things go for the type of cooking you're dealing with, consider a stick blender -- they're much cheaper than a food processor, don't have the issue with leaking seals as a bar blender, and they don't take up as much storage space. <S> They can't quite do the same things as the others (bar blenders are good for breaking down ice cubes for smoothies that a stick blender might choke on, and you can leave them alone while they work; food processors can shread or slice with the right disks, kneed dough with the plastic blade, or break down solid objects with pulsing to keep it from getting to pureed), but I don't think the others work for making whipped cream, either. <A> A sieve and forcing through the food with a spoon will work. <A> Thoroughly-cooked carrots are at least as soft as boiled potatoes, so you should be able to get a good result with a potato masher if you are patient. <S> Use ample warm liquid (water, stock, ...) to thin it from mash to purée as you go along, and a generous knob of butter wouldn't hurt if your recipe will accommodate it. <S> Once the purée is thin enough, a bit of brisk work with a wire whisk should take care of any little irregularities. <S> If you are VERY patient and completely bereft of tools, you could probably even do the job with a fork, but that strikes me as verging on masochism.
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If you're going for ultra-smooth texture for a bisque or other soup, it might be worth it to get one of the small-bowl food processors (just work in batches).
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Is there any way to sous-vide without a machine I live in an apartment and have limited space to store kitchen gadgets. I don't really like the idea of having a machine that is dedicated to one specific task. I particularly want to get into using sous-vide as a cooking technique, but I don't really want to buy a machine specifically for this task. Is there any way to get a similar cooking method? I know that there probably isn't a way to get the exact temperatures like you get with a sous-vide machine, but I'm looking for some kind of alternative. <Q> <A> Fresh Meals Solutions makes a couple DIY sous-vide add-ons. <S> The FreshMealsMagic submersion heater goes into a pot of water and creates air bubbles to circulate heat. <S> The company's SousVideMagic temperature controller claims: <S> It instantly turns rice cookers, slow cookers/crockpot, and many other cookers/heaters into a constant temperature bath for professional sous vide cooking. <S> I think the FreshMealsMagic is probably your best space-saving device (as it requires just an additional pot). <S> I have not used either of these. <S> I do however use my Sous Vide Supreme 2-3 times a week. <S> It's awesome! <S> You can also use the beer cooler idea described by Serious Eats . <S> Or you can do sous-vide on the stove <S> top <S> if you have a good thermometer, but that requires constant tending rather than set-and-forget. <S> If you experiment with those last two ideas, you can use regular ziplocs. <S> Put your food in the bag and then submerge the bag in water just to the zip. <S> The pressure will expel all the air. <S> Then zip the bag up as you pull the closed portion underwater. <S> This gets results comparable with a home vacuum sealer, I think, with the added benefit that you can include liquids easily. <A> In all cases, you will need a precise thermometer. <S> For short durations, different hacks like the beer cooler method can work. <S> But for extended cooking times (8 hours, or days), I'd recommend investing 40$ towards a pot that can do basically anything: the Presto multi cooker . <S> Find a 10$ aquarium pump to create bubbles and thus create water circulation and you're set. <S> I have the real stuff (an ancient immersion circulator bought on Ebay) <S> and I use the Presto as a second unit when I need more than one. <S> I estimate that you can be precise to about ±0.7°, which might matter or not depending on what you are doing. <S> Update : For very long cooking, nothing beats a dedicated machine like the Sous-vide supreme, because there is no loss of water. <S> With all other methods I had to make sure I refilled it twice a day. <S> Beef ribs for 2-3 days at 58° are just so amazing... <A> Do you have a rice cooker? <S> If you do, and it's not too fancy, you could inline a temperature control and save gadget space. <S> This is the most space efficient solution I'm aware of. <S> See how Popular Science turned a rice cooker into a DIY sous-vide machine . <A> I've used a candy thermometer and a lobster pot. <S> When you have enough the water, it's easy to keep the water at a constant temperature without messing with the burner too much. <A> Before you use a cooler bin for sous-vide, make sure you're aware of a few necessary precautions. <S> For thin cuts of tender steaks (1" or less NY Strip or Filet Mignon) or other tender meats (i.e. fish) that will safely cook in under two hours, the cooler bin can be a safe and inexpensive alternative. <S> But b sure to seal the cuts individually and allow enough room for water to circulate around each cut, or else risk dangerous temperature variations in the bath since there is no active heater or circulator. <S> Thicker cuts of meat require long term cooking. <S> Famous sous-vide expert Douglas Baldwin notes that if you double the thickness of a cut, you should quadruple the time to ensure cooking safety. <S> Since cooler bins lose 1-2°F temperature per hour, they may not hold the desired temperature long enough to properly cook a really thick cut of meat. <S> Cooler bin limitations affect other areas of sous vide cooking. <S> You can not do long-term tenderization of meat at a specific temperature such as required for 72 hour sous vide short ribs . <S> Finally, food that is not sealed in food grade plastic may not be safe depending on the container you use. <S> For example, cooking "cooler Corn" in cheap plastic beer coolers can leach toxic chemicals into your food . <S> The websites out there promoting the awesomeness of "cooler Corn" neglect to mention that you can only make this technique safe if you have a large "food grade" styrofoam container (i.e. the same stuff that is manufactured to hold boiling water for tea or very hot coffee). <S> I'd advise against using a cheap plastic cooler without sealing your food "sous-vide" or you will risk contaimination. <A> I have a turkey roaster that goes down to 160F on its temp dial. <S> It provides a nice, even temp to water when it's filled. <S> Same is true of my electric skillet, though that doesn't go quite as low. <S> There are also devices sold that will hook a thermometer to the electric supply of similar devices and cycle them precisely to maintain the temp. <S> Either way, you get a device you can use for other things, but it can be used to create the temp-controlled water bath that sous-vide requires.
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You can do it with a thermometer clipped to the side of a giant pot of water. I have succeeded using this beer cooler method described by Serious Eats.
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How to store homemade granola? I enjoy homemade granola, but my recipe makes quite a bit. Sometimes I use it all quickly, but sometimes not. What is a reliable storage method? Should it be frozen? Can it just be refrigerated? <Q> Although ours rarely lasts for more than a week, we typically just store it in an airtight container with the rest of the cereal. <S> I would imagine the fat could eventually go rancid, so if you need to store it for weeks or months, either refrigeration or freezing should work. <S> You'll still want the airtight container, however, to prevent any fridge funk from tainting the taste. <A> It probably depends on what's in your granola. <S> I make large batches of granola and store it in glass or plastic jars <S> and it keeps for at least two months (we usually eat it faster than that, however). <S> It's a pretty dry granola, but I've done this in both dry and humid climates and never had a problem. <S> I have also read that granola can be frozen successfully. <A> I made a huge batch of various granola bars for work a while back. <S> Some used sugars (corn syrup, maple syrup, honey, molasses) as the binder; some used butter, flour, or eggs. <S> I brought them all in, and left them on my desk in ziploc bags until they were gone. <S> Some of them lasted well over a month, pushing two months <S> (I'm telling you, <S> it was a lot of granola bars) and nobody got sick, and I didn't notice any change in look, smell, or flavor. <S> Purely anecdotal, but it worked out great for me. <S> If I were going to keep them longer than a month at home, I would probably freeze them - I've frozen granola bars between layers of wax paper in the past and they've thawed back to their original texture. <A> I'm a bit of a FoodSaver junkie. <S> I use it to store almost anything: coffee beans, granola, biscotti, wine ... <S> I keep a smaller quantity in a zip lock bag. <S> I use that for my daily breakfast / snacks. <S> I have the granola recipe, plus many more on my web site . <A> I make the paleo version of granola which contains no cereals, just nuts, coconut, dried fruit and honey and olive oil. <S> I keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. <S> I make quite a large amount and as I am the only one that eats it, it lasts me quite a while. <S> I have never tried freezing it and have never had any go off. <S> I am not sure how long it would last, or if it would go off <A> @galacticcowboy has good recommendation. <S> Just to add to that, the fridge is the last option in my experience because of condensation which stays liquid. <S> Do think about moisture condensing out when you chill/freeze which is always bad for dry foods in storage. <S> I prefer to break a large amount into smaller quantities and put them into individual sealed bags or air-tight containers, fill them as fully as you can to reduce air (which will have moisture and in most cases dew point above freeze temperature). <S> Small bags are helpful because when you taken them out from the freeze (or fridge), the contents are cold and moisture in the air will want to condense on it. <S> So, small full bags, sealed, freeze would be my suggestion.
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I store most of my home-made granola in Food Saver canisters.
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What flavor should you highlight from an oyster? I've noticed some seafood restaurants put so much stuff on baked oysters, it completely overpowers the oyster. You could have baked a napkin, and it would have tasted just as good. And then it can go the other way with raw oysters. I never understood the oysters when it doesn't taste like much at all. <Q> An oyster has three key components that you want to be aware of when accenting their flavor: salinity, texture, and finish. <S> Oysters are naturally salty since their blood is basically seawater. <S> Depending on where the oysters are from they can vary rather significantly in salinity, from 12 to 36 parts per thousand. <S> Oysters from northern colder waters are typically saltier and crunchier than those from warmer waters. <S> Acid is a natural counter to salt which is why lemon juice or mignonette are common flavorings for an oyster. <S> If you're eating an oyster that is saltier than what you're used to an addition of an acid can help mellow out the punch of salt. <S> The texture of an oyster is my favorite part. <S> The only way to eat an oyster is raw in my opinion. <S> Baking just doesn't do it justice. <S> There's something sublime about the feel of an oyster on your tongue and that burst of flavor and sweetness you get when you begin to chew. <S> The finish is the hardest part to discern. <S> Detecting, and accurately describing the finish of an oyster is much akin to describing the flavor of a wine. <S> Cucumber is often used to describe the finish, as well as melony, or even just fruity. <S> If you drown your oyster in too much of any flavor you will miss out on this completely. <S> How do you enjoy this and learn to detect it? <S> I suggest tasting different varieties side by side. <S> My favorites are Blue Points, Apalachicola, and Malpeque's. <S> See what's available in your area from a good fishmonger. <S> Try to get some from the Atlantic if you can and compare them to Pacific oysters. <S> There's a very noticeable difference there. <S> In summary, let your oysters speak for themselves. <S> They do have a taste that is completely unique, but you have to respect it and not mask it. <S> Stick to the classics for flavoring: <S> tabasco, lemon juice, horseradish, and mignonette. <S> Venture out and try others if you want, but avoid sweet or salty additions, the oysters take care of that themselves. <S> Acid and/or heat are what you want to add to accentuate the flavor of an oyster. <A> I recently had some at a winery restaurant where they were topped with a tiny bit of icewine jelly. <S> That worked extraordinarily well - subtle enough to still get the full oyster flavour, but the sweet aftertaste of the icewine also provided enough contrast with the salinity to make it interesting. <A> There's a theory of cooking that argues that you should pair elements with chemicals in common. <S> The FoodPairing web site recommends some "interesting" combinations with oysters : <S> Fruits: <S> Guava, Strawberry and Bitterorange peel <S> Dairy: Butter, Brie andCamembert <S> Meat: <S> Chicken roasted,Beijing roasted duck and Iberian ham <S> I'm skeptical, but if anyone has any luck pairing these with oysters, please comment! <A> (We recently had at the restaurant some wild oysters from County Clare, Ireland, which had dominant flavours of melon and cut grass. <S> Paired with a yuzu mignonette they were absolutely dynamite). <S> Anyway. <S> Look at the dominant notes, and think about what pairs nicely with those. <S> If you get oysters with a big cucumber flavour, mint could be absolutely gorgeous, when used fresh and with restraint.
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Your best bet is to look at the dominant flavour notes of the oyster in question--different species have different flavours.
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Are garlic butter and garlic oil interchangeable? When eating something like crab, garlic butter seems to be a Western thing while garlic oil is Asian. Is it just a personal preference thing, or does it matter which one you use? Note: Garlic butter is just melted butter with garlic, while garlic oil is oil heated to a high temperature and then poured over garlic. <Q> I agree that they're similar, but I don't think I'd personally call them "interchangeable" in a culinary sense, just like butter and oil aren't really interchangeable in all cases. <S> Now, it's not like the ingredients police will arrest you for using one in a recipe instead of another. <S> Note that melted butter is about 20% water (depending on how long you've heated it), but you're probably not baking with this stuff (though it occurs to me that it'd be an interesting addition to a salty cracker recipe). <A> I do not think so. <S> Garlic butter will usually have fresh garlic in it whereas garlic oil will be oil that had garlic cooked in it. <S> With garlic butter you're going to get a fresher, more pronounced flavor (say for putting a dollop on top of steak ). <S> Garlic oil is going to give you a deeper, more spiced flavor (say for using in a salad dressing ). <S> At least in the two examples I gave above, they are not interchangeable. <S> They may be in cases where you end up cooking them for a while - for instance, when sauteeing vegetables with butter/oil. <S> When all is said and done, it depends on the usage. <A> If by interchangeable you mean you can use garlic-oil when it's reported to use garlic-butter (or vice versa), then I think they are not interchangeable. <A> Yes, they are interchangeable. <S> In fact, I use both, depending on my mood. <S> My wife hates me when I consume too much garlic (I like garlic probably too much), so I use even other options when this is the case. <S> If I am making a saute with yummy veggies and shrimp I love to use a garlic oil, but eating lobster <S> I may opt for the butter. <S> But certainly either of these would be good with either dish ;--) <S> One more comment. <S> They might not be interchangeable if you are cooking something really hot, as the butter will break. <S> In my case above, I would add some garlic butter to the cooking dish, but wouldn't rely on it for the saute. <S> For low temp stuff, it boils down to preference. <A> Depends on what you are doing with it. <S> As a condiment the major difference would be the flavor profile. <S> Calorically and in terms of fat content most low-flavor oils are extremely similar to butter (and <S> even olive oil has a similar number of calories, although the fat is considered healthier). <S> For cooking purposes, however, different oils and butter have completely different smoke points. <S> Examples: <S> Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 320 degrees <S> F Butter - 350 degrees <S> F Refined Corn Oil - 450 <S> degrees <S> F Soybean Oil - 495 degrees <S> F <S> So you can heat these fats to different temperatures before they burn and smoke. <S> For cooking use, you want to be careful not to burn your fat.
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The taste of garlic-oil is different from the taste of garlic-butter; I don't think that using butter instead of olive oil for the recipe of spaghetti with garlic, oil, and red peppers would be the same.
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How can I get my puff pastry to rise? When I made chicken pot pie, the filling was fine but the puff pastry on top didn't puff up though it did cook through. How can I remedy this? The pastry was the store-bought frozen variety. The temperature was 375 °F and I used and egg wash for the glaze. <Q> Did at any point you crimp the puff pastry? <S> If you press the layers together too hard you will cause the dough not to puff. <S> I don't think temperature was the issue here if you said it cooked all the way through. <A> If you've baked your puff pastry in the past at 375 then it's probably not a temperature problem, however I usually bake it between 400-425 degrees (400 convection or 425 in standard oven). <S> Lower temperatures aren't a problem for the baking aspect as it will still cook through. <S> The problem lies in the fact that the heat won't be significant enough to generate the steam needed for expansion. <S> Egg wash could be a culprit as it should only be used on the top and not allowed to run down the sides where it will seal the edge together and keep it from rising unevenly. <A> You can also lose the puff if you defrost and then refreeze as you will create larger ice crystals that will bust up the protein matrix that your pastry needs to maintain its shape.
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Puff pastry puffs because of the steam generated during cooking so if your pastry has dried out you are not going to get a good rise out of it.
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Is it cost effective to make your own roast beef sandwich? Seeing how expensive deli meat is it sure seems like roast beef sandwiches would be cheaper to make if you did your own roast and sliced it thin. Are there any cons to this method? I imagine it would not last as long as the deli meat. <Q> You've got a few things to consider -- cost of the ingredients shrinkage energy costs <S> time costs wastage <S> So, in our decision making tree, we have to consider the real costs of each option. <S> Say for instance that whole roasts are on sale, so the cost of a roast is 1/2 the cost of buying the deli meat. <S> it's just part of the cooking process. <S> It could be anywhere from 10 to 25%, depending on the cut of meat and how hot you cook it. <S> Obviously, there will be other spices and such, but we'll assume they're mostly negligible. <S> There will be the cost to power your oven ... and that'd be a function of where you live, if it's gas or electric (or solar), etc ... <S> and if you make too much, and can't eat it before it spoils, then there's waste. <S> ... <S> but then we get to the most important part in my opinion -- time, and slicing. <S> Even if we assume our time costs nothing (and when you're throwing something in the oven and leave it for a few hours, that part's negligible). <S> Our real time comes in slicing it -- and I don't have a professional slicing machine, just a bunch of knives, so <S> it's going to take me quite a long time, and I'm not going to get it as thin as the deli can. <S> And in my opinion, it's the shaving of the meat that matters; there's a big difference between large chunks of meat vs. thick slices vs. thinly shaved. <S> ... <S> So, in my opinion -- is it cost effective? <S> maybe a little bit, if you assume your time is free. <S> Is it worth it? <S> Maybe if you want to spice it special, or make it lower salt, stay away from sulfides / sulfates, or do something else special ... <S> but as you likely can't slice it the same, it's more likely to come out as an inferior product. <S> That's not to say that I won't ever do it, but I doubt I'd do it anytime soon, and it won't be because I think it's a cost savings. <A> The only problem with slice your own is storage but your freezer will take care of that as long as you take care to make sure the packages you freeze in freeze as quickly as possible to prevent ice crystal formation. <S> The slicing problem is easy as long as you make sure you only cut your roast cold. <S> You should be able to easily thin slice using only a knife, and while it will take longer than a deli slicer, you should be able to slice through a decent sized roast in only fifteen or so minutes. <A> It's all depend if you are going to eat all the roast beef you prepare. <S> If you just need three/four sandwiches, then it's probably better to buy deli meat.
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The roast is going to lose weight as it cooks ... Roasting your own beef for sandwiches doesn't have to be time consuming, and you can easily get enough to make sandwichs for quite a while out of one roast.
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What vegetables hold up well for making vegetarian pot pie? I am trying to make a vegetarian pot pie, but so far I was not successful. I tried with carrots, peas, and cauliflower, but the pot pie was not that good. <Q> What do you mean by hold up well? <S> Structurally? <S> Carrots and peas are rather common in a traditional chicken pot pie. <S> Cauliflower is probably way too delicate to hold up well, also it's too mildly flavored to serve as a primary flavor. <S> Potatoes, squash, zucchini are some good possibilities. <S> I'd also add some onion and celery for a better flavor punch. <A> If you'd like to make something with cauliflower and/or broccoli, try this: <S> trim and wash the florets (keep the stems for something else if you like). <S> Blanch them in boiling salted water for 3 or 4 minutes (a little longer maybe for cauliflower). <S> Drain them and dump them into some cold water, then drain them. <S> Now (or before now): get a heavy roasting pan (like a big earthenware or cast iron lasagna pan, or something like that - the heavier the better) hot in a 375 degree (F) oven. <S> That should take about 15 or 20 minutes - we want it hot . <S> Pull it out of the oven carefully, and then add some oil. <S> Spread the oil around with a silicone brush or by tilting the pan (carefully please; don't burn yourself and sue me) and then add the drained broccoli/cauliflower. <S> Sort-of toss those around <S> (if you've got some spray olive oil, you can squirt them with that) and then add kosher/sea salt and black pepper. <S> Roast those in the oven for about 20 minutes, possibly tossing them around halfway through. <S> Now what you've got is the best tasting cauliflower/broccoli in the world. <S> You can add those roasted florettes to a quiche or to a pot pie or to anything like that. <S> I add thusly roasted cauliflower to Indian "dal" preparations and it's awesome. <S> Here's another tip: if you want to add cubed potatoes but <S> you don't want them to turn to mush, try this. <S> Cube the raw potatoes. <S> Get some water warming on the stove, but when it's still just warm (less than 130 degrees F) add the potatoes. <S> Keep the fire on, but monitor the temperature very carefully. <S> When the water gets up to 138 degrees F, drop the fire a lot and try to keep it at that temperature for about 10 minutes. <S> After that, raise the fire and let the potatoes boil as you normally would. <S> That trick will allow a natural enzyme in the potatoes to "firm up" the starch, and they'll end up cooked but not mushy. <S> You can then add them to your pot pie with the confidence that they'll more-or-less hold together. <S> (Beets do this kind-of automatically; it's really hard to cook a beet until it's mush.) <A> The flavor balance in a traditional pot pie going to be hard to replicate using just vegtables but the inclusion of mushrooms to add some meatiness and adding some tofu to the base along with enough starches to thicken up the base should do it. <S> Corn, rutabagas, carrots and garlic should be added to hobodave's list of vegtables that will remain reconizable after cooking. <A> I'm assuming you're talking about flavour here - in which case I'd fry up some leeks/onions, garlic and mushrooms in butter and put them in a white sauce, which should give a nice savoury base for whatever other vegies you fancy putting in. <A> A traditional answer: Carrots & peas are a good start. <S> Consider pot pie filling a thick veggie soup. <S> You can also include other things you'd find in frozen "soup veggie" mix. <S> I've had one with diced sweet potatoes too. <S> Think color, texture, flavor. <S> Don't go for green leafies, brocolli or cauliflower (too many sulfur compounds when slow cooked). <S> What's as important as veggie selection though is cooking & sauce. <S> Dice onion & mince garlic, brown in butter. <S> Add veggie stock and bring to simmer. <S> Add (optionally pre-steamed) diced carrots, potatoes & other longer cooking veg. <S> Once more tender, add quicker cooking veg. <S> I would add Campbell's cream of celery as a base, it will thin with veggie stock. <S> Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper - maybe bay leaf or other soup spices. <S> Don't bother putting it in a pie shell until you are happy with the flavor & texture. <S> Do not rely on pie baking to cook filling. <A> I made a pie which contained shallots, button mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms and whole chestnuts. <S> I sauteed the shallots whole along with the mushrooms. <S> Then I added a goodly amount of red wine, some bay leaves plus some rosemary. <S> I simmered it for a while to reduce, then added the chestnuts, then seasoned further. <S> Into a casserole dish, then covered with pastry. <S> After cooking, all the filling ingredients had held their shape. <A> My wife and I have been making the vegetable pot pie with dill-Havarti <S> sauce from the Moosewood Restaurant <S> Celebrates cookbook for years. <S> The only modifications that we make are to leave out the celery and green beans and add in some peas and asparagus. <S> We've even successfully made a vegan version by making our own dill Havarti cashew cheese.
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I would suggest trying some heartier root vegetables or starches. Personally, I'd do carrots, peas, corn, lima beans, tiny diced potatoes, green beans, onion.
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How can brown stains be removed from pots and pans? I haven't been cooking for long — recent college grad — so I'm doing a lot of experimentation and making a lot of rookie mistakes. One of them is shown here for your viewing pleasure: My mom gifted me this pan less than a year ago. She used it for over 15 years and kept it spotless the entire time, so I'm more than a little embarassed. I suspect that these stains were caused by stray drops of oil getting onto the bottom of the pan and getting burned on. Is that right, or were they caused by something else? I use an electric stove with resistive heating coils, if it makes a difference. And more importantly, how can I get this pan clean again? <Q> Bar Keeper's Friend in powdered form and some elbow grease will solve this problem. <S> The first time you tackle it, it can be a real pain to get the pan cleaned up, but if you keep up with it regularly after that, it's not to bad. <S> Great cleaning supply. <A> This is little off the beaten path, but try a solvent gun cleaner (not oil). <S> I recently (last week) caused a catastrophic burn on one of my skillets when I let it get entirely too hot before throwing a steak on it. <S> After a few hundred cubic feet of smoke, a smoke alarm that sounded more like an air-raid siren, and a stubborn decision to let my steak cook <S> anyway I was left with an interior that was about 100x worse than your picture. <S> (The steak turned out perfect). <S> I tried the standard google recommendations of lemon juice, vinegar, and oven cleaner. <S> They barely put a dent in it. <S> Wow! <S> A thorough spraying, a steel wool pad, and a surprisingly little amount of elbow grease <S> later the gunk was, I'd say, 99% gone. <S> I still have a slight lightish brown tinge to my previously shiny surface, but I think that's as good as it's going to get. <S> Your profile says you live in Virginia, so there's at least a slight chance <S> you have some of this. <S> If not, you should be able to find some at a Wal-Mart. <S> Needless to say, wash it thoroughly after you've cleaned it. <S> Update <S> My pan was All-Clad stainless steel. <S> Guns are steel, and typically devoid of any aluminum parts. <S> If your pan is aluminum I wouldn't suggest trying this, because I don't know what would happen. <S> Another update <S> I didn't think this answer would end up getting many up votes. <S> Since it has, I want to stress that you shouldn't just use any arbitrary gun cleaning product you have laying around. <S> You should make sure that it's strictly a solvent/degreaser. <S> If it indicates that it "protects" in any fashion, then avoid it. <S> A great many solutions include an oil based protectant. <S> This is most certainly not edible. <S> You don't want anything that leaves behind a residue. <S> This stuff very clearly strips everything off the metal and evaporates very rapidly. <S> Regardless, wash your pan very thoroughly afterwards. <A> I too use <S> barKeepers <S> Friend <S> ...love it. <S> However, use a piece of crumpled up aluminum foil to scrub off the stain. <S> It comes right off! <A> Note that this will scuff the finish of "bright" stainless steel. <S> This is the outside of the pan, though, so who cares? <S> Even if you are careful, you will get similar stains again - they are pretty much inevitable. <S> Consider them "battle scars" :-) <A> Wash. Dry thoroughly. <S> Spray bottom with oven cleaner. <S> Leave overnight. <S> Rinse and wash again. <S> Edit: If the inside is non-stick, don't get any oven cleaner on that part. <A> If your pan is stainless steel, I've had great luck getting really bad stains off with and electric drill with a rotary wire brush. <S> It's best to do it outside, since it generates black dust. <A> i used Weiman Cook Top Cleaner and a piece of crumpled up aluminum foil to scrub off the stain. <S> Worked great... <A> Responding; I brought a spray from the dollar tree. <S> Spray it on bottoms of stainless steel pans, let set for about 15 min. <S> , scrub with a steel scrubber. <S> It should came right off, with very little pressure. <S> NuLife Stainless Cleaner. <A> I like using Bar keepers friend or Bon Ami along with some super fine wet/dry sandpaper. <S> I then scrub the pan along the grain of the metal. <S> In most cases the pan's grain is circular, so I put some old wet towels and scrub away. <S> If all else fails, there is always the oven cleaner spray, but only as a last option, it is quite toxic. <S> I would rather just leave the stain on if it gets to the last option. <S> Not worth it in my option. <S> But if you really must have it clean. <A> Baking soda and vinegar worked really well on a stainless steel pan <S> I burnt some veggie sausages on a couple days ago. <S> Highly recommend his as the elbow grease required wasn't very much.
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On super tough stains I use a Japanese rust eraser, which has a mild abrasive and start to rub the pan, this is quite effective in getting rid of the burn on oil. On a whim I grabbed a can of Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber® Solvent / Degreaser , and decided to give it a try. Steel wool should get it shiny again, with a little work. Yes, these are from burned-on oil.
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The difference between green, red and yellow bell peppers Is there any difference between green, red and yellow bell peppers, barring the color? Normally when I buy a pack of 3 I always leave the yellow till last. It's normally due the coloring looking less appealing in the dish. <Q> http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodtip&dbid=68 Same plant species , different cultivar , different maturity, different tastes, different nutritional value. <S> To summarize from the link, green are harvested earliest and contain the least vitamins, yellows are next and contain more vitamin C and less vitamin A and beta carotene, reds are harvest last and contain the most each vitamin types. <S> Yellow and red are both sweeter and more fruity than green. <A> As a greenhouse operator, I can tell you that the first answer was the correct answer. <S> Green peppers are really peppers that are picked before they are completely ripe. <S> All green peppers, if left on the vine will transition through yellow and end up red. <S> This is why a green pepper is more bitter than yellow, orange or red. <S> Yellow and Orange peppers are loaded with Vitamin A and C while Greens have none or very little. <S> Green peppers are generally cheaper to buy than the others because they don't have to stay on the plant as long. <S> Seed developers have found a way to make pepper plants ripen to either yellow, orange, chocolate, purple or red depending on which variety you have. <A> I usually find that red peppers get softer faster than the others. <A> Green are the most versatile, although less appealing. <S> Red peppers have 2x amount of Vit C and yellow peppers actually have 10x the amount. <S> Plus the brighter the color, the sweeter the pepper. <A> I'd always understood the difference to purely be different ripenesses (and therefore sweetness). <S> They are all the same variety though.
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Red peppers are sweeter than green, and yellow and orange are sweeter than red.
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How should I clean my propane grill? My propane grill needs to be cleaned, how should I go about doing so? <Q> The method I use is to leave on high for a few minutes to burn off the worst of the food residue. <S> Then I scrub it with a wire grill brush and , while still warm, I then re-oil with cooking oil. <S> There are proprietary products you can use <S> and I've seen people using oven cleaner <S> but I steer well away from those! <A> Here's my method. <S> Don't clean the grill from the previous cooking, just turn it off and leave it. <S> Next time you're grilling, turn the heat up to high until the grill smokes. <S> Dip a grill brush in a bowl of water and run it along the metal. <S> It will steam clean the surfaces. <S> Before adding food, take an oiled paper towel and place it on the grill, using the grill brush to grease the grate. <S> I do this twice, since the first run usually picks up a lot of residual char. <S> Grill away. <S> One benefit of this method is that you don't have to clean up afterward, and you take advantage of the heating-up of the grill that has to happen anyway, rather than keeping the grill on extra afterwards. <A> I always take the grill grates, and the peices that go over the burners and power wash them. <S> they are both high quality, and can take teh beating. <S> The other internal parts I wipe down with rags and burn it off. <A> When the grill has cooled completely (after dinner): <S> I take some kitchen paper or some newspaper and clean off as much as possible. <S> I use a wire brush with a scraper to brush the grill, and scrape off any bits that are stuck on. <S> I DO NOT re-oil, and the grill stays nice and greasy for the next usage. <S> Before the snow of winter rolls around, I take it all apart, clean the plates with a BBQ cleaning foam and water, and the cover that goes over the burners gets a good scraping, then I wash and clean the frame. <S> This way, the grill will last years of good use. <A> I bought a plastic box with lid, (suitable for under the bed), and I put the grills and plates of my BBQ in it with a large pitcher of cold tap water and some "degreaser" dish soap. <S> I then boil a tea kettle of tap water and pour over the top of the cold water and everything in the box (so as not to melt my plastic box) and put the lid on so it will stay hot. <S> in half and hour to 45 minutes everything comes right off with the BBQ wire brush and the stainless steel scrubbie. <S> Wipe down the inside of the BBQ and put foil on the bottom and put back together. <S> Wish there was an easier way, but it's the cleanest way for me. <A> As many have said, I like to turn the grill on high, close it, and let it burn off the bulk of the residue; then I use a grill brush to scrub all of the remaining residue and char off; after that I wipe down the grill with oil (usually olive oil). <A> Like you'd cook any other metal surface you cook on. <S> You can use the grill to cook off some kinds of debris. <S> You can scrape with a metal scrubby. <S> You can buy abrasive pads and metal brushes. <S> You can buy spray grill cleaner, but be sure to clean <S> that off really well before cooking on it. <A> Since there is only my husband and myself, there isn't much meat and/or veggies. <S> But, after each use and once we have eaten the grill is cool enough once the dishes from the meal are washed (by hand) <S> I then take both the grill and the burner cover into the kitchen and wash. <S> When I see a lot of debris is sitting on the bottom I then clean it up with paper towels and discard. <S> The grill is easy to clean with this method and we don't have to worry about eating charred whatever.
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It depends in the quality of the grill and what parts you are looking to clean.
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What is the difference between Greek yogurt and plain yogurt? One of the ingredients of a recipe is Greek yogurt. May I replace it with plain yogurt? If I do it, what is the difference that I would immediately note? <Q> Greek yogurt is thicker. <S> You can turn not-so-greek yogurt into it by letting it strain. <S> Put cheesecloth into a colander, dump yogurt in, and allow to sit. <S> Not too long, or you'll accidentally achieve paneer instead. <A> Greek yogurt has more fat than a "normal" yogurt, about 10%. <S> Further an original Greek yogurt is made from sheep's milk since there aren't many cows in Greece. <S> This might taste a bit odd for people used to cow's milk though... <S> When buying Greek yogurt made from cow's milk I recommend you look out for the native brand ΦΑΓΕ . <A> the kind I purchase has double the protein of regular yoghurt. <S> If you need Greek yoghurt for the thickness more than for the protein (making, for example, tzatsiki sauce ), then you can strain it as bmargulies indicated. <S> I strain yoghurt in a coffee filter, over a coffee mug. <S> Believe it or not, the damp filter clings to the mug enough that it doesn't just fall into the mug.
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Another difference is that Greek yoghurt has much more protein -
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