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We have bottled Muscat wine and with a few bottles (three out of 30) the cork seems to be pushing out. The storage area is 12 Celsius. The wine was bottled in mid June of this year, by a small winery. This is a very recent event. All the other bottle tops are still that tiny bit concave. What can be going on ?

This is generally an indication that the wine is not stable - that is, it is still fermenting, which is a defect in wines not intended to be sparkling (carbonated) wines. If you made the wine, and the winery bottled it, this is your problem. If the winery made and bottled the wine, I would bring it up with them, as it's their problem, and hopefully they will replace the bulging bottles. In making wines one either has to aim for a dry wine where all the sugars have been consumed and there is nothing more for the yeast to eat, or one "stabilizes" the wine by either filtering out all the yeast or chemically "stunning" them to prevent further fermentation when bottled. Whatever method was supposed to be applied to your wine was evidently not done properly or completely, and now fermentation is continuing in the bottles and causing gas pressure, which is pushing the corks out. If you can't get the winery to replace the bulging bottles of wine, your best bet is to refrigerate it as cold as possible without freezing it, and drink as soon as possible.

I notice when I bake cookies (usually chocolate chip or peanut butter) the recipe often says "place on baking rack to cool". Because I don't have one, I just place them on a plate after removing them from the pan. It doesn't seem to do any harm. What is the point of buying this special piece of equipment?

A cooling rack serves two primary purposes. First, it allows the cookies (or other baked good) to cool faster by letting air circulate completely around the cookie. Second, it prevents the steam escaping from the cookies from soaking the bottoms, and other cookies placed on top.

I belong to a CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) and get a basket of assorted vegetables every week. I have very little cooking experience, and if I search the ingredients online I get a ton of recipes that have only 1 or 2 of the ingredients I need to use. So far what I've been doing is putting most of the stuff together and making a stir fry (perhaps adding onions and mushrooms as a friend recently suggested) with spices. Results have been mixed (no pun intended!). Another idea I've tried is soup, but I'm not as comfortable with that as of yet. Any general strategies (not necessarily recipes) besides just "stir fry"? I'd prefer to be able to use all of it with a minimum number of recipes (preferably just 1 or 2) Here are 2 examples of baskets I've gotten. example from Oct: Arugula Beans Beets Carrots Rainbow Chard Garlic Kale Kohlrabi Okra Parsley Peppers Radishes Tomatoes Winter Squash (Butternut or Delicata) example from Aug: Fennel Tomatoes Summer Squash Okra Onions Black Radishes or Purple Turnips Peppers Chard

There is often a need with a CSA box to use up the last of the previous box when the new box arrives. Making soup is a great strategy for doing this. Almost any combination of vegetables works well in a soup, and leftover soup stretches the lifetime of the vegetables and can also be frozen with good results. You can suit the type of soup to the combination of vegetables you have on hand, which is something I like about a CSA: it pushes me to try out new recipes. Okra and tomatoes? Gumbo. Or Indian curry soup. Chard, parsley, and squash? Tortilla soup. Etc.

Prompted by the question How to cook Lo Mein? and some of the answers regarding types of noodles, I started wondering what the real differences are in the 4 named dishes. I know what the differences are in American Chinese restaurants and I understand that there are variations. (E.g., lo mein is usually wheat noodles while mei fun is usually fine rice noodles.) So, that is not what I'm looking for. I would like to know, if I was in China and ordered each one of those dishes, what would I expect and what would be the difference between them? I understand that there may be variations based on region but I'm just asking for the fundamentals. Also, did chop suey really originate in China? Edited to clarify: I'm just asking a basic question, not for ingredients, per se. For example - Dish "X" is stir-fried vegetables (with or without meat) in sauce served with soft rice noodles. I understand that much of the difference is in the type of noodles used and how they are prepared. However, I've always heard that much of the American-Chinese cuisine was loosely adapted and not really the same thing or possibly didn't originate in China. So, I'm just trying to find out what is authentic.

The problem with your question is that you're kind of asking something akin to "what is the universally accepted traditional preparation for Spaghetti". While conventionally in much of the English speaking world, that refers to spaghetti and meat sauce. The word/dish itself refers to a specific style/type of noodle and could be topped with anything. Lo Mein and Chow Mein refer to the method of preparation and not the contents ("Stirred Noodle" and "Fried Noodle" respectively). They are both often wheat based egg noodles. Lo Mein is typically cooked in a broth, whereas Chow mein, by definition will be cooked in oil. Sometimes it'll be cooked till crispy, sometimes not. If you happen to be in some location that serves authentic Chinese food, you could order dozens of different preparations for each of the above; It could include various combinations of proteins, vegetables. There are also different types of specific noodles used (eg: the small flat ones usually called "chow mein" in north american restaurants, larger round noodles often referred to as Shanghai Style Chow Mein, etc...). If I walked into a chinese restaurant in Hong Kong and asked for "Chow Mein" in Chinese, I imagine the response would most likely be, "what would you like on it?" Generally speaking there would be some protein and one or more vegetables. This is highly dependent on what is available locally. This varies greatly in China. Hong Kong will have access to more ingredients having been an international westernized port for a long time. The rest of China is more subject to local farming/fishing. That said, Seafood is very common in Hong Kong Cuisine given that it's a port. My friend from the north grew up with a lot more pork. But now my answer is becoming less about the dishes themselves. Mei Fun means "Rice Noodle". Again, there is no accepted universal rule for what goes into it. My mom who comes from Hong Hong cooks those noodles half a dozen different ways depending on her mood. Chop Suey like @Ching Chong said, just means "miscellaneous leftovers" or "assorted pieces". The origin is heavily debated and full of myth (see the wiki page). It is most commonly found these days from my understanding in Americanized Chinese restaurants in the US. I don't remember seeing it in Canada for example. Wherever it started, what makes it difficult to answer as it depends on what the cook wants to put in it. Anecdotally, I'm Canadian Chinese and have eaten at Chinese restaurants all over the world since I was born and have never actually ordered this dish, so take my answer for what it's worth. :-)

I steam my broccoli until it's 'al dente' and some buds turn brown. I've done a small search, but haven't found anything. I'm thinking maybe the steam is too hot or I'm steaming too long. What do you think?

further to SAJ14SAJ's answer, what happens is the Magnesium atom in the bright green Chlorophyll is lost in acidic conditions and you end up with Pheophytin which is Olive Green. There are other reactions at play mediated by the enzyme Chlorophyllase which can be active even in frozen storage. The main reason for blanching (hot water part) is to stop this enzyme's activity. The ice bath is to stop the cooking process and the magnesium loss. This short presentation from Purdue University explains this along with the molecular structure if you're interested. The presentation states that green vegetables are blanched to end enzyme activity, to preserve the natural green colour.

I made peach chutney yesterday, hot ingredients into hot sterilized jars. Wiped the rims. After submerged in boiling water 20 minutes, and sitting placidly on counter all the jars popped but one. Today when checking the seals, depressing the center of lid, the one that had not popped on its own, popped. Now I am not sure if the seal of that jar is good. Is it OK to store it, or should it be used and refrigerated immediately?

You should either store that jar in the refrigerator or reprocess it with a new lid. The vacuum formed is not going to be as strong as your other jars and may be temperature sensitive. It may stay sealed on the shelf, but it may not. I wouldn’t risk having to discard the whole jar.

This recipe calls for first frying the sausage until fully cooked and then poaching it in pasta water. Many other pasta recipes from this vendor use similar technique. What is the goal here? Is it to improve the texture of meat, imbue it with some "pasta" taste or make kale taste meaty? Is it important to use "starch" water?

In my experience, a 400 gram can of beans contains about 240 grams of drained beans. That will vary slightly by the type of bean.

A friend of mine cooks pasta in a modified electric water boiler which has been modified to keep going even after the water placed in it boils. What are some advantages and disadvantages of this method over placing the boiled water in a pot and cooking it there over a gas stove? Thanks.

Advantages: You can make pasta in your water boiler. Disadvantages: Hard to clean. Waste of energy, a water boiler is on or off, it will expend full energy keeping the water boiling. Incredibly dangerous, a big fire hazard. Because it's modified to ignore the internal temperature sensor it will keep heating and heating even if all the water is vaporized. Once this is the case, it will start getting so hot it will melt the boiler and the metal of the heating element at which point your stovetop may catch fire. Story about faulty kettle.

I got a pizza peel that feels like it is just plain wood. How can I protect it? I thought I heard somewhere to use some sort of oil.

Wood is actually a pretty good bacterial inhibitor. Wood will last a long time - but not forever. We have a pizza peel that is 5 years old and it is used every day. It still is just fine without mineral oil or any other wood pampering.

I tried one recipe with silken tofu, but it didn't set enough and just ran off the carrot cake.

There's no reason to peel besides the aesthetics of it. There's no major flavor or nutritional difference either way. If the ginger is going to be seen then peel it, if not don't bother. The best way to peel ginger is to use the edge of a small spoon to rub it off, it works really well, takes seconds, and doesn't waste as much as using a knife or peeler.

As a vegetarian, whenever I have to use minced meat I use minced quorn. But quorn does not add any flavour to dishes, only texture. What are the best "base spices" to add to the quorn when using it in any dish, for example spaghetti sauce?

According to Wikipedia, apple cider (US usage) is different from apple juice (US usage) in that: "Apple juice and apple cider are both fruit beverages made from apples, but there is a difference between the two. Fresh cider is raw apple juice that has not undergone a filtration process to remove coarse particles of pulp or sediment. Apple juice is juice that has been filtered to remove solids and pasteurized so that it will stay fresh longer. Or, in translation, "apple cider" is apple juice; "apple juice" is filtered apple juice. So in Italy you should look for brands of apple juice with words like "with bits" or "unfiltered" on the label.

I have cooked bone in pork shoulder many times before and I am about to do it again but I feel the need to experiment slightly... My plan is to cook the pork shoulder in the oven for 8 hours at 100 degrees celcius (212 degrees faranheit) then transfer it to my smoker, where i shall smoke it for another 8 hours between 90-100 degrees celcius (194-212 degrees faranheit). I'll have internal thermometers etc so i know it will hit the correct temps, i am just wondering if I will end up drying the crap out of it. I can't give a weight on the pork shoulder as I don't have it yet, it will be the entire shoulder though around 4.5 kg maybe What do people think, good plan or bad plan? I will be using a temperature probe, I forgot to mention that there would also be a cider bath in the oven and smoker as well. Can't change the order of the cook as I won't be there for the time it spends in the oven (I would have just gone for smoker straight through if I had). Thanks for your advice, I'll let you know how it goes.

180C (350F) for 45 minutes should do the trick. Just make sure it is piping hot in the middle before serving. Cover the dish with foil to prevent the crust getting any crustier. You will still want to take it off for the last ten minutes of cooking to crisp it though, as the foil will make it soggy. You can absolutely prepare Cottage Pie to the pre-baking stage and fridge (or freezer) it until the next day. You need to cool it relatively quickly though - hot food shouldn't sit around for more than a couple of hours. Place the dish in cool water (obviously not over the lip of the dish) and change the water a couple of times as the pie warms it, then cover and put in the fridge or freezer.

I am making vegetable soup for about eight people and would like to cool it in little time. Refrigeration seems to be a good choice, but I would like to know if there are better methods/techniques out there.

Ice bath. Put a bunch of ice in your sink or in a container large enough to place your soup pot in. Add enough water to cover the ice. If the soup pot is large or wide, you can speed up the cooling by periodically stirring it: this is particularly important for thicker soups or stews, where the middle section of a pot can stay warm for a long time. Or, for maximum cooling, break up the soup into smaller -- preferably more shallow -- containers first and then place them in the ice bath (though this isn't generally necessary if you're using ice). If you don't have that much ice, you can use a cold tap water bath to at least get it down to near room temperature before refrigerating. But you will need to replace the water frequently for fast cooling. (Unless you're breaking up the soup into smaller containers first, I would strongly recommend an ice bath over simply putting a large pot in the refrigerator. It can take many hours for the contents of a large pot to cool completely in a refrigerator, which can be a food safety hazard. If you do use the refrigerator alone, put into smaller containers and don't stack them to allow air circulation, and obviously don't place them next to highly perishable foods like raw meat, etc.)

While I was reading the ingredients list of a supermarket-bought bread (in the Netherlands) the other day, one of them caught my eye: acerola powder. I know acerola is a fruit with a high vitamin C content but why would it be used in bread? I don't think it was for its particular flavor since it was just a regular soft bread, not a sweet/flavored bread (more precisely "bakkersballen" with spelt). And if it's as a preservative / conditioner, why not just use ascorbic acid?

The only functional reason that comes to mind is indeed the vitamin C content. Vitamin C makes for quite tough gluten, so it is frequently used in bread making. The question about the choice of acerola powder over ascorbic acid can only be answered with certainty by the person who made that choice. An obvious guess would be that it was done for marketing reasons.

My mom lives Hong Kong when Toronto's cold. Here are strictures: Healthy frying is OK. Let's rule out deep-frying - it's unhealthy and can cause cancer. Her HK flat doesn't have a convection oven. She never bought microwave oven. She could buy a counter-top convection toaster oven, but she feels it's too eco-unfriendly and waste of money. Let's rule it out for now. If nobody comes up anything, she will reconsider. She has a rice cooker. Her kitchen looks like Sources - First pic beneath. Bottom pic.

You will never achieve the same results without an oven or deep-frying. Just pan-fry the potatoes in a little bit of oil; I'd par-boil the potatoes and finish them up in the pan.

I would like to know from you guys, what criteria do you use to select the perfect (green) coffee bean for roasting purposes?

Buttermilk has a delicious flavor that is not at all approximated by lemon juice. It's true that lemon or vinegar with milk will clabber it a little and provide the acid that the recipe needs but the flavor will be distinctly lacking. Get some buttermilk. It's inexpensive and has a longer shelf life than normal milk. It is also exceptionally easy to make. If you make it a standard part of your pantry you will find yourself enjoying life more (or at least pancakes.)

Hams are on sale now (end date of sale 4-11). I want to bake my ham on the 16th. Seems to me I would be cutting down on "eating time" for the ham. What do you think? Thanks.

I don't believe it will make any difference, and here's why - You may be buying the ham a few days earlier, and the ham may be part of a shipment that was received and stocked at a certain date, as opposed to a later date, but it's doubtful there is a significant difference in the dates that a ham on sale today, and a ham bought Wednesday next week was processed and packaged. That's a mass-produced product, with a huge bump in production near the holidays. It's highly doubtful that the store would make a huge (with, assumed on my part, a certain volume discount or seasonal sales price) purchase of hams for the holiday, and then order more hams, not as part of that order, to be stocked before the same event/holiday. What you will also see, depending on how well they gauged demand, is that hams will be deeply discounted a week or two after the holiday, as the remaining hams from their mass order start getting closer to the product expiration date. Your best bet for determining how long before a holiday is (if you're not going to freeze it) looking at the "use by" date. Any pre-holiday ham sale is going to have hams with a "use by" date that goes past that holiday.

With the cookie baking season upon us I broke out the cookie cutters for sugar cookies, however almost all of them are pretty deformed or broken (from moving houses). I haven't bought any cutters in a long time and didn't realize how expensive they've gotten. Are there any cheap ones out there that are worth buying or should I just wait until after Christmas, when they all go on sale? Or should i just use an empty tuna can and make a bunch of circles?

I think using an empty can is a brilliant, frugal idea...but if you want something a bit more exciting, chain stores like Bed Bath & Beyond sell decent tubs of cookie cutters. If you have one of those mailer coupons, you can get a ridiculous amount (like a pack of 100) for less than $20.

I cook things in a pan on the hob, sometimes for an hour or two, and end up with a thick black layer on the bottom. If I used a cast iron pot, would that still happen?

The situation you describe is burnt material all over the base of the pan. That is caused by using too high heat and would not be helped by using a heavier pan. The point of a heavier pan is to spread the heat more evenly across the base. A very thin pan would effectively transfer the heat of the burner directly to the food. It would be very hot where the burner was, and noticeably cooler away from it, and food would be likely to burn at the hot spots. With a thicker base, the burner heats parts of the base but the heat spreads throughout it before reaching the food. That means there are no hot spots, so the food won't burn unless the whole pan is hot enough to cause burning, which it sounds like yours was. One way to think about it is that a thick or thin pan doesn't significantly affect the average temperature but the whole of the thick pan will be at the average temperature, whereas the thin pan will have hot areas and cool areas. In your case, it sounds like you need a lower heat, more frequent stirring and possibly more liquid, if that would be appropriate to your dish. (Liquid can convect and disperse the heat through the food.)

Miracle Thaws are utensils for rapidly thawing foods. Put an ice cube on one and it melts before your eyes, yet the whole thing stays cool to the touch. How do they work? (Inspired by this question: Utensil to thaw meat)

reference: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/conductive-heat-transfer-d_428.html Let's take a moment to look at the heat transfer equation. Looking at it, we can see the ways to get more efficient heat transfer q / A = k dT / s q / A = heat transfer per unit area (W/m²) k = thermal conductivity (W/(m·K)) dT = temperature difference (°C) s = wall thickness (m) use a material with a high thermal conductivity constant (like copper) thinner (!) material maintain a higher difference in temperature The way these thawers work should now be easy to understand. (1) They are made of a material that has a very high thermal conductivity constant, like copper. The higher a material's thermal conductivity, the faster it can equalize it's temperature with that of the surrounding material. Things that touch each other want to be the same temperature. When you put an ice cube on a sheet of room temperature copper, they are very different temperatures. But as soon as they touch, they want to be the same temperature, so heat transfer begins. Heat "flows" from the copper to the ice, increasing the temperature of the ice (melting it), and decreasing the temperature of the copper. Heat also flows throughout the copper itself, meaning that even the parts of the copper that are far away from the ice are losing heat. With the copper losing heat, it quickly falls out of temperature equilibrium with the surrounding air. But the air and copper also want to be the same temperature, and so heat from the air "flows" into the copper, bringing it back closer to room temperature, which in turn allows the copper to heat up the ice some more.... But of course there aren't distinct steps to this process: all of these heat transfers happen simultaneously and continuously. And as long as the air has some circulation, you can consider it to be an unlimited supply of room temperature heat. The top of the copper plate is probably flat, to increase the amount of surface area in contact with the ice. The bottom of the copper plate, however, is probably ribbed or finned, to increase the surface area with the surrounding air, but without (2) creating more thickness! We could also address (3) and heat the copper electrically, above room temperature, but then we run the risk of heating part of the food to that temperature as well. The benefit of using a passive copper heatsink is that the temperature will never rise above room temperature!

I know there a thousand different products you can make with peanuts. But, my local supermarket has one of these, I'm wondering if the effect will be similar if I use my mini coffee-bean hand grinder.. You can find a picture of it here,

You will get the roasty, caramelized flavors; how much influence they will have on the overall flavor of your stew will depend on several factors including: How deeply you roast the them How much you add, proportionately, into the stew How strongly flavored the other items in the stew are Roasting the vegetables will also cook them, so you will want to add them to the stew much later, so they don't overcook. If you google roasted vegetable stew, you will find several recipes for inspiration. As to whether this is a superior, or heartier flavor, that would be a matter of opinion. You don't mention roasting celery or onions (partners with carrots in the classic mire poix), but these are also excellent candidates for roasting, as are all types of root vegetable.

I have purchased a few different types of natural peanut butter and all have stated that refrigeration is required after opening. However, I recently purchased Archer's Farms Almond, Peanut & Cashew Butter from Target which doesn't say anything about refrigeration after opening. From what I've read on other sites (anecdotal) and some .edu sites, raw/natural nut butters can grow mold and do require refrigeration. Any ideas on why Archer's Farms butter doesn't say anything about refrigeration? Peanut butter unopened 6-9 months Refrigeration not needed. Keeps opened 2-3 months longer if refrigerated. Natural peanut butter must be refrigerated after opening. http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/fn579-2.htm

I don't think I've ever seen peanut butter grow mold, natural or commercial, refrigerated or not. What will happen with natural peanut butter is that the fat (of which there's plenty) will go rancid over time. The oxidation process that leads to rancidity requires heat, light, and usually oxygen; keeping it in the refrigerator will therefore slow the process down significantly. Manufacturers are probably not required to put the "keep refrigerated" warning on nut butters because eating rancid food technically won't kill you or make you seriously ill. When a product says to keep refrigerated, sometimes that's for safety, sometimes it's just for quality - in the case of peanut butter it's typically the latter. Commercial peanut butter has a ton of sugar and other preservatives, which is why refrigeration is not necessary, even for quality purposes.

Why is commercial, sliced, sandwich style bread so popular in the US and UK, as opposed to more traditional European loaves (like this Slovakian bread)?

I cannot speak to the historical trends in the UK, but in the US, the rise of commercial, sandwich style bread is part of a larger set of food trends that took place after World War II, into the 1950s. Housewives were looking to reduce the amount of labor they spent in the kitchen, such as baking from scratch, while simultaneously there was a trend towards processed "scientific" products that were seen as pure and wholesome at the time. See this article from Smithsonian Magazine for more information. I would argue that the modern is actually moving away to this with the "slow food" and "whole food" trend, and the rising availability of more traditional loaves in regular grocery stores, and increased awareness again of home baking. In fact, recently, whole wheat and whole grain bread has passed white bread in popularity according this article from the Chicago Tribune.

I see a lot of recipes for tinfoil packet meals: various vegetables or meats and aromatics wrapped in tinfoil and baked/roasted. What is the benefit of roasting using a tinfoil packet compared to just roasting in a normal roasting pan?

The packet keeps in most of the moisture, and also changes the way the food is heated - less radiation and convection, more conduction. These two factors change the taste of the food. It gets better heated throughout, less browning, and on the whole, it is more similar to what cooks call "wet heat" than "dry heat" despite being in an oven. This is what makes "packaged" recipes culinary different from the same food, simply roasted. It used to be even more important back in the age of wood fired ovens, which gave much less even heat. Note that tinfoil is just one of the options - you can wrap in other inedible substances like banana leaves, or edible ones, like making dolmas or meat pies. A second very important difference is the matter of presentation, taking a piece of wrapped food gets perceived differently than taking a few spoonfuls of roasted vegetables out of a pan. Many en papillote preparations are more aesthetically pleasing than the ones that use tinfoil, but even the foil ones are, if not prettier, at least different. Then you get into edge cases like the problem of baking a lump of cheese without losing all the fat, and so on. But for most foods, open roasting is an option, and wrapped roasting gets done because it is a different option, not because it is how it has to be done.

The glass lid for my pyrex 10x10 baking dish broke. What can I substitute? Tin foil doesn't work -- nothing cooks! Ideas? Thank you.

One "hack" to try is to put a larger glass baking dish on top (e.g. 9"x13" over an 8"x8"). It is heavy enough to make a moderately decent seal.

Most recipes call for the white and the inner green parts of leeks. I feel like I'm wasting half leek. After googling a little, I've found some people consider it edible if properly cooked. I guess a couple of hours of simmering should be enough, but my book says to use only white and inner green parts for stock. Is there a reason not to use it, if properly cleaned?

Absolutely, go ahead and use it. I always ignore the "white and light green parts" instruction anyway, and use the leek up until the point where it feels dried out instead of firm and fleshy—well into the dark green parts—and it's always delicious, even when cooked for significantly less than several hours.

I opened a container of sardines and found loads of little round balls in what appears to be its belly. What are these things? Are they eggs the sardine was going to lay (or whatever it's called for a fish) or something it ate? Are they good to eat, or should I throw it out?

Yes, that is sardine roe. In Portugal it is considered a delicacy on a par with caviar.

What is the earliest recorded recipe for pizza ever written? I think it’s in the 1700’s, but I’m just not really sure myself, thusly my question. If this is the wrong stack to put it on I apologize.

The earliest example of unquestionable Italian pizza in the modern sense started in the slums of Naples in the late 18th century. These had pizza crust, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and other ingredients. Since they were poor people food, it took a while for them to be documented in writing; the earliest clear description of them is from 1849. By 1889, the monarchs of the newly unified Italy chose Pizza Margherita as the representative food of Naples. Dishes called "pizza" such as pizza rustica go back much further, first recorded in the 10th century, likely brought by the Gothic conquerors of Southern Italy. These would have been pies of eggs, meat, fish, and/or vegetables in a short crust. If you expand the definition of pizza to "flatbread cooked with cheese and stuff on it", such a dish goes back to at least ancient Persia, and likely to prehistoric times. So, which recipe is first is going to depend on which of these definitions of pizza you're using.

I saw a commercial on televison for preparing spaghetti without boiling the noodles, just place them in water for about on hour. Can this be done?

You can certainly cook spaghetti in water as low as 180 F. Soaking it in cooler water will hydrate the starches if you wait long enough, but won't cook the proteins, so may not be optimal.

I made a tapenade with the following ingredients: kalamata olives, capers, anchovy, garlic, thyme, lemon, olive oil. Although I rinsed the olives and capers (as per the recipe) the result is pretty salty. It's not inedible but would be a lot better if there was something to counter the saltiness even if it doesn't end up tasting like a traditional tapenade. I just want it to be eaten! Any suggestions what I can add?

My 2 Euro-Cents worth: Easy - Serve it with something un- or under-salted. Parsley or spinach are great at this sort of thing. You're not eating it with a spoon, so you can add some greens to your sandwich. Medium Effort - Puree some fresh parsley and mix it in. Parsley is famously good at soaking up salt. Note that this will not only change the flavour of your tapenade, but will also significantly shorten how long it can be kept. High touch - Get some more olives, drain them and soak in fresh cold water for a few hours. This will leach the salt out of them slowly. Then chop/puree the olives and mix into the tapenade to balance it out.

I have a cake recipe that calls for 1/2 cup of sorbitol. I would like to use stevia instead since I am concerned about the side effects of sorbitol. How do I make that substitution? I could just add water to the stevia equivalent for the sorbitol amount to bring the stevia to 1/2 cup of volume. But I don't know if that will have the same effect as using the sorbitol. I know that using unsweetened applesauce will help with moisture retention. Any suggestions?

According to stevia.net one tablespoon of stevia (in powder or liquid form) is the 'equivalent' of one cup of sugar. Similarly, lowcarbdiets.about.com tells us that sorbitol is 60% of the 'sweetness' of sugar. Using sugar as a common denominator, 1/2 cup of sorbitol = .83 cup of sugar and so you should use ~.83 Tablespoons of stevia to gain the relative sweetness. 1 cup of sorbitol = 1.66 cups of sugar 'sweetness', so .83 cups of sugar would be 'as sweet' as 1/2 cup sorbitol That calculated, I would mix 1 tablespoon of stevia with 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce and then use 3/4 of a cup + 1 tablespoons of the mixture, and then adjust from there. 1 cup = 16 tablespoons, .83 cup = 13.3 tablespoons Conversions like this are admittedly 'imprecise' but this should give you a good approximation to start from...your mileage may vary.

I've made pizza from scratch (dough and sauce) a few times, turns out great. I want to try fresh basil on it. Current recipe: Oven, 425° F: blind bake crust 10 minutes, add tomato sauce & fresh mozzarella, cook another 10 minutes. When would be a good time to add fresh basil? With the cheese? 5 minutes later? After it is done?

I cast fresh basil leaves immediately after removing the pizza from the oven. I have found that cooking them with the pizza tends to reduce some (a lot) of the basil scent and flavour. For dried basil, I can't say as I don't use it.

I made a lasagna today (Thursday) that will be served on Sunday evening. What will yield a fresher-tasting result: refrigerating or freezing? I know that lasagna keeps in the fridge for about 3-5 days, and this is about 72 hours, but will it taste better/fresher if I freeze immediately after baking?

Ingredient substitution lists say you can use an equal volume of lemon juice or vinegar if you don't have cream of tartar. Most likely, the assumption has been that a baker will be more likely to have cream of tartar on hand than other acid sources due to the fact that it has multiple uses in the kitchen: Leavening Stabilization of egg whites Prevent crystallization of sugar in things like frostings, syrups, chocolates, etc. Cream of tartar also has a number of beneficial properties: It is odorless and practically tasteless, unlike lemon juice or vinegar. It acidifies without adding water, which might be detrimental in some applications. Unlike fresh lemons, cream of tartar has a nearly indefinite shelf life.

On America's Test Kitchen, I've seen them wearing a towel around their waist that is somehow attached to an apron. Is there a name for this? Or are they just somehow tucking the towel into a standard apron pocket? This would be a great kitchen convenience--where can I buy an apron like this? (Preferably only covering below the waist as shown on Becky below.)

The traditional butcher's apron tie is to wrap the strings of the apron around behind one's back, then back to the front to tie. This provides a convenient place to put a tea towel or rag. From the photos, this appears to be what the folks in the picture have done (Becky and Chris, IIRC). When I worked in a deli on Long Island, this is how we tied our aprons.

I recently read that cooking stock for more than about 2 hours negatively affects the flavor, and eventually vitiates the vitamins due to heat degradation. This seems to conflict with advice I've read previously, which states that you need to do a "shimmering only" simmer (no bubbles) for 24-36 hours in order to extract/denature all of the collagen. My questions are: Is it true that extended simmering destroys flavor and nutrients, and if so, is it due to the time, temperature, or some combination of the two? Which advice is better to follow? What are the optimal simmering times for the meat and vegetables? If the simmering time for vegetables is shorter - at what stages should I add (and remove) them?

It is true that flavour is affected by cooking time. Most likely nutrients as well, but its about the vegetables. If you cook beef stock you should indeed cook it for several hours to release the collagen and proteins. My experience with chicken takes less time so 30 minutes in the pressure cooker or 1,5 hours in a normal pot. Then you can eat the meat as well. Vegetables should only cook for 30 minuts so add the vegetables 30 minutes before the end of cooking regardless of the kind of soup. The fresh flavor of the vegetables will disapear if you cook it for longer then that. Someone doing research on the flavour development and time for making stock

I received a shipment of prefabricated skinned rabbit last week and the shipment seemed unusual. Rabbits have a very close resemblance to cats once their “hair” and skin have been removed. Is there a telltale sign that I’m working with Bugs Bunny, not Sylvester? I have a suspicion that Elmer Fudd is running out of legitimate product. All jokes aside, how do you tell the difference?

In Germany we have an old (joking) saying that roughly translates to "head off, tail off - bunny", so your question is legitimate. But first thing's first: There is no health risk1 involved if you ate the latest shipment of "meowling rabbit". (To cat lovers everywhere: This is no endorsement, I have a much loved and pampered cat, too!) The most obvious differences are head (look at the teeth!), tail (short vs. long), and feet (cat claws are quite distinctive). But I suspect these would be removed prior to sale, so we'd have to dig a bit deeper into anatomy: Shoulder blades: Cats' shoulder blades are rounded on top, especially in the front, making the shoulder blade almost semicircular with the ridge making for two differently shaped parts, rabbits' shoulder blades are triangular with the ridge somewhat parallel to the front side. Femur (thigh bone): A cat's femora are straight, whereas a rabbit's is more or less bent, especially pronounced in older animals. Same applies to a lesser extent to radius and ulna (forearm), but they might have been removed. Ribs: Cats' ribs are "rounder" than rabbits' ribs according to this source. I can't say by how much, but @aitchnyu's comment below suggests the difference is obvious enough to play a significant role in the novel/movie Papillon. Pelvis: The same source as above states that the foramen obturatum (= the loop-like opening near/below the hip joint) is oval in rabbits and round in cats. I couldn't find a good picture to show this, though. Here's a rabbit: Source: www.onlineveterinaryanatomy.net And a cat: 1 other than the general risk every meat from questionable sources brings

I like to saute green beans. In case it matters for answering, I saute them in canola oil and soy sauce. I always end up with some of my green beans perfectly sauteed, some overdone and some not quite done. I sit there and stir them every 3 minutes or so while they are frying, but they never distribute evenly. Short of constantly stirring for 30 minutes, is there a good trick to get them to all cook evenly?

First off, 30 minutes seems like quite a long time, and stirring ten times seems like it should get things reasonably even. Perhaps you just like your beans really thoroughly cooked, but it does make me wonder if you might be using too small a pan, which would also make it difficult to stir thoroughly and contribute to uneven cooking. So make sure your pan is big enough that the beans on top of the pan are at least keeping warm. And if you aren't already, make sure that when you stir you're really getting the ones from the top down onto the bottom so everything can cook. I've certainly sauteed beans like this, and gotten fairly even cooking without stirring constantly. That said, you can also save a lot of work by changing your cooking method. Jolene suggested blanching (a quick cook in boiling water, followed by rapid cooling), which will certainly work, but is also probably overkill if you just want to cook them right away. You can essentially steam them in your pan before sauteeing. Simply boil a bit of water in the bottom of your pan, toss in the beans, then either cover or stir constantly. They'll be cooked most of the way in a few minutes, then you can drain the excess water and proceed with sauteeing (no need to cool them). If you get the hang of it, all the water will have boiled off by the time you're ready to move on, and you won't even have to drain them. (And if it boils off too soon, it's easy enough to add a bit more.) You could also consider simply roasting them. It's not quite the same, but it'll get you even better browning than sauteeing. Just toss the beans with a bit of oil, salt, and whatever seasonings you want, spread them out on a pan, and throw them in the oven for around 15 minutes at 425F. You might want to stir once halfway through, but if they're not piled up much, you can even get away with skipping that.

For those of you who have rotary evaporators or other chemistry glassware in the kitchen, what do you use to grease the ground glass taper/ ball joints so that the lubricant does not either absorb or introduce flavors into the product? Thus far I have not found anything that is a GRAS food additive marketed as a vacuum grease, but I have found some very expensive fluorinated/ PTFE compounds (Santovac 5GB) that would be insoluble in any food items being run through the system.

Many manufacturers and manuals say that you shouldn't grease them. However, for parts of the process you may be able to use Taylor ice cream machine lubrication or Vaseline (see below). Dave Arnold who also runs the Cooking Issues blog, is the king of RotoVap in the kitchen. There is a full article over here on Dispensery Grade where he discusses RotoVap in the kitchen. Here's an excerpt from the comment section of the article: What are you using to grease the glass joints (air inlet and vacuum take-off)? Regular vacuum grease is probably not a good idea. Something like chapstick or shortening? Thanks. Reply Dave A // Dec 12, 2009 at 11:22 am Howdy Stephen, We use Taylor ice cream machine lubrication or Vaseline. If you go with vaseline, make sure you get the food-grade version.

I like to include the peels when I make applesauce to get the benefit of the nutrients in the peels*, but I strain them out afterward for the sake of texture. This is a messy, sticky, time-consuming process, and it makes it harder to maintain a chunky texture to the applesauce. It occurred to me today that perhaps I could make a sort of bouquet garni with the peels in a cheesecloth pouch and then just lift that out afterward (maybe give it a quick squeeze). Would this work? Would the cheesecloth change the flavor of the sauce? Any other concerns I should watch out for? *I do know the difference isn't huge, but old habits die hard.

Induction tops are usually glass or ceramic, and they will scratch over time no matter what pans you use. Cast iron works very well on induction, and is inexpensive. It is heavy though, if you drop one on your induction top you could crack it.

I am on a mission to get CRISPY chicken skin on the BBQ. I don't mean to LOOK crispy. I mean to actually "crunch" when bitten into, if that's at all possible. I'm trying to do all the right steps. I dry off the chicken thighs (bone in, skin on) with paper towels, liberally sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper, & spray with oil so it doesn't stick to the grill. On medium high, I start with skin side down so the fat can render and turn after about 7 minutes. Repeat and leave on till done. When done, the chicken is moist, delicious, and beautifully carmalized.......but NOT crispy!!!! Any suggestions?

It's one thing to buy salami which comes with its own built-in mold, but to let one develop some possibly different mold spontaneously in the fridge? If nothing else the fridge would not provide the ventilation which I understand is an essential part of the process (that's why you hang them and don't pile them up on a shelf). Worse, I see a seam on the casing, which implies that it's a plastic casing and not a natural one. I would not eat something which grew on plastic..

Every time I try to roast a pork leg a lot of water drains from it and it becomes dry. Last time I did it this way: 24 hours before, I seasoned a 1.5kg (3 pounds) piece with salt, pepper, garlic, orange juice and lime juice. I put it out of the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting, and roasted it (covered), with low heat (150° C, about 300° F) for about 2 hours in the seasoned juices. When roasted, I let the meat rest for 1 hour. Still, the leg was kinda dry. What could be wrong? The oven, the meat? Something in my process?

It is hard to tell just from text descriptions, but I believe your pork leg is under-cooked. Note that it is likely fully cooked in the sense of safety, but it has not had long enough for the slow process of collagen to gelatin conversion. Pork legs (or hams, depending on what you have exactly) are well used muscles with a lot of connective tissue, comprised of the protein collagin. This is tough, even when fully cooked to 165 F / 74 C (which is well done for most meats). At temperatures above above 180 F / 82 C, in the presence of water (which is in the meat already), the collagen will begin to convert to gelatin, which has a moist, unctuous texture. This process is both time and temperature dependent. At lower temperatures, it takes more time; at higher, it is faster. Continuing to slowly roast your pork leg will allow this slow conversion to happen, making it again become tender and unctuous, because of the lubricating affect of the gelatin. In fact, it will eventually be pullable just with a couple of forks (although shoulder is even better for this). You would probably be better served by cooking it at least three hours; four might be even better. See also: What makes a moist steak (or roast)? (despite the name, this is about more than steaks) What factors affect collagen to gelatin conversion?

Lots of recipes call for waiting for the water to come "to a boil." However I have never been sure when that is. From my viewpoint it could be at three different points: First start to see small air bubbles coming up from the bottom of the pan When the surface of the water is noticeably disturbed by the bubbles When it is a full on raging torrent of activity Depending on the amount of water used, these three points could be several minutes apart from each other, which will affect the cooking time.

By definition, 1 is a simmer (once the bubbles form a steady stream), 2 is a boil, and 3 is a "roiling boil."

I saved the gelatinous material from roasting a turkey. Is it appropriate to use this when making turkey soup?

Yes it is appropriate, and should be used within five days for freshness. The gelatinous material from roasting the turkey is often used to make homemade bone broth soup.

I have looked in many different recipes and tried different things, e.g., brown sugar, diastatic malt, etc, and have gotten pretty good at breadmaking but I can't duplicate that taste of a bakery-made Italian bread. Response to questions in comments: I have tried a biga with AP, bread flour, bromated flour. I've used dough enhancer, ascorbic acid, 70% hydration and everything I can read up on. The bread comes out fine but it basically all tastes the same regardless of the changes I've made. It just doesn't have that flavor of the locally made Italian or the French baguette. I realize that my question is broad but was hoping that commercial bakers use something that us home bakers just don't have.

I'm assuming this is not a speciality Italian bread such as Panettone or Pan d'oro. It's a regular bread loaf. Hard to know for sure, but in all likelihood, the missing taste is due to short rise times and yeast type. Most of the taste in bread is developed, not put in. As suggested in the comments, the ingredients are bread flour (usually tipo 00 or 0), water, yeast, and salt. Tuscan bread has no salt. and sometimes, there is olive oil to prevent the dough from developing a skin. The notes below might be useful: A French baker I work with, always keeps some of yesterday's dough and mixes it with today's dough. This means an exponentially small amount of the dough can be years old. He also performs three rises (two punch-downs). Let your biga rest in colder temperatures for a couple of days so the enzymes can do their work and develop taste. Get yeast from a baker. The instant yeast at the grocery store is ok but the commercial yeast can work better with the longer ferments. A famous natural bread baker in our area uses 2500 year old yeast from Egypt. (the head baker has a heck of story on how he got his hands on this yeast). Strict Neapolitan Pizza makers use Ischia starter for their dough. Peter Reinhart explains Italian breads really well in The Bread Baker's Apprentice

My husband is on a low sodium diet. I have been thinking that Calcium chloride might work for making pickles, smoked fish, etc, because the sodium is the bad actor, not the chloride. Who knows about this?

This is an interesting idea. I have heard of using some potassium chloride to make reduced sodium pickles, but never calcium chloride. So I did some googling: Here is a PDF from OragonState that says you can use potassium chloride it for quick pickles, but not brined pickles. I'm assuming calcium chloride can technically do the same, but I don't know what the conversion ratio from table salt is. They say: Reduced-sodium salts (such as potassium chloride) may be used in quick pickle recipes. However, the pickles may have a slightly different taste. Don't use reduced-sodium salt in brined pickles or sauerkraut - these products need a specific amount of sodium to control bacterial growth and to give a firm texture. Also, I found several recipes for "no salt pickles" that are just brined with pickling spices with no salt at all. As for smoking fish: it should work but I would be VERY CAREFUL. Calcium chloride is extremely hygroscopic. It is used as an industrial desiccant. You may end up with petrified fish.

I've been experimenting some with do it yourself microwave popcorn, and some trouble getting the 'burn time' right has led me to a question that I can't find a good, definitive answer to. What is the scientific explanation for the mechanism for how popcorn burns? I'm not looking for "Because it gets too hot", but what gets too hot, how does it actually get that way? Microwaves don't just heat everything up (like a stove does), so it's not as straightforward as that. You can put many foods inside of a microwave and massively overcook them without burning. So what's special about popcorn that causes it to burn? I would prefer either a detailed chemistry/physics answer, or a reliable, science-based source. From looking around online, there are lots of semi-reliable opinions on this, none of which agree with each other. For example, this very old Chicago Tribune article on Popcorn seems to say that it's a problem of "finding" the kernels. Really? Others claim it is the kernel overheating, or the bag overheating, or the oil overheating (yet no-oil still burns, though that may contain some oil from the corn itself I suppose), or gnomes lighting them on fire with matches (Well, no, but it's about as reliable as anything else I've found). And related to this, what control do I have over this other than time. On a stove, I can reduce the heat; for example, if I'm cooking on the stove with butter, if I cook at '3' I can cook almost all day without burning my butter, while at '4' it browns pretty quickly; so I can choose whichever setting based on that. What in a microwave would be similar (in allowing me to cook the kernels more thoroughly - not just take longer - without risking burning). What ingredients or microwave settings can I control?

Graphics and quoted text from: Whole Grains Council Grains, by definition, have 3 major parts: the germ, the endosperm, and the bran. Whole grains are those that have all of the parts of the natural seed, or kernel (not including an exterior husk that is generally inedible). To be called "Whole Grain" the product must still have all of the bran, endosperm and germ that it had when it was in the field, although it can milled, ground, cracked, natural, whatever...as long as it still has all of its parts. If a food label states that the package contains whole grain, the "whole grain" part of the food inside the package is required to have the same proportions of bran, germ, and endosperm as the harvested kernel does before it is processed. Refining normally removes the bran and the germ, leaving only the endosperm. Without the bran and germ, about 25% of a grain’s protein is lost, along with at least seventeen key nutrients. Processors add back some vitamins and minerals to enrich refined grains, so refined products still contribute valuable nutrients. This graphic shows what's lost when wheat is refined, and what's added back when it's "enriched": Durum is just a variety of wheat. Unless it specifically says "whole wheat" or "whole grain", you can assume that it is refined.

[I'm an amateur that experiments.] I recently realized I like chicken wrapped in tin foil after using salt, pepper and oregano on it, in 250C for up to 2 hours. Also, I used sliced lemon on parts of it [during cooking]. However, I wonder if any other spices would be suitable and if any other wrapping would be better. I heard the roumor that tin foil is unhealthy compared to cooking paper but I don't know if it's correct.

If you're worried about the aluminum foil, you can always just use a covered casserole dish ... it might not hold all of the steam in, though. (there are methods, like mixing a pough of flour and water, then using that to seal the lid on the pot). Also, if you're worried, I'd just consider not using acids, like lemon; aluminum pots and pans react to acids, and I'd only assume aluminum foil would to. You could also switch to parchment paper, which is the original for cooking 'en papillote' (in paper). But 'better' is subjective -- easier to clean up (aluminum foil wins, I think), cheap (maybe the casserole dish, as it's reusable), more impressive (probably the parchment paper). As for spicing ... search for 'chicken en papillote' on any internet serch engine and you'll find lots of recipes.

I normally add tzatziki sauce when I eat roast left-overs. I cut the roast in slices (without warming it), and I add some tzatziki sauce. Are there different uses for tzatziki sauce? (I am sure there are.)

You can use it on its own as a dip with pita bread, use it as a spread on sandwiches, or as an accompaniment to fish and meat as you're already doing.

I'd like to make sodium carbonate for ramen noodles. The instructions on the web however vary greatly. One source says to bake baking soda at 350 degrees for 2-5 hours. Others say 250 degrees for an hour. Another says just 200 degrees for an hour. Does the temperature even matter at all? How about if I use a higher temperature like 450 degrees? This would be preferable for me as I only need a small amount and I can probably bake it at the same time I'm baking bread.

160 °C (320 °F) for 1-2 h worked for me once, but higher temperatures should not hurt the process. If you are starting with dry sodium hydrogen carbonate, the mass should reduce to 63 % of the starting mass (more reduction in case of wet starting material). Explanation for the mass loss number: You are converting two equivalents of sodium hydrogen carbonate with a molar mass of 84.01 g/mol to one equivalent of sodium carbonate with a molar mass of 105.99 g/mol. 105.99/(2*84.01) = 63 %

So the other day, while baking off excess water after washing, I spaced out and forgot it was there and headed upstairs for say, an hour. When I got back down the pan had a white-ish ring in the center. After cooling and scrubbing it down it appeared that the seasoning had been vaporized in the area that has the ring. I oiled the pan to prevent rusting and haven't gotten back to it in a week or so. My question is: Should I remove the seasoning from the rest of the pan or should I just re-season the whole thing? If I should remove the seasoning, what is the best way, I think I read some on here but I haven't been able to get back to it. I recall possibly using the clean cycle of the oven? There's plenty of info on here about seasoning so don't worry about that! Feel free to make jabs at the space cadet too, I beat myself up about it until I realized the pan wasn't completely ruined!

Personally, I'd just season the pan a couple times to cover the spot; it seems excessive to strip off all the other seasoning and start from scratch unless the pan is really deeply rusted. Other people may feel differently, of course; there are as many opinions about caring for cast-iron as there are people that own it.

Due to dietary restrictions, I can not have apples, or any byproduct. There are lots of recipes that use applesauce to replace fat, but what can I substitute for applesauce in these recipes?

You could replace the applesauce with the fat that it was originally replacing.

I have a Seagull "4 star" "Marathon" "non-stick cookware" pan. I have decoated much of the black metallic coating of that pan with a stainless metallic scotch brite. I made the above decoating the above after a few months in which the pan had some matt black carbonated stain with some scratches in it, which kept staying there insistently and no liquid soa[ liquid-soap marination with gentle cloth scotch brite wiping helped. My problem First, I am not sure it is still safe to use and second, after removal, one might be able to see a new, even bigger such black "carbonated" stain, appearing around the newly exposed metal. My question I removed some of the black metallic covering the pan (and now one part of the metal is exposed and another became blacker → matt black), is it still safe to use? Update I tried to pour some well refined sunflower oil and heat it, then most of the uncovered metallic part became yellow (I have no idea how to explain it); this yellowishness didn't come down with a napkin → why wouldn't it?

Looking at the close-up, I'd say that the 'black stain' is where the actual non-stick Teflon coating has already been scratched off. The bare metal is where you finished the job & also removed the substrate, which was probably used to get the Teflon to stick to the aluminium. I think you've reached the point where it's simpler to just throw it in the recycle & buy a new one. Treat it more gently next time - never use metal utensils or scourers on Teflon. Non-Stick tends to only be good for a couple of years at best, so you need to weigh up how much you're willing to spend on one… every couple of years.

I have a recipe for a sponge cake only consisting of sugar, eggs and flour. To be honest, I am a bit afraid to to try it. How can this create a fluffy cake - where does the air come from? Won't it be really dry because there is no fat in it? Also, when doing a cake like this, do I need to pay special attention to something? I am really skeptical that this will work. How long can I store the undecorated cake? Where and how to store it? Edit: Ingredients 6 large organic eggs 180g caster sugar 180g plain organic flour (sieved) Method Preheat the oven to 170°C. Break 6 eggs into a very clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk the eggs gently to break them up, then add the caster sugar and whisk on medium high speed until the ‘thick ribbon’ stage is reached. This means the mixture will be light, have increased substantially in volume and be of a moussy consistency. When you lift the whisk the mixture should fall slowly in thick ribbons. While the eggs are whisking, grease three (22cm diameter) cake tins and line the bottom with a disk of parchment paper. When the thick ribbon stage is reached, add the sieved flour and fold in very gently to fully incorporate without knocking the air out of the mixture. Very carefully apportion the mixture between the three cake tins and pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes, turning two thirds of the way through the cooking time. You will know when they are ready as they should be golden brown and coming away slightly from the edges of the tins.
 Remove from the oven and cool in their tins for 10 minutes before carefully turning out and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack. source

The key to this cake is the whisking of the eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage. This incorporates a significant amount of air into the batter. You didn't mention it, but I imagine the flour is then folded in. The cake will work mechanically. However, I cannot imagine it will taste very good: there is no salt to enhance flavor, no fat (other than from the eggs), and no flavoring such as vanilla. So the only significant flavor will be from the eggs themselves. As to how long it will keep, I imagine it would freeze well; it will probably keep at room temperature for 2-3 days. Update: I see from the link added to the question that these layers are intended to be used in layer cake with other flavors and components, where its neutrality is actually a virtue. I still think it needs about 1/2 tsp of salt, and maybe a touch of vanilla or even pistachio extract if you can get it, but the neutral flavor makes sense in context.

Even after conditioning/seasoning one can expect microscopic chips from using a mortar and pestle. Intuitively it seems that a metallic M&P would be more inclined to shed not so healthy chips, in contrast to a combination of a hard mortar (granite) and a (food safe) soft pestle (wood) whose chips are non toxic.

A granite mortar and granite pestle; this combination will do everything. The granite is hard and dense and will not chip under regular usage. You need to remember that the mortar and pestle must be harder than what you need to grind. Serious Eats Mortars and Pestles is a good read.

Let's say I want to make bread. In this case, kneading is what develops more gluten. So would it make any difference if I fully developed the gluten first (until it passes the "windowpane" test) by kneading the dough and then adding the yeast vs just kneading with the yeast already mixed into the dough?

The whole idea of adding the yeast before kneading is to be able to mix it uniformly. By adding the yeast after the dough is formed, it will be mechanically more difficult to combine it and you might end up with lumps of yeastless dough. Those lumps won't rise. I suspect your bread will have a denser, non uniform crumb.

Instead of prosciutto, I used capers to try and maintain the salty aspect. It worked ok, but something about the capers and cheese didn't seem right. Any other suggestions? Also, to round out the dish with a bit more substance, I also added some diced zucchini, sauteed with garlic and shallots.

I'd recommend thinly sliced and seared shiitake mushrooms for an umami boost and appropriate texture. Really get a nice brown crust on them.

I've been cooking Sous Vide 2-3 times a week for about 10 months now, and I absolutely love it. The control of temperature and time makes for some really interesting possibilities. But, one of the touted benefits of the method is better imparting of flavors during the cooking process, and I'm not getting this at all. I'm not using a vacuum sealer in my process, instead I'm submerging an open bag in water and letting the partial pressure get all the air out before closing it up. Is this the reason I'm not noticing the additional flavor? Do the muscles in the meat need to be stretched by the vacuum? If that is the case, is a home vacuum sealer sufficient for that? I somehow doubt that a vacuum sealer gets much more negative pressure on the meat than my method. Do I need a chamber vacuum to get the effect? Or am I just not using the right ingredients in my recipes? What am I doing wrong? I love my Sous Vide Supreme, but I feel like I'm missing out on a piece of the experience. Edit: I tried looking for some of the recipes that I haven't had luck with last night, but because everything is mostly google searches, I couldn't really come up with anything concrete. However some things that haven't really added that extra flavor are: Olive oil, butter, bacon fat, rosemary, thyme, and garlic. Not all at the same time, but in different combinations. A lot of my initial reading was careful to point out that you shouldn't use too much seasoning as the tastes would be much stronger than you were used to. I'm not getting that at all.

Sous vide not only keeps the proteins (main component) at a lower temperature, but also the spices/oils/flavorings. Heat helps release the taste and aroma of all the ingredients, and the sous vide might not be hot enough to do that. So, while it kind of kills the simplicity, you could always sautee the seasonings in oil before adding them to the sous vide bag (not until cooler though). Or just keep them separate and recombine for serving. Sous vide itself (not the vacuum part) is mainly for maintaining/achieving a controlled internal temperature, and skilled cooks don't only sous vide a dish; they might sous vide and then finish under a broiler for texture, or with a torch. If the sauce isn't working inside the bag, make it work outside the bag. Alternately, put the ingredients in the bag the day before, and let them marinate overnight in the fridge. The vacuum action is essentially just a speeded up marinade, so this should do the same. Also, make sure you're using enough (but not too much) SALT. Finally, call the Sous Vide Supreme company. They know their product's capabilities and limitations and might have some good recommendations. Just my guesses.

I may have dropped a can food top in my soup but i am not sure. It's not in the soup but could it have melted ?

No, it won't melt to the point where it becomes liquid and mixes evenly with the soup. You cannot have consumed a melted top without knowing it. There are very few "everyday" metals which melt at below 500 C. Even tin (which I doubt is actually used for food packaging any longer) needs 231 C, while soup is at 100 C max (boiling point of water). If your top was metal, it wouldn't even have softened. Plastics have a lower melting point, but they are amorphous materials with a very wide transition range. This means, even though they can get quite soft at 100 Celsius, they will remain in one piece. A plastic top could not have melted and mixed with the liquid. Also, neither metal nor plastic is soup soluble. If you had had some material which melted into the soup (and that's purely hypothetical, after all nobody makes food cans out of gallium), it would have coalesced into visible hard lumps after the soup cooled down. If there is indeed a can top in the soup, you'll be able to find it, practically in its original state. And the food is still edible.

I'm struggling to find a solution for my apartments coil stovetop and its uneven heating. I've never run into the problem until I started working on my holiday hard candy recently. I can't keep the coils heating consistently at high temperatures. I need to measure the temperature but I can't do that when it varies drastically across the pot. Is there anything I can do to buffer the heat from the coil before it gets to the pan? I don't have any options for using a different stove so I need to make this work. I've considered some sort of heating stone that would help even the heat out but I figured that would take DAYS to heat up properly.

A copper diffuser plate will help spread the heat more evenly. Is it possible the coils are not all touching the bottom of your pot?

I am making a corned beef with a glaze to be eaten next week. Is it better for me to freeze the meat + gravy together, or to freeze the meat in one container and the gravy in another?

I use two containers when possible. The meat and the sauce usually thaw at different rates, so you end up w chunks of frozen meat embedded in thawed sauce. This can be messy to work with. Once frozen, it's OK to combine meat and sauce in a single container. Just separate when thawing.

I absolutely love cannolis but every recipe I see requires a deep frier. Is it possible to make them without one?

The very nature of cannolis is that they are deep fried, but you don't need a fryer for that, a large pot, a half liter or so of neutral oil and a thermometer are all that you need. Like doughnuts, fried is the way to go, but they can be baked (if you must). Here's a sample recipe: Baked Cannolis.

In this video about making chocolate chip cookies, eggs are the last ingredient added. This is different from what I've learned so far; what's good about this method?

In home recipes the eggs are added whole. They can't be added until after the creaming step or else they will dissolve some of the sugar. They are added before the flour to make sure that the yolks and whites are completely blended. In this video- the process has been simplified for industrial quantities. In the step that can't be skipped, the fat and sugar are creamed. All the other ingredients are then added at once and mixed. You can see that the eggs have already been blended with the vanilla so no extra mixing is needed for them.

I've finally mastered my technique for creating english muffins. They come out light with lots of air bubbles. Unfortunately, they don't taste like english muffins. They taste like regular bread. My recipe is 2 cups flour, 1 cup water, 7g yeast, and 1/2 cup scalded milk. After mixing the dough/batter, I poor/scoop into english muffin rings on a bed of corn meal, letting them raise for about 90 minutes. They then go right into the oven for about 20 minutes at 425°F (220 °C), flipped over halfway through. Am I missing an ingredient to get that english muffin taste? Or is my technique flawed?

English muffins are not usually baked. Instead they are cooked in a skillet or on a griddle. You can bake English muffin dough, but it will turn out like a holey white bread (as you describe). To cook, heat a skillet or flat griddle to medium (temperature for a griddle would be 350 degrees F). Also preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the pan or griddle with vegetable oil or mist with spray oil, and place on pan 1 inch apart. Cook 5 to 8 minutes or until the bottom would burn if cooked longer. Carefully flip over and cook 5 to 8 more minutes. Both sides will be flat. Transfer pieces to a sheet pan and place in oven on middle shelf for 5 to 8 minutes, until center is cooked. Also, the recipe that I have for English muffins (in Peter Reinharts' Bread Baker's Apprentice) describes it as an enriched dough, one that has fat added. My recipe calls for .5 oz. of shortening or butter.

I just returned from the store with all the ingredients for baking cookies, and now I notice that I am out of baking paper. Is there some common household item I can use instead (Regular paper? Tinfoil? Just put them on the raw baking tray?), or do I have to make another trip to the store?

First of all, if your baking sheet is nonstick you may not need baking paper at all. If it is not, then either directly greasing the baking sheet, or putting tinfoil on it and greasing that works reasonably well as a substitute.

For my breakfast oatmeal, I use a variety of nuts. I tend to make large batches beforehand. My biggest issue with the way I do it now, is how to prepare large batches of hard nuts that I'd like to chop roughly. I have tried several methods: A blender, or food processor, which grinds the nuts into a paste Smashing them (covered with a cloth or in a bag) with a rolling pin, which completely pulverizes some and tends to skip a bunch as well Chopping them with a chef's knife Chopping them with a knife gives the best results, but it's very laborious and I can only do a handful or two at a time. I've been trying to search online for suitable methods, but they all seem to use nuts like pecans or walnuts, which really aren't an issue at all. My problems are with Brazil nuts, macadamia nut or even peanuts, for example. Is there any other tool or technique I can use to get roughly chopped nuts (they don't need to be perfectly even) suitable for an oatmeal mix?

A chopping jar: (photo from Etsy) should be exactly what you need. (You may also want to look at multi-blade mezzalunas, but they're really meant for mincing herbs.)

My boyfriend has been using this idea, for a long time. He makes bean soup, with just ham and beans.. maybe a onion, then it sits in the crockpot on warm until digested, by us. LOL. well today. I grabbed a bowl.. and noticed a faint sweet taste to the ham.. I have been digging for suggestions since, to know if I should throw it away or, continue eating it.. It still taste amazing. Just nervous is all. I am going to stick a thermometer in the soup to see what temperature, my crock pot is on, while on warm. Then, I will know if its cooking at at least above 140, safe area. We do this to chili too, and deer meat.. It actually, taste better the second day. Sign.. a bit unsure.. lol Rose Dubois

I fully endorse the "when in doubt, throw it out" doctrine, although I personally wouldn't consider a sweet taste to be doubt. As rfusca wisely points out, you can't taste or smell several kinds of contamination, and the ones that you can taste or smell, are usually sour, bitter, or generally pungent. I suggest you have a look at the following question: Is it bad to leave the crock pot on “warm” (not low) all day? If your crock pot has really been on the whole time, then it might be perfectly safe. You need to ascertain what the "warm" temperature is. Assuming you still have it running, just stick a thermometer in and see for yourself. Anecdotally, I've heard reports of crock pot "warm" temperatures ranging from 150° F all the way to 220° F. Very unlikely that newer crock pots are anywhere near that high end, but anything above 140° F is cooking temperature and will kill bacteria rather than allowing them to breed. So if your thermometer test reads higher than that, it's probably still safe even after all this time. I can't speak for the quality of something that's been cooking for 3 straight days, but there's no accounting for taste... On the other hand, if your thermometer reads anything lower than 140° F, then you should throw out what you have and stop doing this from now on. A truly "warm" but not "hot" temperature like 100° F is practically a giant incubator, even worse than just leaving it at room temperature. P.S. You should read the manual for your particular crock pot, because even though it might be safe for the food, I'm not sure if it's safe for your pot. Many of them come with recommendations not to use the warm setting for more than 4 hours, and don't really explain why. Possibly, they think the temperature might not be enough to guarantee food safety, although another (to me more likely) possibility is that it can stain, corrode, or weaken the pot.

I wonder if an artificial sweetener like sucralose or erythritol could be used to make a reasonably soft ice cream.

Weeeellll...remember, the sugar in ice cream helps it not form into a solid chunk of ice (as does the fat). Often reduced-sugar recipes call for alcohol, which can help do the same thing. You're really going to need something to keep all those ice crystals from forming. If you want to play with artificial sweetener, I'd be tempted to suggest going more towards a frozen custard. My first trial for such things would be milk, a sweetener, and cornstarch. Once you have a custard that you're ok with, try running through your ice cream maker. I've tried something similar, but I didn't have an ice cream maker at the time. I ended up with something like a pudding pop. It was still yummy.

I've noticed that I never taste cumin in the tacos I get at restaurants, yet cumin is often the most noticeable flavor in pre-made taco seasonings. When and why did cumin get associated with tacos? Why is it not used in most restaurant preparations?

I'm going to supplement Cindy's answer, by addressing this part of the question: When and why did cumin get associated with tacos? According to Wikipedia, Serious Eats, and History.com, the cumin was brought by workers the Spanish imported to Texas from the Canary Islands in the 1500s, who themselves were the descendants of North Africans and hence had a love for cumin. These workers introduced cumin into Tex-Mex cuisine, particularly Chile Con Carne, and when Willie Gebhardt created the first bottled "chili seasoning", it included cumin. Many Americans encountered Gebhardt's seasoning a generation before they experienced any other kind of Mexican food, forever associating it with the cuisine. And, for that matter, used Gebhardt's for taco meat, as my Oklahoma branch of the family did back into the 1930's. The reason you don't encounter it in some Mexican restaurants it that the culinary staff are from Mexico, and not Texas or near Texas. As such, they never "picked up" cumin. (and yes, this does mean that Thrillist is wrong about the origin. India was not involved)

Quite a lot of the time I'm able to get large parts of seeds by hitting the shell against the ground. This causes bigger cracks in the shell than the seed, I can then pry off the outer layer. However, I've never been able to get a whole seed this way. The only other ways I can think of would be dissolving it in an acid or using abrasion, but I do not know if these would work. What is the best method of removing the dark outer shell from a coconut without damaging the inner white seed?

The amount of sugar in this recipe looks a bit low for a 10 minute simmer. I estimate that the bulk of the ingredients consists of, ~200g sugar ~330g cranberries ~330g bell pepper That's less than 25% sugar. If this were a straight cranberry jelly, you'd need about 40% sugar content for optimal jelly strength and, I estimate, at least 35%. I think that you could add another cup of sugar, bring it back to boiling for a minute and then let it set again. If you don't want to risk changing the recipe you could simmer longer until the pectin is fully precipitated (at about 220ºF or 104ºC according to the answers on this question) Update: One of the answer comments on the question I linked to suggests that 220ºF is an indication of optimal water content, so it may not relate to pectin precipitation. TFD's answer has a tip for testing "pectin levels" with methylated spirits which might be what you need.

I've got a new enameled cast iron skillet that I've been cleaning with stainless steel wool along with a standard dish rag. It occurs to me that scratches in the enamel might eventually cause problems. What's the consensus? Is steel wool safe to use on an enameled surface? Thanks.

it is perfectly safe to use stainless steel wool on a Vitreous enamel. I presume that the cast iron skillet has a Vitreous enamel finish. The reason is simple: Vitreous enamel is essentially a type of ceramic and has a hardness of around 5-6 on the Mohs scale. Steel has around 4-5 on the same scale. This means that generally, you can not damage it with the steel wool. Also no not confuse the "grit" of the steel wool with its hardness :P The only thing that will happen is that the enamel will get very small scratches and that things will stick a bit better in them. You can get rid of most of them with a good polishing compound if they disturb you to much. Personally I would advise you "not to need" to clean it with steel wool in the first place, but is something burned up badly and you do not have heavy cleaning agents nearby steel wool is an acceptable solution. If it is just for cleaning leftovers , usually soaking in soap water and a hard plastic brush does a very good job as well. Remember that even thou Vitreous enamel is very hard and durable it may be damaged by overheating or crack if dropped.

Would it make a difference in my cheesecake if I used liquid heavy whipping cream instead of heavy cream? ( Husbandbought the wrong thing)

Heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are almost the same thing. The only difference is the amount of fat they contain. Heavy cream contains about 36% fat, while whipping cream contains only about 30%. (That means that heavy cream actually produces better, thicker whipped cream!) Since this is going into a cheesecake, I think that this will be an acceptable substitution. The amount of cream included in cheesecake recipes is usually quite small, and used primarily for thinning the mixture. Cheesecake is already high in fat, so the addition of a little more is unlikely to matter, especially in such a small quantity. I would not expect any difference in flavor or texture in the finished cake.

In the past I've bought many pickled cucumbers and other veg, but a few weeks ago I bought pickled 'sandwich' cucumber slices (similar to this) which were in sweetened vinegar and liked them much better; the key thing about these pickles is that they are in "sweet" vinegar rather than normal pickling vinegar which is quite sour. I would like to know whether it's possible, and if so how I can do it, to take a jar of pickles I've bought in normal (sour, not sweetened) vinegar and sweeten it? Can I just add sugar to the vinegar they are in, in the jar? Will that have any effect? If it would have an effect, how long would I need to leave the sugar in there before eating them?

As far as I'm aware, the difference between 'regular' pickles & 'Jewish' pickles is sugar & dill. [I honestly don't know what makes them Jewish, but my partner grew up in the Jewish community & that's what she calls them, so that's about as much research as I've done ;-) So - you'd think that adding sugar & dill & leaving them for a while after that would be just fine… except that once opened, those pickles only have a 5-day fridge life. A 'regular' pickle has about 6 weeks, by comparison. I think your best shot, in that case, would be to over-sugar a bit & see what they're like by tomorrow or the day after. Mainly the sugar will be on the outside. Some fresh dill might just infuse the liquid a bit overnight, but you don't really have the time to experiment much after that before they're no longer safe.

Are convection microwave ovens a useful item to have? Or are they not good as a microwave and not good as a convection oven either? I understand that a regular convection oven helps to cook things faster. But a microwave cooks things pretty darn fast already so why would you want a convection feature?

Microwave: A microwave heats water and molecules in the food by using microwave radiation. It will heat food efficiently and quickly, but does not brown or bake like a conventional oven. Oven: Fueled by gas or electricity and heats from the bottom (baking, roasting) or from the top (broiling). The heat is from a single direction and not uniform. Convection Oven: An oven that has a fan that circulates heated air. This allows for operation at a lower temperature while cooking more quickly. It also results in a more even bake. Convection Microwave (Oven): A combination of a microwave and a convection oven. Allows for even, quick cooking that is browned or baked. So, at the bottom of the scale is a microwave and an oven. They each have different functions. Then there is a middle tier that would be a convection oven - an improvement over the oven. The top tier is the convection microwave oven that provides all the features: quick cooking, heating, baking, browning, and evenness. If you do a lot of cooking and only have a single oven, but find yourself wishing you had a second, a convection microwave would be useful for you. If you want something truly multi-purpose, then yes. Since each has a set of features it provides and/or lacks, it comes down to what best fits your needs.

I've seen many bread recipes and they used different combination as egg-wash. Egg white plus water, egg yolk plus milk, beaten egg plus milk or water, and I myself sometimes give it a sprinkle of saffron ti get a goldener final result. Is it better to use egg white or egg yolk? Milk or water? Do they make any big difference or they are all the same? The egg-wash I used for these croissants was a beaten egg plus a few drops of milk and a pinch of saffron. But sadly they are not as golden as expected even though I turned on the heat coming from up for a few minutes (oven's temperature: 450F):

I have always used egg and milk. Two thirds egg to one third milk. Use a spray bottle to ensure that you get a nice, even coverage. Also make sure that you have a full proof on your goods, because (obviously) anything that gets exposed to the heat due to oven spring will not have color. Just the way I have always done things (and I used to work in some pretty nice pastry shops back in the day). EDIT: Just noticed the comment from sour d'oh... Should've mentiontioned that stuff myself... Very important. The higher the fat of the dairy, the better the color (use a high fat cream instead of milk).

When I buy packaged chicken breast at the grocery, I get the untrimmed ones because they're significantly cheaper, and trimming fat isn't a problem for me. But the rib meat that comes attached is connected by a rather large chunk of fat. I always end up cutting the whole thing off and throwing it out, with the rib meat. Is there anything I can really do with this meat so I'm not wasting it? Once in a while I'll throw it in the pan anyway, and then eat it myself when it cooks (which is way before the rest is done). But could I save them, maybe freeze them in a bag until I have enough to do something? Are there any other ideas?

Save in a bag in your freezer along with all chicken bones you come across. Cleave through the bones to expose some collagen before freezing (consider roasting all ingredients before hand). Add whatever vegetable bits you don't use in your cooking - including things you wouldn't eat (but nothing poisonous) to your bag, especially onions (including skin and root), celery, and carrots. When you have a good amount, put in a pot and just cover with cold water. A bit of vinegar helps promote a nice gelling of your broth. Tomato paste, peppercorns, and a bay leaf will add to the flavor. Simmer gently for around five hours. Remove. If you had fat still on your meat you may want to chill until the fat rises to the surface to remove the fat. Your broth will keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge or it can be frozen until you have a recipe which calls for chicken stock or broth. Your homemade broth will be an excellent addition to sauces, a great base for soups, or an excellent liquid for cooking rice, couscous, or quinoa.

I need to frost a ton of cupcakes (hundreds) for an event in a few months and I'm looking for something to help me do this. Has anyone ever seen a manual multi-nozzle (like 3 or 4-nozzle) piping gun, or something like that? (Imagine 3 or 4 caulking guns side-by-side.) This project is too big for a home kitchen and yet too small for large-scale commercial production. I only need this a couple times a year, so it's not worth buying a professional automatic frosting machine. Would it be possible to rent one or run some batches in a commercial production-line bakery? How could I find one? (I must not be searching for the right keywords b/c I couldn't find any online near LA/Orange County). I'm even willing to make a DIY project out of this but don't know where to start - wood, PVC, duct tape + baling wire? Any suggestions? Thanks! UPDATE: The objective is to decorate 3-4 cupcakes at a time while keeping the piping tips handheld in order to allow for the finesse of hand piping. By multi-nozzle, I mean more like this or this rather than this. Only one frosting, no conveyor belt, and not this EZfrost gizmo. Almost thinking a 1:1 pantograph, but to output 3 or 4 finished products at a time. The nozzles could even be hoses coming from a single tube/tank to a bracket with 3-4 tips, remotely kinda sorta like this. The mechanism could use piping bags or these fillable caulking tubes, just need to make sure they're food safe. And for the nozzle tips, it would need to accept either a standard large decorating tip coupler, or allow me to put the decorating tip on and secure it somehow. OH, and I have access to a 3D printer! (I just don't know how to create the models.) For a commercial kitchen, I'm willing to buy ingredients and do all the production there to preserve sanitation. For additional human labor, I had friends and family help me last year, and 26 hours later they all pretty much said they never want to see or hear about another cupcake again in their life... not sure I want to do that to them again.

Food safe zip ties do exist. A thin rolling pin or knife steel could make a handle crossbar for a couple of piping guns, and palette knives or narrow cutting boards could be useful as structural elements to cross-tie the piping guns too. Everything made out of food safe parts :)

My electric oven just has two settings: broil and bake. I have a recipe that calls for "roasting" a duck at 400 degrees. Is that the same thing as broiling or is it baking?

Assuming an electric oven as typically seen in the US: Roasting is the same setting as baking. The words mean slightly different things, but not to your electric oven. Using the baking setting has the heat coming from the bottom of the oven, broiling has it coming from the top. The temperature is usually set very high to broil (if it can be set at all, some ovens only broil on the highest setting). Baking can be done at any temperature within the range of the oven. What is called broiling in the US is called grilling in the UK.

I bought this "Mantita's italiano Crispy Pizza Crust Mix", but I own no pizza pan. All I have is a 8 inch wide, ~2inch deep, round "Lodge" cast iron pan I have never used before. I want to make a deep dish pizza with it. How much of the crust mix should I use in the pan? The crust mix says its for a 12inch pizza and requires 1/2 a cup of hot water.

No soy and no ginger is a challenge, it can be done though if you pick the right recipes. Galangal has a similar flavor as ginger and may work, it's in the same family as ginger but is a different sub-family, so it may be different enough not to cause a reaction. Cardamom and turmeric are in the same family as well, if you don't have a reaction to them galangal's a decent bet. Other than that there's no other substitutes for ginger in asian cooking. In baking you can use a mix of allspice, mace, and cloves but in cooked dishes they won't give the same result. Instead of finding a substitute for ginger if galangal doesn't work for you I would suggest choosing recipes without it, or where it's one of many flavorings. Just leave it out, it will still taste good. Fill in the gap with other bold flavors like onions, lemongrass and chili.

In another question I suggested that milk might be used as a tenderizer. That generated an amount of scepticism, so I think it is worth breaking the question out. The idea came from "The New Best Recipe" which has a small section entitled "SCIENCE: Why Does Milk Make Meat Tender?". I'll repeat a little of what it says: "...if you skip the browning and cook the meat in milk (or any other liquid) at the outset, you limit the temperature of the meat to around 212 degrees. [...] As a result, meat cooked in milk does not dry out..." If I follow the argument correctly --and I'm really not sure that I do-- this means that milk has no advantage over water as a tenderizer! Can anyone unravel this confusion? Does milk tenderize meat?

The paragraph you quoted is utter nonsense. Milk contains absolutely no factors which will tenderize anything. Tenderization is a process whereby protein strands are broken down, resulting in shorter strands, resulting in a more tender product. A lot of substances and physical processes will tenderize, to a greater or lesser extent, sometimes subject to other factors: acids, bromelain, a similar compound found in mango, physically pounding the meat, etc. Milk is none of those things. Further, simply limiting the cooking temperature to under 212F/100C will not, in fact, guarantee a tender and moist result. To see this for yourself, boil a chicken breast in water or milk for a while. It will never go over the boiling point of water, but if you leave it too long? Dry, nasty chicken. As Mike said in his answer, braising will result in a more tender end product; the length of cooking time plus the liquid medium helps to moderate the temperature and cook the protein very, very slowly. This retains more moisture within the product, and prevents protein strands from bunching up very tightly (which, really, is the same thing: protein strands force water out of meat as they constrict; prevent or ameliorate the constriction and you will have much moister and more tender meat). It is also worth noting that braising is always done at significantly below boiling temperatures; one braises at a simmer at most, more in the 60-80C range. Milk is often used with certain proteins due to its facility in absorbing unpleasant odours or flavours. Liver is the classic example, but milk is also often used with sweetbreads and fish (amongst other things) to help draw off the funkier aromas before cooking. I do not know the specific scientific mechanism behind why this works; I suspect it is something to do with the fat molecules in the milk itself, which suggests that any fatty liquid would have the same effect. So, for the short answer, see my first sentence.

I'm currently making 9 litres of quite thick lentil soup in a 10 litre stainless steel stockpot. It needs to simmer gently for an hour or two. Despite the sandwich base and my weakest gas ring on minimum*, it needs stirring every few minutes or it will stick, and soon burn. I've found this with other similar soups too (e.g. split pea and ginger) and dal. What they have in common is that they're too thick to convect properly. Today's is worse because I'm making it extra thick thicker for further dilution to serve about 40 people. Small batches can be done n my 3.5 litre slow cooker, though even in that it can stick. Because this cooks for quite a long time, I need to be able to get on with other things, not all in the kitchen. So I wondered about solutions for automated stirring. In small vessels in the lab, for example, there are magnetic stirrers built in to hotplates. Is there something larger for use at home, whether a product (perhaps something that could be repurposed), a DIY design, or something I haven't considered. * I have a flame diffuser, but it's a bit small for the pan and couldn't be trusted to take the weight. A diffuser that clipped under the pan supports would be interesting, like the wire gauze sometimes used with bunsen burners.

When I am cooking very thick soups I often put the pot in the oven instead of the stove and cook it that way. Because the heat is distributed around the entire surface I don't run into problems of it burning and sticking. Be sure to manage the temperature though, just around boiling is good.

Everything I read about making stock indicates that using raw chicken will create a gelatinous stock. I used leftover rotisserie chicken and it is delicious but very gelatinous. I let it simmer a LONG time, at least 6 hours. I did not skim as it was simmering. After straining, I poured it into jars, let it cool before putting in the refrigerator. I believe there had to be a good deal of fat because there was some skin on the carcass but there was not a layer of white fat on top after refrigerating. My question is: why was there no fat layer? Gelatinous is good but if I wanted less, what would I do different? Did I make mistakes not skimming, letting it cool to room temperature before refrigerating?

Fat will thicken a stock, but will not make it gelatinous. Gelling comes from collagen which comes from the bones or — in my opinion — even better from the joints. My experience is that this is easier to achieve from a cooked bird than a raw one rather than the other way around. The gelling may have locked up some of the fats, but you also may not have had as much as you expected even with the added skin just because rotisserie chicken tends to have some cooked out or rendered. My anecdotal experience is that the longer you simmer with bones and cartilage, the more collagen is released and cooking down concentrates it more giving more gelling to the stock. I tend to call mine consomme, but that is really only correct if it has been clarified. If you really want a rich, well gelled one, get some chicken feet and include it in your stock pot! For the opposite, if you want no gelling, my practice is to increase the amount of meat, limit the bones and cartilage and do not simmer long, and I myself would normally do that with raw poultry rather than cooked, simmering for minutes, not hours.

I stumbled across this blogpost which claims that coffee is awesome for our bodies but only if it doesn't have mycotoxins (toxins generated by fungi). To quote them: One study showed that 91.7% of green coffee beans were contaminated with mold. This is before they were processed, which allows even more mold to grow. Another study showed 52% of green coffee beans and almost 50 percent of brewed coffees are moldy. Coffee is easily one of the largest sources of mycotoxins in the food supply. They conveniently sell coffee beans that underwent a different process and don't have mycotoxins, so I have to wonder if this is a real problem and if there are ways to avoid it besides buying from them. Perhaps buying green beans and processing them somehow so the fungi are washed away?

Time to apply a bit of healthy skepticism here: The blog post: Is (so far) the first and only one I've ever seen stating mold to be a practical problem in coffee - in the sense of being present in a high enough quantity to matter (mold grows everywhere). Uses all kinds of weasel words to describe symptoms ("edgy", "cranky", "useless mentally"). Describes symptoms that are well in line with plain old caffeine withdrawal. Frequently links to other blog posts on the same site, most of which are "top 10 ways" and "top 5 reasons" fluff pieces. Manages to cite and thoroughly misuse two studies: one from 1995, and another from 2003. Both are about Ochratoxin A (OA), which isn't even the biggest risk; Aflatoxin is. (More on these later). Advertises a fairly expensive product, sold by the same author. The author: Is, according to his LinkedIn profile (which I refuse to link here), the VP of Cloud Security at Trend Micro - a Silicon Valley tech company. I could not find any evidence that he or his his employer has any experience in human biology or nutrition. Makes all sorts of unusual claims about himself: "He upgraded his brain by >20 IQ points, lowered his biological age, and lost 100 lbs without using calories or exercise." Has an entire page of testimonials, which he frequently cites as "evidence". Has an entire site dedicated to product-peddling, including the ubiquitous six-second abs (yes, that's hyperbole) and a $60 "earthing mat". Has the following disclaimers on the product site (all in tiny print at the bottom): The statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the FDA (U.S. Food & Drug Administration). Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information provided by this website or this company is not a substitute for a face-to-face consultation with your physician, and should not be construed as individual medical advice. The testimonials on this website are individual cases and do not guarantee that you will get the same results. In short, he employs tactics which are commonplace among con artists selling magnetic bracelets. In my opinion, all his claims are technobabble, and I think they are not trustworthy. The facts and studies: The largest sample tested was just 60 samples of beans, and was tested from only one source (Brazil). This is fine for individual studies, but in the real world there are hundreds (thousands?) of sources from many different countries. It's safe to say that the current studies don't even come close to testing all of the coffee from around the world. Both OA studies found an incidence rate of approximately 50% for the OA-producing mold, at wildly different concentrations (minimum 0.2 ppb in one study, maximum 7.8 ppb in another). If this tells me anything at all, it's that you should probably vary your source if you want to minimize your risk. Neither the FDA nor the EFSA actually have a legal limit for OA, but the EFSA "suggests" a limit of 8 µg/kg, which means that even the worst samples are below the very conservative legal limit. One study actually tested the incidence of OA in brewed coffee, not just the beans, and found a maximum of 7.8 ppb in the brew (that's 7.8 µg per 1 kg of ground coffee). For reference, there's an EFSA directive recommending an intake of no more than 120 ng/kg (body weight) per week, which comes out to 8.4 µg/week for a 150 lb/70 kg individual, or 1.2 µg/day. Based on the worst contamination of brewed coffee (7.8 µg/kg), doing the math, you'd have to consume the brew from 150 g of ground coffee per day. That's about half a standard-sized tin of coffee. Per day. If you drink that much coffee, shame on you. The 3rd study (the one rumtscho linked to, not cited by the blogger/con artist) looked at Aflatoxin, not Ochratoxin, which actually is regulated by the FDA at a maximum of 20 ppb. This study also showed approximately a 50% incidence rate after roasting, with the highest concentration of AT being 16 µg/kg for decaf (less with caffeine). So that means with any random cup of coffee you have up to a 50% chance of consuming an amount of AT that's still well below the FDA limit - that's very nearly zero risk. None of the studies test the rate of mold growth on beans while in storage under various conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.), so we can't comment on what happens in storage. So I guess if you want to really be on the safe side, only buy as much coffee as you think you can use in a week or two. Conclusion: Don't believe everything that people tell you - especially people with something to sell. Unless you're drinking gallons of coffee a day, brewed coffee is perfectly safe.

Not sure if there is an proper name, had it in Israel but have seen it (or similar variations) in Moroccan restaurants (in the US). Comprised of primarily diced cucumbers and tomatoes, that have been seasoned.

Not too surprisingly given where you found it, it's called an Israeli Salad in most parts of the world. In Israel, it's just called a chopped salad or (according to the wiki article - I never personally encountered this) an Arab salad.

One problem I've had that I know others have too is when pouring from those Pyrex glass measuring cups. I just saw it happen in the Binging with Babish video: Is there any good way to prevent this? I've tried pouring fast and slow, but it always seems to get liquid coming from the sides, thus making a mess.

Use a larger measuring cup so it is only partly full. Then the cup will be tilted more when the pour starts.

I have no idea what this thing is, and it appears to be a kitchen tool, but for what? I put up a YouTube video of it, and would love to see if anybody knows exactly what it would be used for, because we have no idea: http://youtu.be/do5_D8Sjhk8 It would appear to be some kind of corer, or to cut shapes out of some fruit, but I can't find anything similar to it online. The video linked to above does a better job of showing it from multiple angles.

It looks like one I bought a few years ago, it was suppose to cut corn off the cob. You put it around the small end of the corn and rotate in a downward motion. I didn't like the results and went back to using a knife.

I have a can of Red Kidney Beans, and I want to use it to make Japanese Red Bean Paste Buns. Looking online, I found that these buns require Azuki Beans for the paste, not Kidney Beans. Is there a way to turn Kidney Beans into a replacement for Azuki Beans?

Welcome. According to the excerpt below from this page , kidney beans are an acceptable substitute. azuki bean = adzuki bean = Tiensin red bean = aduki bean = asuki bean = field pea = red Oriental bean = feijao bean = red chori Equivalents: 1 cup dried yields 3 cups cooked beans Pronunciation: a-ZOO-kee Notes: The Japanese use these small red beans to make sweet red bean paste, but they're also good in rice dishes or salads. Azuki beans are sweet and relatively easy to digest, so they won't make you as gassy as other beans. They also don't take as long to cook. Substitutes: black azuki beans OR red kidney beans OR Tolosana beans That said, while you may be able to substitute them you may need to make adjustments to end up with a similar bean paste. For example you may need to add more sugar as adzuki beans have a natural slightly sweet flavor. Also, even though you have canned beans, they may require a bit of cooking to get them to the right softness. (Adzuki beans tend to have a very creamy texture.) Note that dark red kidney beans tend to be more firm than light red. All said and done, you can probably make adjustments and end up with a slightly different result. But as for me, I would get the adzuki beans.

Cornstarch is used in various recepies for many purposes but sometime it is not available in kitchen. So, what can I substitute for cornstarch?

Genrally speaking, you can substitute any pure starch for corn starch. This would include: Potato starch Arrowroot powder Tapioca starch Usually, you can use the same amounts you would have used for corn starch. You cannot substitute flour in the same amounts without changing the flavor and/or texture of the dish.

Which food books (and I'm thinking books on food and cooking rather than recipe books) do you find on your bedside cabinet rather than on the kitchen shelves? McGee on Food and Cooking: An Encyclopedia of Kitchen Science, History and Culture keeps creeping back as it answers all those questions about why something works, or doesn't; Anything by M. F. K. Fisher as I never tire of her simple, witty prose and sheer love of food.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver In Defense of Food and Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan Those are the ones I've been working on recently.

Sometimes, if you leave something like chips out in the open, it catches moisture from the air and is not as crisp after that. Is the food good to consume even after that?

There's different things here -- loss of texture/freshness (ie, stale), and unsafe to eat (spoiled) There's lots of things out there that aren't unsafe to eat, but you might not want to -- eg, the brownies that have become so hard that you might be worried about chipping a tooth. Some things can be saved after they've had issues -- it's possible to reheat corn chips or deep fryer to crisp them back up. Limp carrots will come back if wrapped in a damp towel and left in your crisper for a day or two. Limp lettuce might revive in an icewater bath. Day-old bread (slightly stale, not rock hard) can be put in a dampened paper bag and put in the oven on low heat to revive. ... but all of these assume loss of freshness, not rotted / covered in mold / etc. If it smells funny, there are bugs crawling all over it, it's now fuzzy, or it's taken on new interesting colors ... it's time for the compost or trash. Sometimes, slightly less than fresh item are great in other things -- vegetables past their prime can go into making stocks; stale bread for croutons, french toast or bread puddings.

I don't have much theoretical knowledge about wine, but I like the taste. So I often get a random bottle from the wide selection at the supermarket, avoiding only the bottom line of TetraPack wine. I have noticed a few trends (e.g. I don't like Chillean wine), but it is still mostly a hit-and-miss. One of the "bah" moments I have had several times recently was fizzy wine. I don't mean wine sold as sparkly, such as champagne or prosecco. I mean bottles which look like normal wine, which are closed with a normal cork instead of a pressure-containing plug, but on opening they turn out to have a special kind of carbonation. Not the big, rising bubbles found in soft drinks, but small bubbles which are sometimes not even visible in the glass. Sometimes they are visible, but they stand there, instead of rising. When I drink the wine, the carbonation is noticeable from the slight bite. I don't like carbonation. It not only makes the drink more acidic (and gives it a very unpleasant soda taste when there is not enough taste to cover it, such as in sparkly water), but the physical sensation distracts from the taste. I can tolerate it in soft drinks (if I have to drink one at all), but I have higher expectations of wine. I looked at the bottles of carbonated wine I've had, but the labels don't seem to contain an indication of whether the wine is fizzy or not. I have seen it in red and white wines, cheap and expensive ones, local and important ones, without any pattern. Am I missing some important clue? Is it printed somewhere where I don't think to look? Or is it specific for certain grape cultivars? For certain regions? How do I learn to recognize the fizziness of a wine in a closed dark bottle sitting on a shelf?

There are a couple of reasons why a wine would be slightly fizzy: Maltreatment: wine which has been stored in a hot place will often be slight fizzy, as well as having a "sour cider" taste. This wine is ruined, throw it out. Varietal: in addition to Champaigne/Prosecco/Cava,several other wine varietals are deliberately slightly fizzy, such as Lambrusco and some Vino Verde. They may not be labeled as fizzy because it's assumed you'd know from the varietal. I'm going to have to contradict BaffledCook here: by the time a regular non-sweet wine is in the bottle, it should not have residual sugar or fizzyness, even if it's too young to drink. For standard wines, all sugar is converted in primary fermentation, and certainly none would make it through barrel-aging. So if you get a chardonnay or pinot grigio or merlot, and it's slightly fizzy, it's ruined and you should take it back to the market and exchange it. EDIT: see discussion in comments. SECOND EDIT: I went out and bought a 2011 white wine, and darned if BaffledCook isn't right. Very young, but otherwise good, wines can have a slight effervesence. So combine his answer and mine for 3 reasons why a wine would be slightly fizzy. Mind you, you shouldn't be drinking 2011 wines yet ... store them for a year ... but if you do, there it is.

With Spectre being released in cinemas around the world soon, I've been looking for some James Bond montages on youtube. One of them that I came across was the classic "Vodka Martini. Shaken, not stirred". We already have a question about why Bond asks for this special preparation, but one thing that I always found weird was that this drink usually comes with an olive. I understand that cocktails more often than not have some garnish, but why an olive?

Olives (and onions) are a very traditional garnish used by bartenders to add a slightly savory flavor to a drink. As with many things behind the bar, they're used nowadays largely because they're iconic, but they do have a subtle effect on flavor. It's not really known where traditional garnishes such as citrus peels, cherries, olives/onions, and mint sprigs originated, but they're found in the earliest known published bartender's manual. (This was Jerry Thomas' How to Mix Drinks or the Bon-Vivant's Companion; cocktail historian David Wondrich's book Imbibe!, which reorganizes and provides context for the original, is required reading for the modern cocktail nerd.) These garnishes may have started with early drink families called cobblers and juleps which feature fresh berries and mint, respectively. Over time, drinks got more elaborate and drinkers came to expect something added to their drinks to give them more visual appeal. Here's a great, brief article that breaks down some of the history and usage of these. At first, as seen in other early bartending guides, bartenders just tossed whatever they had (usually preserved or pickled items that kept well including nuts, olives, and cherries) into the drink on hand. Eventually they sorted themselves out and figured out that olives or onions went best with savory drinks such as the Martini, and cherries went best with sweeter drinks such as the Manhattan. The tradition solidified a few years before Prohibition in the US, and was one of the practices that survived the resulting upheaval in drinking traditions. In the 1950s, Martini practices grew more variable; when ordering, you'd be quizzed about whether you wanted vodka or gin, shaken or stirred, an olive or a twist, without any particular standard. The olive may have become even more tightly associated with the Martini later on, when drinks began skewing to sweet and fruity in the late 1960s and 1970s, and fresh citrus started disappearing behind the bar. For whatever reason, bartenders also seem to have forgotten how to store vermouth (which, since it's a wine, will go off if stored at room temperature and allowed to oxidize) and the olives may have been the only thing preventing Martinis from being unpleasantly bitter. By the 1980s, the "dirty" Martini (which adds a dash or more of olive brine) emerged as one of the few options for drinkers who wanted a non-sweet cocktail at a bar. Fortunately, we've now come full circle, and a Martini closer to the original pre-Prohibition version can be found at many cocktail bars (usually with a twist of lemon peel). But the olive has now been firmly established as the traditional Martini garnish for multiple generations. One of the main reasons that the briny olive works as a garnish is because a small amount of salt is a flavor enhancer, which is why just about every savory dish that we eat (and some sweet ones, ala salted caramel) contain at least some salt. There aren't many drinks where salt is added directly, but there are certain drinks (such as the Margarita) where it's an important part of the flavor, and some modern bartenders with a culinary background use a couple drops of salt solution in almost all of their drinks. Some people particularly like this in a Martini, especially if that's what they're used to. So, the tl;dr: It's now seen as traditional, some people really like the salty flavor it adds, and it works pretty well in a largely savory drink like the Martini.

My friends and I had this idea while drunk one night, to create a big batch of small cakes shaped like LEGO bricks and interlock them into a larger, round cake. Morning came, and we grew daunted by the task we had set, so promptly gave up. My question then, is this: were we right to give up, or is this actually a possibility? My primary concern is that cake seems a fairly fragile material. The hollowing process for creating the bricks may spell an end for it right from the start, and even if it can survive that, how well will it be able to stack without collapsing on itself? Secondary is a concern over the interlocking, how difficult would it be to allow modular construction and destruction? The original idea was only for a bigger cake, but if it works well that won't be where it stops. Are there any techniques that could make this task more tractable? Cake recipes that might withstand the stresses better?

You never said what size the cake had to be, or how well it had to actually hold together. If you make too large of a cake, it's not going to work -- cake is heavy enough that as you get larger, you need to add additional supports. Most multi-tier cakes have some sort of rods (plastic or wood) placed in them to help support the upper levels. If you make it too small, you won't have sufficiently sized knobs for it to actually be able to hold anything. Most professional cakes are more dense than your home-baked cakes, to help get around this issue, and you can chill them to help firm them up before stacking. If you're going for a recipe from scratch, look for a pound cake recipe. If you're using a box mix, you can add in a packet of instant vanilla pudding mix and reduce the temperature by 25°F / 15°C but increase the time. Size will be an issue as the larger that you get in a single cake, the weaker it's going to be; the bit of crust that you get from the pan is more significant the smaller the cake is. It'll also be stronger when the dimensions are all close (ie, more cube-like), as you don't have issues with things breaking off due to slenderness. Your next issue is the connections. As we're not dealing with plastic, we can attempt to take advantage of two things -- friction, and compression. To get friction, we need the surface to be rough and fairly strong ... and this means that carving it down is right out, it'd have to be cast directly if it's going to have any strength. You'll likely have to play with the sizing of the holes vs. the knobs, but you'll want the knobs to be large enough that it's a press-fit, and takes a little effort to seat them (compressing the knob in the process), but not so much force is applied to the cake that it causes a failure at the wall around the hole. If it were me, I'd try to make the knob between 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the cake, and the knob stick up 1/4 of the depth. And now you're wondering of course how both the top and bottom could be cast -- by making two molds, and gluing the top and bottom together using icing. Depending on the strength required, you might have to add some rods to pin it together ... but one vertically through the knob will only help you in compression and sheer, not tension. For that, you'd need three or more diagonally through the knob in a radial pattern. I'd personally avoid the supports, with the argument that it's no longer fully edible, and might not be a cake anymore. (and those who enter gingerbread cake competitions would instead just use something edible as the rod, like an un-bent candy cane). So, to summarize: You'll need two molds, one for the upper, one for the lower, bake, level, then join them together. The knobby bits in theory should be 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the side, and about 1/4 of the total height The knobby bits should be slightly wider than the hole they're fitting into. Avoid slender pieces (ie, no 1x4 pieces; 1x1 or maybe 1x2) Stiffen the cake with gelatin, refrigeration, and bake at a lower temp (but you need to cook it longer to get a bit of crust to form) And now, for the reason it just won't work : If they're lego shaped, they're rectangular ... and you can't make a smooth circle out of a bunch of rectangles, at least not until the diameter of the circle is significantly larger than the width of the rectangles ... but we have the slenderness issues, so you'd be making a whole bunch of 1x2 pieces to stick together and it'd be quite tedious. Depending on what you're willing to qualify as 'cake', this could be possible to make out of gingerbread (as used for cookies and houses, not cake), but you'd have to dry it so far that it'd not cut like a conventional cake. (make it from layers, then laminate them to make individual pieces, you might have to use hole saws after they're dried to get the proper sized knobs and holes, and then sand to get 'em perfect)

It was my first try to canning tomato sauce but I failed. I prepared a tomato pizza sauce. I boiled a jar and lid then removed it I filled the jar with sauce and left one inch empty space and closed with the lid. Then I put it in the boiling water and what happened: As soon as I put the jar in the hot boiling water, some air bubbles appeared. Then after few seconds, the jar broke from its bottom And I failed in my first experiment. What should I be doing differently for this not to happen next time?

Jars burst either because of internal pressure or thermal shock. There are a couple things you can do to reduce the risk of bursting. use actual canning jars. Some people like to reuse regular jars that aren't as strong. This will often work fine but increases the risk of bursting. make sure the jar is hot. A cold jar into hot water or a hot jar into cold water will burst almost every time. bring water to a boil after adding jars don't overtighten lids. Rings should be tightened just enough to firmly hold the lid on. Too much and pressure won't be able to escape during boiling. Remember the bottle is sealed by pressure-not by the ring. Based on your description, if you had any of these problems I would suspect the last. However, sometimes bottles just burst because of manufacturing defects. This doesn't happen often but it is sad when it does.

I'm a fan of modernist cooking, and its emphasis on precise measurements and consistency. I'm curious how to apply this to tea preparation - in particular, several things: It seems to be well established that different types of tea should be prepared at different temperatures - black tea and fruit infusions with boiling water, green tea at 80 degrees centigrade, and so forth. Where/when was this established? How do we know it's optimal for each tea? Likewise, durations to steep tea seem fairly well established. Is there any research on this? People seem a bit fuzzier on this than on temperatures, with some variation. There's a lot of variance on the amount of tea leaves per litre of tea, varying between 2 grams per cup (8 grams per litre) and 15 grams per litre! Obviously, this depends on how finely cut the tea is, too. Is there any way I can determine this more objectively than just trying different amounts and tasting? There seem to be several theories on how best to prepare iced tea. Some suggest using more tea and steeping for longer, some suggest preparing it cold, and so forth. Has anyone determined objectively which are better? I realize this my come across as rather pedantic, but given the huge variation in preparation suggestions, I'm interested in trying to figure out which work best. Most of the questions above could be answered to some degree, too, with an explanation of what it is - chemically - that makes one batch of tea better or worse, providing a foundation for making these sort of decisions.

There is an ISO standard for tea preparation. To quote the summary: The pot should be white porcelain or glazed earthenware and have a partly serrated edge. It should have a lid that fits loosely inside the pot. If a large pot is used, it should hold a maximum of 310 ml (±8 ml) and must weigh 200 g (±10 g). If a small pot is used, it should hold a maximum of 150 ml (±4 ml) and must weigh 118 g (±10 g). 2 grams of tea (measured to ±2% accuracy) per 100 ml boiling water is placed into the pot. Freshly boiling water is poured into the pot to within 4-6 mm of the brim. Allow 20 seconds for water to cool. The water should be similar to the drinking water where the tea will be consumed Brewing time is six minutes. The brewed tea is then poured into a white porcelain or glazed earthenware bowl. If a large bowl is used, it must have a capacity of 380 ml and weigh 200 g (±20 g) If a small bowl is used, it must have a capacity of 200 ml and weigh 105 g (±20 g) If the test involves milk, then it can be added before or after pouring the infused tea. Milk added after the pouring of tea is best tasted when the liquid is between 65 - 80 °C. 5 ml of milk for the large bowl, or 2.5 ml for the small bowl, is used.

So, we found the omelette in a bag recipe, and decided to use it. Pretty simple, beat the eggs, drop in ingredients, (Usually either Great Value Mozzarella, Fiesta Blend Cheese, or Cheddar) and some Jimmy Dean's Breakfast sausage, boil for 20mins, done. We store them in the fridge since we don't have time in the mornings, and eat them throughout the week. They're perfect for my father who eats them at work (microwaves them, about a minute or so) and for me if I'm looking for quick meal. Problem is, that at times they turn a grayish color, as they're put onto the plate and break up the omelette, you can see grayish/black spots. Are we storing them wrong? Are they safe to eat? Any suggestions would be helpful.

Cooking, not storage, to blame Storing cooked eggs under refrigeration for a week is not turning your eggs gray. Instead the discoloration is from the iron in the yolk reacting with the sulfur in the albumen at temperatures of 170F or higher creating ferrous sulfide. Overcooking the omelettes initially, or perhaps hot spots from the reheating method, create the gray-green discoloration. While unappetizing, the discoloration is not harmful.

When we go to a restaurant for breakfast and order eggs, we are often asked how we want them. I have a handful of ways that I will eat them (I often prefer over-medium) and I am sure there a large number of ways to prepare eggs I am unfamiliar with. I have a question then on the various technical definitions of these preparations if I were to go into the kitchen and prepare eggs for someone else. Sorry if this question is too open-ended such that it would require pages and pages for a proper response. Like a good start would be the difference in over-{insert proper word} preparations or distinctions between some of the more popular methods.

Fried Eggs: Sunny Side Up -- Not flipped, unbroken yolk. The top of the egg is just barely set. Basted -- Sunny Side Up, hot fat spooned over until the white surrounding the yolk is opaque. Over Easy / lite -- Flipped, whites fully cooked, unbroken yolk, yolk runny. Over medium -- flipped, whites fully cooked, unbroken yolk, yolk creamy (not completely runny). Over Medium Well -- Flipped, unbroken yolk, yolk cooked to have a firm but wet-appearing center. Over Hard -- Flipped, broken, fully-cooked yolk. Over Well -- Flipped, intact, fully-cooked yolk. Broken / Lightly Scrambled -- Broken in pan and gently stirred while cooking - yolk and whites should not be mixed entirely. Scrambled Eggs -- Made in many different ways. Generally the eggs are mixed in a bowl before being put into the pan, and often stirred while cooking. Some recipes add fat to the eggs in the form of milk, cream, butter, or oil. A distinction can be made between Wet/Loose or Dry, which refers to the degree of doneness. Omelettes: Filled Omelette -- Eggs mixed before cooking, possibly with added fat as in Scrambled Eggs. Cooked in fat in a saute pan; when set but the interior still wet, previously-cooked fillings (cheese, onions, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes...) are added, and the eggs folded over into a half-moon shape. Spanish Omelette / Western Omelette -- Same as filled, but the egg mixture is poured over the fillings in a hot pan and cooked, thus incorporating the fillings into the egg. Fluffy Omelette -- Whites and yolks beaten separately. Yolks are gently folded into the whites without breaking the structure of the whites. Optional toppings are added. Cooked slowly in a pan, or baked (an electric frying pan with a lid works well for this preparation). French Omelette -- Cooked soft & creamy with no color on the egg. Omelette is folded 1/3 in the pan, knocked to the edge so it can be rolled out onto the plate. It ends up being folded into thirds and is very creamy and soft. Boiled: Cooked in shell in water for a timed period. Some people will refer to degree of doneness by cooking time, i.e., a "3-minute egg" is soft-boiled with some runny white around the yolk. Some recipes call for eggs to be added to boiling water, others to be started in cold water. In the cold-water start, the pot may be left on the heat or removed when the water reaches a boil. The eggs may be shocked in ice water when removed. Soft -- Yolk runny, potentially with slight unset white around the yolk. Medium -- White completely set, yolk firm but with a dark, wet appearance. Hard -- Yolk completely set and pale yellow. Poached: Egg cooked, out of shell, in water, stock, or other liquid -- excluding fats or oils -- at a temperature in the range of 160-180˚F (70-82˚C). There are possible degrees of doneness, however the typical poached egg has a runny but warm and thickened yolk and fully-set white. Coddled: An egg that has been very lightly cooked (poached eggs are sometimes considered coddled). This can either be accomplished with an egg coddler or cooking an egg in its shell with water that is slightly below boiling point. Shirred: An egg cooked in an oven at the low-mid 300's˚F (~160˚C), contained in a ramekin, until the whites are just set and the yolk is runny but thickened. Often butter or another fat is placed on top before cooking. Steamed: Very similar to shirred eggs, but the ramekin is covered with some aluminum foil and put in a steamer for 7-15 minutes. In a basket: Eggs fried in a hole made in a slice of bread deep fried Moo shu- using a strainer to drop small drops of egg into hot oil in a wok and stir. Frying in vegetables and/optionally meat or another protein then consume on mandarin pancakes with your choice of sauce.

I always thought they were (perhaps regionally) different labels for the same cake. While at a local fair, I noticed that there were separate categories for Devil's Food and Chocolate cake.

PracticallyEdible has a nice description of Devil's Food Cake. Originally, Devil's Food Cake had a medium dense texture. The colour had a reddish tint that was probably caused by baking soda reacting with cocoa powder. In fact, I have an old cookbook (The Day by Day Cook Book, 1939) that contains a recipe for Red Devil's Food Cake. This recipe calls for 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate and 1 tsp. of baking soda.

I am planing to buy my first cast Iron pan and I would like to get advice on which size/shape/depth should I should choose. For example I am looking at this: size: 25.4cm depth: 4.45cm size: 25cm depth: 5.08cm Also what shape/width/depth would be best in your opinion, not necessary from these two pans, but in general? Mainly I want to get new pan for cooking steaks, hamburger meat. Or maybe I should consider gettig one like this: Do those lines add addiotional taste or just marks? edit: Thank you all for answers, I decided to go with Lodge cast iron L10SK3 size: 30 cm looks like #2 but bigger :) Next step cooking...

I'd offer the following recommendations if someone hasn't worked with cast iron before: Cast iron is heavy. If you're not used to them, and used to flipping things in your pan by just lifting and shaking ... it will not go well until you've gotten used to it. You'd likely be better off with a smaller pan, provided that it's of sufficient size for the amount you're cooking. If you're only cooking for 1 or 2 people, a 10" (25cm) pan is likely better than a 12" (30cm) one. If you're going to be grilling things, but not making sauces or sautéing, go with a griddle. Round griddles heat up much more evenly (less issues w/ cold spots near the walls), are easier to clean, and are significantly lighter than cast iron pans. Grill pans are really only needed for things that are going to drip significant amounts of fat, or if you really like grill lines. If you buy a larger pan (14"/ 36cm) or larger, make sure it has a second handle. I've seen some that just have a little nub and not much else, which makes it very difficult to lift when it's loaded down with food, as you don't always have good grip with the potholders. Pour spouts are nice to have, as you don't want to hold the pan for a long time trying to be careful when pouring. (heavy pan + liquid weight is not a good combination). The only disadvantage to the spouts are that you can't lid it as tightly, which may be an issue for pots, but is generally not a problem for pans. Learn how to hold the pan when transfering food out of it. You'll notice in some cooking shows that the chefs use a strange grip : with your non-dominant hand, reach across the pan and grab the handle so that your palm is under the handle. Grip tightly and lift over your serving dish, and then scrape things out with your dominant hand. You will tire out much more quickly if you try to hold it with the handle to the side. You only need a high-sided pan if you're going to be really loading up the pan (eg, trying to wilt down a bunch of greens), braising, or shallow frying. (it's most important when frying). Higher sides add extra weight, and less even heating. Figure out where you're going to store it. As they're heavy, you likely don't want to be storing them up high (hazardous) or down low (back problems) if you can avoid it. You also can't stack them all on top of each other on a flimsy shelf. I wouldn't hang them from a pot-rack if it was overhead. (maybe on a wall-mounted one, where I knew it had good lags into studs) If you just have one, you can clean it and leave it on your stovetop ... once you start getting a few different sizes, you have to figure out where to put them. Invest in a handle cover. You can get ones that are padded cloth, leather, or silicone that slip over the handle, and just stay on while you're cooking. You don't want pans where the handle is a separate part from the cast iron. Enameled cast iron is easier to clean, but it will start to stain and craze after years of use. I like enamed for pots, but generally prefer seasoned for pans. Make sure to read the manufacturer's directions for cleaning and seasoning your pan before the first use. Seasoned pans may come 'pre-seasoned', and just need a touch up before you start using it, but bare metal pans generally need to be stripped down of whatever protective coating they shipped with, and then seasoned, which can take a couple of hours to build up some layers. (it's easier to do in the oven, but slower ... I still recommend the oven so you can make sure to season the underside and handles of the pan, which frequently get forgotten) ... and whatever you do, do not start collecting cast iron because it's decorative. I have less than a dozen, and 3 of them get heavy use (14" skillet, 12" round griddle, 7qt enameled pot). I had to work up to the 14" skillet ... starting out, it was a 10" until I got used to working with it, which is still a great size for cornbread and such. ... but my mom has well over 100 pieces, because she's collecting Griswold and Wagner. (and she's got at lot of it on an antique wooden baking rack that I'm amazed hasn't broken / collapsed considering that it's significantly sagging)

Let's assume that they are both made with chicken, and that the curry is a traditional Indian curry, with tomato and traditional spices, not with "curry powder" tossed in it. Various articles claim to describe the differences, but they disagree with each other. Recipes for both use the same seasonings, and appear pretty much interchangeable, except that curry often has coconut-something in it, and tikka masala is heavy on butter and cream. How are they actually supposed to be different?

Your cooking method will clearly increase the fat content of the dish. If the bacon is removed after cooking, I don't think it is possible to say how much bacon fat remains. There are probably multiple variables. Even with some fat remaining on the surface, or possibly getting past the surface, removing the bacon itself would eliminate a significant amount of fat. Simply because most of that fat resides in the bacon (though a bunch dripped off during cooking, and some stayed on the chicken), so the now bacon-less chicken would have more fat. Whether or not that is significant, I don't think we can say, but I would assume that is what your guest meant...not that all traces of fat would be gone.

I can eat yellow parts without a problem. But I throw up when i eat whites. I tried many ways to eat but failed. Scrambled, spiced, souce, etc. I need to get rid of the taste and smell of the eggwhite. Any ideas?

I'm the same way. Add milk to the eggs while beating them for scrambled eggs. Mix well. Even add a little garlic, salt and pepper. Cook low/mid heat until the eggs are somewhat dry.