Applying a binder to chicken after wet marinating I usually marinate my chicken breasts/wings in a wet marinade overnight and apply a dry rub shortly before I throw them on the smoker. The main problem I'm facing is that I'm not able to get nice and consistent bark. I was wondering if applying a mustard binder as I would with something like ribs or brisket would help remedy this issue?

This is a good tutorial: http://www.wikihow.com/Apply-Dry-Rub-to-Chicken

2 things from the above link:

Properly dry the meat before applying the rub.
Let the meat rest a little while with the rub so that the rub re-hydrate a little bit and that will help it stick more to the meat.

So you will need to adjust your timing between getting the meat out of the wet marinade and putting it in the smoker.


Do different fat contents (skim, 2%, whole, etc) affect rate or intensity of milk spoilage? Does milk with different fat contents (skim, 2%, whole, etc.) spoil at different rates?

And when spoilage does occur, are milks with higher fat content more sour than those with less?

Are there smell differences?

No, there is no reason they should.

Bacteria feed on carbohydrates, not on fats. (This is why oil doesn't spoil outside of the fridge - it is pure fat). So it is the amount of milk sugar which is important for the bacteria, and it is the same regardless of the fat content. Also, the spoiled milk is not more or less sour at the end.

The other important factors are initial bacteria count and storage temperature. You can't do anything about the bacteria count, and can't know what it is. The storage temperature is, of course, your fridge temperature, which should be in the small range of 0-4°C.

The other factor is the type of pasteurization. Traditional pasteurization makes a milk with a shelf life of 7 days, ESL gives it a shelf life of 21 days, and UHT milk can last for months, uncooled. Once opened, each of these types spoils within 3-4 days. And then, normally pasteurized milk goes really sour, partly even separating into curdles and whey. ESL and UHT milks get slightly more bitter, but not much, and they stay liquid and don't change their odour or colour. Unless you pay lots of attention to the taste, you can't tell when ESL milk is spoiled. But this happens the same way no matter the fat content.


Is synthetic astaxanthin (salmon "dye") safe? TL;DR Is synthetic astaxanthin safe for humans to consume?
Background
Synthetic astaxanthin is available as a supplement, and is also commonly consumed by humans in the form of farmed salmon.
Wild salmon eat a lot of shrimp-like krill, which contains lots of astaxanthin, which is what gives salmon it’s red/pink flesh. In farmed salmon, they’re not fed the same diet, so they don’t get the same colour (they’d be grey or off-white). So farms feed them synthetic astaxanthin to give their flesh a red/pink colour.
This says that humans that eat the farmed salmon end up consuming the synthetic astaxanthin via the salmon's flesh.
I found the following:

An article saying:

... one company has announced it will bring a synthetic astaxanthin supplement to market for human use. Their argument for its legality is that it’s already approved as a color additive in food (salmon). This may be a legal loophole that could potentially bring this far inferior supplement onto health food store shelves sometime in the future. The question that remains to be answered is whether or not synthetic astaxanthin is safe for direct human consumption.

Astaxanthin may cause stomach pain in large doses (but so do many foods in large quantities).

Also:

Synthetic astaxanthin is significantly inferior to algal-based astaxanthin

Note that being 'inferior' doesn't imply that it's unsafe.
Question
Is human consumption of synthetic astaxanthin (via capsule, salmon, or any other means) safe?

Yes, the FDA has determined that astaxanthin is "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS), at 0.15 mg/serving. This doesn't indicate whether there are any health considerations associated with it (that's not on topic for this site), but it's not poisonous.


Can gravlax be prepared from frozen salmon? I love gravlax and have recently gotten into making it - partly to avoid the nitrates in commercially prepared gravlax, and partly for budget. But even making it still costs so much for fresh salmon ($16/lb).

I'm curious if I can just use thawed frozen salmon since I can get practically a whole half a salmon for like $15 at Walmart.

Yes, you can.  If the frozen salmon is of high quality, there is no reason based on the food science that it should not work.

Many of the recipes and articles on the web indicate that you should (or sometimes can) start with frozen salmon.  Some, including Cooking for Engineers, specifically recommend using frozen salmon to reduce the risk from parasites:

  Parasites, such as roundworms, can naturally reside in salmon
  regardless of if it was frozen or fresh. For safety, use salmon that
  has been commercially frozen or freeze the salmon yourself to at least
  -10°F (-23°C) for at least 7 days.


Why is my baguette type bread coming out almost flat? I bake bread almost every day.  Mostly French baguettes, old stretch and fold every 45 mts. method for 1st proofing, couche for 2nd rise. Make sourdough too.  But my bread loaves, which were coming out very good, but wanted to make better, are now (last two weeks) coming out almost totally flat when out of the oven (oven temp ok).  They actually look nice and fluffy (Too "marshmallowy") after 1.5-2 hrs. proofing on top of counter on tray covered by dry towel.  Used to proof for 1.5 hrs. but the 2 hrs. gave a nicer, puffier (but soft) look.
What happens:

So, when I score the bread, simple center cut, it starts to deflate a little.  I bake it with plenty of steam yet no oven spring, it's FLAT! BUT...the taste is great, only has little crumb but it's NOT DENSE...

What I've tried:

I use plenty of steam with pot in bottom of oven and boiling water, lightly spray the loaves.

I am pre-preparing everything (this is new, could it matter?), including sifting flours (half AP/half bread) the night before, the rest in separate containers.

This bread uses a 24 hr. poolish, which is was checked and it's fine.

QUESTION:

How can I proof for 2nd rise if I can't use my oven, which is being heated?

I have tried keeping it in the oven until last minute, finish proofing on top of counter (cooler temperature) in order to preheat oven for baking the change in temp seams to start to deflate dough.

How can I tell that the dough is ready for baking and proofed enough? (tips!) I tried poking it, but just left a hole in the formed "baguette" shaped loaf which didn't spring back at all.  Felt marshmallowy:(  When ready to bake is it supposed to feel firm or very soft?

Is there a chance I could have OVER-kneaded the dough in my KitchenAid? I mix for 2 min. in speed 1 and up to 7 min. in (varies) speeds 2 and 4. (Recipe calls for 2 min mixing and 3 min. on speed 2) I have been kneading say about 3 min. on 2 and 4 on speed 4.  Then I manually knead for about 10 min. (not too hard).

My house is coolish, 70 degrees, open kitchen.  I can't afford a proofing box.  All other breads proof and bake perfectly well.  None of them use the stand mixer (!) Only this one has given me problems.  I have also tried different recipes, same problem - but it seems to work for everybody else. Please help? Thanks and stay safe!:)

If you haven't changed your recipe then the problem is in your method, and it sounds like you are over proofing. If your bread expands too much in the final rise it gets over-extended and tends to collapse when scored, exactly as you describe. It's easy to 'get greedy' and try to eke out that much more expansion, but it's actually a very common mistake.
Reduce your final rise after shaping and you'll get a better result.  Go for a doubling in size typically, maybe a bit more. It's hard to give a time on that, but typically 1.5 hours is the most I'd give it, I like to still have some visible rising going on when I put it in the oven because part of oven spring comes from the yeast.
If you do over-prove it's not a disaster, just don't score it, then put it into the oven gently.
As for how to proof the dough, you don't need to use the oven, in fact I'd recommend against that unless your house is really cold. 70°f is fine for proofing, it just takes a bit longer than a warm oven, and you often get more flavor and better structure if you don't rush it. One thing I would suggest is not to use a damp towel as the weight of it on a small baguette can hold it down a bit, and the evaporation of water from the towel cools the bread and slows down proofing. Instead proof your bread in a clear plastic bag (clear so you can see through it, no other reason). You blow air into the bag and then clip it, the air will keep the bag from contacting the dough and sticking. The bag will seal in the heat generated from the yeast activity as well as keeping in moisture, preventing it from forming a skin.


Why did my mozzarella turn out like ricotta? I bought my wife a mozzerella kit for christmas, and we tried to make it last night. We followed the directions pretty closely. I supposed we could have removed a bit more whey at some early steps. It also got up to 112F instead of the called for 105F before letting the curds form. But it never came together or reached the shiny smooth consistency that the directions called for. It would not hold together well enough to pull / stretch. It ended up like ricotta. It was good, but it wasn't what we were aiming for.

When doing my Christmas shopping, I noticed that some of the kits were for making mozzarella or ricotta, so I assume that the two have the same ingredients and a slightly different process. So what's the difference in process for the two? I'm thinking that's where we went wrong.

The result actually looked a lot like what this cheese making site says will result from using UHT milk, but I checked before making the cheese, and it was just pasteurized (and I just double checked, and it still just says pasteurized).

I have the same problem and went through 3 different brands of milk, thinking they were UHT.  However, after some experimentation I determined what I was doing wrong.

In my case, after cutting the curd, and while the water was heating back up to 105, we were stirring too much.

The key is very slow gentle movement. Just enough to slightly move the curds, and not disturb them.

"Stirring" will cause you to end up with a nice tasting ricotta, but not mozzarella.


What are the effects of abstaining from eating a certain flavor? I've often heard that we become accustomed to oversalty food and that abstaining from eating such foods for a few weeks could allow us to taste salt in lesser quantities again. From experience I would say this is true, though it could be placebo, but does this also apply to other flavors? Are there any negative effects of doing this?

By flavor I mean Bitter, Sour & Umami, since most answers so far already deal with sweets and salt.

You nailed the correct wording in your question - "we become accustomed to". We tend to get used to and like what we become accustomed to.

For the same reason that we get used to overly salty things, we can get used to less salty things. What we get used to becomes normal and what we like.

I've experienced the salt reduction due to a health condition my husband has. We can no longer tolerate food with the same level of salt that we used to eat. By reducing the amount we use, we became accustomed to food with less salt.

I did the same thing with sugar in tea and coffee many years ago. I grew up with Southern style (very) sweet tea. I didn't gradually reduce it but cut it out all the way. To this day I don't use sugar in coffee or tea, add it to cereal (or buy frosted cereal) and I find many sweet things just too sweet for my taste.

I also liken this to learning to like new foods. There are many things I've tried and didn't like up front but, after continuing to try them, eventually found that I had learned to like these foods. One, for example is cilantro. When I first started tasting it I couldn't stand it. I swore that it tasted like soap. But after a while, I found myself really liking it. So much so, that I started adding it to many foods that ordinarily I wouldn't have thought to.

While taste is subjective, we can become accustomed to new things and often times need to.


Rye flour in starter I have a recipe for sourdough starter, that says I should use rye flour. But which is that? I have grinded my own flour from whole rye berries. There is a lot of bigger parts from the outer layer of the grain in the starter. Will it work? Should I sift the flour before using it?

Actually, you should leave it as it is. The outer coating has a much higher concentration of natural yeasts which is what you want. You'll have a better chance of getting a successful starter if you use all of the ground berry.


What causes the texture difference between Greek style yogurt and regular yogurt? In the US, Greek-style yogurt and regular yogurt are both made with cow's milk, yet they have a distinctly different texture.

When I described the texture of Greek yogurt to my nutritionist, she used the word "pithy". It, to me, feels like a thin layer of fuzz (like the skin of a peach) gets left on the surfaces of my mouth when I eat it.

Initial thought would tell me that it's because Greek yogurt has less water in it, but I made some homemade yogurt last weekend, using Greek yogurt for a culture, and despite being quite thin, it still had that pithy texture.

What gives Greek yogurt this texture? Or, what makes regular yogurt not have this texture?

I would describe it as an almost chalky texture. Greek yogurt is typically strained 3+ times before packaging and in most cases is made from dairy with a higher fat content. The tang and texture are due to the whey being almost completely removed from the yogurt. The higher milk serum content (whey) in US yogurt makes it sweeter and obviously less viscous.


Coffee brewing methods - scientific analysis? Can anyone point out websites or academic articles analyzing coffee brewing methods?

I can easily identify taste differences between the various methods, but I'd like to know which ones are comparable and what variables are most important.

Methods:

drip
cold-brew (toddy)
pour-over
french press
other?

espresso

Beans:

type (arabica, robusta, other?)
roast (light->dark, freshness)
ground (fineness, consistency)

You can read about all this stuff all over the internet, but it's all anecdotes.  I'd like to see, e.g., the results of mass spectroscopy given different processes.

Could this help: http://www.goodfood-project.org/www/Links/Hashimoto.pdf?

I had a quick flick and it basically uses infrared analysis to work out the quality and underlying flavor of the beans.

Other sites I found (though less of what you asked) are http://www.web-books.com/Classics/ON/B0/B701/22MB701.html which is just a general look at the science behind coffee and http://www.marco.ie/other_pdfs/070516_SCAE_Gold_Cup_Filter_Presentations.pdf which looks at the methods behind brewing.

Anyway, hope this helps.


How to get rid of chili-peppers on fingertips? When I cut chili-pepper, it takes more then a day for the chili to disappear from my fingertips. It is particularly hurtfull when I put in my contactlenses. Is there a way to get rid of this chili more quickly?

Capsaicin, the active compound in chillies, isn't soluble in water so it's hard to wash off. As a contact lens wearer you might prefer to wear disposable gloves to prepare them. It is soluble in fats so my wife's approach (she wears lenses, I don't) is to rub olive oil into her hands, then wash with soap and water. It seems effective, and we've seen it recommended online (maybe even here) but we only use fairly mild chillies.


What's the proper order to add ingredients for an Indian curry? Typically, when making an Indian curry, I heat oil, add whole spices, then add and cook onions, add and cook ginger + garlic, add dry spices + tomatoes, and cook the meat in the sauce.

Am I doing this correctly or is there a different order to add the ingredients for maximum flavor and efficient cook time?

Here are the ingredient types I usually use:

Oil
Whole spices (cumin, fenugreek, etc.)
Onion
Ginger
Garlic
Dry powdered spices (turmeric, chili powder, etc.)
Tomatoes
Meat

there's aload of variations, by chefs preference, geographical origin etc etc

"no best way" (taste being subjective) but the fresher/tastier the ingredients the better.

chilli powder vs. fresh chillis is non comparible etc, as with ginger tumeric etc.

some curries are "stewed" for hours, others quick pan fried in minutes.

if i were you, in a pan/wok brown your whole spice ("roast") to bring out flavour, then set aside and grind / pulverize.

next brown onions in oil to prefrence, then add meat and browned spice / garlic (all "base ingredients").

then your garnish vegetables (tomato / onion / chilli (whatever)) towards the end of cooking (meat).

can't have a curry without fresh coriander! (big handfull right at the end) imho....


What does "shocking" food do? I've seen different recipes and some shows on TV that show a method of "shocking" the food; boiling it and then when ready, placing it in ice water.

What does this do for the food?

"Shocking" the food stops the cooking process, preventing the food from losing its color and texture.


What is the correct consistency of a cream soup? Some cookbooks give advice, but it is conflicting. Some say "it should coat the back of a spoon", which I find terribly confusing - my best try to imagine the result will work with a wide range of consistencies. Others don't give instructions at all. I've had recipes say "then add milk to reach cream soup consistency", and I have no idea how much milk to add.

Eating out doesn't make it easier. Our cafeteria offers stuff I would classify as vegetable puree at the soup bar. I'm sure I've had "cream of mushroom soup" somewhere which had the consistency of half-fat dairy cream.

What is the correct, standard consistency some recipes refer to? Is it different for classes of soup (e.g. roux based soup vs. pureed vegetable based soup)? Or is it different for each type of soup, e.g. should a cream of mushroom soup be thinner than pumpkin soup? And how do I recognize that I have achieved the correct consistency?

The 'correct' consistency is very opinionable. The 'coat the back of a spoon' instruction means that you dip a spoon in the cream, then run your finger over the back of the spoon, and if the soup stays apart, it's at least as thick as it should be... but maybe thicker (than you'd like).

The problem is the amount of time that the soup stays on the stove, as it keeps on thickening as moisture evaporates. That is why you'll get heavy soups. Add water, to make the soup as thin as your own preference.


Vegan ice cream has chalky texture I made vegan ice cream for the first time. The recipe:

350 g peeled bananas,
frozen 100 g raspberries,
frozen 100 g coconut cream
50 g agave syrup

I put everything through the high speed blender, until it was finely pureed. The texture was like soft serve ice cream, and it was rather prone to quick melting. It had practically no overrun. I put it in a glass container in the freezer overnight, the way I do with churned dairy ice cream.

Now the ice cream is somewhat difficult to break out of the container, certainly more so than churned ice cream. And it melts in the mouth to an unpleasant, chalky texture with a strong banana taste and almost no coconut flavor (the recipe was advertised as coconut-raspberry flavor).

This is not the first time I've seen banana based vegan ice cream recipes, but it's the first time I make one. Is it normal for them to get chalky? If not, what caused it? The raspberry seeds? The frozen coconut cream?

Also, if I want something softer, would this type of recipe be suitable for churning, and if I churn it, can I expect a creamier result?

I don't make "vegan ice cream" though I do make sorbets that happen to be vegan, most of the time. I found that coconut cream gave me strange texture issues (much harder than it should be based on sugar percentage), "light" coconut cream was better than "normal" in this regard (opposite to what I expected, but I guess it's the fat solidifying), and I think my next coconut batch will be just dried coconut, water, sugar and pectin (my not-so-secret sorbet secret.)

Other than that specific issue, the sugar content of your recipe scans low. Sugar serves an important textural role in frozen desserts, and should be approximately 30g per 100g (30% by weight) for most frozen dessert products. While you'll have some sugar in the fruit, it is not that much, and the agave syrup is partly water, so it's likely contributing only 35g or so of sugar for 50g of syrup.

If you put bananas in any frozen dessert, they'll take over, IME, so I don't find that surprising. And coconut meat has much more coconut flavor than cream of coconut, also IME.

If you wanted coconut raspberry, I'd suggest dried coconut, raspberries (check the sugar per 100g on the package, or look up commercial ones similar to ones you've frozen at home (ie, with or without added sugar when freezing), figure how much sugar you've got from that, add a sugar source to bring it up to 30%, add pectin if you like, and freeze in whatever manner you like. You'll likely need some water, too, though it could all be done with enough raspberries providing their juice to the coconut. I find that a proper mix makes good product whether it's still-frozen or churned.


Roasting a frozen Creole Pork Leg? I have a cookbook from Panama and the directions are sometimes missing or can be very broad. I'm a new cook so I need exact directions. I've tried Googling too but can't seem to find other recipes that ask to freeze the pork.

Is there a reason it says 24 hours, like it's only partially frozen in 24? And after the 24 hours, I put it on the oven frozen for 2 1/2 hours? Or do you defrost it? Do you cover it?

Preparation:
Place all the ingredients except the meat in a bowl and crush well.
Wash the meat and dry it well. Make superficial cuts with a sharp knife.
Cover the meat with the mixture of ground ingredients and place in the freezer for 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and roast the meat for 2 1/2 hours until well cooked.

Thank you.

I have no doubt in my mind that this is a serious case of "lost in translation". Where it states to place in the freezer for 24 hours I genuinely believe it means the fridge. Never have I heard of freezing meat as a preparation method for cooking joints. Especially if the intended cooking time is only 2 1/2 hours, it'll still be raw in the middle.


How to add water/milk to the sunny side up eggs? From here: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/24325/6168

  By mixing in a small quantity of extra water before you cook the eggs, you are slowing down the cooking process by making more water available that has be evaporated. This keeps the cooking temperature to less than 100°C (212°F) for longer, therefore increasing the the time for the egg proteins to foam and expand before setting

What is the way to add water/milk to the sunny side up eggs (eggs which are NOT supposed to be mixed before putting on the frying pan)?

UPDATE:
If I cook the egg in this cream instead of butter/oil, will it make sense? http://www.amul.com/products/amul-freshcream-info.php

While I've never tried adding water to the skillet, as Josh Caswell suggests, I would stay away from adding milk or cream. I've never heard of anyone adding water or milk to eggs that aren't beaten, and it makes sense; the point of adding the extra liquid is to change the consistency of the beaten eggs and make them fluffier.

Regardless, if you do try this, do it with water and not milk. When I was a kid and first trying to learn how to make eggs, I sometimes added far too much milk to them. Even with beating the milk into the eggs before cooking, if there was too much milk it woulds start to pool on the bottom of the skillet, and I'd wind up with burnt milk froth along with my eggs. I suspect the sugars in the milk burn much more quickly than the eggs cook, but whatever the explanation, the result is unappetizing. Adding milk to unbeaten eggs would almost surely result in something similar - or you'd wind up with a puddle of warm milk and an un- or under-cooked egg.


Roasting two ham roasts at once I am cooking two fresh ham roasts at once for a large crowd.  The instructions are for minutes per pound.  Do I add my roasts for total pounds or figure for one?

It depends on your oven and how big the hams are. If you try to cram 2 big hams into your oven and it's not a fan oven then you probably need to add extra time. If they are moderate size then it shouldn't make much difference at all. If they are big but you have a fan oven then you shouldn't need to add time.

The best way to make sure something is done is not by time, but using a meat thermometer. When the ham is 150F at the center of the meat's mass then it is ready to come out, below that it still needs more cooking.


How to make best milk chocolate at home? I have eaten home-made chocolate before, and while it was pretty good, it could not compare with the expensive chocolate at the store.
I would like to make the best milk chocolate I can at home. From what I know, the main ingredients are: cocoa powder, some fat (such as butter, coconut oil, etc.), powdered milk, water, and sugar.
I guess my question is, do you have any advice (or recipe) for making a really good milk chocolate? Some particular questions I have are:

Which is the best fat to use? Is it cocoa butter (I have trouble finding cocoa butter at the store)?

Is the powdered milk found at the store really the best for making chocolate? Is it better to make my own powdered milk?

Are there any other ingredients that are recommended for high-quality milk chocolate? I have seen soy lecitin, should I use this?

Thank you very much.

To really be considered chocolate, you need to use cocoa butter as your fat. Cocoa butter has a few properties that other fats don't have. Most notably, it is capable of forming a crystalline structure which is what gives tempered chocolate its "snap" and—when tempered—it has a melting point above external body temperature but below internal body temperature. Using any other fat will result in a chocolate flavored material that is not chocolate (more akin to frosting or fudge).
The other factor in the "expensive" chocolates at the store is the particle size of the cocoa powder. This can be in the neighborhood of 20 microns in a good chocolate, but can be half that size in high-end chocolates. To achieve this, the chocolate needs to be physically worked for many hours, if not days. Commercial suppliers use a machine called a conche to accomplish this. Cocoa powders usually contain particles in the 35-50 micron range, so you'll never get that "expensive chocolate" mouth feel.
In addition, the temperatures, humidity, roasting times, mix of beans, type of sugar and fat content of the milk powder are all precisely maintained, further impacting the flavor.
You may have trouble with milk powder at the store because it is usually made with little or no fat to extend shelf life. The same goes for the fat content of cocoa powder, as there is a wide range in the available products. Check to see if your recipe specified a fat content for the milk powder and cocoa powder, and if not, you might need to experiment.
As you said, you can make "pretty good" milk chocolate at home. The most difficult part will be tempering the chocolate, but it's so common to need to re-temper commercial chocolate when you work with them that it's a good skill to master anyway.
Most of the people I know who make chocolate at home do so because the vast majority of chocolate makers use soy lecithin as an emulsifying agent and they (or their loved ones) can't eat soy, but even then, there are a few manufacturers who make soy-free chocolates these days.


Can arabic gum substitute for fat in making ice cream from homogenized 3% fat (low fat) milk Many articles suggest adding gum to ice cream batter to make it creamy , can this technique be used to add more gum to the milk to compensate for the low fat homogenized milk. Mostly recipes ask to add full cream along with milk, so if we don't want such a heavy cream ice cream can this or possibly some other technique work to compensate for the lesser fat to ensure a creamy store like ice cream?

I don't think I've tried this in ice cream, but a trick I picked up for sorbets (via looking at commercial product ingredient lists - often boring and full of things you can't get at home, but sometimes there's a useful nugget hiding in there) was to add pectin - the "regular" stuff, not the pink "low sugar" stuff (misleading - it's for "low sugar" canning, so it's mostly dextrose, or corn sugar - regular pectin is mostly pectin.) I'll use a tablespoon/15 ml for a 1.5 - 2 pint batch, and 3 Tablespoons/45 ml for a gallon batch (3 quarts liquid before freezing.)

Regular pectin mixes in quite nicely. The low sugar stuff is highly annoying (got a box by accident once - won't make that mistake again.)

I don't know if there's any compatibility issue with dairy (or not), I simply have never even thought to try it other than with sorbets/popsicles that are non-dairy. A quick look shows people using it to stiffen yogurt that isn't making it on it's own, so I think you'd be good there. For that matter, some lowfat/nonfat yogurt might also be a good ingredient for your lowfat ice "cream" attempts.


how to curb the smell of fish? More specifically while cooking it indoors.  My girlfriend hates seafood and hates the smell, is there anything I can do to get this smell to go away faster or reduce its potent aroma when cooking with it ?

Probably not the kind of answer you are hopping for, but in my case what my dad  (he loves fish, mom and sisters dont) ended up doing was buying a second electric toaster-oven and just use an extension and cook it in the backyard... :S  I guess you could use an electric or gas camping stove too. If there is no backyard... maybe rooftop?

Other than that its just fish fest whenever my mom is away got a trip or something :/


Sous vide chicken without an internal temperature of 165 °F (75 °C) I am new to sous vide food. I am cooking a chicken breast. I have read that chicken requires an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (75 degrees Celcius). However the recipe only requires a temperature of 150 °F (66 °C).

https://recipes.anovaculinary.com/recipe/chicken-breast

How does this not cause food poisoning?

We checked the internal temperature after an hour and it was only 130 °F (54 °C). Is this safe to eat?

The reduction of bacterial growth, and thus food safety, follow a logarithmic pattern that factors in temperature plus time. During sous vide cooking, lower temperature are frequently used for longer times. Employed correctly, this renders food safe. For an excellent explanation see the work of Douglas Baldwin.


How do I temper an egg? I just saw a recipe that said to "temper" an egg, which I had never heard of before.  I did a little reading on it, but what is the easiest/best way to do it?

It means, basically, to stir in some warm liquid to prevent it from later curdling. Once the egg is warmed and mixed with some of your sauce, it can safely be incorporated into the rest of the high-temperature sauce without (as much) fear that you're going to end up with scrambled eggs floating around in your hollandaise.

Generally, you crack the egg in a bowl, and spoon in a little sauce, mix it, spoon in a little more, mix it, and then you should be good to go. It goes without saying that if the sauce you spoon in curdles the egg, discard, and start again.


Why is pork pink after roasting to 205 F? I have browned then roasted a 6 lb. pork shoulder in a covered pan in an oven set to 275 F for 5+ hours. The results were excellent , very tender and moist and high gelatin/protein stock. I started with one cup+ of liquid ( wine, lemon juice, honey, soy sauce, liquid smoke, Worcester , etc). It reached 205 F internal temperature , measured with an accurate electronic thermometer . When cool and sliced it was pink below the surface.  Is pink color normal for well done pork ?

Color is not necessarily an accurate indicator of doneness.  The only way to check this is to be sure that your thermometer is accurate, and that you placed the probe at the center of your roast.  You can check the accuracy by using ice water (or boiling water...ice water is safer).


When is it OK to crowd the pan? I am reading some books on cooking technique and often see the guidance "don't crowd the pan" when sautéing or pan frying, so that food cooks by browning/maillard, rather than steaming. However, many recipes I find online and in cookbooks involve piling many ingredients into one pan.

A couple of recent examples from NYT's Mark Bittman, where ingredients are crowded into the pan and cooked (prior to adding any braising liquid, etc)

http://markbittman.com/dinner-with-bittman-real-beef-stroganoff/ (onions and mushrooms)
http://markbittman.com/sunday-supper-coq-au-vin/ (onions, bacon, mushrooms, chicken, garlic)
http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/dinersjournal/2012/02/13/the-minimalist-crisp-braised-duck-legs-with-aromatic-vegetables/ (onions, carrots, celery)

Are these exceptions to the pan-crowding rule? Or is it just that it a matter of convenience to put everything in 1 pan?

First, you don't crowd the pan when sauteing. If you do it, you are no longer sauteing, because your food doesn't come in contact with the surface frequently enough. You also can't really keep the separate pieces hopping, the best you could do would be to throw it around as a mass (like a pancake turning), which means they'll touch the pan with one side only, if at all.

Second, you don't crowd the pan while shallow frying and pan grilling or working on a griddle. If a piece of the food is not in contact with the bottom, it doesn't fry at all.

Third, you don't crowd the pan when deep frying. If you do, the food cools the oil down and it starts seeping into the food, because it's not hot enough to crisp the surface within the first few seconds.

You can crowd the pan when you are sweating the food. In fact, if you use too little food, it will probably start pan frying or at least roasting, and won't be able to sweat.

You can also crowd the pan when you are braising the food. Else you would have too much water and will simmer it instead.

Bottom line, crowding or not crowding is part of the technique. You decide when to use it based on the technique you want to use. If you don't do it right, the technique doesn't work.


Substitute for demerara sugar in cookie recipe I have a recipe for oatmeal cookies that uses demerara sugar. While I do have some demerara sugar, the quantity remaining is approximately 1/3 of what is needed for the recipe. (In normal circumstances I'd just go buy more but...)

What I do have is plenty of several other sugars: white caster sugar, golden caster sugar, light muscovado and dark muscovado.  (The best substitutes suggested by google are granulated brown sugars which unfortunately I don't have.)

Is there any one or combination of these that could be used to make up the remaining 2/3 weight of sugar while limiting the effect on the end result? (The recipe has the sugar creamed into butter, if this makes a difference.)

Demerara sugar has a syrupy flavor which is between light muscovado sugar and granulated sugar, I would substitute a 50/50 mix of golden granulated and light muscovado sugar. As you have some demerara you could do a small amount of 50/50 mix and taste test, adjusting to get the right balance.

You could also put in straight light muscovado if you wanted a richer result, or golden granulated if you like it slightly lighter, cookies are generally pretty flexible on this.


Using old vanilla beans I have vanilla beans that have been in my jar of vanilla for about a year. I've now used up that vanilla. Are the beans still good to add to some other vanilla I am making (along with new beans)?

The beans are fine to use for a little extra flavoring. If you're making a Crème Pâtissière, for example, you can add your extra beans in along with seeds and pods from a fresh bean.


How to properly cook basmati rice in a rice cooker I do have a kind of problem with cooking basmati rice in my rice cooker.
I am following the cooker instructions - for two cups (the cooker one, not the measurement unit) I use 200 ml of water. As far as rice goes, I am washing it multiple times - about 5 times every time, until the water is more or less clean and even let it soak for a few hours sometimes. But there are two problems :

Sometimes there is some kind of white foam coming from the rice which will somehow alter the cooking and eventually ruin the rice. There's a lot of foam and the rice has got a really bad taste afterwards and some weird texture.
Even when the foam is not present the rice is burned on the bottom of the cooker - I know I shouldn't trust ads, but the cooker was said not to be sticky one :(

Any help will be appreciated, thanks

Have you tried changing the rice-to-water ratio? Two parts water to 1 part rice is the norm.


How do I easily get thin slices of guava paste? I made guava bars recently, with a layer made of slices of guava paste. The block of paste I had was pretty hard to cut thinly and evenly: it was very sticky, and firm enough to take effort to cut through along with the stickiness.

Are there any easy ways to get nice slices out of it?

(In this case, someone else had volunteered to cut, but ended up with too-thick slices, so we ended up putting it in plastic wrap and rolling it out thinner, but that wasn't exactly easy either - I wouldn't have wanted to do it for the whole block.)

Guava paste is easy to use when making it fresh, but canned with pectin it can be a pain.

You probably need to go warmer or colder to get it to do what you want.

If you go warmer you could try a couple of tablespoons on a small plate in the microwave. I usually put a coffee cup of water next to it to slow down the heating process. Try 20 seconds at a time until you could use a knife to smear it. If it has too much pectin or is dried out this might not work.

If you go colder you could try cooling it down in the freezer 5-10 minutes at a time. Use a wire cheese slicer (or a piece of unflavored dental floss) and try shaving off smaller slices off your block. Use a fork to lay the cold thin sliced guava paste on your bars and repeat.

You can also look for a different recipe that lets you use thicker slices of guava paste - there are several good muffin recipes where the molten guava in the center is most excellent.


Does any other cultures have a food similar to jewish Chulent? Chulent is usualy made from beans, barley, potatoes, meat, and carrots. Generaly spiced with garlic, paprika, and black peper and cooked for 24 hours

Do any other cultures have a similar food cooked for a simelar leangth of time?

Many cultures know stews that are cooked "low and slow" and they are often either a case of practicality or tradition or - as in your example - due to religious customs.

Let's start with your Cholent:
It used to be cooked in the communal bake-house or in the local bakers' ovens, then carried home and kept warm, thus both making good use of the residual heat from the wood-fired ovens and giving a hands-off method of cooking.

A dish that used the same cooking principle is the Alsatian Baeckeoffe, but I bet that further research would lead to dozens of other dishes all over the world.

What is really interesting in this question is that there is a dish that is quite similar to Cholent, yet according to the German Wikipedia entry, can be traced back to the Bronze Age: the Ritschert or Ričet from the Styrian and Croatian Alps. It seems the cncept of slowly stewing a mix of meat, legumes, grains and veggies predates the religious or cultural customs of today.


Is MSG able to penetrate meat like chicken breast and steak when dissolved in a brine? I am trying to figure out whether adding MSG to a water based brine will allow the MSG to 'penetrate' the meat. I know it is soluble, but I'm not sure whether this means it will be able to diffuse into the meat in the same way regular salt does. I remember reading a claim (a comment online) that the size of the molecules involved in the MSG means it will not work.
Is this true? I am hoping to actually try this out, but it would be helpful to know the basic food science/chemistry behind it to figure out the optimal concentrations etc.

Yes, MSG will penetrate, and it appears to diffuse about 1/3 as fast as table salt. You will learn a lot from this link.  You'll need to scroll down quite a bit, or search the page for MSG.


When reducing, why do you simmer instead of boil? All recipes call for simmering a dish if you wish to reduce. I know that if for example if I wish to reduce wine, it will take me double the time or even more if I simmer instead of just cranking the heat up to a boil. But there must be a reason for this - what is that? There is only a 6c difference between a simmer and a boil.

I also presume boiling is more permissive in some cases than others, so an ability to distinguish the importance of simmering is necessary to know when you can crank the heat up to save time.

There's another reason for not boiling liquids, besides the possibility of making a mess (boiling over) or ruining it (scorching, etc.).
You actually reduce the amount of flavor by boiling.  As Kenji explains on Serious Eats :

But here's the deal: when simmering, water is not the only thing escaping. Ever notice how when you come home to a pot of sauce simmering on the stovetop or perhaps a beautiful pot roast braising in the oven, your entire home smells of it?
Guess what: if those flavorful aromatic compounds are reaching your nose, it means they are leaving the pot.

So ... if the only goal was to make there be less liquid, boiling's fine.  But if you actually want to concentrate the flavors, you want a slow simmer.
The article also goes into more details about reducing alcohol, and some problems with boiling tomato sauce (which I believe applies to most pectin & other hydrocolloid thickened sauces).


convert wet brine recipe to dry brine I've got this amazing wet-brine recipe a few years ago for a bone-in pork chop. (It came from Bucks in DC)
I want to convert it to a DRY-brine recipe for home use. I can take all the aromatics and make it into a spice rub. However, it calls for 2C of orange juice added to a gallon of 6% saline, brined for 2 days. Under the principle of 6lbs of meat/gallon of brine (wikihow) that is 1.6% salt by weight.
I'm going to just marinate the chops in OJ today, followed by a sprinkle of 1.6% salt an hour before cooking, and the dry rub just before it goes on the grill.
But I'm open to any other ideas for duplicating the flavor/texture that OJ adds to the wet brine. Ideas?

We can quibble, but brining, by definition, is wet.  When there is no liquid, you are just salting or dry rubbing (although the term is popular, and few make the distinction).
It is unlikely that any oj, or anything other than salt molecules are penetrating the meat.  So, the oj is just a surface treatment, as is most marination. If you like the texture of brined pork, why mess with the oj brine?  I would use the oj brine, then right before grilling, use your spice rub without the salt.


Texture issue in homemade powdered sugar The other day I was making marshmallows and ran into a multitude of problems -- broken candy thermometers, overheated mixers, syrup spill, you name it. I thought I'd escaped the clutches of fate and made decent marshmallows until I realized I ran out of powdered sugar.

Well, darn it. I had a big batch of marshmallows already made and ready for coating.

So I remember hearing you can make your own powdered sugar with granulated sugar and cornstarch. I gave it a try in my food processor and it kind of worked, but was still too coarse.

Is there any way to get around this besides to keep on pulsing and hoping for the best? Does a blender, coffee grinder, or another kitchen contraption work better?

I'm gonna guess you just didn't go long enough.  I make my own in the food processor all the time, but I turn it on high, go have a snack and come back in 10 minutes.  It certainly does take quite some time.


New oven still puts out terrible odor 5 days after buying? I recently bought a new convection oven/microwave/grill combo made by Sharp. The user manual said for first time use to run the convection oven at max heat (230C) for 1 hour, which produced a verybad odor but I felt like this was normal. Now, even 5 days later, after cook several frozen pizzas/french fries/bacon and other good stuff, the oven still produces a bad odor when in use.

Can something be done about this or should I expect it to go away after some more time?

Here's the exact oven combo if you're curious, https://sharp.vn/vn/index.php/thiet-bi-gia-dung/lo-vi-song/dong-dien-tu/299/r-c951dvn-st-1-detail

It is a normal experience that every time you use a new appliance with a heating device, you will smell something weird like burning plastic. I recommend you to read on the link below on some tips of getting rid of chemical residue (smell) from your new oven.

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/why-you-should-always-burn-in-your-new-oven/

If this is not effective, try my experiment which did a great wonder. Pour some water into a pan and add a teaspoonful of cinnamon powder into it, put inside the oven and set it to 250°C. You may also use a tablespoonful of vinegar as a substiyute.


I baked custard at too much heat, is there a name for what I created? Recently a friend from the Americas gave me a simple recipe for custard, I never had custard (or at least not knowingly) and thus wanted to try it out. The recipe in it's original form would be:

  3-4 eggs
  1/2 cup sugar
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  3 cups milk
  1 teaspoon vanilla
  some nutmeg

  Blend & put into bowls, put bowls into larger dish filled with water.
  Put into the oven at 176F & cook for around 45min.

Knowing that I am from Switzerland he tried to translate it to metric (this is the recipe that I got from him):

  3-4 eggs
  118ml sugar
  1.2ml salt
  709ml milk
  4.8ml vanilla
  some nutmeg

  Blend & put into bowls, put bowls into larger dish filed with water.
  Put into the oven at 176C & cook for around 45min.

As my oven only does 5C increases I put it in at 180C and didn't spend much time thinking about it. The result does not taste bad at all, but the consistency is less that of a cream (looked up custard on Wikipedia in the end) and more that of supermarket flan.

Q: Is there a name for the monstrosity I created or is it still custard?

What you made is a baked custard, and it sounds like it came out rather well.

A runny/pouring custard is made in a pan on the stove top, rather than baked, but has a similar ratio of ingredients, sometimes with added flour or cornflour to thicken it.


Lemon Thyme Substitute In the following recipe, lemon thyme is used. Unfortunately, I can't find it in my local grocery store.

1) Can I substitute thyme + lemon zest? If so, how much?

2) The recipe notes rosemary and lavender both work and these are significantly easier to find. If I wanted to use these, how much would I use?

I'd be interested in knowing the answer for dried and fresh herb substitutes.

Despite the recipe using metric measurements and spelling, I am American, so if this stuff isn't common in the US, it would be good to know that.

"Lemon Thyme Shortbread (Makes about 20 fingers)

You can add all sorts of flavourings to shortbread, from vanilla and cocoa powder to hazelnuts and almonds. Herbs are good too: rosemary and lavender both work well, as does lemon thyme, which gives the biscuits a lovely delicate perfume.

340 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
225 g unslated butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
140 g caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
2 tbsp finely chopped lemon thyme

Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt and set aside. Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Turn the mixer to its lowest setting and, with the motor running, add the lemon thyme, then the flour, a little at a time. Stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together. Shape into a flattened ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 deg C/ Gas 4.
For shortbread fingers, gently pack the dough into a lightly buttered Swiss roll tin (roughly 30 x 20 cm). Score the surface to mark out the fingers and prick all over with a fork. If you want to make circular biscuits, roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to 5-7 mmm thick, then stam out the rounds using a 6 cm cutter. Transfer to 2 lightly buttered baking sheets, leaving a little space between each biscuit, then prick them with a fork.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until pale golden, checking often as ovens vary and the shortbread can easily burn. Cool in the tin or on the sheet until firm, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Sprinkle with caster sugar, if you like, and store in an airtight container."

Source: Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course, pg. 279

Lemon zest and thyme would be a perfect substitute for lemon thyme. Lemon thyme is an entirely different species from regular thyme, but the name is very apropos. Figure maybe 1 part finely grated zest to 3 parts thyme. As with all herbs, the ideal amount is really very subjective. Start with half of what your recipe calls for, taste your dough and guess from there. You won't really know until you taste the baked shortbread, but you won't be terribly off either.

As a general rule of thumb, 3 parts of fresh herbs equals approximately 1 part of the same herb dried (whole leaf). If your dried herb is ground (or rubbed), figure just over half of the dried, whole leaf amount. Know that ground herbs and spices lose flavor quickly (as in they are pretty tasteless after a matter of a few weeks).

It means nothing, but I hate lavender: Is there a typical ratio for Herbes de Provence? :)


Are these almond cookies likely to be a success if I make them vegan by substituting coconut oil for butter? I love these cookies from King Arthur Flour for a variety of reasons, including that they're delicious and they only need five ingredients, which I always have in my pantry. I particularly love the thumbprint version where you press a dent in the center and fill with jam before baking.

I do love the way they taste but I have friends who are vegan and I'd like to try substituting the butter with coconut oil. I've had really great success with cookie recipes that make use of coconut oil (like Brave Tart's rolled sugar cookies which use both butter and coconut oil) but this is a flour-based cookie and it's still using part butter.

So, is the recipe below likely to have issues if I sub the oil for butter? With only the almond flour, butter and sugar really doing much, my concern is that they won't bind together as well or that they may spread more. One of the comments from KAF said that the butter acts as the binder, so I'm not sure if the coconut oil binds as well... particularly since one of the comments says:

  Loved this cookie and the low carb aspect! Tried it again, replacing butter with coconut oil. Flavor was great, but the cookies fell apart. Any advice on the ratio of fat I should have used.

So, anyone have any thoughts on how to avoid this? More/less coconut oil? A different butter substitute (I'm not a huge fan of margarines and their fake butter flavor)?

I'll probably try it out if no one has an answer. I don't have any refined coconut oil on hand (not interested in adding the coconut flavor), which is why I'm asking instead of just trying it. Fortunately, the batch size is small, so it's easy to do test batches.

  Gluten-free Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies

  Ingredients:

  3 3/8 ounces almond flour
  1 1/2 ounces softened butter
  3/4 ounce confectioners' sugar
  1/8 teaspoon salt
  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Directions

  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl until a cohesive dough forms.
  Scoop 1" balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet; a teaspoon cookie scoop works well here. Arrange the balls of dough about 1 1/2" to 2" apart.
  Use a fork to flatten each cookie to about 1/4" thick, making a crosshatch design.
  Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until they start to turn light golden brown on top.
  Remove the cookies from the oven and cool them on the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely before serving.

Summary
Pure coconut oil is not an adequate replacement for butter in this recipe. However, coconut oil and water appears to work as a substitution when using ratios between 4:1 and a 5:1 coconut oil to water by mass.
Cookies produced with pure coconut oil fall apart when touched. Ratios of 4:1 and 13:2 coconut oil:water worked in my test.
However, the substitutions tested did not produce an exact match for the recipe produced with butter. (h/t rumtscho for catching the omission of reasons to predict this outcome).
Empirical Tests
Test Procedure
I used a batch size that was 1/3 that of the included recipe, or

32g Almond Flour
7g Confectioner's Sugar
Equivalent* of 1/2 ounce butter
A pinch of salt (quantity too small to measure)

The butter equivalents tested were:

15g Coconut Oil
13g Coconut Oil and 2g water
12g Coconut Oil and 3g water
1 tbsp butter, as marked on the butter package (16g in this trial)

Batches were mixed in the order specified in the butter equivalents list on the same equipment. All batches were placed on a single tray and baked at the same time
Two of the batches were divided into 6 cookies instead of 5 to make them distinguishable from the other batches.
Results
Coconut Oil, No Water
Cookies produced with a 1:1 replacement of butter with coconut oil were extremely fragile. I believe this reproduces the result reported in the complaint cited in the question.
I decided to give up trying to transfer them to a cooling rack after fracturing all cookies in the batch multiple times, so I do not have post-cooling observations for this batch.
Coconut Oil and Water, (13:2) ratio
Cookies hold their shape when handled but crumble readily when chewed. Compared to butter cookies, these are slightly harder along the bottom, and have more snap (it takes some effort to break by bending).
Coconut Oil and Water, (12:3) ratio
I was not able to notice a difference between cookies of this batch and cookies of the 13:2 coconut oil to water ratio batch.
Butter
Note that 16g of butter (instead of the planned 14g) was used, possibly skewing comparisons.
Cookies produced with butter produced results that were between that of the coconut cookies with and without added water; they crumble easily in the mouth but not during handling, and can be broken easily by hand.
Conjecture and References
Some wheat shortbreads are made with oil and water instead of butter, so having an oil and water emulsion as a replacement for butter may not be critical; therefore, it may suffice to simply replicate the fat:water ratio of butter, which is approximately 5:1 by mass.
The existence of vegan shortbread recipes that use vegan butter substitutes suggests that commonly-used vegan butter substitutes may also be acceptable; building on the earlier conjecture, it may suffice to replicate the fat:water ratio of a commercially-available vegan butter substitute. Earth Balance has a 4:1 fat:water ratio by mass.
The original conjecture before empirical tests was that coconut oil and water added in a 5:1 or 4:1 ratio by mass would be an acceptable substitute for butter.
Dairy Butter Characteristics
Dairy butter has a nonzero amount of water. This American source reports about 16% water and 82% fat for American butters.
Using these numbers, this recipe contains about 42.5g butter, which contains about 6.8g (or ml) water. Substituting butter with pure oil removes 6.8 out of 9.3ml of non-oil wet ingredients (2.5ml from the vanilla extract); if non-oil wet ingredients are important, this is a significant change.
As noted by rumtscho in a comment, butter is an emulsion of water and fat and may behave differently in a recipe compared to adding an equivalent amount of fat and water. A difference between butter and coconut oil with added water was observed in empirical tests.
Vegan Butter Substitutes
Earth Balance original spread (easier to read form here) has a significant amount of water. From the calorie counts (assuming 9 Calories per gram of fat) and the fact that ingredients other than oil and water are listed as  <2% ingredients, Earth Balance appears to be around 20% water.
Other Shortbread Recipes
So far, I have not found a directly-comparable recipe.
I found three recipes for wheat shortbread; one without any added water, another that adds water in the form of syrup, and a third that suggests adding plant milk as a binder but discourages it. The first recipe is evidence against the inference that added water is strictly necessary. The third recipe is weak evidence that it is not necessary to have all fat and water emulsified beforehand.
However, almonds and wheat flour have considerably different characteristics, so it may not be straightforward to generalize from successful wheat flour recipes.


Can I use tartaric acid in making Snickerdoodles? I am following the Cook's Illustrated recipe for Snickerdoodles, which calls for a 2:1 ratio of cream of tartar to baking soda. They state explicitly at the very top of the recipe:

Cream of tartar is essential to the flavor of these cookies and it
works in combination with the baking soda to give these cookies a
lift. Do not substitute baking powder.

Unfortunately, I'm in Sweden and supermarkets do not sell cream of tartar, only tartaric acid (vinsyra).
Previously I've simply substituted baking powder (against their recommendation), but now I am wondering if would be possible to use that tartaric acid to get the "characteristic tangy flavor" that they describe. If so, how?

I've never tried it, but you might try 1/2 the amount of tartaric acid based on information from Nigella Lawson :

Cream of tartar is made by combining tartaric acid with potassium hydroxide. This partially neutralizes the tartaric acid, so cream of tartar is less acidic than tartaric acid.
If the tartaric acid is used in baking or added to egg whites before whisking into meringues then it should be possible to use cream of tartar in roughly double the quantities of the tartaric acid, though we have not tested this. However we would not recommend using cream of tartar as a substitute in any other recipe.


Can I make caramel sauce with crystalline fructose? I'd like to make a caramel sauce with crystalline fructose as my mom's diabetic and can't have sugar.

I know (in theory) that fructose caramelizes at a lower temp than regular sugar, but I'm not sure if caramelizing crystalline fructose would lead to a similar taste and if I should do it the same way as if I were using sugar.

Thank you v much :)

It won't caramelize, it doesn't have the same properties as sugar.

What you can do is brown butter, cook it with cream, and flavor it with vanilla and crystalline fructose to approximate caramel. I haven't tried this, there are a variety of "diabetic caramel sauce" recipes you can google.


Why did my shrimp bisque turn out so broth like? I made a shrimp bisque today. But it came out extremely thin like a weak broth as opposed to thick like a decent bisque should be.

I think the problem lies here:

Now, the recipe calls for the melting of 2 tbs of butter and then the adding of 2 tbs of flour. Then the addition of 1.5 cups of hot half-and-half in a light but steady stream. However. I think I used 3 tbs of butter.

Would this have caused it?

I do have another suspect — the onion.

The recipe calls for half a medium onion finely diced, sweated, and then blended to a purée. But I'm not sure what qualifies as a "medium" onion. I guess I should have researched that. Could the onion have been too large?

Could the stock have resulted too much. I simmered the shrimp shells and head in 4 cups of water but I don't think that it reduced like most stocks do. If anything it reduced by a few tablespoons.

I believe the answer to the question lies in the last paragraph of your question. If you had close to 4 cups of broth, 1 1/2 cups of half-and-half, plus onion purée (which would be mostly water); you're pushing 6 cups of liquid, not including any wine or brandy that you may have used. For that much liquid you would need close to a quarter of a cup of flour, maybe more, to achieve a thick soup if roux is your primary thickener.

Many bisque recipes are thickened much with a purée of the protein. Did you purée the shrimp or some portion of it?

Look at this highly rated recipe from Ina Garten, she uses 4 3/4 cups of broth (in the final soup), 2 cups of half-and-half and a roux made with 1/4 cup (4 tbs flour). She also purées all of the shrimp, which causes a thicker soup than chunks of shrimp would, and adds tomato paste which would further thicken the soup.

For what it is worth, it is the flour in the roux that thickens liquid (an extra tablespoon of butter is not your culprit), and the liquid and roux must be brought together to a simmer for the liquid to properly thicken. In the case of Ina's recipe, she fully thickened the half-and-half before adding the stock and shrimp purée, that's how she gets away with the final line of hot, not boiling. I would be inclined to add the stock and the rest of the ingredients except the shrimp just after thickening the half-and-half and bring that to hard simmer before adding the shrimp. That would give me an opportunity to taste and gauge the thickness the soup before adding the expensive ingredient (shrimp) last.


I bought a bag of Brussels sprouts that looked fine but smelled exceptionally bad, even for sprouts I recently bought a pre-packaged bag of brussels sprouts. The sprouts in the bag looked great, green and plump with not a spec of black or brown on them. The next day I cut open the bag and found that the entire bag smelled like a mix between vinegar and over-ripened cantaloupe. If I cut open a single sprout the smell was even stronger.

There was no evidence of spoilage or a mushy texture, all the raw sprouts were firm.

I have eaten and cooked brussels sprouts many many times before so I am familiar with their normal cabbage-like or sulfurous scent. These sprouts were not like that, it was a strong sour smell.

I tried cooking with them and the smell never went away after either boiling or roasting. They also tasted like they smelled.

Does anyone know what could have happened? Was there some kind of chemical involved?

What you are describing is what we call a food that has "soured". (This is what I was taught growing up.) The food looks and feels perfect but has that awful sour odor.

In my experience it is from improper storage, usually from foods being kept too warm or not getting enough air circulation. (Not necessarily by you, but somewhere along the transport chain.)

I have found it in both Brussels sprouts and broccoli. I have even bought broccoli, used some of it, and later taken the rest out only to find it soured. Or bought Brussels sprouts and kept them for a couple of days before using and found that they had soured. This says to me that the souring process had already started.

Additionally, I have had it happen with fresh corn that was left on my porch in warm weather.

I have also found it in bagged salads and spinach. With those, a good washing and fresh air sometimes gets rid of the odor - but not always.

Unfortunately, we don't always know how foods have been handled and stored before we buy them.

I have searched extensively to find out more about this, to no avail. I can find information about how to tell if food is going bad or rotting, but this is a totally different thing. You have no way of knowing that this souring process is happening. That is, until you smell it.


Advice on preparing/incorporating sprouts in salads? Alfalfa/Bean sprouts can have a strong taste or they are too firm to chew on easily. I tried adding salt or salty ingredients with some success to soften the sprouts and reduce bitterness. What is your advice for combining them in salads?

I'm going to guess that you mean bean-sprouts, and not Brussels sprouts.
In that case, you just roll with the crunchiness. There's a lot to be said for balancing textures and not just flavours.

Tomatoes and cucumbers are relatively soft; peppers, sprouts and celery give crunch; lettuce and cabbage give a sort of fibry texture. They can all happily co-exist in the same salad.

If you did mean Brussels sprouts, I would recommend just using cabbage instead. It can be finely chopped into a salad and gives a nice touch.


What is the impact of repeated cooling and reheating of maple syrup? Today I discovered a 1/4-full bottle of pure maple syrup had gotten moldy, so searched this site and came across this question: Should maple syrup be stored in the refrigerator?

My follow-up question is:  Will there be any ill effects (such as altering the flavor or changing the molecular structure such that it's dangerous to eat, etc) from repeatedly heating maple syrup for serving, and re-cooling in the fridge?

If so, I'll try to only heat as much syrup as I'm likely to use at a time, although this will be more hassle, naturally :)

The Cornell Sugar Maple research program website has a couple of relevant points:

If you find mold inside a newly-bought, previously unopened bottle of syrup, it is probably spoiled because of improper packaging.

  What causes syrup to have a musty or moldy flavor or smell?
  Syrup that is improperly packed will mold, sour, or ferment. Syrup must be packed
  at 180°F and at a minimum of 66 Brix to avoid spoilage.

(Brix is the measure of sugar in the syrup.)

In your particular case where you see mold and want to reheat it, it seems that yes, you can reheat the syrup but it may crystallize a little:

  If a consumer finds bacteria, mold, or yeast growth on syrup he or she
  has purchased, he or she should remove the visible growth and reheat
  the syrup to a minimum of 180°F (do not boil), skim any visible
  growth, filter, and repackage the syrup. If syrup still has an
  off-flavor, it should be discarded. Also, the sugar content may
  increase causing sugar crystals to form.


Use Stand Mixer for Scone I tried for the first time to bake scone. I used a stand mixer to mix the ingredients based on a recipe. But I have some questions:

Is it ok to use a stand mixer to mix them? I used the beater to mix them as it did it very quick.
The dough was very runny and I was not able to shape it at all. I added more flour (I used self-raising) but it did not help.
After I baked it, the smell and taste were good but they were not crumbly. They were more bread than scone as they were stiff. Did I mix for too long?

Scones should really be mixed very minimally, in order to avoid developing the gluten structure.  Over mixing will result in less crumbly end product.  So, in this instance I would not recommend a stand mixer.  Instead, just mix by hand.


Gas or charcoal grille which one to buy I need a grille for doing mainly chicken, there is an inkling to buy a gas grille but I heard charcoal grilles are better for flavour, I like the convenience of gas, but flavour is compelling, is this true?

This is very subjective but I think charcoal grilled food is better. Although I have found that larger quantities is easier to make on a gas grille because it is easier to keep the temperature on the same level for a longer time.


How do I strain ginger powder to make ginger tea? I was thinking maybe a coffee filter would work, but then it might not have enough time to fully brew the ginger. I don't know what other ways to filter are good. The powder is very fine-grained, and dried ginger is really expensive right now.

I think, even though it’s way subjective, the best way to make ginger tea/(infusion actually) is to boil the fresh ginger in hot water for 4-5 minutes, and discard the ginger.

So modifying this recipe, and adapting for ginger powder, you should boil the ginger powder for some time and then filter using a coffee filter. However you should try to find the optimum time here, I think it will be less than the time needed for fresh ginger, as the powdered ginger will have waaay more surface area than the fresh ginger.


How should one prepare beef heart? I've got one in my freezer.  The whole heart.  After a cool defrost...

How should I cook this heart o' cow?

Steaks are the only application that come to mind.

If it's from an animal that is "young at heart" (veal/calf), it may be tender enough to cut into thin strips and pan-fry or grill quickly as "steaks."  Don't overcook, or they will be really tough, and you'll be heartbroken.

But to get to the heart of the matter, if it's really an adult beef heart, it's too tough and chewy to cook quickly.  Braising is my preferred method and the one closest to my heart.  This is one of those things can cook all day and will eventually become incredibly tender -- tasting like a slightly unusual and hearty pot roast.

You can also stuff them and then either braise or roast them -- again, "low and slow" heat is the most heart-friendly.  If you roast it, also be sure there is enough moisture in the stuffing (i.e., leave a "soft spot" in your heart), or else it can dry out during a long bake.  (You can also "roast" it in a dutch oven or something.)  When you open up your heart after cooking, a dry stuffing will just leave you with a heavy heart.

A final option is to use it as stew meat.  It will take longer to cook than most stew meats, so you might want to simmer for a while first before adding vegetables.  Then cook until the flavors come together and your heart's content.

Once, when I had leftovers after making a stuffed heart, I was just going eat it, but then I had a change of heart.  I chopped up the tender meat and added it to chili.  It probably was about 1/3 of the overall meat in the chili, along with some diced chuck chunks and some ground beef.  It came out incredibly good: there was a deep earthy flavor that really worked well.  I served it to a number of friends without explaining the dish, and they didn't notice anything unusual; I didn't have the heart to tell them.  In fact, a number of people said it was some of the best chili they had tasted, which was really heartwarming to hear.

Take heart!  There are lots of ways to cook it.  Any slow-cooking method or recipe you might use for a tough cut of beef will probably work -- just follow your heart.

(I am actually serious about all of these methods -- but, okay, truly sorry about the puns.  From the bottom of my....)


Are there special considerations for making a pie with the express intention of freezing? This past weekend we visited Rodale farm's organic apple festival, and we spent all of yesterday canning. We also have several peaches from making a batch of fruit ketchup. We still have about 1/4 a bushel of apples left, so I was considering making several fruit pies to freeze for the upcoming thanksgiving season.

Thus far, I have seen several recipes that caution AGAINST freezing, some that have tips about freezing (namely, blind bake the crust before freezing, do NOT bake the fruit, bake the pie frozen, just add an extra 20-25 minutes to the normal baking time).

Are there any other major concerns when making a pie specifically with the intention of freezing it? Should I add starch to prevent a liquidy mess? Should I try to drain the fruit first with a little salt to remove excess water?

For apple, specifically, I tend to add a very thin layer of quick oats to the bottom of the pie filler to soak up any excess moisture. But nothing else really stands out in my recipe if I were to freeze it.

My big thing is to use something that can handle the temperature change from freezer to oven (such as pyrex), and help it by giving it a smooth temperature transition: I take it out and let it sit on the counter on a rack (for airflow) for an hour, then I place it in a non-preheated oven so it gently comes up to temp. Then I time it onward from the preheat successful beep to the normal baking time. I may add five minutes if it doesn't look done enough, but I generally eyeball it at the end and I cannot offer any hard advice at that point.

I may have to try your blind baking of the crust one of these days. That may be viable.
I would definitely not salt the fruit.


How long can my smoked brisket stay in holding? I'm smoking a brisket for the first time and it's for my wife's birthday party. I have a pellet smoker that I'm using to smoke a full brisket. I put it on roughly at 10 PM last night. Following suggestions I found at amazingribs.com, I'm supposed to remove the brisket when it's at around 195-203F and put it in holding, that is, wrap it in foil, then in a towel, and place it in an insulated cooler. He suggests 1-4 hours for holding. Well, it turns out I didn't get my timing right and it's now time to put the brisket in holding, but guests won't be here and ready to eat for 5-6 hours.

Is 5-6 hours wrapped up in an insulated cooler too much? What should I do?

Well, I might as well answer my own question.

After 4 hours holding inside of a beer cooler, wrapped in towels, the internal temperature of my brisket went from 200 down to 146. I have read that 140 is the danger zone for bacteria growth. So I turned on my oven to 200 and placed the brisket (still wrapped in foil) in for the remaining two hours. By the time we were ready to eat, it came out in the 150s. While it's not an ideal situation to be in, this worked for me. The brisket still tasted amazing, it was a huge hit with everyone, and quite literally people ate every last crumb of brisket they could find.

After initially posting this question, I continued to search. It seems that one method people use is to heat up a brick in the oven and stick in the cooler with the brisket to try and keep the temps up. I didn't have a brick available. I'm sure I could have use a rock instead, but I didn't attempt it.


Substitutes for cheese due to allergy. I have an allergy to the histamines in various aged cheeses such as parmesan, romano, blue cheeses, etc.

Many recipes call for parmesan for saltiness and flavor. What possible substitutes are there for these flavours?

Based on the information you've given, it sounds like what you're describing is not technically an allergy but histamine intolerance. In an allergic reaction, histamines are produced by the body as part of an immune reaction. Histamine intolerance is due to an underproduction of the enzyme that normally breaks down histamine. This means that foods that naturally contain histamines (such as aged cheeses) are poorly tolerated.1

Histamine Intolerance
If your problem truly is histamine intolerance, then there is not much that I can suggest. Any aged cheese, cow's milk or not, will contain histamines as well as many non-dairy cheese substitutes (such as soy cheese).2 Fresh cheeses -- ricotta, cottage cheese, queso fresco, etc. -- should be safe,3 however, they will not provide the same flavour and texture as Parmesan.

Since the exact degree of histamine intolerance varies from person-to-person, it is possible that you might tolerate some cheeses or cheese-substitutes better than others. Younger cheeses should have lower levels of histamines than older cheeses. Antihistamines may also be able to help you cope with histamine-containing foods. (Much the way that people with lactose intolerance can take lactase pills to help them digest lactose-containing foods.)
I would strongly recommend consulting with your doctor before trying any new foods, especially if you are prone to particularly strong reactions.

Allergy
If your problem actually is an allergy, then which substitutes are appropriate will depend on exactly which component of the cheese you are allergic too. The most common "cheese allergies" are protein allergies to either casein or whey protein1. If you are allergic to one or both of these proteins, then it is unlikely that any dairy product will be a safe substitute. However, it is possible in this case that non-dairy soy cheeses or similar would be perfectly fine to use.

Some cheese allergies, however, are specific to certain types of milk and some people who are unable to tolerate cow's milk products are able to digest sheep or goat's milk products.
Again, I would recommend consulting your doctor before experimenting with any dietary changes.

Information compiled from several online sources as well as my own experience as a cheese-maker.


Softening nougat candy Is there a way to soften nougat candy (Brach's peppermint)?  I live in a dry climate , have had them for a year, and don't want to break any teeth.  On the other hand, I don't want to throw them away.

If you put them in a humid environment they'll absorb moisture.

If you have a deep enough bowl with a lid, put a glass of water in the middle and surround the glass with the candies.  Keep the lidded bowl in a room-temperature place for a few days where it won't be bumped (you don't want the water to spill...).  Stir the candies a few times to keep the moisture evenly distributed and to prevent them from sticking together.


Cooking duck Chinese style A Chinese style recipe for duck calls for seasoning the duck with salt, pepper and stuffing with ginger and scallion.  Then, hanging to dry at room temperature overnight before cooking.  Is this method safe? What about the temperature danger zone? Thanks!

That method would clearly place your duck in the temperature danger zone for too long.  The reason for hanging the duck, particularly after salting, is to dehydrate the skin as much as possible.  This results in a crispier skin.  Fortunately, you can achieve the same results in the refrigerator. Hanging is ideal, but this can also be accomplished on a rack. A couple of days is even better.  The idea is to expose as much of the skin to air (keep it off a plate) as possible.  The technique works well for chicken too. Put a plate or container under the rack or hanging bird to collect any liquid that might drip.


Without knife skills, how can I quickly and accurately dice vegetables? As an occasional cook, I know the value of correctly diced vegetables when the recipe calls for it. But I don't have the knife skills to work through a soup's worth of vegetables in under an hour. In lieu of simply "getting better" with the knife (if I were going to be a chef, it would have happened by now), how can I quickly and accurately mow through a pile of dicing work?

Try a mandoline. If you're not familiar, it's a gadget that has a horizontal blade for slicing as you slide food across it. Most have a dial that allows you to adjust thickness or to create julienne or "French-fry" shape. You can then just do one more chop to turn the "fries" into dice.

Aside from that, I'd be remiss if I didn't make a plug for improving knife skills! :)

practice practice practice! It's worth the time investment.
class! I took a 2-hour knife skills class at a local kitchen supply store. I went from mediocre to slightly-better-than-mediocre knife skillz in no time! You'll learn some tips and tricks to make it go more smoothly.

Good luck.


How to know if a zip lock bag is safe for sous-vide (or boiling), without indication from the manufacturer? The only zip lock bags available in local stores for me are labelled that they are supposed to be used for refrigerating food.

Is it possible to know whether those bags are safe to put in water temps near or at boiling temperature or not ?

Is there some sort of experiment or indication that would suggest that the bags are BPA-free and EA-free ?

Can we assume that bags that are made for food, are supposed to be safe regardless of the temperature ? (up to 100c only though)

You don't mention the brand you use but, as many of us do, refer generically to ziplock bags. For the brand name product, SC Johnson, which makes both Ziploc® brand bags and Saran ™ Wrap, states that it does not use BPA in these products.

  SC Johnson’s Ziploc® brand Bags and Containers are BPA free. Our products are extensively evaluated for toxicity and safety and comply with applicable quality and safety regulations.

If you brand you use doesn't make a similar statement on the box or the manufacturer's web site, then better to use Ziploc, not an off brand.

Modern Cuisine noted that:

  [T]he safest plastics for use with food are high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and polypropylene. Virtually all sous vide bags are made from these plastics, as are most brand-name food storage bags and plastic wraps such as Saran Wrap.


Red sweet and sour cabbage...drain or not? The recipe I want to try as a side to my beef goulash calls for cooking shredded red cabbage in a quart of water, salt, caraway seeds, and brown sugar.  Then it says to drain cabbage when cooked and add vinegar and butter.

If I do this, won't I lose the sweetness that forms the basis of the sweet and sour?  Would it maintain flavor better to remove the lid and cook down the liquid and then add vinegar and butter?

Red cabbage is usually braised, not boiled.  Following the instructions listed in your recipe, you're going to lose the flavor of the caraway as well.

For German-style sweet and sour red cabbage I typically saute some diced onion and apple in sugar and butter until just golden, add the shredded cabbage and then cook a little until the cabbage is glazed.  Add some beef stock along with red wine vinegar, bay leaf and salt and then braise lightly covered until cabbage has softened. Sprinkle some flour over the top and add add'l beef stock and red wine to this.  At the end, remove from heat and stir in a couple of tablespoons red currant jelly just to mix in and balance the sweet/sour flavors.


How to properly store cubed carrots? Should cubed carrots be stored in a water or just as they are.  I've seen it done both ways, so I would like to know which way is correct and why.

These cubed carrots end up going in a farmer's chop salad.

They are made quickly by peeling raw carrots and then cubing them.

Related Posts:

White Film on Carrots

Storing Carrots

The cubed carrots should be placed like the image. It should not be kept in water as the flavour of the carrots will decrease with time. I have noticed that the long term exposure of carrots to water will soften them but with some noticeable change in the taste.

Further, to keep the carrots really fresh you can use the same technique, simply wet a piece of cloth (preferably cotton), squeeze to loose 70% of water in it and then cover your carrots. The freshness and the taste; everything will be maintained for sure.


freezing cooked turkey, ham and chicken slices I am having a large gathering and I want to do a lot of the prep in advance. If I cook the meats, slice and freeze all of the above, then thaw in the fridge before making the sandwiches, will the flavor maintain itself?

Generally, freezing meat and thawing before consumption will not affect flavor. There are some precautions you can take when freezing and thawing to ensure that the meat doesn't get damaged (i.e. freezer burnt or overcooked if you thaw under heat). Here is an excerpt from a useful article on the subject.

  When packaging meats for the freezer, the most important thing is to
  protect them from exposure to air. Wrap meats very tightly in either
  plastic wrap or freezer paper, pressing the wrapping right up against
  the surface of the meat. Next, wrap another layer of aluminum foil
  around the meat or seal it inside a zip-top freezer bag.

  Packaged like this, meat can be kept frozen for at least three months.
  After this time, even well-wrapped meats can start to develop freezer
  burn, though I've often cooked meat several months after freezing and
  found it to be perfectly fine.

  The best and safest way to thaw meat is to place the frozen package in
  the refrigerator and let it thaw gradually. Small cuts will thaw this
  way in about 24-hours while larger cuts can take a few days. If you're
  rushed for time, small cuts can also be thawed in a bowl of lukewarm
  water under running water.

For some more tips see the full article: http://www.thekitchn.com/freezer-savvy-the-best-way-to-freeze-and-thaw-meat-177355


When should I add fresh fruits in homemade yogurt? I just bought an Instant Pot and want to use it to make yogurt. I found a recipe online for fresh fruit yoghurt that I want to try (https://recipes.instantpot.com/recipe/fresh-fruit-yogurt-in-the-instant-pot/). After scalding the milk, the recipe calls for the addition of fresh fruit, sugar, and skim milk powder to the milk BEFORE allowing the soon-to-be-yogurt to incubate.

Is this safe? Wouldn't the introduction of the ingredients before incubation (especially the fruit) potentially add unsafe bacteria to the yogurt? Or am I being overly cautious?

The Codex Alimentarius standard 243-2003 on fermented milk products, states in section 2.3 that:

The non-dairy ingredients can be mixed in prior to/or after fermentation.

So, yes the recipe is correct and you can even sell the product if you follow all the other WHO standards as well.
However, as you introduce additional microbial agents when using fresh fruit, the rule of thumb (to be analytically tested) is half of the minimum of both products separately:

As you're probably doing this for home use, this means in plain English:
Eat the yoghurt in half the time you would eat the fresh fruit.
If this would be for professional use:
You should not be asking random strangers on the Internet what to do and have your commercial product tested analytically.  ;-)


How much pepper/allspice to substitue for cubeb? I have a recipe that calls for "12 cubebs, coarsely crushed". I've read that a blend of equal parts pepper and allspice can be substituted for a cubeb. However, having never seen a cubeb, I have no idea how big it is, so I don't know how much pepper and allspice to substitute. Additionally, I haven't been able to find any information about the volume of a cubeb or the volume of powder produced when crushing a cubeb online.

How much powder does a cubeb yield when crushed? Alternatively, how much black pepper and allspice should I substitute for 12 crushed cubebs?

I don't think you'll find any two answers that agree from anyone that's used cubeb. All the more difficult as few people who heard of it and even fewer who've used it. The reason being that taste is subjective. I love the flavour Szechuan peppercorns give food. It's often been described as being both hot and numbing. I can feel its numbing effect but it's not at all hot to me and I'm very sensitive to the heat from capsicum peppers.

Cubeb peppercorns are roughly the size as black peppercorns but instead of being solid, they're more hollow. I've only seen them in photos (otherwise I'd buy some to try) so I don't know if an equal volume of both would be an equal weight, roughly. If I were to substitute, I'd err on black pepper weighing a little more.

As for cubeb having a taste similar to black pepper and allspice, I couldn't say. But Gernot Katzer doesn't think so. Cubeb pepper (Piper cubeba L.,11

  some sources seem to confuse cubeb pepper with allspice, which looks somewhat similar. In its flavour, cubeb pepper differs much from these other spices.

Other sites mention a camphorous note to cubeb. Rosemary is a herb with a camphorous flavour and scent. Cubeb is also supposed to be bitter. Many people don't like bitterness in food but I think it enhances many foods. What would chocolate be like without it?

What I would do, though not necessarily you, is to use around 9 black peppercorns, 1/8 teaspoon of allspice and a few needles from fresh rosemary, crushed and very finely chopped to approximate 12 cubeb peppercorns.

Hopefully, someone here who's used cubeb before will read your question and answer you before you've made your recipe.


Best online source for spices I'm looking or good online sources for spices.  Good selection and good prices.

Penzey's spices is one of the most well known places for spices:

http://www.penzeys.com/

They have an extensive selection and reasonable prices.


Commercial Sponge Cake Improver? Many years ago (35+) my grandmother received a container of a 'sponge cake improver' from a family member whom was a commercial baker.
She describes it as looking like a thick amber liquid or paste.

The method of using it was to put two teaspoons of this improver into a mixer with all the other ingredients, beat on high, and then turn into the cake tin. The result was a high quality sponge, every time.

I've tried searching for what this product might be called, but turned up short.

Without resorting to scouring a commercial baking centre - can someone identify what this commercial sponge cake improver would be?

A quick search seems to suggest it's a liquid emulsifier. It's not the most natural of products: a couple of E-numbers and propylenes in there.

http://www.rajfoods.net/cake-improvers.html

Click across to Cake Gel Improvers.


What are the principal components of coconut taste, and how do they differ between fresh and stale coconuts? I was used to drinking coconut milk and finding that it is nice, a bit sweet, and a bit bland.

One day i had a normal supermarket coconut, that tasted like Malibu essence inside. Is that what a very fresh coconut tastes like?

I am a chemist, and I am want to know if coconut aromatics vary a lot in between fresh and old coconuts, and if so, why?

I don't have more than a basic knowledge of chemistry and the information I have I translated from a German book on spices and seasoning. All errors are therefore mine. The book is basically a description of a huge amount of spices, herbs and other seasonings, as well as a description of the chemistry involved which leads to the taste.

The difference in taste between coconut milk (if canned, as I assume) and fresh coconut water is easily explained. Canned coconut milk is basically a purée of coconut flesh mixed with water, which is why it has a different taste. Sadly, the book did not contain information on whether or how the flavour compounds (is that the correct word?) differ from coconut flesh to coconut water.

The book gives the following flavour compounds as responsible for the taste:

δ-Octalactone described as tasting creamy and of caramel

γ-Octalactone sweet and fatty

2-Nonanone fruity, sweet and earthy

Limonene lemon and turpentine

Responsible for the smell are the following (I have no idea what the letters and number in the parenthesis are supposed to mean, I'll simply include them):

10% Caprylic acid (C 8:0)

10% Decanoic acid (C 10:0)

50% Lauric acid (C 12:0)

15% Myristic acid (C 14:0)

10% Palmitic acid (C 16:0)

5% Oleic acid (C 18:1)

I hope this helps somehow.


What's the function of acerola powder in bread? 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.


Recipe calls for Aleppo Peppers, I need the right substitution amounts for cayenne and paprika I'm making Mexican chorizo, but it calls for Aleppo peppers. I'm not able to find them around here, so I looked up the substitutions (four parts sweet paprika to one part cayenne pepper).

The recipe calls for "2 tablespoons and 3/4 teaspoon crushed Aleppo peppers", so I'm trying to figure out exactly how much Paprika and Cayenne Pepper to use in place of that. If I go a bit higher, that shouldn't be a problem--as some people said that it needed a bit more flavor.

Thanks for any help that you can provide.
Patrick.

P.S. I'm leaning towards something like 2 Tbsp Paprika/1 tsp Cayenne Pepper, but if that's not right, I'd like to know what is.

Cindy is right, you can just make a bigger batch (particularly if you're planning to use this recipe multiple times) and measure directly out of your pre-mixed batch.  But, if you don't want to do that, you'll want to do some math.

First off, 1 tbsp = 3 tsp, so to simplify your 2 tbsp and 3/4 tsp, you've actually got 6-3/4 tsp of pepper.

Now, you're looking at 4 parts paprika to 1 part cayenne and we can set that equal to  6.75 tsp.

So, that means that you have five "parts".

Now, to find out how much is in each "part", divide 6.75 tsp by 5 parts. Which is 1.35 tsp/part.

We've found out one number! We need one part of cayenne, so we need 1.35 tsp.  This is closest to 1-1/3 tsp but if you want it in something actually measurable (because who has a 1/3 tsp measure, anyway) it's pretty close to 1-3/8 tsp (1.375 tsp).

Now, to get the measurement for paprika you have two options:

multiply 1.35 tsp by 4, which is 5.4 tsp. This, again, doesn't really give us a very useful number but it's pretty close to 5-3/8 tsp (5.375 tsp).
subtract 1-3/8 tsp from the total 6-3/4 tsp (or 6-6/8 tsp) to figure out what's still needed, which is 5-3/8 tsp (in decimals, that's 5.375).

So that's it.

5-3/8 tsp (or 1 tbsp and 2-3/8 tsp) of paprika.
1-3/8 tsp of cayenne.

That all being said, remember this is cooking, it's not a perfect science, so you can fudge things a bit if you like. Your thought to use 2 tbsp and 1 tsp is close.  It's slightly paprika-heavy but it's a lot easier to measure.


How do I reduce the lime flavor in my Slow Cooker roast? I placed limes in with my roast and now it tastes like Limes. How do I get rid of this over the top Lime Flavor. Any suggestions?

You cannot get rid of the lime flavor, it's there to stay. Your best course of action is to try and balance the strong lime flavor with sweet and savory flavors, for instance shredding the roast onto a bed of chicory/endive leaves with a soy-honey dressing.


Is it possible to make hoop cheese out of acid-precipated milk curds? I've never tasted or seen "hoop cheese," a product that appears to have been made on a small scale years ago, and was popular in the South.

Is it possible to make this cheese by pressing and waxing salted curds made by a method similar to making paneer? I've done this before and it's rather easy, heat a gallon of whole milk slowly to the right temperature and add white vinegar. The strained, pressed curds make up paneer.

Do I need rennet to make the curds?

I have also not tasted hoop cheese. All descriptions of it that I can find describe it as unsalted, pressed cottage cheese.

While you can definitely press out extra liquid from acid set cheeses, the proteins are not as firmly set and the texture is going to be very different.

I think you will find that using rennet is not much more difficult and opens a wide variety of cheese experiments.

Junket also provides quite a few recipes and I have had success with many of them:
http://www.junketdesserts.com/cheeserecipes.aspx
This recipe for cottage cheese uses the bacteria in (fresh) buttermilk to acidify the milk. Then with the addition of rennet a curd forms that is much firmer than what you get with acid alone.

Making their cottage cheese recipe and pressing it into a hoop should be easy enough for you. I use the end cap of 6" PVC pipe with holes drilled in it as my mold and bungee cords for the press.

For an excellent page on home cheese production in general check out this page:
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese_course/Cheese_course.htm


Greek yogurt substitute in baking? So this recipe (lemon rhubarb pie), calls for 3 tablespoons of Greek yogurt. What would be a good substitute for Greek yogurt? creme fraiche or cream cheese?
And will it affect the final product?

Given your options, I would go creme fraiche, you may need to thin with a small amount of milk or water to get to yogurt consistency.  Three tablespoons...you probably won't notice a difference.


Tofu - Cooking technique for firm/chewy edges? This may be a very basic question and I've just somehow not been doing it properly.

When I get tofu in the prepared foods department or the Chinese buffet, it's prepared in cubes that seem to have been marinated and then cooked in some way that makes it... not "crispy" as I see a lot of advice about online, but more of an al dente sort of firmness or chewiness?

When people talk about crispy tofu, is this the consistency they're talking about?  The "chewy" texture my favorite style of tofu, but I've never been able to replicate it following the usual crispy-tofu directions, and am not sure how else to describe it.

Often they'll freeze the tofu before cooking it to give it a much meatier texture. That may be what you're describing.

"Crispy" tofu I usually think of as quite literally fried tofu.


How do I know that the quantity of salt is enough for a given amount of flour? When making bread during Ramadan, I can't taste the flour.  Is there a known ratio of salt to flour when making bread?

There is no such way, because the amount you add is arbitrary. There is no special ratio, you just add so much that people will like the taste. The problem is, different people like different amounts of salt. For any reasonable amount of salt you choose to add, it will be too much for some people and too little for others.

If you are always baking for the same people (your immediate family, perhaps) you can find out by trial and error how much they like, or even get them accustomed to a certain amount over time, which will become their preferred amount. If you are baking for others, you just have to give up the idea that the salt will be right for everybody.