How to stitch up filled fish? I would like to fill a medium sized fish (rockfish) with a pesto like marinade and broil it. Could I use very slim chicken wire to wrap a couple coils around the fish to keep the filling in or should I use something else? Toothpicks won't do because the skin at the edges isn't firm to hold. Any downside to using wire?

I would not expect chicken wire to be food-safe.

According to the FDA, to be considered food-safe, a material must meet several conditions:
It must not allow the migration of “deleterious substances or impart colors, odors, or tastes” to food
Be “durable, corrosion-resistant, and nonabsorbent”
Possess sufficient “weight and thickness to withstand repeated warewashing”
Be “finished to have a smooth, easily cleanable surface”
Have resistance to “pitting chipping crazing, scratching, scoring, distortion, and decomposition”

-marlinwire.com
Now a lot of that might not be much a concern if you only plan to use it once, but still, I'd recommend spending a few extra pennies for stainless steel or aluminum wire, which you should be able to find in any large hardware or home improvement store.  The link above goes on to say specifically that grade 304 and 316 stainless steel and aluminum are food safe.
Another option that might work for you is a grilling basket.


Any way to soften gummy candy? Sometimes when I buy (cheap) gummy candy, it's a little too hard to enjoy. Is there a way to soften them? Preferably something that lasts, as opposed to perhaps heating them and eating them while they're warm.

Gummy candy is essentially just water, sugar, gelatin, and a few other additives like food colouring.

Gelatin's gel strength1 is partially dependent on its concentration.  The more concentrated, the harder it gets.  Gummy candies left sitting around will lose water due to evaporation, which makes the gelatin more concentrated and thus harder, and if you watch carefully you'll notice that the moisture loss also makes the gummies shrink.

To soften them, you need to rehydrate them.  Toss them in a bowl of hot or warm water (don't use cold water - gelatin is only soluble in warmer water) until they reach the desired consistency - usually around 20 minutes or so.  The longer you leave them in the water, the more water they'll absorb, the more they'll grow and the softer they'll get.


What is the term for serving a soft-cooked fried egg that breaks when the meal is consumed? Recently I went to a restaurant where they served home-made pasta with a soft-cooked fried egg on top, and then proceeded to stir and mash the egg and whisk the pasta into an incredible dish in front of us. (This Italian restaurant's most popular dish).

In the movie Spanglish, with Adam Sandler, he mades a club sandich, with a soft-cooked fried egg, that then breaks and goes through the sandwich. (Youtube is filled with videos imitating this scene).

This seems to be such a popular concept (and commercially lucrative). (I admit I love it.) I wondered if there was a food term for it.

My question is: What is the term for serving a soft-cooked fried egg that breaks when the meal is consumed?

There actually doesn't seem to be a special word for this as a technique - as common as it is (to add an egg to the top of a dish and use the runny yolk as sauce), it is usually just the dish name "topped with an egg" or "topped with a fried egg".  Sometimes the egg is fried, occasioanlly poached, sometimes it is cracked on top of the dish and cooked in the residual heat - the goal of having the yolk serve as sauce remains the same, though.

Some dish variations specify the egg on top - in some south American countries, a steak topped with an egg is called a "horse-riding" or riding steak.  I have heard of pancakes topped with a fried egg being called a "texas one-eye", though i can't find a citation just now.  Pasta with a raw egg added, which is supposed to be cooked in the residual heat and make a sauce of the yolk - is pasta "carbonara".

Its a little funny, but as common as it is to find a dish with topped with an egg, so the yolk will double as sauce - it doesn't seem to have a name more specific.  (And it is really common, all sorts of cultures have equivalents).  You can say "topped with an egg", or use ElendilTheTall or ESultanik's suggestions for how to specify the soft-cooked nature of the fried egg, and people will probably understand you.

Edit: with the help of some comments from Andrew Mattson, Relaxed, and Chuu, we now have a potential term: steak "Au Cheval" (French) or beef "a cavalo" (south American) means a steak with an egg on top.  The words look similar-ish enough to seem related in word appearance and meaning, yet from two different countries - which translate the term to horse riding or horseback steak, meaning the egg is on top of the dish.  So with that commonality, we might take the term "Au Cheval" and take it to mean when an egg is laid on top of, or "riding" the dish.  As a term it won't be too well known right now, someone may not be understood if you just ask for a sandwich or veggie hash "au cheval"... but if enough people see this definition, or start using it, it may become the official term for the cooking technique!


Why don't instant noodles ooze oil If instant noodles have been prepared by flash frying noodles, why are they not oily? Why don't you get any oil on your hands when you hold a "cake" of dry noodles?

According to Wikipedia, "The dried noodle block was originally created by flash frying cooked noodles, and this is still the main method used in Asian countries, but air-dried noodle blocks are favored in Western countries."  (from   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_noodle   ) So I don't know where you are, but if it happens to be a "Western country", maybe that's why.


Difference in technique for cooking with non-stick and standard pans? Following up from my previous question, which I'd raised because I have concerns that my non-stick wok will need replacing very soon (again), and was having a think about "standard" pans.

I'm not currently interested in differences in care/cleaning/etc, I think those are quite well covered in other questions.

So, I'm wondering what's the difference in the required technique when using them to cook food?

The big thing that you you are going to see cooking in regular pans vs. non-stick is the addition of pan sauces to your table.  It is almost impossible to get a pan sauce out of the non-sticks because they prevent the formation of fond in the pan.  As for stick in a regular pan, it is not much of a concern for most items, but there are a few things that non-stick are invaluable for so I generally keep a cheap non-stick around for those. (Talking cepes and eggs, mostly) The biggest trick with regular pans is learning to stop messing with your food while it cooks. You want to let it form that crust which as a by-product will help prevent sticking. Also, you will find that you start at a higher tempature when cooking with regular pans.


What is the difference between baking soda and baking powder? And can I use one in place of the other in certain recipes?

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, while baking powder includes an acidifying agent (cream of tartar) and a drying agent (starch).

You can substitute baking soda for baking powder if you already have an acidifying agent in a recipe (like buttermilk).

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm


Frying a rooster rather than roasting? I know that usually roosters are roasted because rooster is tough. But I was wondering if there is a way to fry rooster and have it be tender without using so much meat tenderizer that the meat tastes like meat tenderizer(which is not a pleasant taste)?

Also would you be looking for the same temperatures as in a hen(that is 165 degrees F on the inside of the white meat) or would the temperatures you are looking for be different?

When meat and poultry are tough it is because because of connective tissue which transfers the muscle's work to bone. The harder a muscle in an animal works the more connective tissue it will have and the tougher (but generally more flavorful) the result will be. Connective tissue (collagen mostly in muscles) breaks down slowly in the presence of moisture and heat.

Frying is too short a cooking process to break down collagens, you need a low and slow method. If it were me I'd braise it instead of roasting it, so I'd coat it in flour and fry it off in a pan, then bake low (maybe 225f or 100c) it in a covered pan with a 500ml (about a pint) of chicken stock and a bit of rubbed sage for about 3 hours. If that doesn't make a tender rooster nothing on earth will.


Pomegranate juice ceviche I want to make a ceviche and although the 'traditional' acids are lemon and lime, I have a desire to use pomegranate juice but I'm concerned that the pH is too low to denature the proteins in the fish. Does anyone know if pomegranate juice just isn't acidic enough or should I just marinade for longer? I haven't been able to find any recipes using it, is this a sign?

Pomegranate pH 2.93 - 3.20
Lime pH 2.00 - 2.80
Lemon Juice pH 2.00 - 2.60

pH Source

Could you use a combination of pomegranate juice and lemon juice?

A recipe on the POM web site uses grapefruit juice with pomegranate juice.

A quick search reveals that most (all) ceviches that use pomegranate juice also use another acid (lemon, lime, grapefruit).

If it were me, I'd try using only pomegranate juice only on a small batch of fish a check how it goes.


Is is possible to make popped potatoes? Many grains (and some starchy non-grains) can be popped or puffed.  Corn can be turned into popcorn, rice into puffed rice, etc.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffed_grain)

Can potatoes be popped/puffed?

The reason popcorn can be popped is that they have a water-impermeable hull, which contains the pressure of the steam created inside the kernel as it is heated, until it passes a critical point.  When that happens, the steam explodes out, breaking the hull, and creating the popcorn.  Some of the other puffed products are more complex, as the link you have already found shows.

Potatoes do not have a water impermeable skin, and so cannot be puffed in the same manner as popcorn.

There is a dish—sometimes called puffed potatoes—where the steam inside fried potato pieces is used to puff them up, but it will not be similar in texture to puffed grain.  See this recipe, for example.  They will be more akin to fluffy french fries (or chips, as they say in Britain).

There is another dish called puffed potatoes, which are essentially a choux paste with potatoes that are baked or deep fried.  They are a great dish, but are a different type of thing entirely. See this recipe from the great Jacques Pepin.


How do I avoid fibrous, dry beans? I've recently started adding beans to my diet to get more fiber. I've never been a fan, but it's better than the alternative. I've also discovered refried variations, which helps a lot.

What I'm looking for is some kind of bean that isn't as "fibrous" or "dry" as the red kidney beans I've been trying. Are there different tastes? Different textures? Any beans considered "safe for beginners"?

"Fibrous" and "dry" are good descriptions for bean which haven't been prepared properly. Mostly, they have either not been soaked long enough, or haven't been cooked for long enough.

Normal times for beans are about 12 hours soaking in water and another 1-3 hours cooking, depending on the desired texture.
Also, sometimes beans can be cooked with about quarter/half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, which softens them nicely.

That should be a start towards solving your problem. To answer your question, I think that white beans and pinto beans are a good start (you can make a chili, for instance), and that chickpeas are also a very good starting point. Cooked chickpeas are great as-is, and can be seasoned with cumin, salt and lemon juice for a nice snack.


Should I get a thin, flat bottomed wok to stir fry large amounts of veggies on an electric stove? Currently I stir fry veggies in a flat non-stick frying pan. It's OK but it doesn't have much volume so I can't cook a large amount of veggies unless I do so in batches, which I don't want to because I'm lazy. I want to throw in a bunch of veggies once, cook them, and be done. I understand that this may have a negative impact on flavour but I'm more interested in convenience.

To deal with this I want to get a wok, basically just to act as large frying pan. My first question is, will this be better than just using a big pot? My intuition is that the curved sides will mean more veggies touching lower, hotter parts of the container, and easier stirring. But maybe this is baloney.

I have an electric stove, and that's not going to change. So I'm going to get a flat-bottomed wok. My understanding is that the wok should get nice and hot and that this is more difficult on an electric stove. The woks I've seen have a wide variety of thicknesses. Should I be getting a really thin wok so that the wok heats up faster and transfers heat more quickly? Again, I'm primarily thinking of convenience. I don't want to stand around waiting for the wok to heat up. However I am fairly prone to burning the things I cook.

Similarly, should I aim for a wok made from a particular material?

Side note: I'm vegan and my wife is vegetarian, so we're not going to use this for meat at all.

I'll try address your questions:

Firstly, woks should always be thin. The point of a wok is to get extremely hot at the bottom, without heat being conducted much up the sides. Thin is best for this
The problem with this in your case, is that a small amount of your vegetables will be touching the bottom and cooking, while most will be sitting on top, or in contact with the sides, just getting warmed slightly.
The point of a stir fry is to slightly char the vegetables as they get tossed around the pan, moving between hot and cooler parts, so that they cook evenly, but get a good browning at the same time. The problem is that this is really only suited to smallish amounts of food, unless you have an enormous wok and burner/stove.
As you have indiciated that convenience is more important to you than flavour/cooking quality, I would suggest a large, flat, heavy bottomed frying pan (fine with straight or curved sides). This will cook large amounts of veg best, without cooling down too much when you add them, and the larger bottom surface will mean more veg is getting contact with the hottest surface

I wouldn't normally recommend a plain frying pan for stir fries, but I think this is the best option in your case. The outcome will not be the same as a stir fry - might be more moist and less browned, but should suffice for convenience's sake


How are beef cuts labeled in Russian? I looked up cut of beef on Wikipedia. There are no Russian names for cuts. I'm wondering what they're all called in Russian.

The Russian Wikipedia article on Beef has several diagrams - a current one in the main section apparently originally derived from the German wikipedia, and two others from older Russian sources.

I was also able to find another site with another diagram, and translations of some of the cuts into English, which is helpful because the names are difficult to translate to similar English cuts via Google Translate, which simply gives anatomical terms for many of them.

Here is an article from the Moscow Times discussing the subject, largely from the perspective of someone who only knows the American name for the cut they are looking for.


Saving old chocolate I found a bag of chocolate chips in the back of a cabinet that's well past the 'best use by' date and showing signs of bloom.

From experience, I know that it won't melt right, and has a tendancy to be a bit grainy if used as-is.  Is there something that I can do to revive it?

If there isn't, are there recipes where it the bloom isn't a problem?

(and before you say 'crush it up and put it over ice cream' ... I thought of that, but I can't eat dairy)

I don't know of a way to revive old chocolate, however you can use them in applications where baking isn't necessary, like refrigerator cookies, rice crispy treats, or cereal bars.

Keep in mind that these things will only be as good as the ingredients, so if your chocolate doesn't taste good it's best to chuck it.


How to prevent crust forming during frying, baking and grilling? I do not like the crust that forms on the surface of meat when frying, baking and grilling.  It seems to me this is caused by oil being on the surface of the meat.  In the case of baking and grilling I imagine oil comes out of the meat, sits on the surface and fries the surface temporarily hence there is some frying going on here.
1. Would I be correct in thinking this is the cause of the the crusty exterior, if not what causes it?

In all cases how can I avoid the crust from forming?  I have bought grilled chops from the shop and they did not have a crusty surface so there must be some way to avoid it? At the moment I'm just cutting the surface off and eating the interior.

When you buy grilled meat from a store, it has been sitting in a fridge for some time, the crust will get less crusty because of the release of humidity from the meat.

You could do it at home, grill some chops, refrigerate them for a couple of hours, the crust will be "gone" (at least become less crusty).

If you want less crusty meat, you could roast the meat at lower temperature, or braise the meat or poach it.


Tips for patriotic vanilla ice cream My wife will be making home-made vanilla ice cream with our ice cream machine tomorrow. To celebrate the holiday, we wanted to make it red, white, and blue ice cream: essentially a white base with red and blue spots or swirls.

We considered dropping in some food coloring, but we don't want to end up with a purple mess. We also considered adding chopped strawberries and whole blueberries to the mix, but we will be serving it over a variety of desserts, so those fruity additions might not go well.

Any tips for pulling off a successful red, white, and blue vanilla ice cream?

You will have to find a way to separate the batches of ice cream, or you'll end up with the uniform purple, as you mentioned.

The proper way is to prepare three batches, using different food coloring in two of them. They should come out of the machine with a soft-serve consistency.  Hold the first batches in a cool environment while preparing the last ones, but do not allow them to reach -20°C or they will harden. Then layer them in a tub and freeze.

The proper approach is difficult for home cooks: the odds are that your ice cream machine uses a coolant-filled tub, which requires 24 hours in the freezer between batches. So it is only possible with careful planning and partial thawing of hardened batches, and it won't be ready for tomorrow. Unless you are one of the happy few with a compressor based machine, you'll need something else.

There are a couple tricks you can use to prepare three batches without a compressor machine:

Split one batch into thirds, and churn each for a reduced time.  It will take more than 1/3 the time, but less than the full time.
Add xanthan gum (or another stabilizer) to reduce the size of ice crystals, giving a softer, creamier result even when the ice cream isn't quite as frozen
Prepare white first, then red, then blue.  To keep the ice cream machine cold, you can just clean with a spatula after the red; a hint of red in the blue will only impart a slight purple tinge.
For one or more of the colors, use one of the methods to prepare ice cream without a machine.  The linked question explains more fully.
Reserve part of the cream, whip it fully, and gently fold into the ice cream base.  Freeze in a tub, without the machine. This is best combined with stabilizers, small amounts of alcohol, or a propylene glycol based vanilla aroma.

For a spotted look, you can use a squeeze bottle or dropper to apply dots red and blue food coloring to thin layers of white ice cream.  After each set of spots, apply another layer of ice cream and repeat.  I can't predict how far both colors will seep into the ice cream, and what will happen to the spots; if the coloring is propylene glycol based, they may stay liquid, but they could freeze hard if the coloring is water-based.  You may get purple if two drops land close together.

To create a beautiful marbled appearance, use uncolored vanilla ice cream and red/blue colored syrups.  First prepare a syrup heated to the softball stage, and then thin slightly with water.  The supersaturated sugar solution will crystallize, but won't freeze into hard ice.  Set up the ice cream with layers of ice cream, red syrup, ice cream, blue syrup, then repeat. Stir gently for the marbled look, being careful not to over-mix or it will become uniformly purple.

Edit In the meantime, I tried this idea and noticed that when you pour the hygroscopic syrup over the ice cream, the white cream blooms into the syrup, and the syrup is also liquid enough to flow through and around the ice cream. I had partial success in creating a barrier by using a very thin layer of watered gelatine and waiting to freeze before applying the syrup. I then cut the ice into strips and turned them sideways, then scooped through the strips. The problem was that the gelatine water froze solid, resulting in unpleasant brittle water plates. I think that using a non-saturated syrup and gelling it with gelatine will help, but haven't tried this yet. Xanthan and guar can't thicken the syrup, as they don't hydrate in the saturated solution. Conclusion: can be beautiful, but hard to get right.

If you accept less homogeneous colors, you can add colored ingredients to a finished vanilla ice cream. Colored marshmallows have a vanilla flavor which should mesh well. Then you can consider making colored granitas and layering them with the ice cream.   You can color pieces of paler nuts, such as coconut, or cashews, or blanched almonds, or blanched hazelnuts.  If you use nuts, mix them in after they have dried, or sprinkle them on as a topping.  Alternately, make a colored white chocolate ice cream: prepare a softish ganache with xanthan, and freeze it in a thick, dense layer on a pre-chilled porcelain plate. Alcohol well keep it softer.  Chop it into pieces and mix with white ice cream.

These are the ideas I can think of off the top of my head. There are probably alternatives, but these offer some excellent starting points. I leave it to you (or your wife) which are most appropriate for your skills. I've tried to indicate the most challenging approaches, but all will present some difficulties. In each case, you may get color bleeding, poor consistency from improper freezing, or difficulty handling semi-frozen ice cream. The latter presents a particularly thorny obstacle, as thawing will ruin it, but it can become too hard to work with.

If you decide to use one of these ideas, but can't work out the details, drop a comment!

Edit see some of the ideas here implemented on our blog.


How can I get the smokey flavour in Hor Fun? I made Hor Fun (not the linked recipe in specific) the other day for my girlfriend who loves the dish. However, her critique was that it lacked the distinctive smokey flavour of the dish.

When it's made traditionally it's done over a massive fire and this gives it the smokey flavour.

In a standard kitchen the gas burners are far smaller than that, so how can I achieve the same smokey flavour for this dish?

Another option is Smoked Paprika. As Jolene wisely cautions, those liquid smoke products are very strong. And even though it might be "natural" smoke flavor, it can lend a "synthetic" taste to delicate foods.

Smoked Paprika has a much more subtle smokiness. Of course, it will also add color and additional flavor of its own. It sounds to me like this would work well with the recipe you linked, but you might try adding it first to just a small amount of your dish and see if you like the taste.

In any case, Smoked Paprika is an inexpensive addition to your spice rack that can be used to enhance many foods with a bit of smokey flavor.


Instant Hummus Pre-cooking without Dehydrating I would like to prepare my own instant hummus (dried, only add water) for backpacking. A commercial product is available, but I would prefer to start from scratch.
Normally, chickpea flour has to be cooked for around 3 minutes to make hummus, e.g. in this recipe.
I would like to avoid cooking the flour in a large amount of water, as dehydrating a paste is a big mess.
Is it possible to just moisten the flour with the right amount of water and then steam it, such that in the end it will still be mostly a powder and easy to dry?

Raw chickpea flour is unpleasantly bitter, but it becomes delicious when dry roasted or fried in a little oil.
It takes some practice to achieve exactly the right degree of roastedness. You will notice while dry roasting that the flour starts to become aromatic, and then smells slightly over-roasted and rather suddenly turns light brown. I recommend roasting it until just before the colour change for this purpose. Stir constantly and break up lumps to roast evenly.
This pre-roasted flour will not need further cooking. To reconstitute you simply add a little water, mix, add more water, mix, and keep going until the consistency is what you want. You can immediately eat it, you can use cold water for this, and you do not need to cook it.
You can also lightly dry roast and grind sesame seeds, probably along with the chickpea flour. Avoid grinding sesame seeds alone too finely, as they will turn into tahini.
Presumably you have access to garlic powder.
A dry substitute for lemon juice could be sumac (a type of berry which is dried and powdered), as suggested by Chris H.


Best way to measure Spaghetti/Linguini portions? What's the best way to measure how much Spaghetti/Linguini is 1-portion. I know there are tools which basically measures the diameter of the bundle of dry spaghetti. But are there simpler tricks which don't require any tools?

Italians weigh it and it's really the only fail-safe way.  Using a kitchen scale with a big bowl on top should work for just about any pasta shape.  40g for a small portion, 100g for a big plate full.  Cooked volume will depend on the type of pasta, but with spaghetti for example about 55g of dry will produce about 1 cup of cooked spaghetti.

This agrees with @Martha: 2oz = about 57g and 1 cup cooked sounds like a reasonable serving size.  Even if I would eat more :-)


Quickest, and safest way, to bring milk to boil So I made homemade cottage cheese yesterday that had me cook the milk until it was just about to boil. I had it on the stove for at least half an hour because I didn't want it to start boiling the one time I looked away. This got me wondering if anyone has any 'tricks' to bring milk to a boil quick(er) and safely?

I put the pan with the milk inside a larger pan containing some water. This makes it much harder for the milk to boil; but it doesn't need to boil in order to turn for cottage cheese. It takes much longer to turn this way (1-2 hours), but during that time I can pretty much leave it alone and just check back every 5-10 minutes to see if it's started to turn yet and give it a quick stir to break up the skin.


Will adding yogurt whey to homemade mayonnaise make it keep longer? I was looking up recipes last night and came across a recipe that started with homemade mayo. The author said that fresh mayo has a shelf life of 3-4 days, which is what I always heard, but then she said that if you add yogurt whey (1 tablespoon or 1 teaspoon, can't remember) that it would increase the shelf life to 2 months in the fridge.

Is that a real thing or is this lady off her rocker? How would it change the taste. Also, would you trust it the whole 2 months, or would that be the max. It'd be nice to make some and have it for at least a couple of weeks. That'd be much more reasonable than making a small batch much more frequently, which I don't have time for.

This is generally referred to as "lacto-fermented" mayonnaise.  The whey is assumed to have active bacteria, and most recipes insist on a room temperature rest for at least several hours.  During this time, I suppose the assumption is that the bacteria from the whey will ferment and produce sufficient acidity to act as a preservative (as in sauerkraut or something).

The idea is not completely without merit.  As discussed in my answer to this question, there is a well-documented and validated food science procedure for killing off harmful bacteria in homemade mayonnaise, which involves sufficient acid content and a rest at room temperature before refrigeration.  Mayonnaise that follows this advice should be roughly as shelf-stable as commercial mayonnaise, and its acidity will make it a poor growth medium for most harmful bacteria.  It will generally deteriorate in quality not due to spoilage bacteria, but due to oils going rancid and other such processes that will degrade texture and flavor over a period of weeks.

On the other hand, I have serious doubts that a few hours at room temperature with a tablespoon of whey is going to produce a consistent level of acidity to ensure safety and longer preservation.  You simply don't know the bacteria count and activity in the whey, how well it may grow (if at all) in the mayonnaise, and how much it will lower the pH.  (In a quick search, I couldn't find comparable food science research on using lactofermentation to achieve safe homemade mayo, but it may be out there.  It sounds implausible to me, not least because of the lack of sufficient food in mayo for the lactic fermentation to produce a lot of acidity.)

If you want to make safe homemade mayo, you need sufficient acidity.  Usually that comes from lemon juice or vinegar.  It's that simple.  And with adequate acidity, it will likely have a reasonable shelf life of more than just a few days.  There is further advice and thoughts on that issue in another question.  But I would not recommend this whey-based technique to ensure food safety.

EDIT: Despite the huge number of recipes online for lacto-fermented mayonnaise, I've been unable to find any reputable food scientist vouching for even the possibility of significant fermentation occurring in mayonnaise.  Nobody reputable even discusses it (probably since, as I said above, it doesn't make a lot of sense).  Anyhow, I did manage to find this, in a list of fermentation "myths" maintained by a prominent fermentation Facebook group:

  MYTH: Mayonnaise can be fermented by adding a bit of whey or
  sauerkraut juice and letting it sit on the counter for [x] hours.

  FACT: Oil cannot be fermented, and mayonnaise is primarily oil with a
  small amount of egg yolk emulsified into it. All bacteria have an
  absolute moisture threshold necessary for their survival and function,
  which mayonnaise doesn't provide. . . . The amount of moisture that is available for use is called
  the Water Activity level, or aW. Pure water has an aW of 1.0. Lactic
  acid bacteria require a minimum aW of 0.94, but not much activity will
  occur below 0.95 and a level closer to 1.0 is needed for vigorous
  growth. Mayonnaise has an aW of 0.93 or lower. . . .

I wouldn't say this qualifies as a reputable source for food science (and I haven't checked the facts), but the reasoning is plausible, as bacteria simply don't grow well in mayonnaise.  If anyone can find any better food science on topic, I'd be interested.


Is it normal that my coffee grinder leaves a huge mess all over the counter? So I have an old blade grinder, which seems to work well enough for me, except in one respect: The coffee grinds fall out of the bottom of the grinder. Now this is a cheapo grinder that I got as a gift, and I've never had another grinder. So I don't want to go buy another if they all do this. But on the other hand, if this just a function of a piece of cr*p grinder, I'd like to have a new one.

To clarify: I'm not talking about a static explosion of grind upon opening the cover after grinding. I'm talking about some of the grinds simply ending up on the counter while I'm grinding.

UPDATE
So, I have opened the bottom in the past, and when I did, the most enormous amount of old yucky coffee grinds spilled out. So I cleaned it out, and put it back together, and when I did, the problem continued to happen. So I, like any good ol' cheapskate would do, sealed the bottom with duct tape. This solved the problem until I realized that the design of the thing is to let moisture out the bottom of the machine, and that's the same path that the grind were coming out. So all my coffee grinds were ending up moist and sticky.

So in short, I should've bought a new one long ago, and to you future cheapskates reading this, do not even ACCEPT a "white-westinghouse" grinder as a freebie.

I've owned several grinders -- both blade and burr, but I've never had one that did this.  So no I would not say it is normal

Is the lid closed tight when you start it?  Blade style ones are pretty cheap, so you might just want to get a new one.


How much meat should I serve per person? Catering a small event tomorrow for twenty people. Serving beef brisket, pulled pork, and veggie lasagna. Question is how much brisket & pork should  allow for each person? also serving  three sides, rolls, etc.

About 8oz or 225g/person is probably a good place to start.

Think about when you have a standard steak or a piece of chicken in a restaurant. The pre-cooked weight will usually be in the region of 8-10oz.


How to make pancakes/crepes without eggs nor any liquids besides water? I am looking for a way to make pancakes/crepes (the very thin ones), with the following limitations:

no eggs
no liquid ingredients besides water
cheap ingredients only

I've been trying something like:

360 g wheat flour
40 g corn flour
850 g water

But the problem is that they turn out non-baked inside and too crispy on the outside, besides being too thick. I've been trying on lower heat, but then it takes like over 5 minutes for each pancake, and the inside is still not baked. I read that it should take 1 minute to bake 1 pancake.

Any changes to the ingredient list, or tips for baking procedure? What might be the problem that it takes so long, and the inside gets not-baked? I try to pour the batter on the pan as thin as I can, swiping the pan with a sponge made of toilet paper dipped in rapeseed oil before each pancakes, and its a thin-edge pancake Teflon-coated pan.

OK, maybe some clarifications: I am not vegan and have no allergies.
The motivation is completely different: life on the road and for extended periods away from any sources of anything other then tap water.

The motivation is decreasing the weight and volume of stuff I need to take with me. Liquids are not good because they are heavy. Unless I need really little of them. But even then once I open the carton I probably need to use it up quick, because no fridge available.

So I am looking for ways of making pancakes out of ingredients which take up little volume and weight, and added to water can improve my pancakes. Powders are good, provided I have to add little of them. Also it has to be as low-budget as possible. Corn flour is cheap, baking powder is cheap, things like soy milk are not cheap.

Given your updated criteria, what about using powdered milk for crepes and pancakes?  Powdered milk tends to be very inexpensive.  You can usually find in in the baking aisle at groceries in the U. S.  The powdered milk will last you for a long time.

You can also get powdered eggs.  Just google for them.

As Martha astutely commented below, look for recipes for pancake mixes that require adding only water and pack those.


Fondant recipe with egg white. Are there health risks? I use this fondant recipe to make Peppermint creams.
The mixture uses one egg white to make 35 candies. The candies are left in the fridge for 24 hours to set.

Questions

1)  What makes the candies set? Is it just drying out?

2)  Is there any health risk to the raw egg white?

3)  How long can you keep the candies in the fridge without ill effects?

Powdered sugar is about 3% corn starch by weight.  So the candies set due to a combination of three factors:

Drying
Protein network from the egg white albumen
Thickening provided by the corn starch

There is some minimal health risk from the raw egg, as it is possible it was infected with salmonella.  The actual incidence, at least in the US, is very low, but you will have to assess your own risk tolerance.

Given that these confections are close to pure sugar, they should keep close to indefinitely, as long as they are not gotten wet--but they will be very hydrophyllic, and would absorb water even from humid air.  So keep them in a sealed dry container.


Why didn't my pan-fried potato wedges turn out crispy? Here's what I did: I cut up some red potatoes into wedges, tossed them in oil and spice and pan fried them on the heat setting of 7.5 (9 is the max and it is a bare element stove). I put the lid on the pan and after a while I flipped them and removed the lid.

I put the lid back on so that they would be cooked all the way through. The weird thing is that the potatoes were browned on both sides, but flimsy and not crispy.

I've read that boiling them for a moment first would help, but I'd like to find a way without boiling them, since it will take a while longer to boil the water.

Did using the lid cause (or contribute) the potatoes to be flimsy/soggy?
Also, I've read this post about using white flour for potato wedges. How would I go about doing that? Is there a way to have crispy wedges without using flour?
I also read this post about how to get crispy wedges while cooking with peppers and onions, but it doesn't address my question.

So, why didn't my potato wedges turn out crispy? Is there a trick that I've missed or an error I've made?

By frying your potatoes then putting the lid on, you fried your potatoes then steamed them, so it's no wonder they weren't crispy. Although it takes longer, par-boiling the potatoes first is by far the best way to get crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside potatoes.

Par-boiling cooks the inside of the potato, so that all you need to do in the pan is crisp the outside.

Try this:

Cut your potatoes however you like. Place them in a pan of cold, salted water and bring to the boil. Boil for 5-10 minutes depending on how waxy your potato is (floury potatoes don't hold together as well).
Drain the potatoes into a colander and let them dry out for 5 minutes. Then give them a shake in the colander to fluff the outside of the potatoes - the fluffy bits will catch and crisp up beautifully. At this stage you can dust your wedges with flour or semolina for extra crispy results. You can also add spices and seasoning.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add plenty of oil - about 5mm depth. When the oil is hot, carefully add the potatoes - consider frying in batches if your pan isn't big enough.
Fry the potatoes until golden and crispy.


What are the white tendrils at the bottom of these garlic cloves? What are the white tendrils at the bottom of these garlic cloves? Are they the beginning of new roots?  I'm afraid they are indications of fungus or mold.

Those are garlic roots, no reason to worry.

If you plan to use these cloves, note that they are about to leave the dormant stage and start to sprout, so make sure you remove the green sprout in the middle of the clove. It is rather likely to have turned bitter now.

I found this video on youtube, which shows the roots forming on a garlic clove; in a rather early stage you can clearly see the little stubs your garlic has.


What are the differences between different types of onions, and when do you use them? I used a recipe for a mean black-eyed-pea salad this past weekend which called for a red onion.  Since I wanted extra onion flavor in the salad anyway, I decided to pick up a Vidalia onion to throw in as well.

As I was prepping the salad, I got thinking that I didn't know why the original recipe called for a red onion and what adding a different type of onion would do to the salad.

What do different types of onions add to a recipe and when might it be best to use type over another?

The choice of one onion over another is really going to come down to personal preference based on color and flavor.

Red and white onions are usually milder in flavor than yellow onions which is the reason they're often the choice for hamburgers and sandwiches.

Yellow (sometimes referred to as "Spanish") onions tend to have a more pungent flavor.

Sweet onions (Vidalia, Maui, Walla-Walla, Texas 1015) develop more sweetness and fewer sulfuric compounds due to the mineral content of the soil that they're grown in.  This is why you can have onion sets (small bulbs) from any of these varieties but they won't necessarily be sweet (or as sweet) because a lot of it has to do with the makeup of the soiling they're grown in.

Two years ago I hosted Jeanne Jones (syndicated writer of "Cook it Light" column for King Features syndicate and writer of over 33 cookbooks including "Canyon Ranch Spa Cookbook") for guest chef cooking classes.  If I recall correctly, she said she used primarily white onions because they have a lower sodium content than any other type.

Did that "mean black eyed pea salad" recipe happen to come from a certain "Low Country Cooking Class"?  If so, I used it for two reasons:  not everyone will have access to Vidalia onions and it provides additional color.


What effect does heat have on cooking oil shelf life? I'm referring to any/all cooking oils.  I am wondering what temperatures cause significant degradation in quality or rancidity.

As I know almost all cooking oil become unhealthy and toxic when the "smoke point" is reached. Every oil has a temperature point that should be never reached, as follows:

For mechanic extra virgin oils:

flax, safflower and sunflower oil - 107 C
walnut and peanuts - 160 C
coconut, soy, corn and sesame oil - 177 C
extra virgin olive oil - 190 C

The regular cooking oils have "smoke point" even higher like over 235 C so it's better to use those for cooking and let extra virgin ones for salads and cold dishes.

Or just be aware to not see smoke while cooking with oil:)

Me, I'd suggest butter instead, because at higher temperature butter turns to "ghee" which is quite healthy.
 - avocado oil - 190 - 204 C
 - almonds and grapes oil - 216 C
 - palm oil - 235 C


Do sodastream PET bottles have normal 28mm threaded caps? The question pretty much says it all. So far all of the bottles I have found have breaks in the threads which I've been told makes homemade sodas go flat faster. I was considering picking up some sodastream bottles if standard caps fit them since I would assume they do not have the breaks in the threading.

The ultimate goal is to keep homemade sodas from going fizzy as fast as most commercially available bottles (1L, 2L, 3L, 12oz, 16oz, 20oz, 24oz) have small breaks in the threading to make drinks go flat faster (to keep you going out and buying more soda).

So the question is, do sodastream bottles use standard sized caps (28mm)?

No, the sodastream caps are big enough to fit a standard bottle cap inside it entirely. Practically everything about the sodastream is made in a proprietary manner to make sure you use their products as intended and never interchange them with something else (and can only purchase replacement parts from them)


what is an alternative for baking powder? I don't want to use baking powder or baking soda. Is there something else without salt I can use in cakes to make them rise.

Before chemical leavening, traditional cakes were usually made with one of three methods: (1) yeast, (2) foam created by beating eggs, (3) creaming butter and sugar together to create a fine foam.

It's generally much easier to choose a style of cake from one of these methods, rather than trying to adapt an existing recipe to work without baking powder/soda.

Yeast-based cakes aren't very popular in the U.S. these days, though certain traditional types still survive in Europe.  The problem with yeast-based cakes is that the additional rising time generally allows gluten to form, making your cake more "bread-like" in texture.  For advice on trying to make a more tender and lighter cake with yeast, you might have a look at this previous question.
As for egg foams, there are plenty of cake types which still use beaten eggs as the primary leavening agent.  As Joe mentioned, angel food and chiffon cakes are two obvious ones, but there are many variations on these types of cakes.  Many sponge cakes can be made without chemical leavening.  The general recipe format is to beat eggs (or sometimes just egg yolks) with sugar first to form a foam.  Sometimes the whites are beaten separately and folded in at the end, creating a very light texture, but these recipes often require care so they don't collapse before the structure is set.
Traditional pound cake is the most common example of the butter/sugar foam method, but there are lots of ways of making pound cake variants.  These cakes won't be as light as most egg foam cakes, but they can be richer, with a finer (but still lightly-textured) grain.

In addition, you also have the option of the many types of cakes which don't really "rise" much at all, including various "flourless" (or low-flour) cakes, "molten chocolate" type cakes, cheese cakes (if you consider them "cakes," which some people wouldn't), etc.


How can I tell which limes have the most juice? I frequently find myself at the grocery store looking at limes for cocktails and wondering which will yield the most juice.

Sometimes, a lime will practically liquefy itself (which is what I want), yet I also get some that will yield almost nothing.

How can I tell which limes have the most juice?

Note that I obviously can't damage the limes or open them.

Heavier limes tend to be more juicy, but another important factor is the color and texture of the skin. Look for the brightest green (sometimes with almost a yellow tinge) and smoothest skin you can find. Many bumps or shriveled looking areas are good indications that there will be less juice. If that's all that's available in your store, though, just get more of them. If they have broken skin, I always avoid those. I've gotten them home and found that even if there's juice, at least the section near that break has gone dry and sometimes discolored, definitely a waste of my money and time.

Another thing I've found helpful, which can be done easily in the grocery store, is a smell-test. (This also works with lemons, which to me are just as confusing.)  When very juicy, the skin has a scent, which may be subtle, but definitely different than those with none. It's one sign of freshness, similar to knowing when to pick them from the tree.

As Josh Caswell said in his excellent answer about pith, there's nothing wrong with rolling them around in your hand in the store; not enough to damage the lime of course, but enough to warm them up just a bit so they'll release some juice and a nice smell. I don't know where you're from, but in Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States, the produce department is often quite cold, so I do that with all my citrus choices.

This site has some good pictures and information, and even mentions using them for cocktails! The Cleveland Clinic gives the same basic information, with a video that I found helpful.

To answer the question that was asked about the importance of skin thickness, it's something I don't generally think about when I shop, so I did some research. Most sites didn't mention it, especially with the common lime which is the most popular variety, but there is one that does recommend choosing a thinner skinned fruit.

  They should feel firm and heavy for their size, because heavy limes will produce the most juice. Select limes with thin skins, avoiding the thicker skinned fruit, which is an indication of less flesh and juice.

I know you didn't specifically ask, but just to add that if you have limes at home and you're not getting the maximum effortless, free-flowing juice, you can microwave them for about 20 seconds. It helps release the juice, and works for other citrus fruits too. I'd watch carefully, because I've overheated my fruit doing that. It's fine if I'm going to use it for cooking or in my hot tea, but for cold drinks and things you then have to wait for it to cool off, which may be more effort than you need.


hollandaise cooked all the way I've never made hollandaise sauce.

So when making hollandaise sauce i'm concerned that the hollandaise sauce is not cooked through; since it calls for egg yolks.

How can you tell that the hollandaise sauce is cooked completely? What can you do to test that it's cooked completely?

You do not want hollandaise to cook completely.

"Cooked all the way" means that you cook food to a temperature where proteins (of which bacteria walls are made) completely lose their shape. When this happens to a bacteria, it stops functioning and the bacteria dies. When this happens to a protein we want to eat (meat, egg) it gets a certain stiff texture; it curdles. And this curdling process happens at a similar temperature for bacterial cell walls and for food proteins, which means that killing all the bacteria for certain automatically gives your food a certain texture.

Hollandaise is a food whose texture depends on not curdling. You are creating an emulsion between the liquid and the butter, using the egg yolk as emulsifier. It only works when its proteins are in a certain state, and they reach this state at temperatures between roughly 50 and 80 degrees Celsius, with best texture at (IIRC, don't have the source here) 72 degrees. If you were to cook it above that range, it would not work, and you would end up with tiny grains of cooked egg suspended in melted butter, which is not a hollandaise (even though it has been served to me under that name by well-meaning amateur cooks).

If you have heated your eggs to that temperature and held them at it for long enough to beat the emulsion, you have more or less pasteurized them. They are not as safe as cooked eggs, but this state is considered acceptable for consumption. Still, there are restaurants which choose to not serve yolk-emulsion based sauces because they fear that a single case of food poisoning can have large impact on their business. If you are afraid to eat eggs which are pasteurized but not cooked through, you have to stop eating hollandaise.

If you do not mind the risk of eating pasteurized eggs (which is much lower than the risk from eating raw eggs), then the fact that the hollandaise succeeded is enough by itself to indicate that the eggs are pasteurized to some degree. This is because your hollandaise won't emulsify well if your eggs are too cold. This is only true if you are using no additional emulsifiers; some cooks prefer to add a pinch of xanthan to ensure that their sauce will give a perfect emulsion in only a few seconds, and then you no longer have the guarantee that your eggs were heated to the optimal temperature range.

As the hollandaise process can partly succeed at temperatures too low to be considered a good pasteurization, the safer option would be to just use a thermometer (which has the side effect of also allowing you to make better hollandaise if you are not experienced enough to recognize eggs in the optimal temp range based on their whisking behavior). Aim for 72 degrees of your mixture while whipping. Hold the sauce at that temperature for longer for added security, but do not let it climb over 80 or thereabouts. Remember that prepared hollandaise has a certain thermal inertia because of the air beaten into it, so you cannot cool it quickly if you get it too hot. Also do not let it cool under 60, because then you are actually increasing the danger, not pasteurizing.


Can a charcoal grill maintain a constant high temperature? In the example in this question I mention getting the grill to 400 Fahrenheit. This example is not in a vacuum. I really do need to roast my brussels sprouts at 400 Fahrenheit and I won't necessarily have oven space as it is Thanksgiving. So my question has evolved. Most charcoal grill recipes I have read involve temperatures in the 200 to 300 Fahrenheit range. Can I get a charcoal grill (for this example consider a Weber kettle grill) to 400 Fahrenheit and keep it there consistently?

Also, if I add smoking wood, will that change a lot? I am glazing brussels sprout in black pepper, bacon, and maple syrup if it matters and I will smoke them with whatever is available at the house. The recipe I am using involves roasting them in a pan, so I would prefer to keep it that way (lest I have to clean the grill).

The recipes you are referring to are probably for BBQ/smoking, rather than grilling, which happens at a much higher temperature.  It is fairly easy to get a kettle-type grill to reach 400 F (and well beyond).  The challenge will be maintaining your desired temperature.  However, that is what the vents are for.  There should be a vent on top and a vent on bottom.  With a little practice, you should be able to manipulate the vents to maintain the temperature.  Try to overshoot your mark by 25 - 50 degrees F before you reduce the airflow. You will get some smoke flavor from the charcoal, particularly if you use hardwood. The addition of smoking wood will add stronger smoke.  For vegetables, I would stick with fruit woods.


Does it pay to store instant coffee in the freezer? I understand that it pays to store freshly ground coffee in the freezer. What about instant coffee or cheep prepacked Turkish coffee?

In chemistry it is generally accepted that a reaction rate drops in half for each 10 degrees in C drop (about 20 degrees Fahrenheit). So oxygen would still oxidize the freeze dried coffee, but at a slower rate.


What are the benefits, if any, of using a pizza stone in a toaster oven? My Oven Toaster Grill.

From here: What kind of bakery items do not get horribly affected by electricity going off when the item is still in oven?

  Toaster ovens have far less thermal mass to ride out power outages than full sized ovens, in addition to being less insulated as Jefromi said. They are going to be more sensitive to power outages. I think that skews you towards trying short duration items like cookies or mini-muffins, rather than larger items if the risk is high. You have to ask yourself what is the pattern, duration, frequency and likelihood of the outages and assess the risk before you start baking something.

Since this is not a conventional full-sized oven, should I invest in pizza stone for --ANY--  reason which can benefit my toaster oven assuming my aim is to bake breads and cookies?

In a small toaster oven, using a pizza stone is likely to be a tradeoff:

Toasting -- counter-productive, because it will shield the bottom of the bread (or other item) from the direct radiative heat from the bottom elements; you would want to remove the stone for this use.
Broiling (or as it is called in the British parlance if I understand correctly, grilling) -- Probably not a good idea.  In a full sized oven, the stone would be left far enough from the heating elements that it would not be subject to intense radiative heat.  In a toaster oven, it might be too close to the elements when the oven is used this way, so might be subject to cracking due to a higher temperature gradient and uneven thermal expansion.
General baking -- will require a longer a pre-heating period for the oven/stone to come up to temperature, but once at temperature, will provide a buffering effect for more even heating.
Convenience -- in full sized ovens, people often leave the stone in all of the time, and cook on a different rack if they don't want direct contact with the stone.   This may or may not be possible or convenient in a toaster oven, so you may be constantly removing or putting back the stone based on your current use

Note that all of the above is just reasoning based on known facts; I haven't tried a pizza stone in a toaster oven, and wouldn't do so, as they have a generally low thermal mass.   I tend to think of them as tools for toasting and reheating, not for primary cooking, baking, or roasting.


Would smoked chicken work well in paella? I am not a chef, I just like to cook.

Tomorrow I am making paella for a bunch of people, and I am leaning towards following this recipe.

I was wondering, however, if it would be okay to swap the two whole roasted chickens for two whole smoked chickens as I am an avid smoker and it would be really easy to pop the two chickens into the smoker in the morning.

My smoked chickens usually turn out juicy and delicious, so I think this might be good in the paella, but I don't know if the addition of a smokey flavor would be unwelcome.

I would be using apple wood for smoking, if that matters.

Thanks in advance!

I don't like the recipe much.

First of all, paella is a one pan dish, normally. That is, all ingredients are cooked in the same pan (paella) and in sequence. This means that all the flavors are stacked one on top of the other.

Second, if you are going to use saffron, the most expensive spice in the world, hold down on any other spices. In particular, most recipes I've seen, use paprika powder explicitly forbidding the use of 'de la Vera (smoked)' paprika powder.

Third, if you are going to use saffron, at least treat it with delicacy. Put a pinch of saffron in a cup of warm chicken broth before you start cooking. This way, the saffron will release it's color and flavor slowly. When you must add the broth, first add the saffron broth, then the rest.

Fourth, this recipe has way too much ingredients: Chicken, Chorizo, Lobster, Shrimp, Squid, Mussels, Clams in the protein department. Honey, Saffron, Garlic, Pepper and Parsley in the flavor department.

Fifth, Spanish paella (Arborio Bomba) rice has a thick grain that resists cooking that long.

Having said all that, and to answer your question. If you are using saffron, don't use the smoked chicken as you'll not be able to taste where your money went. If not, and if you insist on using this recipe, go ahead. Paella really accepts all you want to put into it (but do look for a simpler recipe).


How much "alternative" flour can I substitute for white wheat flour? Most of the bread and bagel recipes I use (such as no-knead bread) call for only white wheat flour. I'd like to integrate other flours (such as whole wheat, flaxseed, and buckwheat) into the recipes.

How much of the white flour can I replace? 50%?
Which grains are better than others for wheat bread?
Are other changes to the recipe necessary?

Mark Bittman actually includes a very handy quick-reference flour substitution table in How To Cook Everything (mine is the 10th anniversary edition, not sure if it's in previous editions). This assumes that the bread recipe calls for all-purpose flour and tells you how much you can substitute for the quantity the recipe calls for:

Whole wheat: use up to 50% in recipes
Rye:

light: up to 40%
medium: up to 30%
dark/pumpernickle: up to 20%

Cornmeal: up to 10%
Buckwheat: up to 20%
Rice: up to 25-30%
Nut: up to 25-30%
Soy: up to 25%
Spelt: up to 100%; then either decrease water by 25% or increase flour by 25%
Oat: up to 25-30%

The reason that different types of flours substitute at different ratios is primarily due to gluten content. Breads (both quick and yeast) made with alternative flours, especially non-wheat flours, will be heavier, denser, and less elastic; the substitution ratios above are meant to provide a nice balance between the nutritional and flavor advantages of the alternative flours with the texture qualities of all-purpose flour. For more information about the specific properties of each type of flour listed here, see the section called "The Basics of Flour" in How to Cook Everything (p. 835-838 in the 10th Anniversary ed.)

 Note: These substitutions are specifically for breads, where you want a sturdy, elastic structure. Low-protein or low-gluten flours may substitute at different ratios in other types of baked goods like desserts where you want a finer, more tender crumb. But I didn't get into that since the question was specifically about bread.


What are the primary differences between Ethiopian and Eritrean food? As far as I can tell based on restaurants in the US, the cuisines of Ethiopia and Eritrea are quite similar. Are there any characteristic differences between the two, or dishes that belong strongly to one and not the other?

I asked my friend who's written a cookbook adapting traditional ethiopian cuisine for vegetarians, here's what he told me.

Ethiopian and Eritrean food are basically identical. They were the same country until the early 90s, so that's not too surprising, I guess. In both countries, wats are common and are eaten with teff-based injera. Berbere is a primary seasoning in both countries. He said the only differences are due to climate: Eritrea is at a lower elevation, so the food there uses more warm-weather vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants, etc. while Ethiopian cuisine might have more carrots, for example.

However, he did point out that "Eritrean" restaurants he'd been to in the US (specifically, in the Bay Area) were actually closer to what he would consider Ethiopian food anyway, which may explain your experience: you may be eating Ethiopian food at an Eritrean restaurant. Of course, since the cuisines are so similar, this is like going to a "Western New-Mexico" restaurant in China and being served (gasp) "Eastern New-Mexico" food--not too surprising, in any case.


Substitute for onions and garlic I love the taste of onions and garlic and it seems lots of other people do too.  But they upset my stomach so much that I can't really cook with them.  What can I use in their place to give my food a similar flavour?

Many South Asian recipes use a (fairly weird) spice called "hing" or asafoetida powder. It's got a vaguely similar aroma.

Generally you add a pinch to hot oil before beginning a dish. A half-teaspoon is usually enough for a four- to six-serving preparation.

You can find it quite easily at South Asian grocery stores and online.

Oh, and it's "weird" because of the way it's gathered. Unlike other spices, it's not from a seed or seed pod or bark — it's sap, dried and ground. (Most hing powders are packaged with some filler.)


How do you control the caramelization of sugar? How do you control sugar caramelization?

I am not sure what your specific problem is, so here is some general advice on making candy and caramel.

As for control, the normal method is to control it with a thermometer. (They are even called "candy thermometers"). The thermometer should have a very fast reaction time, and be capable of measuring in fractions of grades (one digit after the decimal point is enough even for Celsius measurements).

You should also have a source of heat which is as responsive as possible. Induction and gas work best. If using resistive electricity, be prepared to yank the pan away from the heat a degree or two before the temperature limit is reached (you must calculate some carryover: The heat from the pan will continue to heat up the syrup even after the source of heat has been removed. Expect more carryover from copper core than pure steel, and more from steel than from aluminum).

The caramelization of pure sucrose begins at around 160°C, but if you mixed in other types of sugar, it is different. For any type of suger, with rising time and rising temperature, you get a darker, less sweet caramel. It is up to you which kind you want, but the very light kinds don't have the complex aroma of the middle hued ones, and the very dark ones are somewhat harsh.

There are charts for the stages of sugar syrup (threads, soft ball, etc) and the corresponding temperatures. They determine not only the degree of caramelization, but also the hardness of the finished candy. It is easy to find an English language one with Google, try this one. A bit of search should turn up some which contain photographies of the candy instead of penciled illustrations. Use such a chart when making candy, you need it.

Another variable in candy comes with your ingredients. Acids will soften caramel. Enough of them will keep it liquid. Milk and cream will soften it too. Pay attention to when and how you are adding them. If you let dairy products sit in the pan for too long, they'll develop their own scalded milk flavor. Also, don't add cold liquids to hot caramel, it will seize up.

That's about it, if you can point out specific problems you are having, it will be easier to help you.


Macadamia nuts in Malaysian cooking I've seen that macadamia nuts can be used as a substitute for candlenuts in Malaysian cooking. Is it a 1:1 substitution or do you need more macadamias. I'm not familiar with candlenuts, but pictures suggest they are larger than macadamias.

The only way the size really matters is if you're counting the nuts - unless a single nut is large enough to account for a fair proportion of the total. Weight for weight 1:1 should be good. Volume for volume 1:1 would be a good start but you may want to adjust to suit you in the future.

If you were using larger nuts than the recipe called for, halving then (or chopping them) might be a good idea.


What kinds of milk are low in carbs? What kinds of milk are low in carbs? I have heard about coconut milk but I'm not sure what's best.

PS: I am from India, maybe someone might want this info:-)

Cows, goat, soy, almond, and coconut milk have around the same carbohydrate levels, so there is not enough difference to make the effort to rework recipes etc.

Also coconut milk has more than 20% fat compared to milk having 1% to 5%. A normal human body can use fats as efficiently as sugars, so total energy of coconut milk will be very high

Approximate carbohydrate %, and kJ per 100 g of milk

Skim Cow ..... 5%, 150
Full Cow ....... 7%, 260
Almond ........ 4%, 275
Coconut ....... 5%, 880
Goat .............4%, 290
Human ......... 7%, 290
Soy .............. 6%, 190

Each country, recipe, and supplier will have different figures, these are standardised with Wolfram Alpha, a recognised accurate source, and a neutral source, as they are not involved in the food or dietary industry

In many countries, "standard" milk is homogenised half fat milk, so about half way between skim and full cow milk figures


How to get Garlic & other strong Spices' smell out of my Zojirushi Flask/ Thermos acquired via a herbal Immunity decoction? How to get Garlic & other strong Spices' smell out of my Zojirushi Flask/ Thermos acquired via a herbal Immunity decoction?

Major components of this decoction were:

Garlic cloves
Black Pepper seeds
Cinnamon
Bay Leaf
Ginger
Cumin seeds
Turmeric powder
Coriander powder
Fennel seeds

Flask Product & Materials info:

https://www.zojirushi.com/app/product/smkhe

Its SlickSteel® finish interior is corrosion resistant and repels stains.
Durable and sanitary 18/8 stainless steel interior with SlickSteel® finish
Made of BPA-free plastic and stainless steel
Structure, design & details as pulled from product website

Mine is the Stainless Steel colored 16 oz one:

More data from Manufacturer's website FAQ and Manuals:

[QUOTE]
Q3: How can I clean my vacuum bottle?
A: Always rinse out your vacuum bottle after each use and rinse the stopper under running water. Do not soak the vacuum bottle in water or place in a dishwasher to clean.

The exterior, stopper and cup(s) can be cleaned using a moist sponge or soft cloth and mild dishwashing liquid.

The interior can be cleaned using a mild dishwashing liquid and then rinsed thoroughly.

Please refer to your instruction manual for more.
[/QUOTE]

Manual: https://www.zojirushi.com/servicesupport/manuals/manual_pdf/smkhe.pdf

Wash out with warm soapy water. A toothbrush could help in the scrubbing. While still wet, add baking soda into the flask and scrub.
Pour an inch or two of white vinegar into a clean carafe, then fill most of the way with hot tap water.
Not tried this one, but seems a few people have had good results. 4 Alka-Seltzer tablets with water.
Adding freshly ground coffee, which will help to mask the smell if it is still there.

Edit:
Just read through the manufacturer's instructions, and have updated my advice as a result.


I moved to US recently from India and I am looking for Plastic jars for storage, I generally store lentils/spices in plastic jars/bottles cos they are not heavy and can be handled easily unlike glass ones .

I am finding it tough to get them in Walmart,Dollar Store.Is there any store I can get them.Checked Amazon too but they have only food storage plastic boxes

Run a search for something called "Snap-Ware." Tough, durable, airtight, and very stable plastic. It's even recommended by David Suzuki as a storage medium. Granted, a lot of people consider him alarmist, but he knows his stuff when it comes to bisphenol-A and neoestrogens. I've been using the same Snap-Ware containers for 13 years, and not one has broken, discolored, degraded or had its seal fail.


forgot the shortening (1/2 cup) in banana cake. How can this be served, or rescued? We forgot the 1/2 cup shortening in banana cake mix. Can this error be fixed out of the oven?
It seems to be a wee bit heavy, as in unleavened.

Removing fat from a cake recipe does not generally make it "heavy". Fats weigh down batter or dough, impeding its rise. In fact your basic sponge cake (sometimes called a fatless sponge) has no added fat other than egg yolks and rises quite nicely regardless. I suspect there is another problem with your cake; perhaps expired leavener or inadequate incorporation of air.
(Cake without fat can be tough, but from your question this does not seem to be be your problem.)
If the textural problems are minor enough to still serve your cake, there are plenty of options to add fat and flavor. Fatless sponges are often paired with flavorful fillings. For example, a Victoria sponge is filled with jam and whipped cream. But you can be more creative with flavors to complement the banana: pudding, buttercream, and ganache are all great cake fillings or toppings with plenty of fat and flavor.
Even if the texture is unappealing, the cake can be repurposed to some degree. Cake pops are a dessert where crumbled cake is mixed with frosting, formed into balls, stuck on lollipop sticks, and dipped in chocolate or ganache. This project re-purposes your failed cake and hides both leavening issues and missing fat.


Is my frying pan leeching metal into my food? I have spots on my stainless steel frying pan that I can't wash off and would like to know if it's safe to use this frying pan?

This photo shows the type of steel and brand of the frying pan.

Thanks

If anything is leeching, it would be stuff leeching onto your frying pan, not the other way around. It looks like the spots on the inside bottom of your pan are hard water deposits, maybe combined with residue from food cooked in the pan. Yes, at least in the photo it does have kind of a brownish tint to it, but I don't think it is rust, as stainless steel isn't normally supposed to rust, and the Cuisinart brand has a reputation to maintain. Real stainless steel doesn't leach metal into your food either.

I get a lot of this kind of staining on the insides of my stainless steel pots, especially with boiling beans, for some reason. I think the stains came from cooking activities in the pan, so the they won't poison you if you leave them on. But if they bother you, you can probably scrub them off. I followed the advice of someone on this site about using "Barkeeper's Friend", and it cleans that stuff off great (not Comet, not Ajax, not other abrasive household scrubbing cleanser, but "Barkeeper's Friend." It supposedly has oxalic acid in it, and it dissolves that stuff away with minimal elbow grease. Give it a try,... as they say, test it out on a tiny inconspicuous area first, just to be safe.


Seasoning a forged iron pan / cast iron pan - Is there any research about the process? I'm the proud owner of two forged iron pans (I'm using them on a regular basis). They kind of work out for everything I do, occasionally, food will stick to the surface, but it can quickly be pushed away mechanically while cooking without burning in or something like that. To season the pan and create the "non-stick" effect, I used instructions from a german webpage on seasoning pans.

However, searching around, it seems to me the only source of information about frying pans and how to season them seems to be oral traditioned knowledge that everybody just passes on. I've seen so many different webblogs / youtube-videos / information-pages on pans and how to treat them, which are in general inconsistent with each other (what oil to use, what temperature, potatoe peels yes / no, salt yes / no, how often to repeat the process .... ).
What's even worse, none of the sources I consulted so far has an answer to the questions:

What does the anti-stick-layer consist of?
How exactly does this layer prevent sticking (linked to the first question)?
Is the layer good or bad for my health?

Even if I found a webblog that answers this questions, I wouldn't know where this knowledge would stem from, and wether it is trustworthy. Unless somebody had actually done research on this questions. So my question is:

Is there research about the non-stick-layer of seasoned iron pans, especially what it consists of, how it is formed (best) and wether it's detrimental for ones health?

If somebody has an answer, please also provide a link / an adress, or another way to obtain the details of the research. By research I don't necessarily mean a study conducted by a public institute. It could also just be some person who executed some experiments, and shared the results along with the details of the experiments.

Additional information: Since I have forged iron pans, I'm asking about the seasoning of forged iron pans. Since I assume the non-stick layer of cast-iron pans doesn't differ too mutch, the question can be broadened to address any type of iron-pan seasoning.

Try this link
Is there a difference in the ease of seasoning cast iron, forged iron, and carbon steel?

and the article it links to "that explains the science behind seasoning".

Another https://www.eatthis.com/season-cast-iron-tips/  "Unsaturated oils include canola and vegetable oil. They are chemically structured in a way that helps them polymerize to the metal, which helps create that non-stick surface on a cast-iron skillet."

And more on the science of it:
https://www.scienceofcooking.com/science-of-cast-iron-skillet-cooking.html


What happens if I forget to feed my sourdough starter? Is there something wrong that can happen if I forget to feed my sourdough starter? I kinda forgot to do it twice, but it still appears to have a few bubbles in it. Previously it contained hooch, which I discarded. Also, my starter has a dense consistency because the whole grain flour I guess.

So how should I feed it? I am using 5 tbsp of flour and 4 tbsp of tap water (previously rested for an hour or more to let the chlorine to fall to the bottom)

Then feed it again

In my experience, any issues with sourdough, up to and including a surface layer of fungus, formaldehyde smell, and rotten dirty socks smell, can be fixed by simply feeding it. The worse the sourdough's condition is, the longer you have to feed it; if you don't have any of the above mentioned issues, two days consistent feeding should be fine.

Three notes:

Usually I put in 2:1 volumetric flour to water.
I have used whole grain wheat (and rye) before, with no difficulties. The consistency will be a bit different, but whole grains can sustain a good long term sourdough. In my experience, a sourdough "trained" exclusively on whole grains does a much better job on any bread recipe with bran in it; whether whole grain or added.
If you are forgetful about a sourdough, consider putting it in the fridge. I put mine in the fridge and feed it once a week. You can miss a couple weeks, which will then cause the aforementioned smells, but it can be recovered in a few days of consistent feeding on the countertop.


Toasting spices with and without oil After heading to my trusty Indian market yesterday I was speaking with the owner about how awful fenugreek seeds are uncooked.  He suggested (with black mustard seeds and cumin seeds) to throw them in the pan with a little bit of oil.  I've read much about people extolling how good the dry heat is for the spices.  Personal experience tells me that adding oil to the pan works better.  Does cooking with oil change the flavor of a spice while toasting? Are there any spices that it is important to toast without oil?

Indian recipes seem to always call for oil.

Non Indian recipes seem to always call for dry (or don't toast at all- yuk).

In my personal experience (mostly mustard, cumin, fenugreek, coriander)- dry toasting calls for more of my attention. I have to have an appropriate temperature, agitate the seeds, and watch for the telltale aroma to know when they are done. If I don't pay enough attention to any of those then they will scorch and be horrible.

With oil I have more leeway. The seeds don't need to be agitated as much after they are coated with oil and they pop audibly when they are done. It may be my imagination but the oil itself seems to distribute the flavor of the seeds better as well.

I have scorched dry toasted seeds on occasion when I was distracted. I have never had oil toasted spices not turn out perfectly.


What causes the chemical taste in commercial bakery products? Over the last 10 years or so, I’ve noticed a chemical taste in most commercial bakery goods (not packaged factory ones but rather the in-store bakery at a grocery store). It’s seems to be mostly on the base of the item or around the outside. For example, the base and crust of a danish/croissant will have the taste, but not the inside dough. Does anyone know what causes this taste? Is it perhaps a glaze or a non-stick spray..?

This could be a number of factors.

Parchment sheets are ubiquitous in professional, non-commerical bakeries. As the sheets are treated to impart some nonstick properties, you may be tasting some residue from that paper, especially if the bakery is using bleached sheets. You can easily test this by baking something at home on parchment and seeing if it has that same flavor. This is unlikely but hey, worth a shot.
Commercial pan release sprays will sometimes contain suspended flour, anticaking agents (silicon dioxide for example,) and certain anti-foaming agents. When I worked in a bakery we would occasionally use a commercial spray like that when making items that were prone to sticking even on parchment, or when baking things that would be in direct contact with our metal baking pans (brownies, muffins, etc.) Most of the time we opted for a spray that was mainly canola oil and propellant, but occasionally we would use other sprays with additional ingredients.
Eggwash (or commercial substitute) is a potential culprit, especially as you mentioned croissants and danishes. We used a mix of egg and water sprayed on to certain items (mainly with puff pastry) before baking, but larger bakeries may use a product like Bake-Sheen sprayed before or after baking for the same effect. Those sprays contain several chemicals and would definitely impart a certain flavor to the items. Moreover, there is a possibility it could drip down and pool around the bottom of the item, creating that
In terms of glazes, those would likely depend on what is being used by the bakery in question, and they won't always be similar. If you're experiencing this regularly from one place or another, it might help to ask what they glaze their danish or other items with. We used an apricot glaze product to give our sweet puff pastry items a shine and added sweetness. These commercial glazes likely have artificial or chemical flavoring agents in them, which may impart an off flavor.


Where to store my propane torch? Yesterday, I began using a propane torch (which I won in a raffle; Yay!) for browning the tops of foods. My quandary is: where do I store the torch? The instructions say not to store it in your living space, and not to store it in a place which will get overly hot. That rules out the cabinet under the sink, and the backyard shed. I don't have a garage.

The simple answer is that propane cylinders should be stored outside. That's what every guide will tell you. You really shouldn't even be storing it in a garage. Your yard is the best place, and if you take the safety guidelines seriously, you probably shouldn't own a propane torch if you don't have an "outside" (i.e. you live in an apartment). Either that or you should dispose of the fuel immediately and only store the head.

There's always a risk associated with storing any pressurized gas in your home, whether it's a propane cylinder or a nitrous oxide charger that you use with a whipper. The autoignition temperature of propane is 470° C, about the same as wood and far greater than paper, so it's not just going to spontaneously combust - it needs a spark or a heat source like a burner - so don't store it on your stovetop. The real worry isn't a sudden explosion in the middle of the night but rather a gradual leak, which you can't see or hear, and don't become aware of until it's too late.

Much like most of our food-safety questions, the risks are very small and many folks choose to ignore them - but there is a risk of a fire or explosion. If you intend to store it in your house, you might want to check to make sure it's not specifically prohibited by your insurance policy, homeowner's association, etc., depending on where you live.

N.B. If you do decide to store it in your house anyway, at least keep it away from children, pets, and anything flammable. For example, in a metal toolbox on a top shelf.


What is the fatty tissue in beef/pork after it has been braised/stwed? Perhaps this question has been asked before, but I am unable to find it. The closest I got was someone asking about chicken skin after frying.

When a piece of meat with large nuggets or fat attached is braised or boiled, the fat can be seen on the surface of the braising liquid.
When it has been cooked for long enough, no more oil/fat is being given off by the piece of meat, but the (often) whitish/yellow tissue remains.
It has a really soft and melty texture but doesn't really seem fatty.

I personally really like this. But what is it actually?
is it still fat? Is it healthy?

That is a type of protein and connective tissue.
Mainly you have collagen and elastin in a cut of meat.

Collagen turns into gelatin through heating and melts away. The elastin will get softened. I believe what you’re seeing is the elastin.


Does adding salt when soaking dry beans toughen or soften the skin of the bean? I have heard opinions on both sides of this.  The the latest answer on this site, says salt softens bean skins quoted Cooks Illustrated (I can't see the article, but I trust CI), while another answer says salt hardens the beans' skins.

In case is varies by bean, I'm interested in:

Kidney Beans
Black Beans
Small Red Beans

So which is it?
Inquiring Minds want to know.

Soften.  Other things that typically are added with salt will tend to toughen the beans, but it isn't the fault of the salt.  For decades, chefs have circulated the oral tradition that adding salt hardens beans, but it's a myth.

Several scientific studies verify that adding salt to the soaking water for dried beans will reduce the cooking times.  The first and most cited article, originally published in 1977, can be found here.  As mentioned in the first answer you cited, the fine folks at Cooks Illustrated found in 2008 that 3 TBSP per gallon of water produces soft skins while not over-salting the interior of the beans.  Since you can't see the full article, here is the science according to CI:

"Why does soaking dried beans in salted water make them cook up with softer skins? It has to do with how the sodium ions in salt interact with the cells of the bean skins. As the beans soak, the sodium ions replace some of the calcium and magnesium ions in the skins. Because sodium ions are weaker than mineral ions, they allow more water to penetrate into the skins, leading to a softer texture. During soaking, the sodium ions will only filter partway into the beans, so their greatest effect is on the cells in the outermost part of the beans."

Harold McGee's NY Times blog (August 9, 2008) also notes that adding salt early enough will allow complete penetration of the bean, which improves flavor.

On the other hand, things typically added with salt -- particularly sugar and calcium-rich products -- tend to toughen beans (and the salt gets the blame).  This toughening effect is most notable in baked-bean recipes using things like ketchup, molasses, and BBQ sauce. You can bake these beans for days, yet the beans will stay whole and firm.  The actual mechanism for this effect is not clear; one hypothesis currently circulating seems to be that these products stabilize the cell-cell "glue" (e.g., Shirley Corriher says so on Good Eats "Pantry Raid III - Cool Beans", transcript online here), but I could not find any peer-reviewed study specifically verifying that hypothesis.


What are the costs to consider when making jam? I am trying to dertermine what kinds of jam are particularly cost-effective to make at home.

I have been given a few bits of equipment for jam making, and am looking forward to getting started.

We don't have a garden at the moment so can't grown our own fruit. I have seen blackberries growing wild near us so I will be trying that, but I would also like to try other kinds of jam.

Costs to consider when making jam:

One-Time Costs

Pressure canner
Water-bath canner
Large pot for making jam in
Strainer (can use a colander-type item or something like a Squeez-o)
Jar rack that goes inside the canner
Jar lifter
Funnel
Jars
Freezer-safe containers
Jar rings

Recurring Costs

Jar lids
Fruit (you can often get pretty cheap fruit in bulk from an orchard)
Pectin
Sugar
Spices
Energy usage (stove)

Compare costs for freezer jam (no canner required), pressure-canned jam (pressure canners are expensive), and water-bath canned jam. Also compare for recipes that do vs do not contain pectin.

If you can get a lot of the one-time cost items free (from grandma's attic, most likely), and if you can get the recurring cost items on sale (or from your own garden), then you can probably come close to commercially priced jam.

Personally, here's what I look at:
A) The cost of the item I would normally buy at the store - generic, cheap brand. Let's call that price X.
B) The cost of the item I wish I could buy at the store - the really good stuff. That price is usually about 2x to 3x.
Then, my goal is to be cheaper than 2x.

Another Cost Consideration
If you give homemade jam as holiday gifts, spending less than you otherwise would on a gift, there's additional savings for you.


How to bind chopped pepperoni, salami, and bacon I have this sandwich I make that I think is pretty good, except that I have a problem with it falling apart.

Basically I take sliced salami, sliced pepperoni, (precooked) bacon, and banana peppers and throw them into a food processor to grind it up fairly ground up but not pasty.

I then put it in a skillet with some olive oil and brown/crisp it a little and then I add some red wine vinegar and black pepper to taste and set aside.

Then I take a loaf of french bread (there's this "everything" french bread at my local store that has "everything" seasoning on top of it, which I like to use, vs. plain french bread). I cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out some of the inside of the bread.

I squirt some horseradish sauce on the bottom side, then add a layer of sliced sharp chedder and pepper jack cheese. Then I add heap of the meat mix, and finally top with another layer of sliced sharp chedder and pepper jack cheese.

I then butter the skillet and press the sandwich on the skillet on each side for about a minute (like a cubano).

So this is one of my favorite sandwiches to make, and I think it's yummy! The problem is it's a little bit of a pain to eat, because there really isn't anything binding the meat together.

So I've been trying to figure out what I can do to make it not fall apart.  The first thing I tried is to shred/grate the cheese and mix it in with the meat. Unfortunately, that doesn't work. I assume it's because of the olive oil and vinegar, but I haven't tried outright removing them, as it's a crucial part of the flavor I'm going for.

Next time I get a chance to make this sandwich, I was thinking maybe I would try browning the meat without adding the oil/vinegar, and instead sprinkle them on the top while building the sandwich. I figure this might help, but I'm not entirely sure it will completely help, since these meats are a bit fatty in their own right.

I was also thinking I could go the route of making it a patty (like making a hamburger patty), where I mix an egg and some breadcrumbs and cook it as a patty. I'm not so sure I really want to do that though. I'm not outright opposed to it, but I already feel like the flavor is where I want it, so I'd like to avoid throwing new flavors into the mix (though admittedly, eggs and breadcrumbs are fairly neutral).

But I'm also not sure I dig the idea of a patty for this sandwich in general. I like the mouth feels of heaping mass of chopped meat, and I actually don't mind if there's some amount of "fall apartness". I just really want to reduce it a bit somehow.

I'm certainly down for experimenting but I'm not by any means even fractionally rich, so I can only indulge in this pleasure about once a month or so, so I was hoping I could maybe see if anybody else out there might have any ideas?

If you got this far, thanks for reading my TL;DR!

What I did to solve my problem was I made a thick cheese sauce with some of the pepperjack/sharp cheddar (grated some of it, coated in corn starch, melted in a little bit of milk), and mixed that into the meat mix, just enough cheese sauce to bind it, just enough to make the meat start sticking together (and I reduced amount of sliced cheese on top and bottom to make up for the addition of cheese in the meat).  Worked pretty well for me!


Hot chicken soup takes hours to cool I made a big pot of a very hot chicken soup. I put it in my small extra fridge at 11 PM, and it was still warm 9 hours later, at 8 AM.

Do I need to throw it away?

There are people that are going to argue that yes, you do.  And if you're immune compromised, that's probably best.

However, if it had been boiling, and there's a layer of fat to seal the top, then it's at a lower (although not non-existant) risk.  You have to judge for yourself if it's worth it.

Personally, I'd bring it back up to a boil for 30+ minutes, then use other techniques to cool it back down:

Pour into shallow pans, without lids to maximize surface area & evaporative cooling.  Stir every few minutes until it starts to cool down.
Place the pot in a sink filled with cold water & ice, and stir every few minutes, possibly changing out the water & ice if necessary
Put ice, freezer pack or similar into a ziplock bag, put it into the pot, and stir

If you're ever in the situation where it's getting late, and you have a large pot to go into the fridge, I'll either leave it on warm overnight.  (making sure there's nothing near the stove that might be dangerous.  But I have an electric stove, not gas), or I'd do what cooling I can (pot in sink ice bath + stirring), move it into multiple smaller containers, and put them in the fridge without lids on them (so we have some evaportative cooling in the fridge)


What distinguishes pork sausage from ground pork? Let me preface this by saying that I am basically a complete novice when it comes to cooking. So I apologize if this is a silly question.

I sometimes like to cook things using ground pork sausage, but much of the time it's nearly impossible to find in the local grocery stores. However, they always seem to have ground pork, which I've considered using as a substitute. I know it wouldn't cause my kitchen to explode or anything like that ;-) but I'm curious, what's the difference? What exactly am I putting in my food by using the sausage that I'd miss out on if I used regular ground pork?

Ground pork is simply that, pork. Pork sausage is ground pork that has been seasoned.

You can substitute, but you'll have to bring your own seasoning.


What is the difference between cream cheese and sour cream? Let me be clear: I am not asking about their applications. I know some really good recipes where you use one or the other. I know you can replace them with each other in some recipes, not in others. That is not what I am asking about.
My question is about how they are different in their constitution. I have read that to get sour cream you ferment cream with a few different subspecies of Lactococcus lactis. Sometimes rennet or acid (lemon juice or vinegar) is used, but authentic sour cream requires the fermentation with bacteria (which converts cream's lactose to lactic acid). When I look up recipes to make cream cheese, I get the same instructions. You take cream, again you ferment it with a couple subspecies of Lactococcus lactis, you strain it to get rid of the water, and you get cream cheese. The only difference I see is that in the US, sour cream usually has a 20% fat content, whereas cream cheese has a fat content of 33% or higher. The other different thing is when making the cheese, "sometimes" some milk is added.
But this cannot be the only difference. Otherwise we would not call one of them cheese, and another of them cream (considering the fat content, even those names seem ironic). I would appreciate if someone can shed some light and give some insight.

There are differences in base ingredients, as well as in the method used for production. The production of cream cheese starts with milk (or a mixture of milk and cream), which is curdled after which the whey is removed. Typically, rennet or acid are used to curdle the milk, so that one can separate the whey from the curds. Cream cheese can be fermented before curdling, but I do not believe this is common.
Sour cream is cream that has been fermented with lactic acid bacteria.
The difference in names is thus also explained: sour cream is cream that has gone sour, while cream cheese has undergone a fairly typical cheese-making process.


How is Channa Dal processed from Chickpea? Does it have any difference? I made hummus from dried chickpea and I removed the skin manually after boiling it. It was a tedious process.

Thats when I thought of Channa Dal or split chickpea. I want to try with that to make hummus. (I just soaked it)

But I could not find a recipe / cooking video with channa dal. So, I am wondering if there is any difference between split chickpea & whole chickpea. Why isn't it used?

Also, I am curious how is it split. Could not find info about the processing. Do they boil the chickpeas to skin it?

Does the skinning process chickpea change it in any way? What about the cooking time?

The chickpeas used for hummus are traditionally the ‘Kabuli’ type, grown in the Mediterranean and Middle East, whereas Chana Dal is Bengal Gran or ‘Desi chickpea’ commonly grown in India. https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickpea
Both are varieties of Cicer arietinum, but while the Kabuli is large with pale skin , the Bengal Gram is smaller, has darker skin and slightly more yellow flesh.
I’ve never tasted them side by side since I have always used Mediterranean or North African flavours with the Kabuli and Indian flavours with the Bengali.
Here’s a quick side-by-side from my kitchen.
According to USAPulses.org

There are a variety of ways to decorticate food legumes. The oldest and most common technique involves spreading out the seeds to dry in the sun or mixing them with a bit of water before pounding them in a mortar with a pestle. The hull is winnowed off to get the clean cotyledons. Similar methods are used in commercial mills, though being much larger in scale they are adapted for greater yield and operational efficiency.
Smaller processors can expect about 50 percent removal with the first effort in traditional de-hulling methods. The process is then repeated several times until almost all the grain is converted into dehulled, split cotyledons. It can be difficult with this approach to achieve complete removal of the hull from the grain. Breakage is also a common downside.
Another method for dehulling is based on adjusting the moisture of the grain to loosen the hull. The grain is first exposed to heated air in a tempering bin, for a pre-determined time based on the variety. Through gradual aeration it reaches a critical moisture level. The hull is then removed in an abrasion-type hulling machine, while efforts are made to minimize scouring or breaking endosperm. If it is to be split, the whole dehulled grain is then ready to proceed to a splitting machine.
Splitting
Many of the operations, particularly decorticating and splitting, are mechanized. Splitting is often carried out in parallel with dehulling, though both are more effective if undertaken as independent operations.
Adding water prior to dehulling helps bring about splitting. Such a step does, however, often leave portions of hull on the split cotyledons (dhal) that then have to be removed by polishing machines. During splitting, the germ, which forms about 2 percent to 5 percent, is typically lost.


Best tool for quickly cutting vegetables into a salad? I like eating a salad for lunch, but would like to somehow optimize the time it takes to cut the vegetables. My salad usually contains tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, carrot, etc.

I could buy an electrical blender, but the end result is usually not as tasty since the vegetable parts are too small. Therefore I tried to look-up for some alternatives:

Starfrit Chopper

Prepworks Chopper

Freshware Chopper

Anyone have experience with such devices? Perhaps there's some great alternative that I haven't found yet?

You could chop all your veges with a knife once a week and put them in containers...

If you are set on a machine, pick up a Food Processor (like a Cuisinart).  It has attachments to slice or grate your veges quickly and uniformly, and has many other uses too (quick bread dough, sauces, puree soups, etc.)

A Mandolin slicer will also work, and you can julienne things, but make sure to get a good one.  I am not happy with mine at all.  The advantage to this is you can change the thickness of your slices (i.e. thick cucumber slices, thin radish slices).

The tomatoes you will just have to cut by hand though.  There are tools for that, but I haven't seen a consumer version (giant slicers/wedgers at McDs, many decades ago).