Can I use sona masoori rice for making dosa? I have been trying to make dosa in the US since 6 months & never got the fermented batter. When searched in seasoned advice I found a similar question asked.
How to ferment dosa batter?

I have been using correct proportions of rice, urad dal, fenugreek & poha. Even I tried grinding the mixture using soaked urad dal, rice, water and even kept overnight in the oven with lights turned on, but I never got my dosa batter fermented. I have used the same proportions in India and I was successful in making good fermented dosas, but the only difference is that I am using Sona masoori rice for making dosas in the US. I am suspecting that this might be causing a problem , but I am not sure about this and if it is yes, why is it so ?

@tcb,  I have successfully used sona masoori rice for dosa batter.

try this method:

Preheat oven to 200 degree F. Then turn off the oven. Then put your batter-pot in the oven on a tray.Check after 5-6 hours. If temp are really low outside, and you think it is still not fermenting ,again turn on oven for a couple of minutes and turn off. Batter should be ready in 9-10 hours.


Is my microwave damaged if I can smell the food inside it? I think I can smell the food inside my microwave. Is that bad?

I figured it's not necessarily unsafe, since you only need a cage to block the microwaves from escaping, but I'm not familiar with the precise architecture of a microwave oven.

Microwave doors don't have an airtight seal; the window between the electronics and the cooking compartment is also not airtight, and the electronics are cooled by a fan. It would be surprising if some cooking smells didn't escape. In practice, every microwave I've ever had allows me to smell the cooking, from the very cheapest to some rather fancy ones with grill and convection.

This means that being able to smell the food cooking says nothing about the safety of the microwave, and you have no need to worry (unless there are other indications such as damage)


Glass drink dispenser for vinegar long term storage? I presently buy both White Vinegar (containing acetic acid 5%) and Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in bulk, at five litres at a time. I go through the White Vinegar in about three weeks, while the ACV takes far longer - anything up to six months!

The vinegar comes in a plastic container ((HDPE ♴) High Density Polyethylene, with a plastic cap (PP ♷) Polypropylene) as it's considered food safe and suitable for up to one year of storage.

I find however that pouring from the large plastic containers is messy and awkward and am looking into a glass dispenser system as used at parties with lemonade and such. However, unlike a normal glass container, a dispenser has weak points: such as a metallic tap, silicone gadgets, as well as a rubber lid.

Long time canning experts Kilner offer a robust looking glass dispenser in just the right volume (five litres) but I'm unsure of the following:

1: The trademark orange rubber seals used at the top mouth opening of the jars: will the acid and oxygen mix dissolve this? The vinegar is unlikely to be in contact with the rubber as I will use the tap at the bottom, but the fumes may eat away at it?

2: The tap at the bottom is not so robust (if Amazon reviews are to be believed) but aftermarket option include more robust version in both brass and stainless steel:

Brass: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XPG4VR2?psc=1

Stainless Steel: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XPG2CLS?psc=1

It seems that white vinegar is used to clean brass, but I wonder about permanent contact, so I'm unsure which to rely upon?

3: I'm informed that even glass itself has a lifespan when storing vinegar (it's an acid after all) and am fearful that the glass walls may even wear down?!

I would like the convenience of a tap, with the reliability of an inert material like glass, but will the vinegar simply wear everything out?

Don't use brass– I believe the vinegar cleans it by dissolving a thin layer from the outside. It looks like the 304 stainless steel tap should work fine.

If the rubber seal is the same material that canning (e.g. Weck) jars use, it'll probably be fine. Weck only warns against overheating vinegar solutions, which can cause the seals to become distorted— they don't recommend against using vinegar altogether. If you can find out what rubber, specifically is being used in the seal, you can check it out on this chart

I really don't think you'll have to worry about the glass wearing down. Really.

Your other option is to keep it in the plastic container and use a 5 litre bottle pump dispenser, which works with everything from cooking oil to mayonnaise to corrosive cleaning chemicals.


Not getting the creamy result beating butter and sugar I have this "weekend meyer lemon cake" recipe:

The problem I am facing while making the cake is that I don't get the creamy mixture, mixing sugar and butter. it's like bread crumbs right now, or something like that and sugar crystals are still visible and distinguishable. Should I go on by adding the eggs as the recipe calls for or should I wait for the butter to melt and try to beat the sugar and butter until creamy?

There may well be more than one issue here.

The type of butter. If you're using what is sometimes sold as "cooking butter" then this has a much lower moisture content than normal butter, and so it is very difficult to get the sugar to dissolve enough to cream.
Sugar choice. Granulated sugar is much more difficult to cream than than caster (superfine) sugar due to the large crystal size.
Recipe proportions. It is more common to use roughly equal weights of butter and sugar when creaming them together; here there is more than twice as much sugar compared to butter, so I am not at all surprised that it is not ending up as a very creamy mixture.

As the aim of the beating process is to dissolve the sugar and to add air, adding one of the eggs and beating well would allow you to achieve both of these.


What is the type of cheese in "chips and cheese" UK fast-food? (with photos) I went to England a few years ago for a couple months. I took pictures of a fast-food dish, "chips and cheese" that is uncommon where I live. More than that, the taste of the cheese intrigued me. The pictures were took in Stafford in case regional culture matters for the answer.

I've tried to replicate the taste once in a while, but I don't know what cheese is being used. Internet research points towards cheddar as the most likely match, however every time I gave it a try the taste did not seem to be it. Therefore I've tried to sprinkle various other types of cheese to no avail.

Based on the cultural details above and the provided picture, what would be the type of cheese?

If it is cheddar, is there a "specific type" of cheddar I would have to look for that would taste similarly when used in cooked dishes?

The cheese you saw was, if it was real cheese at all, probably cheddar or just plain white cheese. Whatever they put on was not high-quality stuff - takeaways are not known for lavishing money on ingredients.

Whether you will be able to get anything similar depends on where you are. American and British cheddars have different flavors, so if I was in the US I'd try Monterey Jack, or maybe Provelone.


What are some methods for parcooking hamburgers? Im trying to find a faster way to serve cheeseburgers. I was thinking maybe i could par cook 10-15 patties up to 90% done right before rush hour then store them in a steam table with beef broth, then place them back on the grill per order to finish cooking them. Does anybody have any better suggestions?

For speed and quality this is the perfect application for sous vide cooking.  You can cook burgers to varying degrees of doneness.  They can hang out in the water bath, at a degree or two below the rarest burger, for up to 2 hours.  Just quickly sear or grill to finish.


Do different wood types work better for grilling different meats/fishes? If I'm using my gas grill (adding charcoal and wood) and wanted to try to get different flavors out of different wood types, is there a guideline for which woods work better for fish/meat - Hickory is a strong flavor and works great with meat; Cherry works good with chicken...Any other ideas?

Here is a huge list of wood smoke flavoring.

Some tips: Apricot (other fruits), Peach, Oak, Almond


How long should chicken wait in eggs before applying bread crumbs? To get the bread crumbs to stick to the chicken, I coat the chicken with eggs. I then put the bowl in the refrigerator. How long should I wait before taking the chicken out of the eggs and rubbing the bread crumbs on them?

Spices or egg do not get absorbed into chicken, or any other protein in any significant manner given any safe amount of time

Some amount of sodium from a brine will get absorbed, but this is generally for different reasons, and is not a requirement for crumbed chicken

The easiest and safest method is to dredge in flour, dip in egg, dredge in crumbs, and cook (deep fry, pan fry, oven etc) all in one sequence of steps

The flour sticks to chicken well, and become a glue to hold the egg when it gets wet and hot during cooking. Egg alone will not stick well to chicken, see this post. The egg will stick to the flour well, and bread crumbs or Panko will stick to egg well see this post

For food safety reasons prepared foods should not be sitting around for too many hours. The normal process is to prepare and then cook. Also you should not save flour of crumbs for another day see this post

In my experience; it is best to allow the chicken to warm up a bit after being removed from the fridge, e.g. rest on bench 30 minutes before you plan to cook. Make sure the chicken is not wet, damp is OK. Line up your flour, egg, and crumb mixtures a short distance away from your cooking device of choice (for speed, simplicity, and safety). And in one continuous process; flour dredge, egg dip, crumb dredge, and then cook

Any waiting will generally cause coating failures. You do not need to be fast, but you don't want to have it sitting around. You fingers and kitchen will be messy, so no point stopping, get it all done in one go


Difference between Potato Pancake and Hash Browns? I was wondering what was the difference between these two potato recipes? Both of them seem to be near same but are referred differently. Is there even a difference or is it just word play?

Potato pancakes are held together, usually with egg, sometimes flour as well. Hash Browns are usually just the potato, maybe onion and seasonings.


Substituting tomatillos I have lately come across good recipes, which happen to require tomatillos. Sadly, I don't have a source for tomatillos.

Is there some way to substitute them in recipes? Physalis berries? Underripe tomatoes? If tomatoes, then which kind?

Will it be a result similar to the original recipe, something definitely different, but usable, or so different that it only works by accident?

i would think the flavor would be different, but they really are similar to small, underripe (green) tomatoes. i might be worth a shot to try those in a pinch, but canned is also a good option.


slow roasting; internal temperature higher than oven temperature How can the internal temperature of a roast get higher than the oven temperature? I have seen recipes that cook pork at 120 degrees C and get the internal temp much higher than that.

Besides a unit of measure mistake, It is possible to get this kind of read-out, even with accurate thermometers.  Though the roast can not be hotter than the oven, no more than a bowl can be hotter than the soup it holds.

Possible causes:

Oven temperature was read after the door was opened (cooling the air inside).
The dual read thermometer's tip is poking through the meat and actually reading oven temperature while the oven read portion touching the meat and actually reading meat temperature (so, reverse read).
Some ovens can cool down faster than the food inside (generally not a good thing)
If the roast was partially frozen before cooking, and the oven temperature sensor is close to the meat, the temperature can seem reversed for a while.


How to prepare salsify (schwarzwurzeln) to minimise sap? This morning I tried cooking salsify (aka Schwarzwurzeln) for the first time.

It needs to be peeled before cooking, which I did rapidly and with a bowl of water nearby, as per advice on various internet sites.  However, it still left an unpleasant, sticky, orange sap over my hands and the utensils.  It lasts for a long time and is very difficult to remove.

What is the best way to prepare salsify to minimise the amount of sap??

Rinse the salsify first before using, that will help.
Use a sharp peeler. Ive found that dull peelers create a lot more sap.

as soon as you have peeled it, drop the salsify into acidulated water ( water + lemon juice).  The acids help prevent the color change that occurs.

Also wipe up the area with a damp cloth as you work.  This will keep things clean and prevent your hands and everything you touch getting tacky.


Filter out sand from amaranth and teff I'm having sand in the cooked amaranth and teff if the package has some in it. Is there a way, how to filter it out before cooking it? Or I just need to find a proper brand?

If the sand is significantly smaller than the grains, rinse the grain in an appropriately sized sieve. If the sand is denser than the grain, perhaps the grain would float and the sand would sink in a large amount of water?

If neither of those ideas work, then you may need to find another brand.


Can you marinade with tallow? I notice most recipes use a vegetable oil for marinades.

If you use saturated fat, obviously it will become solid at room temperature or lower.  Not sure if this affects its ability to marinade.

So, can you marinade with saturated fat?

Theoretically yes, practically, it will serve no purpose.

Marinades serve the purpose of drawing flavors out of the aromatics and herbs and distributing them to the food being marinated. To do so, they need to be in a form that can absorb and re-distribute.

There are so many opinions on marinating...you know, everyone has one.... but the other marinade components are often acid, stock or wine. The herb and spice flavors are more fat soluble than water soluble, so acid is added for dubious tenderizing benefits (for short time periods)

The pro way to prep meat is to have it come to room temperature before preparing. In this case, if tallow is liquid at room temperature (hot room, I think), you might get away with it, but would have little time before the emat needs to be prepared.

Even I will not advocate for meat left out at warm room temperature for an extended period.

Basically, once the tallow can do the job of a fat in a marinade, it will not have enough time to do anything useful.

PS. You could sautee some aromatics in tallow, then deglaze and make a mushy pasty mixture that you can slather on something, maybe in a plastic bag. If you turn and massage it every couple hours something good will happen, but in a refrigerator it will get quite hard and difficult to work with.


Why is Pizza Hut breadstick seasoning and garlic butter not a botulism risk? I've read all the bad things that can happen from garlic infused oil like homemade. How is this different than let's say Pizza Hut's garlic butter, or their (dry) breadstick seasoning with cheeses and dehydraded garlic? Do they in fact have a safer method that literally reduces the risk or what?

I see the garlic butter has citric acid in it so that makes sense but what about the seasoning? That is just cheeses and dehydrated garlic as well as other things.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/garlic_oil.html matches the USDA statements I have seen which says for home use, garlic oil should be made and used fresh, stored at 40 degrees for no more than 4 days.  That of source addresses only the safety issue and if botulism is considered a risk or not.  As Jent suggests, garlic powder, may be an option, or even dried garlic which rehydrates in the oil might be a safer option.  Commercially available garlic oils tend to be considered shelf safe, but those have been likely heat and pressure treated, possibly chemically treated to make is safe, but attempts at this are not recommended at home.

The USDA recommendation I have seen is to mix the garlic and oil and then freeze that in cubes or sheets.  The claim is this will remain semi-pliable, but when I have done it, it froze fairly hard but soft enough I couple cut pieces off to use.  It worked fairly well for me.

I have seen sites claim that storing fresh garlic in oil is safe, but the USDA disagrees.

ETA: On the question of if it is safe to use powered or dehydrated garlic to make garlic oil:  From my looking around, I could not find an authoritative yes or no.  Others might have more luck.  Dried itself is considered safe as everything I found said botulism cannot survive low moisture. But the spores can.  There seems to be disagreement of weather oil provides the moisture needed for the spores to activate though.  Commercially treated product likely is subjected to higher temperatures and treatments to cover this, but that is a statement of likelihood, not something I found lab statements to back.  Also, the type of oil may matter.  I would think that a high quality olive oil might be more susceptible to growth as it is a pure vegetable extract, than would a refined and heat treated oil.  But again, that is just using my logic, not backed by tested evidence.

I have purchased commercial garlic infused oils, and personally, I would go with the frozen or freshly prepared.  The commercial versions had clearly been heat treated as the garlic flavor was barely perceptible for the amount visibly in the oil.  But I like a strong garlic flavor, not subtle.


How do I convert a powdered seasoning into cube (bouillon) form? I have created seasoning in powdered form and would like to also make it in a bouillon form. How do I do this?

In order for your powdered seasoning to hold together in a solid shape, two things are needed.

1. Added ingredients that will work as a binder.

Commercial bouillon cubes are made by adding some sort of saturated fat that is solid at room temperature, such as partially-hydrogenated palm or cottonseed oil. Corn or other modified food starch may also be added, along with sugar, and of course, lots of salt.

You might be able to achieve a similar effect using beef tallow, coconut oil, or lard. Without chemical preservatives however, the result would need to be refrigerated.

2. A device to compress the mixture via intense mechanical pressure.

Bouillon cube factories use large presses to form the mixture into cubes, but of course, such machinery is not available for home use.

Instead, you could compress your mixture into cylinders using a "pollen press". This model costs about $20 and will make cylinders about the diameter of a nickel.

So, you need to decide whether you really want to adulterate your special blend of seasonings with added binding ingredients — ingredients which may affect the flavor and shelf life of your seasoning. You also need to decide whether the extra work of compressing the mixture into a solid shape is really worth all that trouble.

Another possibility that might work better for you would be to put your powdered seasoning directly into empty gelatin capsules.

Such capsules are made from beef gelatin — an ingredient that seems quite appropriate for use in bouillon!

Dropped into hot liquid, the flavorless gelatin capsules would quickly dissolve and release your powdered seasoning.

If you need a vegan alternative, empty vegetarian capsules are also available. Made from a derivative of vegetable cellulose, they dissolve in liquid just like gelatin capsules. However while gelatin is basically flavorless, vegetarian capsules may add a detectable taste. The taste may vary by brand, and depending on the intensity of your own seasonings, it might or might not be an issue.

Both types of empty capsules are sold in various sizes, and there are special trays and other tools available to facilitate filling them with powder. Refrigeration is not necessary, and the shelf life your dry seasoning would be protected inside the capsules.


What is on top of this and how do you make it? Chocolate fondant picture on yelp. As you can see this is a picture of a chocolate fondant. However what is on top of it? I have seen this many times.

Most often they are called tuiles and they can be made in a number of ways, in some cases they are biscuit based or they can be made by melting sugar on a non-stick surface. and then cutting while the sugar is still warm and pliable.

If you wanted to make a classic biscuity tuile there is a recipe here:

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/classic-tuile-cookies.aspx

For a sugar only variety you could consider using some fine sugar and a blow torch, in a similar way to a creme brûlée topping and using a metal cookie cutter to get the desired shape.

The benefit of the classic tuile recipe is that it can be adjusted in order to add flavourings e.g. vanilla or even spices.

Parmesan under a grill can also form a tuile as long as the grill isn't set to too high a temperature (chocolate and cheese go pretty nicely together...)


Water repellent-like residue on pot when cooking vegetables When I boil vegetables including broccoli the pot gets a water repellent-like residue at the water line that is very hard to remove. There is also residue similar to when cooking beans on the sides of the pots. This is in decent, newer stainless pots including the instant pot. My mother's older stainless pots don't seem to have this problem.

Does anyone know why this is and what is the best way to clean them? I wonder with time if it will become easier to clean. Or if the manufacturer coats them with something.

I get a greasy residue in the water used to wash broccoli before cooking and in the blanching water before I freeze it. It literally only happens with broccoli so I make sure to wash it as many times as possible before freezing so it shouldn’t have any residue left when I want to cook it. I can only think that it is some sort of pesticide or preservative which is slightly worrying as I don’t want chemicals on my food! Organic is so expensive in comparison though.


Utensil that forms meat into cylinders I'm making some kebabs, which involves taking a mixture of ground meat and spices, then rolling them into small cylinders. I usually hand roll, but I have to make them in large volume soon and would like them to look a little more like perfect cylinders.

I cannot figure out the name for a tool that might be a cheap, small hand tool that would form ground meat into small cylinders. I picture something that has a scissor handle and a cylinder end, like a  meat baller but cylindrical instead of spherical. Does something like this exist and have a name?

Seems like the bamboo mat used for making sushi rolls would be a good choice for this.  Line it with heavy plastic wrap or parchment paper, of course.


What needs to be added to quinoa flour make it "behave" like all-purpose flour? I'm a Type 2 diabetic who loves bread and pasta, so I'm exploring ways of making my favorite foods more "blood sugar friendly", hoping that I can re-integrate them into my diet in a healthy way.

Compared to all-purpose flour, quinoa flour has higher amounts of dietary fiber and protein and lower amount of carbs, making it a great candidate, nutritionally, but I also know that it (like many other "ancient grains") doesn't have the gluten that gives all-purpose flour so many of its useful characteristics.

Unfortunately, given the popularity of "gluten-free", the vast majority of search results that I get for "quinoa flour" and "gluten" end up taking me to recipes/articles for gluten-free cooking/baking, which is really the opposite of what I am looking for.

So does anyone have any tips on or experience with making quinoa flour into a more suitable standalone replacement for all-purpose flour?  Add gluten for structure/airiness?  More liquid to avoid dryness?  Anything else?

Quinoa and Amaranth are from the same family and are quite similar in makeup and constitution. You’ll probably want to add some stabilizers and extra binding power to make up for the lack of gluten.

This recipe for amaranth bread adds rice flour, tapioca starch, arrowroot, and xanthan gum - which in my opinion is a bit of overkill. I would probably stick with just agar-agar for the mouthfeel, egg yolk for extra binding and xantham only if it’s too crumbly.

And on a side note, lightly toasted quinoa with bittersweet cocoa powder is a great (and classical if not downright tasty) addition to your breads. Good luck


Did I poison myself by eating popcorn made in a steel pot with olive oil? I made popcorn by putting a layer of olive oil at the bottom of a steel pot, putting in the kernels and cooking it on high heat for a minute or so. When it started popping, I noticed that smoke with an acrid smell started coming out of the pot in big quantities. I tried not to breathe it and made all of the popcorn pop.

I then ate all of the popcorn, and realized that the smoke might have come from the oil burning up. The popcorn had a bit of that flavor too.

I'm concerned about possible health issues arising from this. Was the popcorn I just ate poisonous? Is there a risk of developing cancer involved in eating food that has been cooked this way (I've eaten popcorn made like this a few other times, but the smoke was never this apparent)?

Should I use a different oil, or is there no safe oil for this kind of cooking?

Olive oil has a notoriously low smoke point. If you're looking for something nutritious to pop corn with, try avocado oil.

While burned food tastes yucky, and there is (some) evidence that a steady diet consisting mainly of burnt olive oil may be (slightly) carcinogenic, it is highly unlikely you did anything worse than ruin your munchies.


What can I use to flavor savory chicken stuffing instead of onion? I made the mistake of thinking I had more onions than I did (those orange bags filled with old onion skins look fuller than they are), and now I don't have any onions left for my savory dressing. Can I use onion soup mix (with those little dehydrated onion flakes), or would this goop up when I mix in melted margerine? What about onion powder for the flavor? I have some mushrooms. Could I combine this with onion powder?

My concerns are that the chicken will be lacking in onion flavor, that the drippings might be bland, or powder substituted in for moist onion might dry out the stuffing.

The recipe* calls for Breadcrumbs, summer savory, margarine/butter and diced onion. When it's put into the chicken carcass and cooked it absorbs the chicken's essence. It makes a nice stuffing, but the onion tends to be a key part of the flavor.

Also, I don't have shallots or any other reasonable onion alternative.

*by recipe, I mean "mix them together until it looks/feels right".

Update: I ended up using the onion soup mix and a bit of celery I had left over. It started out goopy when I first mixed it togther, but the end result was flavorful and moist.

I use dehydrated onion soup mixture as a substitute to many preparations calling for onions. I have never stuffed chicken with it, but I would do it without any doubt.

The trick is to get to the appropriate moisture and salt point. I use both water and some other sweet liquid (7up, sprite, coke...) to rehydrate and reduce the slight salty taste of the dehydrated onion.

For your case, besides the sweetening, the soft drink will as well add some carbonic which may also help in aerating a bit the stuffing.


Plum preserving/storage method that tastes like plums, not prunes (I just picked 30 lbs) I just did some neighborhood foraging and picked 30 pounds of red plums.  They are delicious, but even I will have trouble eating them all this week.

Last year we made jam/preserves but it ended up tasting very prune-like, i.e. not the tasty fresh plum flavor.  We tried varying amounts of heat and sugar and the prune flavor prevailed.  We're open to canning, freezing, drying, making jam, etc. but want to do the best job to capture that tasty plum flavor.  I've read some other answers on what to do with tart plums and peaches, but our plum challenge is a little different.

Question: what is the best method to preserve the fresh plum-like flavor?

I think freezing would be your best bet - not fantastic for the texture, but when defrosted you could make a pie/cobbler or other cooked item with them. Plenty of web sites (eg http://www.fruitexpert.co.uk/using-up-a-plum-glut.html) say you can just halve them and freeze them on open tray, then when they're frozen move them into plastic bags. It's the lowest-effort option so probably worth trying on at least a fraction of your harvest.


Make microwave popcorn in the oven Have anyone tried making microwave popcorn in a oven? What temperature is preferred? For about how long does it have to be in?

I know I could just rip the bag and pop it a pot but if it's possible to do it in a oven I would try.

I'll come out and say "no, you can't make microwave popcorn in a conventional oven."

For popcorn to pop, the kernel must reach a temperature well above boiling (which builds up steam, causing the kernel to explode). It must do so very quickly, otherwise the moisture will just slowly evaporate out, simply drying the kernel rather than popping it.

Microwave popcorn works because the microwave is primarily heating the kernels directly (because they contain the most water), and quickly. Air poppers don't use the oil, but they do get very hot, and the forced air heats the kernels very fast. And stovetop methods use the heat built up in the oil to heat the kernels quickly. Even fire-popped corn (a fun prospect) relies on fast heat.

Unfortunately, ovens are anything but fast. In the time it would take to heat the kernels, they would just dry out, and possibly start to burn the bag.

If you want popcorn without a microwave, stovetop popcorn is quite easy, and very tasty. I like using a wok, because it's shape is well suited for popcorn (sloped sides keep the kernels in the hot spot, while allowing popped kernels space to expand).


Teflon-coated pans: are they ever dishwasher-safe? I've had my T-Fal teflon fry pan for a year and a half, and have used it every morning. I treated it well, but since they said it was dishwasher-safe I did put it in the dishwasher from time to time. Now it's worn out.

Some non-stick teflon pans say they are dishwasher-safe, others don't. Is this a difference in the coating, or just a difference in the marketing? Should I always keep my teflon-coated pans out of the dishwasher?

Never bothered sticking them in a dishwasher as they are easy to clean in the sink.
2 rules I abide by in regards to them.
Never use metal utensils with them. Silicone or wood only.
Never overheat them. Stovetop only. Medium heat at most.


What type of baking tray is WINGY? Could you tell me what is WINGY baking tray? It is used for baking pastry. The instruction reads: wingy/baton tray: 10/12 pieces.

All I've been able to find is that is a novelty name for a baton tray, this could be wrong but I've found no other tray called a "Wingy".

That or it could have been a typo in the recipe.


Can I set a creme brulee with agar agar? I am trying to make a new dish, I really want to make a creme brulee but I don't want to be shackled to the idea of using a ramekin. Is there any way I can set it with agar in a rubber mold and be able to remove it for placing?

Removing a custard (which is what creme brulee) is from its form or mold does not definitely require agar agar.   Flan, which is famous from a number of cuisines, is an unmolded custard.

While experimentation would be required, it is highly likely that if you use a silicone based flexible form, and make a fairly stiff custard, you will be able to gently and carefully unmold it.  You may wish to lightly grease the form before baking the custard to help facilitate release.  This Chest of Books article recommends two eggs per cup if milk for a custard that requires unmolding.

Many molded custard recipes exist, although a good number of them have gelatin as an additional stabilizing ingredient.  You may wish to google "molded custard recipe" or "Charlotte recipe" for inspiration (Charlottes tend to have a lady finger garnish around the edges).

If you are interested in using agar agar or other modernist hydro-colloids in your recipe development, you may wish to read the excellent primer at Cooking Issues.

Note that they characterize the texture of agar agar gels as somewhat brittle, which may not be ideal for your application.

See also Can I substitute agar agar for gelatin in pudding which is a very similar application.  Michael at Herbivoracious indicates that agar agar may not be suitable due to the texture.  There are some alternate ideas there that may help you get started.


Why are my cheese curds not well-knitted after pressing? I've made several cheeses at home following a cheddar recipe. After I've aged the cheeses and cut them open, I'm usually finding that the cheese has a somewhat spongy, open texture with small visible holes in it, similar to provolone:

This is in place of the denser, solid texture that I expect from cheddar:

The taste of the cheese is quite good, but I can't figure out why the texture isn't turning out as expected. What am I doing wrong?

Several possible reasons...but without seeing the recipe, your make notes, pH markers it is rather hard to say.
However, I would say that most likely would be too much moisture left in curds due to:

initial curds cut too large
too much rennet, meaning that more moisture was locked into the curd, resulting in the cut being made later than it should be (did you use the flocculation method to determine when to cut the curd?)
pH was too high at various periods during your make, resulting in a "sweeter" curd
too much time between addition of rennet and the cut of the curd (see 2...related)
lack of or insufficient cooking of the curds prior to cheddaring, resulting in too much whey (moisture) left in the curds.
insufficient salting
insufficient pressing (unlikely, since the previous 6 control moisture much more than the pressing)

Any, some or all of the above.


Mousse has Raw Eggs -- is it Really Safe? Possible Duplicate:
  Is it safe to eat raw eggs?

I looked up a recipe for chocolate mousse the other day, and I noticed that pretty much all of them have raw eggs in them. And they're not cooked.

How is this salmonella-safe?

Is it really safe to feed to young kids (under one)?

Raw eggs are actually a lot safer than said to be believed, especially in recipes such as this one. Rocky ate raw eggs all the time! haha So please feel free to make the mousse and eat it too! Although cooking them almost always kills bacteria if they reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit. The most dangerous part about using eggs is something that many of us were taught to do at a young age, separating the yolk. Most people separate the yolk by cracking the egg and pouring it back and forth between the two egg shell halves. This is the easiest way to spread salmonella because it can hide on the egg shell or in the pores inside the egg. One thing to never do is wash an egg. They are washed after they are laid and a new barrier is put on by the egg company, some sort of hardened mineral I think. Washing the egg will make your situation worse by destroying this new man made barrier. For the last part of your question I suggest not feeding your baby and thing that has a small percent chance to have any bacteria, such as mousse, because their immune system is still developing. I would also choose not to feed your baby anything high in sugar, thats what Grandma is for later in life. The baby's tastes are forming now and veggies are the way to go with that. Need to teach them to like good for them foods. They like sweet stuff when they are born so they don't need to learn how to like those. Hope I helped!


Why is the butter gradually melting and only the top of my butter cake done? I didn't use melted butter like liquid. I only used softened butter and mixed it with sugar in my blender. It became like cream. I also used 1 cup and a quarter of flour and other ingredients.

I baked the cake with grill mode in my convention oven, but the cake wasn't baking. Only the butter was melting and melting. When I switched to combination mode because grill mode is too long, only the top is finished and the other part is unfinished. What should I do?

Please give me suggestions.

Your problem is baking on grill mode. Or at least one of your problems. Grill mode is designed to brown the top while not cooking the rest too much. As well as burning the top this may have the side effect of spoiling the rise of the rest of the cake, but still getting it hot enough to melt the butter.

In general for baking it's important to use a mode that delivers even heat.  This is typically described as "convection"/"fan-forced convection", simply "oven" or some similar term.  Modes like "grill" or "top heat" cook some things acceptably, and are often used for finishing foods that are cooked through but need a little browning on top.  Baking is one time when preheating the oven is particularly important even on modern ovens -- set the desired temperature and a light will come on.  It will go off when the oven is up to temperature.  You may wish to wait a little longer at this point.


Farmer cheese turns out inconsistently A couple of years ago I made farmer cheese from this recipe. It turned out great: creamy and delicious. Today I made the same recipe, and it turned out dry and crumbly instead. What would explain the inconsistency? The only thing I did differently is halve the recipe this time, but I can't see why that would alter the texture of the finished product.

Based on lots of experience making farmer's cheese (and backed up by the book One Hour Cheese), there are three factors which control the scale of creamy to dry & crumbly:

the degree of acidity at which you set the curd;
the length of time you cook it (keep it at 180F+)
the length of time you drain it

So my guess would be that you increased two out of three of the above, or all three, without intending to.  For example, you might have added the whole amount of vinegar instead of halving it, or, because you were draining half as much, it could have dried faster. Note that all textures from gloopy to sawdust are "legitimate" farmer's cheeses, and in Russian delis you can buy cheeses with the whole range of textures, for different applications.

Also, your cheese is not unsalvageable.  Depending on what you're using it for, you can add a little cream, sour cream, or full-fat yogurt to make it creamier.  And for that matter, dry and crumbly is perfect for making blintzes.


Cooking issue with cheap plastic forks I was cooking rice, beans and sausage for my friend and I but since we are living very low budget my only utensils were plastic forks, knives, and spoons (really cheap ones that come in packs of like 48).  I was picking up the sausage in pieces and putting them in a bowl when I noticed the fork had begun to melt.  Luckily these are not for until tomorrow but I was wondering if it is safe to eat them since the fork did not seem to leave any plastic behind and was only in the sausage for about 30 seconds.  I just don't want to feed my friend contaminated sausage. Thanks.

The plastic fork just melt (soften) a little bit, no biggie, you should be able to eat that.
You should buy cheap cutlery at the dollar store, you do not need many, maybe 4 sets (fork, spoon knife); when your exchange session is over, just leave them in your apartment; no need to bring them back with you.
Using real cutlery and washing them is better for the environment than using cheap plastic cutlery and throwing them in the trash (*)

(*) Unless you buy expensive biodegradable or compostable cutlery.


Which method of cooking does the age of the egg matter least? I have a tray of older eggs (almost 2 weeks old).

Previously I never paid attention to thier age and cooked whatever I wanted, but after poaching some super fresh eggs obtained from the farmers market, I've seen how much better they are to eat and easier to cook (they stay together better).

Which method would give me similar results with any age of egg (within reason)?  Obviously any flavour changes cannot be accounted for but with poached (and from sites such as Delia shallow frying suffers similar problems) eggs it is more difficult to cook and the egg itself falls apart as they age.

I am trying hard boiled eggs tonight as I suspect there are fewer factors to interfere with the outcome, but would another method for cooking perhaps be better?

Actually, hard boiling is one of the recommended uses for older eggs, since older eggs are much easier to peel.

I'd highly recommend against using old eggs if you were going to whip the whites, for example, or any other heavy "structural" application. Quiche would probably be fine.


Is there a reason to not add salt when making a soup? On several occasions I have had friends make soup without salt and then tell me that salt should be added only when the soup is served.

I've read Why is it important to add salt during cooking? But what is the reason, if any, for withholding salt during cooking?

I have only heard this advice in context of Chinese soup/broth, namely a Chinese-style chicken soup and a brothy oxtail soup. I've asked a friend about the reason, but didn't quite understand the response (something about damaging the proteins).

Because as you are cooking your soup, water in your soup is evaporating away as steam. You might salt a soup perfectly halfway through, but after evaporation, your now thicker soup is too salty.

  When adding salt, wait until the end of the cooking process, as soups will reduce and concentrate the flavors as the liquid evaporates.

[ Source: http://allrecipes.com/howto/cooking-questions-soup/ ]


How to clean ice from ice cream maker bowl without thawing? I made a sorbet using a bad recipe (too watery) and I had a 3 mm thick layer of solid ice form around the walls of the ice cream maker bowl. The plastic spatula can't break it and the user's manual warns against using hard/scratchy implements in the bowl (metal is explicitly forbidden).

I would like to clean it without letting the bowl warm until it thaws, as the bowl needs a day of refreezing before reaching optimal ice cream making temperature. Any ideas?

I take a "good enough" approach - scrape it out reasonably well, rinse the rest of the way with hot water with a towel waiting in hand, then dry it as fast as possible. I usually end up with a very thin film of ice in some places, but it's not enough to keep it from working well the next time, and even if you always do this, it doesn't accumulate since you're rinsing and melting it all every time.


What vegetable for sauteed zucchini could I use instead of tomatoes? I like to fry or sautee onions, garlic, chilis, spices (for flavor) and zucchini (the main ingredient); then stir them in a can of chopped tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes. The tomatoes are a way to add a sauce with some thickness that brings all the ingredients together. I want to get close to the texture and consistency, but I'm looking for something else so the dish does not always taste the same.

Is there another vegetable or fruit I could use instead of the tomatoes?

You could use coconut milk and curry-type flavorings (e.g. coriander, cumin, turmeric, galangal, ginger, lemongrass, any type of chili pepper, cilantro), for a very different taste with a somewhat similar texture.


How do I seal ice cream containers? I want to make ice cream, put them into pint containers (or, hopefully of any custom size in the future) and have the containers be sealed with a film like Häagen-Dazs does.

A machine would be ok. Manual would be fine too. I just want to know where to get the equipment and/or some instructions. Thank you.

Go to sunbeltpackaging.com and look under "options for lids".  It's a company I found on the internet while looking for "how do I seal ice cream containers with plastic film".  There are many choices there.


How to infuse black layer of peppercorn into an oil? I am interested in infusing the black layer flavours(not inner white parts) of black pepper into an oil.

I imagine this can be achieved by adding whole black peppercorns to oil and frying a little. Or do you have to add whole black peppercorns to oil then leave it overnight?
If you say you need to grind the peppercorns first, why so? Since I am interested in the black part only would putting it be whole be better it is there some reason flavour would not extract so well like this?

If you insist on an oil, it can be done by taking black peppercorns, infusing them in high-grade alcohol for a couple of weeks at room temperature and then evaporating 90% of the alcohol and infuse the last 10% of the alcohol into the oil.

The easy way would be to infuse them in the cheapest moon shine vodka you can lay your hands on for 3 months and then using the vodka $instead of oil.*

If you insist on only the outer part, you can use an electric potato grater to peel off the outer skin only and infuse the "black powder" :-) in a neutral oil like grapeseed oil heated to below its smoke point for as long as possible.


How much salt is absorbed by meat during brining? Has anyone created a table of sodium absorbtion during brining vs. other contributing factors such as brining time, meat type, salt ratio, etc.

I'd like to be able to compute how much sodium is absorbed in a cut of meat during brining.

Cooks Illustrated apparently sent some brined meat off to a lab for analysis:

  We were also interested in finding out how much sodium penetrates
  during the process. To answer the question, we brined natural pork
  chops and boneless, skinless chicken breasts in standard quick-brine
  solutions of 1/2 cup table salt dissolved in 2 quarts of cold water.
  After 30 minutes, we removed the pork and chicken, patted them dry,
  and cooked them in different skillets. We also cooked an “enhanced”
  pork chop (injected with a saltwater solution) and a kosher chicken
  breast that had been salted during processing. We sent the samples to
  a food lab to measure sodium content. The brined pork chops had a
  sodium content of 245 milligrams per 100 grams of meat (just under 1/8
  teaspoon per serving); the enhanced pork had a bit more, with 268
  milligrams. The kosher chicken breast weighed in at 252 milligrams of
  sodium. The brined chicken came in with the most sodium of all, at 353
  milligrams (just over 1/8 teaspoon per serving). The USDA recommends
  limiting your daily sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams, about 1
  teaspoon. Why did the chicken absorb more salt during brining than the
  pork? The loose white muscle fibers in chicken absorb salt water more
  quickly than the tighter muscle fibers in pork.


Does the towel touching the day 1 starter and absorbing the liquid matter? On day 1, I’ve noticed the towel is wet.  Does the towel absorbing anything from the starter ruin the starter and prevent it from reaching its desired outcome?

You should be fine.  I would suggest using a container that creates more space between the cover and the starter.  That way you won't have a mess to clean each time.


Is mechanically separated beef legal in products in the U.S.? I was shopping on line at a major supermarket and noticed  items from major brands that the ingredients list lists mechanically separated pork and chicken. I don't know about the pork or chicken but as for the beef I found the following link.
https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/What-is-Mechanically-Separated-Meat-MSM#:~:text=At%20that%20time%20the%20use,for%20use%20as%20human%20food.

My knowledge MSM Beef was banned in 2004 but had been used since at least the 80s before that. I originally heard about this from my dad who was and is still a butcher manager.
I just texted him and he said that MSM Beef is still prohibited for human consumption because of mad cow disease but mechanically separated Pork is legal and can be used when the package says so. He was not sure about chicken but if it's not banned then they probably do put it in products. he says he likes that they "use as much of the animal as possible but yes , its kinda gross."


What qualifies to be an "all purpose flour"? I have Atta, and also Maida.

Which one of them qualifies as all purpose flour?
If this all purpose flour has got some special name, please enlighten me.

Of those two, Maida flour is the closest to 'Western' all-purpose flour (which is an American term. It is called plain flour in Britain). Atta flour is made from durum wheat, which is used for things like pasta (and of course Indian breads like chapatis).

Maida flour is made with 'regular' wheat, but it also has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour (8-10% as opposed to 9-12%). The impact of this lower protein level will depend on what you're cooking. Maida flour should be good for making cakes, for example.


What should I cover bread dough with while it's rising? If you let (bread) dough rise, the recipe always asks to cover it. Years ago, I read to cover it with a wet towel. Nowadays, I see more and more recipes that ask for plastic wrap (aka saran or cling wrap).
The towel lets air through, the wrap does not. What is the difference between the two in the end result? What is best to use and why?
I'm talking about the first as well as the second (proofing) rise. If there is a difference between the phases, please inform me.

The goal is to keep the surface of the bread from drying out.

A wet towel works fine but plastic wrap is cheaper and easier than constantly cleaning wet towels.

I have used both methods and haven't noticed a difference in the bread produced. In very dry climates, when I made bread with multiple rises I sometimes had to redampen the towel which was an added inconvenience.

Lately I have been proofing large batches of bread in a large stock pot and just use the lid of the pot as the only cover.


What determines if the handle of a pan gets hot while in use? About three years ago, we replaced a one 10" skillet with another, both Macy's Tools of the Trade anodized aluminum teflon skillets. (The teflon coating didn't last on the old pan.)

The old pan had a metal handle bolted onto the body, and the new one has a silicone insert on the bottom of a metal handle, also bolted on. We're going to have to replace this new(er) pan because the handle gets too hot to touch after a few minutes of use, even though the pan itself works extremely well; the hot handle is a safety hazard.

We're considering the skillet that will replace it, and we'll get another, similar piece. However, it would be nice if it lasted for more than a few years. And, while any pot handle will eventually get too hot to touch, I'd like to be able to pick up the pan without an oven mitt.

What determines how hot a handle does or doesn't get while the pan is in use? I've been researching brands, and this isn't something that I've seen covered much in the reviews.

Edit: Pictures may be of help. Sorry for the mess, we just made dinner. (Tilapia with snow peas, garlic, and ginger with a side of mushrooms.)

Old pan (Well, it's another pan with the same handle, I tossed the old one):

The new pan, showing the infamous plastic insert:

The usual heat transfer issues all apply.

What are those? Well, let me see

The handle will warm up until it's total heat losses equal the total heat coming in.
Heat comes in mostly by conduction from the body of the pot.
Some materials conduct heat better than others. Metals tend to have high thermal conductivity (with aluminum and especially copper begin particularly good at it). Plastics and wood tend to be poor thermal conductors.
Thick pieces of material can conduct heat faster than thin ones, but they also take proportionately more heat to increase the temperature, so this is a wash...unless you connect a solid handle to the body with thin spars (as in your upper photograph).
The handle loses heat to the air by conduction (very little), convection (much more), and radiation (very little until it gets to hot to hold). For all of these having lots of surface area improves the rate at which heat can be dumped into the surrounding environment.
Shape and orientation matters a lot to convective heat losses, but the dependence is too complicated to describe in a few words.

I find that bent sheet metal handles tend to stay cool, while solid handles get hot. If the half-n-half version you describe above has a pretty solid piece of metal that that part will behave very much like a all-metal handle (it may even be worse as the teflon will insulate the underside).

Short of taking detailed photos and constructing a model in a thermal simulation there is no rigorous way to know in advance. Still, if you've been cooking for long you probably have some intuition in this matter. Trust it.


Can I substitute store-bought puff pastry dough for phyllo in pumpkin pastry? I want to make a pumpkin filled pastry for a potluck thanksgiving.  I found a great recipe for pumpkin & feta pastries, but it calls for filo/phyllo dough.  Can I use puff pastry dough instead, to make it more 'turnover-like'?  If so, how will it alter the preparation?

Looking at this recipe I don't see any reason why you couldn't use puff pastry as the container.

The only ways that the preparation would be different is:
puff pastry doesn't dry out as fast as filo so you don't have to worry about the wet towel in the instructions.
You wouldn't want to do multiple layers of puff pastry as the recipe calls for. You would just form a single pouch to hold your filling and seal it well.

Know that the texture will be different of course. The filo will be a bit more crisp and the layers larger and more distinct- filo is also a lot more work. You may find that the baking time needs to be adjusted a little but I don't think it will be very different if at all. Cook them until they're golden using the recipe's time as a starting point.

This recipe is in a Mediterranean style and filo would be more traditional but puff pastry would produce something tasty.


Cayenne Latte drink - how to make at home? I used to go to a coffee shop ( in a different state) where they made a cayenne pepper epsresso drink. It was a great drink strong cofee flavor with a kick of cayenne.  The barrista mentioned that this drink only works in small portions ( i.e. size small cup.)

Is anyone familiar with this drink? I'd love some ideas how to recreate it at home. What is the best way to attempt to replicate this flavor? I was thinking adding varying degrees of cayenne to espresso and find the best combination, but not sure if I should be adding other ingredients.

I'm not a professional barrista but I spend a lot of time drinking expresso based drinks and I would suggest that you start with a latte base (for a small drink, that would be two shots of expresso and hot steamed milk to the top) and add cayenne pepper to it.  I would also sugest that you only add about a 1/2 teaspoon at first.  You could also add chocolate to create a mole type drink and calm down the heat of the pepper, if needed. Use a dark chocolate, if availible, as you don't want it to be to sweet if you are trying to highlight the spice.

Make sure that you stir it all the way so that you don't get uneven distrubution of the pepper, I would actually add the pepper right after the the shots and stir then, and then again after adding the milk. Also, don't forget that the temperature of the beverage is going to enhance the heat that you get from the pepper, so for the less spice tolerate you will need to tone it way down.


Mushy sushi surimi texture? I've noticed a difference between most places when I go out for sushi compared to when I make it myself.

The crab sticks / surimi in maki rolls when I go out seem to have a much more mushy texture - however, I haven't found much information on what to do differently to achieve this.

Could it be that they chop it up and mix it with mayo or something?

You can kind of knead them a little with your hand.  Just roll them on the board to break up the "fibers"


Tweaking a Macaroni & Cheese Cake This is basically the first loaf I have baked and I am having difficulty knowing how I should tweak it. I have four directions to go with it and would like to know in which direction I should go, or if further tweaking might improve any of the forks below.

So I'm building 'bread' for a grilled cheese sandwich using macaroni (ditalini, actually) and cheese (mornay using 1/2s  cheddar, colby-jack, using roux). I am making this bread using a springform pan, so it will also be a 'cake', if you will. So anyway, I need to keep the 'cake' from browning too much, stay moist, not get super crunchy, and turn into a solid, cohesive whole.

I have two primary forks from my first test.

Test #1: 325'f @ 45min

browned slightly on bottom and sides after 45 minutes; too loose, not browned
raised temp to 425'f applied egg wash to top and edges baked for fifteen; too loose, spotted brown (bottom unknown)
applied egg wash to spots, around edges again, baked for fifteen more; less, but still too loose, bottom far too crunchy

Final for Test #1: bottom too browned, too loose

Moving Forward

Fork #1: Adjusting temp:time

sub fork #2.1.a: lower, slower
sub fork #2.1.b: higher, faster

Fork #2: Adding more mornay using a corn starch slurry prior to baking

sub fork #2.2.a: mixing corn starch slurry mornay  with mac 'n cheese
sub fork #2.2.b: mixing just bechamel and corn starch slurry with mac 'n cheese

So what direction would, at least in theory, provide a denser, more cohesive solid, and allow for some browning, though not complete? (The browning will be finished off by egg-wash and cast iron skillet)

The trick was in playing with the thickness and the application of the egg wash. On the second attempt, I kept the springform pan filles to only about 2-3 pasta in the layer (pushing awy from the loaf idea, more toward a flatbread).

After adding 2 1/2 cups mac 'n cheese to the springform (sprayed and dusted), I baked fifteen minutes at 425'f, pulled it, sprinkled herbs on top, poured 60 ml egg wash (1 egg: 1 T aq) mostly-evenly around, baked another fifteen minutes.

This resulted in a reliable flatbread crust for the grilled cheese sandwich that balances the quiche-y-ness with the pasta pretty well. Basically, the baked egg wash acts like a kind of cement. I followed up with another wash on bottom, flour, cornmeal and saute in canola on a cast iron skillet.


How long to keep defrosted vegetables in the fridge I normally buy frozen bags of vegetables from the supermarket, but I currently don't have a freezer to store them in and have been putting them straight in the fridge instead.

How long will they keep there and still be safe to eat?

The cell walls are now damaged from the freezing, so they cannot keep like whole, live vegetables. They are in the same position as if you had damaged the cell walls by heat = cooking them. So, apply the rule for cooked food.

They will be safe for 3-5 days.


Should hands be washed after touching the outside of an egg shell?(UK) Say someone was to remove some eggs from their box to place them in the fridge. Assume this is in Britain(where eggs aren't cleaned before sold, I believe).
Is there a risk of salmonella spreading if they do not wash their hands afterwards?

What if they washed their hands, but with cold water and no soap, then dried them on a towel?

Thanks,
Anthony.

Yes. When I was researching raw egg yolks for sauces, I discovered that salmonella lives mainly on outer shells, and less often in the yolk. So washing eggs with detergent before using egg yolks surely prevents troubles, and washing your hands after handling them would be common sense anyway in a kitchen. I am pretty sure however that not washing your hands in a private situation would never give you food poisoning. But if you handle hundreds of eggs and afterwards make a, say, mayonnaise using many egg yokes, that risk would be considerably higher.


How to make ice cream base using evaporated milk easier to work with? I sometimes try to make “chewy” ice cream using evaporated milk or dulce de leche made using the “boil a can of sweetened condensed milk” method in the base.
For the batch I’m wrangling now, I used a 14oz can of dulce de leche, 3 cups of heavy cream, a uhh... lot(?) of cocoa powder (I just added more until the dairy looked like it’s not getting darker anymore) and a 4oz bar of dark chocolate. (The dulce de leche adding around 220g of sugar.)
When chilled, this thickened into a puddingy paste that barely flows without coaxing, and my (cheap) ice cream machine started being unable to move it in about 10-15 minutes. (Although a thermometer registered the mixture as below freezing near the middle-ish.)
I usually just pry this out of the machine and into the freezer because what else am I going to do, and end up with fairly tough, albeit not icy icecream.
Is there anything that would make this base easier to work with without significantly changing the ingredients? Recipes for this style of ice cream usually have even more evaporated milk compared to the rest in them, sometimes even adding egg yolks which would likely thicken this even more. (Based on my experiences making chocolate+caramel icecream, replacing sugar in the recipe with caramel made out of it seems to make it so that using egg yolks is the difference between having the base churnable or not.)
I’ve been debating whipping the liquid up (or maybe just tossing it into a blender) before and after chilling to aerate it before it goes into the churn - after all it’s mostly cream and should be around 25% butterfat, but I have no idea if this would be helpful, and maybe there’s better tricks.

From the clarification in your comments, it sounds like the amount of solids that you are introducing to your recipe is effectively absorbing almost all of the liquid ingredients that are typically added.
If you want the mixture to be easier to manipulate for the churn, I think your best options are to either introduce more liquid (and thus dilute the other solid ingredients) or to reduce the quantity of solid ingredients that you are using in the first place.
Note that as far as I can tell, for the purposes of this recipe with regards to ease of churning, I consider the cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and to a lesser extent egg yolk and evaporated milk as "solids". These are all things that will cause the liquid in your recipe to solidify faster when chilled vs. the usual liquid ingredients.
Hope this is helpful. Good luck!


Using the right acid for red curry I have a delicious red curry recipe which I think could be improved if I could add a touch of acidity.  I've tried using rice wine but this seems to either overpower the dish or add nothing at all.  I'm wondering if I should be using a different type of acid.

My recipe goes:

Heat 1/4 can of coconut milk in a skillet.
Add 1 Tbsn curry paste.
Simmer until the oils separate and very little liquid is left.
Add remaining 3/4 can coconut milk.
Return to a simmer.
Add 1 tsp fish sauce.
Add 1 tsp palm sugar.
Add proteins and veggies.
Cook until veggies are soft.
Add 1 tsp rice wine.

I really want to add complexity with a bit of acid but I just haven't been able to achieve this.

Rice wine vinegar

If you are using plain rice wine, then you aren't going to get much acidity. Rice wine vinegar will give you a higher acidity to flavor ratio. I generally add rice wine as part of the stir fry process; I almost always make curry in the following order: aromatics (i.e. ginger, ground spices) -> stir fry vegetables/meat -> add liquid. Rice wine vinegar (and fish sauce, too) I like to add while stir frying as I find that tends to get the flavor into the vegetables without letting them get too soggy soaking in liquid.

Lemon or lime juice

I would be careful with lime, as it tends to add a sweetness, and I find that it can easily overpower a curry. But lemon, on the other hand, will give you more acidity without so much sweetness. Depending on what is in your red curry paste (specifically, lemongrass and how much), lemon juice could go well or clash. Lime juice is something I generally use in green curries.


Making broth more filling? When I make a soup (planning on making a chicken soup tonight) I use chicken broth, creamer, and various seasonings. I love when I eat soup that has a filling broth because I always serve more broth than meat & veggies that are also in the soup. The broth doesn't need to be thicker but are there spices or veggies I could add that will make the broth itself more filling?

For what it's worth, my wife will sometimes add pureed carrots to achieve what (I think) you're going for. This principal of course isn't limited to carrots but you at least have the idea...
Again... FWIW


How to adjust baking time and temperature for volume? I have a recipe for a round honey cake, I want to halve the amount and bake in a loaf pan. Or, the other way round - I have a recipe for a loaf pan, I want to double the amount and bake in a round pan.

How do I adjust baking time and temperature?

Note: this question refers to a tube pan, and thus doesn't answer my question, because the chimney in the middle makes things different. This one talks about a taller cake, where mine keeps the height more or less the same, changing width instead. And this one suggests testing internal temperature, which might be OK for someone advanced enough to bake bread at home, but me - I don't have the tools. I just want a simple honey cake for Rosh HaShannah.

Use the same temperature for the same recipe, even if you've changed the pan size.  You'd have to do something really drastic to need to change the temperature.

Bake time is almost entirely dependent on depth of batter rather than size of pan.  As long as batter depth is essentially the same, so is the bake time.  For example, I have baked a cake recipe for a 9 inch round in two 6 inch rounds with the same bake time.

If you double a recipe originally for a 8x4 loaf pan and bake it in a 9 inch round, then you'll have pretty much the exact same depth of batter.  (who says basic geometry isn't useful in our adult lives?)  In this case, I'd recommend starting checking the cake for doneness at exactly the same bake time for the original cake.  If you half a recipe originally for a 9 inch round and bake it in an 8x4 loaf pan, I might start checking it a few minutes early just to be careful.

More generally, if you are halving a recipe, find out the surface area of the recipe's pan and halve it.  If you are doubling a recipe, find out the surface area of the recipe's pan and double it.  How does this value compare to the surface area of the new pan you want to bake in?  If it's a bit higher, you might need to add a few minutes to bake time.  If it's a bit lower, you might need to subtract a few minutes from bake time.  If it's wildly different, maybe consider using a different pan.

Also remember that a cake isn't done at a specific time.  The time on the recipe is to get you in the ballpark to start checking for doneness, and a recipe that says 35 minutes is not going to be hurt by quickly opening the door at 25 minutes to see if the top still looks wet.  If you're moving to a smaller pan or lower depth of batter, it probably makes sense to start checking things on the early side.  I usually start checking any cake 5 minutes before the time on the recipe, so if I'm messing with pan sizes or something like that, I'll start checking 10 minutes early.

There are a lot of other clues about doneness than just time - for a butter cake these are usually if the top springs back when pressed, if it's pulling away from the sides of the pan, and if a toothpick inserted into the center comes back with just a few crumbs.  Reports of butter type cakes falling because the oven door is opened too frequently are greatly exaggerated.


How to see if cast iron cookware is enameled? I have found a cast iron grill manufactured by the French company Le Creuset. This cookware is probably around 20 years old and you can see a picture of the same model below.

I'm wondering if this grill is enameled cast iron or raw cast iron. Indeed, if it's raw cast iron, I will strip of the former seasoning and create a new one. If it's enameled cast iron, I'm not sure how to deeply clean it but I will not put it in my self-cleaning oven.

Today, all cast iron products from Le Creuset are enameled but I don't know if that was the case 20 years ago. The cookware is black and has been used a lot, so I don't know if the (quite) smooth aspect of the top is enameled or not.

Do you have any tricks to recognize if cast iron cookware is enameled or not?*

Photos (click for full-size)

On this last one, you can see "Le Creuset * Made in France* D2" but I didn't find anything about D2 grill model on the internet.

We're going to do all of our analysis on the back side, so we don't mess up any cooking surface:

if it's rusted : not enameled (or possibly damaged enamel)
if it's greasy, clean w/ hot soapy water and a scrubbing pad, just in the middle of the pan.
if it's any color other than black, brown, bare metal or orange-brown : enameled
look for a model number, then look it up online

... that should get you though 99% 90%  of the cases ...  if that still doesn't help:

run your fingers over the cleaned surface
if it's rough : not enameled (or someone polished the surface ... which is rare, but not impossible; also beware of more recent 'satin enamel', but that's typically an interior treatment)
if there's signs of crazing (tiny cracks all over the place; not sure how obvious it'd be w/ black enamel) : enameled

If you're still not sure after that, I guess post a picture, close up of the cleaned back side, with good lighting.


Can I use Portobello Mushrooms in Lasagna? I'd like to make a lasagna with mushrooms finely chopped and cooked with some Italian sausage to make the base for the meat sauce. However, all I have are Portobello Mushrooms. Will they work for this?

The simple answer is Yes. Of course you can use Portobello in your lasagna. You can dice them up and add them to your sauce, no problem at all.

If that is the end product you want then you should make it that way but I would recommend slicing the Portobello into long thin slices. This will accentuate the lovely texture of the Portobello and you could add a nice layering effect to an already nicely layered dish.

Be sure with whatever method you use you cook them quickly on high heat with a little Salt and Pepper to help bring out their flavor.


What is the relationship between salt and iodine? I have seen and read some comments from the post: What is the difference between sea salt and regular table salt?

My questions are.

Does Rock or Natural salt contain iodine?
Does Table Salt contain Iodine or has Iodine been removed?
Does "Iodised" / "Iodized" table salt have Iodine added?

I have been having a discussion with a friend on whether Iodine is added to salt.

Iodine is commonly added to table salt, hence the term "Iodized".

This is purely a public health issue, much like fluoridation of water.   The human body needs small quantities of Iodine for good health, and salt was the method chosen to give it to us.  Just as fluoride is added to water, and Vitamin D is added to milk.  It actually has nothing to do with the product, it's just a convenient carrier.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodised_salt  for more information.


life without refrigerator I'm a student living in a dorm without a refrigerator. I decided to change my diet and be a pescetarian starting this year. But most of the food sold nearby doesn't fit my diet or my budget so I'll have to cook my own food. I'm not quite sure what items I can stock on because I have no refrigerator. I don't wanna live with preserved food either since the reason for my shift is to eat healthier. Can you guys help me? Do you have any tips on living fridge-less?

I turned the fridge off years ago (noisy, waste of electricity). Equipment I've found handy:

A food dehydrator (or the sun when available) as many foodstuffs dry well. (Possibly also mosquito netting or screens, as bugs love to get into e.g. tomatoes.) Don't overlook things like mushroom stems as these can be dried then used to make stock. Downside: noisy when running.
With a oven (or toaster oven?) you could also dry or roast things, e.g. dandelion roots.
Tins and plastic containers. Lots of these. Space may be an issue in a dorm, or get creative and stash them under a raised bed. Lentils, beans, rice, chickpeas, etc.
Rubber gasket jars, possibly with airlocks, great for salt ferments (mince onions, 2% saline solution, let sit a few days). Roommates who only like modern sterile food (e.g. food with no smell) may be problem (find a better roommate). Moroccan preserved lemons (chop lemons lotsa salt wait a few weeks) are also possible in these. Use the lemons quickly when ready.
Glass jars with airlocks, to make a juice made from honey.
Old peanut butter jars and coffee filters are good to keep around, as you can sprout beans in these. Metal lids however mix poorly with vinegar preserve solutions (the acid eats them away) e.g. grated ginger root into vinegar will preserve the ginger for a few weeks, or even homemade mustard can be a problem with a metal lid.
Stock pot to simmer down stocks. Bonus: winter humidification of the room. Smaller versions of these may not be as good as a heavy pot on a stove or standalone burner, though.

Various foods ideas:

Tinned fish is quick and easy, e.g. bread crumbs + tinned mackerel + crushed walnuts + apple cider vinegar + soy sauce + dried shiso leaves + roasted chillies mix and then heat briefly. (Modern industrial soy sauce is vile, try to find the traditional version if possible.)
Load up on spices: make your own mustard, dried or roasted chillies keep well, ajwain is yummy in lentils with some dried stinging nettle and ghee (buy unsalted butter, simmer down, spoon off the white foam, stash in a glass jar).
See what you can forage for; in my area, rosemary grows like everywhere and nobody has (yet) objected to my dandelion harvests from state property. Check local laws for details, and don't harvest downstream from e.g. parking lots on account of the toxins from the cars.
Dried kale can be snuck into soups, egg dishs, etc.
Maintain a sourdough starter. 1/3c ground whole wheat (or also rye) grains per day plus water; use discarded half of this with equal amount flour and with a toaster oven you could probably make pita bread or pizza crusts, or cream of wheat soups, etc. Bread with flavor, what a concept!

Physical/Social ideas:

Join or form a food club. Networking, possible bulk pricing on food, etc.
If the dorm rooms are unsuitable for food storage (too warm?), are there other areas in the building that are, and are the Powers That Be open to such non-modern-traditional uses of the space?

A selection of my current stock:


Crab - brown meat looks grey Yesterday I cooked two brown crabs for dinner. Both were alive and kicking immediately before I cooked them. They weighed 700g each and I boiled them for 19 minutes. The white meat in both was perfectly cooked. When we broke in to the main shell, the brown meat in one was perfect - the slightly rusty brown colour that you expect, and taste great. The meat in the other crab, however, was grey-brown, mushy and very unappetising. Though it didn't smell any different, we didn't try any as we were unsure whether we would get ill.

Is this crab meat normal and safe? If not, is there something in the cooking or storage process that could have prevented it?

Did the shell on the grey-brown one seem heavier or look weathered?  I have had this more with local caught when I was on the coast than commercial crabs, but, I have had occur something which sounds like what you are describing.  When a crab is ready to change its shell, before it loses the old one it will build up a large amount of chemicals in its body for the new shell.  My experience with this was no noticeable smell, but he meet was off color, soft, and very bad tasting.  I have had this occur in the US with both Dungeness and Rock crabs.

If that was it, the crab would not have hurt you, but also was not something you likely would have wanted to eat.  Sadly, there is little way to know ahead of time that you hit the change of shell.  It usually does not seem to occur with commercial crabs as the big schools seem to mostly change shells together and outside of normal harvest.  I used to fish for rocks though, and they were all over the place, so I was constantly tapping shells and tossing back what others thought looked like good crabs because I thought they were at that stage and did not want to waste one.  The heavy/old shell is not always a solid give-away, but at least it is a hint.

Crab is something that is very easy for a person to react to, so to me it is always best to practice, when in doubt, throw it out.  Sad to waste but better than getting sick, regardless of if the crab was turning or was just in an unlucky wrong cycle.


Is it feasible to smoke meat with spruce needles? I am thinking of constructing a makeshift smoker and smoke some meat out in the woods this weekend. When burning spruce needles they produce a lot of smoke; is it suitable to smoke meat with spruce needles or are there any health concerns I should be aware of?

It's feasible, but then you'd better really like the taste of turpentine and have the courage to take a chance on ingesting it. Turpentine comes from the oils of pine and -- you guessed it -- spruce. I wouldn't recommend taking a chance on smoking anything using coniferous materials. If you're in an area with spruce, then you probably have alder as well. There's your viable alternative.

Additional info: If you don't have alder handy or you just dislike alder smoke, then wild hazelnut or wild applewood will work just as well. (I use the applewood.) If you don't live where the trees are, most hardware stores that sell wood stove or pellet stove fuel will have wood chips made from hardwood trees. If you live anywhere near an orchard, take a drive to the country and ask a grower if you can buy or reserve some apple, cherry, or nut tree prunings. And finally, if you live in eastern North America, maple and butternut woods make excellent smoking materials.


My sourdough starter stopped growing after day two I've tried making my own sourdough starter.

On the first day I added a cup of whole rye flour with 3/4 of cool filtered water. After 24 hours it already started smelling a little sour and had a few bubbles. I took 8 table spoon of the starter and added the same ingredients in the same amounts as the day before. This was at around 21:45

By morning (around 08:00) the starter was very bubbly and over flew the jar (which, admittedly was too small) and filled everything around it. The smell was quite strong and more sour. Can't say it was nice. In the evening I fed it again in the same way (in a bigger jar)

In the morning there was no change in volume and very few bubbles. The smell is still there though...

According to the recipe I'm supposed to feed it twice a day now, but I'm not sure it's good.
Any ideas?

The first few days when setting up a new sourdough can be quite inpredictable - but like in your case, there often is an initial burst of activity, followed by a rather quiet phase. This is because during that time, there is no stable “bacterial and yeasty community” yet and one or the other may temporarily prevail. The “not right” smell can also be an indicator of this. This is initial phase of a activity is often interpreted as “the sourdough is ready”, but it is not. And two or three days is really too short for the whole process of creating a new sourdough from scratch.

I suggest you keep feeding your starter for a few more days. Whether you feed once or twice is not crucial, but as long as there is very little activity, once a day should suffice1. There is always the risk of a new starter not working out - if the “wrong” bacteria win over the desired ones - but this will become evident pretty quickly. In this case, discard it, clean your equipment well and start over. And don’t worry, even experienced bakers had new sourdough fail.

1 Feeding cycles depend a lot on the ratio of starter : (flour & water), in other words, how quickly the yeasts and bacteria “eat up and multiply”.


Wok and electric hob - which ring to use? I've a flat electric hob (the gets-very-hot type, not induction) upon which I cook.

When using my wok (which is flat-bottomed) I place it on the largest ring, but obviously the pan only covers a relatively small potion of the ring. I hadn't really thought about it, but for some reason yesterday I was cooking away and it dawned on me maybe the smaller rings would work better.

Do the larger rings normally produce more thermal energy, or the same amount just more spread out?
Would it be better to use the ring that is about the same size as the base of the pan?

The larger ring will transmit more energy, but spread over the size of the ring; so the density is probably roughly the same.

So using an element bigger than your pot/wok bottom is basically just a waste of heat/energy.

Some supporting evidence added by DMA57361:

I've recently gotten a free energy monitor, which tells me the current power consumption of my entire home. So, with a bit of experimentation, I have worked out the approximate power output of each ring on my hob, and this backs up that they have approximately the same output density.

Position     |  Diameter  |  Area   |  Power  |  Density
             |   cm       |   cm²   |   kW    |   kW/cm²
-------------+------------+---------+---------+-----------
Back-Left    |   18       |  254.5  |  1.90   |  7.46
Back-Right   |   16       |  201.0  |  1.45   |  7.19
Front-Left   |   14       |  154.0  |  1.25   |  8.11
Front-Right  |   18       |  254.5  |  1.84   |  7.24


Can a water bath be used to bake brownies? I've never used a water bath when baking, but I know that people use it for baking cheese cakes (i.e., placing the cheese-cake form in a container with water), so I was wondering if the same concept could be used for brownies.

Whenever I bake brownies, all the edges become a bit too hard from overcooking. This is not a huge problem because it's only about a centimetre from the edge, and I just cut it off, but I was wondering if a water bath could help.

My main concern is whether the water evaporating would make the environment in the oven too humid and interfere with the batter. I would think the same thing about cheese cakes, but the fact that many people are doing that means it's OK in that case.

Edit for clarification: the rest of the brownie is cooked just right, so I'm less keen to change other variables like temperature and time. I've also started wondering about this because I'm aware of the ability of water to distribute and soften the effect of heat. For example, if I try to defrost meat in the microwave, it will start cooking on the outside before it defrosts in the centre; but if I microwave it in a bowl of water, it defrosts evenly.

For cheese cakes water bath makes more sense cause you want to avoid burning of the batter by keeping the heat contact directly from the tray.

For brownies the contact of the hot plate is required, and that is how you get a little solid outer part.

When you try to water bath brownies, they would have more or less like cheese cake texture, I actually tried it.


How much EGCG and caffeine can specific amount of water absorb from tea leaves? For example;

1) 100mL water + 4 tablespoons of green tea leaves
2) 100mL water + 12 tablespoons of green tea leaves

Will the second one result with higher EGCG and caffeine content? Or is there a upper limit for the absorbable amount? If not, how much difference can occur? 3x content of the first one?

3x tea would not mean 3x extract

But it is going to be close to 3x for small amount

Water is a good solvent for those chemicals but there is a limit

The solubility of caffeine is 2 g/100 mL at room temperature (by weight about 1 : 50).
66 gram / 100 mL at boiling.

A coke is 20 mg (milli 1/1000) 12 oz.
The caffeine we drink is not even close to saturation.

In extraction you equalize the mole fraction with a fudge factor.  I don't know where to find fudge factor for tea.  But it would favor the water.

A dry tea leaf is about 3% caffeine. Getting the caffeine out with boiling water you can pretty easily get up to saturation at room temperature. But you would need quite a bit of tea.  2 g caffiene would be 66 g of tea.  A tea bag is about 2 grams.

In a commercial extraction they would use a solvent like ethanol.


Steaming and seasoning veggies in a pressure pot? I am an extreme novice when it comes to food prep. My daughter bought me a pressure pot. I have the Aozita brochure for steaming veggies. When do I season , before? during? or after steaming? What is meant  by drizzle?

It depends... (taking carrots with rosemary as an example)

If using dried herbs, add them beforehand so they get steamed together with the veggies
if using fresh: crush and add afterwards

(or a combination of both)


How long to cook at turkey for at low temperature in a convection oven? For the past few years I have been cooking turkey using a low temperature method, using the Splendid Table recipe. In short: after a 45 minute blast at 450 F to kill the bacteria on the skin and in the chest cavity you turn it down to ~170 F and cook it for ~1 hr/lb.
Those instructions are for a conventional oven. This year I have a convection oven, and I would like to use the convection feature. There are plenty of recipes for the normal high temp convection oven turkey cook out there, but I haven't really seen anything talking about using a convection oven for a low temp cook.
Has anyone done this? Does the convection feature shorten the cook time? How many hrs / lb in a convection oven? The obvious answer is: "cook it until the meat reaches 165 F". Yes, that will be done, but I first wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions for time so I can roughly schedule the cook.

I've never cooked anything that low and slow in a convection oven.
But a cursory lookabout led me to this Sysco chart,
https://impacweb.cbord.com/reportsets/~common/Cooking%20Times%20For%20Convection%20Oven.pdf
There is a section for whole turkey 16 to 20lbs, 275-300F, for 4-5 hours.
But more importantly a note at the bottom states,
"For menu items not listed, use recommended time and temperature for conventional oven but reduce the temperature setting by 25-50 degrees F and reduce the total bake/roast time by approximately 10 to 15 percent."
So if I were you using that recipe, I'd do 420F for 40 minutes, then 140F for 45m/lb, adjusting the time and temp by intermittent temperature checks.
Looking at a couple more sites and conversions those numbers from Sysco appear to fall in line. That's if the oven goes that low I'd imagine, 140F is pretty low.


When should I add curry paste? This week I was preparing Thai curry and something odd struck me when comparing the two packages of curry paste in my pantry. They're both from the same brand; the yellow curry says

Cut 300-350g of meat (substitute) or fish into pieces. Stir fry the curry paste for a short time over high heat and add the meat. Add 600g of vegetables and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add 400ml of coconut milk (or less to taste). ...

but the red curry says

Cut 300-350g of meat (substitute) into pieces and stir fry until they're brown. Add 600g of cut vegetables and stir fry for another 5 minutes. Add the bag of curry paste and the 270ml of coconut milk. ...

Notice the difference when the curry paste is added. I've checked another recipe for red curry which says to add it first. I can imagine it makes a lot of difference whether it's in direct contact with a very hot wok, or just warmed up as part of the sauce. But what is the actual difference, and why would it differ between packages/recipes? Or would this depend on how it has been prepared before packaging? Also, suppose I have a package of curry paste which doesn't include a recipe, what's the general advice for it? Add it first or later?
(For those of you able to read Dutch, this is the yellow paste and this the red one. They're generally available at the supermarket known for its hamsters.)

You typically want to bloom the spices by cooking it over high heat for some period of time.  But if you cook it for too long, you risk burning the spices.
If you're trying to brown meat, the moisture in the spices both make it more difficult (because of the spices burning first), and throw off the color to let you easily tell when it's cooked properly.
When you're making a dish that cooks quickly (like fish) or that you want to stew more than brown, I'll cook the spice paste first, then add everything to it.
In general, my procedure for using spice pastes is:

Cook down onions or other veg that needs to soften and/or brown meat (optional)
Add spice paste
Cook for a minute or so (optional)
Add whatever remaining ingredients
Cook for another minute or so
Add liquid
Simmer until cooked through

I'm actually more surprised that your paste didn't mention cooking the paste for a minute or so, or letting it cook with the vegetables before you add the coconut milk ... but it's possible that it contained an ingredient that doesn't like high heat.
It's also possible that the goal for the red curry dish is for the individual ingredients to maintain their own distinct flavor with there being a sauce at the end, rather than it being more like a stew where the flavor meld together.


Why is my cheese sauce gritty? Sometimes when making a very simple cheese sauce (butter, flour, milk, cheese [cheddar, usually]), the final sauce has a sort of gritty or slightly pebbly texture (rather than smooth) - it seems like maybe the cheese hasn't totally melted, even if I continue to heat the sauce.

Why does this happen? How can I avoid it?

Could be an unfinished roux (the butter, flour mixture). But most likely it's because the cheese was heated too quickly or too much, causing the protein to clump up.

Suggestions:

Melt with less heat
Use a double boiler (to reduce hot spots within the pan)
Toss the shredded cheddar with cornstarch first (starch helps reduce clumping)
Add cheese in smaller batches (easier to maintain correct heat level and stir cheese in)


Braising brisket internal temperature I am going to braise 22 pounds of brisket for 6-8 hours at 225°.
What temperature should the brisket be internally before I pull out to cool? I have been told many mixed answers.

After 6-8 hours at 225° your meat's going to be 225°, there's no value of measuring its temperature. After a couple of hours any piece of meat will reach the same temperature of the oven. When cooking tough cuts like brisket target temperature is immaterial, you're never going to serve them less than well done, the point is to cook them long enough for the connective tissue to break down into gelatin.

Measuring temperature is important when roasting tender cuts and you want a particular doneness level.


forgot to turn on crock pot for less than 2 hours I left a pork roast in my crock pot for a little less than 2 hours, but forgot to turn crock pot on.  It still felt cool to the touch.  Is it safe to eat?

When these things happen (and you're still within 2 hrs), you want to get everything heated up as quickly as possible, so it's out of the food danger zone.

See my notes at the bottom of an answer on prepping things the night before on heating things up faster.


At what temp does mayo and salad dressings spoil? My compressor is going out and milk spoils.  The repair man says it will take a week to 10 days to get a new one.  It is still cool in there but not cold.  I just opened a new jar of mayo and some salad dressings. I want to be safe but no wasteful.

I'd throw it out (and everything else that is in the fridge), especially if you know your fridge will be out for days.

Better be safe and loose a few $ than risk of being sick.

"...If you lose electricity, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. Your refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours if it's unopened. A full freezer will keep an adequate temperature for about 48 hours if the door remains closed..."

https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm093704.htm


Vinegar Alternatives and rice combinations in making sushi rice What are some of the alternatives in vinegar for making sushi rice? I know it's best to use rice vinegar, but has anyone ever tried it with white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar for example? Follow up on that question, would you put or more less vinegar?
What are some rice combinations that someone can use? I'm thinking for a next batch, I might do 80% sushi rice, 20% basmati, or 70% sushi rice and 30% arborio. Has anyone tried any such combinations, and if so how did it turn out?

I have never made, but I have eaten Arborio sushi, with Italian flavors and here in DC I have had latin-flavored sushi.  It was all great.   The Arborio sushi seemed like plain Arborio rice to me.

The rice vinegar is sweet and less acid (4% versus 6%), so if you try different vinegars you may want to dilute it a bit first and then compare for sweetness.  Say you have 2 tablespoons of vinegar at 6%, then add add one tablespoon of water to it to bring it down to 4%.


Can I can vegetables using sous-vide? My girlfriend and I were talking about the summer produce season approaching and hit on the idea of canning sous-vide. That is, rather than sterilizing by high heat for a short amount of time, you could sterilize with low heat for a large amount of time with a sous-vide setup. Particularly in the case of vegetables, which don't start to cook much until around 170 degrees, we thought that if we could use a lower-temperature process for a day or so we could can pickles and jams without having to boil them half to death. So: why is this stupid?

Here is why it's stupid:

Sous-vide doesn't get hot enough to kill botulism spores. Low acid foods will be very dangerous.
Boiling is required for a strong seal on canning jars.
All pectin jellies I have seen require boiling to set.

High acid recipes often call for processing in a water bath for a mere 10 minutes to seal the lids. Recipes that don't call for the water bath universally call for the product to be refrigerated.

Perhaps high acid foods could be vacuum sealed instead of bottled and pasteurized. It seems feasible but this is not the sort of thing you should experiment with. The failure conditions are catastrophic.


Ideas for a banana dessert crust, gluten free I came across a nice little dessert consisting of sliced bananas sandwiching peanut butter. My kids would love it, but I have a youngin and he's gluten-free.  Worried handing him raw bananas as he'll a mush them up, so I want to put a crust of sorts on it to contain, or at least minimize the mushing. Chocolate is one alternative but  I'm leaning towards something a little healthier.

Pamela's at http://www.pamelasproducts.com/products/baking-mixes/ makes a great non-gluten crust. I even added more coconut flour to it and mixed it in the food processor for a sweet potato pie. It came out firm and tasty. Also baked it first then added the filling and baked it again. If you add more flour you might want to add a little more salt but I like mine bland. Hope this helps.


Why is mustard irritating for me? I thought I bought mustard, but when I put it on a hot dog and ate it, it didn't taste like mustard. It irritated my nose and sent a shockwave through my skull. So I bought a different brand, but there was not much difference. I feel that irritating, tingling sensation rippling through my head whenever I take a bite. I think it's yellow mustard, the label says "table mustard". I don't recall having this reaction when eating mustard from McDonald's.

As a straight answer to "why" it's the quantity of mustard oil in any given mustard type.

There are many types of mustard, but the two you may find the most confusing visually are English & American.

Though both are a fairly bright yellow in colour, that's about as far as the similarity goes.

Mustard seeds themselves come in many different 'heats' - the mildest generally being pale yellow, almost white & the strongest are dark brown.
Additionally, mixing mustard with vinegar tempers the heat & lengthens the shelf-life.
Mixing instead with pure water increases the punch, but the flavours will dissipate over a much shorter period.

American mustard is one of the mildest available. It starts with a mild seed, pale yellow/white in colour, but the colour is then boosted by using turmeric. The mixture is then diluted with vinegar.
This is your 'standard' mild American mustard, found in many places, including McDonald's. You can slather it in huge quantities on a hot dog with no ill-effects.

Almost at the other end of the scale [Chinese mustard can be even hotter] is English. Made with a mixture of yellow & brown mustard seed, then mixed with water not vinegar, this will take the roof of your nose out if used in injudicious quantities. It can quite literally make your eyes water & your nose run - though if you did it by accident, take solace in the fact that the hit is very short-lived, not like eating a blindingly hot chilli pepper.
The full impact & flavour of English mustard is quite short-lived even in the jar, once made up from powdered mustard. Even ready-made, store-bought has quite a short shelf-life for a condiment.  Made at home & mixed with water it will lose its punch in just a few days, so the trick is to buy powder & mix it just 15 minutes before you eat it, for the full experience.

If you're ever uncertain visually which you are about to add - taste it first.

Personally I love English mustard on hot dogs! With ketchup too [one of the only things I will ever put ketchup on]. The balance between the sweet, vinegary ketchup & the hard hit of the mustard is really quite the feast. Bring on the junk food!

There is an in-depth article on the various types at Serious Eats - Mustard Manual: Your Guide to Mustard Varieties