Recipe interpretation I've been following a recipe, and two things confuse me. One is the "what" for most steps, and the other is a "why".
The recipe is here.
But look at the steps, which I've abbreviated here to save reading.

Whisk flours and yeast together. Dissolve honey in water. Using dough hook on low speed, slowly add water mixture to flour mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl and hook as needed. Cover tightly and let dough rest for 30 minutes.

So what happens if there's no dry flour left, but a cohesive dough hasn't formed, or vice versa? Keep mixing? Stop, because I've gone 3 minutes and the recipe said only two? Give up and throw it away and start over?

Add salt to dough; mix on low speed for 5 minutes. Increase to medium and knead until dough is smooth and slightly sticky, about 1 minute.

Same deal: what if the dough was smooth and slightly sticky when I started? Do I still mix on medium for a minute? Or do I skip that step?

Transfer to lightly greased bowl, cover, let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Same deal: suppose I've waited 2 hours, and it still hasn't doubled. Do I toss it?

Using greased bowl-scraper (or your fingertips), fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees and fold dough again; repeat turning bowl and folding dough 2 more times (total of 4 folds). Cover tightly with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes.

A new question: What is the process above (repeated below) supposed to achieve? And in general, what does allowing multiple rises achieve? And why don't we just punch it down each time -- why the fancy folding for two of the rises?

Repeat folding, then cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

[Form rolls and put them in a cake tin, cover, and...] Let rolls rise until nearly doubled in size and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, about 30 minutes.

Again: what if they double in size, but the dough sticks to my knuckle, or it springs back a lot, or doesn't spring back at all?

Mist with water, bake at 500 for 10m; remove from oven and separate, bake at 400 for another 10-15 min on a baking sheet. Cool.

Thankfully, this last step makes total sense to me. :)

In bread baking, you do each step until you recognize that you achieved the correct end result for each step, then stop, wait until the appropriate changes have happened, then continue with the next step. An expert baker would work from a much more abbreviated recipe than the one you posted, and if something doesn't happen as expected, he or she will have an idea how to troubleshoot.

The recipe you chose seems to be aimed at a beginner baker. It not only explains what the intermediate results should look like ("until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains"), but gives approximate time amounts, mostly for the eager newb who starts kneading and at some point asks "is this already silky?". These are basically signposts to make sure you are still on the right path.

So, what you should do is to stop when the described stage has been reached, and not by the clock. Only if you are not entirely sure that it has been reached, and you are taking much longer than the clock, you should stop, take a step back, and think whether you might be interpreting the description wrongly, or maybe made a mistake somewhere along the way, so that there is not a chance of ever attaining the proper end stage. I agree this may be frustrating for a very new baker, if you have no idea why the recipe says 5 minutes, but it still looks entirely wrong after 15 minutes, but at least it gives you enough information when to abort your attempts. It is not feasible to do more within a single recipe - if you want to be an effective troubleshooter, you need both lots of practice and sufficient theroy (which can fill whole books).

The opposite case you are suggesting - "what if the dough was smooth and slightly sticky when I started?" should basically never happen. You are making the step in order to achieve that state. If it were achievable without that step, the step wouldn't be in the recipe in the first place.

So, all I can suggest is to try to follow the recipe as stated, and if a discrepancy occurs, play it by ear. I won't try getting into each of your questions separately, since some of them are not practically relevant, others need whole questions of their own here, and yet others are not really answerable in such a generic question. For example, if your bread really doubles in size in the last rise, but the dough is totally sticky, the diagnosis of the likeliest problem cause alone will require a detailed description of what happened until that occured, how you treated it, etc, and may still not be diagnosable from afar. And the appropriate reaction will depend on why it happened in the first place.

Bottom line: these hypotheticals are unnecessary. Just bake, and see if you will run into any of the problems you described. If you do, come ask a specific question on the exact problem. But if the recipe is well balanced, you will likely not encounter any of them in the first place.


Soaking liver in milk: in or out of the fridge? When soaking pork liver in milk for 2 hours, should I place it in the fridge or at room temperature? I'm worried it might go bad, as my room is pretty hot in the summer...

Yes, you can safely soak it at room temperature, but why would you?  There's no reason not to refrigerate.

Meat is safe for about 2 hours in the temperature danger zone of 40F/4C to 140F/60C. Beyond that, it should be cooked or refrigerated.  So, if you do decide to soak at room temperature you should cook or chill it promptly.


Dried condensed milk I want to make custard caramel. The recipe which I will follow requires condensed milk.
Now I have an opened refrigerated tin of condensed milk. Half of it is used. The other half is dried, though not expired.
So is it safe to use that? Also how can I melt the dried condensed milk?
PS: Dried in the sense that it has become little solid.

As @GdD said in a comment, it's probably better to just toss it. Although I will say that sweetened condensed milk actually lasts 2-3 weeks if refrigerated properly. After several months though, it's not worth the risk. In the future, you can store an extra half can in the freezer for 2-3 months without issue instead.
That said, sweetened condensed milk is actually just milk that's been reduced with sugar until it's quite thick. You can make a substitute at home by blending together fresh and powdered milk and sugar. I've seen multiple recipes, but have to admit I haven't tried it personally. So you might still be able to make your custard without a run to the store. Good luck!


How to best zest a citrus fruit that was already halved and squeezed? Zesting a citrus fruit is pretty straightforward with the fruit intact, but sometimes it happens to me that I absent-mindedly halve and squeeze the fruit and then remember that I wanted to zest it before.

What is the best way to do zest a citrus fruit that has already been halved and squeezed?
I am using a classical zester and aspire stripes of zest.

What I considered so far:

I tried to halve the skin again, so I can flatten each quarter on a cutting board to hold the skin in place while zesting it. This has two drawbacks:

Zesting close to a cut edge is more difficult or less efficient and by cutting the skin yet again I increase this.
I inevitably squeeze out more juice, which then mixes with the zests. While this is no big issue taste-wise, the zests clump together and are more difficult to scatter.

I considered but have not tried yet to put the skin on the reamer I used to squeezing, but then I expect that I lack a third hand needed for this.

I find that the classical zester is a rather clumsy tool and needs quite a bit of pressure to use, which is hard to do against a squeezed lemon.

I zest with a microplane, and I find that it does a fairly good job with squeezed lemons too, even though it's not as comfortable as with a whole lemon. It is sharp enough to peel off the zest pieces after the lemon was squished.

This may go against your "aspire strips of zest" desire, because the microplane produces finer zest than the classical zester - what you get are still strips, but thinner and shorter. They are actually better suited for baking, but if you want a specific shape and size for decoration or for candying, this might be a problem. Still, it works good for many applications, and I also prefer it on nonsqueezed lemons.


Do the Properties of Oils Change if They're Cooked? Someone told me a while ago that if you cook with olive oil (in a curry, for example) that its properties change compared with using it in a cold dish (e.g., salad dressing).

Firstly, is this actually true of olive oil, or any oil, for that matter?  If so, how are things like the vitamins, antioxidants or saturated/unsaturated fat balance of a particular oil changed when it's cooked?

Usually this is said specifically about extra virgin olive oil. The reasoning is that extra virgin oil is pressed cold and processed without heating in order to preserve specific flavor profiles in the finished product. Cheaper oils are extracted using heat to maximize extraction, but lose some of these flavors.  Generally heating is discouraged because you're paying a premium for unheated oil, so using it in hot applications would defeat the purpose.


Can I cook Brussels sprouts in a pan? Can I cook Brussels sprouts in a pan, with olive oil or butter?

I bought them in a plastic bag. Should I chop them, or can I just wash them and put them in the pan?

You can, but the surface-to-mass ratio means that the outer layers will overcook well before the inside is cooked, so unless you're interested in that texture, your two main options are:

Steam them (add some liquid, then put a lid on it)
Cut them smaller.  (halve or quarter before you saute)

I tend to halve smaller ones, and quarter larger ones, cutting through the stem each time so they don't fall completely apart while cooking (after trimming a little off the stem if it's showing signs of drying out).  Then saute 'til the outside has browned a little bit, and hit with salt and whatever spices (or bacon ... dice up some bacon and render the fat while you cut up the sprouts, then use the fat for cooking the sprouts)


What’s the definition of “cultured butter”? In my search for cultured butter I found butter that lists

  culture distillate or lactic acid

as ingredients. Should these butters be considered cultured, even though the package nowhere actually says “cultured”?

We're not all going to agree on a definition of cultured butter, so these answers are going to be subjective.

Culture distillate (https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=184.1848) and lactic acid are both used for flavoring.  Is cultured butter butter that tastes a certain way, or butter that's been prepared a certain way?

How about a more common food: would you call it smoked salmon if it hadn't really been smoked, but only flavored with liquid smoke?  There are reasonable arguments on both sides.  Perhaps you consider smoked salmon to be a dish made with salmon that tastes smokey, regardless of how it's prepared.  Perhaps you consider smoked salmon to be salmon that has been smoked, and you aren't really concerned with how it tastes.

Personally, I like to know what I'm eating (not just the flavor of what I'm eating).  Calling something cultured butter suggests something about how it was made (fermented with live bacteria cultures), so calling cultured-flavored-butter "cultured" seems a bit dishonest for my taste.


Help freezing chicken breasts I buy a huge bag of chicken breasts at Costco (great deal...nice portions), but they come in this huge zip-top bag that was meant for food service. Each breast is individually frozen, just not individually packaged.

I want to break the big bag into a bunch of smaller bags, putting enough for a meal in each bag. I was wondering how to best freeze them to prevent freezer burn and help them to last. Would it be best to wrap each serving in foil and then throw in a freezer bag, and then suck the air out with a straw (instead of digging out the food saver)?

Thanks!

From your description, these are IQF (individually quick frozen) chicken parts.  They are blast chilled at the processing plant, before being put together in the bag.  They don't stick together because they are so cold that there is no liquid water make them stick.

You can repackage them into any freezer safe set of packages that you prefer, in portion sizes that you prefer.

I suggest using small zip-type freezer bags, with one meal's worth per bag.  You definitely want the type that are rated as freezer bags, as they are less permeable to gas and water vapor, and will keep the the contents in the best condition.  You can squeeze out the excess air, but I think using extra foil or trying to suck out air with a straw is more than you need to do.

(If you really want to ensure there is minimal air, place each bag in water after you fill it, letting the water squeeze out the air, so you can zip it up.)

If you use place all of the small bags in a much larger freezer bag or a sealable freezer safe plastic container, you should get very good protection for each piece, while still being able to use them in small portions.

The extra layer is just for additional protection, it is not strictly necessary.


Can I follow recipes for bread-machine breads without bread machine? I was browsing a recipe website to get some recipes for breads. There is a section marked with bread-machine breads.I am very new to bread making and after some search it seems that the machine is used for baking and kneading. So will it be possible for me to follow the recipes with a normal oven?

You can probably use the same recipes, but... hand kneading is more difficult than letting the machine do it. The wet dough can be very sticky. So, if the recipe has a high hydration (water:flour) you may want to reduce the water in the recipe.

So, if the recipe calls for 250ml water:500g flour, this is 50% hydration, and you should be able to knead that. But 300ml water, or 60% hydration is much harder...

It also depends on the flour you have, but try to be conservative about the water until you get a feel for it.


Can I use a larger crockpot than the recipe calls for? I have a recipe that calls for use of a 4 qt crockpot. However, I only have a 6 qt. Is it okay to use the 6 qt instead? The recipe is for a pudding cake.

If you keep the lid on, it shouldn't make much difference in practice.

The thing to watch is that the larger surface area and heat supply of the 6 qt pot might make the recipe cook a little quicker than it would in a 4 qt pot, and also make it dry out quicker than it should (which is why you need the lid on). Just take a look after about two thirds of the time and decide if you should add a little water, or not.


Is it possible to treat dairy with lactase to make it lactose free at home? Part of my unending series of ice cream related questions: I’m mildly lactose intolerant and usually don’t have a lot of upset from a small amount of ice cream. (Especially since cream is naturally lower in lactose.) While lactose-free milk is widely available here, LF anything else is harder to find and/or overpriced. In particular regarding ice cream making, evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk aren’t available LF, and due to what they are have whopping amounts of lactose.
Can these or the cooked base be pre-treated using the lactase pills I keep around to make them lactose free? And how would I go about this re: heating or time required?
(I suppose a possible hack would be using a matching flavour of whey isolate powder, the stuff used for protein shakes after workouts, but I’m still curious about breaking up the lactose in regular dairy.)

Ways to make lactose-free dairy at home

Grind your lactase pills into powder, dissolve them in warm water, and dump the solution into your milk. Wait 24-48 hours.
More convenient is to add 7 drops of liquid Lactase. Wait 24-48 hours and 70% of the lactose is gone.
More economical is to buy bulk lactase powder. Dissolve it in warm water and pour it into your milk. Wait 24-48 hours.
Another economical option is half-making yogurt. The yogurt bacteria (Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus) eat the lactose. I pour a gallon of milk into a pot inside another pot of water. Heat the milk to 185°F for 30 minutes. Then cool the pot of milk to 110° in cold water in the kitchen sink. Pitch the milk with 2-3 Tbsp. of plain fresh yogurt with "active cultures" and pour the milk back into the milk jug. Put the jug of milk into a food dehydrator (or anything else with good temperature control) and incubate at 104° for 3-4 hours. At that point you'll have slightly thickened milk. Shake it and use like normal. After 7 hours incubation you'll have yogurt. Strain off the whey and you'll have greek yogurt. Both have whey less lactose in them.

All these techniques will dramatically reduce the lactose in milk.
Fun Tips

Adjust the flavor of the milk-gurt by playing with the temperature. Lactobacillus bulgaricus prefers 110° and the other two prefer 99°. The different resulting acids (lactic, folic, formic) affect the flavor.
Yogurt bacteria break down lactose into acids. You can test the acidity to roughly determine how much lactose has been consumed.
The higher the acidity, the longer the treated milk will last.
You can mix-n-match, half-making yogurt and then adding lactase to the result.


Chicken breast in slow cooker I’m new to slow cooking and wanting to slow cook some chicken breast. I put in potato’s, onion and herbs along with whole chicken breast. Will this just burn onto the crock pot with no liquid in or will steam keep the moisture in the meat?

There is moisture in the onions and chicken.  Yes it should cook fine.

I have put a roast in the slow cooker dry and it worked.


Cause of watermelon rind rotting (at room temperature) I bought a large seedless watermelon 2 days ago, and I made sure to check for the following:

Yellow underbelly
Hollow sound
Solid rind

When I got home I left on the kitchen table. The room temperature was around 25-27 degrees C. Today, I touched the rind and it felt soft! I cut it open and I saw that the white pith had rotted.

Can anyone explain what the possible cause of this is?

(I've left watermelon out on the dining table for days at room temperature before, and nothing like this has ever happened. I should also mention that:

The watermelon was whole and unblemished.
There were no fruits around it and it wasn't in a bag, so the ethylene explanation is out.

Without forensics it's hard to tell exactly what happened.
However, one possible explanation is sunlight. If the watermelon was in the sun at all, even just a little part of it, that tends to accelerate the growth of all sorts of things.

Another possibility is that it was just past its date. There isn't really a way to tell if this is near or not without chemical analysis.

In watermelon country (I live near an ancient greek watermelon port) watermelon is generally refrigerated. This is partially because we find it tastier when it's cold, and partially because room temperature easily goes above 30, and even above 34-5 on certain days.


Difference between Vietnamese and Moroccan preserved lemons? One ingredient that I enjoy using is Moroccan preserved lemons, which are lemons that have been packed in salt.  However, I don't always get around to making my own, so I sometimes buy them at Middle Eastern markets, where jarred ones are quite expensive ... from $7 to $12 a jar in the US.
So I was startled to find a jar of Vietnamese preserved lemons at a local Asian market for $3.  As far as I can tell, these lemons are made exactly like Moroccan ones are: with lemons and salt, and indeed the ingredients on the jar are lemons, salt, and water.
So ... are there other differences I should be aware of, or can I just enjoy my new cheap preserved lemons?

There's probably not much difference.
There is a fair amount of variation in preparation methods for Vietnamese preserved limes and lemons (chanh muối). The Garden Betty recipe you linked is probably the most common technique - soaking nearly-quartered lemons in heavily salted water for a few weeks - but that may not be the same method used for the $3 jar you found. Sometimes sugar is used in addition to the salt. Like your Moroccon recipe, sometimes no water is added and the salt instead draws juice out of the fruit to supply the preserving liquid. Boiling the lemons before jarring them is very common. I've also heard of other pre-jarring routines like scrubbing them with salt, sugar, and even tea, or letting them partially dry in the sun first. They may also be jarred in different forms, such as thin slices or left whole.
There is also the obvious case of what actual fruit to use. Because of the nature of citrus fruits, there isn't really a clear divide between limes and lemons in the first place, and there are quite a lot of varieties and hybrids that make classification difficult. I live in the US and use Meyer lemons and Key or Persian limes (which themselves are actually lime-lemon hybrids). The Moroccan recipe calls for doqq and boussera, but suggests Meyer lemons if the traditional varieties can't be found. In Vietnam the fruits are called chanh tây and chanh ta, but I'm not actually aware of a definitive conclusion on which one is technically a lime and which one is a lemon.
Overall, I'm not familiar with different spins on the Moroccan approach, but I assume there's a similar range of variance. That said, it seems like it's basically the same process. Besides the choice of fruit - which, outside of Morocco or Vietnam, is probably going to be the same anyway - I think it's safe to say that any differences between the two cultures are indistinguishable from differences between variants within the same culture.
Of course, the easiest thing to do is just spend the $3 and find out how they taste!


How to convert between flours? As we've seen in previous questions, certain flours have different gluten contents. Time and time again, I find reviews of King Arthur Flour recipes indicating that I really must use their flour if I want the recipe to come out right, as any other flour will make it come out horribly wrong. Is there a way to convert a bread recipe to use a more widely available brand, given that my supermarket actually sells gluten in a bag?

ETA: Also, is there a way to find out what makes a given brand different so I can evaluate it?

If you are simply looking to convert gluten contents then you can certainly always go higher by adding the correct proportion of vital wheat gluten to dough to get the percentage of gluten that you want.

However there are many other differences between flour bags in terms of processing.  How is the flour ground?  What wheat variety is it from?  Is it white or whole?  There are a lot of variables.

I do speak as someone who has found that Gold Medal is perfectly acceptable for all my baking needs and also routinely uses store brand flour.  Personally I suggest simply trying whatever flour you want to try (not including substituting  bread for cake or something along those lines, that definitely will cause issues) and seeing how the recipe goes.  Determine if a higher-end flour brand is for you yourself.


Getting flavor to stick in milk tea Specifically I've been trying to add some condensed milk to Chai, but it seems no matter what I do all I get is the same flavor in slightly differently-colored water as before.  Basic procedure I've been using is to steep the tea and then add said condensed milk out of the can immediately before serving—not certain on the total amount, but probably about 2 teaspoons, perhaps?  Any suggestions on how to get the flavors to blend?

Have you tried steeping the tea in the milk? Whenever I make milk tea, I always do a 3/5th cup of whole milk, 1/5th cup of condensed milk (for sweetness) and 1/5th cup of water. I then bring the mixture of milks and water up to about 140F and steep my green tea and spices in it. This gives me a nice thick latte-like consistency and strong milk taste without overwhelming the tea and chai spices.


If you microwave leftover egg shells is the salmonella dead on the shells I don't have any pictures. If you microwave leftover egg shells is the salmonella strain killed or not?

Yes or no - it depends.

We need to look at the question from two different angles.

Microwaves don't kill pathogens, they create heat that can kill pathogens.
While it seems basically the same, the important difference is that microwaves heat water, not dry substances. If your egshells are dry, you can microwave them for a long time and they will remain cool. Now add to this the fact that while many salmonella bacteria die after a few hours on dry surfaces, some go into a "hibernating" form that remains viable for weeks, your microwaved dry shells remain mostly unchanged with regards to their infectious potential.
Microwaves do not heat evenly.
Microwaves are notorious for heating unevenly. They can create hot spots and cool spots during normal use. The former is one of the reasons why baby food manufacturers typically discourage parents to warm baby food in the microwave, the latter is actually linked to various salmonella outbreaks when users heated chicken meat or other leftovers in the microwave without making sure adequate temperatures were reached. [1], [2], [3]

So the conclusion:

You need to make sure there is enough water and enough time involved to kill your salmonella in a microwave. Consider the techniques used for pacifiers and similar baby items: A closed, microwave-safe container and a few tablespoons of water to generate plenty of steam, a minimum time of three minutes once the water boils. What's considered safe for a newborn should suffice for your eggshells, too.

Personally would probably dump the shells in a pot of boiling water instead, if I wanted to be very sure. Or pop them in a hot oven after using it anyway, e.g. after baking bread or cake.


What is 1/4 ст кукурузного крахмала in english? I'm trying to make a green tea tart but the recipe is in Russian. Google keeps translating it to '1/4 v cornstarch ' but I have no idea what measurement 'v' would be?

It is not a tablespoon, this would mean that 1) they missed an important part of the abbreviation (it should have been ст. л.) and 2) they are directing you to use 2.5 grams of starch. This is a tiny amount which has few possible uses in a tart. Also, since Russians don't use the Imperial system, they don't have measuring spoons graded in "1/4 tablespoon", so if it were tablespoons, the recipe would require the baker to visually judge when his eating spoon is 1/4 full. It is not impossible, but very rare.

My guess is that they mean "стакан", which translates to "glass" - the one of which you drink, not the material as such. So you need to use a quarter of a drinking glass, which falls in a much more reasonable range. Of course, there is the problem of finding out exactly how much to use.

Russia does not use the Imperial system, so all volumetric measurements are done with whatever actual crockery you have lying around the house. You can see more discussion in this question. Your choices are:

Use the size of the glass sold by the Soviet manufacturing plants years ago, but a green tea tart recipe is unlikely to have existed in Soviet times.
Interpret it as 1/4 cup. Some translations use "cup", but I suspect that the people who translate them are not aware that this is a standardized unit of measurement as opposed to the physical item. But if you suspect that the recipe has been translated to Russian from a Western source, this becomes a very good bet.
Third, you can wing it, since it is a very inexact measurement anyway, and use anything that falls in the range (from 150 to 300 ml per glass), that's 25 to 50 g for your 1/4 ст. Then you have to adjust your recipe by trial and error.
Lastly, you can look at the role of starch in the recipe and calibrate it using standard ratios. Here you will also see if it is not some other measurement (tablespoons) after all!

If you say now "this is too complicated, I only wanted the right amount to use" - sorry, the recipe just doesn't say it. Most people who think that measuring in glasses is simple just don't realize that it is an unreliable measurement.


Smoothie made with skimmilk The smoothie with skim milk and fruit turns into a sort of mousse and it is not drinkable. Not liquid. Have tried two or three recipes with same results.

Milk + fruit mixed together will curdle at some point, the more acidic the fruit, the faster.

Only for very mild fruit like bananas the mix will stay stable for hours or even a day in the fridge. Strawberry is somewhat in the middle and citrus fruit will curdle instantly. And while that effect is desirable in other use cases (think paneer, for example), you probably don't want that in a smoothie.

The right choice of fruit can mitigate that effect and full fat milk is a bit more stable than skim (could be the fat globules?). Also storage times should be considered: what was ok at home can have turned into a lumpy mass by the time you want to enjoy it in the office.

If you are not set on using fresh milk, the acidic varieties like yogurt or buttermilk are a more stable substitute, perhaps thinned a bit.

You could skip the milk entirely, many recipes do, and if it's about the protein, add a power or simply eat a protein-rich food with the smoothie - a handful of almonds goes a long way, for example.


Tapioca pizza crust is undercooked? So I've been having issues with this GF tapioca pizza crust. I like the crust a lot because it's allergy friendly (no yeast/soy/gluten/nuts/anything really) and actually doesn't taste like rocks. Problem is, I can't tell why the crust is coming out undercooked every time.
The box recommends 450F in a 14" circular pan for 15-18 mins or 7 mins to cook the crust, 7 minutes to cook with toppings. (Note: it's not a premade crust, it's essentially just flavored tapioca flour; I add eggs, milk and oil to it).
The first time I made it, I put the crust in for 7 mins on a metal sheet at 450F, and then cooked it until the desire time. Upon seeing it unfinished, I put the combined crust and toppings in for 13 extra minutes (so ~20 minutes totally). The results were the same and I would have kept it in longer, but the cheese was starting to burn.
So I said okay, let me change it up. Today, I used a glass pie pan (I think a 12" one), cooked the crust for a full 10 minutes at 425*, and then cooked it with toppings for another 10 minutes at 450. Exact same results. I figured this could be my fault, it's hard to guess the time difference of 25 degrees, so I said screw it.
I put it in the oven for a whole 16 minutes at full 450 degrees, no luck.
My question is then:

Is this actually undercooked? I assume it is, but I've never had actual tapioca bread before, so I don't really know.  But in the first image, you can see how the bottom looks clearly done (aerated and structured), but the middle is slightly mushy, translucent, and (hard to tell from the lighting) significantly darker than the rest of the crust.

To best describe it, it's a thin, shiny line that looks like the texture of a gummy bear.

Since I assume it is undercooked, where am I going wrong? Do I just need to stretch the dough out that much more? It was already tearing both times, so I figured it shouldn't be any thinner than it was.  I don't think it's an oven issue - we did have some uneven cooking year and a half ago, but cleaning it out seemed much better now.

Do I just need to ignore the box and just stick it in the oven longer, maybe at 400 degrees?

This seems to be a leavening problem. Normal pizza crust is leavened by the interaction of yeast and gluten, you admit you don't have any of those here.

You can of course try making a chemically leavened crust (with baking powder), but it will still have trouble working without gluten, that's why gluten free flours usually contain gums.

From your description, I can't tell if your "flavored flour" has leavener and gums. If it doesn't, look around for a recipe which uses tapioca flour from scratch and has those, and use this flavored version instead of the pure one. If it does, then it is a trouble with the balance of the two, plus the added ingredients. Are you sure you are making it exactly by the package instructions? If it says to use water, the fat you are adding could interfere.

In the end, it is quite difficult to get a gluten free dough to rise properly. You can experiment with gums and leaveners, but expect a long process of tweaking until you get it right.


Do these two types of mouli graters do the same thing? I would like to know whether these two types of mouli graters found in the internet do the same thing, work the same way, or are actually used for different types of food.

How do they differ in terms of what they can prepare and how they work mechanically?

The biggest noticeable difference is that one is "round" and the other is "square", but if someone could post a video of how the latter is operateed that would be great. I cannot imagine it.

Those two are quite different.

The first is for soft food:
The "wings" push the filling through the mesh, pureeing the food and holding back tough bits like pieces of fruit skin or seeds. It's the same principle as pushing food (chunky soup, cooked fruit...) through a sieve with a ladle or large spoon, just a bit more effective and comfortable - if you don't mind the cleaning step afterwards.
The wide funnel / splatter guard and the metal "rest" at the front show that the food mill is hung over a pot, so that you can comfortably ladle your hot food into the mill and turn the crank without having to actually lift the contraption.

The second is for hard food:
It is basically a round grater, aka drum grater. The cheese (typically use case), block of chocolate,... goes into the top channel, the grating is done by the rotating "drum". The shavings drop out at the side. It's not really obvious if you look at your photos, but the handle actually consists of two parts, connected with a hinge at the outer end. The upper part can be opened wide and the to be grated food goes under the end of the handle into the square receptacle, where it is pushed against the drum by the curved end when you hold the entire handle. Here is a random open example:

(source)

It's a hand-held tool, that is light enough to grate directly over a pot, bowl or individual plate.

The third is simply a variety of the second. Same principle, slightly different construction.


Why is bacon crispy? What makes bacon crispy, when compared to other cuts of meat? For example, if I were to cut a slice of chuck steak and make it identical in shape to bacon, and then cook it the same way I cook bacon, I think it will not be crispy. Why is that?

A few things occur to me:

Fat content is significantly different between chuck and bacon.  Chuck is generally about 15-25% fat (depending on the cut); bacon is often more than 50% fat.
The cuts are not equivalent.  Chuck is from the shoulder of beef; bacon is usually made from the belly or side.  The muscles thus receive very different amounts of work and thus have different textures.  (Also, the fat in chuck tends to have sections which are harder and take longer to render.)  The equivalent beef cut would be from the plate -- the short plate in particular (between the flank and the brisket) is often used to make "beef bacon."  It also has a much higher fat content than chuck.
Curing the meat makes chemical alterations that often cause fat to soften and render faster, as well as tenderizing the protein and muscle portions.

In sum, bacon has a lot of fat, is located in a region of the animal with less work (less toughness), and the curing allows the fat to flow out quickly where it can be useful in frying.

What makes bacon crispy is what makes all fried foods crispy -- you dry out the cells by cooking the water out, and the remaining structure firms up.  Given the high fat content, a lot of the remaining structure is remnants of the fat sections, rather than muscle tissue (which generally doesn't crisp the same way, even in bacon).  Since fat allows cooking at a higher temperature than water, more desirable flavor reactions can also happen (those flavor compounds are also released more in curing).  Whereas a more "meaty" piece of meat would go from wet and "boiling in its own juices" to cooked to dry to burnt, the high fat content raises the temperature more quickly but then stabilizes it, which completely alters the reactions that happen in cooking.


I love food and the public but my body can't handle it anymore I live for food and educating folks who are asking for help with kitchen stuff; I may not have the answers but I will certainly point them to where they need to find the answers they seek.
Right now I work for a gourmet food market as a butcher,and I love it but physically I can't hack it for much longer. I am 35, but have rheumatoid arthritis, plantar fasciitis, and had a spinal fusion at the age of 31.

What are some ideas of jobs that I can do without being in pain day in and day out but not giving up in the food business?

I think you're out of luck preparing or serving food. Obviously butchery is also very physically demanding. Depending on how much you can handle physically, you could consider sales, leading to a management position.

Another career that would take networking skill to "get into" would be writing about food.

As a blogger, you'd need strong writing skills and photography skills, but your career "ceiling" would be of your own making. I'm not aware of any well known blogs that center on butchery, that could be an option, but you'd really need to work hard at it to make a living at it. Take a look here for a bunch of books on the subject, and here for internet sources.

To work for somebody else as a food writer, they're mostly going to be looking for candidates with an apprenticeship background or formal education. Again, your butchery background could be a bit of an "in" if you're slick about it.

I can tell you from experience that you can learn A LOT about food writing by throwing yourself into this site. It will also help you to define exactly where your expertise lies. You'll find that the community gives excellent feedback, both positive and negative.


Why is my tomato sauce getting pink? I was trying to make regular tomato sauce for on my pizza. And I didn't want to buy any processed goods. So I bought tomatoes:

I put them into a blender and just blended them until it became smooth. For some reason, it turned pink, and it had a really bad flavour. It didn't taste like 'normal' tomato sauce.

How can I make it red, and thicker and taste more like tomato sauce?

Tomato sauce is not made by just pureeing tomatoes.

This is not a recipe site, but searching online will find you many recipes for a simple tomato sauce suitable for putting on a pizza. They will generally include other ingredients (such as salt, sugar, and onions) and include some cooking time.


How to reheat ham pot pie I'm making Pennsylvania Dutch ham pot pie.  A dough is rolled, cut and dropped into boiling ham broth with potatoes.  I would like to make it the day before serving.  Can I put the pan in frig and reheat it slowly?

If this dish is what I think it is... essentially rolled dumplings or pasta in a thick broth with meat and vegetables (which is the chicken pot pie at my local itinerant Dutch market is like), yes you can make it in advance and reheat it.  If you do need to reheat it, this is one case where a microwave (and occasional stirring) will actually perform quite well; heating it in a pan in a slow oven (covered with foil) should also work nicely with minimal risk of scorching.

The problem is, the dumplings are likely to absorb more of the broth over time and become mushy if you hold and reheat the dish.

You are almost certainly better off prepping your components, and actually cooking the dumplings or noodles (whatever you want to call them) the day you are going to eat it, if that is reasonably practical.


How do I use this store-made tomato paste with pasta? I am boiling the water, and then adding my spaghetti into it, and cooking for 7 - 8 minutes. It all works fine. However since am new to cooking, I don't know how to use the store-made tomato paste. Do I just add it to the pasta after it's done? Or do I add it while the pasta is being cooked for 7 - 8 minutes? Or do I cook the store made tomato sauce by itself in water in a different pot?

Oh, that is not a real tomato sauce, this is mostly a tomato mush with a bit of salt. (The term "tomato paste" on the jar might a bit misleading, this product looks somewhat thinner.)

In a pinch, you can use it similar to a store-bought sauce by heating it gently in a separate pot on the stove (or in a microwave) and serving it with your spaghetti. But for a real sauce, it is probably too bland, missing spices and too acidic. Not what one expects from a sauce.

If you are really inexperienced, do a quick websearch for "easy tomato sauce" or similar. Many use tomato paste and you'll at least get a quick idea on how to use it, together with herbs and spices. In short, you want probably a bit of garlic, some herbs like basil (or even "italian seasoning"), possibly salt and pepper and - depending on the consistency of the tomato paste - a bit water (scoop a bit out of your pasta pot). If it's too acidic, add a pinch of sugar, not to make it sweet, just to balance out the acidity. Either toss the drained pasta in the sauce to coat or serve the sauce on top of the noodles.


How can I make zucchini bread less moist? I made zucchini bread, and it turned out very tasty but too moist. It was very dense and somewhat sticky - not in an underdone way, though. I actually baked it for 5-6 minutes longer than the recipe called for (and I know my oven temperature is accurate). It was moist but cooked through when I took it out of the oven (and when I ate a piece about 10-15 minutes later), but as it cooled, it sank in the middle and was much stickier and less bread-y.

If I make this again, how can I make the texture lighter and drier? I’m considering lessening the amount of zucchini used, but do I just add more flour in a 1:1 ratio for whatever zucchini I leave out? Or do I need to adjust the other ingredients, too?

This was the recipe I used, made in a single large loaf pan: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/06/25/recipe-zucchini-bread/

For starters, I'd give pressing the grated zucchini with paper towels a shot.  You'd be surprised how much liquid you can get out of it.


Should I finish teriyaki sauce with butter? I've been told to finish most any sauce with butter but teriyaki sauce seems like it would be an exception to that rule because of the flavored involved.

I would not recommend doing so.

The technique you describe is known as monter au beurre, which as you might guess from the name is a common finishing method for sauces in the French culinary tradition. It translates literally to "mount with butter" and is used to provide a rich, velvety mouthfeel to both white and brown sauces.

By contrast, teriyaki sauce originates in Japanese cuisine, which is a whole different tradition. Like Chinese cuisine and other east Asian cooking, Japanese cuisine doesn't make use of much dairy, possibly due to a higher prevalence of lactose intolerance. Teriyaki sauce is generally a glaze that gets its richness from a high proportion of sugar and can be thickened with cornstarch (as seen in this fairly representative recipe).

You could try mounting a teriyaki sauce with butter, but my suspicion is that you might cause some of the sugar in the glaze to seize and crystallize by introducing cold butter (as typically recommended when mounting) and it would not be common in the culinary tradition that teriyaki comes to us from. So you can skip this step without causing any harm to your sauce or offense to any French or Japanese bystanders.


How long should dry beans be soaked before cooking? I'm guessing there are different answers depending on the type of dried bean (pinto, kidney, navy, white, etc.) and I am interested in all of them.

So:  how long should dry beans be soaked?

Should the water be just tap water, or salted?

Should the soaking water be discarded or used later?

Thanks!

Overnight is ideal, but even an hour or two will help. If you don't have much time, you can speed the processs by using hot water. Tap water, and not salted - salt toughens the skin of beans if it used before they are cooked. Most folks discard the soaking water, as it is thought to produce flatulence. Also, if you have a pressure cooker, you can cook dried beans without a pre-soak and get great results.


Does Lemon juice change acidic level when frozen? I used frozen lemon juice in a lemon icebox pie. It had egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk as additional ingredients. It failed to set up. Does freezing lemon juice change the acidic property?

The acidity, ie. the amount of chemical acid in the juice, will not change when lemon juice is frozen. Acid would need to be neutralized by a base, or in the case of citric acid and other organic acids, very high heat.

Was the lemon juice completely thawed? If not, that could be an issue, all the juice must be liquid for the acid to be free and work on the yolks.

Perhaps there was something else happening in your recipie. If you can edit in basic proportions and method. AS I understand it an icebox pie is mixed and chilled to set, usually no cooking, like to set a custard?


Is tomato sauce safe if the water evaporated in the canner? When I opened my canner after the allotted time, I became aware that water had evaporated and the lids were not immersed in the water -as when I started. Most likely evaporation the cans sealed almost immediately. Is my tomatoe sauce safe?

If the water was boiling the whole time, you are fine.

There is research-supported (finally) evidence that "Steam canning" is actually just as effective as boiling water bath canning, if done properly. Unfortunately, the folks that have been insisting that you must have everything submerged are rather slow to change recommendations based on the research, after decades of claiming that they didn't recommend it since there was no research. It makes me wonder what in heck their actual agenda is.

In any case, if your boiling water bath was boiling the whole time, the portion of the jars that was "steam-processed" would have been steam processed properly, so you're good.

Note that while the research was aimed at the "steam canner" pots, a partially full boiling water bath in a normal pot is exactly the same above waterline when the lid is on.


What would be good preservatives for chili to give it a longer shelf life? Everyone says we make a great chili and I was thinking about selling it at Chili festivals etc... and was wondering does anyone have any ideas of what preservatives would make the shelf life stretch out, keep the color bright and not build a fungus?

I would prefer to use natural preservatives and not change the taste of our recipe very much. Any help in this would be greatly appreciated.

The only way that I know to put up chili for storage other than freezing is pressure canning.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has a recipe for pressure canning, in which they process it for 75 minutes (which doesn't include the ramp up & pressure release times), so you're looking at close to 2 hrs per batch, when you include the time to set all of the cans in the pot, remove 'em, etc.

I've never tried it, so I have no idea what pressure canning ends up doing to the texture and flavor of the chili.  I also don't do pressure canning, so I have no idea what all of the issues are (eg, if acid levels are as significant as with normal canning) and thus how much you can vary a recipe without risking problems.


How to grill without an actual grill Clarification: The term "grill" is used here with the US-based term for grilling, which may differ from other countries such as Great Britain and Australia, where it is typically called a "barbecue"; Ideally it is a direct flame against one side of the food at a time, though other heat sources are not out of scope.

I live in an apartment complex where it is hugely impractical (if not impossible) to own a full-size grill. Despite this, I really want the ability to grill small amounts of meat and vegetables without too much hassle. Two possible solutions occurred to me, but I'm not sure which would be better or if there's a third option I'm unaware of:

Portable propane grill (camping stove) - I don't know how practical this would be, but the ability to fold it up and store it would be nice. Do these work as well as a normal propane grill?
Cast iron grill pan - I've seen many of these online that basically just sit on a stove burner and allegedly emulate a regular grill. I'm skeptical because the lack of a direct flame seems like it would affect the outcome.

Are either of those actually good options? Is there a better way that I haven't thought of? I know there are also miniature charcoal grills but they don't seem to be nearly as portable or space efficient as the other two.*

Edit: Advice in the answers/comments has led me to order a smokeless stovetop grill, because they're so cheap and allegedly pretty good there's no reason not to try it out. This is the one I decided on. In a couple days it should be here and I'll give it a thorough test and report back.

Keep the advice coming! It seems there are several other good options, so I want to float as many of them as possible for future viewers to reference.

* As for an outdoor solution: it's somewhat restricted in my area, you're allowed to have them but they must remain unconnected to a fuel source if they're within 25' of the building. That's one big reason I'm interested in indoor solutions, though I can compromise if a charcoal option seems like the way to go.

Conclusion: The stovetop smokeless grill worked out great. It's not a perfect replacement for a real grill but for such a cheap pricepoint and for its ease of use, it provides very satisfying results. The only things you need to watch out for are the fact that it doesn't cook evenly, so you have to rotate your food at least once, and it doesn't burn away oil and fats like a normal grill, though it does drain a fair amount of them; basically just go very light on the oil or you'll end up with a greasy mess.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

Another consideration is that some apartment complexes have restrictions on what type of grills can be used because of fire hazards. Where we lived many years ago we were not allowed to use charcoal or gas.

So, there are a couple of options. First would be a smaller than full size electric grill. There are many available in different shapes and sizes. Some can be used both indoors and outdoors.

This is similar to the one we had. It has a small footprint and works well where there is limited space. But there are also many small table-top models available.

Another option is a smokeless indoor stove top grill. This is closer to actual grilling than a grill pan and actually works better than it looks like it would. I have one that we have used for years anytime outdoor grilling has not been an option. Most are very reasonably priced and work well on both gas and electric stoves. And using two (or more) is always an option.


What vinegar was used in 1904? What kind of vinegar would best replicate that was being used in the USA, upper Midwest in a recipe dated 1904? It is a potato salad recipe. The potatos & egg yolks are mashed together with minced cabbage & celery. Dressing has vinegar, egg yolks, salt, pepper & mustard (we assumed dry). We used white vinegar to mixed reviews. Somewhat strong vinegar flavor.

Heinz started making products in the 1870's and was bottling and selling vinegar in the 1880's, so probably ordinary white vinegar or possibly malt vinegar (depending on recipe) would work well.


How to fix the protein content of my minestrone? I love minestrone, but am concerned that it doesn't contain enough protein. It usually contains pasta, tomato, zucchini, savoy cabbage, carrots and garlic.

What could I add to enhance the protein content while retaining the taste and feel of the soup?

I noticed you didn't mention beans, which are fairly common in minestrone.

Cannellini beans are most typical, but you could experiment with others (garbanzo, fava beans, etc.)


Cooked food / heat and serve meal, long term packaging How does package food producers such as "Seeds of Change" or "Pacific Foods" package their food to keep for up to 15 months and store without refrigeration? What consumer, or DIY approach, most closely resembles their process?

It seems they use certain natural preservatives, detailed packaging materials, a food vacuum system, and perhaps a bit of drying. I'm trying to avoid canning if possible. The plastic/paper material weighs a lot less.

The commonest (in my experience - probably variable around the world) consumer DIY approach to this is the one that uses the step that you missed - high temperature (as mentioned by @John Feltz) - namely, pressure canning at 15 PSI (250°F) - in my experience, glass canning jars with metal lids, but flexible packages are evidently consumer-available more commonly that I've seen them around the world (perhaps even here, if I was looking for them.)

I've certainly eaten canned items stored at room temperature well older than 15 months and lived to tell the tale - indeed, I don't consider it anything to think about, other than verifying that the jar is, in fact, still sealed when time comes to use it. This may well not coincide with the most-paranoid recommendations on canned food shelf-life, but surely someone will be along to give the most-paranoid view shortly.


What considerations should be taken into account when adding any fruit to any cake? I have a pineapple-orange cake recipe that is very good, but is from a relative - I didn't develop it.  I am curious how to adjust a typical cake recipe or even a box cake mix so that I can add fruit (pineapple, peaches, cherries, apples, oranges, mango, etc...)?  Do I need to adjust the baking soda, oil, flour, sugar, etc...?  Thanks.

Adding fruit will change the ratio of dry to liquid, so it may require more flour. It would also add some sweetness, so you may want to reduce the sugar a tad. But citrus fruits in particular are acidic, which might affect the leavening. I suspect it would depend on the type of fruit and how it's prepared.


How do you cook calamari / squid and avoid making it tough? I am having a hard time with this seemly simple 'snack'.

The calamari and squid is usually given to me by my neighbor who is a seafood monger.  It's frozen and a mix of baby octopus and squid rings, no label.

I've tried both boiling and frying them. I've also tried boiling followed by frying. The taste is always good, but the texture is not tender and kind of gummy.

It is possible that this type of squid is tougher (e.g. Moroccan octopus is more tender than Thai), and a reason why neighbor says: "arr, I can't cook these right... here... you try".

Is there a trick to getting them spot on?

Calamari or squid is of course famous for being difficult to cook, because it gets tough or rubbery.

As Harold McGee explains in On Food and Cooking, octopus and squid meat are very rich in collagen:

  They are chewy when lightly cooked, tough when cooked to the
  denaturing temperatures of their collagen, around 120 - 130 F / 50 -
  55 C, and become tender with long, slow cooking.

The trick then is to either:

Cook them minimally, so they do not begin to toughen.  This Serious Eats recipe for fried calamari recommends no more than one minute.

My own interpretation of this is that it will keep the temperature of the squid below the 120 F threshold, at the risk of being below the pathogen kill point, so it should be done only with squid from a trustworthy purveyor.
Cook them for a long time, slowly, as in a braise, so they move through the tough phase to tender again.  This Food Network recipe  for stuffed squid by Ann Burrell is an example.  The total squid cooking time is 20 to 25 minutes.


Where can I find black cocoa powder (a.k.a. black onyx cocoa powder) in the UK? I live in the UK and want to buy some black cocoa powder, also known as black onyx cocoa powder. This is a type of cocoa powder that has been alkalized more than standard cocoa powder. As a result, it is much darker than normal cocoa powder and tastes different. It is what is used to make Oreo cookies.

The only places I can find that sell it are in the USA, and they won't ship internationally.

Is it available in the UK? Surely it must be?

I have prevosly purchaced this via a uk retailer on Amazon

But currently out of stock.

I am aware that these guys

http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/spices/cocoa-black-onyx.html

Sell internationally, but you have to phone to order, not place the sale online.  I guess so they can get the shipping right.  But to stress I've never used them


What are other uses for Vegemite or Marmite besides as a spread? My Australian friend introduced toast with butter and vegemite to me.  Recently I saw an episode of "Chopped" on the food network and one of the ingredients in the basket was Marmite.  One of the chefs used it to flavor ground beef to make a burger or meatloaf.

I want to know what have you guys used Vegemite or Marmite for...other than as a spread.  :)

One good use for it is to amp up the flavor of vegetarian gravy. If you are making say biscuits and gravy, a tablespoon of marmite will add some umami without tasting like soy sauce. Same for a vegetarian pot pie or stew.


Substitute for jaggery in chutney I'm making an Indian tomato and ginger chutney. What can I find in Brisbane to use as a substitute for 200 grams of jaggery?

I believe you meant "Jaggery" (aka Panela) a unrefined cane sugar product.  If so, I would suggest a "Muscovado" sugar, as it is whole or partially unrefinued cane sugar.  You may need to experiment and blend between dark and medium muscovado to get the taste you desire.  I suggest either try a medium brown muscovado or a 1:1 ratio of dark and medium brown muscovado sugar.


What does the "bagel" setting on toasters do? Usually, I put slices of bread in my toaster.  Sometimes, I toast bagels.  On my toaster, there's a little button that says "bagel".  How does this setting toast the bagel differently?

Unfortunately, the function depends on the manufacturer.

While turning off a set of elements may be common, another option is that the setting may just increase the cook time.  Bagels are thicker and have more mass than sliced bread, so a longer toast time is necessary to have a similar level of toasting.

In particular there are Cuisinart toasters where the bagel button only lengthens the time of the toasting and does not change the pattern.

From Cuisinart PDF manual

  Bagel button

  The bagel feature adds extra time to the toasting cycle
  to allow for thicker breads. You may also use the bagel button for
  English muffins and other thick breads.


Why cook green plantains? Many cookbooks and chefs recommend cooking green plantains before eating them.  Is it just because of all the starch? Or are there any toxins as in sprouting potatoes?  Does the ratio of amylose to amylopectin have anything to do with the recommendation?

According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN) "Banana and plantain do not contain significant levels of any toxic principles."  Raw, unripe plantains can be difficult to digest, especially if eaten in large quantities.  Doing so can lead to upset stomach.  This may be due to the fact that they contain starches resistant (RS2) to digestive enzymes, compounds that inhibit salivary amylase production, and significant quantities of amylose.

Raw, unripe plantains and bananas also have a starchy or waxy texture and a bitter flavor which can be unpalatable.


How to get moist goo in layers of chelsea buns I'm trying to make chelsea buns like the ones from my home town as I no longer live there so can't get them very often. I've done quite a bit of experimenting and while I'm quite a way off,  I have created a bun I am very happy with except for one thing: a gooeyness in between the swirled up layers.

This is obviously something to do with the filling but I can't work out what. All Chelsea recipes use butter, brown sugar and fruit for the filling but the butter and sugar just disappear during cooking, leaving dry bread. In the chelseas from the bakery, there is a thin layer of brown stickiness in-between the rolled up layers. Not much, but enough to be making the buns moist and sweet on the inside.

Does anyone have any idea how to achieve this? It's as if the buns haven't fully cooked in between the layers, leaving a slightly sticky inside, a bit like undercooked dough. I can't figure out what is being put in the filling to achieve this.

I'm trying to get hold of a picture of one of these buns to better illustrate what I mean and will upload as soon as I get it.

Thanks.

EDIT
I've now added the below pictures.

See how the chelsea bun from the bakery (top pic) is still moist in the layers between the rolls and the bread itself looks soft and bendy.

Contrast that with my bun and you can see the butter/sugar mixture I layered up in the middle has disappeared with cooking. It looks dried out. On top of that,
 the bun itself seems dry in comparison as you can see it has cracked upon unrolling whereas the bakery bun has not.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to achieve this moistness both in the dough and in between the layers??

**I've just had a thought - all chelsea recipes call for bread flour. Is it possible that plain flour would produce a softer, moister bun?

Traditional recipes don't seem to aim for goo, and most of the ones you can buy aren't gooey (UK, limited sample of sources). You can try increasing the quantity of spiced, sugared butter (or even mixing a little milk and/or egg in with it) but you may be better off adapting that aspect of another recipe that is supposed to be gooey. You ought to be able to find a cinnamon roll recipe (for example) that states it has such a filling, but swap the cinnamon in the filling for mixed spice. I've been thinking more about this, and about pains au raisin, which tend to have your goo in them. According to Wikipedia they use crème pâtissière.

From my limited experience making Chelsea buns, adjusting the cooking time/temperature won't help - you still want even the middle ones to be cooked through.


How do you cook margarine with brown sugar without separating? I have a recipe that calls for melting margarine, adding brown sugar, and boiling a few minutes before pouring it over matzah boards. The problem is that the margarine separates, and the brown sugar never totally dissolves.

I’ve had this problem several times with melting brown sugar and butter together and boiling it. The key is to start on a lower temperature, stirring the brown sugar and butter as it melts. Allow the mixture to slowly get to a boil and then leave it-allow it to boil on its own evaporating some of the liquid. Never do this on high temperature-it wrecks it every time!


Do pressure-cooked vegetables really have nothing else to give? Yesterday, I watched an episode of Good Eats, where Alton Brown made broth by pressure-cooking mirpoix and beef for about 50 minutes.

At the end of that time, he discarded the vegetables, stated that they had "given their all," and citing (as proof) the significantly higher level of liquid post-cooking.

This seems to me like a waste. Do these vegetables have any value left (texture, nutrition, something)?

On the other hand, he also stated that the difference between soup and broth can be the addition of chunks of the ingredients.

After extended pressure cooking (or any liquid cooking, for that matter) the vegetables' cell walls (composed primarily of flavorless starch) have broken down to the point where they're barely holding together, and are basically mush.  Most of the flavor and nutrients contained within those cells has escaped into the liquid at that point.  There might be a bit left in the solids to extract, but very little practical way to do so.

It's probably more accurate to say that the vegetables have given up enough that they're unpalatable. You could eat them, but they wouldn't be anywhere as pleasant as fresh vegetables, and would offer little nutrition separate from the broth itself.

I suppose you could puree them (though you'd be turning flavorless, starchy mush into smoother flavorless, starchy mush) but they have little culinary value left. At most they would be filling, but probably unpleasant to eat.

On the other hand, if you look outside of culinary applications, they make great compost.


Why mix wet and dry ingredients separately? Often in baking, instructions say to mix wet and dry separately, then add wet to dry. Chemically, shouldnt mixing it all into one single mushy lump produce the same mixture of ingredients as mixing dry and wet separately and then combining? Why bother separating the two (and dirtying more bowls along the way)?

It's easier to mix a small amount of ingredient such as salt or baking powder uniformly into a dry mixture than it is to mix it uniformly into a dough. If you mix everything at once, the these ingredients will tend to clump in a small amount of dough instead of mixing uniformly in. It's rather unpleasant to eat the few cookie(s) with all the salt.

You can still mix everything thoroughly once wet, but most people do not have the patience to do so.


Are American food colourings weaker than in other countries? I was looking at baking a yet-to-be-determined-colour velvet cake, and happened upon a recipe for blue velvet cake: http://bakebakebake.livejournal.com/3342197.html

This calls for two tablespoons of food colouring!  The food colouring I am most familiar with is stuff like McCormick's, which is generally measured by the drop.  Generating an entire tablespoon of a single colour would probably require several packets' worth.

Am I misunderstanding something?  Are the comparative strengths the same and you just need a heck of a lot of colouring to make a cake that dark?  Or is the American stuff a lot weaker and I'd only need the 4-5 drops I would expect from a recipe?

The simple answer is: No.

First of all the recipe says 1 tablespoon of blue food coloring. This is pretty typical for a velvet cake. In fact it's actually less than I would expect. This is because the original color is dark brown from the cocoa powder. To cover that up and turn it into a different color requires a lot of food coloring.

If you take a look at these standard red velvet cakes, you will see that they ask for 1 ounce food coloring. And 1 fluid ounce is equivalent to 2 tablespoons.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/red-velvet-cupcakes-3/detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/red-velvet-cake-vi/detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/red-velvet-cake-iii/detail.aspx


Is it safe to freeze raw garlic in vacuum-sealed (FoodSaver) bags? I'm generally aware of the botulism-related dangers of storing raw garlic in anaerobic environments at room temperature (or even in the fridge), but couldn't find much info on whether it was safe if vacuum-packed then frozen.

My question: we have a lot of raw, peeled garlic cloves that we've put in FoodSaver bags, vacuumed
& sealed, and put in the freezer. Will these be safe long term?

Thanks!

Clearly, your concern is clostridium botulinum.  Freezing does not kill the spores, which potentially produce the toxin that causes botulism.  However, it does stop their growth, as long as you freeze quickly, and your freezer remains below 0 degree F (-18 C).  Therefore, freezing is safe for the storage of garlic.

You will need to take care when thawing.  It is best to use the refrigerator if you plan thaw the whole package.

Now, while the vacuum bag is not a safety issue in this circumstance, there are probably more convenient ways to freeze your garlic so that you don't have to put a bunch of garlic through freeze thaw cycles, which not only will destroy the texture of the garlic, but will also create a higher risk of spoilage.  These include, (a) just place whole cloves in smaller zip freezer bags, and freeze flat so that you can remove a clove or two at a time and keep the rest frozen, (b) chop and freeze flat in zip bag, then grate or chop off what you need, or (c) blend with 2 parts oil and freeze in a container (do not keep this at room temperature). This should remain soft and allow you to scoop out what you need to use.


Ginger allergy need substitute My family loves Asian food. Unfortunately two of us have an Anaphylaxis allergy to ginger and one to soy. I've found some great info here on soy substitutes but nothing for ginger. Does anyone have any tips or answers for ginger replacement in my recipes?

No soy and no ginger is a challenge, it can be done though if you pick the right recipes. Galangal has a similar flavor as ginger and may work, it's in the same family as ginger but is a different sub-family, so it may be different enough not to cause a reaction. Cardamom and turmeric are in the same family as well, if you don't have a reaction to them galangal's a decent bet. Other than that there's no other substitutes for ginger in asian cooking. In baking you can use a mix of allspice, mace, and cloves but in cooked dishes they won't give the same result.

Instead of finding a substitute for ginger if galangal doesn't work for you I would suggest choosing recipes without it, or where it's one of many flavorings. Just leave it out, it will still taste good. Fill in the gap with other bold flavors like onions, lemongrass and chili.


What is this celery like vegtable? We found this at a local food bank, and couldn't resist but have no idea what it is. We live in the bay area of California, so there are any number of communities it could have come from. Any help is appreciated :)

In response to comments, I'll give sensory description of the vegetable. There is little smell. The stalks are hollow inside, and crunchy with none of the stringiness of celery. The flavor is light and bitter and reminds me a lot of dandelions.

It is an asparagus chicory, or more formally known as Puntarelle. They are grown in Rome and in Italy. They are similar to endives and have that bitter taste. A famous dish that uses it is Puntarelle alla Romana, a salad with anchovies and the asparagus chicory. It is quite hard to find outside of Italy, surprised you found it in California. Enjoy it!


Pre packaged creme fraiche in quiche I've seen creme fraiche recipes for quiche and I have some store bought creme fraiche on hand that was bought for me a few days ago.   My concern is that it's not real creme fraiche, it's half way towards butter - it's perfectly fine, but it tastes like it's closer to butter than real creme fraiche, which I imagine helps with the shelf-life.

A friend brought over a tiny tin of caviar and 8 oz of creme from the store (pre-packaged) so I have about 6 oz of the stuff and I don't know what to do with it.  It doesn't work on toast as butter, I tried it.  It's just wrong.

Will I ruin my quiche if I make it with this stuff?   Let me state that I'm not a low calorie quiche person, I use heavy cream and that's a proper decadent quiche in my opinion and if I have it once every 2-4 weeks, I don't worry about the calories.

The idea of a butter flavored quiche sounds kinda gross, so I'm leaning towards not doing it, or experimenting with just 1 egg and 4 oz of the creme - I think I'll try that.

Any advice is welcome on the store bought creme fraiche quiche idea or other things to do with the stuff that don't include more caviar, cause that's not in the budget.

I mean no ill will toward the product and I think Vermont Creamery is a good company, but I don't think this will make a good quiche and there's numerous creme fraice quiche recipes available.

Creme Fraiche is more comparable to sour cream than it is to heavy cream, and it sounds like what you have is if anything even further from cream. You could certainly make a tasty quiche with it, but it would probably require the addition of additional liquid, and there's a chance it won't turn out well. If you're OK with risks and experimentation, go for it!
Otherwise, I'd suggest using it for something you'd usually use yogurt, sour cream, or cream cheese for.


Is it possible to can lemons in a simple syrup as opposed to using salt? I would like to know if its possible to can/preserve whole meyer lemons in a sweet simple syrup, much like you would can peaches or cherries.

I haven't been able to find a recipe for canning lemons that isn't savory and doesn't use salt, but I want to use these lemons for baking so the whole salt canning method isn't going to work. I'm down to the last of my precious meyer lemons for this summer and really want to preserve them so that I'm able to whip up a cheesecake or what have you any time of the year using preserved sweet lemons.

If anyone has had success with this and wants to share their experience i would appreciate it.

You can bottle (can) citrus fruit including lemons, but they tend to end up like marmalade

If you want to preserve their current flavour, I would suggest freezing thin slices on a metal tray, and when frozen transfer them to small airtight containers or strong 'zipped' freezer bags

Alternatively you can freeze strips of zest (use a potato peeler) and the juice as ice blocks (small size). Again, store in small airtight containers or strong 'zipped' freezer bags


Is there a principle for when to use a bain marie or when to steam? Both bain marie and steaming are indirect methods of cooking but are they interchangable or are there cases where one should or shouldn't be used? It seems that some recipes call for one or the other but no reason is specified for the choice of method other than:

The benefits of indirect cooking e.g. better temperature control or gentler cooking.
That's just the way it is done.

I wondered this after reading about how to make silken tofu. Some methods steam it, others heat the milk and slowly let it cool but I found none use a bain marie, though I can't see why not?

I have not found any direct comparison in my searches so any insight would be much appreciated.

They're not really much the same and what they're used for is generally pretty different. I don't consider them interchangeable at all.

Use a bain marie for things that are liquid or will become liquid on heating:

  Chocolate can be melted in a bain-marie to avoid splitting and caking onto the pot. Special dessert bains-marie have a thermally insulated container and are used as a chocolate fondue.
  Cheesecake is often baked in a bain-marie to prevent the top from cracking in the centre.
  Custard may be cooked in a bain-marie to keep a crust from forming on the outside of the custard before the interior is fully cooked. In the case of the crème brûlée, placing the ramekins in a roasting pan and filling the pan with hot water until it is 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up the sides of the ramekins transfers the heat to the custard gently, which prevents the custard from curdling. The humidity from the steam that rises as the water heats helps keep the top of the custard from becoming too dry.
  Classic warm sauces, such as Hollandaise and beurre blanc, requiring heat to emulsify the mixture but not enough to curdle or "split" the sauce, are often cooked using a bain-marie.
  Some charcuterie such as terrines and pâtés are cooked in an "oven-type" bain-marie.
  Thickening of condensed milk, such as in confection-making, is done easily in a bain-marie.
  Controlled-temperature bains-marie can be used to heat frozen breast milk before feedings.
  Bains-marie can be used in place of chafing dishes for keeping foods warm for long periods of time, where stovetops or hot plates are inconvenient or too powerful.
  A bain-marie can be used to re-liquefy hardened honey by placing a glass jar on top of any improvised platform sitting at the bottom of a pot of gently boiling water.

Generally, the food needs to be pretty homogeneous with no big open spaces.
If you put broccoli in a bain marie, most of it wouldn't be in contact with the inner bowl so little of the heat would be transferred. Steam, however, will creep in and around all of the branches and cook it evenly.

Steaming is best when you're trying to heat up oddly-shaped things that will retain their shape like vegetables, meats/fish/poultry, rice, cakes, buns, etc.

You also specifically would not want to use the steaming method for something like chocolate as you usually want to avoid introducing water into the chocolate.


Spongy ground venison How do I keep my ground venison from having a spongy texture? We have tried making it into burgers, into chili and into patties in gravy.  It still has the same spongy, tasteless flavor — almost what I would expect tofu to have, if I ate tofu! Is the problem in the grinding or are we doing something wrong in our cooking?

Update: As far as I know, beef fat was added to the meat. My cousin shot the deer and has his own processing equipment; he is the one who processed it for us. His other meat (sausage, etc.) has never had this consistency so we were wondering what caused it.

The meat itself
From my experiencing working with venison, I have come to find out that venison meat is quite "soft" compared to other red meat like beef. You can find a similar kind of "softness" in veal, so it appears the age of the animal, or more specifically, how developed/tough their muscles is related to the texture (and flavor) of the meat.
Here are a few things you can try to improve the texture and flavor:
Fat content
I believe this is the main culprit for venison. The meat itself is very lean, and when butchering it is common to trim out some of the fat. I recommend to leave a decent amount of fat on the meat, and if you can, keep the harder pieces of fat from the carcass. You can cut those up and add it to the meat before grinding for give it more flavor and firmer texture.
Short of that, or perhaps in addition to that, I can say that by adding beef suet, which is the harder fat of the beef, prepared for processing, really enhances the texture and flavor of ground venison. You should be able to find some at your local independent butcher shop (probably not at the supermarket, but you can ask). Cut it up in small bands and add it to the venison before grinding.
Dry-aging
You can try dry-aging the meat. It goes without saying that it has to be done before grinding it. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

The process changes beef by two means. Firstly, moisture is evaporated from the muscle. This creates a greater concentration of beef flavour and taste. Secondly, the beef’s natural enzymes break down the connective tissue in the muscle, which leads to more tender beef.

Do note, even though aging is most often used for beef, that other red meats like bison, venison, moose, etc. are not very dissimilar.
Temperature
I have noticed that meat which is warmer before grinding tends to make for a more mushy grind. I would recommend to leave your meat in the fridge until immediately before grinding. You can even freeze it slightly (until it has a slight crust) "naked" (unwrapped) for about 30 minutes. This won't improve the flavor, but it will help it retain its shape during processing.
Coarse grinding
It's most common to process meat through the grinder twice (especially for beef) to give it a more appealing, "silkier" look and texture. If you have been doing that, you may want to try grinding it only once. This is most common for things like pork sausage, and it will leave it with a more "chunky" texture.


how does the fryer oil filter machine work? Working at a restaurant and wondering how it even works and what's inside  of the filtering system and how it works when you plug it in.

Without knowing which make and model you're using, I can only give a general answer.  I worked at a restaurant a couple of decades ago that had a fryer filter machine that looked (and worked) a lot like an old-style canister vacuum cleaner.  Someone on the closing shift would use it to vacuum the oil out of the fryers every night.  The machine contained a filter to strain out debris and a heating element to keep the oil from solidifying during the night.  Then someone on the morning shift would pump the oil back into the fryers, which was a simple matter of flipping the direction switch and turning the pump on.

There are other styles of oil filter machines available, and some of them aren't meant for overnight storage.  One type, for example, looks like a large pan with a filter screen on one half and a pump on the other.  This type is placed under the fryer so the oil can be drained from the fryer's spout into the pan.  Once it's empty, the oil is then pumped back into the fryer.


I left yogurt on my desk Possible Duplicate:
  How do you know when a cultured item is no longer safe to consume?

I left yogurt on my desk for about 4 hours before I realized it (left my desk for some meetings), just now put it in the fridge, can I still eat it once it is cold or will it make me sick?

Thanks

I'm sure you'll be fine.  The yogurt would actually have to come into the temperature zone for harmful bacteria to become active, and then would have to have enough time for that bacteria to actually multiply enough to make you sick.  I have eaten room temp. yogurt many times.  You have nothing to worry about.


How many carbs I will lose by cold fermenting my bread dough? I made bread dough recently, and I want to know how many carbs I'll lose using the specific method below:

Composition: 6.5 cups of whole wheat flour (21g of carbs per 1/4 cup, per the nutrition facts), 1.5 tsp salt, two packets of yeast (1.5 TBS).
Left it to rise overnight
Put it in Ziploc bags in refrigerator to let the yeast have at the carbs.

I am going to bake some at 3, 5 and 7 days for comparison, so I would love to have data for that, too.

Though it's true that yeast will consume some of the carbs to produce byproducts (such as CO2) that affect the flavor and texture of the bread, the amount that these microorganisms will consume is tiny compared to the amount of carbs that exist in the bread.

It won't be a noticeable amount from a human nutrition perspective.


Are Santoku blades ambidextrous? Been in the market for my first good knives - mostly want either a Chef's Knife or Santoku as well as a paring knife.

I'm left handed and unsure if Santoku blades will work just as well for me or not. I'm obviously not a pro but before I spend $60-$100 on a knife I'd like to make sure I'm buying something intelligent that will last. I've only ever used a Chef's Knife but the more I read the more I think a Santoku might be better for me.

Any knife that has a symetrical blade profile should be ambidexterous in use. Santoku and chef knives typically come with a symmetrical profile1, so you should be able to get a decent choice, whichever of the types you finally choose. Whether you chose a V-shaped or double-bevel, a hollow cut or a convex blade is ultimately up to you, your intended uses and your honing skills. Some knifes feature an asymmetrical edge, but as these are often intended for special uses and for left- or righthanded use (depending on the orientation of the sides), a good manufacturer should point this out.

If in doubt, either ask your sales person or simply look closely at the blade. Another option is laying the blade flat on the table  (or on a wooden block, if the hilt gets in the way) and pressing along the cutting edge. The angle of the sharp edge will "lift" the spine. If it behaves the same way on both sides, you should be fine, whichever is your dominant hand.

And a big thanks to a ESultanik below who reminded me:
Knife handles are not necessarily designed ambidexterously, even if the blade is. In fact, I suggest "trying on" every knife you are willing to spend more than a few dollars on - it should feel safe and comfortable and fit your hand size and grip well. A handle that doesn't fit your hand is uncomfortable at best, dangerous at worst.

1 This forum discusses various styles, including pictures.


What is the typical consistency of a roux? When making a roux, how would you describe the final consistency that it should be after the butter coats the flour?  Should it be a lighter dirt-brown paste with a glistening buttery sheen, or should it be more runny/liquid?

Also, when melting the butter, is it best to melt it at extremely low heat and then increase the heat to medium after the flour has completely been incorporated into the flour, or can the butter be "rapidly melted" on medium heat while incorporating the flour?

Roux is very forgiving, and can be made a variety of consistencies, or ratios of butter to flour.  It should only be brown if you are intentionally making a brown roux, for the flavor.  Otherwise, it should be fairly yellow, closer to the color of the butter.

At the canonical ratio of 1:1 butter to flour (by volume), the consistency will be thick enough not to flow, but certainly not as thick as wet sand.  (When refrigerator cold, if you store it, it will be quite firm and thick, scoopable with a spoon with some effort.)

You can heat the butter at any speed you like consistent with not burning it.  You can heat it at fairly high heat until the foaming begins to subside, which indicates that the water has been boiled out.

I generally recommend adding the flour after the butter is melted, and stopped bubbling (which indicates the water is gone.)


Why did my chili oil flakes split in two layers? I recently made chili oil at home for the first time, it is delicious and works great. I simply infused canola oil with some spices and then poured it on chili flakes mixed with a bit of black vinegar. However, when I look at pictures of homemade chili oils, I noticed mine is a bit different.

Most chili flakes sunk at the bottom, but there's also a layer that stayed nearly floating at the top. Nothing but oil in-between those two layers. Whenever I use it, I have to mix it with a spoon first, which gets it looking exactly like what you'd expect, but slowly goes back into layers.

Is this normal behavior for homemade chili oil? If not, what can be done to prevent it?

My few theories as to why that is are:

I haven't used enough chili flakes for the amount of oil (though I did research these amounts first)
Some of the chili flakes burnt when I poured the oil while others didn't
Cheap chili flakes are cheap

Finally an update:

I've had the same thing happen. My suspicion is that the flakes on top had residual moisture which puffed them up during cooking, or alternatively that other gases were produced by pyrolysis and similarly trapped. Either way, a quick Google image search suggests that this happens fairly often.

Chili oil has to be mixed before use in any case, so I wouldn't worry about it. But if you were particularly unhappy with the look, you could try cooking the chili oil at a lower temperature, or pre-drying the chili flakes in the oven (a few hours at around 120°C should do it).


Chocolate baking bars vs. chocolate chips? Possible Duplicate:
  Can I use Chocolate Chips in place of Semi-sweet baking chocolate?

Can I substitute chocolate baking bars for chocolate chips?  Usually the baking bars are so much more expensive.  I am going to be melting the chocolate, so I'd figure chocolate is chocolate, right?  However, I am worried about if when letting the chocolate set, if the results are going to be different or not (texture, shine, smoothness, etc). Thanks!

I would say that if you're melting chocolate, it's fine to substitute chocolate bars - maybe even preferred. Chocolate chips are a much lower quality chocolate than real chocolate bars. (I've read that chocolate chips contain less cocoa butter, so that they hold their shape better in cookies - which also makes them harder to melt.) In general, I've found that when baking with chocolate, the higher the quality of the chocolate, the better the end product.


What is the toothed side of the blade on a Fantastique veg cutter used for? In India I picked up an Anjali vegetable and fruit cutting board, pictured below.  Its blade is two-sided: straight on one end, very roughly serrated on the other.

What is the toothed side used for?  In this demonstration video from the manufacturer they never show it being used.  It does show a pineapple with some fancy decoration, so if this happens to be the use, please explain precisely how to achieve that.

Either for rough chops on veg/herbs, or maybe decorating with icing/chocolate design?

Regardless, this seems like a poorly thought out tool?


Oat bran flour instead of oat flour I bought Oat bran and ground it until flour consistency,
I was wondering, can I use it as flour for baking? (pancakes, bread etc.)
Same question for wheat bran flour as well.
Thanks.

I've been substituting ground oat bran for flour for muffins, waffles, and muffins for as long as I can remember, when I am on a diet or a family member is. I have noticed the results to be a tad drier than with regular flour, so i just add a splash (maybe a tablespoon) more liquid (water or milk) depending on what I am doing. I hope that answers your question.


Storing (freezing) spare falafel: cooked, shaped, or just the mix? I'm currently soaking chickpeas to make falafel for the first time - rather more than I need for this evening, so I'll have some spare mix, probably enough that I'll want to freeze at least some, rather than using it later in the week.

I know it's not supposed to hold together very well formed but uncooked, so I assume either cooking and reheating, or storing the unformed mix is the way to go, but which is better? Is there any difference if I'm freezing rather than refrigerating?

The best way to freeze felafel batter really is formed into small balls, but not cooked.  Then you can toss the partially thawed balls into hot oil without further fuss.  Because the balls are fragile, as you noticed, that means lining them up on a cookie sheet and freezing them that way, which you may or may not have room for.

I have not tried freezing a mass of felafel batter, so I don't know if that still works when thawed.  I'd be concerned about water separating out of the ground chickpeas during the freeze-and-thaw cycle.  If you do this anyway, and the batter doesn't want to hold together afterwards, I suggest adding a little dry chickpea flour to it.


How do i get rid of burnt smell from kheer? when we cook kheer it happens most of the time kheer burnt and stick with saucepan.The smell of burnt kheer transfer into whole kheer and it tasted not good.What can i do in this situation.

Use a nonstick saucepan. While there can still be some caramelization, at least burnt stuff will not stick and get burnt further.

Also, consider using the oven if you have one: Preheat the oven to 110-120°C, while bringing the pot and kheer up to temperature on the stove. Place the hot pot in the oven - this will keep it at slow cooking temperature but make it impossible to reach sufficient temperature to quickly burn anything....


How can I make cookies without any sugar? I'd like to try making some sugar-free cookies, which means no refined or "natural" sugar (honey, came syrup, etc.).  I'll be trying to use stevia instead.

The obvious problem is that sugar is very important to cookies structurally, not to mention caramelization.  Even if stevia were to caramelize, there won't be enough in the recipe to be sufficient for the taste.

So, are there any other agents I could use to counter these problems?

Related: Does Splenda caramelize?  (No.)

No, there are no other agents. Caramelization is literally sugar in a certain state. If you remove all the sugar, you cannot have a caramelization taste. You can make cookies which don't taste caramelized, of course.

As for the "important structurally" part, it depends what cookie you are trying to make. If you want to achieve the texture of a sugar-rich cookie, this is again impossible. Out of all edible substances, only sugars behave like sugars when baked.

You can however use other fillers to get a different type of cookie. A shortbread cookie (like pie crust, but in cookie form) with stevia shouldn't taste that much different than a shortbread cookie with sugar. Nut flours or nut butters will give you some very good fillers so you can make a cookie with some bulk without having to use too much flour.

The result will never look and taste like a standard American chocolate chip cookie, or its relatives but will certainly deserve the term "cookie".


Swap for Cake Margarine in the U.S.? A Great British Bake Off question!

I'm interested in making a show-stopper cake (recipe) and it calls for "Cake Margarine" which is not available in the U.S. What is the equivalent that I can swap for it?

Thanks in advance!

My understanding is that "cake margarine" is regular margarine which has been whipped to incorporate air. As long as you're using a stand mixer to cream the margarine and sugar (and do so at high speed), I suspect regular margarine should be fine, as that creaming step is intended to accomplish the same thing. If you chill the mixer bowl in the fridge, it'll help avoid overheating the margarine during creaming, giving you more leeway for a longer beating time.


How to 'bread' with corn One of our favorite dishes involves rolling a piece of cod in corn and then sautéing it until the corn is somewhat caramelized. Then it bakes until the fish is cooked through. Here's the issue - one in five times, the corn actually won't stick to the cod, and then we have corn, cod, and a large mess. The corn is still in kernel form - that's why the sweet, caramelized thing is so delicious. How do I get the corn to consistently stick to the cod without battering and frying the thing?

Interesting. I have been a chef for over 20 years, and I have never heard of anybody using whole corn kernel as breading. I have used cornflakes and cornmeal hundreds of times, but never whole corn. I can see how delicious this would be when the sweet-corn caramelizes, but it is not going to stick without some sort of batter. It is physically impossible. I would just use a simple egg batter, no flour or starch. That would be nice and light, and give the corn something to adhere to.


How can I get rid of as much oil from my schnitzel after deep-frying it? My issue with my favorite food is that it has so much oil in it. I'm using simple sunflower oil to deep-fry my schnitzel and it comes out delicious, but it has too much oil in it.

I use napkins to dry as much as possible but it doesn't do a great job.

Any ideas?

Heat your oil to 375 F (190 C).  Use a oil or candy thermometer to make sure you maintain that temp.  Fry your schnitzel.  Once cooked, make sure to drain by holding over the pan...or use a basket or skimmer to shake excess oil from the cooked schnitzel.  Remove as much excess oil this way as possible.  Move to absorbent paper.  The combination of the right temperature, and removing excess surface oil will help greatly.


What tasks require or work best with a knife point? Most kitchen knives have pointed tips. I can imagine trying to improve safety (e.g. if they're accidentally dropped) by rounding the tip. For example, a paring knife might look like the one on the right instead of the one on the left:

But I wonder what is lost on the culinary side? I cannot think of a recipe where the tip is essential. Usually when I need a pointy thing a fork works better than the tip of a knife. Certainly there are knives with less pronounced tips such as the Santoku stye knife and carving knife.

The first has a less pronounced tip but could still cut through your shoe. The second had a rounded tip but is a more specialized kind of knife.
Imagine you don't have any knives with pointed tips. What tasks become more of a hassle to accomplish?

A pointy tip is useful in a boning knife, particularly when getting between meat and sinew, or getting under silver skin. The pointy end of the knife is helpful when removing meat from the bone. I also use the pointy end of a fillet knife to get between the skin and meat of fish, starting the separation, when I want to remove fish skin from the fillet. I use the pointy part of the knife to pierce pork skin, for example, when I want to string a piece of jowl or belly to dry.  I think you can accomplish plenty without the sharp point, but it does come in handy when you need to pierce or focus the cutting in a precise place. It's not really about recipes, rather it is a matter of the task that needs to be accomplished, and there are several where it comes in handy.


How do I properly cut a chicken breast into strips or chunks? I often cut fresh chicken breasts into strips for stir-fry or similar uses. What type of knife should I use and how should I cut it? I'm not trying to debone as I buy boneless cuts already.  I'm most interested in the techniques associated with efficiency and safety.

Some related questions that don't address my question specifically:

How do I cut out the vein/tendon from a chicken breast tendorloin?
Is it generally better to cut chicken breast with or against the grain?

Use a non serrated sharp knife.

I prefer using a chef knife, about 10in long.

Cut the breast length wise to make slices, and after that, cut each slice into strips.

If wanting to make "chunks", then cut each strip into cubes.

Depending on the recipe, you can vary the thickness of each slice/strip/cube.


Partially defrosted chicken in cold water, then defrosted the rest of the way in the fridge I thought I wanted to cook chicken last night, so I put the frozen chicken breasts (in original packaging) in a bowl of cold water to defrost. After about 30 minutes, I realized that to make the dish I wanted to make, the meat would need an hour to marinate after defrosting, so I decided to wait 24 hours to cook the chicken. I then popped the chicken breasts into the fridge.

My question is: since I started the defrosting process in the bowl of cold water before putting the chicken into the fridge, is the chicken still safe to cook and eat today?

It should be OK,

You started it frozen and unless the ambient temperature was very warm, the water would still be cold, so the meat was not in the "danger" zone before putting it back in the fridge where it'll continue defrosting slowly.