Can i use vegetable oil instead of butter in cookies? I have a recipe of cookies in which butter is used. Can I use oil as a replacement for butter? Would it affect the taste of the cookies? If I were to use oil as a butter replacement, what quantity should I use?

You can, but there will be several differences as a result:

Taste is the most obvious. Depending on the oil you choose, you will either just lack the buttery aspects of the flavor or replace them with other flavors (nutty for peanut oil, coconut for coconut oil, etc.)
Texture and structure is the next most obvious. Butter, which is semisolid at typical room temperature, will provide more textural support for your cookies than an oil which is liquid at typical room temperature. You won't be able to "cream" most oils the way you do with butter to provide a lighter texture. Using a vegetable shortening like Crisco, or another oil like coconut oil that remains solid at higher temperatures than most oils, could partially address this aspect.
Moisture content is related to texture but worth being called out on its own. Vegetable oils are 100% fat; butter is about 80% fat, with most of the remainder being water (and a small amount of milk solids, about 1-2%). To best approximate the butter, you should use 80% of the suggested amount as oil, and 20% as water.

So if you have a favorite cookie recipe that you must make with oil rather than butter (such as if you're cooking for vegans, or people with allergies), the best approach would probably be to use 80% coconut oil (which for most recipes "75% and round up" would be close enough) and 20% water. This would provide a nice flavor (although one very different from butter), a melting point more similar to butter than most oils, and gets the moisture content right.


How do I remove a sheet cake from a pan? I am trying to create a double layer 12 X 17 inch sheet cake.  How do I get the cake layers out of the pan and placed one on top of the other in whole pieces without crumbling?  I am using parchment paper which works great but having trouble getting one layer on top of the other.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
Carefully run a table knife around the edge of the pan to make sure the edges of the cake are fully released from the edges of the pan.
Place a wire rack over the cake pan, then invert the rack and the pan.
Pull the pan off of the cake. Let the cake cool to room temperature.
Invert the cake again onto some plastic-wrapped cardboard.
Move the layers on the cardboard to your freezer for at least 2 hours.  We usually bake the cake the day before and let them freeze overnight.  We always had an upright freezer in the garage, and 2 layers would fit next to each other on one shelf.

When you pull the cake layers from the freezer, they'll be solid and reasonably sturdy, but you should still exercise care, using both hands to support them.  It's perfectly fine to assemble and ice the frozen cake layers.  I've never had a problem with them sweating as they thaw.  But, there's no harm in letting them thaw a bit after assembling if you're worried.

Bonus: there are fewer crumbs when you ice a frozen cake.


mixed egg and bicarbonate of soda I was half way through making a batch of peanut butter cookies when my mixer blew up - not a happy camper.  As I had already mixed my eggs and bicarbonate of soda together, I would like to know if I can store this mixture in the fridge overnight and resume baking tomorrow?
thank you

Perishable food, including raw eggs, is safe in the fridge for a day. So you can do that.

The soda can spend its leavening power though, especially if you also have other ingredients mixed in. The cookies will not have the same texture as freshly made, and it is hard to say how much difference there will be and where on the spectrum is your limit for "acceptable quality". So, you can go ahead and make them, but be aware that you are facing a significant probability of failure.


Why is DIY yogurt not as stable as sourdough starter? I have a sourdough starter which is now close to 15 years old. It has survived everything - including long pauses where it stood in the fridge for over a month or longer. It is incredibly stable and very hard to kill (at least I was not successful so far). Presumably you can also make a backup by drying it completely and storing it long-term (I have made such a backup, but have not had to use it yet).

Sometimes I also like to make yogurt by sterilizing milk at 90-95°C, then cooling to 45°C, adding existing yogurt, and keeping it at 45°C for about 6 hours.

This always works very well for the first 3-4 generations (starting with storebought natural joghurt). The first generations are extremely nice, just like the original.

But after some generations, it inevitably does not continue to work as well. The next generation will not become as thick, and will be more of a soup; clumps of yogurt mixed with the clear watery substance you get in these processes (sorry, don't know the word in English - is that whey?). I'm quite careful to keep the whole process as identical as possible.

Do you know the reason for that, or if it is possible to get a long-term, stable yogurt running?

First, we are talking about different microorganisms when comparing sourdough to yogurt. Generally, a sourdough starter is populated by numerous strains of yeast and bacteria, while store bought yogurt contains a small number of isolated strains of bacteria.  However, there is no reason that you can't maintain a yogurt culture that lives on. According to the linked article, the isolated strains in store bought yogurt are generally only viable for a couple of generations.  You might look into heirloom starter cultures, as they suggest. That way you can develop a yogurt starter that is as viable as your sourdough starter.


Advice for cooking two pumpkin pies at once Tonight my wife will attempt the feat of cooking two of her pumpkin pies at once. Given the firing schedule for one pie (the Libby's recipe for one pie- 15 mins @ 425, reduce to 350 for 40-50 mins), what allowances should be made to cook two at the same time?

I have looked online.  All advice there seems to indicate from 5-15 minutes extra on the end.  Does anyone here have experience doing this?

Putting 2 pies in the oven will likely cool the oven more, and the oven will try to heat up to compensate. So its best to keep the temperature the same and cook longer. I'd say 5 minutes would be adequate in this scenario. Also, do not put the pies on different racks in the oven, the one on the lower rack will cook at a lower temperature and your product will be inconsistent.

If you have a convection oven, or a convection setting on your oven, use it. The movement of hot air will mitigate most of the effect of having another pie in the oven, its also more energy efficient and cooks more evenly. If you do not have a convection oven it might be wise to rotate the pies so they cook evenly. The pies will likely create a cold spot between them, in addition to any potential cold spots in your oven.

Another way of getting rid of cold spots and helping the oven retain more heat is to add a baking stone. I keep my baking stone in the oven all the time, because it helps hold onto heat, even if I'm not cooking directly on top of it. It helps hold heat when I open the over door, and it helps my oven heat more evenly. The trick is to let the oven preheat 5-10min longer before you put your goods in.


Would it be possible to make a chili that drew its influence from eastern cooking and used curry as a base? My plan is to follow the concept of a conventional chili, but replace the chili powder with a homemade curry powder spice blend containing coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger, peony, lovage, star anise, fennel seeds, Rehmannia, and cayenne. The idea is to sautee the beef with onions and fennel, seasoning it lightly, and then, add it to a beef stock, along with a few varieties of bean, stewed tomato, the curry powder from before, and rice wine. I also had the idea of making miniature naan-parmesan wraps that would be stirred into the chili in the last few minutes of cooking, as to absorb some of the liquid from the chili, in place of the traditional cracker. So my question is, would this work in a way that remained as pleasing to the senses as conventional chili or curry (if not more), and if not, how could I tweak it to make the tastes blend better for a more appealing dish?

Also, how can I add the naan wraps to the chili while having it retain its fluffiness and not getting soggy?

Thank you so much, and I greatly look forward to your response.

It sounds to me like a curry with beans, not a chilli with curry powder.
Apart from splashing in soggy nan at the end, which I don't think is going to work, it sounds like it would make a decent aromatic curry.

You don't mention quantities, but I'd go heavy on the onion & hold the stock back to give the end result a 'firmer' gravy, which would mean you have less mopping up to do. I'd also be tempted to get your spice blend in with or even before the onions to enhance the flavours. Maybe add a touch more towards the end to re-lift the aromatics, which will have sunk in a bit over a few hours' cook.

Serve in soup-plates [flat dishes] and use the nan to pick up the curry, rather than attempt to sit the whole thing on a rice bed. If your curry base is firm enough, you could lay out the nans/mini-wraps on the edge of the plate right at service, without giving them time to go soggy.


How do I make home-made Vietnamese or thai rice noodles? In Vietnam, fresh noodles are easy to find, however in Australia, the nearest substitute seems to be plain (and dry) rice vermicelli noodles, which do not have the same flavour or texture, the fresh noodles have a fresh flavour that has a subtle texture, quite unlike dried vermicelli noodles.

I want to make the perfect Vietnamese noodle, however, the first step for me is knowing the name and any suggestions that will help me obtain this noodle!

So, I would like to know what these noodles are typically called (perhaps in Viet or Thai language), and/or any tips or other suggestions that will allow me to find a recipe.

The only thing I can point out is that these are thin noodles, and are not like soba.


Is it safe to reheat old water in an electric kettle? I usually throw away the remaining water in the electric kettle before refilling it if the water is more than about a day old. In theory wouldn't boiling kill any impurities the old water might have? How long would the water stay drinkable in the kettle (assuming you boil it again before drinking)?

Maybe I'm wrong, but there is no safety risk at all when boiling old water. There is however something like taste. The reason the old water is discarded is because, after boiling, it lacks oxygen and will taste stale. This is also the reason why coffee is made with 95ºC hot water, or why Moroccan tea is poured from above (to oxygenate)...

So, as long as you boil it before drinking it should be safe.


Can you make oven proof and microwave safe pie dishes using cardboard and who supplies them? Does anyone know where I can source cardboard oven proof and microwave safe pie dishes and if these are even possible?

I'm not sure whether they are sold for consumer use, but I can say that Amy's brand pot pies come in a cardboard pie pan with instructions for microwaving or baking in a conventional oven. So they do exist.

Whether such pie pans are suitable for start-to-finish creation of a pie is another question, I'm fairly sure the Amy's pies are partially prepared and then transferred to cardboard pie pans (possibly after they're frozen).

For home cooking, a glass pie pan would be an option if you need to bake a pie in the oven and then heat it later in a microwave. Depending on your oven, you may need to be careful to place the pie pan on a metal tray, or put a metal tray on the lower rack below the pie pan to prevent radiant heat from over-cooking the lower crust of the pie. (Edit: On second thought, a baking stone would probably provide a better radiant heat barrier.)


Are N2O and CO2 chargers interchangeable for culinary purposes? Cream whippers seem to use N2O chargers.

Soda siphons seem to use CO2 chargers.

But both chargers appear to be physically identical. The MyPressi espresso device, which uses chargers to force water through a coffee puck at 9 bar like a benchtop machine is apparently happy to use either.

So can cream whippers use CO2, and soda N2O?

For example:

Is 'nitrogenated' water as safe as carbonated?
Might one cool more than the other? (cooling being preferable for whipping cream but bad for maintaining espresso water temperature)
Assuming both contain the same liquid volume, would one or the other give greater gas expansion and more usable output?

N2O is more stable than CO2. Mixing N2O with water or cream won't create diffetent molecules. If the liquid you add N2O is not very thick (as water) the gas and liquid will separate in two. If it is thick, as with cream, the gas will get trapped in it. You can see the proccess with more detail in this question.

CO2 reacts with water (H2O) making H2CO3 (carbonic acid). It makes soda water, which has a slight acid taste, and get bubbles of released CO2 if the pressure of the soda water falls. CO2 can be used for whipping cream, but it will give acid taste to it. You can get some more information from the Wikipedia entry.

None of them cools liquids. The  chargers get cooled down when opened, as the gas inside them decreases pressure. But that gas goes to the cream whipper or the soda siphon, which theoretically should increase its temperature, but having a much larger volume than the charger makes that increase unnoticeable.

When using pressure gas to make espresso, you arent pouring that gas to a closed recipient: the water escapes thru the coffee puck, so it won't cool the water. MyPressi V1 put the gas in the middle of the water chamber, so it could only be used with N2O. V2 of the device puts the gas in the top part of the chamber, so it is not mixed with the water, making it suitable to be used with CO2.


Can I substitute teriyaki glaze and baste for teriyaki sauce? I have some teriyaki glaze and baste, but my recipe calls for teriyaki sauce. Can I use this and just add some soy sauce to it to "water" it down. Currently it is the consistency of ketchup, but it should be like soy sauce, a liquid.

I guess my question is, can I turn teriyaki glaze and baste back into teriyaki sauce?

Well I just tried it and added some soy sauce and brown sugar. It tasted pretty close.


Why is water often added to the eggs when making omelettes? Why is water often added to the eggs when making an omelette?
Also, is there a recommended amount of water?

Eggs are already 3/4 water anyway!

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

The amount of water you need to add depends on; personal preference, the type of egg, and how old it is. Older eggs generally require a little more water

Adding skim milk will enhance this process slightly too. Adding extra fat will generally not enhance this process

BONUS TIP To make even more spectacular omelettes place a loose fitting lid over the pan to increase the steam exposure all around, and let the egg fully develop


What counts as "anaerobic" re: botulism? I've always heard that C. botulinum needs an "anaerobic" environment to grow.  But what exactly counts as that?

Presumably stuff like sous vide bags.  Or oil (like in herbs under oil).  Seems fairly clear.

But then I read this in a 2011 Harold McGee column (http://www.curiouscook.com/site/2011/08/bending-the-rules-on-bacteria-new-york-times.html):

  One such spore-forming bacterium is Clostridium botulinum, which can
  grow in the oxygen-poor depths of a stockpot, and whose neurotoxin
  causes botulism.

So what other not-obviously-anaerobic environments can C. botulinum live in?  The center of a casserole?  In the middle of an hunk of solid meat or plant?

Anaerobic simply means "absence of air."

Any liquid food environment basically counts as "anaerobic."  Yes, there may be some dissolved gases and exchange of air may happen near the surface of a liquid like water, but deeper in an undisturbed liquid, there's often not enough air to prevent botulism growth.  Some basically "solid" foods count too, if they aren't porous or are highly viscous (but apparent solids) and contain a high enough moisture content for bacteria to grow and spread.  Any solids that are relatively moist and close-packed are also a particular problem (think sausages).

Whether all of these anaerobic environments will grow botulism then depends on various other factors.  Botulism bacteria need food.  They dislike acidity or excess salt (think pickles) or excess sugar (think preserves) or alcohol (think fermentation), which are all traditional preservation methods.  They need a certain level of water -- hence why drying was also a traditional preservation method and why solid hunks of stuff are less likely to cause problems (unless they have sufficient internal moisture).  Also, oil-rich environments lack water and may not grow botulism (think mayonnaise) but water-containing food within oil can (think garlic or herbs in oil).

All of these may be "anaerobic" environments, but the other factors can prevent botulism.

Lastly, you have things like temperature -- chilling will slow botulism growth to a crawl and at low temperatures stop it completely.  That's the last traditional preservation method: chilling or freezing.

Basically, anything under liquid left at room temperature for extended periods could conceivably grow botulism bacteria, assuming adequate "food" (for the bacteria) is present and none of the "preserving" environmental conditions mentioned above.  Note the "extended periods" -- compared to other food poisoning bacteria, botulism grows more slowly and generally needs at least a couple days to grow to appreciable levels.  And that's why any type of canning recipes, etc. from official organizations are rigorously tested with exact measurements for preservation agents (like acid, salt, etc.), unless they undergo a "pressure canning" step that heats the food hot enough to actually kill botulism spores (which will survive boiling).  Similarly, preserved meats (especially processed ground ones) that can remain at room temperature need to be treated with excessive salt for long periods (sometimes acid as well), and often other agents (like nitrates or nitrites) to inhibit botulism growth.

So yes, as Harold McGee mentions, stock left at room temperature for a few days can definitely grow botulism bacteria.  A casserole left at room temperature for a few days could likely grow them too.  Meat left at room temperature can definitely grow botulism, which is actually one of the biggest problems for actual cases of botulism after canning -- improperly preserved meat not kept under refrigeration.

"Solid" meat and vegetables are less likely to have botulism bacteria far in their interior in the first place (and often aren't "wet" enough for the bacteria to spread far), but if they become contaminated, they can be a problem too.  For example: baked potatoes stored in foil and kept at room temperature have been known to be a cause, as have pickled eggs that were pricked before pickling (thus inadvertently introducing botulism bacteria into the otherwise sterile yolk).

To quote the FDA:

  Botulinal toxin has been demonstrated in a considerable variety of
  foods, such as canned corn, peppers, green beans, soups, beets,
  asparagus, mushrooms, ripe olives, spinach, tuna fish, chicken and
  chicken livers and liver pate, and luncheon meats, ham, sausage,
  stuffed eggplant, lobster, and smoked and salted fish.


Easy Oven Cleaning - No products The manual for my oven states that only warm water should be used for cleaning.

I've followed this so far but it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep the oven in a respectable condition.

Does anyone have any experience using natural options such as baking soda and vinegar, with ovens that require 'product free' cleaning?

Is it a self-cleaning oven?

If so, running the cleaning cycle according to the instructions should leave nothing but a fine ash on the oven, which is easily removable with just warm water.


Xanthan gum 'seeds' in sauce Update: I managed to properly incorporate the gum without any clumping. I used an immersion blendsr (blade attachment) and mixed it with sugar this time, and it helped.

To thicken a home made tomato sauce, I tried added xanthan gum. While the sauce did thicken (too much in fact, it was mucus like), it resulted in little white 'seeds' floating in the sauce, which was visually unappealing.

First, I placed the sauce in a tall metal cup. I placed my immersion blender (with whisk attachment) inside and turned it on.
With the high speed immersion blender whirring inside, I sprinkled xanthan gum inside, bit by bit.
The xanthan gum powder did not mix well and white 'seeds' could be seen floating in the sauce.

Are the 'seeds' a result of the xanthan gum clumping together? What should I do differently to mix it well to avoid this from happening

I should note that the sauce was quite hot (between 160F- 180F) when I added the gum. The sauce also consisted of mainly vinegar, and some sugar.

Kevin's answer is close: a slurry is best, but the mechanism and technique are different than starch based thickeners. With starches, the cells explode when heated, but xanthan gum simply needs to be hydrated, and it can be hydrated at any temperature.

Mix a smaller amount of xanthan gum in water in your metal cup, add water, and blend it with your immersion blender. For your slurry, you're looking for a consistency which is much thicker than your sauce, but still thin enough to be able to stir in fairly easily. Like you said, add too much and you'll end up with a pan of tomato snot. A one percent mixture (1 gram of xanthan gum per 100 grams of liquid, by weight) will be pretty thick, even if the starting liquid is water. A little dab will do ya!

Good luck!


Is there a way to dilute oil? I like to drink protein shakes, but I find that it's very hard to dissolve the protein powder into water or milk. You get clumps, and unless you want to get your blender dirty or spend ten minutes whisking you're out of luck. Recently I've started experimenting, and I've made some discoveries that could solve this problem.
First off, my protein powder dissolves in oil. I can dissolve it in oil then add water, and then instead of clumps I'll just have two separate layers, one with protein powder dissolved in oil and the other water. This is still better than clumps and tastes super creamy, but obviously this is much more calorie dense and kinda defeats the purpose of drinking protein shakes.
My next experiment was to try adding as little oil as possible. I added just enough oil to the protein powder to get the texture of wet sand, then added my water and stirred. This seemed to create an emulsification although there were some small clumps, but I think with some refinement I could get clump free emulsions using this technique. My theory is that when I added the water it mixed slowly with the oil and protein since the oil protein mixture was still in mostly solid form, and this allowed an emulsion to form while it could not in the previous case. But that's just a guess. Just like with the previous method, this was delicious but unhealthy.
So, is there something else I could try dissolving my protein powder in, or something I could dilute my oil with so it will still dissolve the powder but be less calorie dense? I'm using some sort of vegan protein powder with added emulsifiers. I can tell you what kind of protein it is later if it helps, but I suspect I'd get similar results with whey protein.

It doesn't actually dissolve. It disperses (easily seen as some will eventually settle out). The distinction is important, as dissolving could be solved by time or heat.
A few things may help when mixing with water (or milk):

Make a paste with the powder and a little water, then dilute
(this is what I do for protein shakes) Put a little water in the bottle. Add the powder on top and put the lid on. Shake briefly but vigorously. Add more water to about 1/3 full, shake again. Top up to 2/3 full, shake a final time. If you insist on using a blender, a similar approach might be good. It stops the clumps forming stuck to the sides where they're hard to get free. This is normally with whey derivatives. I've tried it with a plant-based powder but it was too disgusting to drink.
I've never used them (because they wouldn't fit in the bike bottles I use for shakes) but there are mixing balls. They're basically a whisk made of wires and makes the shaking more effective.


Can i rescue my kefir grains? I had a lovely big kefir grain, been making kefir everyday for years. Today I accidentally put it in the blender with the milk and fruit. I managed to sieve out a few tiny bits of grain which I've put into milk. Will they grow again?

The grains are really just a symbiotic colony of microscopic yeasts and bacteria that grow in and ferment milk into kefir, similar to the "SCOBY" that ferments kombucha, or the "mother" that ferments vinegar. The individual organisms are far too small to be harmed even by the intense action of a professional blender; if you managed to rescue some, then given sufficient food (i.e. milk) they should grow and develop new grains.

The one caveat here is that the specific strains of the organism can differ, potentially even within a colony; it's possible that the grains which survived blending won't contain exactly the same mix of bacteria and yeast that you had originally, though they should be pretty close.

You should be able to resume your normal daily production and the grains will get back to their former size eventually. Just check the next few batches before consuming to make sure the kefir hasn't been thrown off.


how does bread fermentation change in relation to inital yeast weight, time and temperature? I am thinking of making bread and while most recipes call for a 2-3 hour fermentation, some say leave it for 12-24 hours in the fridge for better flavor while adding less yeast to start with.

I understand that in slow growth conditions and small quantities yeast gives a slower rise but why does it affect the flavor, to elaborate lets assume two recipes A and B

A uses 3x the amount of yeast used by B

B needs more time than A but eventually shouldn't the output of the two amounts of yeast be equal at some point in time if we keep B proofing while removing A

I guess I am asking what else is happening to the bread beside the output of yeast ?

Long fermentation allows for enzymes to breakdown starch molecules into sugars used by the yeast. This breakdown adds complexity to the flavor of the bread, and loaf color produced during baking. http://www.thescienceofbreadmaking.com/enzymes.html


Enhancing garlic and tomatoes on toast I often make the following vegan breakfast toast. I start by finely chopped onions and garlic and heat the combination on a non-stick pan till the onions are brown. Then I add a tomato chopped into small pieces, with some of the juice that comes out. The outcome is a thick cohesive paste that tastes (at least to me) excellent on a breakfast toast sprinkled with salt, pepper, herbes de provence/oregano/powdered coriander.

I like it so much that I would love some pointers on how this recipe could be improved, or if this preparation has a name that I can look up and research. Specifically what I am looking for is a way of making it less dry. I plan on trying olive oil and avocado, but any tips would be welcome.

When you mention that you've specifically cooked it down until the onions are brown and the tomatos have lost most of their liquid, I'd say that you might be near a jam  ... and there are plenty of recipes out there for tomato & onion jam.  Most call for adding a bit of extra acid to it and/or extra sugar.

If you search for 'crostini con pomodori e cipolla' (Italian for "toast with tomato and onion"), most of the recipes have some other added salt component -- anchovies or hard cheeses were common ... but you specifically mentioned vegan.

If it were me, I'd lean towards olives -- they'd hit both the acid and salty notes.  Or maybe pickled hot peppers.  Or even just a pinch or two of pepper flakes.

As for the problem of it being too dry -- just cook it less.  So long as the bread's toasted, and you're eating it shortly after assembly, a little extra moisture won't hurt.  You can adjust the cut of the toast (if you're slicing it yourself), or cut it in half, so that it's less likely to flex if it starts to sog, or add some barrier (eg, olive oil) to the bread first so the liquid can't soak in.

You could also try roasting the tomatoes to dry them out and help activate their pectin to gel the remaining liquid.  (or add extra pectin)


What do you look for to make sure that Conch is fresh? I recently saw a stew recipe for Conch and wanted to try it - I've never purchased it before from an actual fish market (only in cans).  What should I look for and any tips on cleaning would be great!!

Conch should have a nice light pink color.  If it's gray or browned, steer clear.  Like most seafood, the best indicator is smell.  If it smells salty like a walk near the beach, it's fine.  If it smells like a stagnant wharf or a warm dumpster, steer clear. To clean, run it under cold water.  Cut off any membrane, and drain it before cooking.  Conch is chewy, so don't treat it like scallops or lobster.  It can be tenderized through pounding, cooked in a pressure-cooker, food-processed and stewed, or slow-cooked.  Keep an eye on the texture.  Chewy conch is not ideal.
This is assuming you aren't buying conch in the shell.

If you decide to buy the conch in the shell, you’ll need to extract it. Wash the shell containing the conch under cold running water. Carefully drop 1 to 3 whole shells into 6 quarts of boiling water, adding in a tablespoon of salt. Boil for about 40 minutes. Using a fork or other pronged instrument, pull out the conch meat from the shells and throw away the green matter. You can save the shell for decoration if you like. Rinse the extracted meat under cold water.
Another procedure for cleaning out the shell is to whack the bulging side of the shell with a hammer to break it. Slip a knife into the shell and twist it around until you feel the muscle detach from the shell. Grab the piece of meat sticking out and pull hard, then cut away the stomach and tail.

Read more: article.cfm/how_to_buy_and_clean_a_conch


How do you properly toast rice? No matter what recipe I try, whenever I toast rice it comes out unevenly brown (it always skips past the golden brown stage), it lacks any nutty smell and smells and tastes partially burnt.

I tried to toast it with fat, no fat, high heat, medium heat - it all comes out the same. I tried brown, Thai, and Basmati. I have used non-stick pan in all my tries.

Considering the results you're getting with medium or high heat, I would suggest you try low heat.  If it skips past the stage you're looking for, it's probably cooking much too quickly - you might occasionally take it off the heat as well, to further draw out the window of when you can find it to be just toasted, not burnt.

In addition, look for other indicators of when it's done.  If there's a time component in whatever recipe you're using, (ie, the recipe says toast 6 min) try keeping to it, even if it doesn't look golden brown yet.  Maybe keep checking throughout for that nutty scent, and pull it off the heat when you do find it.  Some foods keep cooking for a while after they're off the heat, and I'm not sure how 'brown' toasted rice can be expected to look (one of the recipes I saw mentioned "pearly rather than browned").  If the color is paler when 'done' than you're expecting, it will be very easy to overshoot.

Depending on what recipes you're using it for, you might try using rice that has been toasted for only a few minutes, see how it affects your recipe, and working your way up the amount of time you're toasting it for to get the results you want - after all, under-toasted rice should still be usable, while over-toasted sounds unpleasant.


How do I make my food taste like leftovers I find that when I make stews, casseroles, curry’s etc. that they are much nicer after a day or two in the fridge. I understand that it “gives the flavours time to meld” etc, but what actually happens? Is there a way to make it happen first time round?

I think that your thinking in terms of "leftovers" is what is tripping you up here. Cooking food involves tons of chemical changes, and some of them happen best on the stove, and others need a long period of resting time.
If you have a recipe which tastes better on the second day, then all you have to do is to plan to serve it on the second day. See it as a recipe whose last stage needs 24 hours and happens at fridge tempearature. You wouldn't serve yogurt before it has spent 8 hours at 46 C, because the mixture doesn't taste like yogurt yet. Similarly, you shouldn't serve your "perfect beef stew" before it has spent 24 hours at 4 C, because it doesn't taste like "perfect beef stew" yet.
If you are looking for ways to speed up the process, I don't think these exist. Maturing of foods involves complex chemical reactions, which need their time. This is why many luxury food items let you know how long they were aged.
For a bit of background, see also this question on the process of flavors "marrying".


How old is a chicken when it's time to be cooked? How old is a chicken usually allowed to grow before it's ready to be used for cooking?

They can be as young as 8 weeks, and up to a year or more. The preferred cooking method changes with age. Here is a handy chart of the ages/weights/options.


Visual standard for gas flame levels Is there a generally accepted notion of high/medium/low flame that can be expressed visually?

I ask before concocting my own guidelines for peewee chefs, 8yrs+. Because there is wide variation in stove tops (Esp internationally), I want clear direction easy to remember.

For example, maybe high flame licks the grate, while low only curls around burner head. Or maybe something about the color of the flame?

Anything that can help define medium is most useful since the knob establishes highest and lowest flame.

An issue you'll have to deal with is diameter. A high flame on a smaller ring may put out more or less heat than a low flame on a bigger ring. While you might think the pan size would cancel that out, a big pan may need to go on a small ring for a gentle simmer. The height between the burner and the pan rest isn't exactly standardised either.

You might do better to think in terms of the pictures on the dial: big flame, little flame, and halfway in between. Even then you'd have to normalise for pan size. Perhaps assume a pan a bit wider than the biggest flame that ring delivers. Even the amount of variation between max and min is quite variable.

As for colour, if it's not blue, turn it off. That's a simple message for kids but it's a good starting point.


how can I mince a small amount of meat? I want to be able to mince a small amount of meat for steak tartar to eat right away. I want the mince to be fresh each time, so mincing more in advance and storing is not an option, no matter what you do, the meat will never be as fresh as stored in a large piece and minced just before eating.

I bought a meat mincing machine, and I tried mincing 500 grams of meat (about one pound for you non-metric USAnians). The amount of meat stuck in the machine after finishing was substantial, and the amount of cleaning afterwards makes the whole exercise pointless. 15 seconds of mincing, and then 15 minutes of getting meat remains out of the machine, chopping it and cleaning the machine.

So I chop it by hand with a knife, but that is also quite time-taking although faster then using the machine and cleaning it later. The machine is something like this:

Does anyone know a meat mincing machine which would be suitable for mincing 500 grams of meat at a time, or a technique to do it efficiently, faster then chopping it by hand with a knife? The meats in question are tender, lean meats like beef tenderloin or roe deer haunch.

There are a few workarounds to mince your meat, but the results may be not what you are looking for:

Some immersion blenders have a special attachment especially for mincing meat or stringy veggies. It's got two super-sharp "winglets". (I'll add a photo once I find mine.) You need to be super careful and fast, or the meat will be more like a puree / paté instead of tiny minced pieces.
Food processors will have similar issues: blend a second too long and you have a farce again.

This is based on the fact that meat grinders are based on a totally different principle - they push the meat towards the holes and cut off tiny pieces from the larger chunks while the rotating knives puree the food.
If you are ok with that, they can be an alternative to dragging out the large meat grinder (and cleaning it afterwards). Note that both substitutes require prepping the meat carefully - remove all sinews and similar. Also, chill your meat well. Cold meat will keep its consistency better than slightly warmer meat.

I personally would use a large chopping board and a sharp large knife and chop up the few servings before bothering with tools. But YMMV - it depends on how comfortable and skilled you are with your knife.


Flour protein and browning I use the following recipe (based on this Serious eats article) for a sicilian style pizza:

500 g All Purpose Flour
2 tbsp oil
10 g kosher salt
5 g rapid rise yeast
347 g water

Mix in food processor til dough comes together then another 40 seconds.

Then, I turn it out on a half sheet pan with 6 tbsp oil, let it sit for ~3 hours, top with a can of Muir Glenn pizza sauce, some shredded cheese and some lunch meats. Bake at 550 F for about 16 minutes.

When I used Pillsbury/Gold Medal all purpose flour, I got better browning (and flavor)  than compared to King Arthur all purpose flour. On the other hand, King Arthur gave better bubbles (I'm guessing due to the higher protein content).

I know King Arthur has more protein, so how does that affect browning? And can I do something to the recipe to increase my browning? I've played with the oven racks to bottom and middle, but not much luck (it's a relatively small oven, so it might not have as much effect as I'd like).

Note: I tested about 5 times with each Pillsbury, Gold Medal and King Arthur.

Changing the protein content affects the dough and the eventual crumb (when cooked).  So the question shouldn't exactly be how does protein more protein/gluten affect browning, apart from the increased gluten will give you are more flexible dough which you work with more (ie thinner).

The two ways you can increase the crisping/browning of your pizza is:

Roll/stretch out your dough thinner
Placing your pizza on a pre-heated skillet before either placing into a hot oven, or better still using a broiler to apply a high heat from above.  This will increase temperature on the base and topping.


Lining a frying pan with aluminum foil to reduce post-cooking cleanup? I make a lot of stir fry in my frying pan, and I hate cleaning it up. Often, if I do not clean the pan immediately, the stir fry residue (little pieces I have failed to scooped out when moving the food from pan to plate) sticks to the bottom, and I need to soak the pan for a while before I can wash it.

Is there any danger/argument against lining the inside of the pan with aluminum foil, and cooking the stir fry on top of that foil? That way I would not have to clean the pan after removing my food -- I could just take off the foil and throw it out.

Lining with foil works well with cooking methods like baking or broiling, where the food is not stirred or manipulated much, and so the foil can sit undisturbed.

With stir frying, you are quite likely to break through the foil while doing the stirring, and have to clean up fully in any case.   Also, you probably would not get as good a stir fry due the thin layer of insulating air between the pan surface and the food.

This is not something I would try.


Why would you place potatoes on salt when baking in the oven? Several of my recipe books call for baking potatoes on a layer of (rock) salt, e.g. I'm currently following one for gnocchi that has this very instruction.

Searching yields many recipes, but I can't really find the "why" of it, nor what it technically accomplishes. Our own cooking.se site yields no relevant results either.

I can't quite imagine either what it would accomplish, except for perhaps salt the potatoes a bit; but that seems rather inefficient (why not add some salt later to the gnocchi dough?). Or perhaps it's meant to draw all fluids?

Why would you bake potatoes on a layer of (rock) salt? What does that do to the potatoes?

This is what America's Test Kitchen (sorry, paywalled) has to say about it:

  Sometimes baked potatoes can use a flavor boost. And instead of light and fluffy, most often they are dense and crumbly. We found that baking the potatoes on a bed of salt remedied these problems. Moisture that escaped the potatoes during baking was trapped in the enclosed pan, absorbed by the salt, and eventually reabsorbed by the potatoes, making their skins tender and their flesh light and fluffy. All we needed to do was fine-tune the variables. Using a hot oven and uncovering the potatoes toward the end of cooking ensured dry, crisp skin. A 13 by 9-inch baking dish provided plenty of space so that we didn’t have to crowd the potatoes, and 2 1/2 cups of salt allowed us to thoroughly cover the bottom of the pan.

I have found that salt roasting potatoes makes the skin crispy, without it getting hard. Like the above says, the potato itself seems fluffier. The way the salt seasons the potato is particularly nice as well. Incidentally, you can reuse the salt over and over again, so it's not as wasteful as it might seem when you first consider the method. You'll want to keep separate salt for things like this, though, since it picks up potato flakes and discolors a bit.

EDIT The ATK method calls for covering the 9X13 baking dish (for 4 potatoes and 2 1/2 cups of salt) tightly with aluminum foil and roasting at 450F (232C) for 1 1/4 hours. Remove foil, brush potatoes with oil, raise oven temp to 500F (260C) and continue roasting for 10-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife and the skins are glossy.


Why do some foods have to be cooked only when the pan is really hot? I like fried rice. When I try to make it myself, though, it never turns out the way restaurants make it. Restaurant fried rice almost has this sort of "smell-you-can-taste" that's not directly part of the rice. It's like part of the steam. I'm probably not making sense, but I remember being told that fried rice tastes best when friend on a really hot pan.

Why is this so? What happens when foods are cooked on something less hot? (e.g. friend rice, steak)

A link: http://www.shiokfood.com/notes/archives/000018.html

  One of the reasons that restaurant-made fried rice has that smoky flavour is the high temperatures and the seasoned carbon steel woks that we use.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wok_hei has very good explanations about it. Let me sum of it up:

The geometry of the wok is very important:

better use of the surface area
ability to shallow fry big items and deep fry small items with small amounts of oil.
intense heat for low amount of fuel

The temperature is also very important:

caramelization (or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction)
carbon steel, cast iron, stainless steel and others have different properties in terms of heat capacity and heat conduction.


What are the correct ratios for eggless mayonnaise? What is the correct ratio of milk, oil and vinegar to make egg-less mayonnaise?

My go to ratio for eggless mayo: 1 cup oil, 1/2 cup full fat milk, 2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice. You can adjust the taste with other seasonings.


If a recipe doesn't specify the type of vinegar, is there a standard type implied? I occasionally come across recipes that call for vinegar, but don't specify which of the many varieties they mean. (A recent example is this recipe for a corn and pepper salad, which just says "2 tbsp. vinegar".)

While I recognize that sometimes this may just be that the recipe is badly written, I've encountered it often enough to wonder: is there a "standard" or implied type of vinegar that should be used when a recipe simply calls for vinegar? Or is it assumed that the chef will be familiar with the flavor profiles of the dish they are trying to make and will be able to choose an appropriate vinegar by their own knowledge and discretion?

I've been unable to find an authoritative answer to this: other forums provide conflicting answers with no documentation or reasoning for the answer put forth, or make it seem like your only options are white vinegar and cider vinegar.

If a recipe asks for "vinegar", a standard type is implied, namely white vinegar.
There certainly are more vinegars than just the white and the cider one (white wine or balsamic are also often used).

However, cultural differences can play a role. I've found on wikipedia that English people put malt vinegar on their fish 'n' chips. If you would see a recipe for fish 'n' chips that calls for "vinegar", my guess is that malt vinegar is meant. I'm sure there are other cultures which use other vinegars as standard. You can always ask some people in your environment. If they all agree, you can assume that's your standard vinegar.


Off taste from refrigerating cheese? Every time we get a extra large block of cheese, by the time we get to the end of the brick, what's left gets an off taste, from being in the refrigerator so long after opening the package. The price per pound is much more economical for the large blocks of cheese, so if it's possible, I'd like to know how to prevent or undo the off-taste that comes from being in the fridge too long once the package is unsealed vs just buying smaller bricks. Even if I leave the original wrapper around half of the block that doesn't seem to help. Usually I store the open block in a freezer-weight ziplock bag.

First, don't wrap your cheese directly in plastic. There is such a thing as cheese bags, and for what it is worth, they're highly recommended by America's Test Kitchen, AKA Cook's Illustrated. The same company makes flat paper for wrapping. Expensive stuff, but you may find it worth it.
From the the kitchn, an article written by an author with impeccable bona fides:

• Place the parchment or waxed paper flat on your counter with the wedge on top, and then bring the edges of the paper up and around the cheese, creasing as you go to make neat, clean folds. You can use tape to secure if you'd like.
• Label the paper with the cheese variety and date.
• A loose plastic wrap or a plastic bag over the paper generally keeps things tight (and keeps out fridge odors).
• Keep your cheese in the warmest part of the refrigerator, like in your cheese or vegetable drawer. An even better method is to designate a large tupperware container as your cheese home, where all of your cheese pieces can live.


What is the purpose of kosher salt in peanut butter? Can it be replaced with something else? From here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-peanut-butter-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

    15 ounces shelled and skinned AB's roasted peanuts, recipe follows
    **1 teaspoon kosher salt**
    1 1/2 teaspoons honey
    1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

What is the purpose of kosher salt in Peanut butter? Can it be
replaced with something else?

Alton Brown just generally prefers kosher salt, for reasons that don't really apply to peanut butter, which will be ground down anyway.

What matters is the total weight of salt.  Remember, kosher salt tends to weight approximately 1/2 as much (depending on brand) as table salt, per unit of volume.

So you can replace the kosher salt with sea salt, or any locally available salt on a weight per weight basis.  The absolute amount of salt to use is also completely a matter of taste and preference.

The purpose of the salt in peanut butter is only to enhance the flavor.  It does not participate in any chemistry, and is not sufficiently concentrated to have any preservative effect.


Is there a substitute for cheese salt? I've started to learn how to make cheese and all the recipes call for cheese salt. What is it about this particular salt that makes it different than others? Some of the reading I've done have a few comments that suggest there is no difference between cheese salt and fine table salt. Is there another substitute for cheese salt if for some reason in the future I can't get my hands on any? I'm mostly interested in making hard cheeses that will need to age for 3 to 6 months.

Cheese salt is just non-iodized salt, generally in flake form; the iodine would interfere with the cultures, and flakes are good for salting surfaces. So kosher salt and flaky sea salt are both essentially the same thing and viable substitutes.


When is it OK to cook a burger medium? When does it seem to be OK to eat burgers cooked medium and sometimes not?

I live in the UK and for many years it has been well-instructed that you cook your burger through to  ensure that any surface bacteria has been ground-in is killed. I have noticed that this has changed a lot recently and I have eaten in lots of burger restaurants who cook their burgers medium and never have any issues. In fact some of them are 5-star rated by hundreds of people online and you can never find a single review mentioning food poisoning. It's also a good point to mention that I also know loads of people who eat medium burgers without issue.

I know that in the rest of Europe they mostly eat medium-cooked burgers and have many French friends who admit to considering our roots of "over-cooking" burgers to be a bit weird and I kind of see the sense in that considering how much nicer a medium burger tastes.

I mentioned before that I know loads of people who eat burgers cooked-medium but I don't know anyone who cooks them medium at home and personally I'm too scared to-do-so.

Am I missing a crucial part of the grounding/cooking process, or is it just not as bigger issue as people once thought?

P.s. This feels like the sort of question that has already been asked so please do let me know if that's the case but I couldn't find it.

Beef has a firm, closed texture, which prevents bacteria penetrating far into the meat. This is why it's relatively safe to eat a rare steak: you kill the surface bacteria by searing it, and the middle is relatively bacteria free.

When you grind beef, you of course mix the surface with the middle, which increases the risk. To be safe, you should therefore limit the surface-to-middle ratio, ie use as few separate pieces of beef as possible.

Your average supermarket pack of mince may have any number of pieces thrown together, and so it's not a good idea to make a medium burger with it. The safest option is to grind your own beef, ensuring your equipment is very clean and your meat has been handled properly throughout its lifetime. I believe at least one UK gourmet burger chain grinds their own meat fresh daily.

The other option is to use irradiated beef, which is virtually sterilised by being exposed to a burst of radiation. I'm not sure how easy that is to find in the UK, however.


Can I reheat roast potatoes? I'm making Heston Blumenthal's roast potatoes, but I need my oven to finish sous-vide prepared spare ribs as well. The potatoes need well over an hour, the ribs around 40 minutes. The long times both need makes it impossible to prepare both dishes sequentially.

Can I make the roast potatoes a few hours before and reheat them in the oven right before serving?

If not: would having the spare ribs and potatoes in the oven at the same time influence the flavour of either (or both) dishes?

There should be no flavor contamination between the potatoes and the ribs; so you can start the potatoes and put the ribs in later on.

You could start the potatoes in advance and pop them in a really hot oven to get them hot and crispy again. (that is what I would do).


Can I reheat meal in pyrex-like glassware on vitro ceramic stove? I have this delicious dish with gravy I did yesterday, and the rest is still in the pyrex-like oven proof glassware used to cook it.

Can I "cheat" and quickly reheat directly on my vitro ceramic stove top ? That would seem much quicker than reheating it the oven, and would save dish washing compared to transfering the contents into a frying pan.

My core question is specifically about the integrity of the glassware (though I'm aware it should reheat less uniformly than in the oven).

There is a related question that I found, but it is about a bowl that was not especially made for the oven at all, so I guess this question is different.

I would absolutely not recommend heating Pyrex with any type of direct heat, ever.

That stuff goes off like a hand-grenade, highly dangerous - not to mention messy.

I've seen it happen too many times for it to be even vaguely worth the risk; even when accidentally placed on recently switched-off hobs.

Pyrex is a low-expansion glass. However, low-expansion does not mean zero-expansion, so if the bottom is being heated whilst the top stays cool, the expansion difference is enough to cause it to simply explode all over the kitchen.

Yes to microwave, but a solid no for a hob.
[& I'm talking UK Pyrex, I didn't know US was even worse until I read the Pyrex wikipedia page ChrisH posted]

If you have no microwave, then either oven or transfer it to a pan.
The extra washing up is safer & far less hassle than trying to clean the hob, then find all the really really sharp glass shards that will find every corner of a 20m square room.


Is there a general algorithm for calculating the amount of yeast while making bread? I've had this question for a long time. I have several books with different recipes and the amount of yeast changes a lot. I know for a fact that it is better to work with less yeast and wait for a longer time for the bread to rise. But does it depends on the quantity of water, butter, sugar, etc? Thanks.

There are many variables that determine how fast bread will rise: The type and quantity of yeast, how much of that yeast is viable, temperature, water content, water availability, acidity, etc.

A Note about water availability
Some ingredients, especially sugar, compete with the yeast for the water in the bread. Dough with a lot of sugar will rise more slowly compared to a less sweet dough with the same quantity of water.
While I have not read that fat affects water availability, keep in mind that butter is 16-17% water.

If you wanted a chart or algorithm it would need to include all these variables for a desired rise time. Even then, it would be difficult to control all the variables and the rise time would not always be identical. It would be difficult to predict without experimentation. I have seen charts for a single variable vs time but these are intended for understanding the variable- not predicting rise time.

Bread making is more flexible. Recipes will call for the dough to double in volume- no matter how long that takes.

However,

As you noted in your question, there is no correct quantity of yeast. More yeast will simply act more quickly. You may want to finish a bread faster and use more yeast. On another day, you may want to maximize flavor, use less yeast and ferment for longer. Either can produce excellent, but different, bread.

Besides tested recipes, there are charts that can be used as a starting point when you are creating a new recipe.
For example from Cooks.com:

I would consider this chart reasonable, however, in my standard sandwich bread recipe I use approximately half this much yeast. In my regular, overnight-risen, artisan recipe I use even less than that.


storage tips for fresh corn tortillas How do I store bought-warm corn tortillas to keep fresh longer?

reheating tortillas has been discussed here
After refridgerating 24hrs, a quick reheat in micowave or on griddle yielded a pliable tortilla for tacos. 48hrs in fridge, Fat-free reheating methods yielded a flacky easily-cracked-when-folded taco.
Absolutely didn't let them dry out.

Room temp storage or other tips for keeping fresh longer?

Will hold off on frying to soften as long as possible

My personal experience is that corn tortillas will stay more pliable if stored at room temperature, but may not last as long.  I'd assumed that I could find some head-to-head tests from one of the usual sources, but surprisingly not, which means that it's more likely that storing them in the fridge vs. counter doesn't actually make any difference.

Regardless of where they're stored, though, corn tortillas will only be pliable for a few days.  Even my homemade tortillas are really only good for 3-4 days, before they're good for nothing but making chips.

If you're buying them warm, first you want to store them in the open or wrapped in cloth while they're cooling (so that moisture evaporates and they don't get moldy), and then immediately put them in airtight packaging (so that they don't dry any further).

Incidentally, there's one other way of heading tortillas: putting them in a moist container (a cloth wrapper or a plastic food cointainer) and microwaving them for a short time.  This effectively steams them, and the tortillas will be pliable until they cool.


How long should I cook apples in the oven? How long do I need to cook fresh apples (sliced) in the oven (at 350 degrees) to get a good apple pie consistency?

Various factors influence the consistency of an apple when it bakes.

Acidity. The more acidic the apple is, the better will the apple preserve its pectin and remain its crunch. Also any acidic fluids surrounding the apple will make an impact here.
Thickness of the slices. Thin slices will make the apple heat up faster.
The surrounding environments ability to transfer heat. If the apples are surrounded by a watery liquid heat will be transferred much more quickly to the apple than if it was surrounded by air. Other kinds of liquids will transfer heat quicker or slower.

So you see there are no hard and fast answers. But knowledge of these factors might help you build up experience to make a qualified guess in each case.


Why do my hotpockets always split down the sides? I eat a hot pocket for lunch at least twice a week. They almost always split down the sides when I microwave them. I don't just the full time (2 minutes instead of 2:15) but they still regularly split. This makes them very hard to eat.

What causes this and how do I prevent it?

Splitting is presumably because of steam building up inside and trying to escape, causing them to break at the weak points. I'm not sure I've ever had a hot pocket, but presumably since they're designed to be microwaved, it's possible to avoid.

Most likely the microwave is just higher power or more uneven than average. If the hot pockets are a bit too hot in addition to splitting, reduce the time. If you get them the right overall temperature and they still split, try cooking longer at a lower power (e.g. 4 minutes at 50%).  If there's no turntable, open the microwave and move it yourself halfway through. If no matter what you do, they split, try poking a hole at the top of one end to let steam escape.


Why are Italian eggs so yellow? I've noticed when I've bought Italian eggs from delis here in Europe that the yolks are very yellow - almost orange. Why is this? Assume it's the hen's diet. What are they feeding chickens there?

The yellow color comes (primarily) from vitamin A in the eggs. The eggs are high in vitamin A when the chickens are fed a natural diet of seeds, vegitation and insects.

Most of the eggs that you buy in the states are factory farmed and pale because the chickens are fed a special protein mix that has a lot of corn. This makes them lay faster and more economicly, but the mix is somewhat nutrient poor, so the eggs are less colorful. This also used to happen in cows: the milk was yellow in the summer when they ate grass, but white in the winter when they ate hay and grains.

If you find good yellow eggs, that is a good sign that the chickens led a good life on a natural diet. Of course, the feed could just be doped with vitamin A to make the eggs look more yellow.


Effect of wine used for deglazing on dish What wine should be used for deglazing, e.g. a tomato sauce?
Will certain aspects of the flavor (e.g. fruity, dry) be noticeable in the finished dish or is it just for the 'general' wine taste?
Can I use a wine that has been opened a few days ago or is it better to use a new bottle?

Unless the recipe calls for a fortified or sweet wine (e.g. madeira, sherry) use a dry or very dry wine, usually white, but not always. You can easily ruin a dish using a sweeter wine, as I once did with risotto.

Whether or not the flavor of the wine comes through depends entirely on the wine used and the quantity. If the recipe calls for a cup of wine, then you will probably notice it in the final dish. If used just to deglaze a pan, then you probably won't notice it at all.

Old wine is fine as long as it's palatable and/or hasn't soured. Beer works great as well.


Egg substitute for cookie-flavor syrup My goal is to transfer the taste of chocolate chip cookies to milk, as a milk drink.

I normally bake cookies with eggs of course. But the taste I want to achieve is exactly the unbaked mix of brown sugar, white sugar, butter, vanilla extract and egg in the stand mixer. Unforunately, I can't have raw egg in a milk drink, can I?

What can I substitute for egg in this situation? The egg adds creaminess and some runniness. When I DID try it on cool milk, it was perfect -- maybe a hint more of vanilla or chocolate sauce.

Thank you!

You might consider going with pasteurized eggs (if you can find them whole) or a pasteurized egg product (a common US brand is "Egg Beaters").

Pasteurized eggs are eggs that have been pasteurized in order to reduce the risk of food-borne illness in dishes that are not cooked or are only lightly cooked. They may be sold as liquid egg products or pasteurized in the shell.
The 2013 United States Food and Drug Administration Food Code defines regular shell eggs as a potentially hazardous food, i.e., “a food that requires time/temperature control for safety (TCS) to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation.
Because of the risk of food-borne illness caused by Salmonella bacteria that may be present in raw eggs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires a safe-handling advisory statement on all packages of raw shell eggs that are not treated to destroy Salmonella as follows: "Safe Handling Instructions: To prevent illness from bacteria: Keep eggs refrigerated, cook eggs until yolks are firm, and cook foods containing eggs thoroughly."
The FDA Food Code exempts pasteurized shell eggs from the definition of "time/temperature control for safe food” requirement to carry a safe handling advisory statement.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture also states, “In-shell pasteurized eggs may be used safely without cooking.”

Your local grocer may sell in-shell pasteurized eggs but you'll probably find it easier to simply by them out of the shell in a carton like this:

Note that Egg Beaters brand is made without yolks, so it probably doesn't have the flavor you want, so be sure to read the packaging of the different brands... your best hope of duplicating the flavor without risking added chemicals is probably to find whole eggs.

All that being said, I don't think it would be a good idea for you to attempt to store this for any extended period of time, at longest, you should abide by the "sell by" date on the pasteurized egg packaging.


What is the effect of using pasteurized milk in cheese making? I am new to cheese making and I do not want to use raw milk to make cheese for health reasons. So, my next option is to use pasteurized milk. However, since pasteurization destroys some of the proteins one can say that there will be some differences considering there are going to be less proteins to coagulate.

I heard that most cheese makers are adding ingredients to help pasteurize milk coagulate. What are these ingredients? Are they natural?

What is the best approach to take for making good cheese with pasteurized milk?

Unfortunately, the usual store bought pasteurised milk undergoes a process that kills virtually everything needed for coagulation to occur, which basically means making cheese becomes a whole lot harder.

The cheese you buy from stores that is made from pasteurised milk is either made from low heat pasteurisation or by the addition of additional ingredients, typically calcium chloride.

I have no idea where you may be able to acquire calcium chloride where you live but you may be able to obtain low heat pasteurised milk from health food stores, maybe some of the larger supermarkets will stock it, also.


Flour shortage in baking I have to make brownies but I am abt 3 tablespoons short of flour,  can I replace it with all purpouse flour or should I make the brownies with the less amount of white flour that I have..

Sure, use all-purpose flour.

I don't know what your original recipe said, or what exactly your non-all-purpose white flour is, but all-purpose flour is normal, regular flour, exactly what a brownie recipe that calls for "flour" would normally mean. Even if there is a difference here (e.g. cake flour vs all-purpose flour) a few tablespoons in brownies is not going to be a big deal.


How do I keep ground turkey or chicken from clumping when I cook it? When I sautee ground turkey or chicken for tacos or sloppy joes, I want the chunks of meat to be smaller and more like ground beef which breaks up easily.  But the ground turkey or chicken tends to form clumps and not break into a uniform texture.  Does anyone have any suggestions for getting smaller and more even chunks of ground turkey or chicken?

Add a little water to the skillet with the meat. Figure about 1/4 cup of water per pound of meat. Stir and chop the chunks vigorously in the beginning, then brown as normal. As the water evaporates, the chicken or turkey will brown as if the water was never there, but the texture will fine and uniform.


Is it safe to use raw mushrooms to flavor a broth? I'm following a recipe for making ramen broth. It says to use chicken stock and boil it with several fresh ingredients for 30 minutes to flavor it, one of which is mushrooms.

Being a very inexperienced cook I searched online for how to handle mushrooms for cooking. One of the pages I found is by the Norwegian food safety authority and says that mushrooms should be put in cold water and brought to a boil, letting them boil for 10 minutes to remove toxins in them, and that this should be done even if you plan on frying the mushrooms afterwards. It also specifically says that the water used to boil the mushrooms should always be thrown away, I'm guessing because the toxins gets mixed into the water when you boil the mushrooms.

My question is, would these toxins not get into the my broth if I am putting the raw mushrooms directly into it? The recipe says nothing about boiling the mushrooms before hand, or is this just something I should know to do?

I also see a lot of recipes for mushroom sauces/soups which says to put raw mushrooms directly into the dish as it is being made, would this not have the same problem?`

I am using common white button mushrooms (Champignon).

In Norway lots of people still pick their own mushrooms and the Norwegian safety rules for mushrooms picked in the wild do not apply to Champignons you buy in a supermarket in 99.99999% of all cases. ¹

Note ¹: Unless something went horribly wrong in the food supply chain.


Rice: Measuring water after washing it Lately, I've been struggling to cook rice at the kitchen I work at. We cook the rice by putting it in a hotel pan, put water on top, plastic and foil wrap it and throw it into the oven. One cook says I should just use 2:1 water:rice ratio, but another chef showed me how washing rice makes it much better.

The chef uses an artsy method to measure the water: put your hands on the rice in the water and if its past a certain knuckle, it's good. I've tried that and failed so many times. I then tried measuring the water and it's always too much because the washed rice is wet and already contains water. We have no china hat to strain it properly so I have to use my hands to stop the rice.

Now my question: does anyone know how much less water I should put on the rice after I washed it?

Thank you!

The problem is that the 2:1 ratio just doesn't hold true.  Alton Brown hinted at this in Power to the Pilaf:

Now, the second secret to happy rice is finding the right ratio of rice to liquid. The instructions on your average bag of rice always says the same thing, "1 cup rice, 2 cups water."  If that were right, and I don't think it is, one could deduce that a 2 to 1 water/rice ratio would always be the way to go no matter how much rice was involved. Well, it isn't that way. Not only are 2 cups of water more than any respectable cup of long grain rice needs, but the proportion of water to rice actually goes down the more rice you cook. Here's how we see it.
Now, for the sake of argument we will restrict our demonstration to American long grain white rice. One cup of rice will cook very nicely, thank you, in 1 1/2 cups of water. It seems pretty simple, right? But, the plot thickens.
Two cups of rice will cook perfectly in 2 3/4 cups of water. Wait, it gets even weirder.
Three cups of rice can be cooked to perfection in 3 1/2 cups of water.
Which obviously makes it seem apparent that the more rice you cook the less water you need. Now, if you have a slide rule and you know how to use it you could probably figure out some handy formula or at the very least come up with a good comedy routine. "Hey, Abbot. When are we going to have more rice than watuh?"

America's Test Kitchen did some further study, and figured out what the problem is -- you need 1 cup of water per cup of rice (for the varieties they used), plus the amount that's lost through evaporation.
I suspect that the reason that the 'up to the (first|second) knuckle' trick works is that those people are most likely cooking in the same pan, with the same lid (and so the amount of water lost through evaporation is more constant), and cooking nearly the same amount of rice each time.  Of course, a constant head space would actually mean less water for evaporation each time (as not all of it will fit between the grains of the rice), so there must be some range of acceptable water to rice, rather than it being a rigid fixed number.


Is it OK to defrost chicken by running water over it? I know that there's a risk of bacteria in any area where you defrost chicken, but what about the chicken itself?  Will running water over it (unwrapped) reduce the taste or change the texture?

It is common to brine a bird in a water solution so I doubt the water can hurt it.

For speed I would place it in a like a dish pan covered with water and just run a small amount of water to displace the cooled water.  You would get maximum water contact for maximum heat transfer.  And you would better keep the skin under 40 while thawing out the center.


Why are my cookies falling apart? I tried making this recipe: Nutella Cookie Crisps.

Since I am not in the USA, I had to convert cups to grams. It ended up being about 300g Nutella, 200g soft brown sugar, and the 6 tablespoons of flour came out to 62g. I used 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 large egg and about 120g of chocolate chips, as the recipe indicates.

The recipe said that the dough would be sticky and wet, because of the Nutella, but mine wasn't. It was dry, difficult to mix the chocolate chips into it because they wouldn't "stick" in and kept falling apart. I initially used 280g Nutella, but seeing this consistency problem I added another 20g. This seemed to make it worse, and make the dough even more crumbly.

When baked for 10 minutes at 180C, after cooling and setting, the cookies taste overwhelmingly of raw brown sugar and just fall apart. I was aiming for the cookies to be crisp on the outside, with a chewy, toffee-like consistency in the middle. They're slightly crisp outside, but the inside is soft and crumbly and just tastes of sugar. I know that 200g of brown sugar certainly isn't more than 1 cup, so I have no idea what's gone wrong.

I tried baking one of the cookies for a further 5 minutes, but it hasn't made any difference. I still have half the dough in the fridge, so if someone could help me salvage it, I'd be very grateful!

I think there is a better explanation than the flour conversion. First, 4.25oz is on the low side as a conversion factor, Cookwise uses a factor of somewhere over 5oz. Second, we are talking about a recipe which started out as "flourless" and the author put in just enough flour to keep them from turning into puddles. I doubt that a bit more flour will ruin them, seeing that the initial amount was so low.

Since you mention that you are from Europe, I think you have used the wrong sugar. The brown colored sugar sold in Europe is frequently just "raw sugar" or similar, which is the same as white sugar, but with somewhat darker color. It is completely dry, and melts a bit worse than white sugar. Both the falling apart and the "sugar taste" sound like you ended up crunching on this kind of crystals.

When Americans bake with "brown sugar", they use gooey stuff where there are still lots of melasses clinging to the crystals. This stuff is wet, and sticks together. You can sometimes get it from specialty stores which import foreign products (UK shops will have it too). In many recipes, it is also an option to "make your own" by using a mix of white sugar and some syrup - melasses if you can get them, some other liquid "sugar" if you can't (beet syrup, agave syrup, golden syrup, etc.) This works well in other doughs where the sugar is added for taste. I am a bit more skeptical here, where it's not just the ratio of moisture that matters, but the wet sugar is a major structural component. Maybe you can mix it and leave it for a day or two before baking.


how to disarm a potentially pressurized whipping siphon? My situation is much like spongefile's:

I'm using my iSi cream whipper for the first time, charging it as instructed out of sweat-deserving fear of pressurized items
Nothing is released when I push the lever, regardless of orientation, not even dripping liquid

Some differences:

the contents of the whipper are blended pressure-cooked beans whipped with 35% whipping cream + 3 iSi cartridges
when I charged the cartridges, leakage happened around the charge holder and some of the bean preparation leaked from around the device head
I later discovered that, after cleaning, I didn't reinsert the head gasket (but I'm not certain whether the valve and the perimeter of the head device head are blocked or not due to the potentially-drying bean contents)

I tried shaking it some more as well as the "release pressure" instructions that came with the manual to no avail - nothing comes out regardless of orientation.

Questions

How can I tell whether there's too much pressure or too little pressure? (Now asked as a separate question here.)
How can I safely remove the device head in case there is too much pressure and the valve and device head are blocked? (and, as spongefile asked, hat's the worst thing that can happen?)

Any pointers are enormously appreciated!

I don't know how to tell what the pressure is on a whipper, but from the results of a blocked one, I'm going to make the following suggestion for attempting to safely disarm it:

You need containment.  If you open the container too quickly, you're looking at a massive mess to clean up.  I'd suggest possibly a cardboard box (disposible) or a large plastic container (cleanable), with a clear plastic trashbag over it, so that only your arms are going in.  If you don't have a large clear plastic bag, you'll either need to make a window (we can cut a cardboard box, then tape the bag down) or find something else clear (shower curtain liner?).  Containment also reduces the odds that the head will fly off and damage something.
Goggles or other eye protection wouldn't hurt incase something goes wrong.
Place the containment vessel on its side, with the whipper inside, and the opening so that you can see into it.
If you have assistance, tape the bag around your arms, so you have a good seal.
Slowly open the container ... if it's like the case when my mom did this, a little will leak out after a while.  Give it another partial turn, and some more will leak out ... go slowly.  Suddenly, the whole thing will release, making a complete mess.

If you're like my mom, and insist on attempting to save the whipped cream, you can place a bowl & spoon into the containment with you, and scoop it off as it oozes out the side ... but risk knocking the bowl over when it suddenly pops open on you.

...

That being said, if you're not in a rush to open it, I'd let it sit for a day or two, with the nozzle up, (possibly after rapping it hard on the floor a couple of times) then attempt to spray ... if you get a gas release, you might be able to depressure it some before attempting to open it.


What are some of the most important things to keep in mind, when making great falafels? I am currently studying how to make great falafels. Currently I know that the amount of water added to the mixture afterwards is very important. Too little and they become dry, too much and they fall apart. What are your tips on getting the perfect ratio?

Secondly, there seems to be a big difference when blending everything together and blending the ingredients seperately.

What are some of the most important things to keep in mind, when making great falafels?

Some points in addition to rackandboneman's excellent advice:

Use soaked dried chickpeas, and not canned or cooked chickpeas.  This eliminates the need for flour or other binders, as well as tasting better.
Let the batter rest for at least 20 min.
Remember to season the batter with cumin, garlic, and herbs.
The balls should be formed and dropped directly into the hot oil.
The oil needs to be between 360F and 380F (185 and 195C).
Falafel balls should be eaten hot from the fryer, and not reheated.

The above is based on the advice of a friend of mine who used to work at Sunrise Deli, who had the best falafel balls in San Francisco at the time.  It is generally supported by Serious Eats' recipe and advice.


How do banana peels reflect its ripening state? Can we influence that in our kitchen? Recently our commercial kitchen got some bunches of bananas with a curious feature. On the inside they were firm and delicious (no jokes, please), but on the outside they looked incredibly sickly. Specifically, they had this grey/green/brownish yellow with lots of black spots, some of them with depth. I've been told that some bananas, such as those from the Canary Islands, look like this, but ours are Cavendishes*.  Over a chilly weekend, neither the peels nor the inside seemed to change very much.

What sorts of things can we do to make healthy-tasting bananas look ripe at the appropriate times? We actually had to post a sign explaining the situation so that people would eat them!

*Cavendishs? Cavendish's?

Alright, I'll go ahead and post this as an answer.

The fact of the matter is the Cavendish/dessert bananas should not be refrigerated. They will develop a sickly green/grey tinge to their skin. This does not really affect flavor, texture, or to the best of my knowledge, nutritional value, but it makes them look like ass.

Now, to the crux of your issue: you say this is a commercial kitchen. And herein lies your problem: your produce almost certainly gets delivered in a refrigerated truck. What the delivery drivers should be doing, but almost certainly aren't, is wrapping the bananas (and tomatoes, but I digress) in a nice heavy blanket. But let's be realistic, no truck driver is going to waste time doing that. So your bananas (and tomatoes!) are showing up, pre-refrigerated by your produce purveyor. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it.

Or is there?

There is something you can do. But it won't be easy, or particularly fun, unless you're a sadistic bastard who likes yelling at people. Get yourself a laser thermometer and meet the delivery truck when it rolls up. When the door opens, temp the bananas. (Actually, you should do this with every time/temperature sensitive product you receive.) If the bananas are less than ~50° F, send 'em back. Demand a fresh case. Refuse to pay. Keep doing it until you get the bananas you want. After a few rounds, your driver will make damn sure the bananas are perfect.


What is the shelf life for chocolate chips? Have some semi-sweet chocolate chips.
They have been in a bag inside a plastic container in a cupboard for 2 years but expiration date on the bag says that's one year too much.

What's the shelf life for different kinds of chocolate chips and what makes them go bad?

Side question, am I okay to eat the ones I have?

True chocolate, made with cocoa butter, especially of the non-milk variety has a very long shelf life when stored in dry, cool conditions.  The fact that the shape is a chip rather than a bar or disc or callet is not really relevant, except for the total surface area on which blooming can occur.

Chocolate is very, very dry, which discourages mold, bacteria, or other micro-flora or micro-fauna from growing, not even counting the preserving effect of theobromine and other alkali in the chocolate.

It also resists rancidity very well.  Stored properly, it can last for many years safely.

Many brands of chocolate chips are not true chocolate, because the manufacturer may have used less expensive fats than cocoa butter, which do not have such excellent storage properties.  Assuming you have a quality chocolate chip made from real chocolate, the issues you may find include:

Sugar bloom, where the sugar comes to the surface due to moisture dissolving it and then leaving it on the surface when it evaporates
Fat bloom, where the cocoa butter separates out onto the surface for reasons not thoroughly understood
The chocolate can lose its temper from warming and cooling cycles, if it gets too warm; this will change its texture to softer, more gritty, and less pleasant
The cocoa butter could go rancid (which I have never experienced)

The first three are aesthetic and cosmetic issues, but the chocolate can still be used in recipes or melted down and re-tempered.

Having it go rancid would be cause to throw it out--but chocolate is very hardy, and resists rancidity--so if it tastes fine, it is still usable.

After two years, you are quite likely to have experienced bloom.  The chips will look like they have a white coating, and may feel gritty.  While this makes it less pleasant to eat out of hand or in applications where it won't be melted down, it will still perform well in recipes where it is melted.

They are certainly safe to eat (again, assuming real chocolate, and no rancidity), but they may not have the same pleasant texture and crispness that you would expect. This is why manufacturer's give them a best by date.

Note:  you can tell whether they are real chocolate by the ingredient list (at least in the US, and other places with comparable labeling laws).  Real chocolate will consist of:

Cocoa solids, cocoa, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cocoa nib, or chocolate liqueur (all words indicating products of the cocoa bean)
Sugar
Flavoring (such as vanilla or salt)
Perhaps lecithin as an emulsifier

Signs that the product is not real chocolate include other ingredients, especially other fats in lieu of cocoa butter (which is comparatively expensive, and marketable to the cosmetics industry).

Milk chocolate, which also contains milk solids and milk fat will not last as long, but still probably has a shelf life measured in years when stored under proper (cool, dry) conditions.

White chocolate chips do not have the additional preservative effects of the cocoa solids and their alkali, and also have dairy solids and possibly milk fat, so they have the shortest shelf life of all.  It also tends to pick up off flavors if not in a perfectly sealed, air tight container.  White chocolate, I would not keep more than year or so.

Of course, chips that are made from other ingredients than true chocolate are going to have a shelf life based on their ingredients, but I cannot speak to that, and anyway, in my mind, they are not worth storing.

See also:
Why does dark chocolate turn white after being in cold for some time?


How can I speed up cooking risotto? I usually cook risotto in a wide-based, shallow pan. It always seems to take longer than the recipes would suggest.

I've just seen a chef using a deeper saucepan. Would this help speed things up?

If you really want to speed it up you can use a pressure cooker, although the problem I'd envisage there is that there is a greater risk of overcooking because 2-3 minutes too long in the cooker is a much bigger problem than when cooking conventionally.

Update:
Pressure cooker works very well, use about 210% stock compared to the rice, i.e. if you use 300g rice, use 630 grams stock.
Cook for 7 minutes at full pressure. I.e. start timing after full pressure have been achieved. Cool quickly (using water on the outside) and open lid. Check if the rice is cooked enough, continue cooking until you have reached the level you want. Add your butter/parmesan and everything else you would add in the end of the cooking.


Mushroom replacement in Beef Wellington I saw a great recipe for Beef Wellington on Serious Eats that I'm eager to try. However, my roommate does not eat mushrooms (both because he dislikes the flavor and because he had a bad experience as a child, so "hidden mushrooms" are out too). I worry that omitting them would defeat most of the purpose of the dish. Is there anything that could be used in their place to give a similar flavor?

I don't think you can make a Beef Wellington without the obligatory mushrooms, it essentially becomes something else.

The whole concept behind beef wellington is to keep the meat juices in by being surrounded by pastry but there's no reason why you shouldn't omit the mushrooms for something else. I really can't think of any other food substance that would replicate the flavour of mushrooms without being mushrooms other than truffle.

I would try something like a pork/onion sausage meat stuffing and being the time of year it is, perhaps with chestnuts as a possible alternative, either surrounding the beef or inside it.


How can I increase the shelf life of a cut onion? While chopped onion is kept in deep freezers for a longer time and then kept at room temperature inside an airtight container it still remains good

Keep the skin on a full half, seal it, and store it face down in the fridge.

Cooks Illustrated

Other half same thing but no skin.


Any advice to help me form and shape stuff more uniformly? I get frustrated by recipes which call for the cook to shape or form little balls out of a dough or cake or biscuit mix.

The recipe will say something like "form into little walnut sized balls ... should make about 16".

I always seem to end up with some larger than others. Individuals may look and taste good but it's a shame if they don't all look identical.

Anyone got any advice?

Use something that will help you measure the dough or mix uniformly. Some possible tools to co-opt for this task: Ice cream scoop, melon baller, measuring cups or spoons : all depending on size of course.

You should be able to get to where you can eyeball the size in relation to the tool you are using.


pickled cucumbers seemingly lasting "forever" My girlfriend's grandma has made pickled cucumbers for decades and distributed them to her whole family.
They are delicious, despite the jars looking like swamp water.
On one occasion, we got her some new jars and she later said that the older jars were better because they are not as tight as the new ones. Apparently they produce some gas and need to vent and I noticed that the sides of the jars show some dried liquid, so it is clear they all leak somewhat.
So, I'm wondering how can food which is not airtight and not refrigerated can last for months without spoiling? She's been doing that for 50+ years so somehow the technique works, but I'm curious about it.
Edit:
Today I had the opportunity to question grandma about her method :)
She's 85 so she just knows what's she's always done :) the pickling is not using any heat, it's cucumbers, vinegar, salt, tons of spices and herbs.
she puts everything in jars that will 'gas out' and leak for a few days, and then after that another process seems to take place where the jar seals itself, doesn't leak anymore and becomes harder to open, so I guess the air inside is somehow consumed.

I have to admit I am speculating a bit here. Your pickles are fermented, which itself is a form of preservation. The type of fermentation taking place is likely acetic, since the added vinegar could work as a starter, but it's also possible that you have a lacto component. It depends on the proportions of salt and vinegar used.
That said, as whatever bacteria and natural yeast get to work, they convert sugars naturally present in your vegetables to various acids, alcohol, and carbon dioxide. The production of carbon dioxide will indeed cause an increase in pressure and make a sealed jar leak.
As the fermentation settles down what will often happen is the lid will glue itself shut with a combination of partially digested sugars and salt that dry out. This doesn't really indicate negative pressure, but can make a jar a major pain to open.
As for how it works - the short version is comprised of two parts. Part one is that the good bacteria and yeast go through and eat everything, making it harder for bad bacteria to get a foothold. Part 2 is that as a result of the fermentation, the brine in the pickle jar is very acidic (not to mention salted) and therefore very unfriendly to most bacteria even if there was sugar to be had.
That's an extremely simplified version, obviously. But fermentation has a long, long history as food preservation. It's an absolute classic from a cultural perspective, and is biologically complex. I would make sure that grandma's recipe is written down (if you can), since it can be dangerous to fool around with an untested fermentation procedure. (I personally consider 50+ years to be "tested" enough...)


Are reddish egg whites safe to eat? 5 minutes ago I cracked an egg and was surprised with an orange, reddish egg white. It has the color of light fish sauce. The chalazae is red. I would assume that the reddish color comes from the blood. The egg smells fine, no sulfurous smell. Before cracking the egg, the shell was intact. Is this egg safe to eat?

I know the rule "in doubt, throw it out" but I'm interested if the egg is still edible.

Intact and good-looking eggs are generally safe to eat -- any spoilage very quickly results in horrible smell. The thing you're seeing might actually be a very tiny remain of something related with embryo (there's a tiny red piece of embryo in all eggs, you just have to search a bit) or a colored piece of internal egg-white structure (I heard that grass- and mineral-rich food may cause coloring like that), just bigger for some reason.

Anyway, I'm regularly eating eggs like that since childhood and I'm still here. It's safe.

(PS. I never tried to drink anything like this uncooked, but there are many other reasons not to try that. :D)


Should I refrigerate homemade yogurt before making Greek yogurt? I have a yogurt maker and a so-called Greek yogurt maker; the latter is basically a fancy strainer. Both gadgets are from Euro Cuisine. My process for making yogurt is as follows:

Scald milk at about 180º F for about 20 minutes
Let milk cool to between 100 and 110º F
Add starter culture
Incubate in yogurt maker for 8 hours
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

The yogurt seems pretty thick to me when I take it out of the machine after the incubation, but the instructions that came with the yogurt maker say that the last step, refrigerating, is needed for the yogurt to set properly.

The instructions that came with the Greek yogurt maker say:

Put yogurt into strainer
Leave in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, longer for greater thickness.

My question is: if I make a batch of regular yogurt intending to convert it to Greek yogurt, do I need to follow the last step of refrigerating the yogurt for 4 hours before putting it in the strainer to make Greek yogurt? Or can I just put the yogurt into the strainer as soon as the 8 hour incubation period is done?

Update: I checked with the manufacturer and got an email back from them that said:

  You can move the content of your yogurt made in the YM100 into GY50 after yogurt is ready, without putting the yogurt in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

It isn't necessary, and many recipes don't call for it.

But the results will be slightly different, since the yogurt will continue to ferment (even in the fridge), and the gel structure of the proteins will set. That will alter composition of the whey that you're straining out, which means the resulting difference will have a slightly different texture and flavor.

Since that texture and flavor also depend on the milk you use, the temperature you process it at, the strain of culture you use, etc. I can't really say exactly what the differences will be, and how significant they are. You'd have to make it yourself and see -- and, of course, decide which you prefer.

I can say, however, that you won't ruin a batch of yogurt by straining before refrigerating.


How much oil should you use when stir frying a single portion? I stir fry several times a week. When I do I do each portion seperately, made to order.

How much oil should I use? How do I figure out how much oil to use for each portion since some are bigger than others, i.e. I stir fry much less for a portion for my 5 year old daugher.

Use about 2-3tbsp for a 'normal portion', and reduce that by the same factor as you reduce the portion for your daughter, e.g. if your daughter's portion is half the size, use 1tbsp.

Remember you can always add oil, but you can't take it away (not easily anyway), so err on the side of caution and whack a bit more in if it seems necessary.


Safe to consume pork basting liquid directly? I've been watching Sam the Cooking Guy a lot lately, and I was excited to see that his newest video featured my favorite sandwich, the Cuban.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj5kgvnzxDo

(skip to 2:30 in the video)

I trust Sam's skills, however I was a bit taken aback when he brushed some of the basting liquid directly onto the bread, using (apparently) the same container and brush that had been used on the pork during grilling.

Granted, he only brushed it on the meat after that side had been grilled.

Is this safe?  If so, why?

I'm not sure I was able to tell exactly what he did when watching the video.  What I know is that you should not use a marinade that came into contact with raw meat as a brushed on finishing sauce.  Once it has come into contact with raw meat, it is not safe to consume uncooked.  It is possible that he marinated the meat in a portion of the marinade, and reserved a smaller portion (no contact with raw meat) to use as a finishing sauce.


Can barley flour be used as a substitute for barley malt extract? A bread recipe is calling for barley malt extract and i dont have it.So can barley flour be used.

No, they are quite different. Barley flour is just the milled grain, but malt has been sprouted so it has much higher enzymatic activity and is much sweeter. It is usually used to precipitate an enzymatic reaction in your bread, which plain barley flour won't do. The recipe may work by just leaving the malt extract out, but it may brown less or rise more slowly.