Cooking halloumi/wet food on stainless steel without sticking I've got a set of all-clad stainless steel pans I've been able to master cooking most foods without sticking and too much burn remains. Even eggs I've got right.

One thing I constantly struggle with is haloumi. I pre heat the pan for 2mins. Water drops dance on the surface. I add some olive oil (about 2tbsp in a 24cm skillet). Stir it around and let it heat then add my halloumi cheese. And it consistently sticks leaving a mess on the pan. I leave it for a minute or too and it never releases. And just becomes completely burnt.

I know halloumi is rather wet cheese so I've tried paper toweling it dry before adding to the pan. Same result.

So how do I cook wet foods like this on stainless pans without sticking?

First things first, make sure you're keeping that pan on high while the haloumi is in there... you can get the pan as hot as you want, but the water in that cheese will cool it off right quick.

Though in my experience, sometimes halloumi just sticks. When I'm cooking something potentially sticky, I always have a nice-quality, even, sharp fish spatula on hand in case I need to save it. If you really put some pressure on it, scraping along the bottom of the pan like you're removing a sticker from a window with a razor blade, you should be able to save your nice sear. As long as you're applying even pressure and using a flat bottomed pan and have a nice quality fish spatula, you 'shouldn't' gouge it... though that's the reason I use heavy commercial steel cookware from companies like Winco, which I could replace pretty easily and cheaply. ;-)


How to tell if my fig is ripe For the past couple years I can't ever seem to pick my figs when they're ripe. Not sure if it's the breed of fig or if I'm missing something else. I just picked one of the darker green ones today and cut it open. Did I wait too long or about how much longer should I wait... any other tips on what to look for before picking.

That fig doesn't look ripe to me... but I'm not seeing it in person. Based on the info on the site mentioned below, it's likely the fig is not ripe as the neck is very straight.
Eating unripe figs won't hurt you, though... they just won't taste very good.
Regardless, they should be slightly soft, not firm. According to this site, they will droop on their stems with the weight of their fruit. Here are two of the several photos showing an unripe and very ripe fig:

Fig 1. (above) Not ripe: the fig is too firm and still perpendicular to the stem.

Fig 4. Gravity wins and the fig is ripe and ready, no longer able to support its weight. Note the dewy skin and slight tear in the fruit; it can barely hold its sugary contents at this point.  (Time to grab the snips and go crazy!)

Here's another site with even more info, similar to the previous one. They list three methods to knowing when a fig is ripe: sight, touch, and taste.
Sight:

Go by the color. One of the first signs your figs are becoming ripe is their change in color. Young, immature and unripe figs tend to be small and green in hue. For varieties like Brown Turkey, Chicago Hardy, Celeste, and LSU Purple, the color will change from green to brown or purple as the fruit ripens. In the case of certain fig varieties, like Kadota and LSU Gold, the fruit’s mature color is still greenish — so how do you rely on sight if the fig’s color doesn’t noticeably change? Read on!
Go by the appearance. The fruit itself will droop on the tree as it ripens. This is true for figs regardless of mature color. Young, firm figs tend to stand out perpendicular to the tree. As they ripen and soften, the fruit will bend at the stalk where it is attached to the tree.
Go by the size. As the fruit matures on the tree, it will also grow in size*. The mature size depends on the variety you are growing, but the figs will all increase in size as they begin to mature and ripen on the tree.

Touch:

A ripe fig will be soft to the touch when gently squeezed. Unripe figs are still firm. This is because the ripening process has not yet taken place, and the juices and sugars that are produced as the fruit ripens are not fully present.

Taste:

Ripe figs are delightfully rich and sweet with a soft, smooth texture when they are fresh from the tree. Unripe figs can be rubbery, dry, and lack sweetness. The most effective way to tell your figs are unripe is to eat one before its peak. Most people only eat an unripe fig once before deciding to wait and allow figs to fully ripen before harvesting.


How to know how salty is my soup without tasting? This is a sister to this question.

I need a method or a trick to measure (or guess) how saline is my food using normal tools or substances available on the super-market

Any help?

Here's something useful to know. A good typical salt level for most savory foods is in the neighborhood of 1% by weight. So if you know how much your dish weighs in grams, then add 1% of that in salt and you should be very close to a good result. Adjust down if you are using any ingredients that are already salty, like capers. Adjust up if after the first few times you try this, it is a little light for you. You will also learn how much your salt weighs by volume so soon you can just use a measuring spoon or a pinch instead of weighing the salt.


How can I cook cod without lemons? I have cod and every  recipe that I can find says to use lemon juice, but I personally hate lemons. What can I cook the cod with, other than lemons? I don't want it to be dry and I want to bake the cod.

Lemon is used as a flavoring, not as a cooking liquid, it's not going to keep the fish moist. The secret of having moist fish is the same as having moist beef, chicken or any meat or poultry: don't overcook it. Cooking releases moisture from the flesh, so cooking it well is all about timing - getting it cooked enough to have the internal temperature and consistency you want and no more as every extra second means more moisture lost. Fish is especially sensitive to timing, but with a bit of practice anyone can cook fish well.

Fish, meat or poultry will have a juicy mouth feel when there is enough moisture stored in the flesh after cooking. Overcooked fish in a pool of sauce will still have a dry mouth feel, whereas perfectly cooked fish with no sauce at all will have a moist mouth feel.

As for what to cook cod with as a replacement for lemon the answer is nothing. Fish has enough moisture to begin with, and when baking you don't need to assist heat transfer. Lemon is simply a flavoring, so replace it with flavoring you like. This could be browned butter (or just a bit of butter) if you want richness, or herbs if you like, or you could just season it with salt and pepper.

If you want to get more fancy you could seal it up in parchment paper or foil (oil the foil so it doesn't stick) with a tiny bit of water or butter and some herbs and bake it that way, it seals in the moisture and creates a sauce - delicious!


Substitute for chickpeas in Thailand I can't find chickpeas. What would you recommend instead when making falafel?

I have personally made felafel with split peas (both green and yellow) as well as chickpeas and several other types of bean. I have not tried red beans as I don't like them. While not exactly the same as chickpea, the split pea felafel were felafel, not something unrecognizable as felafel, though the green ones were quite green ;-)

I don't use canned beans for felafel, I use soaked dried beans.


How to prepare smaller amount of coffee than nominal in Moka pot I have a 6 cup Moka pot (about 250-300 ml) but I want to prepare a single cup of coffee just for myself. How should I reduce its load - reduce amount of coffee beans and amount of water or reduce only coffee amount? Will this reduction affect taste of prepared coffee?

The Moka pots like Bialetti are very similar to the esspresso process except that the water goes through the coffee from the bottom in Moka's case.

They are designed to match the pressure of the water with the resistance from the coffee grind/puck (IIRC 1-3 Bar of back pressure).  If you use significantly less coffee, the water can just run through the coffee compartment without extracting much flavor or worse, it can fill the compartment (replacing the missing coffee) and soak for too long.

My guess is that you'd need to reduce the volume of the compartment to allow proper pressure build up on the coffee.  Perhaps roll a coffee filter into a ring shape and place inside the coffee compartment to take up the missing 5 cups worth of coffee grind and fill the inside of the ring with the now less coffee grind.

Again you may not be able to reduce the water all the way since it needs to be above the opening of the spout/pipe that descends into water reservoir.  The solution here is to take the Moka off the heat when you're near your one cup so you don't dilute your Moka Espresso too much.


What does kansui do to dough in noodle making? I'm trying to understand how to properly prepare hand pulled noodles. I've read about Kansui and Lye water and in some instances I've read that they serve a similar purpose. However, after some reading, it seems that kansui could potentially affect the dough differently than lye water. Some expert insight into this would be appreciated very much.

Kansui is a mixture of sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, both alkaline. Since lye is also alkaline, it could serve a similar function in the dough but it would depend on the relative strengths of their alkalinity.

Specifically, alkaline water interfere with enzymes in the flour and thus inhibit the development of gluten, allowing for the dough to be stretched more readily. That being said, you need some gluten development or else the dough won't form.

Alkaline water also will change the color yellow and make the noodles slippery on your tongue. This reaction is the same one that would take when you combine soap with water.

Harold McGee wrote an article in The New York Times about the effects of alkalines.

All this being said, I've only made ramen style noodles, not the hand pulled ones. Your best bet would be to try both and see whether there truly is a difference or not... but I imagine the most traditional method would be to use kansui or jian.


Puff Pastry wet / gummy on the inside I've been practicing puff pastry turnovers from scratch (doing the whole chill and turn method with 6 turns) and have had some issues.

The first time I did it -- it turned out well. Was able to fill with caramelized apple and was fine, could see the puff and was tasty.

The following times I've had the following issues:

When I fill the turnover and bake it, there is some level of puffing, but the inside becomes gummy / wet. It doesn't bake through and puff up
I tested to see if it was my dough by just cutting a square piece of puff pastry dough and baking it by itself. It would puff up very nicely and be flaky and have good texture

I'm speculating that the inside steam from the apples and such is causing it not to bake, but I'm really not sure. I don't know what I did right the first time and why it doesn't work anymore. Am I doing something wrong at the dough level or the filling level? Thanks!

Puff pastry can be a bit tricky but I really admire your ambition to make it from scratch. From the description, it sounds like the issue is with the water content of the apples and not your dough because your puff pastry came out as desired when baked on its own. Here are a few tips and suggestions that may help solve your problem:

1) Not all apple varieties bake or cook in the same manner and specific apple varieties were often originally bred for a specific purpose such as eating raw, baking, or making hard cider. So picking the an apple variety that bakes well could help with this problem. Here's a few links with some suggestions and explanations for several common apple varieties and how they fare when baked:

https://sweets.seriouseats.com/2009/11/taste-test-finding-the-best-apples-for-baking.html

https://sweets.seriouseats.com/2011/10/the-food-lab-what-are-the-best-apples-for-apple-pies-how-to-make-pie.html

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5386-best-apples-for-baking

2) Pre-cooking the apples, no matter the variety, will help reduce the moisture content of the apples significantly and thus the apples in the filling (allow them to cool to at least room temperature so they don't melt the butter layers in your puff pastry) will not weep very much, if any, additional moisture. Here's a link with an apple pie recipe with a pre-cooked filling:

https://www.apnews.com/e3a0e637b0b54829afee1cfcf6b5b593

3) Puff pastry is always a bit tricky to bake because of the complexity of what is happening while it is baking. Puff pastry is mechanically leavened, meaning the puffiness comes from steam released from the dough, primarily the layers of butter, so it is important to start puff pastry at a high temperature to convert the water released by the butter to steam so it inflates the pastry and separates the layers and you get the desired golden-brown color on the outside. However, depending on the thickness of the dough and the amount of filling, keeping the puff pastry at that temperature for the entire duration could lead to a burned exterior before the interior finishes. To counteract this problem, you could start the puff pastry at a high temperature, around 400 degrees F, until the dough is the desired color and flakiness, and then drop the temperature to 325-350 degrees F, to bake the interior all the way through to the desired doneness without scorching the outside. Of course, this will depend on many factors so these are only rough guidelines and some experimentation will be needed. I hope this helps!


When was the garlic peeler invented? I've just discovered today that there is an instrument used for peeling garlic - it looks like a simple tube made of silicone or rubber. Here's a sample video with it.

I have the feeling that this is something kind of new (decades), I think a century ago everyone was peeling their garlic manually, using a knife.

My question is: when, approximately, did this device first appeared in shops? If there was any other garlic peeling device before this one, when it was invented?

An article on  Never Too Curious  states that the silicone garlic peeler was patented in 1998.
From the article:

However, I have a neat workaround in my kitchen, a silicone garlic peeler. It is essentially a rubbery tube that comfortably houses a clove of garlic – roll it back and forward on the counter a few times, and the garlic skin slides right off. Genius. The thing was patented in 1998, and the invention “aims to allow the skin to be removed from the individual garlic clove in a safe, speedy, hygienic and odour-free way using, if necessary, only one hand.” I peeled my 20+ cloves in mere minutes. Thank you genius person who invented it. In fact, I know exactly who that is.
The silicone garlic peeler was invented by Ben Omessi, a retired American architect who had taken to designing home items for people with disabilities. When he was recovering from a major operation in 1991, he found he was too weak to stand and peel the amounts of garlic his wife used for cooking. This lead to the idea that handicapped people would have trouble with this task, too. A few years later the E-Z-Rol garlic peeler was born.

I have to admit that I thought it had been around longer.
Edit: Per this article in  The New York Times  from Feb 1996, the garlic peeler was available for sale at that time and had a patent pending.


Unpeeled garlic cloves in French / Belgian cooking? I am looking through some recipes that came with a French pressure cooker I just bought (in Belgium).  It seems most of the recipes that use garlic ask for one or two upeeled garlic cloves (ongeschilde teentjes knoflook).  Is this really a thing, or am I misunderstanding something?  If you include unpeeled garlic cloves, do you still chop off the end that used to connect to the heart?

Unpeeled onions and garlic help thicken liquids (just a little).  The skins of onions and garlic are at least 10% pectin, the substance that is used to thicken jellies.  If you are making a stock or a soup, you can place the washed unpeeled garlic or onion quarters in an oversized herb sachet.  After cooking you remove the sachet and discard its contents.

The skins have also been found to be rich in antioxidants.  You can read all about the science of garlic and onions in Garlic and Other Alliums.  While it does discuss the antioxidant effects of Alliums in general it does not treat the particular compounds that have been discovered in the skins.


Ground beef burger patties turn gray not brown Every time I try to cook burgers or meatloaf, my ground beef just ends up turning gray/white, instead of normal charred dark brown. I cant understand why.

I have tried buying lean ground beef and regular ground beef and I always get the same result.

I have tried cooking them in the oven and on a cast iron pan.
I have even tried leaving them in the cast iron pan till they start to burn. (The meat just develops a sort of thin burnt, light brown crust, on top of the gray patty, which you can essentially peel off. The whole burger doesn't develop a nice dark brown crust)

I have tried making the burgers with egg, with breadcrumbs, and without either. I get the same result each time, just a unappetizing gray lump.

The patties are never crowded, I have even tried doing one at a time.

None of my raw ground beef is gray either, it is nicely red. It just slowly goes gray when cooking.

Please explain why this keeps happening.

Edit:

I have seen this link already Cook Burger on Stove - Turns Gray

This does not help me as I have already tried putting oil on the burgers and putting extra oil in the cast iron pan for them. Frying them does not make them dark brown either.

I also already mentioned I have tried making the patty without egg and breadcrumb.

I also mentioned I tried different variants of fat content. My supermarket only has mince labeled as lean, regular, and fatty (which is more fat than meat) . There are no fat percentages on them. I have tried Lean and regular separately, and I have tried mixing the two.

My cast iron pan is a large 30cm pan and is utilizing the largest gas plate on the grill, on its highest setting, therefore the temperature must be hot enough.

If there is something I seem to have missed from that "duplicate post", I would appreciate it if you could kindly point it out, otherwise can someone please possibly shed some insight as to why this happens? My burgers always end up as a gray lump throughout, sometimes with partial light browning due to overheating/crusting.

Thank you

Brown meat tastes good - Anne Burrell

Of course you know this, the browning of the meat is a result of the Maillard Reaction, if you are not getting this result you are probably not cooking at a high enough temperature.

  Temperatures need to be high to bring about the Maillard reaction, but
  as long as the food is very wet, its temperature won’t climb above the
  boiling point of water. At atmospheric pressure, only high-heat
  cooking techniques can dry out the food enough to raise the
  temperature sufficiently. It’s not the water that stops the reaction,
  but rather the low boiling point...

Too hot, however, and you end up with a patty that is raw in the middle and crusty on the outside. To counter this there are two separate techniques I will use (depending on the weather...)

In fair weather (using my grill outside) I will heat one side of the grill to "High" and the other side to a medium temperature. First I will 'sear' the burger patty on the High side (both sides of the patty) then move the burger to the medium side, where it can finish more slowly and thoroughly. You can do this in reverse if you like.
In inclement weather (using my oven's broiler) placing the oven rack on the highest setting preheat a cast iron skillet under the broiler for 5 minutes. Place your patties in the skillet and return it to the broiler for 3-5 minutes per side (+/- your patty thickness). Because the broiler is acting on the TOP of the patty rather then the bottom the juices flow away allowing for a quicker maillard reaction. When done set your skillet on the stove top (cool) for a few minutes to let the meat rest and reabsorb some of the juices that should be in the pan at this point. (note: cheese should only be added in the last minute of this technique)

You can accomplish similar results using a pan on the stove top, but I prefer either of these methods.


Choice of new seasonable cookware (iron/carbon steel, pan/wok) I am interested in getting some form of cookware that will... take seasoning? Become seasoned? Cast-iron, carbon-steel, et cetera. I currently have two pots (one tall, one short) and one nonstick stainless-and-aluminum pan. I do not have infinite money or shelves so I do not want to buy all possible cookware. I am also uncertain whether a pan or a wok would be preferable.

For any pairing of (carbon steel, cast-iron, forged iron) and (wok, pan), what would be preferred?

I think any of the suggestions you made are great.  I would add, what type of food/style are you cooking or interested in?  More into the stir-frying, than a wok would be a good choice, besides they are quite multi-functional (fryer, steamer, stir fry, smoker).  They are also pretty inexpensive when made out of thin carbon steel.

If you are not into that, then a cast iron or my favorite are carbon steel pans.  Nearly all the seasonability of cast iron without the weight.  The carbon steel is usually also much less expensive.  Lodge makes a set of carbon steel pans.  But most carbon steel pans use rivets to secure the handles to the pan.

If you are getting fancy, there is a German brand of carbon steel pans, which makes them out of one piece like a cast iron, no rivets.  The brand is named, Turk, Albert Turk GmbH.

Good luck.


How do you get gelatin from rendering cow fat? In this answer to another question, someone mentioned that they got gelatin out of rendering cow fat. I'm about to render a bunch of cow fat in a few days, and I was wondering how to get gelatin from it, in addition to the tallow? (i.e. I don't want to accidentally throw any good non-tallow parts away)

Do I have to use 'suet' or can I use any cow fat?
I'm just getting "the fat" from a cow, and it's probably going to be mixed together.

I beg to differ with most of the responses. In my personal experience, rendering of fat - not simply suet - from 'general meat' produced a great deal of gelatin. I am using some as a base for tonight's stew at this very moment.

No, suet would not render out significant gelatin, but I have just now rendered about 3kg of fat from beef/fat leftovers from a butcher. I used a food processor to turn the fat/beef mistress to a chunky paste, then boiled the paste over water. I was left with approximately 25% hard tallow and approximately 70% meat. In the process of cooling the tallow atop the same water used for rendering, I found that the water gelled. I separated the tallow from the gel, then boiled down the latter, leaving myself with a gelatin - rich base for tonight's stew.


What can I bake with only flour, water and sugar? This won't be haute cuisine unfortunately, but I am kind of stuck. I want to bake some snacks, but have only access to water, flour and sugar (student, between two jobs, need to save). I'm pretty sure I can make something "edible" out of it, that I could then dip into peanut butter, jelly, or whatever I have laying around here.

The only requirements are:

need to use only water, flour, and sugar/salt (no baking powder, or eggs)
edible (crackers-like things are ok, but no rock-like things)
doesn't have to taste great, or even to have a taste at all

So, what is your most simple and minimalist recipe available?

Thanks!

With flour, water, and salt you could make sourdough bread. The idea is to encourage wild yeast to grow in a mix of flour and water, which you then use to leaven your bread. It will take a few days to get a culture/starter going in the first place, but once you've done so you can use it to raise all sorts of breads.


Food safety and botulism indicators for pressure canned goods Several months ago I canned some ham and pea soup, following this recipe verbatim. All went well and the jars have been sitting in my dark pantry ever since.
This was my very first time (ever) using a pressure canner, and so I have no idea what to expect. I'd like to crack one of the jars open and have some pea soup for dinner this week. At first glance, everything looks ok:

But then I noticed there is a lighter green (slimy looking) film on the very top of the soup:

Is this normal, or does this mean its gone bad?
More generally, with pressure canning recipes, what is a good way to tell if the food is safe to consume?
I've heard of the following approach:

Open the lid and confirm you hear the popping sound (the seal breaking), and let it sit in the open for a few minutes, then put the lid back on and put it in the fridge
Wait a day, take it out and inspect
If there is any white foamy substance that sprung up overnight (strong indicator of botulism) or if there are strong off-putting odors, toss it
Otherwise have a bite and wait a day
If by the next day you haven't developed any upset stomach or other GI issues, it is very likely safe to consume the rest

Is this a safe system to follow here? Any other practices or methods anybody can think of? Thanks in advance!

The layer on the top is either separated fat from the ham and bouillon cubes, or a bacterial and/or fungal growth (aka a "pellicle"). If it feels greasy and/or brittle and becomes transparent when heated, it was just fat. If it feels rubbery and maintains its coherence when heated, it was a pellicle. A pellicle is not an indication of a botulinum infection, but it's definitely an indication that you screwed up the canning process and that the contents are inedible.
There is no way for a home cook to determine if a can of food is safe to eat. That would require special expertise and lab work (including, when testing for botulism, injecting mice with the stuff). Instead, what you do is use a trustworthy recipe, make sure you're following the recipe properly (with a canner that reaches the appropriate pressure for the appropriate amount of time), and check that the vacuum seal has not been compromised before eating. That is, rather than seeing whether the food is safe, you ensure that your process guarantees safe food.
The steps you posted are horrible -- neither safe, nor effective, and betraying a fundamental misunderstanding of what botulism even is -- and you should no longer trust whoever wrote them. "Have a bite and wait a day"? Cripes on a cracker.


What oil to use when cooking a salmon? From my conversation with some of my friends, they mention that using canola oil would be suitable for cooking a almost "Well Done" salmon. Also, it will make the salmon taste better.

So, I was wondering if would it make a difference if I use other type of oil or even use butter to cook my salmon fish and if possible, make it taste better?

Answer: No oil.

I don't use oil. I use a non-stick pan or I grill it in oven.

I don't understand why people are using oil to do injustice to salmon. I want the salmon to be firm and not mushy. I already face the problem of having to take care of the juice/oil flowing out of the salmon. I don't want more fluid added which would further mushify the fish.

Pan-poaching:

Place the slice of salmon on its skin, on the pan.
Gradually turn the heat up to moderate.
As the skin-side gradually becomes firm, turn the slice over.
When the other side also becomes firm, turn the slice back to face the skin-side down to brown the skin on strong heat.

The problem I face is too much juice/oil exuding from the salmon.

Continually notice if salmon juice/oil is flowing out, to drain the juice/oil into a bowl. After cooking salmon is complete, place salmon into serving plate and the pour salmon juice back into pan. Add diced garlic, chopped cilantro and onions. Or use pre-fried onions bought from Vietnamese store. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Resultant is a nice gravy to be used as topping for the salmon. Sprinkle blue cheese bits.

Broiling (set the oven to broil):

Place salmon skin facing up on oven pan.
For soft steak: use a smaller pan so that the juice/oil that flows out would not spread out to be being burnt away by the heat. So that the juice/oil keeps the salmon moist and soft.
For firm poach: Drain the pan frequently.
Use various apparatus to elevate the pan so that the salmon is 1 inch away from the top heating element of the oven.
Turn oven to 180 F for 30 minutes. This is to firm up the salmon and let its initial flow of juice/oil out of the salmon.
Then turn the oven up to 240F till the fish is cooked.
Gently separate the skin from the fish without injuring the flesh.
Broil the skin at 350F till it becomes crispy.

Crispy salmon skin biscuit = heavens!
The crispy salmon skin must be eaten within 30 minutes - otherwise, it would soon absorb moisture and becomes flaccid.

See, no oil involved (other than the oil exuding from the fish).


Baking in Glass Loaf Pan Do you have to adjust oven temperature and cooking time when cooking in glass loaf pans? My Ricotta Pound cake never seemed to get done in the middle (took another 10 minutes beyond recommended cooking time) and got overly brown on the outside. Then it broke in half when trying to get it out of the pan. Thanks.

Yes, but not the time so much. The dish itself is not a good conductor of heat, like cast iron or other metal for example. And it allows radiant heat directly on what is being cooked. One thing I do is that I have a pizza stone in my oven that helps keep the oven temperature stable.

Another thing that is very common is that oven temperatures are notoriously inaccurate. So, it pays to use an oven thermometer in order to get accurate oven temps (instead of going by the oven temperature dial).

Here's another tip. Place a cookie sheet on the rack below the glass/pyrex baking dish. This keeps the radiant heat from the lower element from directly heating the dish.

I must say though, that the #1 thing that has improved my baking is the oven thermometer. The oven dial in my kitchen is off from 15 to 25 degrees. This is a tip I got from "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee. The second thing is the pizza stone that helps regulate the temperature. A standard oven cycles on and off to maintain the temperature.

All that being said, I'd use metal cookware for cake. But I do get good results when I wind up using glassware by controlling the oven temps.

Update I made brownies last night and noticed in Marion Cunningham's (The Fannie Farmer Cookbook) recipe this advice, "If you're using a Pyrex dish, place it on a baking sheet during baking". What that does is to act as a buffer between the heating elements and the dish.


Medium-rare sous vide steak - achieving coloring without slicing? I have a nice piece of prime beef (for the sake of example, let's say NY strip or filet; I observe this with both cuts). I cook it sous vide at 130 degrees for 45 minutes. I immediately pat it dry and sear in a very hot cast iron at 1m/side.

If I immediately plate it, and cut into it, it is grey throughout. The texture and juiciness is undoubtedly medium-rare, but the color is uniformly grey.

If I slice the steak post-sear and let it rest for a few mins, it turns red (I've read that to achieve the rosy medium rare color, the myoglobin in the steak needs to contact oxygen). Slicing pre-plate isn't a problem with ribeye or strip, but when I'm making a filet, I'd prefer to plate it unsliced.

My question is, is it possible to achieve the red color without slicing the steak? i.e., is there a technique so that when I make the first cut into the steak, it's already rosy red? If I rest it either following the water bath, or following the sear, will that do the trick?

My observation for cooking steak sous-vide and avoiding this issue is as follows:

If I cook it in a complete vacuum, it really stays gray for a longer time. Cooking in a zip-loc bag helps me shorten the time the steak turns red.
Normally you’re not supposed to rest the steak after sous-vide cooking. However, resting can also help (without cutting into it) the steak turning red from gray.


Arm Roast after 5 hours still tough When I make a Arm or Chuck Roast always after 5 hours it is still tough, the beef is grass feed. I have give up making them. My wife wants me to make another Arm Roast again and I want it to come out month watering and not tough. My wife has ALS and it really needs to be very tender for her. I would like to make it in a Dutch Oven in the oven, I would set it at 250F but how long for a 3 pound roast?
I would like it to be very tasty with a sauce or gravy.

If it's too tough, keep cooking it. Some people use "tender" to describe a pot roast that is tender like a good steak, others want it to fall apart with no knife required. I regularly cook pot roast 8-12 hours. As log as you have it covered for most of the time (like in a crock pot or in the over covered with foil), it will  keep getting more tender until it falls apart under its own weight (which sounds like it may be what you want).


Mineral B vs carbon steel frying pans I am looking to buy a frying pan but the material has confused me.
One is said to be Mineral B, the other is carbon steel. I was confused about the differences between the 2 materials. Thankfully, I wasn't alone and found https://www.chowhound.com/post/confused-de-buyer-mineral-element-pan-iron-steel-greatly-834744 which goes into detail about what materials exist within iron / steel etc
If it helps, the 2 products I'm looking at are https://www.debuyer.com/en/products/carbone-plus-round-frying-pan-stainless-steel-cold-handle and https://www.debuyer.com/en/products/mineral-b-round-fry-pan
What I can't tell is, if there is going to be any difference when cooking and caring for the 2 frying pans.
I am not asking for a recommendation. I'm only interested in what one could expect to cook using the materials (and if the difference of the material really is going to make a difference)

"Mineral B" and "Carbone Plus" are two brands of carbon steel cookware manufactured by De Buyer. The main difference between the two is the shape of the handle, and the secondary handle on the larger "Mineral B" pans. "Mineral B" additionally comes from the factory with a thin coat of beeswax, but that isn't going to make a significant difference after seasoning.
If you want to get one of those, pick based on the handle.


Does milk make cakes lighter or tougher? After looking online on several websites and forums, there seems to be conflicting answers to this.  Some people say that it gives a lighter texture, while others say it gives a more rubbery/tougher texture (due to more gluten being developed).  So what's the real truth here?  Thanks.

Some people say that it gives a lighter texture, while others say it
  gives a more rubbery/tougher texture (due to more gluten being
  developed).

I would challenge the notion that these two aspects are necessarily opposed.  Lighter doesn't necessarily mean "softer" or "more tender"; in cakes, it generally means "rising higher with more air."  The way that cakes rise higher with more air is partly by having a stronger gluten structure, along with more gas released during baking to inflate the batter.  Yes, having a stronger gluten structure will increase "toughness," but cakes already tend to have a very high amount of fat and sugar, which both serve to soften the texture.  The two options being compared here are not "lighter" vs. "rubbery."  Rather, if milk is added, the cake may be both lighter and stronger in structure, which may make it slightly more "spongy," rather than a cake without milk that is denser and more crumbly.

Also, the question as asked brings up an implicit, "Compared to what?"  If one doesn't add milk, what is added to replace it?  Because most cakes need a certain amount of moisture/water, whether that comes from water or from components milk or eggs, etc.  In the CIA's Baking and Pastry book where the role of ingredients in baking is described, they state:

  Water acts to dilute or liquefy water-soluble ingredients such as
  sugar and salt. [...] In addition, water helps to develop the proteins
  in flour, necessary for proper leavening.  Water also acts as a
  leavener when it changes to steam and expands.

  Milk performs many of the same functions as water, but because of its
  additional components (fat, sugar, minerals, and protein), it also
  serves a number of other functions and adds flavor as well.  [...] The
  lactic acid in milk has a tightening effect on the proteins in flour
  that serves to increase stability, resulting in a product with a fine
  grain and texture.

In sum, milk, like water, will thus help to develop the proteins in flour (gluten), but that's a necessary step to some extent to produce a "light" cake, rather than a dense and crumbly one.  It adds steam which also helps the cake to rise more.  But milk, unlike plain water, also comes with things like fat and sugar that will mitigate some of the "toughness" that comes with the added structure of gluten.  The protein in milk will provide both some structure and tenderness.  Furthermore, the acid component helps create a fine structure that adds to the sensation of a softer, more cottony texture.

I think the perception that milk (and water) contribute to "toughness" or a "rubbery" texture comes out of pastry-making, where adding too much can indeed produce a tough product.  As Harold McGee writes in On Food and Cooking regarding pastry:

  Water is essential for binding the flour particles into a dough, and
  the water content is especially critical because there is so little.
  Pastry cooks say that as little as 1/2 teaspoon/3 ml variation in
  water in 1 cup/120 gm flour can make the difference between a crumbly
  texture and a tough one.

McGee (and others) note that in pastry-making, milk is often a better choice for the reasons stated above: it contains fat and sugar and acid that improve effects on dough, in addition to the water it provides.  However, it's important to remember that cake batter is a lot different from pastry dough.  The low water content of pastry dough is essential to allow the fat/flour mixture to maintain its integrity and create the flaky layers most prized.  A little more water will cause the dough to mix too much, gum together, and remain tough after baking.

Cake batter, however, has a significantly greater amount of moisture, which (as noted above) not only develops gluten to allow a higher rise, but also produces significant steam during baking that contributes to the leavening effect.

So, the question is: if not milk, where are you getting that water from in your cake batter?  Some ingredients (like plain water) may be worse than milk in creating more gluten structure while providing less fat/sugar/acid that softens the dough, but other sources of water (like eggs, buttermilk, various forms of cream, etc.) may provide other benefits that come from their additional components.  The choice really depends on the specific type of cake, as well as the desired flavor and texture.


How do you make a smooth and creamy apple custard? I've been trying to figure out how to make a creamy custard ( like for a creme brulee) infused with apple (or any kind of fruit/berry) while keeping a creamy texture and avoiding chunks. Ive thought about cooking down the apples then heating the cream with the apples and then straining it into the eggs but im worried that the cream may become too thin from the water in the apples. Any ideas for how to accomplish this? I havn't had much luck looking online.

Bake the apples and have them dry and crisp up (cut the apples thin so that they dry up evenly and crisp faster) and concentrate the flavour. Then blend to a powder and mix into the custard.
Cook and reduce the apples till a very tender gooey apple pie texture comes and then thicken and reduce excess water as to not thin out the custard, mash till homogenized and fold in with custard.
Get something like apple juice and reduce till thick and add sugar to make syrup and use that in addition or in place (depending how much you want in) of the sugar for the custard recipe.

Personally I'd go with the first option though time consuming.


Buttermilk Fudge not setting My grandma used to make buttermilk fudge for us every year for Christmas. I have tried and tried to make it and it never sets up. It tastes great if you want to eat it with a spoon.

The recipe is

2 c   sugar
2 c   buttermilk
1/4 c butter
1/3 c dark karo
1 tsp soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 c   nuts

  Cook till forms a medium soft ball. First cool a while and add vanilla and nuts. Beat by hand.

I remember grandma always saying something about the shine. Oh why didn't I pay more attention?! What am I doing wrong?

I would bet that the "something" your grandma said about shine was "beat it until it's not shiny anymore."  The likely reasons that your fudge isn't setting are that you're either not heating it hot enough to begin with, not waiting long enough before you start beating, or you're not beating it until it loses its shine.

Here's how I'd re-write your recipe's instructions to make them a bit more detailed.

Version 1 (you don't own a candy thermometer):
Heat the first 5 ingredients until medium soft ball stage.
Remove from heat and cool without disturbance for about 10-15 minutes.
Add vanilla and nuts beat until the candy begins to lose its shine.
When it is beginning to thicken and becomes opaque, pour/scrape it into a prepared pan.

Version 2 (you own a candy thermometer):
Heat the first 5 ingredients until 240 F.
Remove from heat and cool without disturbance until candy reaches 140 F.
Add vanilla and nuts beat until the candy begins to lose its shine.
When it is beginning to thicken and becomes opaque, pour/scrape it into a prepared pan.


What is the name of this drink and is there a substitute for the pineapple? In many cities in the Venezuelan Andes, there is a traditional beverage with the following preparation:

Put a slice/piece of pineapple about two inches per side in a bottle of milk.

Put the milk with the pineaple in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.

Take the milk, without the pineapple, and shake a little with a spoon to homohenize, then put about 2 oz in a milkshake machine, and shake for about 1 minute puting suggar in the process.

Optionaly put some artifitial flavor in the milkshake machine - I'd recomend coconut artifitial flavor. Also you can put in the milkshake machine with the milk, some small pices of ice cubes, this makes the drink a bit more creamy.

This is usually a companion for Empanadas or Pasteles

What is the name of this beverage? Is a powder or something else that substitutes the pineapple piece and/or the fermentation process?

I googled for something like this with no luck, the closest recipe is the pineapple-coconut milk, but that is not what I'm looking for.

From the description of how this beverage is made, it is not fermented.  Four hours, at refrigerator temperature, and without any inoculation from an active bacterial culture simply will not cause any significant amount of fermentation.

Instead, what is happening is that the enzyme bromelin and acid present in pineapple is curdling the milk proteins, lending it a thicker texture.  This is very analogous to some types of cheese making.

I was not able to determine a name for this beverage.


Store bought Frozen Chicken Breast inc added water I bought the above and the package says 'oven cook from frozen, if allowed to defrost reduce cooking time accordingly'.

If allowed to defrost safely, can I shallow fry it in a wok, or HAS it got to be oven cooked?

You can cook it however you like, it's meat. I would suggest slicing it up and stir frying it if you are using a wok. If you want to keep it whole, use a frying pan with a thicker base and place a heavyish lid on top of the breast with a piece of baking paper between the two to even out the thickness of the piece of meat. That will help it to cook more evenly.


Smoking pork shoulder in a little chief I got a little chief smoker for christmas, I tried smoking a 5lb pork shoulder today.  FAIL! I brined overnight, dry rubbed 1 hour before putting in the smoker.  Never got the meat over 85'.  Tried going to the oven but it had already been to long in the danger zone.

Couple other notes:

I wrapped the smoker in 3/4 in foam insulation to keep heat up
I got the smoker to 178' at the top end

My thought is to try again and cut the 5lb shoulder into two pieces.  I know you want low and slow which I agree with, and I know I'll have to finish in the oven which I am ok with.

Any advice?

I looked up the Little Chief, and I am of the opinion that it will never achieve a cooking temperature sufficient to cook a pork shoulder. The description suggests it cooks at 165f, which is not far from the 178f you were seeing. That is viable for "cold smoking" foods, but not for safely cooking barbecue of any sort.

You should really be targeting over 200f to do a "low and slow" cook. Personally, I never feel comfortable cooking below 225f.


Using the bone from a spiral cut ham I'm making pork stock for the first time from raw pork bones I bought at the store, and I just opened a spiral cut ham to cut it up. Can I put the cooked ham bone in with the cooking pork bones, since it's all pork anyway?

Also, in some cultures they consume whatever is soft on meat bones such as the marrow. Is this safe to do with the ham bone, or is it not cooked enough?

If it's a "ham" it's already fully cooked, so there is no danger in eating any part of it. If it's a leg of pork, that's a wholly different animal: different texture, flavor, everything, and...not to belabor the point...it's raw.

That being said, you can lump all the bones in the pot together, no problem. You'll get better results though if you cook the raw bones for a while in the oven first: 425 for ~15 minutes, or until they start to brown a bit. Not only will you lose a little fat, but the crispy carcinogens of the maillard reaction will add more body to your stock.


How much prime rib should I plan per person? I plan on cooking a prime rib for an upcoming dinner party for eight adults. I would like to have enough beef leftover to make a soup or stew. I plan on cooking the prime rib to medium rare. Is it best to calculate the amount by the number of bones per person or by pounds? How much prime rib should I purchase to feed my guests?

Prime rib is usually sold two ways, Bone-In or Bone-Out. For a Bone-In prime rib an 8 pound should serve you well, for a Bone-Out, Six will do nicely. I would also highly recommend you refer to the prime rib narrative of "Cooks Illustrated The New Best Recipe Book" to learn how to prepare your roast.

[Edit]

Most restaurants that I have either had or seen Prime Rib served at will offer 10 oz or 12 oz serving size, with some variations in the overall 8-16 oz (225g - 450g) range. Appetites will vary from person to person, and you may wish to not serve the 'heals' as they will be more well done than the center, though some guests may prefer this..so, 'your-mileage-may-vary'. The very size of beef ribs makes serving them 'bone-in' impractical, as it results in a serving that is too thick for a single serving (though some restaurants do this for eye-appeal). For your home dinner party I would not recommend planning based on 'bone count'. Even if you buy and cook your roast "bone-in" your first cut after preparing and resting the meat should be to remove the bones from the roast. Since leftovers are goal you have set for this preparation you may wish to then slice the roast "on the bias" (about a 15°-20° angle from perpendicular to the bone section) as it will produce a larger footprint on the plate. The ends will provide you with good meat to include in a soup or slice up for sandwiches.


Roast beef in slow cooker for 7 hours on low then on high for another hour? I have been cooking a roast beef for 7 hours on low but it doesn't look like it will be cooked for another two hours. Can I put it on high or will it go tough?

There should be no problem cooking for an extra hour or two on 'high'. The rule of thumb which I have learned is one hour on "high" = two hours on "low". Generally, you should always start with an hour on "high" in order to get the food out of the danger area for bacterial growth as soon as possible, after which you can reduce the heat to "low".


Mongolian BBQ Meat Cuts? I am planning on slicing meat with a slicer for Mongolian BBQ and have decided on slicing frozen chicken breast and frozen pork shoulder butt.

What I do not know though, is what I should use for beef. The meat generally at the local BBQs is rather tough, but I am hoping a somewhat higher quality meat would counteract this.

I bought Pork Shabu-Shabu from the local international market and it was delicious and tender. The worker in the meat department said it was pork shoulder so that's why I am choosing that. Chicken breast is the only thing I can think of that would have enough meat for slicing with a slicer and give good size once cut "paper" thin.

Are my choices correct? What type of cut should I use for beef?

For the beef, I would recommend rib-eye.  A traditional Philly cheese steak uses thinly-sliced rib-eye, so it's time tested.

Other than that, I bet sirloin would do well with quick, hot cooking.  It doesn't have much fat or connective tissue, so you don't have to worry about melting anything before it becomes tender.


Should I not sear and broil eye of round the way that I do filet mignon or chuck tenderloin? I recently started cooking filet mignon for my wife (I hate steak/beef myself) every once in a while by (1) coating the steak in a melted butter rub (that has a bit of salt and pepper), then (2) searing each side for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat, and finally (3) broiling in the oven for approximately 8 minutes. The results have been fantastic (or so she tells me), despite my mere aping of some instructions I found online.

After a while, I decided to try another cut, and repeated the same process with some 1-inch thick chuck tenderloin steaks. These happened to curl up quite a bit while searing, but the end result was apparently again quite delicious (and my wife liked their curled up shape to boot :-). So far so good.

Well, I tried the same method with some 1-inch thick eye of round steaks, and the results were quite disappointing. When I seared them, they failed to brown quickly, and perhaps because I then overdid the searing, the steaks came out pretty tough (and visually unappealing too IMO). Should I not have tried to cook this cut this way, or is that aspect just a red herring? There was one other difference: in my previous efforts, I completely neglected the idea of letting the steaks come to room temperature for a while before cooking, whereas this time I let the steaks sit out for a little over 30 minutes before proceeding. But since that is apparently what one is "supposed" to do, I wouldn't think that that would yield my one poor result so far, but I really don't know.

  If it's at all possible to determine from the information I've given here, where did I go wrong?

Eye of round is very lean. Very, very lean. So as a steak, it would not stand up very well to any cooking method that gets it much beyond rare. And even then, it's going to be a tough piece of meat. My suggestion would be to prepare that cut differently (such as macerating it and making country fried steak or Swiss steak), or omitting it from your rotation. Your method is sound for preparing a steak, but I would limit it to:

Tenderloin
Strip
Ribeye
Chuck eye (not chuck steak, which is a tough piece of meat, but chuck eye, which is cut from the eye roll).

If you want cheaper beef, the last in the list is your best bet.


How to adjust for humidity when making rice? Years ago, I ate at Sushi Yasuda in New York. After I went, I was reading up on the chef, and an article about him mentioned that he accounted for air humidity while making his sushi rice. Wow! My kind of guy!

There is a 'how much water with your rice' conversation on this site, one that basically said "get a great Zojirushi," but I'd like to hear from an expert sushi rice cooker -- can anyone explain to me a formula or set of considerations for making really great sushi rice? I'm thinking of the sort of thing taught sushi chefs at the Japanese equivalent of the CIA, if there is such a thing.

Here is a link mentioning ambient humidity as a concern for rice cooking: http://www.mail-archive.com/ugandanet@kym.net/msg13272.html

Dry rice will have more or less water content dependant on the ambient humidity. If you want to test how much you have to account for this, take some rice during a humid day, weight, dry in a 200F oven for a few hours and then weigh again.


How can I add a savory note to (or otherwise improve) a sweet, cream based salad dressing? I recently purchased a cream based salad dressing and it is VERY sweet with an aftertaste, what can I add to make make it more savory and just make it taste better?

I love salad and my veggies are so sad with this dressing...

Frequently the savory notes in a cream based salad dressing would be from a pungent cheese of some sort, like bleu or Parmesan. You could also try cutting some of the cream with buttermilk to reduce sweetness. Beyond that, it will really depend on what the rest of your ingredients are. Adding garlic powder or onion powder could also help depending on what flavor you're going for.


Heating milk in yogurt-making I'd like to make yogurt with non-fat dried milk enriched with canned (full-fat) evaporated milk.  Since both these products have already been heated in the manufacture, do I need to heat/cool the mixture (as I would fresh milk) before adding the starter culture?

I would say, go with your gut. It is possible that you see a very slight advantage, or that you don't have any at all, so do as you feel better.
The denaturing of proteins has already been done in both the canned and dried milks, so you don't need to heat up for that part. What you can win is a bit on the contamination front. Making yogurt is about creating an ecosystem, and to give your preferred culture the best start in life, you are trying to keep the mixture as sterile as possible. The combination of canned milk, milk powder and water shouldn't have any more bacteria and yeasts than anything else in your kitchen, and heated milk gets re-contaminated during cooling, so if you can get any edge, it will be small. But if you want to shoot for it, there is no harm in that. Especially if you are reinoculating from the old batch a lot, this might reduce the time until you have to refresh your culture.


Is there any good way to check for honey adulteration besides a lab test? The top google results for "check fake honey" are all nonsense blogs that say to check based on water content. The problem with this is that real honey can have a higher water content, especially here in asia. So is there a way for me to tell if a non-viscous honey has added HFCS or something similar in it?

I am considering dissolve rate as a possible option because real honey should have more longer carbohydrates...

I found a lab technique using carbon 13 isotopes.http://www.iso-analytical.co.uk/honey.html but i doubt there are DIY kits on the web for this.

The answer, quite simply, is no.  Even advanced laboratories have difficulty making the determination for certain.

This is also a complex problem that gets more difficult as various standards are used and then fail.  Before 2000, a common solution was to simply use microscopic analysis to look for pollen and and other vegetable matter.  Since then, many honey processing plants have been developing increasingly advanced filtering techniques that will remove the characteristic markers (deliberately or unintentionally).  [**See detailed note below.]  Various chemical or basic physical markers also have proved insufficient, since the sugar composition of honey can be faked quite well with various sugar syrup blends.

The accepted standard these days, as mentioned in the question, seems to be to use a mass spectrometer to determine the carbon-13 to carbon-12 isotope ratio in a rather specific lab procedure.  (Obviously most people don't have a mass spectrometer at home.)  The current procedure for this test was adopted after previous lab tests were shown to generate false positives in some batches of honey.  The isotope ratio method is the only one specifically listed in the FDA's import alert to determine the possibility of adulteration:

  FDA laboratories do not have the instrumental capability to analyze
  honey according to the Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC
  International, AOAC Official Method 991.41, which requires an isotope
  ratio mass spectrometer.

Ironically, in order to avoid the previous false positives for the New Zealand honey mentioned above, the new testing process needs to have the pollen completely removed, a process which has also been used to hide the origin of honey and to confuse analysis:

  To eliminate a false positive C(4) sugar test for Manuka honey, prior
  removal of pollen and other insoluble material from the honey is
  necessary to ensure that only the pure protein is isolated.

But even a refined isotopic methodology is flawed when it comes to detecting various types of adulteration, specifically beet sugar.  As this article notes:

  [Using isotope ratios from a mass spectrometer,] adulteration using C4
  sugar syrups (HFCS and GS) could be detected to a certain extent while
  adulteration of honey using C3 sugar syrups (beet sugar) could not be
  detected. Adulteration by using SS (beet sugar) still has a serious
  detection problem, especially in countries in which beet is used in
  manufacturing sugar.

So, what's the alternative?  Well, the other general method that could detect various adulterating components is differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).  This article gives a good summary of the process, which essentially looks at how a material behaves as it undergoes thermal changes.  At certain temperatures when crystallization or something occurs, there will be excess heat absorbed or given off compared to at other temperatures.  And at other points there will be minor changes in heat capacity (i.e., the amount of heat it takes to alter the temperature of a substance by a specific number of degrees).

Honey, for example, displays a glass transition temperature (Tg) around -40°C (-40°F) near a certain point in crystallization.  Other sugar syrups may not show this, but they may show changes at slightly higher temperatures (still below freezing), due to water crystals freezing or thawing.  (Water is included in the sugar network in honey, so it doesn't show the same characteristics.)

There are other thermal properties that can be measured at various temperatures.  As this article summarizes in its conclusion:

  Used concomitantly with the second enthalpy of fusion (occurring
  between 40 and 90°C), the glass transition temperature, Tg, is one of
  the most potentially useful parameters for characterizing honeys and
  syrups and for distinguishing between them. The Tg value, being
  strongly dependent on the amorphous phases of the sample, will respond
  to modification of the chemical composition and the implicit
  structural modification caused by the addition of exogenous material.
  Thus, adulteration of the honey will cause inevitable changes in both
  Tg and [delta]H2 values. Under laboratory conditions, adulterations by
  industrial sugar syrups can be detected from 5-10% additions depending
  on the measured parameter.

I would pay particular attention to this final sentence -- the differences can only be detected "under laboratory conditions" where precise temperatures and amounts of heat can be measured.  To replicate such a test at home, you'd need to be able to add a certain precise amount of heat to the honey at subzero temperatures, all the while keeping it isolated from other sources of temperature fluctuations and observing where the heating "stalls" briefly.  Then, you'd have to calibrate your homemade test against some known samples (syrups, 100% honey, etc.) just to be sure you're actually observing the same things as in the article cited here.  You'd need to confirm that by observing a more subtle difference in heat capacity changes that would occur in hot temperature ranges (below boiling).

Even under lab conditions, this sort of testing has a threshold of 5-10% adulteration, and that requires something like being able to detect the difference between a glass transition onset at -41°C vs. -42°C.  Also, it should be noted that these physical characteristics are inconsistent among various batches of honey.  In this study, for example, the Tg was found to have a variance of over 7°C in different pure honey samples.  In the study quoted above, that range of 7°C would indicate a difference between pure honey and a 50/50 mixture with a sugar solution.  (If you look around at other studies, like this one and this one, you begin to see a Tg range that is well over 15°C for various pure honey types.)

I'd guess this is partly the reason why DSC isn't generally adopted as an official testing procedure: to use it effectively, you'd need to really know the specific kind of honey you started with before blending with adulterants, and most of the time you don't.

Bottom line: there's just no way to do a test like this at home.

Finally, to address a point raised in the question, based on the DSC data there should be minor differences in honey's behavior at various temperatures, perhaps even how fast it dissolves at a certain temperature.  But the differences are so small and/or inconsistent among different types of honey or different types of adulterating components that there's no practical way of consistently identifying them outside of a lab environment where very precise conditions and measurements are possible.  It might be possible to isolate adulterated samples outside of a lab given prior knowledge of the original honey used and the specific adulterants that might be present, but that information is generally not available.  If it were a simple matter of a test like "let's mix this honey in some water and measure how long it takes to dissolve," government regulations would not be resorting to mass spectrometers to try to detect adulteration.

Note that this answer really only "scratches the surface" of the various testing methods available.  Here's a partial list of possible tests.  Even a cursory search will uncover hundreds of scientific articles describing the advantages and limitations of various tests.  Note that most of the other tests only detect specific kinds of adulteration and/or are mostly used as initial screening tests that then need to be verified by another lab procedure.  As mentioned, the current standard seems to be an isotope ratio test.

** ADDED CLARIFICATION ON POLLEN AND FILTRATION: Some pollen is generally removed in the normal filtration process used to produce a "clear" honey that doesn't crystallize quickly during storage. However, traditional filtration techniques often allow trace amounts of pollen to remain, while some processes may use a more complex "ultrafiltration" method that will remove all pollen traces.  The reason for complete pollen filtration may have originated with a desire to disguise the geographic origin of honey, whether pure or adulterated.  In 2001, for example, the U.S. instituted high tariffs on Chinese honey, to avoid putting American beekeepers out of business.  At other times, various countries have instituted outright bans on honey for periods due to contamination or adulteration, such as the EU ban of Indian honey in 2011-12.  Such actions have provided strong incentives for Asian honey producers to disguise the origin of honey, even if it is unadulterated.  The result is that large amounts of commercially available honey are now filtered to remove all pollen, which has a side effect of making adulteration detection much more complex.  That said, it should be noted that normal filtration may also result in very low or undetectable amounts of pollen, so the absence of pollen is not necessarily evidence that any deception is intended.  (See further details and explanation here.)  However, processing methods that deliberately remove all pollen have been used by those who wish to disguise origin and/or adulterate honey with cheaper substitutes.  The question specifically inquired about Asian honeys which had been diluted with water; given that ultrafiltration often involves adding water during processing and has apparently been used by some Asian producers, I originally wrote my answer to target the specific honey type inquired about.  Once again: an undetectable level of pollen in other countries and from other producers is NOT necessarily evidence of anything nefarious.


Is it true that honey never spoils? Why? I've heard that "honey never spoils", but I'm incredulous.  Is this true, and if so, how?  Isn't there some indicator that I should throw the honey in my cupboard away?

Honey is very stable for a number of reasons. The main ones though are the low amount of water (most honey is under 18% water) and the high amount of sugar (which is a preservative). Both of these things keep things like mold and bacteria from being able to grow. Over a long period of time (and if left unsealed) the honey could absorb moisture and then ferment (the sugar would turn to alcohol) but if sealed then your honey should be fine for a long time. This PDF from the National Honey board http://www.honey.com/images/downloads/shelflife.pdf says that a shelf life of 2 years is often stated. On Chowhound I saw a discussion that said that in the UK the "best by" dates are usually 4 years out so I'm guessing that those dates have far more to do with decisions by the respective governments (i.e. laws that state a maximum best by date no matter what the food is) then the actual shelf life of honey. As the honey in your cupboard, if it's only a few months or a year old as long as it's been in a sealed container then it most likely should be fine.


Can I fix a box cake recipe where I added oil instead of water? I screwed up and put 1 1/4 cup veg oil instead of water in my box cake recipe. Is there any way to fix this? Can I add flour or something? Or is it doomed for the trash can?

If the recipe calls for oil, butter, or any other fat, then you can try to scale the other quantities to match it.

If not, there's still a chance you can salvage it.  The oil doesn't actually chemically react with the mix at all, it just "coats" it; in fact, most cake recipes use some amount of fat in order to slow gluten formation (i.e. stop the cake from getting tough and chewy).

However, if the recipe called for 1 1/4 cups water and you used the same quantity of oil instead, then that is going to be way too much oil for a single serving.

What I would do is double or maybe even triple the cake mix, make sure it's very well mixed with the oil, then add however much water you needed in the first place.

If you realized your mistake early (i.e. if the original recipe called for a lot more than 1 1/4 cups of water) then you might be able to just proceed as normal and end up with a very moist cake, but more likely you'll still need to add some more cake mix (and the corresponding amount of water) to compensate.  I'd still double it, because otherwise you'll be stuck trying to figure out how to use the leftover mix.

Don't just add flour; the amount of water that the recipe calls for is proportional to all of the other ingredients in the mix, and it's virtually impossible for you to know how much extra water you'll need to compensate for the added flour.  Besides, you'd only end up with a bland, flavourless cake if you did that.

If none of these options appeal to you then I'm afraid it's destined for the trash, unless you want to prepare your own cake mix from scratch and combine the two recipes.


Pasta sticks to rolling cutters Recipe : Three cups AP flour, three or four eggs depending on their size.

This recipe used to work for my little hand crank pasta machine, but lately wont. The pasta that results doesn't stick to itself. The noodles don't fuse and mush together. They stick only to the metal of the cutters themselves, and wont come loose, then double up on themselves. I've tried to separate them from the cutters, but I can only get in a half crank before almost doubling up again. And it doesn't stick to the rollers so long as I keep it dusted.

I hand roll it to lengthen it a bit, then press it flat. After that I run it through the rollers, dusting a bit as I roll it thinner. Then I dust it one last time and run it through the rolling cutters.

Will extra humidity do this? Do pasta machines just get sticky? I've tried flower and oil on the cutters, but neither seems to help. Also I like to make the sheets very thin. Any help would be appreciated.

Any moisture left on the rollers/cutters is an issue in my experience, and if left can result in pitting or corrosion either of which will be difficult to overcome.  Qil I would think would not lead to corrosion, but might pit.  While present, it will definitely increase the tendency to stick in my experience.

With the rollers, I would dust it heavily including giving it a couple of cranks, then run some fairly dry dough through repeatedly to grab any liquid or oil it can.  Make sure to get all areas of the roller edge to edge.  I have had luck with this, particularly when my roller was new and for some reason they put some type of dry lubricant on that marked my pasta grey/black if it ran to the edge of the roller.  The same can be done if you do things like make flavored pasta or dough and think some residue may be left that will effect future projects for instance I make some cookies with a sour cream dough which are much easier to make with my pasta roller but I want to make sure no dairy is left on the rollers after so this is a cleanup run of some cheap four dough I will then discard.

The same should work with the cutters as long as they have not been pitted or corroded.  For them, I would suggest using the same dough, towards the dry and still side, and thick enough to get all areas of the cutter that might be holding residue.

Hopefully you can get it back to good behavior with this type of dough cleaning.  It happens to be the cleaning method that came recommended with my roller.  When done, dust the maker and put it away that way, yes, looking "dirty" with a dusting of flour to protect it from moisture getting on it and pitting or corroding the working surfaces.  Yes, some of that sounds contrary to normal kitchen cleaning practices, but it is what was recommended by my manufacturer and has worked well for me. It is clean, dry flour you are putting on which would not seem like a major safety violation, just a little unsightly.

PS, if you do not want to waste eggs, and I do not blame you, just mix up a dough with a bit of flour and water.  I still hate wasting any food, but at least flour is one of the cheapest things we use, and you do not need much.  Far less loss than needing to replace the entire pasta maker set.


Can dry aging beef and curing/fermenting/drying meat be done in same environment? Can dry aging beef and curing/fermenting/drying meat be done in same environment ? By environment I’m referring to using the same fridge or room for example. Do these processes require similar temperature and humidity ? I’d like to get a dry aging fridge, but maybe I would need two if I want to do it all (dry age beef and make salami).

No, you can't do both in the same environment because the two need very different temperatures. Dry aging beef requires a cold environment (34-38°F or 0-2°C). Curing salami needs a higher temperature (42-60°F, 6-16&dev;C) and slightly higher humidity (70-80%). Beef would rot in the temperature range you'd cure salami.


Should an Aviation include Crème de Violette? The "Aviation" cocktail is an IBA "official" cocktail. It is listed on the IBA website with these ingredients and instructions:

  All Day Cocktail

  4.5 cl Gin
  1.5 cl Maraschino
  1.5 cl Fresh lemon juice

  Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

To my surprise this doesn't list Crème de Violette at all: not in the ingredients, and not as e.g. "a dash" in the instructions.

Nearly all recipes I've seen so far though (e.g. How to Drink) do have Violette, and they all call out the Aviation as a "blue as the sky" cocktail because of that creme.

So what's the deal here? Is the IBA website just lacking it (perhaps because it's not a "core" ingredient but just a dash or a barspoon, usually)? Or is the "official" version actually without it?

According to wikipedia, the original Hugo Ensslin's recipe calls for 2 dashes of crème de violette.

In the same article there can be some variation on the theme, with or without crème de violette.

The Gin foundry website offers 2 recipes, with or without it; the version without the crème de violette dates from the 1930s and they say it might be because the product was hard to found at that time (ww2 era)

I'd say, if you want to be fully original, use the proper recipe with the crème de violette, but if you cannot find it, then it is not that big a deal as it is still historically correct.


How do you prepare squid tentacles? The 'suckers' on squid tentacles seem to each have small shell-like (chitinous?) 'rings' inside them that can be removed by pulling or rubbing the tentacles. This takes a lot of time and I am wondering if it is necessary?

Also, how much of the mouth/head is generally good to eat? It seems that the ring where the tentacles connect is quite edible but there are also some much harder/tougher parts of flesh nearby.

No you do not need to remove them, unless you're talking about very large squid.

Good to eat? I prefer the flesh and not the tentacles, but basically anything that isn't what you remove when cleaning (the internal 'bone' and assorted goop attached to it) is fine.

Best method for cooking is very, very fast--squid needs fast nigh heat, usually no more than 40-60 seconds depending on size. Dust with cornstarch and deep fry very fast, or sautee in butter very fast. Too long and you will be chewing rubber.


How can I make Chinese Fried Rice like they do on the East Coast? I've been living in California for about 14 years and really miss the Chinese fried rice I would get at Chinese restaurants on the East Coast (Boston in specific).

The fried rice I get at Chinese restaurants in California is much lighter in color and flavor.  I thought adding more soy sauce would do the trick.  There's definitely something else in the mix.  The rice that I'm trying to emulate has more of a malty, savory taste to it.

My fried rice started getting closer to east coast restaurant style when I started doing a couple of new things:

Use Chinese 5 Spice Powder - Like Indian Garam Masala, this is a spice mixture that is so common in Chinese cooking that it's sold pre-mixed. I've started using it in a lot of my chinese cooking. It makes a big difference.
Add a bit more soy sauce - This seems to be where most of your coloring comes from, so judge by look.
Use some sesame oil - I find sesame oil provides a nice flavor element in asian dishes.
Use more oil while frying the rice - I use a mix of sesame and vegetable or canola. This makes it quite a lot greasier than I was making it, but it's closer to restaurant style.
Let the rice sit  while frying - Once the rice is in the wok, I don't stir it too much. This lets some of the rice on the bottom get a bit more fried than if you stir frequently.

Hope one of those helps.


Accidentally omitted salt from my gingerbread cookies... what should I do? I forgot to add the salt in my gingerbread dough, and it's already in the fridge. Should I re do the dough? Is there a way to add it in?

Salt is primarily a flavor enhancer in cookies. It's unlikely that omitting it will affect the recipe greatly. I know people who regularly omit salt with no problems.

Bake the cookies! Don't waste the ingredients. You probably won't notice a huge change in flavor.

As a note, you're unlikely to get an even incorporation adding it at this point, so don't try that. You'll either end up with tough dough from overworking it or salty pockets if you don't.


Sprouting fenugreek seeds? Are seeds for sprouting different than the ones in the spice aisle? I was about to add 4 ounces of fenugreek seeds to my Amazon order when I saw that I could buy a pound for just a couple of dollars more. The 1 pound package emphasizes sprouting, whereas the 4 ounce package looks like any one of many other packages in my spice cabinet. They both say organic.

Is there a difference between fenugreek for sprouting and fenugreek for cooking? Are fenugreek seeds generally toasted for use in cooking? Are they sold toasted?

Finally, is there a traditional use (particularly in North African, Middle Eastern or Mediterranean cuisine) for fenugreek sprouts?

I have had always success with sprouting fenugreek seeds that were bought as a spice. And an Indian friend of mine regularly grows fenugreek for leaves from the seeds bought for cooking. The seeds sold for cooking are whole (intact) seeds - they are quite hard and therefore difficult to break and damage. But I can not really say what percentage of the seeds sprouted - it probably would have been higher if I had bought seeds that were labeled for sprouting - but for me it was satisfactory.

With most plant species the germination success gets lower with time. The seeds meant for sprouting have therefore often a germination success rate estimation on the label. And the manufacturers might  therefore put more care into supplying fresher seeds and seeds of the same "age" to be able to guarantee that success.

I have never heard of anyone selling toasted fenugreek seeds (accept maybe if it has been some spice mix that already underwent some kind of tempering).

I think sprouts in general are not very traditional elements of North African or Middle Eastern cuisine, where fenugreek is used as seed or less commonly as leaves. Fenugreek sprouts might be found more in Indian cooking (where sprouts, micro greens and fenugreek leaves are used), or in more "hippy" / healthy-bowls styles of cooking.

And of course the seeds sold for sprouting can naturally be also used as a spice, but they might be sometimes a bit more expensive (and I guess that differences in strength of the flavor could also be found - so that the sprouting ones could maybe sometimes be milder / less flavorful).

Anyway ... you can use them definitely as a spice, as sprouts, micro greens, or grow them into bigger plants and use the leaves.

I would be a bit suspicious of the quality of the seeds in the big package if they are sold for super cheap ... but they might be totally fine.


Prevent scrambled eggs from sticking to stainless steel I'm having the hardest time preventing scrambled eggs from sticking to stainless steel cookware. I've tried bringing the eggs to room temperature before cooking, slowly heating the pan, loads of butter (tasted great, still stuck), adding milk to the eggs. How can I prevent scrambled eggs from sticking to stainless steel?

Raw protein sticks to hot stainless steel as soon as it comes into contact with it.  However, once the layer which is stuck to the pan cooks through, it releases from the pan. The trick is to heat the pan over a low heat before adding the eggs, then don't touch them until there is a layer of cooked egg on the bottom - about a minute or two. Then when you start stirring, the cooked egg will easily peel off the bottom and the pan will be sufficiently seasoned so that the rest of the egg doesn't stick to it.


Emulating Starbucks Frappuccino Cream Base At Starbucks, the "Cream Based" (no coffee) frappuccinos all use a proprietary syrup base which I would like to emulate to be able to make a reasonable facsimile at home.

When the baristas make a "Vanilla Bean" frappuccino, the process goes something like this:

Add a measure of whole milk.
Add an appropriate measure of ice.
Add 3 pumps of aforementioned cream base syrup.
Add a few scoops of vanilla flavored powder.
Blend.

The milk/ice ratio I can play with, I've found a replacement for the vanilla powder that works well, but I'm stumped at re-creating the cream flavored syrup, which unfortunately, is absolutely key to getting the right taste and consistency.

I see some folks selling jugs of the stuff on ebay, which I can only assume is pilfered stock because Starbucks does not sell it retail. Fortunately, there are pictures of the ingredients label on the jug, which gives me a good starting point.

The image of the base is below.

The ingredients are listed as:

Water
Sugar
Salt
Natural and Artificial Flavor
Xanthan Gum (E415)
Potassium Sorbate (E202)
Citric Acid (E330)

I would like some suggestions for what kind of cream flavoring I should use to create my own. Whole milk powder? Coffee creamer? Something else?

I can't comment yet...but if I could, I might suggest using or swapping a portion of your sugar for liquid invert sugar, instead of caster or white granulated, in conjunction with the afore mentioned artificial flavorings, and possibly some more milk protien like sodium caseinate.  Invert sugar is often used in candies that must maintain a soft creamy liquid center (like those queen anne cherry bon-bon things), and I think it would positively alter the end-texture.  I bought some in Austin at a local cupcake/candy bakeshop that wasn't very expensive.(www.allinonebakeshop.com call them,  the website doesn't reflect all of the cool products they have).

Hansson et al experimented with different sugar compositions for their beverages and noticed that there was a greater release of specific aromatic compounds using invert sugar. They posited that the glucose-fructose ratio that liquid invert sugar possesses, causes the water molecules to be more structred, thereby decreasing the amount of free water around.  Hyrophillic(water loving) flavors in the mix are then more concentrated in the available free water, waiting to be tasted. The hyrophobic( water-hating/fat loving) flavors like to stick with the fats, so using a very good emulsifuer to effectively distribute/suspend the fats through the rest of the mix will be important for the end flavor profile.
doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(00)00243-0

I might even add some turmeric to your mixture when you heat it (be aware of some yellow color transferrence), since the curcuminoids (bioactive ingredients in the turmeric rhizome/powdered spice) decompose into a few compounds like vanillin and ferulic acid when heated (longer the incubation = more vanillin as a result of its degradation). Here's one research paper doi:10.1016/S0731-7085(96)02024-9 I'm happy to provide additional peer-reviewed sources if desired.

One last thought on flavor additions...if you dont mind artificial, this is a gluten-free butter flavor:  http://www.shanks.com/product-category/extracts-flavors/imitation-butter/  It almost goes without saying, that only a VERY small amount would be needed(maybe a drop or two at most to really round out that creme profile).


How do you form Marshmallow Ropes? I have made marshmallows before and formed them into a pan, and then cut them into squares. That works fine and they taste great.

I'd like to achieve the effect of the long marshmallow ropes that I have seen in France.
I tried using a piping bag with a big tip and piping them onto a sheet dusted liberally with powdered sugar, but mostly they just stayed stuck in the bag and made a huge mess with limited success.

I'm looking for suggestions on how to get this effect.

Is it possible that the recipes that use more egg and less gelatin would work better?

Have you tried using a marshmallow recipe that is only made from gelatin and cooked sugar syrup (sugar, water, and light corn syrup to soft ball stage, 240 degrees F)?

I have made various piped marshmallows that will hold swirly shapes using this type of marshmallow recipe.  It is a bit more stable than the egg based recipes. The most important thing is to make sure that the marshmallow mixture is whipped to a nice fluffy, shiny, smooth stage (about 7-10 minutes on high speed) and piped very quickly into whatever form you want before it sets up using a large round tip.  Timing is of utmost importance here and you may lose some marshmallow during this process at home.

I would also recommend piping onto a silpat (silicone) lined sheet tray or a piece of wax paper that has been lightly dusted with a mixture of cornstarch and confectioner's sugar.


Is all sausage considered a "Processed Meat"? Over the years, I've read a lot of health information that says processed meats are some of the worst foods for you from a fat, sodium, and nitrate intake perspective.  Then I read that Sausage is a processed meat, which, makes sense.

Is all Sausage considered a "Processed Meat", and is therefore relatively high in fat, sodium, and nitrates?

Generally it's things that have been prepared such that there's some sort of added preservative -- salt, sulfates, sulfides, nitrates, etc.  So this would include all hams except 'fresh ham', almost all deli meats, all sausages, bacon, jerky, corned beef, etc.

So yes, sausage is considered a processed meat.

If you want to get all technical about what 'processed' means it could also include any other form of curing (eg, smoking), and most any form of processing (grinding, slicing, etc), although this second group typically isn't refered to as 'processed meat' (unless it's then glued back together, like chicken nuggets, but those tend to have additives in them already)

As for the health aspects ... like most anything, it's fine in moderation, although there are some people who react badly to sulfates and sulfides.  Some sausages have more additives in them than others, and there are plenty of sausages out there that might be considered 'healthy' if it's in place of other higher salt/fat foods (eg, some brands of chicken & apple sausage).


How do I adjust apple crisp cooking time for muffin-size crisps? My usual apple crisp recipe is here, except that I generally use a third of the recommended sugar and three or four times the necessary cinnamon.

I'd like to experiment with variations on the recipe (e.g. adding flour to the filling, putting nuts in the crumble) but I don't really want to make multiple whole apple crisps, because of lack of ingredients, lack of people to eat them, etc.

I'm thinking about making multiple mini-crisps in a muffin tin. This also has the advantage that they will be side by side for easy comparison. But I'm not sure how (if at all) to adjust the baking time. Help?

According to the book Kitchen Companion, when you take a square cake and cook it as cupcakes, you cut the baking time by 40-60%, depending on the relative depths of the two pans.  I'd assume the relative cooking time for a crumble to be similar, which would mean 25-35 minutes.

There are also a number of apple crisp/crumble recipes on the web done in muffin cups or small ramekins, and their cooking times range from 14 minutes, to 25 minutes, to 35 minutes.  The 35 minute ones sound the most similar to what you're doing, so I'd say start checking them at 20 minutes, but expect 30ish.


Discolouration when boiling green vegetables with lid on Why do green vegetables discolour when they are boiled with the lid on?

See mines's link. Also, leaving the cover on a pot of boiling water increases the pressure inside the pot, which raises the boiling point, which in turn increases the temperature of the water (as it can no longer bleed of excess heat through steam). This principle is used by pressure cookers to get the water really hot to quickly cook the contents.

Basically, you're overcooking the vegetables.


Choosing a wine that complements a meal I've heard that particular types of wine are good matches for particular types of food. I'm fairly new to wine being served with a meal I prepared, and I'd like to learn about how and why I should pick a wine that complements the rest of the meal.

I made this community wiki because I didn't name a particular meal to match. I'd like to spend some time learning about this topic in general.

That's a ridiculously huge question. So huge that you'd need a whole book to answer it! Fortunately, that book has been written:

What to Drink With What You Eat
The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea —  Even Water — Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers.
by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page

If you really want to understand this issue, this is by far the best answer. Worth every penny.


Can I add mint flavoring to ready made royal icing? I have a 250g block of black Regalice from Redshaws. I want to flavor the icing with a concentrated peppermint flavoring. Only a very small amount to achieve a subtle hint of mint, the icing is just to lay over the cake.. Will the icing become to moist/tacky if I add any kind of liquid? I plan to use edible silver paint to add some details when it is finished.

If it does become too moist, what can I do to help it become dry?

I do not want to mess up and I am on a deadline so please help me :)

Thank you!

Yes you can in small quantities. My mum used to do a lot of cake decorating, and still does bits with my kids.
Adding small amounts of liquid such as flavoring/colouring is perfectly fine. It is important to knead it in properly. You can use a small quantity of icing sugar to prevent it sticking, but the main thing is to keep handling to a minimum where possible as the heat in your hands is more likely to make it sticky.

In terms of application, we typically use wooden tooth picks and dot the flavoring/coloring in, then repeat as necessary.


What is the English name of these sea snails? What is the English name of sea snails sold in Vietnam that the Vietnamese labelled as Ốc bông & Ốc tỏi (Vietnamese)?

Ốc bông

Ốc tỏi

Ốc bông = tiger moon snail (hotdeal.vn, Google images) or in Latin: Notocochlis tigrina (Wikipedia)

Ốc tỏi = Japanese bonnet snail (Facebook, Wild Fact Sheets, images, more images) or in Latin: Semicassis bisulcata (Wikipedia). Ốc tỏi is sometimes refered to as "garlic snail" (Hong Hai, Cooky), but this is obviously different from garlic glass snail, which is a land snail (Wikipedia).

Here on Facebook are Vietnamese/English translations for more than 100 types of seafood, including Ốc bông and Ốc tỏi.


What features do I want in a Toaster Oven? Our Toaster isn't doing well, planning to replace it with a toaster oven to get some more versatility on the counter top. What features are good? I've looked and there are ones ranging from simple $25 models to $250 with a laundry list of features.  Just wonder what's useful and what's not, hope to find a good one that's $120 or less really, but I'm willing to pay extra if it's worth the money.

I actually debated asking a similar question last month, as I managed to set mine on fire the day after Christmas, and based on the new one I got, differences I've noticed (mostly features I miss from the old one; also a few things I've noticed at my neighbors and mom's house.

Insulated top;  If you frequently run out of space in your kitchen, and need to keep stuff on top of the toaster oven, it comes in handy.  (and some allow the top to open up so you can expose the top so it could be a bread or plate warmer)
Is the rack connected to the door so, when you open the door, the rack pushes out a couple of inches, so you don't have to reach in to extract things and risk burning yourself?  (okay, I admit, there's a few drawbacks to this; it means the rack isn't easily removable to be cleaned or if you need to pull it all the way out because there's something that got pushed to the back, and the next item)
Multiple racks or rack heights.  The different positions might be useful for the broiler, but the multiple racks really aren't that useful; things won't toast right when they're blocked by another level, and they don't tend to cook evenly when in oven mode, either.  (maybe if it's a convection .... it's my neighbor's toaster oven, so I haven't played enough with it)  If you leave both racks in there, then you've barely got any space in between to grab things out, so you're risking burning yourself.  (and well, they don't have that last feature where the rack pops out when you open the door)
Location of the controls; some are on the side, some are on the bottom.  Controls on the bottom are more prone to getting damaged by things getting pushed around on the counter, but I prefer it for a few reasons -- (1) the toaster oven's narrower, as there's no wasted space to the side; (2) the door opens higher up; this means you can have a large plate on the counter without it getting in the way when you want to open the toaster.
Convection ; some have it, some don't.
Broiler ; not all can do broil (top element) only.
Depth of the unit; some of them bump out so they can fit a round pizza; if they also have a little bracket so you don't accidentally push it up against the wall, there's hardly any space left on the counter.
How exposed the elements are; some of the newer ones have grills over the elements, I haven't had mine long enough to see if that'll protect it from melted cheese dripping on 'em, which I think was the cause of my toaster fire.
Turn-dial vs. brown-ness setting.  I don't know how to explain this one.  All of the toaster ovens in the stores I looked in have a dial, where you have to turn the dial past 10 min, then back to the little reference marks for the darkness that you like your toast;  My old one just had a setting at the bottom, you set it to toast, and hit the button.  If you wanted to shut it off, you opened the door.  Of course, with this style, there wasn't a timer on the oven, either.
Turn-off-via opening the door : Some do, some stay on.  I'm used to it, but of course, if that's the only way to shut it off, that also means you have to open the door to shut it off when there's a fire inside, which means better airflow.  (or unplug it, but when the plug's on the other side of the toaster, that one's not a great option, either).
Electronic controls : I personally view it as something else to break, but they might be able to do something special; I've never bought one, myself.
Cord length ; only really a problem when you've got an old kitchen that doesn't have a plug every 12" or whatever the new standards seem to be; but you really don't want to plug a toaster into a power strip if you can help it, so if you know you're going to need to run it 3' down the counter, check the cord length.  (and which side it attaches, just in case you're then going in the wrong direction with it)
Crumb tray.  I hear other people use 'em.  They're supposedly important so you don't catch the thing on fire.
Accessories.  Some come with a little tray to use; some of them also have a little insert to turn it into a broiler pan (so you lift it out of the pan a little bit, so it won't stew in whatever drips off).  And I understand that you need some air flow around the pan, but in my opinion, something's wrong when the tray that comes with the toaster is 1/2 the area of the rack; it's like they weren't even trying, they just tossed in a tray from some other oven.  Others come with a little tool so you can pull the rack out so you don't burn yourself (which then gets lost or broken and thus sucks)
Size.  If you tend to make toast for lots of people at a time, then some of the larger toasters might be worth it; If you're single, the 6 or 8 slices of bread at the same time (but not the size of bread you like; you can only fit two of those) toasters might be a bit overkill)  And they now seem to measure themselves by 'size of a pizza I can fit', which makes no sense to me, as everyone knows the correct way to size toaster ovens by pizzas is how many halves of an english muffin you can fit in at one time (to make english muffin pizzas ... avoid the bagels, as sauce and cheese drip out the middle)

... so um ... those are just some of the features I've noticed.  Some people might care about the 12" pizza thing, I personally don't.  The timer vs. push button for the controls are likely a personal preference, as is the attached rack to the door vs. height adjustable/removable rack.)  The only really must-have is the removable crumb tray which Allison mentioned.  (even though you can go years without worry until there's a fire)


Why are my homemade Manicotti Shells doughy? I handmade fresh pasta sheets for my manicotti recipe.

Without cooking the pasta sheets in boiling water I stuffed the sheets (shells) with the cheese filling, topped with tomato sauce and cooked for about 60 minutes.

The pasta was doughy and soft, almost undercooked.

Do you advise cooking the fresh pasta sheets first? Why was it undercooked?

I would guess that they were too thick. They need to be so thin they're almost translucent, especially if you roll them with overlap. Fresh pasta feels doughy easily if it's too thick.


Are the Jacques Pépin videos worth it for a novice? I have Pépin's "Complete Techniques" book and find it interesting but a little hard to follow at times. I wonder if the DVD "The Complete Pépin" is a worthwhile addition. The reviews on Amazon are mixed, but also from the general public and not from a group of self-selected cooking knowledge exchangers.

being a chef, i would have to answer that ANY VIDEO is always a help. Technique you learn over time with repition. But all the shows (maybe Pepin, and Childs are favored a bit more)are going to show you 'their' techique.  learn from it. expand from it. then make it your own.