Cook Burger on Stove - Turns Gray So I've been wondering why whenever I cook burgers, they end up turning into a gray color, and a greasy mess. I'm restricted only to a stove top pan and oven, and I'm sure that's contributing to it, but I'm not sure what to change.

My first guess was that it wasn't high enough heat, but I've waited to heat them up pretty well, and it hasn't really impacted anything. Is it the mix I use to make the burgers? I usually take ground beef, mix it with an egg and breadcrumbs and spices, and then cook some immediately and freeze the rest.

I'm just curious of anything I can do to change the color they come out as, and hopefully improve the taste as much as possible.

If you add egg and breadcrumbs, you aren't cooking a burger, you're cooking meatloaf.

Try using just good beef with plenty of fat (80% meat, 20% fat is the ideal ratio, lean mince is not good for burgers), and pepper. Get the pan good and hot, salt the burgers well (don't add salt beforehand), brush the burgers with oil, then whack them on the pan, 5-6 minutes a side (depends on thickness) and you'll get a nice brown crust.

A couple of other tips: make the burgers plenty ahead of time so they can sit in the fridge for a good few hours. And never press the burger down with your spatula, you just end up losing all the juiciness.

Check out The Burger Lab's Top Ten Tips for a Better Burger for more tips.


What is the difference between kosher salt and unprocessed sea salt? I have read that the difference between sea salt and kosher salt is that sea salt is generally processed in that it has minerals added to it which were lossed during the evaporation process while kosher does not.
Somebody also told me sea salt is inefficient for brining and it contains impurities
I have also read that unprocessed sea salt and kosher salt is the same thing.

I am using saxa sea salt which on the box says is 100% natural and has no ingredients added.  This being the case is it the same as kosher salt or not?

**

Thank you for your answer.  I would like to add a related question.  You said sea salt does not stick very well to meat during brining.  Does this point apply to dry brining only or does it apply to brining in a water solution where the salt is dissolved?

Kosher salt is pure, like table salt, but without any iodine and (usually) without any anti-caking agents.

Kosher salt crystals are also coarse, but flat, which makes them easy to dissolve or season/coat meat.

Unprocessed sea salt is simply coarse; the shape of the crystals (whole or ground) does not stick to meat particularly well and the impurities make it harder to dissolve properly in water. It doesn't usually have minerals added (unless it's a really cheap kind possibly made from pre-iodized table salt), it just doesn't have minerals removed like table salt.

Kosher salt and sea salt are definitely not the same thing. Kosher salt can come from seawater, like sea salt, but the "kosher" part is all about the size and shape of the crystals, not their source.

Sea salt is not a good idea for brining. It's expensive and inefficient, and by the time the meat is cooked, any distinctness of flavour will have completely disappeared. Some of the minerals may even burn, depending on the cooking method.

Instead, use kosher salt or table salt for brining and add sea salt as a seasoning afterward if you want. Using sea salt for cooking, brining, or other preparation is simply wasting it.


Does anyone know of a source of goat parmesan in the New York Area or a farm in New York that produces it? I read in a previous Q that someone had subbed goat parmesan for regular. I am looking for a farm source in New York State or nearby.

While I'm not from New York (Charlotte) I know that Trader Joe's sells many different goat cheeses including cheddar and parmesan. A quick Google showed at least 3 Trader Joe's in NYC.


Do tinned anchovies need to be sold cold for food safety or quality reasons? Anchovies, tinned or in glass, is sometimes kept and sold cold. I don't see that happen with other foods. Is there a food safety reason for this? If so, does it mean that they also need to be kept refrigerated after purchase even if unopened?

The only reason I can think of is Botulism, because they can't be pressure heated because they would break? Is that so?

I found this very informative article from the Crown Prince company, an anchovy canner and distributor.  Apparently the reason for cold storage has to do with the preservation process and product quality:

  Anchovy Handling

  Anchovies are a "semi-preserved" product. This means that they are not
  sterilized by either cooking or pasteurization. Instead, anchovies are
  preserved by a salting process whereby salt is used to control
  bacteria which would otherwise render a canned product unusable.

  The anchovies remain in the salt until just before canning. Therefore,
  suppliers do not pack ahead of order. Our anchovies are not packed
  until just prior to shipment.

  Because they are "semi-preserved", anchovies will eventually break
  down and become mushy. The cans may even puff. This occurs because
  there is a non-harmful bacteria that survives in salt. This bacteria
  can be inconvenient because when it grows it can eventually form a gas
  which will puff the can. We repeat that this is not harmful to humans,
  but is most inconvenient.

  Heat will hasten the growth of the non-harmful bacteria. Anchovies
  should always be stored in a cool place, preferably in the
  refrigerator. Their shelf life when refrigerated is about 18 months.
  If you do not plan on consuming the anchovies or paste immediately
  after purchasing, we recommend storing them in the refrigerator. It is
  important to note that puffed anchovy cans are not indicative of a
  faulty canning procedure, but rather of improper storage subsequent to
  canning.

  Occasionally, customers complain of a white substance in the can.
  Often, salt collects around the edges of the fish. This is harmless,
  as it is only salt.


Are cans dishwasher safe I use canned food from tins from time to time (cat food, chickpeas etc.). I need to clean them before throwing away as I don't have that many recyclable items to throw them away daily and I don't want the smell.

I started wondering if I can clean them up in dishwasher? Usually there is some free space either on top or bottom and (as far as I know) the practically same amount of water is used anyway so I would save both time and water. However - is it safe to do it?

Washing cans in your dishwasher is not a good idea because of the labels. Most cans have paper labels which are held on by glue, in the dishwasher the labels will soften and come off, getting sucked into the mechanism and getting stuck to dishes and glasses. The dry cycle will harden the paper in place and be very hard to get off. The glue will also probably melt with a similar result.

Cat food cans do tend to get a bit stinky, but a quick sink cleanup usually does the trick. Soak them in water for 10 minutes or so and then use a bottle brush with a drop of dish soap to clean them.


Asian toasting seeds if a recipe says Asian toasting seeds how can I find out what is in the mix? Is there a definite selection of seeds and in what ratio? I have seen pouches for sale on the net but would like to make up my own if possible

There's no exact definition of asian toasting seeds that I know of, but most mixes I've seen are geared more for curries with cumin, sesame, and black onion seeds as a common base. To that base I've seen poppy, black mustard, yellow mustard, fenugreek, and lovage (ajwain) seeds.

I have all of these except lovage, but kept separate and I mix them together when I cook depending on the flavors I want. You can make your own mix in less than a minute each time. If you do want to make a basic mix then do 3 parts cumin seed, 2 parts sesame, one part black onion, and one part black mustard seed. If you use yellow mustard do a 1/2 part as it's much stronger.


Food identification in fajitas - yellow sauce I'm looking for the name of a yellow/ochre colored sauce, used in fajitas among other things. I've been to a tiny Mexican restaurant a couple of times and in there the guy made his fajitas with such a sauce.

Now, I know that description isn't worth much, but I was hoping somebody could help me nonetheless. I can't really ask him, since I don't know his contact information, plus his shop isn't exactly close either. The shop is pretty small and it's in West Europe, so it may or may not be 'authentic' Mexican cuisine.

This does not sound like a traditional fajita sauce. The yellow color is likely to be from achiote (annatto), which is widely used in Mexico. It has a mild peppery taste, but is used more for color than for flavor.


Why does my lemon tart filling sometimes curdle? My recipe, which is wonderful when it goes well is:

grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
142 mL double cream
6 oz castor sugar
4 large eggs

Whisk all ingredients together, then pour into pastry shell and top with a lemon and gin glaze..

The mixture sometimes curdles at the whisking stage and looks like scrambled egg, and looks as though the mixture is "cooking" in the lemon juice.
Why does this happen and what can I do about it?

RockyFord's comment has the heart of the matter, I think--the acid in lemon juice will begin to denature or curdle to the proteins in the eggs if it comes into direct, undiluted contact with them.

You can minimize this effect by beating together all of the ingredients except the lemon juice prior to mixing in the lemon juice.  This will add a lot of sugar and milkfat which will buffer the interaction between the citric acid in the lemon juice with the egg proteins.

You can then bake your tart as normal.


How close to the top should I fill a pie to avoid overflow? I'm planning a pot-pie recipe in a casserole dish and was wondering how high I should fill it without worrying about it overflowing during cooking.  A traditional vented pie crust will completely cover the contents.

I will put a baking sheet underneath to catch overflow just in case, but I'd like to have some general guidelines.

A basic bechemel or broth based pot-pie filling will not expand significantly when being baked.  It may bubble a little under the pastry from being simmered.

You would the casserole up to maybe 1/2 inch (1 cm) below the lip, and apply pastry on top of that.

Less is fine if you have less filling.


How long will Tiramisú made with raw egg keep? Tiramisú tastes better the longer is kept. But it is made with raw eggs, so there must be a limit to how long you can keep it for without risking making people ill. What would you say is the min/max time on this?

Thanks!

According to the USDA, opened eggs kept under 40 degrees F (5 C) will remain safe up to 3-4 days.  Acids and alcohols will slow bacterial growth, giving you another day or two, but bacteria are remarkably sturdy, such that I would not count on the Madeira or other liqueur to "sterilize" the food.  Also, bacteria are equally happy growing in most egg substitutes -- protein is protein -- so the same safety rules apply.  (If your egg substitute is purely starch-based, such as the one made by Ener-G, you might have an extra safety margin, but I don't know how good the tiramisu will be.)

One way to improve your chances of avoiding food poisoning from bacterial contamination is to cook (Pasteurize) your eggs.  Many versions of tiramisu use a cooked zabaglione, made by beating eggs and sugar in a double boiler, whisking in the alcohol, and stirring until the mixture thickens (at about 160-165 F; 71-74 C), then chill very rapidly.  Of course, this won't affect bacteria that get into your dessert through other means, like Aunt Marge sneezing on the cookies, but at least it will help ensure the eggs are not the source.


Are these grocery store oyster mushrooms OK to eat? I bought these at the grocery two days ago. They have been in the fridge. They are firm. The white fungus in the gills is firm too. No bad smell. Can I cook and eat?

They're likely mycelium rather than other moulds, its not uncommon for certain varieties of stored mushrooms to start producing mycelia (the root system of mushrooms generally). According to this link, mould on mushrooms is more likely to be green,black or brown

http://www.gourmetmushroomsinc.com/fresh-restaurants-faq.htm


Can buttermilk be frozen successfully? Can I freeze unused buttermilk bought at the supermarket for later use? Can it later on be thawed and used safely?

Yes, you can freeze buttermilk.

When thawed, the emulsion will break into solids and whey.   This makes no difference for baked goods; you can also use a blender to restore it to a smooth, thicker liquid if needed for applications like salad dressing.

See also:

Video from America's Test Kitchen.
The Kitchn


Stirring butter toffee mixture while cooking When making toffee (equal parts sugar and butter, half-pinch of salt, water, vanilla) is it necessary to continually stir the mixture after it comes to a boil and the sugar has completely mixed in with the butter?

If it is not necessary, is it also not recommended?  Or does it matter one way or the other?

I'm not sure it matters that much.  In melting sugar for various candies, the reason for not stirring is so that you don't inadvertently cause the sugar to recrystalize.  For toffee, that isn't a concern.  I'd stir it at least enough to ensure it won't scorch, and not worry about it otherwise.


Butter Tablet Eruption I was following a simple butter tablet recipe. After 20 minutes of stirring and boiling the condensed milk, sugar, butter and milk mixture, I removed the pot from the heat, and started to beat. This was looking good, and getting sticky, and a darker brown, when suddenly the thickening mixture started to rise. I was forced to go to the sink to handle the problem, and the now quite porous mixture poured over the edges of the pot.

This happened twice. I blamed the first failure on using an electric hand mixture for the beating phase. I'm using a copper bottom pot. What went wrong?

Note that the recipe refers to reaching a honey caramel color before beating, and the final color looks to be a bit lighter than that, so the darkening during beating does seem like a bad sign.

So it sounds like, before the eruption, you had some continued caramelization during beating. It's a bit of a guess, but possibly your pot was heavy enough to retain enough heat to keep on cooking after removing from the heat. In that case, as the beating thickened it, it might've eventually gotten to where instead of bubbling a bit, it held on to all those bubbles and foamed up.

To address that, I might try transferring to a bowl to beat in, or letting it cool a little bit before beating. I know that for maple fudge, which is a pretty similar texture, you actually do both.

I could also see weird things happening if you got the ingredients wrong somehow, and for example had more liquid than intended, so too much was still left to boil at the end. So it could be worth double-checking quantities, but given that you tried it twice and it's a simple recipe, I assume that's unlikely.


why does my meatloaf fall apart when I slice it? My recipe:

1.5 lbs of 90/10 lean ground beef
.75 c oatmeal
.75 c chopped onion
1 extra large beaten egg
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
3-4 chopped garlic cloves
.5 tsp salt
.5 tsp black pepper
I bake at 350 F until thermometer reads 170 F and let it rest in pan for 10 minutes before plating and slicing but even with a super sharp knife it falls apart.

It's the oatmeal.  I suspect it is absorbing the egg and preventing it from binding the meat together.  I suggest switching to a small amount of breadcrumbs, or day old bread torn into very small pieces if you like a little more texture.


Freezing temp of carbonated beverages I sometimes put bottles of soda in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to get them near frozen (taste SO much better that way).

If I time it just right I'll pull the bottle out and the liquid will appear completely liquid until I loosen the cap - the liquid will then spontaneously turn into slush.

Can anyone explain why that happens?

(this being my first post on the cooking stack exchange I apologize in advance if it's deemed unsuitable)

Obligatory mythbusters: Instant Frozen Beer

It's an instance of Supercooling. The liquid is chilled to below its nominal freezing point, but it doesn't transition to solid, largely because there isn't any growth catalyst for ice crystals. But agitate it, or open it, and the disruption jumpstarts crystal formation, and it freezes solid in seconds.


beef ribs thawing overnight in sink will meat be good I laid frozen beef ribs out about midnight in the sink, got up around 9 am
 and remember I laid them out. will they still be safe to grill???

The food safety guideline answer quoted is a good guideline.

In this case, you have to consider how long was the meat frozen and thawing before it gets to 40 degrees farenheit, the beginning of the temperature danger zone.

After 40, guideline says harmful bacteria will grow at an accelerated rate.

Home freezers operate below 32 F, on average at 0 F. Therefore, there is a good bit of time to come up to 40. There is then a window of time in the danger zone. You will have to judge, based on what the meat looks and feels like. Are there still ice crystals? Is the meat very cold to the touch?

If you cannot adequately judge that it is still very cold, then safety prevails. Regardless, the meat should be par cooked right away if you intend to use it. Putting it back in the fridge means the awoken bacteria get slowed down, but not stopped.


How do I remove small grounds when using a french press? When I use a french press to brew coffee, there always is some small grounds with the coffee.

I have adjust the grinder to make coarse grounds, but this does not help a lot.

Can I remove these annoying grounds without a filter?

After pressing the coffee I always let it settle a while prior to pouring.  Pour slowly, then let it settle a moment in the cup.  I leave the last of the coffee in the press to avoid most of the sludge.  Some very fine grounds will inevitably make it into the cup -- it is the nature of the beast.


Would a tagine be better for high altitude braising? I am thinking of getting a 2 quart Le Creuset Tagine for braising.  I'm at around 5000 feet, and so am stuck with a lower boiling temperature for water - 9 degrees Fahrenheit less then at sea level.

I was wondering if the "cooling tower" in the lid of the Tagine would keep the moisture from escaping by allowing it to cool instead of boiling off.  I noticed that Morocco has a great variety of altitudes, so perhaps Moroccans have invented the right tool for the job.

The Le Creuset Tagine has a cast iron, enameled base, so its not a traditional tagine.  I believe it has a stoneware lid.

I haven't had good results with braising in a dutch oven.  I have to use more liquid and cook longer then the recipe says, and the results are not good - not tender and not flavorful.

Would a tagine make braising at 5000 feet worth doing?  This is not so I can cook Moroccan dishes (though I'd love to try some of them).  This is for general purpose braising.

The benefits of using a tagine will be marginal at best. It will save some moisture loss over a dutch oven, however the cooking time will continue to be around 25% longer than conventional recipes as the tagine won't raise the temperature over your lower boiling point at all.

Your moisture loss will continue to be high due to the increased cooking time, irrespective of the tagine's shape - and especially as at 2 quarts it will be quite small, with a short 'cooling tower.'

Colorado State Uni has some information on high altitude cooking which may be useful.
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/p41.html#3k

As Ecnerwal & BrownRedHawk note, a pressure cooker is a far better option. As a rule of thumb, for every 5 degrees above 100c that you cook food, the time it takes to cook is cut roughly in half. A decent PC is able to braise at 15 PSI, which is 248f. Even at 5000ft above sea level, with a modern, non-venting PC your food will lose no moisture and braise in no time.  There is no need to try and keep the PSI lower to simulate cooking at sea level; for braising, higher is better as it will turn tough collagen into tasty gelatin much faster.

Regulating the pressure/temperature of a PC is as simple as bringing it up to full pressure on high, and then turning the gas/electric hob down low; it requires little energy to maintain as there is no loss of steam. Even if you have to adjust the temperature now and again to keep the pressure right, you're braising for a much, much shorter amount of time.

Oh yeah - and you can buy a good large PC for the cost of a 2 quart Le Creuset Tagine (about $200?)

More information on the science of pressure cookers (and a great video) can be found here:
http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/pressure-cookers

Recipes, including adjusting conventional recipes for use in a PC can be found at hip pressure cooking dot com.


Storing hard crusted bread I'm currently baking a batch of sourdough bread. My last batch turned out perfectly with a hard crust and chewy inside. My problem is how to store the bread such that the crust stays hard. If I put it in a plastic bag the crust goes soft in a matter of hours and I'm afraid that the bread will turn dry if I leave it without some kind of protection. Note that I'm not looking for a long term storage solution.

What is the best way to store my bread, such that the crust stays hard and the inside stays chewy?

I recently read somewhere (I forget where) that if you're only storing it for a day or two, standing the loaf cut-side down on a cutting board worked fine. The crust stays crisp, and the cut edge is protected and doesn't go stale.

Storing it that way much longer than a day or so probably would risk going stale.

Unfortunately, we don't get to do this much as we can't eat one fast enough to get away with unprotected storage like that. So we have to live with increasingly soft crusts in plastic bags.


Peeling roasted green chilies Last time I roasted green chilies, which consisted of charring the skin, I had a tough time peeling them.  Is there an easy way to peel roasted green chilies, or some secret I'm missing?

The standard advice is a paper bag, but I don't think it is optimal. I always put them in the smallest bowl that will hold them, and put a plate over the top of that. The idea is for the peppers to sit in their own steam for a few minutes while they cool down. The steam seems to loosen the skins.

Whatever you do, don't take the skins off under running water, which is a tip that you will see sometimes. It makes it easier, but washes away a ton of the flavor!

Consider wearing food-grade latex gloves while doing this procedure if the chiles are at all spicy. It will save you from burning hands later.


dhungar method: How can I make smoky dal tadka without charcoal? Normally one is to get a piece of charcoal red-hot, put it in a small metal cup, put some ghee on it to burn/smoke, and put it in the pot with the finished dal tadka curry.
I don't have charcoal.  And even if I bought charcoal I don't have a gas burner to heat it.  I have IH burners (electric induction heating, which can't heat charcoal).

Smoked salt for general use in kitchen to get "smoked/grilled" taste or for dal tadka smoked chilli pepper. Latter is no so strong as normal chilli (so you use more) but give nice aftertaste to spiceness.


How to store blanched tomatoes? So I like to cook food in advance so its quicker to make dishes when I come back from work. After blanching a few tomatoes, how can I store them so I can use them days after? Should i refrigerate them in a suspension of oil or water? Freeze them as is? And if I do freeze them, how should I thaw them out again?

So far I have blanched them according to this technique http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCUx9xPZFe8

I just need to find out what to do next. Any advice?

I think you are not doing yourself any favors by pre-blanching.

A whole tomato is a rather durable product. It is alive, and protects itself from bacteria - they can't penetrate the skin, and if a few of them come inside, the living cells have some limited protection. It can keep for a long time at room temperature.

A blanched tomato loses all its protection and turns into a highly perishable product. The skin is gone, the damaged cells are welcome food to all bacteria. It can't be kept without refrigeration. Which is your first problem, as the taste of tomatoes deteriorates a lot with refrigeration, some of the strongest tomato aromas undergo irreversible chemical changes when stored under a certain temperature (I think the limit was around 10 celsius). Even if you store them in the fridge, they are likely to get unpleasant after 3 days, I don't think that stretching it to 5 days is a good idea.

You can of course freeze them, which will make them more durable. But 1) you will still have the taste deterioration problem, and 2) you mentioned in a comment that you don't want them to become soft. But there is no way to prevent plant matter from becoming soft after a freeze-thaw cycle, as far as I know not even industrial flash freezing will keep it in the original state, and you can't do this at home anyway.

You can choose between tasty or convenient tomatoes, but you can't have both.


Test if whitish chocolate has bloom or is spoiled My friend (who lives in a warm, humid climate) often has issues with chocolate, due to the formation of a light-colored coating on it. I believe it is just chocolate bloom, but she thinks it's mold and should trash the chocolate. Visual inspection alone does not seem sufficiently precise to identify which of these has happened.

Is there a reliable way to test which one is the case? i.e., re-heating it, or trying to remove the coating with a knife, or some other technique which does not require using a microscope?

It is is almost impossible for chocolate to mold as it doesn't have any moisture, required for mold growth.

There are two types of bloom:

Sugar bloom -- wipe the chocolate with a wet finger, it will dissolve.

Fat bloom -- wipe the chococolate with a dry finger, it will feel waxy or greasy

Either tends to look like a chalky coating, not very thick, definitely not fuzzy (like mold).


Are the leftovers from making stock good for anything? Having made stock and strained it, can the meat and vegetables boiled up in the stock be used for anything, or should they go in the bin?

The veggies aren't very palatable after such a long simmering (unless you like celery paste, I guess), but if you've thrown a whole chicken in the resulting meat is wonderfully tender and flavorful.


Are chicken gizzards celiac safe? Wheat is frequently included in chicken feed. Partially-digested wheat, therefore, would likely be present in chickens' gizzards before butchering.

However, the chicken gizzards seen for sale in grocery stores don't appear to have any leftover feed residue in them -- apparently, any macroscopic amounts of undigested feed remaining in the gizzard are (somehow) removed during processing.

Do the human-edible parts of the gizzard come in direct contact with the bird's digestive contents? If so, would a person with celiac disease need to worry about potentially ingesting residual gluten from the chicken's feed when eating gizzards?

Chicken gizzards have a tough membrane on the inside (the only part that gets in contact with the bird's food) that holds the stones + grit + food during the grinding part of the digestion process.

That membrane is always removed before selling the gizzards, so I don't believe there will be any residue there - I never saw one sold with that membrane.


The difference between green, red and yellow bell peppers Is there any difference between green, red and yellow bell peppers, barring the color?

Normally when I buy a pack of 3 I always leave the yellow till last. It's normally due the coloring looking less appealing in the dish.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodtip&dbid=68

Same plant species, different cultivar, different maturity, different tastes, different nutritional value. To summarize from the link, green are harvested earliest and contain the least vitamins, yellows are next and contain more vitamin C and less vitamin A and beta carotene, reds are harvest last and contain the most each vitamin types. Yellow and red are both sweeter and more fruity than green.


Mushrooms, beef, long cooking and bitterness I tried two long-cooking beef dishes starring mushrooms, an ossobuco of veal and beef breast.
The directions went by basically cooking the ossobuco (after cutting the junctions) or the beef breast cubes in vegetable stock, not submerged, for some hours until tender.
Then I was supposed to add mushrooms and cook for another while. Champignon in the case of ossobuco and girolle in the case of the beef breast stew.
They did hold their shape after at least an hour more, but the resulting dish was in both cases bitter. How can this be related to the mushrooms?
I can't identify other possible causes for this. Both dishes included also a splash of wine, but in both cases, it had not turned into vinegar. The stew did contain a bit of rosemary but dry (and the ossobuco was way bitter anyway).
The cooking vessel was a steel pan for the ossobuco and a cast iron pot for the stew.

Ooooh!
I would not recommend using cast iron for slow cooking or long cooking of any kind. Especially if any sort of acidity is introduced. That bitter taste? That straight up might be the taste of the pan corroding. Cast iron is great for fast frying meats, sauteing vegetables, but it is not recommended that you make anything that has much liquid, and definitely avoid acidic foods. This is why it is always important to wash and dry your cast iron as soon as you are finished cooking in it - to avoid rusting and peeling.
Additionally.... I would try sauteeing your fresh mushrooms first in a bit of butter, over high heat. you want to sear them. Then add them to your soup :) the full umami (salty) flavor should come out nicely!


Does the choice of peppers affect the 'flavor of the heat'? Working with a variation of this chili recipe I meticulously cleaned my peppers of seeds and veins to produce a 'milder' chili. Unfortunately this batch was almost 'too mild' (heat wise, the flavor was very good). I am thinking that next time around I will leave in some of the seeds/veins to give it just a bit more 'kick'.

The question is, given the choice of Anaheim, poblano and jalapeno peppers would it matter to the flavor which pepper I allow to be the source of the heat? I know that each pepper has it's own unique flavor to offer and each is going to provide a different 'level' of heat, but will the 'heat' taste differently based on the choice of pepper?

[for anyone interested, the variation that I apply is to substitute buffalo for ground beef and fresh tomatoes for the canned, I don't believe either should affect this question.]

The heat is the same; all peppers contain capsaicin. The Scoville scale defines heat in terms of capsaicin content. Use the peppers that have the flavor you want, and make it as hot as you want, and you'll be set.

And the flavor besides heat is definitely concentrated in the flesh, so you shouldn't notice any real difference in pepper flavor either.


Is it safe to use a 2 burner reversible griddle on an electric stove? I want to use the reversible 2 burner griddle pan on an electric stove. But the rims fit flush on the stove and the elements are hitting the grill. No air can go underneath it or the heat from the burners cannot escape. So I Hav'nt used it yet as I think it might not be safe. Did anybody use their griddle on the electric stove when the rims are flush on the stove?

I would think that this setup is not causing a safety issue.  Since you are not using a gas grill, there is actually less to worry about with it being flush, as there is no burner to potentially snuff out, which would cause a gas buildup.  Also, Lodge's website states under the Use And Care tab that their reversible griddles are good for any stove type, and do not have warnings against using it in such a manner, you should be fine.

From my experience, these are perfectly safe, although you will want to make sure that you have your heating coils (if you have them) flat and flush with the burner trays, so that you achieve optimal heating and ease of use.


What the gluten look like when kneading for long time on a texture basis If developing lots of gluten make the dough harder to be rolled out, why some bread recipes calls for long kneading process, like the brioche dough and pizza dough, and then be rolled out into long size?

And another question, if I did the same dough recipe, the first one is kneaded for 2 minutes, and the other for 10 minutes and then baked, what would be the texture difference between both breads ?

Kneading gives elasticity and strength to your dough. I'm not 100% sure about pizza dough, but a brioche dough requires quite a lot of kneading, to allow for the air created by the yeast during proofing to stretch it. If it's not kneaded, it wont be able to stretch enough, and will be rather flat and dense when baked.

Most doughs are usually rested at cold temperature, and rolled out later. And in the case of brioche, you actually knead it some more while rolling it.


Omelette stuck to pot on low fire with extra virgin olive oil I've tried to cook an egg with some oil underneath on low fire, trying to make an omelette, but the egg still got stuck and when I turned it over a plate it collapsed apart. It was just some egg and hard cheese bits. Anyone know what went wrong?

Maybe it's because the small pot was not nonstick. I thought it would turn out ok anyways.

Thanks.

I would recommend using a pan for an omelette not a pot, as it makes it easier to get a spatula under the omelette. Also, if you are not using a nonstick surface, use a little more oil (or preferably butter) and get the oil hot in the pan before putting in the eggs (medium high heat).


Prevent cocoa from settling I want to make a lightly sweetened, very dark chocolate sauce. I've been trying to make this with water or milk and cocoa powder and a small amount of sugar. It has the taste I want, but the problem I'm having is that the cocoa settles to the bottom of whatever it's stored in and is a pain to mix every time it's used.

I've thought about making a syrup, however that requires a lot of sugar. I've thought about adding a gum, but that seems to change the taste.

Any ideas? I'm also open to better dark recipes, such as @rumtscho suggested (using chocolate instead of cocoa powder).

You are fighting a losing battle here. Cocoa powder does not dissolve in water, and it will simply sediment over time. If you are unwilling to do something about viscosity (and I understand that - gums do change flavor), you can only slow the process by using methods which are increasingly difficult to apply at home (basically, creating smaller cocoa powder pieces).

If you are not already doing so, boiling the sauce first will help somewhat. This is the same line of thinking as adding some starch (cornstarch or tapioca were mentioned, doesn't matter which). Cocoa powder itself is mostly starch, so once it is cooked, it will be more puddinglike and will bind water better.

My preferred solution though would be to abandon the recipe and start working with chocolate instead. Chocolate is a sol, consisting of solid particles suspended in fat. Much like an emulsion, only both phases are solid. When you mix it with the fatty emulsion of milk, you achieve a much smoother mixture than the cocoa powder + water combination. It won't guarantee perfect dispersion, but should be better. Unlike the previous suggestion, do not boil or you will lose the advantages of the existing sol/emulsion.


How to find a good sweet potato fry cutter? I am looking to make my own sweet potato fries, however sweet potatoes are harder to cut than regular potatoes.

Even more expensive cutters such as the Nemco N554503 fry cutter are not recommended for cutting sweet potatoes.

Does anyone know what makes a cutter suitable for sweet potato fries?

I have the Progressive International Jumbo Potato Cutter and it works well for sweet potato fries. The product spec for them lists "Yams" which are sometimes what sweet potatoes are called in the U.S. (technically, yes, yams are different but real yams are not often available in the U.S.). The LEM Products Commercial French Fry Cutter specifically lists sweet potatoes:

  Makes French fries, sweet potato fries, zucchini sticks and other
  favorites


How to keep savory biscotti crunchy? I've made several batches of this recipe for savory biscotti. They are a pleasant crunchy texture after baking and cooling. The next day, after being stored in an airtight container, they are no longer crunchy! They are made with eggs, whole milk, and butter, and I'm wondering if the fat in those ingredients is why they lose their crunchiness. I like the richness that the fat provides. Any recommendations on how to keep them crunchy?

I'll bet the rent that they weren't baked completely dry. Moisture made it to the crust overnight as happens with crunchy bread crust going leathery.


How to economically make home-made sushi? How does one go about purchasing sushi-grade fish without breaking the bank? I know that sushi chefs & restaurants usually buy in bulk. Is there any way to do this individually in a way that is at all economically feasible?

Sushi does not require fish, sushi is the style of rice preparation (rice, salt, a little rice vinegar, occasionally some kombu). So long as you have the correct preparation of rice, you technically have some form of sushi (you could just throw it in a bowl with some additions on top and have a type of sushi called chirashizushi).

Second, there is no such thing as sushi grade fish - sushi grade literally means the fish has been frozen for over 24 hours to kill any parasites present. Otherwise, just about any clean fish can be used (as always, fresher is better).

As for sushi making, you can use any number of ingredients to make it, you don't specifically need fish. In fact, if you are trying to throw a sushi party or are just hungry for some rolls, this may be a better way to go since you can use what is on hand. Here are some ideas:

Canned eel
a fried egg
a filet of salmon (again, freeze it for 24 hours and then thaw)
Carrot
sweet potato
cucumber
avocado
imitation crab or crab
shrimp
tilapia
lox
cream cheese
squid

When you make it yourself you open up to lots of possibilities and chances to experiment. Since you are looking to do this on an individual level, play around a bit. If you have your heart set on using fish, talk to a good seafood counter and get small portions of fish. If it is 100% fresh, kill clean and store for 24-36 hours in a freezer, then thaw and use. Don't buy in to "sushi grade" fish because it is pure marketing.


Garlic and oil emulsion A few days back I was making garlic bread. I had pressed garlic into olive oil, added a little salt, and forgot about it for a good half hour or so. When I came back to it, I stirred it up a bit, and it seemed to thicken slightly. Intrigued, I whisked some more and it ended up extremely thick, with self-sustaining peaks.

Tonight I tried to recreate this phenomenon, and it really didn't do anything to speak of. After whisking hard for about 45 minutes, I still basically had a bunch of pressed garlic sitting in a pool of olive oil.

What did I do wrong the second time, and what did I do right the first time?

Congratulations, you accidentally made allioli, a Catalan emulsified sauce requiring only garlic and olive oil to thicken and emulsify.  Unfortunately, it's harder to make and less stable than the other aiolis (garlic mayonnaises), which include egg yolks as emulsifiers.  This is probably why you are having difficulty replicating it.

To make it more consistently:

Smash the garlic up into a fine paste before adding oil
Add oil slowly, starting with a drop at a time, and mixing rapidly until incorporated (traditionally this is done with a mortar and pestle, but it is easier with a mini-whisk).
Optionally, cheat and add an egg yolk (beaten) for every clove or two of garlic (it is no longer a true allioli though).


What does the egg white do in peppermint creams? Some recipes I have seen say to use egg white and water instead of lemon juice and water in peppermint creams.

Why is this? What does egg white do that water doesn't?

Well, the sugar and lemon can act as stabilizers to the egg whites. It would help stiffen up the cream and allow it to be more spreadable. So to answer your question, the egg white is actually what's making the creamy texture, with the help of some other things. You could also substitute cream of tartar which is the acidic bi-product from wine making instead of the lemon.


How do you use the gizmo for Café Sua Da? Vietnamese Iced Coffee or Café Sua Da is usually served with the little brew pot dripping coffee into a glass with sweetened condensed milk at the bottom. You then stir and add ice and enjoy.

But what's the little screen with the screw for? Usually in restaurants I find it just sitting loose. Is it supposed to be screwed-on or loose? Is it supposed to constrain the expansion of the grounds or just help form the initial packed puck shape? Is the lid important?

Bonus questions: How important is it to have chicory in the coffee? What's a good proportion?

Here's a website that goes into it and includes this picture of the gizmo to which you refer:

  This little single serving device is meant to fit over a cup, hold about two tablespoons worth of coffee, and the required amount of water for brewing. There is a screen on the bottom, and a plunger with another screen on it that screws down on top of the coffee to smush it between the two filters. The tightness of this top filter controls the strength of the coffee. The tighter it is, the slower water flows, and the stronger the brew.

EDIT: Regarding the "bonus question": I'm not aware of chicory as an ingredient in Vietnamese/Thai iced coffee, I'm only familiar with it as a traditional New Orleans addition, having migrated from France. It became a popular substitution during the French Revolution when coffee became prohibitively expensive. Certainly the website I linked to uses it, so it may be traditional for some. Certainly the French significantly influenced Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. I dug up a recipe for New Orleans chicory coffee:

"Ingredients
1 lb. coarsely ground coffee,
1 1/2 oz. roasted and chopped chicory,
2 1/2 quarts water,
3 oz. simple syrup,

Tools
Large stockpot,
Wooden spoon,
Fine-mesh sieve,
Large Mason jar,

Combine the ground coffee, chicory and water in a stockpot. Stir with a wooden spoon, cover and let steep at room temperature for 8-12 hours.

Carefully break the crust of the coffee grounds with a spoon and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into the Mason jar. Add simple syrup to concentrate and stir to combine.

Serve over ice and add milk to taste—most people opt for about a 50/50 ratio of milk to chicory-coffee concentrate.

Keep refrigerated and use within 1-2 days. Yields 4-5 cups of concentrate.


My yeast doesn't bubble but kinda works? I only have regular access to 2 yeast products here - active dry yeast from company #1 and active dry yeast from company #2.

I'm proofing them by mixing 6g of yeast + 1tsp of sugar + 325ml of room temperature water but unlike I've seen in youtube videos, neither of them makes any bubbles after 10 mins of waiting.. the surface of the liquid is completely still.

They still seem to rise the dough though, my pizza dough balls grow around 4x their size after a few hours at room temperature or a day in the fridge.

So is my yeast dead or alive? Maybe its just shy?

I whisk together active dry yeast with water at 105 to 115 degrees F (40.5 to 45 degrees C), not room temperature water

If the kneaded dough rises properly (as expected) I believe nothing is wrong and no action is required
Your yeast is alive and fine!


Are any retail vacuum-sealing systems worth the expense? Living alone means that my leftovers tend to go a pretty long way, and I don't end up using raw ingredients as quickly as the supermarkets expect me to.

For a while I've been considering investing in a vacuum-sealing system to avoid having to throw out so much food, for the sake of both finances and convenience.  Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who owns one, so it's hard to get good advice.  Most of the advice I got was "read some reviews."

Well, I read the reviews, and did the best I could to exclude the obvious PR blitzes from my sample, and it turned out that the reviews weren't very good.  For any of the products that I see sold in stores.

I'm not really looking for advice on how to choose a vacuum-sealer.  I already have a pretty good idea what criteria I should be looking for.  The problem is that I can't find any products that meet it, and I suspect that like so many food-related products, the really good ones may not be advertised or even very easy to find.

So to clarify what I mean by "worth the expense" - I'm looking for something that:

Actually makes a proper seal at least 4 out of 5 times (it's amazing how many products on the market seem to fail this one).
Will last at least 2 years; the break-even point for costs seems to be about 1 year, and many if not most products have been reported as breaking down after 3-6 months.
Will not instantly die if there's even a drop of liquid in the bag.
Does not take up significantly more space than, say, one of the wide George Foreman grills (a little bit bigger is OK).
Does not waste a significant amount of sealing material if it fails to form a seal.
Preferably, can also be used with some kind of reusable container or canister.  This is one of the things I liked about the new Food Saver products in spite of their many reported shortcomings.
Costs under $500 (US).  That's not a hard upper limit if it's going to last 5 or 10 years, but if I have to spend $1000 on something that'll only last 2-3 years, then the economics of it break down.

I suspect that there are at least a few, and possibly many, "professional" models used by the food industry that at least meet criteria 1-6.  Some of these companies may even sell retail-ish models to the general public but probably don't actively market them as such (how many home cooks/bakers have heard of Hobart?).  That would especially be the kind of thing I'm looking for.

But, failing that, if anybody's had an exceptionally good experience with a more mainstream product (i.e. has owned one for at least a few years and/or worked with it in a professional capacity), I'd like to hear about that too.

And, if somebody out there has tried hundreds of these things, had nothing but awful experiences and wants to give a definitive "no" as an answer to this question - please do (and please elaborate).

This is the cheapest chamber vacuum sealer that I've come across: VacMaster VP112. At $669, it's half the price of most other chamber sealers. Chamber models are far more "professional" than the stuff marketed to the home, and my understanding is that they are far more reliable.

The difference between a chamber model and a home model is that you place your food in a bag in a chamber. The entire chamber is used to create a vacuum, meaning that liquid won't leave the bag. A home sealer will also not go below atmospheric pressure while a chamber unit can get a much higher vacuum allowing for vacuum marination, compression or fruits, and better flavor penetration during sous vide, which may or may not hold any interest for you.

In terms of your specific questions:

My understanding is that these consistently make a good seal.
I can't speak to longevity, but these are the kind of units that restaurants use for sous vide prep, so I assume they take a beating in those environments.
Because it's in a vacuum chamber, liquid is no problem, and you can actually vacuum seal just liquid.
Major Fail. These things are big and heavy. The one I mentioned is 24" x 16" x 9" and weighs 53 lbs.
Shouldn't fail to seal. Not sure about waste if it does.
Cannot be used with a container, but why would you need to rather than using a bag?
Minor Fail. The model I listed is a little over your price range. Most other models of this type will be between $1,250 and $7,000.

The other consideration is chamber size. You obviously can't vacuum pack anything that's larger than the vacuum chamber. The one is listed has a chamber size of 12" x 11" x 5".


Is it ok to store open cans in the fridge? I'd been taught growing up that you should never store canned food in the fridge in the open can. Is there any scientific basis to this, or is it just an old wives tale?

What types of foods should not be stored in their can once open? Would olives, for example, be harmed from this sort of storage? Or only more acidic foods like tomato paste or pineapple be affected?

Short answer: storing food in an open can is normally safe for a short period, but inadvisable.

Longer answer:
There are three main issues with storing foods in an open can.  They are metal oxidation, contamination, and funk.

Oxidation.  As commenters have observed, cans used to be made of tin, which is toxic.  Modern cans are made from either steel or aluminum.  If the contents of the can are acidic, cans are lined with a polymer (plastic) inner layer.  If that layer is broken -- say, by a major dent in the can or by using a knife to scrape out contents -- then the acid can get to the metal and, over time, corrode it, and some of the now-oxidized metal will dissolve into the food.  As far as we know, the oxidized metal is not toxic, but it tastes horrible.
Contamination.  Any open container of food can become contaminated when an airborne water droplet (tiny -- microns wide) containing a nasty microbe drips or settles into it.  The major biological culprit here is Listeria, which can grow in any moist environment, including spaces refrigerated below 40F (5C).  Also, if juices from your raw meat drips onto an upper shelf, which later gets wiped inadvertently into your container of ready-to-eat food, you are likely to get Salmonella or E coli.  This risk can be mitigated if you keep your raw meats on the lowest shelf, but not eliminated.  Also, it is worth noting that contamination through this pathway is a relatively rare event -- but even so, it is not worth the risk.
Funk.  Have you ever put an ice cube in your beverage and notice your beverage tastes strange?  The chemical compounds that give food their flavor tend to be volatile (meaning they will readily leave the food into the surrounding air).  Also, the mustiness of a refrigerator/freezer is due to volatile compounds produced by mold and mildew.  Foods that are wet and/or fatty can be molecular velcro to these compounds.


Forgot sugar in sugar cookies I believe that I forgot to add the sugar in my sugar cookie dough, but I'm not completely sure. If I did forget, how will the cookies turn out once baked?  Will they be edible?

Sugar cookies without the sugar will be somewhat akin to hardtack crackers:  they will not be sweet at all, and without the moisture retaining and softening affect of the sugar, they will be much harder.

They will certainly be edible, but probably quite nasty.

If you are not averse to risk from the raw eggs, taste your dough.  It should be apparent whether there is sugar in it or not.

If you omitted it, you can try to mix some in now, but this will also continue to work the flour, creating more gluten, and thus giving you a tougher final cookie; therefore, you may choose simply to discard the batch and start again.


Why did my bacon smell and taste like beef? I made a bacon sandwich earlier and while cooking the bacon I noticed a pungent scent identical to the scent of beef crisps, I then ate my sandwich which tasted like a mix of beef and smokey bacon crisps.

I don't know what beef crisps smell like, but if it's a pungent smell, maybe that's not good. I will tell you that the flavor of the meat comes mostly from the fat, so if you're cooking in beef fat, even if it's pork, it will taste of beef, and vice-versa.


When whipping cream, does its state continually cycle through various states? Is there a dead end at whipped butter? Or does something else happen? I was attempting to make butter by whipping heavy cream in my Kitchenaid stand mixer. I noticed that cream was getting grainy (as the fat was globbing into butter) but then let it whip a little longer. The butter and buttermilk then recombined into what I'm guessing is whipped butter? I decided to stop there, salt it, and use it as whipped butter.

I'm now wondering what would happen if I continued to whip the whipped butter. What would happen?

When cream is whipped (with the assumption that the cream mixture avoids getting warm)…

it first becomes whipped cream.
then separates into butter and buttermilk.
then recombines into whipped butter?
then what?

When whipping cream, does its state continually cycle through various states? Is there a dead end at whipped butter? Or does something else happen?

Serious Eats has a great article Cream Science: On Whipping, Butter, and Beyond but it doesn't seem to go "beyond" butter.

All the article and videos I have found stop at butter and do not whip further.

Please provide answer with links to any other articles, videos, sources to support your answer.

From the article you linked to, on making butter:

  ... what you're ultimately doing is smashing those little globules of fat into each other, damaging their walls and causing the hydrophobic (water-fearing) regions to clump together. The cream will become thicker and thicker as more and more fatty triglycerides gather into one mass. Eventually, enough fat is exposed and there's room for everyone to get together, eliminating the need for triglycerides to partner up with air.

This is not a reversible process. The fat globules are broken and the fat's released. You can whip the fat up to make whipped butter, you can make emulsified sauces out of it like you can out of butter, but you can't turn it back into cream, just as you can't make cream out of butter and milk.

In order to actually produce butter, you have to drain away the liquid, and possibly knead it to bring together fat crystals from the free fat and firm it up. (For more detail on the structure of butter, see this answer about melting and resolidifying butter.) You haven't done this in your process, so you have very soft butter (no large fat crystals) and buttermilk.

If you whip it with the liquid still in it, you may be able to produce very soft whipped butter, and you may be able to get a decent amount of liquid whipped into it, but they won't be bound together and they'll be very prone to separation. Normal whipped butter is just whipped butter, not whipped butter and buttermilk; whipping doesn't really make butter able to mix well with liquid.

The only other thing increased whipping is going to accomplish is breaking down the cream even further, releasing fat from the fat globules that escaped the initial whipping. That'll mean your buttermilk gets even more watery (less fat globules left in it). And your butter will be more free fat and less fat globules. Both of those are soft, so the butter will still be very soft. I suppose if you then drained it and kneaded it, you might be able produce an even harder butter than normal, since there's more fat available to form larger crystals from, and less globules to soften it. But that won't happen from the whipping you're asking about.


Marinating in a bag vs pan Does it make a difference if you marinate a steak in a plastic Ziploc bag or just a covered pan?

The main difference you'll notice is that if you use a pan you will need a lot more marinade liquid to submerge the food.

Using a different amount of marinade could have slightly different results, particularly in regard to the absorption of salt. Meat will only absorb salt until the salinity inside and outside of the meat reach equilibrium. Using less marinade would mean this happens sooner. However, that really only matters in brines rather than marinades because 1) it takes a long time and you probably shouldn't marinate for that long, and 2) your marinade recipe likely doesn't have enough salt for it to matter in a way you'd notice either way.


Is my Citrus Sugar still good? So I made citrus sugar about a month ago... and in the process of deciding how to give it away I realized that I have been storing it wrong. During the last month it has been stored in a dark area in my house that is kept around or below 21 degrees celsius. Based on the previous question I learned that I should keep this in the fridge. If I transfer my Citrus Sugar to the fridge will it still be good? I only ask this because this question mentions that sugar used to be used for preservation and my Citrus Sugar is mostly sugar and is kept in a sealed jar.

I've never made Citrus Sugar, but I certainly have made vanilla sugar.  Crystaline sugar soaks up the moisture, so if bacteria or mold were to invade the pot, it would be dehydrated quickly and wouldn't survive, let alone thrive.  They need a good bit of moisture to reproduce.  I've never had a problem with my vanilla sugar and it doesn't take long for the vanilla beans to turn into little vanilla toothpicks.


Should I throw away sesames with moths? I found pantry moths in my sesames, and their webs between the sesames on the top part. Should I throw them out? Are they still edible or useful in other ways? Thanks.

You should throw it out, and inspect everything else in your pantry to see if there is any sign of moths, including the cocoons and webbing, and throw that out too.

As an alternative to throwing things away, you can remove whatever it takes to make you feel okay eating the food, then freeze it for a week to kill everything that you missed.

As far as I know, they're not toxic or anything (confirmed for example by this article), so you could eat things they've gotten into, especially if cooked, but you really just don't want to keep it around.

That container looks like it might be pretty airtight, but moths can be really annoying. If you leave it open and one gets out, you can end up with moths in everything they find remotely in your pantry, and have to throw it all out. They can sneak through tiny holes like box corners and loose-fitting lids, and chew through bags. They will get everywhere.


Substituting canned pumpkin for fresh pumpkin? This question is essentially the reverse of this older one. Can I safely substitute canned pumpkin for fresh pumpkin in a pumpkin soup recipe? If so, should I expect any side effects in taste or consistency, and, if so, are there any corrections I should make to offset this?

As André Soltner is basing his recipe from recollections of growing up in Alsace, it may be that it was not the garden pumpkin, as it's known and which resembles the large US variety most familiar as decoration.

Several of the many grown in the Alsation region might be better suited to soups and other recipes.

The Hokkaido, similar to Hubbard, has a very hard outer skin, and very dark orange flesh (image courtesy of Wikipedia).

The Muskat-kürbis has bright orange flesh, and is used as a vegetable and for soups, in desserts, as well as being made into jam (image from Kostenlose).

As canned pumpkin is denser, it may give you the result you're looking for in the NYTimes recipe.


Safe to freeze boiled/ blanched pork bones/ meat for future use to cook soup? This is relating to Asian/ Chinese style soup/ broth cooking.

I am a very busy person and do not have time to cook. I cook in a small kitchen with the basic crockeries. I usually do my groeceries during the weekend to prepare for dinner during the working days.

One of my favourite dishes are soups boiled with pork or beef and I usually boil or blanch the meat and bones with ginger/ green onion and some cooking wine before hand to get rid of any blood, gunks and pork odour/ taint before adding clean water for a clearer, cleaner and tastier broth. However, this is a very tedious process for me as I spend to much time prepping and having to slow boil the soup.

In order to save time, I was thinking of boiling/ blanching my bones and meat in one go and freezing them in portions so that i can throw them in separately the next time I cook my soup. This way I skip the hassle of defrosting, cleaning and blanching.

Does anybody do that here? Is it safe if I do that? I'm not too well versed in food safety and would love to know what you guys think. Thanks!

This is perfectly safe as long as the raw meat remains refrigerated until use, is boiled or blanched, chilled quickly, and then frozen.


Is there a web site indexing cooking competitions, or an effective aggregator? Most sites that list cooking competitions are unfortunately holed up in one groups' pages and not easily searched.

I am looking for a site that indexes cooking competitions across various formats (i.e. chili, bbq, chowder, whatever), can provide event information, filter geographically and by event type.

A great site would index the events themselves as its sole function, but might also provide guidance/community elements.

What sites are currently out there that fit this bill?

The site that has the best information I've found in regards to competitive cooking is Contest Cook.  They don't quite meet all your criteria in terms of searchability, but they do some levels of sorting and provide a wealth of information on the contests they list (which are quite numerous).


Tips on making a sauce out of beef trimmings. I have trimmings from a Beef tenderloin and would rather not throw them away. I already have a demi being made and will be making a sauce with cremini, onion, garlic and red wine.

Tips on handling the trimmings?

Assuming these are meat (not fat, connective tissue etc.), I'd
mince them to approximate a butcher's coarse grind, sear them briefly in recovered fat or a neutral-tasting oil (for a chewy texture in small bits) and add them to the demi-glaze.  (If you have a food processor, pulsing them briefly will work; though that's more cleanup.)

Serving suggestion: serve over oven roasted potatoes (or other root veggies, such as parsnips or even beets.)


Homemade Corn Tortillas: How to get the back side cooked the same as the face? When making Corn tortillas at home, the first side that cooks against the comal turns out perfect, with slight blistering and an even cooking of this side, the face. Usually takes about 90 seconds until I flip, at high/medium heat.

Once flipped, the other side never seems to turn out the same. The top side will often bubble from the steam inside, but this bottom side will often cook un-evenly and in general, not have the same properties as the first side. Curious if there is a trick to this, either heat difference for the second side or longer time or flip more times than once?

Flipping twice works pretty well. Cook on the first side until that side is mostly cooked but definitely not finished (the top side should still be damp and uncooked), then flip it and cook until done on the other side, then flip one more time to finish the first side. This will likely decrease the total cooking time slightly, so expect more like 15-20 seconds on each side between flips.

If you still have trouble, you might not have the heat high enough; at a lower temperature, you're likely to cook the tortilla through and dry it out too much before you flip it, which means the other side won't rest smoothly against the pan, which definitely causes the uneven cooking you're describing. But 15-20 seconds sounds about right to me, so I'm guessing you'll be fine. (Flipping only once causes problems in the same way.)

If you really want it perfect, you could try flipping even more times, but twice has always worked pretty well for me.


Is it safe to boil water in a microwave? Our electric kettle broke. So this morning I used the microwave to boil water for the first cup of coffee.

Only thing is - the water in south Africa is not really the best of quality when you get it from the tap. I presume using a kettle kills of some of the bacteria that is still in the water.

So my question is:

Is it safe to boil water in the microwave and then consuming it in coffee? What other complication might boiling water in the microwave bring other than from a bacterial point of view?

There is one very different issue to be kept in mind - water in a microwave can overheat and "explode" once it is disturbed.

Another poster had exactly this problem a short while ago: Water exploded in Microwave

So follow the usual precautions, e.g. putting a  wooden toothpick or a small, very clean stone (chemists have them in their labs) in your vessel. In a pinch, a spoon will do, but not all microwaves handle metal objects well.

If you are worried that heating your water in a microwave might not be sufficient to kill all "nasties", remember that killing bacteria is a function of time and temperature, so you might feel safer if you not only bring your water to a boil, but continue boiling it for another minute or so. I would assume that this is mostly for your psychological benefit, but it certainly won't hurt. The temperature reached is identical for different heating devices as physics dictates the boiling point of water and it can't exceed that as long as it's liquid.


Chicken carne asada marinade I'm trying to cook carne asada chicken (hope that doesnt sound too strange). I'm trying to make the perfect marinade for it. Here's what I've tried so far:

3 tblspoons orange juice
1 tblspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tblspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin

After marinating the chicken for ~3-4 hours, it still does not taste.... carne asada-esque enough. Any tips?

This seems like a tasty recipe for chicken, but it doesn't strike me as a carne asada (would that be pollo asada?) type of flavor.

For the marinade itself, you might try adding any or all: fresh garlic; cilantro or coriander (same plant, former is leaves; latter is seeds – will have different results in flavor impact, see which or both you like best); chipotle peppers; paprika; oregano.

I also like to use more than one citrus in mine, usually either lemon and lime, or lemon, lime and orange juices. Always fresh-squeezed; if they just aren't available now where you live it's worth waiting until they are.

Some oil added to the marinade would help the marinating process and deepen the flavor. For beef, I'd use peanut oil; for chicken, maybe grape seed or avocado. You could go with EVOO if you're attached to it, but it seems the strong flavors of whatever-meat asada would drown out the subtle notes of a good EVOO.

To punch up the umami you could add some dried porcini mushrooms just before you throw the already marinated chicken into the pan. Either very finely ground and lightly sprinkled over the meat, or reconstituting the mushrooms and using the reduced liquid in the marinade.

Personally, I would prefer grinding the dried ones into a fine powder. This also gives you an opportunity to layer in more flavor by adding any or all to the mushroom pieces in the grinder: garlic crystals, peppercorns, dried chipotle peppers, coriander seeds, smoked paprika, dried ginger.

If at all practical where you live, it will always taste best charcoal-grilled, even worth huddling in the freezing cold of winter to tend the barbecue.

And one last note, you can never go wrong using fresh, whole seed forms of your spices, lightly toasting, then grinding them just before use. They keep a lot longer than the powdered versions too, so it's a worthy investment even on a tight budget if you're able to pick up a new one or two here and there.


English mustard vs. "german" mustard I am from Germany and I want to cook a recipe that has "English mustard" in it. I don't really know the difference between different kinds of mustard.
For example, the mustard I mostly use here in Germany is this one:
https://www.bautzner.de/de/Produkte/Senfklassiker/Senf-mittelscharf
It's just called mustard. Is english mustard something different? Is the one I know more of a yellow/ american mustard or something  else entirely?

The German „Mittelscharfer Senf“ ist pretty wimpy compared to the average English mustard that looks deceptively similar.
You need something that packs more punch, if you can’t get proper English mustard (the Coleman’s in the other answer is occasionally available in German stores), a Dijon mustard (Maille is a commonly seen brand) will do, or a „Scharfer Senf“ (strong/sharp mustard) of a German brand.


Can frozen (fresh) flower petals be used in baking the same as unfrozen fresh petals? I had seen a recipe that calls for fresh flower petals - a dark bread recipe with honey and bright flower petals through it, specifically.  I know it wanted fresh petals for the color (dried so often dulls the colors), flexibility, and perhaps for the scent all of which drying often changes in herbs.

Would freezing work, do you think, for storing petals for this recipe without too much change?  They are going to be baked into the bread, so the petals don't have to be garnish-perfect, so a little limp or slightly dull would be fine.

But if it will affect the color a lot, or change the texture in dramatic ways - more than drying and reconstituting them would - then it's not useful for this kind of recipe.

Does anyone have experience with flower petals, or even freezing fresh herbs for use in baking since the fragility would be similar?

If you're baking them I think there is a strong chance the color will change no matter what. But you might consider sugaring them first.
To do that separate an egg or two and whip the whites to frothy. Paint the petals with the whipped egg whites and coat with superfine sugar. The trick here is to reduce the water in the flowers as well as the water activity in the eggwhites. What I used to do was set the sugared flowers on a cooling rack. When done with all of them I'd dump them into a locking plastic rectangular container. Basically an upside down Tupperware cake container. It had about 1/2 inch of sugar in the bottom and the flowers on top. I put them in the fridge. I knew others that left them out still others just put the sugared flowers on cookie sheet and left them in warm but off oven overnight. I'm not sure it really matters.


how long to leave the sliced onion mixed with salt/pepper for onion Bhaji/onion fritters/onion pakoras? How long should we leave the sliced onion mixed with salt and red chillies/green chillies, for them to be used for onion fritters/onion bhaji/onion Pakoras with gram flour?
Suggested time is usually 15-20min.

What if it is increased or decreased? How does it affect the taste of the pakora?
Accordingly, what should be the quantity of rice flour to add to the crispiness of pakora?

There are more than one methods and answers to above question. As per the Mumbai Special Ghati Bhajiya, Sliced Onions must be mixed with Salt for at least 15 Minutes & Maximum for 1/2 Hour. The water content must than be drained keeping only dry salted onions. Then Gram flour & other Spices should be added to Onions, just to bind, so Bhajiyas or Pakoras can be made.
Taste of Onion in Bhajiyas or Pakoras turns slightly mild, yet crispy, because due to low water content onion cook fast without turning dark!

Rice Flour, it can also be added or can be a substitute of gram flour for crispy Bhajiyas. Rice flour should be coarse and not fine.
For Crispness Ratio of Rice Flour to Gram Flour should be 1:1 or Rice Flour should totally substitute Gram Flour.


How do I clean the bottom of a porcelain pan? How do I clean the brown (grease? burn?) stains from the bottom of a porcelain baking dish?

Soaking in soapy water doesn't seem to help.

You can't, mostly if it is unglazed/porous

(most) Porcelain dishes have porous bottoms, anything that touches it will be sucked in the small pores, and if baked in, will be more difficult to remove.

If the glazed part of the dish is clean, I would not think much about the bottom.

Some people will see it as a good sign that you are using it.

On the other hand, you could try using products like Bar Keepers and a plastic scouring pad to clean it.

Anecdotal, I keep the glazed part as clean as possible, and don't really care about the unglazed bottom.


Avoid ice crystals in frappuccino Starbucks' frappuccino has a fairly smooth consistency and mouth-feel.  When I attempt to make something similar with my stick blender, I tend to end up with a layer of ice crystals floating on the top of the drink, which spoils the texture.

I've found that adding a banana seems to prevent this from happening.  Is there some chemical reason for this?  Does the Starbucks frappuccino mix have some additive for this purpose?

There are two main factors here:

As captured in comments, a handheld stick blender just isn't powerful enough.  It has nowhere near the same power as the sort of larger commercial blender used by big chains like Starbucks.  Not only that, but it can't create the same sort of turbulence as an enclosed blender, because you're immersing it into an open container - if it did, everything would just slop over the sides.  Makes a sad frappuccino.  That turbulence and power makes for very, very fine ice crystals which stay suspended in the mix.
There are indeed additives.  Starbucks' commercial syrup bases include a number of emulsifiers (notably xanthan gum and potassium sorbate: see this similar answer) which thicken the mixture and keep everything nicely integrated for a smooth texture.  A banana also contributes thickening power and its own natural emulsifiers.  If you want the same effect without the banana flavor, you could try adding egg (bananas can actually serve as an egg substitute, and eggs and are frequently used as an emulsifier in other drinks) or your own xanthan gum, etc.  Such emulsifiers aren't common at groceries but can be easily found from modernist cooking suppliers.  I believe there are quite a few resources and related questions on this very site.

If you have access to a full-fledged blender, and have just been using the handheld model for convenience, then that's the easiest swap to make.  Otherwise, aim for emulsifiers - they'll probably be a substantial improvement even without an equipment change, although you'll likely have to blend for longer than you have been otherwise.


How to reheat a Croquette without it getting soggy Yesterday, I had to prepare some croquettes and transport them. I thought there would be no problem to reheat them in a toaster oven. However, the croquettes turned out soggy. The flavor was alright, but the texture was off.

I thought that would happen in the microwave, not in a toaster.

Any suggestions on how to reheat a fried food item?

Cheers.

Edit: Such a lot of questions, and good ones. I guess the problem really was that the toaster was closed so moist couldn't escape.

As this basically got answered through questions in the comments, I'll collect up all of the various problems that might help prevent the sogginess:

After frying, allow the croquettes to cool on a wire rack, so they don't get moist as they give off steam.
Reheat first at a lower temperature to heat through, then turn it up the temperature to regain the crunch & get any extra browning.
Make sure when reheating that they aren't packed too tightly, and if possible, heat on a wire rack rather than a pan.
If reheating in a small but tightly-sealing oven, try cracking the door slightly so as to prevent humidity buildup.

(anyone who has any other suggestions, feel free to add 'em)


Does olive oil and balsamic vinegar together need to be refrigerated? Do I need to store a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in the refrigerator?

I don't think so unless it's not pure mixture of oil and vinegar as I think both of them can be stored un-frigerated independently.


Why are my potatoes sour? I've noticed that when we roast potatoes in the oven, they will often have a very sharp tangy aftertaste to me, and often that taste will linger in the back of my mouth for a while after I've finished eating. The weird part is that my husband can't taste this at all, so it may just be something that my palate is particularly sensitive too.

Within one batch I'll get the flavor from some potatoes but not others, and I've noticed it even when just baking the potato with no oil or seasoning, so it seems to be coming from the potato itself. Most recently when eating a whole baked potato, it seemed like this flavor was coming most from the skin, and not from the starchy center.

What could be causing this sourness? Is it an indication of something harmful (going bad, chemicals)? Is there a good way to prevent or mask this flavor in the future?

Remember that the potato is a member of the nightshade plant and you can use a potato as a battery. Better even if cooked. What you are tasting is basically the solanine (which often has a battery taste...I believe there is a correlation there somewhere but it could help people remember not to eat bitter potatoes). I've tasted it too but not everyone has the same taste buds as we do.

Also, the battery (essentially the life of a plant) that I'm referring to starts when the sun comes into through the leaves (Solanum tu-berosum) and producing the starch, "which is transferred through the plant to its underground stems, known as stolons. Starch collects at the end of the stolons, forming swollen sections called tubers. These are the potatoes." Just like any living plant, the tuber stores energy for the plant. "The complex process of turning sunlight into food energy is called photosynthesis. ... The potato plant can live for six months without the energy of the sun, because it survives on its stored chemical energy in the form of starch in tubes, or small sacks called tubers."...(http://www.simpsonstreetfreepress.org/science/plants-and-photosynthesis)

When your potatoes sprout during storage, they’re using available light and stored starch". During harvest and storage, "When exposed to light, potatoes manufacture increasing amounts of chlorophyll as well as two bitter-tasting alkaloid compounds, solanine and chaconine" especially prolonged exposure to light with improper handling and storage. "In high concentrations, these can not only make potatoes taste bitter but also can cause headaches and stomachaches" (among other things). "A 4-ounce (114 gram) potato naturally contains 5 to 6 milligrams of solanine and chaconine, which is considered harmless. But when a potato looks green from an increase in chlorophyll, it indicates that it will also have higher levels of these alkaloids-  as much as 20 times in potatoes that have turned completely green." I have read here that you can "deeply cut away any green parts" (...https://www.finecooking.com/article/the-science-of-cooking-potatoes-2);but I have also read conflicting information asking to avoid them altogether. I already do not eat potatoes when dining out including fries but I also avoid eating potatoes within a couple of days from each other. According to the Smithsonian... (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/horrific-tales-of-potatoes-that-caused-mass-sickness-and-even-death-3162870/); "A general rule for avoiding illnesses like the ones described above? Green and sprouted? Throw it out." On the site, the Smithsonian will give you many links that I've found interesting. Where I live, the potatoes are mostly green and I plan cooking potatoes when I see good ones on the shelf. We have a small offshoot grocery from a big named chain so we get all of the bad stuff here. I makes me sick every time I see them selling otherwise discarded produce to uneducated victoms.

I'm glad you are ok now.

..."A 4-ounce (114 gram) potato naturally contains 5 to 6 milligrams of solanine and chaconine, which is considered harmless. But when a potato looks green from an increase in chlorophyll, it indicates that it will also have higher levels of these alkaloids-  as much as 20 times in potatoes"...

Here is a link with more information:
https://www.finecooking.com/article/the-science-of-cooking-potatoes-2 and check out an unbiased article on Mother Earth News at https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/green-potato-myths-and-safe-potato-eating-zbcz1509

Here is a very scary place to research. It may make you never want to eat potatoes nor any nightshade ever again. https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/killer-tomatoes-and-poisonous-potatoes/

As we know, our diets are lacking and research is all over the charts but until our governments step in and investigate the money hungry monopolizing industries; it is to each his own so research and research again but it is always a good idea to not rely on only one source of information.


Dehydrator potato chips I am trying to make potato chips using my dehydrator, but the keep coming out hard and plastic like. They are to hard to eat. I cut them at 1/16 of and inch and blanched them.

I used a low setting too.

I'm not clear on what you are trying to achieve with the dehydrator.  I see three options for you.  Option 1: no dehydrator, just deep fry in oil.  This is probably the most traditional.  Option 2: use the dehydrator briefly (a matter of 10 - 30 minutes) to dry the potato slices. This would create less splattering when frying. Option 3: Cook the potato slices (this will gelatanize the starch), dehydrate until "plastic like", then fry.  This should allow the potatoes to puff when fried. In all scenarios, the potato must be cooked at some point to crisp them, which will not happen in the dehydrator.


Making salad dressing without acid or high fat or capsaicin One of my relatives has GERDs (acid reflux). I'm trying to find / make a salad dressing that avoids

acidity
large quantities of oil
spiciness (i.e. anything with capsaicin or peperine)

But I'm struggling to accomplish this because I don't know what type that would be. I bought a book called Garde Manger by the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

For "cold emulsion sauces", they listed

temporary emulsions  (e.g. vinagrettes)
stable emulsions (e.g. mayonnaise)

However both of those examples involve high amounts of fat or acid.

For "dairy-based dressings", these seemed to rely on primarily cheese and cream, both of which are high fat.

Salsas it said tended to have fruits and/or vegetables combined with an acid (e.g. citrus juice, vinegar, or wine). Again, won't work.

So the options left were

coulis and purees
coating sauces: aspic

Would either of these last two options work? It seems plausible since the book doesn't mention high fat or acidity as a requirement for them, but I wanted a second opinion since I've never made either.

Acids and spices are generally used to add flavor to the mostly flavorless salad.

To adapt recipes for your relative, you could try:

Use less sauce or dressing. Of cause the fat content of a dressing is high, but if you drizzle just a little bit over the salad, the overall fat content is much lower. Use less sauce to reduce the absolute amount of fat.
Use oils with a strong taste. You'll need much less oil and can greatly improve the taste of a salad if you use oils with a strong taste like sesame oil, walnut oil or peanut oil.
Add herbs or spices instead of oils. That's how the capsaicin usually gets into a salad, but there are very tasty alternatives: salt, parmesan or a similar grated cheese, oregano, garlic or bears garlic, chives, basil leaves, mint leaves, cress, coriander leaves or finely chopped fennel all add taste to a boring salad without any fat. There are so many more ingredients you could use that the combinations are endless.


Very Sticky Dough Before Kneading It was my first time baking and followed a simple bread recipe. The ingredients are listed below.
My problem was after mixing, before kneading, the dough was still very sticky and stuck onto my hand even before I started kneading it. In the video that I watched using that recipe, the dough wasn't that sticky.
Can someone explain me why it happened and how can I remedy it?

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup white sugar
5 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 and 1/4 cup fresh milk warm
6 grams rapid rise yeast
1 tsp salt
1 piece raw egg
1 tbsp cooking oil

You may have done nothing wrong, it's common for bread dough to be very sticky after mixing. If you have your measuring right and the recipe is right time and technique will turn it from sticky to smooth.

There's 3 things that will happen:

Absorption: flour doesn't absorb moisture instantly, most gets absorbed very quickly, but then some takes a bit more time
Breakdown of carbohydrates: Enzymes in the flour break down carbohydrates into sugars, this process uses water
Gluten development: glutenin and gliadin are the proteins which form gluten, when they do so they use water. This will happen naturally through enzyme action and yeast action

All these processes happen naturally, and will happen in your case if you get let it sit for awhile, known as letting it autolyse. I use this step in my bread making, and it makes a big difference in the stickiness and workability of the dough. It also reduces kneading time and effort by a large factor as some of the gluten development will happen without effort. It still may be sticky after autolysing, but that will go away as you knead it, assuming you aren't using the stretch and fold technique. Try letting it sit for 20 minutes, better yet an hour.

Your dough may still be a bit sticky after all this happens as its an enriched dough with lots of butter, sugar and egg. It may even still be tacky after kneading it, that's normal too and will probably go away after your first rise.

If it's still very wet after kneading your balance to wet and dry may have been off, in which case you should knead in small amounts of flour (a spoon at a time) until it's tacky. Don't rush it and don't add too much flour or it will go the other way and be too dry. This is why I weigh everything instead of using volume measurements in baking: small amounts matter. I even weigh water because it lets me be very consistent with the results. I would recommend you get a scale and convert to metric as it just works so much easier.


Can i make ice cream with artificial sweetener I wonder if an artificial sweetener like sucralose or erythritol could be used to make a reasonably soft ice cream.

Weeeellll...remember, the sugar in ice cream helps it not form into a solid chunk of ice (as does the fat). Often reduced-sugar recipes call for alcohol, which can help do the same thing. You're really going to need something to keep all those ice crystals from forming.

If you want to play with artificial sweetener, I'd be tempted to suggest going more towards a frozen custard. My first trial for such things would be milk, a sweetener, and cornstarch. Once you have a custard that you're ok with, try running through your ice cream maker. I've tried something similar, but I didn't have an ice cream maker at the time. I ended up with something like a pudding pop. It was still yummy.


What does the number mean in the specification for a mincer? I'm looking at buying a mincer and am seeing them listed with descriptions like:

Cast Iron Meat Mincer # 12
Kitchen Craft Cast Iron Mincer 5

I haven't yet seen any mention of what the number means though! Can someone please enlighten me?

The number specifies the diameter of the grinder plate

#5 is 2 1/8 inches
#8 is 2 1/2 inches
#10 and #12  are 2 3/4 inches
#20 and #22 are  3 1/4 inches
#32 is 3 7/8 inches


Why do the best pan-and French-frying potatoes differ? Why aren't the best potatoes for pan-frying the best for French-frying, vice versa? Pan- and French-frying potatoes both heat potatoes in oil.  What distinctions have I over-looked?

Cook's Thesaurus: Potatoes

  Best for pan-frying: red-skinned potatoes, white round potatoes, new potatoes, and fingerling potatoes

  Best for French fries: russet potato, purple potato, Bintje potato

Well, from those lists anyway, I think you've overlooked shape and size.

The "pan-frying" potato list is largely of varieties of round potatoes and/or rather small potatoes.  They won't produce very satisfactory french fries because of the simple fact that they aren't very big.  Or, if they are big and round, you're still bound to get a lot of very short fries when slicing near the edges.

For "french fries" you want a potato that's somewhat large and long.  Or at least oblong-shaped, so you don't end up with lots of clumpy short fries.  I'm assuming that for "pan-fried" potatoes, the site your list is from considers that you might dice them or make them into shapes other than long, thin strands.


Safety of white canned beans What is the slight pink color on white canned beans?  I am concerned they may have spoiled and I should not use them.

As outlined in the accepted answer of this Seasoned Advice question (Are these worms in my black eyed peas/beans?):

  Beans and related plants have an embryo in their seeds. In white legumes, the embryo is a light pink color and looks indeed like a larva.

That's likely what you're seeing. I know I've used white beans that were pink-ish before, and nothing bad has ever happened (though I'm hardly an authoritative source). Biggest thing to check for in canned beans, as far as I know, is whether the can itself is swollen at all, and whether the beans/juice have an unusual smell.


Made a ginger carrot soup with coconut milk but accidentally made it too salty, how do i fix it? I made a ginger carrot soup with coconut milk but accidentally made it too salty, how do i fix it?

From some google searches - one said to put raw potatoes to absorb the salt. I am not sure if that will work for the soup as it is a thick carrot soup. Adding water would make it watery. Does anyone have any other methods that would work for me? I would like to keep the soup thick.

Thank You

Edit - the butternut squash worked for me!

Steam a head of cauliflower, puree it. Add it to the soup. You might also consider some squash or sweet potato puree.


What are the names of these food dishes? There is pizza on the bottom, but what are the names of the remaining dishes like the one with the asparagus on top of what looks like bread and then the one to the left of it with a bunch of thin sheets?

Yes, those are spears of green asparagus resting on some kind of dough, pastry or bread and, crucially, there is a hint of a yellow sauce that has been drizzled over the asparagus and come to rest between the asparagus and the underlying pastry/dough/bread. I am hazarding an informed guess that the sauce is a classic hollandaise sauce which is one of two or three ways of serving asparagus as a dish in itself. It maybe termed asparagus Benedict as in eggs Benedict. *The sauce is not made in an oven so I remain cautious. The layers on the left look like filo pastry.

Larousse Gastronomique is the "bible" for these sort of things.


What is the measurement of 1 1/2 cups of cilantro leaves into ground cilantro Recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of cilantro leaves.  I only have a 0.43 oz (12g) bottle of ground cilantro.  How much of the ground cilantro should I use?

The two are not interchangeable.

One is fresh leaves; the other is ground seeds.
They don't taste anything like one another.

At a push you could use fresh flat-leaf parsley. It would add some 'freshness' to the flavour, but wouldn't be a proper substitute, even then.

A late thought - is your ground herb actually labelled 'cilantro', or are you translating from the US term for 'coriander leaves'.
In US terminology, 'cilantro' equates to coriander leaves [fresh] & 'coriander' is specifically the seeds.
In UK terminology both are called 'coriander' & the specific type, leaves or seeds will be mentioned separately on the packaging, if there is any potential for confusion.


Any suggestions for cracking "black walnuts"? These nuts have a very tough outer shell, any tips on cracking them?

A nutcracker won't work.  I've used a hammer with success.  Place the pointed end up on a hard surface and whack with the hammer.  Practice will teach you how hard you need to swing.


Never ending soup; is it actually safe? In the poor student or youth worker days it was popular to have never ending soup; a large pot on the stove that was topped up with new and leftover ingredients when available.

Normally the pot was stored in the fridge overnight.

Food items added were sometimes plate leftovers from fellow flat (share house) mates, who would in turn be eating the soup, too.

Most days other ingredients would be fresh(ish) vegetables, beans, grains, and fresh meat products sourced from the local butcher as money allowed.

Brussels sprouts where banned, and so were strong spices (you added those to your bowl before serving).

Also, for irony, a large (cleaned) stone is always left in the pot.

Fresh bread was sometimes baked in the oven while cracked bones were browning, but the oven was often an electrical and environmental death trap.

The pot kept going till the summer holidays, and no one got food poisoning in my time, or from any student stories I have ever heard.

This sort of activity is recorded in history as being a popular resource-saving idea.

Are there any real food safety implications with this method of cooking? And have any actual studies of this technique ever been published?

I still recommend this money-saving idea to current students, not keen on bad practices being continued though.

It takes quite a while for a pot of hot soup to cool down to 40°F in the fridge. Several hours, sometimes, depending on the shape of the pot and the volume of soup. If you're heating and re-chilling the same soup daily, it's going to spend a lot of time in the danger zone. From a safety perspective, you'd be much better off making a pot of soup every few days and then reheating just the portion that you're actually going to eat.

  I still recommend this money saving idea to current students

Soup is a great food for stretching a dollar, but I don't see how it's any more expensive to make a fresh pot twice a week and it shouldn't take much time either. I understand that you were adding scraps each night, but you could as easily save those scraps for a day or two until you make the next pot of soup.


Transfer vegetables objects from cutting board to pan I have one of those thick & heavy bamboo cutting boards that I just got.  Until now, I've been using a simple plastic cutting board that doesn't weigh much.  After dicing vegetables, I would simply lift the cutting board in my left hand and use my right hand holding the knife to transfer the vegetables onto a pan, bowl, or wherever.

My question is, how do I do this with a heavy cutting board? Obviously lifting it with one hand is not an option.  I couldn't find any youtube videos showing proper technique of using the knife and the other available hand to transfer the diced vegetables onto something else.

Thanks

You can use a bench scraper for this sort of task:

Just push the food onto the bench scraper (you can slide the bench scraper underneath the food as well), and move it. You can see a demonstration in this article by Serious Eats.

Depending on how your cutting board is positioned, you can also just use a knife/bench scraper to push it off the board into a bowl (e.g. if the board is on the edge of a table).

Depending on the type of knife you're using (a chef's knife, for example), you can move the dice onto the side of the knife, but you won't have as much room as with a bench scraper. Also, you can dull your knife this way / cut yourself if you aren't careful.


What causes the sugar to turn grainy after I have cooked it for a glaze or cooking it with butter for carmelizing? I tried several times to cook the glaze for a strawberry glaze pie and the sugar, water, and cornstarch would thicken but then the sugar would turn grainy.  I have also tried to boil water, sugar, and butter to make a carmel type sauce to pour over corn curls and it thickens and seems to be fine but then turns grainy right after I take it off the stove.

It sounds like your syrups are crystallizing on you.

For a smooth glaze or caramel, you want tiny little sugar crystals. When you heat your sugar and water mixture, after a certain temperature the water becomes super-saturated with the sugar.

After this super-saturation point, things get dicey. If the solution is disturbed--say by stirring, or an undissolved sugar crystal or other foreign particle getting into the solution--the sugar can rapidly come out of solution and form big crystals. This could be why your confections are grainy.

There are a lot of resources online that have the science behind it and suggestions on preventing it (example, example, example). To summarize a few:

Always use a clean pot or pan.
Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved before it comes to a boil
Dip a pastry brush in water to wash away any sugar that sticks to the side of the pot or pan as the sugar heats.
Combine the sugar with a little water (it should have the consistency of wet sand) before cooking.
Avoid stirring the sugar when it comes to a simmer.
Cover the pan loosely with a lid or baking sheet.
Add a little acid (such as a touch of lemon juice) or corn syrup to the sugar-water mixture before cooking