Au poivre without green pepper, is it good? So I am trying to learn different recipes. One I'd like to do soon is the steak au poivre, it's a quite simple one but all the recipes I found say you need green pepper (peppercorn, not bell) and I can't find it in the local market.

I'd like to know what other kind(s) of pepper would be a good alternative (here I can find easily black, white and pink pepper), or if any of them would. I have never tasted green pepper so I don't really know what to expect from it. The dish should look like this:

http://www.cavemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Steak-au-Poivre-KF-1024x682.jpg

Technically, green peppercorns are from the same plant as black or white peppercorns. Green peppercorns are unripe black peppercorns, and white peppercorns are black peppercorns with the outer coat removed.

  Green peppercorns are true peppercorns of the Piper nigrium flowering
  vine plant.... Green peppercorns are really unripe black
  peppercorns. These are often preserved in brine or vinegar and served
  in pickled form. In dried form, they don't last very long and have to
  be used quickly. They're commonly found in Thai and other Southeast
  Asian recipes and have a fresher flavor than their black counterparts. (via Kitchn.com)

Most steak au poivre that I have had (never made it myself) had visibly black peppercorns, coarsely cracked and liberally coating the outside. I would suggest using that while you're perfecting cooking technique, and then try using pink (or if you can ever find them, perhaps in an Asian market, green) to see whether and how much it impacts the flavor of the dish.

One potential substitute is capers, which are also preserved in brine (and if I didn't know better, I'd think the dish in your Question's picture had capers in the sauce), but the flavor is likely to be fairly different.


Alfredo sauce - help adding taste How do I add back in the taste and fat to low fat alfredo sauce?

Generally lowfat sauces use tricks to get texture and some semblance of flavour. Starches and thickeners give the illusion of richness, while vast quantities of salt somewhat mask the lack of cheese and butter. Anyone with half a palette can tell at first taste though.

Make it seldom, but make it properly.


How Does Wine Enhance Flavor? In an article - What's Cooking America; How To Cook With Wine - I found that wine has three main uses in the kitchen – as a marinade ingredient, as a cooking liquid, and as a flavoring in a finished dish. The alcohol in the wine evaporates while the food is cooking, and only the flavor remains.  Boiling down wine concentrates the flavor, including acidity and sweetness.

The function of wine in cooking is to intensify, enhance, and accent the flavor and aroma of food – not to mask the flavor of what you are cooking but rather to fortify it.

My question is how does wine in cooking intensify, enhance, and accent the flavor and aroma of food? What is the chemistry behind?

The other answers make good points, but OP in comments keeps asking whether alcohol helps ingredients "release their flavor" more.  And yes, it does.

As to how it does so, one reason is simply because alcohol is a good solvent.  Many things dissolve more easily in alcohol than in plain water.  (Note that alcohols are often used in other household applications requiring solvents, stain removal, removal of other "gunk" when cleaning, etc.  Household cleaning fluid can make use of various alcohols -- not just ethanol, as found in wine -- but the chemistry of how most alcohols work in creating better solubility is similar.)

Another comparison to think of is the use of alcohol in creating things like extracts.  You'll get more flavor out of a vanilla bean by soaking it in high-proof alcohol compared to plain water.  That's the same rationale behind the concept of a "vodka sauce" too.

Obviously wine doesn't have as high of an alcohol content, but the alcohol that is present can help "release flavors" through better solubility, part of the reason why wine is often used for deglazing pans too during cooking.  (As mentioned in other answers, the specific flavor components found in wine are also tasty in and of themselves.)


how to clean a tomato How should a standard supermarket tomato be cleaned before putting it in a green salad. Is a quick rinse under running water with light rubbing under the palm and fingers adequate?

From a quick Google search:

  you should rinse, rub the surface, rinse again, and dry.

Pretty simple, and it's pretty much what you suggested.  The site claims to be getting their advice from a scientific study, and I'm inclined to believe them, but they don't provide a link.


How to defrost frozen pizza dough quickly? Obviously, best practice for defrosting it to leave the pizza dough on the counter or in the fridge overnight, then let it rise before cooking it. However, I've got company coming tonight, and I forgot to defrost the dough last night. (It's supermarket frozen whole-wheat dough.)

How can I help the dough along? I've read that you can microwave the dough on a low setting to defrost it, but I'm a little uncertain about doing that.

Edit: I'm concerned that using heat to defrost the dough might cook it somewhat, which I don't want.

Related question: Defrosting pizza dough correctly?

If you dough is a disc shape:
When I worked as a pizza cook at a popular fast food pizza place, we would put our dough still frozen into what we called a proofer. It was basically a heated cabinet around 130 F. It would defrost and have it's final rise in there. After that we would stretch to make the pizza. You could probably replicate this by putting your dough into a covered pan in the oven without preheating on "low" or "warm". You would also want to put a bowl of boiling water in there to add steam. Just make sure it doesn't burn or get up to temperature. You may want water or oil in there with it so it doesn't dry out.

If you dough is in a ball:
I do this for other frozen foods, but haven't tried it on dough before.  Put it in a sealed plastic bag and leave it in warm water. I like to leave it with a constant stream of warm water flowing over the object so the water stays warm. The heat should defrost it and the plastic should keep it dry.


Adding eggs to lasagna I have seen this particular part added in recipes for lasagna. What I don't understand is what it means by "add eggs" to cheese. Do I just crack a raw egg and dump it into the cheese mixture? Do I whisk the egg and then mix it with the cheese before layering it on the lasagna? Do I just take a raw egg and just mix it with cheese then layer it?

The version of lasagna that I grew up making was a collection of layers of various things. These layers were (at minimum) - sauce; pasta noodles; a mixture of white, soft cheese and other things; and other cheeses, usually mozzarella. This means that there are actually two cheese layers - one shredded, the other creamy. Here's a recipe I've grabbed from Food Network as an example.

One of the steps involves combining the ricotta (some people use cottage cheese instead) with other ingredients including the raw eggs:

  In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/2 the Parmigiano-Reggiano, the eggs, and the basil. Mix to combine well and season with salt.

This mixture is then layered, alternating with the noodles, meat, vegetables, and sauce. The other half of the Parmigiano is sprinkled on top with mozzarella for the cheesy topping and a bite of saltiness. I'm reformatting the quote below to show the different layers more obviously.

  In the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch deep-dish baking dish:

  add a couple ladlefuls of sauce and spread out in an even layer.
  Arrange a layer of the lasagna noodles to completely cover the sauce.
  Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the pasta.
  Place a layer of pasta going in the other direction as the first layer (this will give a little more stability).
  Spread a light layer of sauce on the pasta and sprinkle 1/3 of the sausage over the sauce,
  [Spread a light layer of sauce on the sausage and sprinkle] 1/3 of the mushrooms and zucchini.
  Sprinkle a layer of mozzarella and some of the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano over the veggies.

  Repeat these layers until all the ingredients have been used up or the pan is full. Be sure that there is a layer of pasta on top covered with sauce and sprinkled with mozzarella and Parmigiano. Cover with foil.

So, to answer your question, yes, the egg is mixed in, raw, with the cheeses to make the cheese layer... but if you're not using a ricotta or cottage cheese and are just using shredded cheese, you probably shouldn't do this.


Xanthan Gum for Cinnamon Rolls Are there any guidelines to the ratio of brown sugar to cinnamon to xanthan gum to get that gooey texture in cinnamon rolls? I'm trying to make cinnamon rolls and want the perfect filling. :)

I have been making cinnamon rolls professionally for 10 years. I have done both traditional cinnamon rolls and gluten-free cinnamon rolls, and the only time xanthan gum was included was in the dough for the gluten-free rolls. Normally the inside is gooey because the butter and sugar (and some moisture that the sugar pulls out of the dough) combine and form what is basically a heavy syrup inside the roll (cinnamon also contains/releases some gums of its own, but their effect is probably negligible due to the short cooking time). Xanthan gum would function to make sort of a sauce of your smear, but there really shouldn't even be enough moisture there for the gum to absorb.

If you're having trouble with the smear sinking out of the roll as they cook, you can try using less butter in your smear, or just using sugar and cinnamon and only brushing the exterior with butter. Butter melting will cause separation between the layers, whereas the sugar cooking will stick them together. A far out option would be to include some powdered sugar to help soak up the extra moisture (but again, just don't include extra moisture!). Xanthan gum shouldn't be necessary at all unless you're making a recipe specifically to be frozen raw or trying to make a separate caramel sauce (which still shouldn't need it!)

Since the question now appears to be specifically about Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, according to one of their spokespeople, they don't include xanthan gum. They do include both invert sugar, which helps to keep sugar syrups smooth and is very gooey on it's own, and modified corn starch, which is a thickener and gelling agent. A lot of ingredients in a commercial product, like Cinnabon, are only there for ease of handling such large quantities and to help ensure consistency in freezing, thawing, shipping, etc. For instance, if you were going to mass produce dough and freeze it, you'd need azodicarbonamide to keep your dough supple. Making dough at home or in a restaurant, there would be no advantage to using it. As such, the usage level is usually between .25% and .5% for most gums, but the usage would be based more on how long the dough is frozen, how quickly it's frozen, etc rather than a ratio with other ingredients.


How long should I cook pork for (at 100° C)? I have a pork shoulder cooking in the oven right now at 100° C (212° F). I was planning on roasting it for 7 hours, will this be long enough to cook it safely?

I saw the FDA chart about minimum internal temperatures - but am not sure how to translate that to oven temperature/time.

100°C seems a little low. I've done a bone-in pork shoulder at 120 for 8 hours before now, I think the norm is 2 hours a pound (450 g) at that temperature.

To be safe you should really use a meat thermometer, trichinosis is not something you want to have.


Can I replace flour in a soup recipe with a 1 to 1 gluten free flour? I have celiac disease and must eat a gluten free diet.

I saw a recipe for creamy chicken and mushroom soup, and it looked delicious!  However, it called for 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.  Would it be better to use a 1 for 1 gluten free all purpose flour or use corn starch instead?  If I used corn starch instead, I'm assuming I wouldn't use 1/4 cup....but how much SHOULD I use?

My step daughter also has celiacs/coeliacs disease. We often use all-purpose gluten free flour for soups, cheese sauce and roux etc. I can honestly say there is no noticeable difference. The only thing I would recommend is if the recipe asks you to make a roux don't try and cook out the flour as it will turn lumpy. Instead just melt the butter, add the flour mix it in then go straight in with the milk/cream (all of it, don't do a little at a time, as again it'll go lumpy) I'd stick to the same ratio (1:1) this time and then alter to your liking for next time.

You could by all means use just corn flour but if you want a thick soup and this is the only thickener you may end up with gloop instead. If you do use corn flour it's best to stir it in at the end, mix it with cold water then just add a table spoon of the mixture at a time until it's the right consistency.


Cheese like slime on potato, but no pinkness I had some potatoes in the back of a cupboard, and one solitary potato has sort of disintegrated into a cheesy yellow slime.

The skin looks mostly intact, and the slime is sticky exactly like melted cheese. I looked up potato slime, and the only similar ailment was pink slime, but there's no pink here.
They were not old enough for any other signs of rot.
I've washed the other potatoes, and will monitor them.
What happened to that one potato.

It rotted - that's about all you can say from this. Most likely a bacterial rot rather than a fungal rot. If you bought them recently, it was probably already rotting.
This is a form of soft rot, which is a common disease of potatoes world-wide, and can even destroy whole crops in the field. There are a range of bacteria that cause these rots, but Pectobacterium is a common genus for this form of rot.


Why is yeast used in bread making? This question arose today at lunch, and we tried to explain it in various ways:

It gives the soft (spongy) consistency;
It improves the nutritional content;
It makes bread more digestible;
It improves the taste.

We were unable to say which ones are true, and if more than one, which is the main reason. It should be something simple I guess, because yeast has been used since ancient times.

Wiki talks about consistency, but I would like some more expert advice.

EDIT: I know there are yeast-free breads, like Italian's piadina or Indian's chapati and roti, and even Mexican's tortilla. And that's where the question originates from, because the asker is from Pakistan.

There are various types of bread without yeast. Unleavened Jewish Passover bread, for one, and soda bread for another. Unleavened bread doesn't have the spongy texture.

Basically, yeast has two uses in baking. 1. The spongelike structure and 2. Taste.


How do I modify sourdough recipes for use with my small starter? I have a 125% hydration starter that I got from some chef friends of mine, but I've been instructed that if I care for it properly I should be using no more than 90g of starter from the base culture at a time. Lots of recipes I've seen suggest using much more starter than this (multiple cups at a time). How should I go from my small amount of starter to a larger one? Is it correct just to use a preferment to increase the volume? If so, how long should it be?

Increasing the volume of your starter is easy. Just add flour and water and let it sit at room temperature for until it becomes ripe (you can tell because the mixture will be very bubbly). The time depends on how much flour/water you add, what temperature you are fermenting at, how active your starter is, and what percentage of water you are using. Wait a few hours at least if you are significantly increasing the volume.

If you don't want to store the larger volume for your recipes, just increase the fermentation time for the recipe. The only caveat is that you shouldn't try to increase the volume of your starter by more than a factor of three at any one time (and keep in mind you'll need to reserve some sponge for the next batch of bread). Thus if you have very little starter, you may have to triple it, wait for eight hours, then double it, wait, then use, for example.


Overwhelmed by cheese I have been trying to improve my skills in the kitchen by watching some professional chefs on television, I have a serious problem though, many of the recipes they describe contain different kinds of cheese,  I can get cheddar easily but after several disasters I have discovered that I can not replace some of the hard to get cheese discussed in some recipes with cheddar, to my surprise there are even different varieties of cheddar.

Could someone point me to a comprehensive easy to follow cheese guide for beginners? I would prefer a PDF document I can freely download and print. the guide should contain the different types of cheese, their characteristics and what they are best used for I will then use this to try and make substitutions.

I'm not sure that's the right way to go about this. There are tons and tons of types of cheeses. I'm not sure you'll find a good list of all substitutes because it will be too big to put together.

Instead, I think you need to learn about the types of cheese so that you can make an informed decision. Is a cheese blue, sharp, creamy, hard, soft? How does it melt? What part of the world is it from? Those questions will allow you to find a cheese that is similar enough to make a good substitution.

For instance, if a recipe called for Pecorino a hard Italian cheese, Parmesan (another hard Italian cheese) would make a much better substitute than goat cheese or cheddar.

So see what cheeses are available at your local store. Write down the whole list (and preferably buy some of each). Get home and do a little bit of research on each one. Where is it from? How do people describe it? Take some notes on all of this. Then, when you see a new cheese in a recipe, look it up and see how it's described. Then find a cheese from a similar area with similar characteristics, and you should be good to go.

Edit: While I stand by my approach as a great way to go about this, I did find a good resource. Cook's Thesaurus has a great list of cheeses, including substitutes, broken down by type of cheese, type of milk, hardness, etc.


Why buy ground cinnamon instead of cinnamon sticks? Ground cinnamon is less expensive then cinnamon sticks. I've read that it is also more flavorful. However, cinnamon sticks last a lot longer. Also, ground cinnamon is likely to have mystery ingredients. Will I (a cinnamon nut) be disappointed if I stock up on cinnamon sticks instead of ground cinnamon?

Different applications, sticks are mainly used when you wish to infuse a cinnamon flavour in a dish, where the spices are removed at the end, a biryani is a good example.  Ground cinnamon is used when the spice is to be left in, or be present throughout a substance, like in cakes for instance.

Ground cinnamon will leave a stronger flavour partly because it is left in and possibly due to the flavour extracting easier due to higher surface area and broken structure.

Cinnamon is notoriously hard to grind smoothly, so people tend to buy both for their respective uses.


What tweaks can be made when preparing chili powder? I am planning on making some chili powder this weekend using ancho, pasilla, and guajillo peppers. This is a follow-up to the question about storage-lifetime that is to do with the powder itself.

The other concern I have is to do with what is flexible in a chili powder, and what tweaks I can/should make; I've never made a spice blend before, and would appreciate some specific tips. I am weighing the different variables of how to prepare the chili powder itself (i.e. I was a bit disappointed to see more than one "recipe" with one step: "blend"). How does preparation work for powders?

If I want to toast the ground spices, what impact will this have if I do so before storage? Should toasting be done dry (i.e. no oil), or are there different methods (i.e. to how they are roasted) one can use?
If I use fresh roasted peppers (i.e. if I go to the store and buy some fresh habaneros, and roast them in the oven, or if I want to use fresh roasted garlic), how do I incorporate them? More fundamentally, how do I incorporate "wet" ingredients into the powder? (I do not have any dehydrating appliances beyond oven/range.)
Does salt serve any function in chili powder (beyond flavor and filler), especially if I plan to salt anything as necessary?

First, as someone who has made chili powder, let me offer you one piece of advice -- get yourself a coffee or spice grinder.

Second, disabuse yourself of any notion of making your chili powder with anything wet. Whatever goes in should be bone dry. I wouldn't even bother with drying fresh peppers, garlic, etc. It's just not worth the effort. However, you absolutely should get your cumin in (dried) seed form, and dry toast it yourself. That IS worth the effort.

Beyond that, everything else is negotiable. Mess around with different types of peppers, different herbs/spices, different proportions, etc., and see what you like best.


Is there a method to pour espresso shots without damaging the crema? My espresso machine (DeLonghi EC155) is really short and will only allow shot glasses / really short cappuccino cups (if I remove the excess coffee catch) which I don't have.

So, I need to pull my shots into a shot glass, then pour the shot into my coffee mug. But when I do, I notice that all that rich crema I just pulled gets left into the shot glass as I poured.

Is there a technique to pouring shot glasses that will keep the integrity of the crema?

If you're drinking the espresso shot on its own, you could drink it straight from the shot glass - or, better yet, buy an espresso cup, which should be about the same height as your shot glass. (A double-walled espresso cup will help keep it warm.)

If you're pulling espresso shots to be used in other espresso-based drinks (i.e., if you're adding some sort of milk or water to it), you could try an espresso brew pitcher, which basically looks like the sort of small pitchers you'd use to serve cream; they're normally about 3 oz, small enough that it would probably fit under your espresso machine. You could brew the espresso into the pitcher, then pour into your mug; the spout/lip of the pitcher should help preserve the crema once you figure out what the optimum pouring speed is. It should work similarly to pouring steamed milk: pour too fast, and the foam and milk come tumbling out all at once and you ruin the foam, too slow and the foam gets stuck in the pitcher. But if you pour just right, you should be able to pour most of the liquid first, and wind up with just enough liquid left to slide out the foam so it lands on top of your drink.


Official cocktail recipes vs typical glass sizes I've bought and tried various types of glassware for cocktails. Glasses for typical shaken drinks include a cheap martini glass (165 ml), a nick and nora style glass and a coupe (125 ml), among others. This matches with sizes found in shops around the web, where they might even go higher in volume.

However, the basic recipes for cocktails tend to end up a lot smaller, to the point where it looks silly in a glass. For example the "IBA Official" Aviation Cocktail calls for 75 ml of spirits and juices, and shaking over ice (using 30mm square solid cubes, about 5 to 6) will not dilute it to 125 let alone 165 ml of fluids.

Obviously I can just scale up ingredients proportionally. But given that "typical" cocktail glasses don't match up with "typical" cocktail recipes, I feel like I'm making a mistake.

So my question is: how do you go from a typical cocktail recipe (with around 75 ml of ingredients) to a typical 125-165 ml final product?

In my examples above the sizes are for the liquids, assuming around 10% of leeway. So for example the martini glass is 165 ml, but around 180 ml when filled up completely.

Despite what many bars, convenience stores, and fast food restaurants would have you believe, drink glasses are not intended to be "filled to the brim" (or even close). This is particularly true of cocktails and other spirits. The 'head space' allows the drinker to swirl (or, if they have had a few, 'slosh') the drink around to remix the cocktail ingredients as they seek the bottom of the glass. Any water that has melted into the drink will be diluted into the mix, and the drink may be more directly exposed to any remaining ice in order to chill the liquid just as it is consumed. Thus, the 'standard glass' has been designed to exceed the standard drink. Of course, always wanting 'as much as we can get' people tend to expect their neat scotch to be filled to the brim...just like the self-serve uber-drink from the local gas station.

In the absence of an official rule book for pouring drinks into glasses I can offer some references you might look to, including the fact that a Google Image search of "Full Cocktail Glass" almost universally shows images of drinks with significant air on top. Commentaries from self-appointed experts at the bar as well as amateurs chiming in with their thoughts tend to corroborate this view. For my part, if more than two members of the family say the word "reunion", Jack Daniels stock jumps five points...so I can at least pretend expertise...

Even a beer glass (a pilsner) is designed to make room for a head on the 'proper' serving.


Does hard-boiling eggs in broth impact flavor? I think the question says it all. I was looking at Marinated Soft Boiled Egg recipes for ramen and while trying them out I found it annoying to have a pot of boiling water for the eggs as well as a pot of simmering broth for the soup.

So would cooking CIFA Grade A Eggs in the broth impact the resulting flavor? I know eggs are slightly porous so I'm guessing some broth would get inside the egg. I'm also wondering (not too worried about it though) if it's a good idea to eat the broth afterwards since it might've absorbed the chemicals used to clean the eggshell ).

It does impact them, crockpot cooking in chicken broth. The lady that owns the hotel that I visit when I’m on business makes them all the time. Off the chain!


Seasoning a wok, have I burned on the factory oil? I have recently purchased a new wok, it is a standard carbon steel one (Hancock/LondonWoks). I cleaned it in the sink using soap and water and then heated some water in the middle and coating started coming off, all good so far. I realised that it would be difficult to boil the whole thing in water as it is so large so thought I'd do something else I read, which was to use salt, heat the wok and toss around a large amount of salt to clean of the coating, this however didn't seem to work., the middle of the wok is silver but the rest more an orange. I have since tried water, scrubbing with a plastic scourer and cream cleaner, but it is still orange round the sides and silver in the middle. Right near the top it feels very smooth.

I am wondering if I have burned the factory coating on, an if so what should I do, I don't want to make anyone ill with my food!

EDIT: Photos

More photos

Thanks
James

I would say the opposite and you have actually burned "off" the coating.  When those woks come off the factory floor, they are dipped or sprayed with that anti-rust sealant you are talking about.  Most if not all instructions want you to get rid of this coating before use.  When using carbon steel/cast iron cookware, one must season the metal first.

Here is how I season all my carbon/cast iron cookware.

Very thoroughly wash the wok in hot soapy water. This will get rid of that layer of rust prevention coating from the factory. Some manufacturers say to even use some cleanser and really scrub the wok clean. We want the seasoning to stick to the wok's bare metal not the factory's anti-rust sealant.

Now thoroughly dry the wok off. You don't want any water on the wok, depending on your water, you can leave mineral deposits on the woks surface.

Turn on your exhaust fan/blower, close the doors to the rest of the house and open the windows in your kitchen. Better yet, do this part outside if you can. It will get smokey and smell badly.

Heat up the wok on low-medium heat. We want to slowly burn off any residual coating. This can take a while, and on an induction you most likely cannot get the sides of the wok. I recommend that this be done with a gas burner, just so you can get the entire pan seasoned, sides and all.

Let the wok cool off to where you can handle it again. Perhaps 1-4 minutes, unless you have a thick cast iron wok, where it will be a bit longer.  More mass, longer it takes to cool down.

Repeat steps: 1,2 and 4. When the wok is heated up this time, there should be less or no smoke at all. It should be a bare metal pan, no rust protection coating. Now that the wok is warmed up, we can safely turn up the heat to the highest heat setting. We are looking for the wok's metal to actually change color. The wok might be a shiny metallic color at first, but we want it to discolour, to a brown or even blue or black color. This is the start of the seasoning layer. Move the wok to get the heat up the sides of the pan and even heat up the handle area as well.

After the whole cooking surface of the wok has changed color, we cool it down again. This is where you want to oil season the wok. You want to use an oil that has a high smoking point. Canola, Crisco or best would be a grape seed oil. Do NOT use a low smoking point oil or fat, this will just burn and will not lead to a good coat. Do NOT use: olive oil, butter or lard.

Use a paper towel with just a drop or two of your oil, rub down both the inside and outside of the wok. The thinner the coat the faster and more even the seasoning. Too thick a coat and the oil will pool up burn and get sticky. Thinner is better. Now place the wok over medium heat to burn the oil into the wok, all the way up the sides.

Repeat as many times as you want. The thinner the layers of seasoning the better they stick to the wok. Too thick, and the layer will be sticky and will come off easier. I think the key is to really burn the wok without oil to open up the pores so to speak. This makes for that nice dark patina in the wok itself.

Tips on cleaning the wok: After cooking, you want the wok to cool down before you wash it. There are some people that say never let soap touch the wok again. I would say as a hard and fast rule, probably ok. But if you really feel the need for soap, by all means do it. Wash throughly and dry thoroughly, you don't want to store a damp wok, this will lead to rust. Heat the cleaned wok on the burner and then wipe down with the oiled paper towel. Let cool and then store. Protective oil coating is good. If you plan on not using the wok for a while, season it and wrap it in an oiled paper bag.

Tips on cooking with a wok: 1. Preheat the wok first. Medium fire at first, to where it's just barely smoking. 30-45 seconds 2. Adjust heat for recipe. Add oil to the wok, swirl it around to coat most of the woks inside.
3. Discard oil into a heat proof container, ceramic/metal bowl/cup.
4. Add new oil and wait just a second or four to heat up and collects in the center of the wok.  I prefer to swirl the new oil around the edges of the wok. 5. Now you are ready to cook. If you need more oil use that initial oil again.

I find that this method works very well. I have like 6 woks now.  My wife is getting a bit peeved.  But she doesn't cook that much so too bad.


Can I make crackling from cured ham skin? Can I make crackling from cured ham skin?

I have a cured ham, which I have removed the skin to glaze.

Can I bake the skin and make it into crackling?

The short answer is yes, you most definitely can but with a few caveats. First, if the skin has any significant amount of sugar on/in it from a glaze or cure it will burn fairly quickly and likely impart a bitter flavor before you are going to achieve the proper crisp a crackling is known for. Also, with hams, there is likely going to be a ton of salt in the skin to begin with and this is likely going to be intensified when you fry it up so be aware of that.

I've never had good luck baking pork skin for crackling since the texture is never the same and it takes a lot longer. Deep frying is a much better/authentic way to go.


How should I sautee Portobello Mushrooms? I frequently use Protobello's in a stir fry or pasta dish as a meat substitute. I find that they absorb a significant amount of oil if I put it in the frying pan. However, if I don't use enough oil, then they start to burn. Once they've gotten to a certain point, they sweat out a lot of water. However, they often end up either burnt or greasy. How can I cook them properly so that neither of those things happens?

Mushrooms DO require a good amount of oil due to the fact that they will initially absorb it.

However make sure that you're adding salt to them right away to help begin drawing the juices out and start them over high heat, making sure that the pan is "screaming" hot before you ever add the oil and the mushrooms so that it will retain the heat even after the mushrooms are added to the pan.  As the juices begin to exude from the mushrooms they will take the place of the oil and as the juices evaporate, the oil will aid in browning of the mushrooms.

As they moisture begins to evaporate you can begin to decrease the temperature to avoid having to add more oil and keep them from sticking to the pan.  I think mushrooms taste best when they've been allowed to cook to the point where the moisture has evaporated and a really good browning has taken place (not burnt of course).


How to Debone Oxtail? I was reading this burger recipe from Serious Eats: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/10/the-blue-label-burger-blend-recipe.html

It sounds great, but it calls for ground oxtail, which does not sound easy to produce. I have a set of cooking knives, but does anyone know if it will be feasible to attempt this without special equipment and/or a lot of knife skill? I was hoping to just get the meat from Whole Foods rather than a specialty butcher, so I can't count on them deboning it for me.

Let the butcher do it
This is roughly the bone structure of a mammal tail:

As you can see, it has very many small bones, with of course all the connective tissue. Unless you have solid knife skill, a very sharp boning knife (with the needle-like blade), a protective chain mail glove, and lots of patience, I would say something like this is better left for a professional butcher. Especially if you have not done much boning, this could easily end up in an injury.
For reference
Boning knives:

Chainmain butcher glove:


How can I prevent spices from lumping together? I notice that sometimes, some of my spices become one hard block. I have this especially with my garlic powder, in a smaller degree with my chili powder (that contains the same garlic powder). I'm pretty sure it can happen to other spices as well.

Is there something I can do to prevent this? Is there a different solution for when it happens, other than putting in a fork and twisting? Why does this happen?

The spice powder clumps together because it has been exposed to moisture.   Carbohydrates or proteins in the spice dissolve a small amount, becoming sticky, causing the granules to stick together.

To prevent this, keep your spices quite dry:

If you buy in bulk, consider transferring some to a "currently being used" container, and leaving the rest away from the stove with its steam, and any other sources of moisture, well sealed against the humidity (and oxygen) in the air.  This will protect the bulk of your supply, even if the working container gets a little clumpy.
Use good quality, air tight containers for your spices.  I like to buy mine from the same vendor I buy spices from, but of course there are a myriad of options.
Add a food safe desiccation packet to the container.

I use the first method two methods, and have only had clumping in very old working spice jars that probably should have been discarded for having lost their flavor over time anyway.

Often, the clumps are quite fragile--banging the container on the counter a few times will often free up a bit, but it's a mechanical process.  The fork twisting is a good method to free up some for use.  As nicoleets hinted at, if your spice is clumpy, it is a sign that it has been exposed to the environment, and water and air have gotten in.  It may have also declined in flavor.

I wanted to add the "put some rice in the container" method, as one might for sugar or salt, but I cannot find any easily accessible evidence if this is a myth or if it really works.  After all, why should the rice be more likely to absorb water than the spice itself, when the spice has far more exposed surface area?


My KitchenAid mixer head will not lock in the down position.  How can I rectify this? It will lock with the head raised. There doesn't appear to be anything obstructing it from sitting flat, but it doesn't want to lock.

Lift the head all the way up.  On the top of the stand, just next to the mixer itself you will see a little square hole.  Check if that hole is obstructed.

If it looks clear, then check that the set screw on the right side of the stand is not missing (as suggested here)


What is the best marker for writing on glass? I am looking for a permanent marker for writing on glass spice containers that can endure being washed.  I thought of just using sticky paper labels but they will not endure washing.  Should I go for oil-based markers?

You can also engrave on glass using a product from Joannns/Michaels called Amour Etch.  I've engraved 9x13 glassware with it, and given it as gifts.  Yes, it's washable.  Amour Etch is something that you have to use carefully.  Google it.

Here's a handy instructional video


Why do my pastries come out flat when I use butter instead of margarine? I am making Danish puff and also mini cream puffs. When I make them with butter, they are coming out thinner and flatter, spreading out. they should be high and round. It calls for margarine (which I don't like and is hard to find except spreads.) Can anyone help?

The recipe for the puffs is:

  1/2 cup butter
  1 cup water
  1 cup flour
  salt
  4 eggs

  Heat water, butter, salt to boil. Remove from heat and add flour all at once. Stir over low heat 1 min. or until forms ball. Cool slightly, add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Drop by tsps. bake at 400° F for 10 min. Reduce heat to 350° F and bake 20 mins.

It is flattening with butter. Should I add more flour? Ideas?

How funny since I learned this same recipe when I first got married 40 years ago. Here are the secrets I've learned. Maybe the extra detail will help you find what went wrong with your attempts.

First, you need to have everything at room temperature, especially the eggs. Once you add the butter (yes, butter, not margarine!) to the boiling water that is boiling and it melts, add the cup of flour quickly to the water and with a big spoon mix it fast. It will form a ball. Get it off the heat.

Now, get a mixer and add each egg, one at a time, and mix it thoroughly after each one - but don't overdo it. Do it quickly.

Now with either a pastry bag or a spoon (I use a spoon), drop rounds of the mix on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use approximately a 1 1/2 to 2 inch spoonful, so you will have anywhere from 18 to 22. Do not play with these.

Put in preheated oven of 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. The baking time will depend on size. When you take out of the oven, they look beautifully puffed, but if not baked properly, will start to deflate.  So depending on the size, your oven and your patience, you'll have to adjust, but with practice you will master this. It's okay to open the door at the 20 minute mark to turn the cookie sheet, and get a idea if you need to go 10 or even 15 to 20 more minutes depending on the softness of the puff. Even if they deflate, it's okay.

Cool, cut then in half, fill them with a nice custard cream, top them off with the lid, either make a nice chocolate ganache or frosting or if you are lazy or tired, sprinkle with powdered sugar or cocoa powder.

You can also make whipping cream but once you make a good cream custard, no matter how badly deflated the puffs are, people don't usually notice with something on top. It's always been a hit and long ago I used to make only 12 and filled them up with my own special cream and they were the size of baseballs, topped with homemade frosting and I hope you try it.


Why was there not enough foam in my garlic foam with soy lecithin? This was my first attempt at making a foam using soy lecithin. I used 3 garlic cloves, 2/3 cup water, 2/3 cup milk. Then i used an immersion blender. I got a bit of foam on top but there wasnt a lot of it. It felt like a waste of a lot of milk. How much foam should I be expecting?

For now, I put the foamy mixture in the fridge, is there a way to salvage and get more foam?

Just an idea... I've had problems making foam because of hard/basic tap water (a lot of chalk in the water) - making frape though, not garlic foam:) Foam will more easily form in soft water as you can easily test with a piece of soap. If you have hard tap water you could try using boiled water (some of the chalk in the water will react and leave a residue on the bottom of the pot) or bottled water with pH 7 (neutral). Another idea would be to add just enough acid for neutralisation but I imagine that could be a bit tricky and you'd risk the milk curdling so I wouldn't recommend it.


Can I use an enameled trivet on the stove top? I noticed a trivet at Aldi going for quite cheap and picked one up. My understanding of a trivet is that it's something you use to diffuse the power of a burner however, the one I got seems to be made to put hot pans and pots on. There are no instructions on the packaging however, so I'm not sure.

The trivet I purchased can be seen in the picture below, it's the round one. It's cast iron, enameled all around. I was wondering if something like that could be used on a gas stove?

Edit: Assuming I removed the thin layer of rubber coating on the feet of course.

I would not recommend using this trivet on any heat source. First, because that is not what it is designed to be used for. Secondly the description says that they have rubber feet, not a good match for a heat source. And while I suppose you could remove them, I couldn't recommend that in good conscience.
EDIT
As per @Jefromi's comment below and as evidenced on  Dictionary.com , there are two types of trivets.

noun
1.a small metal plate with short legs, especially one put under a hot platter or dish to protect a table.
2.a three-footed or three-legged stand or support, especially one of iron placed over a fire to support cooking vessels or the like.

The type shown in the ad/picture in the question is designed to be used to protect table tops and counter tops from the heat of a hot pot or pan.


How to add fruit puree into yogurt without making it too liquid? What is the best way to flavor our yogurt with fruit puree without making it too liquid? I desire its consistency would be like the store bought one.
Another question: can we preserve yogurt that has already been added fruit?
Thank you very much for your help.

A great way to add fruit to yogurt is to use a jam, jelly, or fruit preserve of choice. By cooking out the liquid and thickening with sugar and pectin, a jelly ends up much less watery than a fruit puree. Depending on the fruit you are starting with and the desired texture, the exact recipe will vary. Store-bought jams work as well.
If you are looking for a fresh fruit flavor (as opposed to the cooked flavor of jam) you still have a few options. You could change the composition of your puree (e.g. by pureeing dried fruits, or choosing a less watery fruit to begin with). You could add a thickening agent that activates without cooking, like pureed chia seeds.
Finally, you could keep your puree as is and use a thicker yogurt: greek-style or another strained yogurt should be thicker in the first place, and the texture should still be reasonably thick even after mixing in a watery puree.
I am not sure how to answer your preservation question. A mixture of fruit and yogurt should keep decently in the fridge. But if you are trying to preserve it longer, we would need more details about your process.


How long will double cream stay whipped? I'd like to prepare some whipped double cream in advance for a dessert I'm making. How long will the cream stay whipped (i.e. peaky) if I do it in advance?

If you whisk very cold cream in a very cold bowl, and keep it very cold, it should hold for about 3-4 hours. Longer than that and it can start to separate.


Sour cream peach pecan pie In this recipe it says to use 2 tablespoons of peach preserves what can I use in place of the preserve?   My supermarket does not have it.

'Preserve' suggests jam - peach jam would be my substitution, at 2tbsp the purpose is most likely to accentuate the peach flavour and potentially add to consistency. Hard to know without recipe context.


How do "frozen fresh" herbs compare to fresh? I noticed my grocery store has "frozen fresh" chopped herbs (basil, cilantro, oregano I think, among others) in the freezer section. How would these compare to fresh herbs?

The texture of frozen herbs is going to be totally different after thawing.  In my opinion frozen herbs are fine for using in cooking, but they don't work well as a garnish or as an addition to a dish at the end of cooking.

The taste is definitely better than dried, though.


How to counteract excessive saltiness in dried fish? My wife comes from a culture where preparation and eating of dried fish is very common (as long as one takes the proper measures to deal with the smell).  She prepared for me recently a serving of dried mackerel, but it was sooooo salty that I could only bear to eat one or two bites.  Can anyone recommend some sort of preparation method to counteract this excessive salty flavor?

The standard way to cook salt cod for dishes where you want to really remove the saltiness, such as brandade, is to soak it (for hours) in a couple of changes of water, and then simmer it in milk for half an hour to an hour.  This might work with the mackerel.  Not sure what you'd use it for after that, though.


Pizza bulk fermentation vs proofing (2nd cycle) I recently made Pizza following a recipe that asked to bulk ferment for 24 hours in the fridge, then shape and then proof for another 24 hours in the fridge (in the shape of balls). However, I read that it takes about 20 minutes for the gluten to relax so that the dough is workable. So my question is - can I bulk ferment for 24 hours, degas and mix and then bulk ferment again for another 24 hours without shaping, then take out of the fridge shape and let rest for 20-30 minutes? Will it be the same in terms of workability? It'll be a whole lot easier for me in terms of organisation (fridge space, proofing trays etc.)

Thanks!

I honestly don't really see much of an advantage in splitting into separate dough balls for the second 24 hours of refrigeration.  It sounds like OP is going to take the final dough balls out of the fridge, let them warm up some, then shape, the rise until ready to bake.

My standard pizza recipe tends to be retarded in the refrigerator for 1-3 days, after which I remove it, split into balls, let rest, then shape, then rise a bit at room temperature until I'm ready to bake.  I've tried recipes that required me to separate the dough first in the fridge (or to do it as OP does, in the middle of the refrigerated part of the process), but I've never seen an advantage to it in the way the dough behaved.

The only advantage I can see of splitting into dough balls after the first 24 hours is then after day 2 you can just remove the number of dough balls you plan to use for one pizza bake.  You could potentially let others in the fridge for more time (even a couple more days) until ready to use, or you could even freeze some of them individually for future use.

If you're not planning on that, or planning on baking basically straight out of the fridge (which I don't recommend), there's not a strong advantage to splitting dough into smaller pieces early.


How would I go about recreating beef/hamburger taste/umami, strictly vegan? I've begun to experiment with creating the perfect vegan hamburger. Hamburgers was something I held very dear before I stopped eating meat and I haven't been able to find something that even comes close to a meat based burger.

Now I've done some experiments with seitan and I feel that I'm getting there with the texture and chewiness, however the taste is still far off and I would like to ask you for your best tips on recreating the beefy taste that hamburgers have.

I've tried the usual, soy, ketchup (or dried tomatoes), garlic, onions, marmite, nutritional yeast and vegan worcestershire sauce. And of course a tad of liquid smoke, but I feel lost and unable to track down what I miss and need to make it just right.

Cooks Illustrated has an ultimate veggie burger recipe that you can adapt. Their key to umami is cremini mushrooms.  I've made that recipe and it was well received. Of course, no one mistook them for real hamburgers, but the patties tasted quite good.

MSG (monosodium glutamate) is to umami flavour what sugar is to sweet flavour. So if you're pro-msg, you can try that, too.  And pleanty reasons not to ;)
I recommend trying shitake mushrooms as well.
Also try up to 5% wheat germ/flour which should help with the caramelization and related flavours.
grated vidalia onions in the patties also help (caramelization and umami).


White goo from chicken ruins the dish When I bake chicken breast, some unsavory white gunk comes out. It is a perfectly edible protein, but not pleasant to eat. And when I cook the chicken with vegetables in a pressure cooker, the gunk gets all over the vegetables. What is the best way prevent the gunk from coming out or keep it separate?

I suspect you're overcooking the chicken. This will happen with fish as well if you overcook it. The proteins are being pushed out of the meat along with water because they are shrinking too much.

I cook chicken breast to about 150°F for three minutes (dark meat should be cooked to a higher temp in order to break down the sinew). When everyone tells you 165° that's because that's the temperature that kills most bacteria (to a 7 log10 reduction, or 1/10M). Cooking to 150° for three minutes does the same and the chicken is much moister, not stringy and dry. It's easy to test temperature in an oven but trickier in a pressure cooker. How are your vegetables coming out? Mushy and overcooked or just tender?

If you cook sous vide you can cook at a lower temperature for much longer without negative effects. But I have found dark meat easier to get right with sous vide, and if I have the time I cook thighs and legs for eight hours at 158°F (but at least three or four).

Here's an article on temp and chicken that you may find helpful. I'd also suggest reading Kenji López-Alt's book.

https://blog.thermoworks.com/chicken/thermal-tips-simple-roasted-chicken/


Grilling long beans, and a substitute for cooking twine I've been experimenting with "uncommon" vegetables (in the US) and have recently fallen in love with long beans, which I buy at my local Korean market.  Because of their length, I'm able to grill them, and the taste is delicious.

I put them perpendicular to the grates (I have a typical three-burner propane grill), and the problem comes when I try to flip/rotate them so they char evenly on all sides.  Turning them (by kind of pushing them with the tongs or spatula so they roll) isn't very effective unless I try to do them one or two at a time, and I cook in large batches.  Flipping them by picking up with the tongs is also somewhat ineffective; because of their inconsistent length I often have some ends fall under the grate and burn as I try to lay them back onto the grate.  I can correct this individually, but I'm looking for efficiency.

I realize I could probably pick up both ends at the same time with two sets of tongs, but I don't know that I have the dexterity needed to flip from that point.  Also, this is only very effective if the beans are similar lengths, otherwise they'd fall from one end and I'd have the same problem as before.

One recipe I found suggested tying them in small bunches with cooking twine or scallions.  This makes a lot of sense to me, but I have neither on hand right now.  So, my questions:

If I were to use cooking twine, what would keep it from burning?  Should I soak it?  With direct flame like this I would expect the twine to catch on fire easily, is that an incorrect assumption?
What makes cooking twine special?  Is it just because it frays less than normal twine, or is there something that makes it food-safe?  Could I use, for example, braided nylon rope, or another type of string or rope that I might have in my garage?  Why or why not?

NO--I cannot emphasize this enough--you CANNOT use nylon rope (or any other random rope you have laying around, unless you can be guaranteed that it is 100% cotton or hemp)! It will melt all over your food. Cooking twine is generally, if memory serves, pure cotton and thus safe (though perhaps not tasty) to eat.

Tying your beans in bundles would be counterproductive; only the outer beans would cook. Unless you did some sort of weaving thing like a bamboo mat, at which point I would have to question whether the extra work actually saved you any time.

The mistake that most people make when grilling long skinny things is, as you say, to roll them. Or to flip them as though they were bigger objects. The trick is to turn them from their ends, so it's just a matter of grabbing the end--straight on, parallel to the bean--with your tongs, twist your wrist, move on to the next one.


The muffins were rock hard, what did I do wrong? Here is the recipe I used, I did not mix it for long, as that make the muffins very hard.

The muffins were very hard, and had a bad after taste and smell. I missed adding some oil, but what else could be the reason ?

Red Millet Flour, 50 g
Whole Wheat flour, 50 g
Toasted Oat Bran, 40g
Whole Green Mung Beans - Sprouted, 100 g
Domino - Light Brown Sugar 50g
Baking Soda, 2 tsp
Salt, 1 Tablespoon
Liquid Egg White, 4 eggs
100% Whey (Vanilla), 75g
Chobani - Greek Yogurt - 0% Vanilla, 5.3 oz (small packet)
Carrots - Raw, 1 cup, grated
Bananas - Raw, 1 cup, mashed
White, all-purpose, enriched, bleached, 40 g

Also I wanted to try yeast instead of baking soda, but due to eggs and other veggies I cannot let is rise overnight (any ideas ?). I was trying to make good protein muffins which are an ideal breakfast, grab one with a glass of milk and done!

They run approximately 160 calories per muffin 25g carbs, 1g fat, 12g protein.

What makes muffins soft is starch and fat. You have no fat at all in these "muffins", and very little flour when compared to the vegetables and proteins.

Normal muffin proportions are 2:2:1:1 flour:liquid:egg:fat (per Ruhlmann). I guess you can add up to 2 parts filler (so as much vegetable as flour) before you get the result too terrible. In your mixture, there is a total of 140 g flour and ~700 g fillers (bran, beans, whey, carrots, bananas). This is never going to be muffin-like, you will have to forgo most of your additions. And the whole wheat flour is also making it harder. You either have to change to normal flour, or live with some hardness (it should be manageable if you change all the other factors).

The liquid provided by the yogurt is good if you switch to white flour, no need to change anything there. You may consider adding a bit if you stay with whole wheat, it "soaks" more liquid.

The egg whites are a problem too. First, egg whites make baked goods dry out. You shouldn't be using pure egg whites, they will make bad muffins. You need whole eggs. And second, the equivalent of 4 eggs (200 gram) is probably too much. 1-2 whole eggs would be normal for this amount of flour, 3 makes it pound-cake-like but still usable. Still, you may find out that, if you make all the other changes, upping the (whole) eggs to 4 doesn't make it too bad.

You also used too little sugar. Sugar is an important structural element in muffins. It retains moisture and prevents gluten buildup. It can be reduced if you don't want the taste or the calories, but each gram you take away also reduces the quality of the muffin, so you have to try out and see how much quality reduction you can tolerate.

You had absolutely no fat in the recipe. The standard ratio suggests 75 g. This is also a major factor in softness and moisture.

In short, you cannot take any muffin recipe, remove all the stuff which doesn't have the nutrients you don't want, fill it up with foodstuff you want, pour it into a muffin form and expect it to taste like a muffin. Baking is chemically very complicated, and most of the ingredients are not there for flavor, but for texture. Replacing them with random other ingredients will do nothing good.

You can either return your recipe towards a more traditional muffin, which will of course change its nutrition values back to "sweet baked good", or you can find a different form of combining the foodstuff you have chosen to eat. Mixing it and baking it is not going to work.


Is it possible to make a beverage that evaporates on contact with the consumer's tongue? In one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation Guinan makes a Tzartak Aperitif, which is described as:

  When made properly, the evaporation point of the drink's main ingredient was one-half degree lower than the body temperature of the consumer. Thus, the liquid evaporated immediately after it touched the tongue, and the flavor was carried entirely by the vapors.

Now I know that this drink is completely fictional, but it got me wondering if a similar effect has ever been achieved in the real world?

Are there any (edible) substances, which can be used to create a beverage that evaporates on contact with the consumer's tongue?

And for bonus points, are there any such substances which make a beverage that actually tastes good?

In the Star Trek world you have plenty of beings with body temperatures higher or lower than humans, so if you had a being with a body temp of 79C then ethanol would work out perfectly! However, with humans the liquid which would fit the bill of vaporizing just below body temperature would be Pentane, which not only smells bad but is also toxic. The science behind it is wrong anyway, you'd want a liquid with a much lower vaporization point than body temperature so it would boil off quickly. If you pick a liquid that boils just below body temperature it would take some time to vaporize and you wouldn't have the same effect.
All is not completely lost, you can still have some cool effects with liquids that are safe for consumption. What you have to remember is that the closer a liquid gets to its boiling point the more it evaporates, and any volatiles in it will tend to remain suspended in the vapor and be detectable by the nose. This is the effect you get when you sniff brandy or cognac that has been brought up to body temperature. You can savor it by holding it on the tongue for a few seconds and letting the vapors fill your nasal cavity. So all you need is some strong (at least 80 proof) and flavored (or more accurately scented) alcohol, and the right glasses. Brandy snifters would work best as they are designed to capture the vapors so they can be inhaled. You could then heat the liquid to just above human body temperature and then serve.
Keep the quantities served down unless you want some very drunk guests!


12-hour fermentation makes dough wetter After bulk fermentation of my dough for 12 hours, I find that the dough is too wet or sticky. Should I bulk ferment for a shorter period of time, and retard it in the refrigerator?

I'm currently baking cinnamon bread with nuts. The recipe is 600g bread flour, 200g warm water, 200g warm milk, 150 grams chopped unroasted walnut or pecan nuts. 2 tsp active dry yeast, 10g salt, 30g sugar.

After combining the above ingredients, the dough looks and feels perfect and taut. I leave it to bulk-ferment overnight (not "overday") in room temps of 29-30 C.

Here's the problem:
After bulk fermentation, the dough is slightly wetter and thus too sticky. I could knead it for 15 minutes, and still wouldn't come-together. During the final proofing, it would spread towards the edges of my loaf pan, but wouldn't rise above the rim. In spite of scoring it 4 times and spraying it with water every 10 minutes inside the oven, the bottom still cooks much later and slightly dislodges the crust that set much earlier.

You are overproofing your dough. 2 teaspoons dry yeast, 600g flour and a warm rest of twelve hours sounds like a recipe for disaster to me - not to mention that half of the liquid is milk, which would warrant a closer look into food safety topics as well.

Also, any extended kneading (if used) is usually prior to bulk fermentation, possibly with an autolyse step before adding yeast, but not after a bulk rise. You might choose to "punch down" your dough depending on your desired crumb structure, but kneading renders the previous bulk fermentation moot.

Taking your recipe and environement into account, I would expect your first rise (= double volume) to be complete in under an hour. It seems that due to enzymatic and yeast activity your dough lost its internal structure and the gluten network started to break down. The fact that your dough tends to flow outward, not rise up is another indicator. You can slash and steam as much as you like, once the gluten network broke and the yeast is exhausted, an overprooved dough will not yield good results.

For cold fermentation in the refrigerator the rule of thumb is 1-2% fresh (cake) yeast / 0.33 - 0.66% dry yeast, based on flour weight. For your 600g, that means between 2 and 4 g (or between a generous 1/2 to 1 teaspoon). Use cold ingredients and rest for 8-24 hours. The shorter you want to rest, the higher the yeast ratio, obviously.


How long does it take to warm a ham in the oven? I bought a fully cooked ham.  It was frozen, and it's now thawed.  How long should I put in the oven to warm it up?

Since it's already fully-cooked, you don't need to be all that precise with time or temperature.  The most important thing is to avoid drying it out, so use a roasting pan and add a little water to the bottom (not more than 1 cm) and cover it while it's reheating.

It's best if you have a meat thermometer; toss it in at 300° F / 150° C (or up to 350° F / 175° C if you're in a hurry) and aim for a temperature of about 140° F / 60° C.  If you don't have a thermometer, this about.com page suggests 16-20 minutes per pound; it also suggests heating to 135° F which is also fine.  But if you're not going by a thermometer then you'd better make sure that it's completely thawed first, all the way to the interior, lest you end up with a semi-frozen dinner.

If you also plan to glaze it then apply the glaze after it's been heated and raise the temperature to 400° F (205° C) as the above link suggests.


When to use a slotted vs. solid turner? When would you choose to use a slotted turner instead of a solid one, or vice versa?

I would have thought it’s just a personal preference but lots of utensil sets have both so apparently it’s more than that.

It's largely preference, and sets may include both to seem like better value, but there are sometimes reasons to choose one or the other.

Slotted: allows more fat (or water) to fall off the food; more flexible for the same thickness/material so can slip under things better.

Solid: supports crumbly or loose foods better (e.g. lifting out finely chopped veg). Extra stiffness allows it to be used to break things up in the pan and to support heavier foods, without being overly thick.


How to stop burning raisins in my fruit scones I often like to make scones and mix some raisins into half the batch to make a nice fruity scone.

However often when I lay out my scones and put them in the oven ones at the surface end up being cooked to a hard inedible lump, while the ones inside the scone are nice soft raisins. Short of covering over any raisins that stick out with extra dough, how can I stop these raisins burning?

Since raisins are a type of dried fruit, they don't have a lot of moisture left in them. Heat from baking with just make them drier, eventually resulting in that chewy, not particularly pleasant lump. The internal raisins are more protected from the heat, so they stay the same consistency.

One solution may be to soak the raisins in water, fruit juice, or even wine (boozy scones!) before cooking. The extra liquid will help prevent that drying effect; you'll still have some consistency difference between "outside" and "inside" raisins, but none will be inedible. I soak raisins as well as dried cranberries and cherries before using them in muffins.


Freezing uncooked ‘chicken of the woods’ We found and foraged chicken of the woods. We cooked some and also froze some. We did not cook these mushrooms before freezing. Are they still edible?

Welcome Paulette! Your mushrooms should be fine for using in cooked dishes. I would avoid using them uncooked as thawed mushrooms can be soggy/mushy.

We don't have access to any areas to forage fresh mushrooms, but I have bought both fresh (and frozen them) and prepackaged frozen mushrooms. When used in cooked dishes you couldn't tell that they weren't fresh to begin with. Much, much better than anything from a jar or can!


New Oven in the US, Which would home cooks prefer? I am an English girl living in New York and looking to re-do my kitchen. The most common oven in the US appears to be 30" single space with a warming drawer underneath. In the UK it is a 24" double oven.

Here are my questions:

Does anyone use the warming drawer for anything other than storage (esp in the city environment)?
If you had a choice would you prefer 30" single space or 24" double space?

Thanks for any help given, want to ensure I design not only for myself but also future tenants given it's a rental :)

Only some 30" ranges (the technical term for an oven with an integrated cooktop) have actual warming drawers, generally only high-end models. Most only have a storage drawer, one that for efficiency reasons should be well insulated from the oven proper and so isn't suitable for warming foods. A warming drawer will have its own heat source with dedicated controls.

I think most Americans would expect a 30" range and wouldn't expect an actual warming drawer. It probably wouldn't make a big difference either way, but a few might be put off if they think can't cook a huge turkey, even if they never will.

However, I'm not sure why you're concerned with future tenants. If you're renting the space then just get the range you want. Stick the old range back in when you move out and sell yours.

If on the other hand you own the space and will be renting it out in the future than I don't think what your tenants would expect should be a priority. The range you get for your renters should be cheap and easy to maintain. They will not treat it well and if it breaks it's your problem. In particular don't get a range with a glass top as these require level a care you can't really expect from a renter.


How can you keep a stack of Swedish pancakes fresh? I make Swedish pancakes for my family every Thursday, as per Swedish tradition. Fresh from the frying pan they are crisp at the edges and very slightly crisp on the surface where the batter has caramelised.

If I fry and serve while everyone else eats, we get to enjoy pancakes at their best. The disadvantage is that I don't get to sit and eat with my family.

If I make a stack of pancakes in advance, as I often do, most of the pancakes have become rather limp and lost all of their crispiness by the time they are served. Those at the bottom of the pile are also noticeably cooler.

Is there some way to serve pancakes en masse where each pancake is hot and crisp through to the last?

You have this same problem with most fried foods that you want to serve fresh. Anyone who makes latkes for Hanukkah knows this problem well. So it's similar to this question What technique should I use to make latkes for a party so that I don't have to stay in the kitchen?

You can try what I do for latkes - I put them on a drying rack, sheet pan, skillet, etc. in the oven set at around 250°F. You may want a lower temp for Swedish pancakes, like 200, since they are less dense. They will not be the same as fresh from the frying pan, but they will stay warm and crisp.

For reheating, put them in a dry cast iron or non-stick skillet or in the toaster oven on 375-400 for 4-5 min, more or less time depending on thickness and initial temperature.

If you do this a lot you could also invest in a heat lamp/warmer set up like they use at fast food chains to keep the fries warm. Cheap one on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Home-HL100SV-Culinary-Heat-Lamp/dp/B0043M5N08

Many a Top Chef participant has been felled by this problem though - fried foods, blinis, etc. are never the same as when taken out of the fryer fresh, but they are still quite good out of the warm oven.


How long can you safely cure using Morton's Tender Quick? Morton's Tender Quick says to cure for hours, but the curing recipe I am using says to cure my ham for 4 days. I am wondering does Morton's Tender Quick cure so fast that it only needs hours? Or can I cure with it as long as 4 days? or is that only for insta-cure and pink salt?

I am way confused. I can only find Morton's and I really just want to get started curing.

Morton's Tender Quick is a fast cure salt meant to be mixed in with ground meats or used for curing thinner cuts (or fish). Hams must be brined for days in order for the salt solution to penetrate deeply through the flesh and prevent spoilage. It is important to follow good curing protocol and use the amount of salt as requested in the recipe.

Sodium nitrate, or pink salt #2, is not essential from a food safety perspective for whole muscle curing but is for dry-curing various salumi.


Soda and yeast both in pretzels Usually I think of leavening as either yeast or chemical (baking soda / baking powder).  On these sourdough pretzels yeast and soda are both listed.  Why would a baked product need both leavening agents?

For pretzels or "things with a pretzel crust" an alkali is used in the water they are boiled in before baking. That may be food grade lye (sodium hydroxide), food grade sodium carbonate (commonly found as washing soda, but not food grade), or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda - can be converted to food grade sodium carbonate by baking it.)

Not used for leavening, though there's also no particular reason you could not use both yeast and chemical means for leavening.


Cedar Planks - Reusable Vs. Disposable I want to buy some cedar planks for the first time to try some fun looking recipes. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with simple, disposable planks compared to the more expensive planks that claim to be reusable, e.g (Nature's Cuisine NC001 Large Cedar Oven Roasting Plank). Previous advice I've seen on cedar planks suggest you can only reuse them one or two times but I believe they were talking about the simplest planks, the ones you'd just buy at a hardware store.

The whole idea of using a cedar plank is to char the heck out of the bottom and produce lots of smoke and flavor. My roughly 1/4 inch planks are usually charred pretty well and I simply couldn't see using them a second time. At times, it seems that 1/8 inch or more of the bottom is gone.

If you find a good source for your planks, they should be pretty inexpensive so why push it? I found one of the best sources to be my supermarket right next to the fish counter. $3 - $4 / plank. Seems like a small price to pay when you are grilling a $30 piece of salmon on top of it.


Do I need to use sterilized jars straight away? When making jams and preserves you obviously need to sterilize the jars. After the jars have been sterilized do you need to use them straight away or can you sterilize them in advance and keep them for when you're ready to use them?

You should be packing the jars while they are still hot, for rawpacked or hot-packed products. For hot-packed products, this helps avoid the risk of the jar breaking.

For great instructions on how to can at home, see the National Center for Home Food Preservation.


How do I squeeze gelatine? Every recipe I've seen which uses gelatine says to soak and squeeze it, but none of them say how to squeeze it. I've only cooked once with gelatine, and I just squeezed it in my hand, but I was worried about losing it all through my fingers and I'm not sure I actually squeezed any water out of it.

Is squeezing it in the fist the correct way? If not, what equipment should I be looking out for?

I've always done it with my hands. Just don't let it soak too long, it will still be in one piece and will be generally easy to handle.


I need a substitute for acids in my food. I can't have any acid in my diet, so I need a good substitute for it for my dishes. Like lemon, orange, citric acids and vinegar. Thank you

If you search for a non-acid substitute for souring the food / raising the tartness: There is no substitute. The sensation of a tart dish is caused by lowering the pH at the corresponding taste buds. By definition tasting sourness is detecting an acid.


Muffin sticks to paper cases Today I tried to cook my favourite Raspberry and White Chocolate muffins using a recipe I found on BBC Good Food.

However after cooking them for the set amount of time and removing them from the muffin tray I found that when I tried to peel away the paper cases (from the muffin) the muffin stuck to the case.

The mixture itself was cooked but for some reason it stuck to the paper cases, this is also odd because I've done this recipe before and it worked fine. I've tried to think of any factors that may have changed when cooking for a second time and all I can think of are:

The raspberries were cut slightly larger (in half rather than in quarters/thirds)
Slightly less egg whites were used (because of a slight spill)

Could these factors have caused the muffin to stick to it's paper case?

Turns out I hadn't left them to cool long enough. After I left them for about 2-3 hours and tried again to peel the case off, it came off perfectly and nothing stuck to it.

Sorry about the false alarm but I never thought that not leaving them to cool long enough would have caused this kind of problem.

Thanks for all your answers!


Whole Chicken - why won't the breast cook even though thighs are done? I've been cooking a 6.5 lb. whole chicken tonight and I'm confused by the temperature readings. After about an hour and a quarter, the thickest part of the thigh is at 175 degrees but the breast is only at 140. From reading around, it sounds like the breast normally cooks faster than the thigh. So I'm confused. Most articles state to measure the temperature at the thickest part of the thigh. Do I also need to be concerned about the breast temperature? Why could there be such a variance?

The chicken was not frozen at all. I cooked on 425 convection.

You are probably touching the bone with the probe tip


How to make a good homemade Croquette I've been working on Croquettes and I still don't get it. There are a good number of things too keep in mind for making them right. However, my last batch was a mess, again.

I'd like to pose a wiki like question on how to make the most awesome Meat-Velouté-Croquettes.

1- Broth. Take a knee-bone, knuckle meat, carrots, leek, celery, laurel, ... cover with cold water, bring to a soft boil and simmer for about two hours.

2- Make a Roux. Melt butter, stir in flour, let the mix simmer for a couple of minutes.

3- Mix the broth in with the roux and let that simmer for some time.

4- Taste. Cool.

5- Make Croquette rolls, pass them through flour, egg and breadcrumbs.

6- Cool or freeze.

7- Fry.

My problem was that I mixed too much broth with the roux. So, I mixed more roux and put that in with the Croquette mix. Then I mixed some more roux... After the cooling, it was impossible to make the croquette rolls. The mass would not roll, but kind of tear apart. Like the structure was too strong to establish new connections.

My wife thinks I should have left the mix simmer for longer than I did. Any suggestions?

Edit - I think the problem is in step 3. Now I just let it simmer until the mass gets 'cohesive'. After the cooling, shaping is not a problem any more.

I have always made croquettes with a filling surrounded by mashed potato. So that would be my first suggestion; another suggestion follows.

Make your filling as normal, allow it to cool. If it is too liquid, just drain extra. You want your filling to be moist but cohesive. NB: drain extra liquid before cooling; the extra moisture can compromise the structural integrity of your final product.

While it is cooling, make very smooth mashed potatoes. Season well, and include one egg yolk per two potatoes (assuming a fairly 'normal' sized potato, say 5 inches long or so; adjust for your local differences). Use only just enough butter and cream to hold the mash together and make it pliable. Chill rapidly.

When all ingredients are chilled, you may form logs:

Lay out a sheet of parchment paper or saran wrap. Spread a 1-1.5cm even layer of mash onto the saran. Lay a long 'sausage' of your filling along the mash, about 2cm from the long edge, parallel to it. Using the saran as a handle, carefully roll the mash around the filling to make an even layer around the filling. Pinch closed. Reserve extra mash for another use. Roll very tightly in the saran wrap and chill until quite solid.

Or you may form balls:

Take approximately a tangerine-sized amount of potato in your hand. Spread it to an even layer 1-1.5cm thick on your palm, in a rough circle. Place approx 2tbsp of your filling in the centre of the potato, and working around the circle slowly bring the edges up over the filling, pinching closed in the centre. Roll gently in your hands to smooth out any imperfections. Chill until quite solid.

When fully chilled, flour/egg/breadcrumb (I prefer panko, but use whatever you like) your croquettes. If you are making balls, I've found that a superior method is to deep fry briefly at 350 until barely golden. Remove from the fryer and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes (this does, we tested, allow the warmth to penetrate through). Then fry again until golden brown, consume with whatever condiments you prefer.

So that's one way.

For your specific recipe, there's a few options. If you want to really have fun, form your croquettes, dip in liquid nitrogen, then bread and fry as normal. Or you can just do this in your freezer.

But I think your problem is really how you are making your filling. I think your best bet would be to slow cook your meat with very little liquid--a long slow braise would be ideal, think of something like pulled pork for an example. Use any leftover cooking liquid, reduced, to provide enough moisture to hold your filling together.


How do I work out the use-by dates for my own cooking? If I sort my fridge by 'eat by' date, what is the best way of dealing with food's I've cooked, or partially cooked, myself?

In my fridge there are such delights as:

thrawed from frozen strawberries for the baby
Seiten loaf, made in the last day
several different types of leftovers.

...and it occurs to me I don't know how to work out the 'eat by' dates on any of the dishes we've made ourselves.

I'd like to know some good rules: excellent answers might include: "I run a bakery and this is the situation that the FDA told us we had to go by" but I'll take any information there is...

The US FDA has a handy Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart that might help you.  In general your "leftovers" have a 3 to 4 day shelf life...I would think that includes your thawed strawberries.


How should I store raw steaks in the freezer? What's the best method for storing steaks in the freezer? How should I wrap them? Should they be stored individually?

Yes, store them individually.

First, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, preferably one that says it's specifically for freezer use. Then wrap this tightly in aluminum foil. They'll keep for months without freezer burn this way.


Can soap be put it in the water used for Sous Vide? This is a bit of a strange question, but may a small amount of soap or detergent be placed in the water when cooking with sous vide? Is the vacuum effective enough to prevent any taste of soap from entering the food contents? Thank you

I'd be concerned with two things here.

First of all, I'd be concerned that some soap might contaminate the food product without you knowing about it.  If it's a low enough concentration of soap that it would not cause significant harm to ingest, this isn't a big concern; on the other hand, I might be inclined to use something other than actual soap that is able to accomplish the purpose here if that is possible - for example, a mild bleach solution (I've also seen "pool shock" suggested) might be safer.  Do some research on whatever you add to make sure it's actually okay for this purpose.  If your purpose is to remove bacteria, this is probably your best bet.

Second, I'd be concerned with odors from the soap affecting the food being cooked.  Even if the soap never contacts the food, the odors that make the soap smell good are much more likely to affect things in my experience. If you do use soap, use an odorless soap (something like original (blue) Dawn, no endoresement suggested).

If you can edit the question to provide more of an explanation as to why you're asking it (you mention Kosher laws, but not the specific issue you're trying to address) you may get a better answer.


Smallest muffin size without losing the muffin top? This is a question about the physics of muffins.
With a standard size muffin tray, when filled with batter, the heat and expansion causes the dough to spill over the edge and form the classic muffin top.
But with smaller and smaller tray sizes the amount of expansion will eventually just be a bump that does not spill over the sides.
What is the theoretical minimum muffin size, assuming standard muffin batter (no upping the baking powder).
would it be possible to make breakfast-cereal sized muffins?

First, you must assume a spherical muffin.  This is a silly but fun question, so lets think about the limiting factors.

What if you could scale down everything (the pan, the size of the ingredients, the size of the gas cells, everything else) uniformly.

If that could be done, muffin tops would be a uniform phenomenon at any size.

So, what can we not scale down uniformly?

It seems to me that there are to major factors that cannot be uniformly scaled down in actual practice:

The cell-size of the starch matrix that is expanded by the leavening.  It has a minimum size, and one would imagine that muffins must be macro-scaled compared to the cell size in order to work.

Since the cell size is visible as the grain in an actual muffin, the muffin has an internal structure on the order of millimeters, typically (I haven't baked muffins just now to measure their structure size) based on my best guess and recollection.  This is taking into account some of the larger scale structures within the muffin, like bubbles, and that "grain" which is composed of even finer "grains".

So one limiting factor would be that the muffin would have to be several orders of magnitude larger than tenths of millimeters, say three orders of magnitude.  That would bring the limiting size of muffin-topped muffins to about a centimeter across.
Heat penetration.

We can assume the rate of cooking in the muffin is proportional to the radius of the muffin at any given size, as a first order approximation, for any given temperature.

At some point, the muffin will either cook through before it can expand, or burn on the outside before it cooks through.

The problem with tiny baked goods is that they are outside any effective balance of temperatures.  Either they cook through and start drying out without any good crust development, or the outside is overdone before the inside gets cooked.

The requirement for muffins is even more balanced:  it has to heat the inside enough to trigger the oven spring from the leavening before the outside is set enough that it cannot expand, while still being able to cook all the way through, set the outside, and get decent crust development.

This is very hard to manage.

Practically, it is likely that the current mini-muffin pan size (a couple of centimeters across) is about as small as you can go without having to start taking drastic measures with the recipe.  The main problem is heat management:  getting good oven spring without the muffin setting too fast, while cooking it through, and yet having nice crust development on the outside.

You can have smaller baked goods, but they have a much simpler structure.  They are called cookies.   Most muffin batters would make an effective drop cookie, again probably down to about 2 cm.   They would be essentially all muffin top.

For a look at some of these practical factors, see:

See also:  How to adapt brownie recipe to cook well in a mini-muffin tin?


What is freezer burn? What causes freezer burn?

How can I tell if meat has freezer burn?

Freezer burn is just the food being dehydrated.  Most meat will change color, and it becomes very obvious if you defrost it.  It's not unsafe:  just yucky.


What is the best way to store chopped vegetables? To speed up our cooking during the week, I would like to chop up all the vegetables I will need for the week on a Sunday and then just use them throughout the week.

What would be the best way to store these vegetables?

Will this work with all vegetables or are there some vegetables that just can't be chopped until you are about to use them?

I'm a fan of prepping some vegetables for the week on a day off. I'm much more likely to eat salad if I have the fixings ready in my fridge. I'm no expert, this is just what I've found works best for me.

Certainly some vegetables are more suited to cutting and storing than others. I find controlling humidity and condensation in storage to be the most important factor.  I store almost everything in covered pyrex, unless it needs to breath (and those go in the humid compartment).  Veggies with less water can be kept humid with a lightly moist paper towel on top.  Wetter veggies can cause condensation and lead to sliminess.  A dry paper towel and/or an open container can help with that.  A veggie should either be submerged in water, or not in water at all.  Sitting in condensation is that biggest problem in storage.

Cut carrots keep in water for a week with no change in quality.  Out of water, they can dry out a bit.  I don't find the dryness to be a problem.

Sliced bell peppers keep pretty well with a moist paper towel in the container.

I find onions to be pretty indestructible, though the flavor gets a bit milder over time.

Broccoli and cauliflower are also pretty hardy.  A dry paper towel or two will deal with water from washing them, which is the biggest problem I've had.

Mushrooms and leafy greens need to breath.

Cucumbers and tomatoes don't store as well as others.


Time vs. Temperature - What changes what? Really basic question that's bugging me...

Speaking mathematically, 200 degrees of heat for 10 minutes should be the same as 400 degrees of heat for 5 minutes , but that's not the case, right?

So what's the difference if I cook something for 5 minutes at 450 vs. 350, as opposed to something at 350 for 3 minutes or 7 minutes?

Which "dial" (time / temperature) changes the outcome in what way? Why is this?

One fundamental error in this question: 400 degrees is not twice as hot as 200 degrees. Temperature is a measure of the kinetic energy of the particles involved. The only scale on which you can do the kind of ratio you are imagining is Kelvins - you have to measure from absolute zero.

400 F = 477.59 K
200 F = 366.48 K

so the kinetic energy of the air in the oven is only about 477/366 = 1.3 times as high at 400 F as it is at 200. For simple cases, like how long it takes to evaporate a pan of water, 1.3x is probably pretty close to right, but as is pointed out above, there are a whole host of other variables that come into play with real food.

So ...

Bake time variations for a recipe that calls for 400 degrees for 30 minutes converted to a 450 cooking time and a 350 cooking time:

400 Farenheit = 477.594 Kelvin

477.594 x 30 minutes = 14327.82 HeatPoints

450 F = 505.372 K

14327.82 HP / 505.372 K = 28.35 or 28 minutes 21 seconds


Home made ranch dressing has bubbles. Is it bad? I recently started making my own Ranch dressing. It tastes great, but last night when I took it out of the fridge I noticed it had a few bubbles at the surface--similar to what you might see with some fed bread starter.  It smelled fine, so I ate it anyway!  It was about a week old.

Today, I don't feel so good.  Should I not have ignored those bubbles?  The mayo, sour cream, and milk it was made from are all still just fine, is what confuses me.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Ingredients: 1 Cup Sour Cream, 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise, 1/8 teaspoon Ground Pepper, 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1 teaspoon Parsley, 1/2 teaspoon Dill Leaves, 1/2 cup Whole Milk. No salt.

For some background: On our site, only official, stringent food safety is on topic. Any further considerations are considered not suitable for discussion here.

From the point of view of food safety, the question "is it bad" does not exist. The only difference that can be made is between safe food, for which there is absolutely no doubt that there is nothing wrong with it, and not safe food, which includes anything from "formally not OK even though 99% of people would eat it" to "I see the maggots crawling in it". There are no further distinctions made, and this one distinction is based not on the actual chance of the food making someone sick (which is usually not calculable) but on what one can prove about the food's chance to make someone sick.

Based on this (admittedly very unintuitive point of view), your dressing, your mayo and your milk are all unsafe. I am not entirely sure if the sour cream may fall under some exception. The reasons:

all food you prepared, and all food you bought in a hermetically closed container and opened, is considered unsafe after 3-5 days from preparation/opening, unless it falls under a more specific rule. (There could be one for sour cream, since it is fermented). Your food was opened/prepared 7 days ago.
also, the moment you notice something which you don't know if it is spoilage or not, you are required to assume it is spoilage, which makes your food unsafe. So, it doesn't matter what these bubbles are - if you don't know for sure they are OK, they are considered not OK, no matter on which day it happened (this precedes the time-based rule).

I know you were probably expecting a different kind of discussion, but it is not something we can provide.


Prevent onions and potatoes from sticking to bottom of steel pot for stew I make bulk lentil stew every week as a form of meal-prep. The first step in my ad-hoc recipe is to fry some onions in oil.

If I add spices to these onions after they have cooked a bit, the spices stick to the bottom of the pot, which in turn causes the lentils to stick to the bottom later. It's worse if I try to add potatoes at the same time, which is related to this question.

If I'm making a stew, does it matter at what point I add the spices? Are lentils sticking to the bottom unrelated to the spice stickiness?

If your spices are sticking to the bottom you may have the pan too hot, and/or not enough oil. Spices need definitely benefit from some frying to release their flavors, however too hot and you can burn them, and if there's not enough oil they tend to clump, stick and sometimes burn. I like to turn the heat down a bit below medium before frying off my spices, and keep my oil bottle close by in case they clump. If they clump and stick I will drizzle more oil in until they loosen up.

If your pan gets sticky carbs will tend to stick to the bottom, a technique to prevent this is to deglaze the pan with some water, this will loosen the stuff on the bottom and reduce additional sticking.


Will my double crust for a fresh uncooked chicken pot pie get soggy if left in refrigerator overnight? I am making 8 chicken pot pies with a double crust in a 9" round aluminum container as gifts for friends to take home and cook themselves or freeze it.  I will pre-prep the filling on a Friday   and assemble the pies the next day.  I will refrigerate the pies overnight then give them to my friends that following day. Will the bottom crust get soggy overnight and not crisp up when baking?

No, it'll be fine. I can't elaborate really. It just will be fine it's how people have done it forever.
I do it on a daily basis. As long as everything is cold when you assemble and the pastry is raw, you'll have no issue at all.


Did I get served fake maple syrup? Last week I was at a breakfast place in a Maine resort town and had some pancakes. The offered "real" maple syrup at extra cost, so I asked for it. It came in a plastic dish so I could not see the container.

It tasted like fake syrup to me, that bland taste. Normally, with real maple syrup I expect it to be pungent and "maple-ly" tasting, kind of like Laphroaig has a strong taste compared to Oban. Is this not an accurate expectation? Do real maple syrups have a range of tastes, including the bland store bought taste, or do all real syrups have a strong and unmistakable taste?

There is enough variation in maple syrup that grading systems (regionally different) have been introduced, treating each grade as a separate kind of merchandise. Actually, the more expensive stuff (grade A/AA) is subtler and might appear weak to someone used to the more flavourful and darker B/C grades.


Making Raclette without special equipment or specific type of cheese I have a sizable chunk of emmenthal cheese taking up valuable space in my fridge, and I was looking for a recipe to use it in. Drilling down into Swiss cuisine at wikipedia, I encountered an intriguing mention of Raclette, an apparently simple meal of 'scraped' hot cheese with various accompaniments.

My questions are:
1. Is emmenthal an acceptable alternative to true raclette cheese?
2. I have no intention of going out and buying a specific 'raclette' gadget, so is there some sort of workaround using ordinary kitchen utensils that will allow me to recreate the traditional ralette experience (ie. scraping the edge of the cheese with a knife)?

I would recommend inviting your friends and family over for a cheese fondue party. Fondue requires a large amount of Emmental, so this should take care of your space issue. Also, Emmental is the perfect fondue cheese with its distinctly nutty flavor that complements the addition of dry white wine and Kirsch liqueur.

http://RacletteChalet.com


How can I reduce the salt taste in a dish Can a dish prepared with too much salt be overcome without changing the water or ingredient content? Or least in a drastic way.

a stew or soup can be fixed by adding a halved potato into it and simmering for as long as it takes for the potato to cook. Carefully remove the potato with a slotted spoon afterwards.


How can I get a better looking crust on my baguettes? I've been making baguettes using the "stretch & fold" method instead of kneading. The resulting baguettes have great taste & texture, but the surface is covered with coarse, unsightly ropes of gluten, as below:

Is there a way to get the benefits of the stretch & fold method (texture; open crumb) without the ugly appearance?

Regardless of the kneading method you use your loaves need to have a taut skin on top after shaping or they will look ragged. Another consequence of a ragged top is that it doesn't trap the expanding gasses as well and might not rise as high.
Boules are easier as you can pull all the dough to the underside in a circle to stretch the top. Baguettes are trickier.
One method is to push a finger into the underside of the baguette while stretching the top surface around it and then working down the length of the loaf.
This is a good description of this method:
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/guides/shaping-baguettes/
Another method is to pull the loaf along the table with the tips of the fingers on the edge of the loaf to let the friction with the table stretch the top of the loaf.
Don't forget to score the proofed loaves of that nice top will tear in the oven.