Having trouble with the sweet & sour sauce recipe Recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/19670/sweet-and-sour-sauce-i/

Ingredients:
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:
Place the sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, ketchup and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened.

I did everything as said in the instructions, weighed in all the ingredients correctly and the problem is with the vinegar. I don't know if I'm using the wrong vinegar or something, but as soon as I smelled the sauce when it was cooking, I thought my lungs was about to explode in my chest, I could barely taste the sauce as the vinegar felt really really strong in it.

Is it something wrong with my choice of vinegar or is the recipe faulty? I don't understand. On the bottle it says "Food vinegar acid (9%)".

Really need help.

5% is the acid content of most common vinegars, and if a recipe doesn't explicitly state to use a stronger one, assume a 5% type is intended. There seem to be versions of white distilled vinegar in both 5% and 10%, an even stronger version called Essigessenz at 25% (!!!) is common in Germany. You likely bought the 9% version by accident, you should dilute it 1:1 with water or only use half the amount.


How should Dashi made with kelp and bonito flakes smell? I attempted to make homemade Dashi with kelp stands and bonito flakes. It looks as suggested on multiple Japanese cooking sites but it smells like low tide. Is that how it's suppose to smell?

Since dashi is, after all, made with seaweed and dried fish, it will smell and taste a bit of the sea.  If you don't eat or prepare much seafood, this smell might seem quite strong to you; for people, like most Japanese people, who eat fresh seafood five times a week, the smell and taste are subtle.

The other possibility is that you made an error in preparation which caused the stock to become far too fishy.  Any of the following can cause this:

using very low quality kelp or "instant" bonito
using expired/rancid bonito
allowing the pot to come to a roiling boil with the kelp and bonito in it
forgetting to rinse the kelp first
adding too much bonito, especially instant bonito
letting the dashi steep much too long

I would suggest that you back off on the quantities of ingredients you are using, let them steep for a shorter time, and make sure the pot doesn't come to a boil.  Clearly, whether or not your dashi tastes like it should by Japanese tastes, it's fishy to you.

EDITED TO ADD: also, if you don't eat seafood regularly and are finding even good dashi much too fishy, consider making dashi with konbu and dried shitake mushrooms instead.  This is commonly done in Japanese Buddhist vegetarian cuisine and is quite good.

Also, you might go to a good Japanese restaurant and get some kind of clear soup so that you can taste what you're shooting for.


How interchangeable are fats in yeast bread recipes? I know that unsalted butter has a water content - can I substitute clarified butter, vegetable oil, or shortening in equal amounts? If I do use unsalted butter, do I need to adjust the hydration percentage? Adversely, if I use a fat with no water content, do I need to adjust the hydration level up a bit? Or do I just rely on how the dough comes together, and tweak as I go?

If you're the type of person who measures all your ingredients on a gram scale, theoretically you do.

However, unless the fat in the recipe is on the order of 1/2 cup, the amount of omitted water is going to be less than the amount of variance in water you get from uncontrollable sources, such as the ambient humidity.  There's also that you never know exactly how much water is in that generic unsalted butter to begin with.  American butter varies between 11% and 18% for water content, not just between brands, but also by season and year as the price and quality of cream fluctuates.  Not only do you not actually know how much water content is in your butter, you don't know how much was in the cookbook author's butter (also, some cheaper brands of ghee, such as the one sold at Trader Joe's, are not actually water-free).

If we were to assume that a recipe called for 200g of unsalted American butter, then you'd theoretically want assume an average water content of 15%, and swap that for, say, 170g of oil and 30g (roughly 2 Tbs) of water.

But my practical advice is "add a couple extra teaspoons of water and see how it comes together".


Can fermented products (yoghurt, creme fraiche etc) be added to a ravioli filling? If not, why not? (From a science point of view if possible :))

There is no reason not to do it in the sense of the food police arresting you or your oven exploding. But still, many people prefer not to do it (and some of them may feel that this gives them the moral obligation to become said food police :) )

The scientific reasoning behind it is that when the dairy proteins, when heated in the presence of the acid produced by the fermentation, curdle. The clumping is reduced if they are mixed with something else - e.g. you are using a dairy product that's high in fat, like creme fraiche, or your filling is not made mostly out of fermented dairy. But if you just dump yogurt into your ravioli, it will curdle during the cooking, basically turning into a kind of tvorog. The filling will be grainy and swim with whey.

If you are bothered by that change, don't do it. If you are not, you might still find your ravioli easier to handle if you fill them with tvorog outright instead of using a filling predominantly made of fermented dairy. There will be small differences in the result however, and if you find out that you like it, then there is no reason not to do it.

If you have a filling mostly made of something else, and want to add small amounts of fermented dairy, you probably won't notice any unusual effects happening anyway.


Replacing butter with olive oil This is more of a food preparation/health question since it's after the food has been cooked. Recently I've been substituting butter with olive oil. For example, baked potatoes, instead of butter and sour cream, I use olive oil. I've also added olive oil to noodles and in place of gravy in a few meals and also in place of teriyaki sauce in rice bowls.

In most cases the flavor is enhanced. With the potatoes, you taste a bit much of the olive oil but it's still good.

Is it ok to continue doing this? I'm assuming that it's going to be better than butter and other "dressings" such as gravy.

If this is a safe practice, I would like to get my family more into it, but I doubt they will enjoy the natural flavor of olive oil. I've been adding different flavors of Ms Dash seasonings (no salt) which give it nice hints of this and that depending on the type. What else can I do to enhance the flavor so they will enjoy it?

It's certainly safe. Butter, Oil, whatever, it's more about taste than anything else. Some people even push lard and butter as the "safe" options, because they require less processing than oil, and much less than margarine.

One thing which you should be aware of in regards to butter vs oil: butter has a significant amount of water in it, so you shouldn't substitute 1-to-1, or you will have a stronger flavour (and more fat) than perhaps you want.

If you're accustomed to salted butter, adding some salt will help ease the transition. If the flavour of olive oil is off-putting, there are plenty of more neutral flavoured oils that have a similar fat composition, or you can simply avoid extra virgin olive oil*.

*extra virgin olive oil in the U.S is largely a scam. In most of the world (countries that adhere to the IOC standard) this signifies "First Cold Press" olive oil. In the US it signifies "lamp grade olive oil with green food coloring". There are no restrictions on the use of terms like "extra virgin" in the US, so you can't guarantee that's what you're really getting just because it's on the label.


power outage/frozen meat We were on vacation for a week. The neighbor said we were out of power the whole time.  We have a chest freezer full of beef. It thawed but remained in the freezer unopened the whole time. Is the meat bad if it is thawed but still cold? Can we refreeze it and eat it?

You may be able to salvage some or all of it if the meat was still cold enough to contain ice crystals, otherwise I'm afraid it's a total loss. There is a guide here.

If you do have to discard it, check with your homeowner's insurance company. They might cover the loss.


What can I substitute for tomato juice? I have a daughter who is allergic to tomatoes, but there are so many recipes calling for tomato juice. What can I use to substitute for tomato juice?

I agree with the people who say it depends on the recipe. I'm going to expand a little on what has already been said.

Tomatoes are acidic but slightly sweet, and of course add some red color and (depending on the juice) maybe some thickness to a sauce or broth.

Tomatoes (and their juice) can be pretty distinctive, so you shouldn't expect any substitution to come out exactly the same as the original, and depending on what you're making and whether this is a beloved family recipe you are adapting vs something you found on Pinterest that you've never had before, you may care more or less about getting to exactly that original flavor/texture/color/etc. It may go without saying, but you will want to measure the volume of your replacement liquid AFTER any adjustments have been made to it. Some recipes are pickier than others about liquid volumes.

You could start with water, vegetable broth or apple juice (or apple juice diluted with water or broth) as a base to replace your tomato juice and add some things to adjust it to make it fit what you're looking for. Using a substitute other than water will provide a new flavor basis for the recipe, using water will make other things stand out.

Another option that might need less adjustment could be commercial, prepared Polish-style borscht which is generally a broth-like beet/vegetable soup, probably available at most grocery stores that have a good International section, or a reasonable Kosher selection. You will want to check ingredients, of course, to make sure it doesn't have anything you don't want in it, and if you get a style that has vegetable pieces in it you could either strain them out or puree the whole thing.

** Adjustments **

Salt level -

A commercially pre-prepared broth (or the borscht) will probably be a lot saltier than 100% tomato juice, but maybe similar to a tomato-y juice like v8. Either way, if you start from broth, you will probably want to significantly reduce or skip any other salt called for in the recipe.

Sweetness -

Tomatoes aren't extremely sweet, but they are a little sweet. If you start from anything other than the juice, I would add a little bit of sugar -- maybe 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon per cup of liquid, but you could also probably leave it out. Many dishes with tomato may also have added sugar in them to counter the acidity. If you are starting from a juice base, skip or reduce additional sugar in the recipe.

Acidity -

A pinch of citric acid (powdered crystals are available for canning or in some spice collections) is quite neutral in flavor.
Indian grocery stores also offer amchur (powdered dried green mango) which is also pretty neutral.
Slightly less neutral would be a bit of lemon juice (maybe 1 t per cup of liquid?) or vinegar (depending on which type you choose, it can have a strong effect on flavor).
Tamarind is available from many Asian markets and has a more distinctive flavor, and will also affect (darken) the color. If you're using tamarind fruit, you can get it in a number of forms, most commonly as pressed, dried pulp (usually still with the seeds) or as paste (a black, sticky substance more like a honey texture than a paste, IMO). If you use the paste, a little goes a long way, maybe just 1/4-1/2 t to a cup of liquid. If you use the pulp, soak a small chunk of it in hot water for 10-15 minutes and press it into the water. Use the resulting tamarind broth (ok if some bits of pulp get in). Use more pulp to get a stronger flavor, less for a lighter flavor. Don't soak it in more liquid than you want to end up with.
Another option from India is kokum, which is another fruit with a distinctive flavor which will also affect the color. If you can get "wet" black kokum it is easier to use than the dry kokum (and you need less "wet" than dry to get a strong flavor), but either way, soak a chunk of it in hot water using the same method as the tamarind.

Color -

If you are going for the red color, pureed roasted red peppers are a great option. These are available in tins or jars in your Italian section of the grocery store or at import food stores, or you can make them yourselves from fresh red bell pepper (capsicum). Again, they've got a distinctive flavor (although milder than tamarind or kokum). About a tablespoon of pureed red pepper per cup of liquid is probably good. This will also thicken the liquid, and of course you can add more or less to adjust the thickness.
A little bit of beet juice will also give a red color, and after cooking it is a little closer to the orangey red you expect from tomatoes. It also has a fairly distinctive flavor if you add enough to make it really red.

Thickness -

Pureed roasted red pepper, as mentioned before, will add some thickness and a distinctive flavor.
Mashed potato will add thickness without affecting flavor much. Other cooked, mashed root vegetables like sweet potato or carrot can thicken it up some but may affect flavor, color and sweetness.
Corn or potato starch are good, neutral thickeners if what you're making will be brought to a boil.


Why do brassicas like cauliflower or brussels sprouts sometimes taste bitter, and (how) can I avoid it? Cauliflower or Brussels Sprouts sometimes taste slightly bitter after cooking. Is this some mistake in the way they are cooked or is that just the vegetables themselves?

All the vegetables form the Brassica family have a bitter component to their flavour. Brassica is the family that includes cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

You can actually remove quite a lot of it by leeching it out in to the water, or by using salt. Remember that this means you're also losing some of the nutritional value, though that doesn't matter too much.

You can also try ot mask the bitter taste with the sauce/dressing. Something like a cream sauce, or even barbeque flavour will usually mask the bitterness quite well, while letting the cabbage-ness come through.


Are there safety concerns with cooking something with beer or wine in the oven? Probably a silly question, and I have never heard of an incident, but then again that does not rule out a safety issue. Basically, if I want to put a covered pot in the oven with beer or wine (or some other alcohol), is there a safety concern, or a pre-oven step that must be done? The reasoning is that if the alcohol cooks off as a gas, could it be trapped in the oven, and heat up until it explodes or starts a fire?

For now, I usually add the beer or wine to the pot on the stove, and let it heat up uncovered for a few minutes before the oven.

This is a little speculative but too much of an answer for a comment.

We've had a few discussions here about the relative rates of boiling off water and alcohol. The result is that the alcohol vapour (starting from even pure beer/wine) will be mixed with quite a lot of water vapour so will be dilute even before it mixes with air.

Apparently you need between 3.3% and 19% alcohol in air for it to be flammable. A source of ignition is also required (e.g. the flame in a gas oven).  Gas ovens have to be fairly well ventilated for there to be enough oxygen to support a flame. So much of the alcohol would escape. Any that does reach the flame is likely to be consumed there unnoticed before much can build up.

An electric element (not the air in the oven) does get hot enough to ignite alcohol. It can ignite spitting fat and that doesn't cause a problem except a smoky kitchen. If you've boiled off enough to replace 3.3% of the air with alcohol you've also replaced quite a bit with water vapour too. An oven would have to be very well sealed to allow this buildup in the first place.

I have seen an old oven door fail when grilling. In that case the (forgotten) food itself ignited and was spitting flames at the glass, which burst. It didn't cause a fire outside the oven.

I haven't considered the case of strong spirits. There's probably a way to arrange pure/flambé alcohol to ignite in an interesting way.


Is there a way to stop marshmallows from melting off the stick? Does anyone know of a good way to keep marshmallows from melting off the roasting stick when making smores? Not just sliding off, more like when you use a hot roasting stick and then put the marshmallow on it, it just spins around the stick and does not roast well.

If you can, just get better marshmallow skewers/forks. If there are two prongs on the end, the marshmallow can't rotate. (And as long as you're not holding it at a really steep angle, they'll have a hard time sliding off the end too.)

You can get fancy ones with nice handles, but just plain metal is fine. And it doesn't have to be super strong, so you can probably even just make some out of reasonably thick/stiff wire or metal coat hangers.

The ones I grew up using (for marshmallows and hot dogs) looked like this:

(though I always put the marshmallows on straight).

I couldn't quickly find a picture of exactly the same shape, but if you're wanting to try to make your own, this is what I'd go for:

<===>----------<===

A loop on the end to give you something to hold, then repeated twists through the middle section to make it stronger, then opening up into the two-pronged fork on the end!


How can I achieve the same flavor and texture as roasted garlic without an oven? I'd like to make roasted garlic, but I don't have an oven, only a gas range.  Is there any way for me to get the same results with the range as I would in a conventional oven?

You can get the same result by frying the garlic in a saucepan of oil.

Place peeled cloves in a saucepan and add enough light olive oil or canola oil to just cover the cloves.  Cook at medium to medium-low heat, stirring not too often until the garlic becomes golden brown.

Strain the cloves into a strainer or colander to remove excess oil, but save as much of the oil as you can.  It is now filled with the lovely roasted garlic flavor, and is wonderful for sauces, salad dressings, and drizzling over cooked foods.

If you don't mind a less-neutral base oil, you can use good extra-virgin olive oil instead of light olive oil. The resulting infused oil will have an even richer flavor.


Make fruit last longer in fridge? I am single. When I buy strawberries or blueberries they don't always last until I get to eat them. Would they last longer kept in water? (in Tupperware)

I know strawberries can be frozen in syrup. I don't want to do that. I sometimes make muffins with half the blueberries just so I can eat them all.

No, they won't last longer in water. Fruit freezes very well without the need for syrup, and can be defrosted quickly simply by running cold water over it. If you're baking with it, you can just bake with fruit still frozen.


Is there any way to counteract the calcium chloride included in most canned beans? All the beans I can find in the local supermarkets have calcium chloride in them, which helps them retain their firmness.

But I want soft beans.

Yes, I can cook my own beans from dry, but sometimes I just want fast access to beans. Beans that will be soft and break down in soups or stews.

But beans treated with calcium chloride just sit there, even tasting a bit undercooked in the center. Is there some way to counteract the calcium chloride so that they will break down and get soft?

Calcium in Calcium Chloride indeed firms the beans by fortifying the pectin.
On the other hand, alkali conditions will greatly accelerate the breakdown of pectin during cooking.

You can simply use baking soda to soften the beans while cooking.


Making hashbrowns with butter? I'm wondering if anyone has had success with hash browns by the way of butter.

I've read certain sources claim that it's OK to use butter, some suggest only using it with oil, but I detest the flavor I receive when preparing with any oil.

Is it possible at all?

P.S. - I'm referring to this.

I prefer buttered hashbrowns myself. I've had the best luck with unsalted butter and by cooking them on medium to medium low heat so they won't burn or over brown quickly.

If you are making hashbrowns from scratch make sure you remove all the excess moisture as this will further aid in golden brown color instead of burning.


Pork roast safe cooking I put a pork roast in the crock pot and accidentally cooked on warm for 30 minutes before I switched it to high! Is it safe to eat?

As seen in simplest form here, the FDA has deemed the temperature danger zone at between 41°F and 135°F inclusive.

Meanwhile, also in its simplest form here, we see again from the FDA that the internal temperature of pork must come to 145°F in order to be considered safe.

Finally, consider the following, as found here

  Crock pots may vary but generally, the LOW setting is about 200
  degrees F. and the HIGH setting is about 300 degrees F.

These three pieces of information in combined form make it certain that you're in no danger of having spoiled your cut of meat by cooking it only on Low for 30 minutes.


How to get the effect of gluten in gluten free baking I've been baking gluten-free cakes and in order to get something akin to a regular cake - light instead of heavy - I've been essentially making a sponge cake by making a light meringue and folding the batter into it. This has worked very well, but it does use a lot of eggs and, of course, it does not rise.

Is there anything I can do or use to get a more glutinous-style recipe with the rising (and lower egg count!) and all?

In short: Is there a method to get a GF cake to rise and not be heavy?

According to this site I've been using (https://www.americastestkitchen.com/guides/gluten-free/troubleshooting-gluten-free-baked-goods), if your cake is too dense, try: "Reduce amount of fat, use additional liquid, use additional baking powder, use additional egg." So I would try each one of those things separately and see what gets the result you want. I've just started experimenting with gluten-free baking, hope this helps!


Sprouts and "better-to-cut-out-parts" in vegetables A while ago I read that "all the green parts in tomatoes" actually contain a not so healthy "active ingredient" which would be better not to eat.
What I knew was that we couldn't digest those parts well, but nothing more.
Now I am asking myself if the same can be said for onions, potatoes, paprikas and so on.

What I normally do is:

Cut the center (green part) of the tomatoes away
Cut the center of the onion away (even if not sprouting)
Cut all the little sprout of potatoes away
Cut the white parts inside paprikas away

Since I don't feel good about trashing food, I would like to know if I am just being too cautious, or am actually doing fine.

Unless you're planning to consume a few kilo of each of them in one sitting, I would say you're being too cautious. Tomato, bell peppers, chilis and potatoes are all part of the nightshades family, and are toxic to some degree. But the poison is in the dose. The amount contained with in the vegetables would mean you'll have to consume an inordinate amount of it for them to take effect.

I cut the sprouts of a potato, I have to peel them anyway. I usually cut away the "crown" of the tomato, mostly because it's tough and I don't want it in the dish. Most of the time, I don't even bother with the white parts of a paprika if I cook them, only in salads for cosmetic purposes I take them out. Onions just get peeled and used. So far, to no ill effect.

[EDIT]

As mentioned by Popup, be wary of green potatoes: Small sprouts or eyes on a potato aren't a problem; Cut them away as you find them. But do cut away green areas of a potato. As the article in the link tells, it's not that the green parts are solanine (the toxic), but rather an indication of areas where solanine build up takes place:

  "What is the green? Actually it’s chlorophyll. Not bad for you at all.
  But the chlorophyll indicates that the potato has been exposed to
  sunlight. And where the potato has been exposed to light is where a
  natural toxin in the potato (solanine) becomes concentrated at harmful
  levels"

No need to discard the entire potato, just get rid of the offensive parts, and when it makes sesnse, i.e.: If you need a microscope to spot it, or if it's the size a pins' head, so to speak, don't worry about it.


Is it possible to make burger buns pans made with paper tape? I know that there are professional burger bun pans (such as silicone or metal) available, but I've heard that some burger restaurants make their own bread with crafted pans made of paper tape since they make the burger bun grow better vertically.

Is that possible? Did anyone do it before? Can you guide me?

If by "paper tape" you mean "strips of (food safe) paper or parchment" then yes, it's possible.

But before we talk about the how, let's have a quick look at the why first:
Most cooks want to match the size of the bun to the size of the patty or vice versa. Unfortunately, some recipes can be a bit unpredictable as far as the rising and expansion of the buns are concerned, and so are the abilities of the various bakers when it comes to proper shaping. A burger bun pan limits the sideways expansion, thus determining a maximum diameter. And if the bun can't expand sideways, it will go up.

Now, how you achieve that is up to you.
The aforementioned hamburger bun pans (aka mini pie pans, btw.) are but one solution. Others are baking rings, the tops of canning jars, strips of tinfoil, strips of parchment, a parchment collar inside a tin, parchment around a tin. (The latter two are probably overkill for your case.)

In short, for tinfoil or parchment you take a strip that's an inch or two longer than your desired diameter and a few times as wide as your desired height. You fold it lengthwise a few times for increased stability, then secure the overlapping ends - a stapler comes to mind. Tape will probably not stick to parchment (depends on the brand) and is not supposed to go in the hot oven. In a pinch, a piece of string (cotton, not plastic!) can work as well. The tinfoil link above has also step-by step instructions.

I personally use neither - I shape my buns until the surface is taut and usually they turn out nice enough. So in addition to crafting rings, you should also read up on how to properly shape buns.


Will these types of pots work for cooking gumbo? I will be hosting a party and need to purchase a larger pot to cook gumbo for the number of guests I will be having. I currently cook gumbo in a smaller thick-bottom All-clad pot. The roux is peanut oil based and I do well cooking it in these pots I currently own. I am looking at purchasing a pot from a restaurant supply store and would like to know if these pots will work for making a roux/gumbo and if there are differences between cooking in an aluminum pot vs a stainless steel pot.

Aluminum 'Stock Pot,' standard heavy weight 3/16in (4 mm.)

or

18/8 Stainless 'Stock Pot' with 5 millimeter thick aluminum core

It seems the only large pots are categorized as stock pots. Are these too thin for my purposes?

As for working, they will certainly work. A cook can learn to use pots with irregular heating patterns.

The bigger problem is, can you work with large pots? If no, then your plan won't work, independently of the pot thickness you choose. A pot of this size just doesn't behave like a small pot. It will have a heat gradient vertically, and, unless you have a giant paella burner, also horizontally. And this will happen even with the best bottom. Also, if you are making roux by one of the "depends on speed" methods, the sheer amount of roux and liquid mean you won't be able to mix before lumps form, and you may suddenly find yourself in need of more hands when you realize you can't lift your prepared liquid one-handed.

If you are confident that you can deal with that, then the pots will do all right. If you are not, you will need to learn large-pot cooking, and the bottom won't be a major constraint. So just pick a pot and use it.


How to determine the "doneness" of salmon? I, like most people, prefer fish to be cooked correctly. For salmon, this means soft and velvety (but warm) in the center -- what I would characterize as medium rare.

I consistently overcook for two reasons: one, fear of bad stuff and two, because I am guessing. What are good rules of thumb for telling when it's medium rare?

Press the salmon. The less cooked it is, the softer it will be. You more or less just have to learn by touch.

Broad rule of thumb: 6oz (flat-ish) portions of salmon take about three minutes to sear one side in a hot pan, flip, throw in a 350 oven for 5-6 minutes.

If roasting from raw, should be 11-13 minutes in a 350 oven.


Why can't I put food on the pan while the stove is heating up? I see a lot of cooks and chefs heat up the pan first, then add oil/butter, then add the ingredients into the pan. Is there a particular reason why they don't put stuff on the pan and then turn on the stove?

I find it particularly more convenient to put it on the pan so that I have more room on my cutting board and it's one less dish I have to clean up.

There is a simple fact which many intermediate cooks don't seem to realize:

The rate at which you pump heat into your food has a huge influence on what the end result tastes like.

So, if you put food into a cold pan, and it gets heated slowly, you end up with a different result than if you throw it into a hot pan that transmits a lot of heat into the food at once.

Both techniques have their place in the kitchen, but the "heat quickly" one usually produces results which the majority of people like - vegetables stay firmer, doughy foods get a nice crust, sticky things release easily, etc. So it is used more often. And if you want good results, I'd suggest to stick with your recipe and use a heated or cold pan as it directs you.


White chocolate ganache won't set The other day I attempted to make a white chocolate ganache, and while the flavor is perfect, it utterly refused to set. Instead what I ended up with was a sticky, somewhat runny blob. It never hit that really nice fudgy stage where I could take it out of the spring form and not have it run all over the place. Granted it wasn't horribly runny, but still enough not to be presentable.

I'm used to dark chocolate ganaches which will firm up into something not unlike a fudge, which is perfect for making tarts.

The basic recipe was this:

1 cup heavy cream, held at a low simmer for around 5 minutes with spices
Strain cream over 12 ounces of nestle white chocolate chips
Stir on low heat until fully melted and slightly reduced

Any ideas would be really helpful, I have high hopes for this recipe once I can get the ganache to set correctly.

White chocolate does not have starch, so it does not thicken the ganache, unlike dark chocolate.

The proper proportion for white chocolate ganache is 45 to 60 ml of cream to 12 ounces of chocolate. You used 240 ml, which made it too runny. Use less cream and you will get a good consistency.


Can coconut cream be transformed into coconut milk, or vice versa? Can coconut cream be transformed into coconut milk, or the other way around? For example, will adding water or cow milk to coconut cream make a usable coconut milk? Or by reducing coconut milk, can I get coconut cream?

Short answer: you can let coconut milk separate and skim it to get a little coconut cream, but can't convert coconut cream back to coconut milk.  Diluting the cream just produces something runny and disgusting.

Long answer: Coconut milk is made by grating coconut and running very hot water through it to extract oils and flavor, then straining out the coconut pieces.  It is a mix of water soluble parts and fats, and can emulsify just like normal milk or thicken sauces similarly to milk cream.

If you allow coconut milk to sit, the fatty part will rise to the top.  This part is skimmed off to make coconut cream, which is much richer in fats.  It cooks very differently because of the higher fat content, and does not emulsify or thicken well; however it is quite delicious!

If you're looking to substitute for coconut milk, but only have coconut cream, the best substitution will probably be a little coconut cream + a lot of heavy (milk) cream.

Note: Some people refer to the liquid contained in fresh coconuts as coconut milk, but it is more accurately called coconut water. This confusion has ruined many a recipe!


Sticky, tacky texture with less sweetness? If I want a sticky, tacky surface on food, I typically use some kind of very sweet sauce. As it reduces down and the sugars caramelize during cooking, it leaves a delightful candied layer on the surface.
Barbecue chicken, or some preparations of ribs come to mind.  Also cinnamon rolls / sticky buns.
Can I recreate that texture without (or with less) sweetness in the end product?
Note: the goal isn’t to use less sugar for dietary reasons. The goal is to create and end product with less apparent sweetness.

You could use corn starch.
People use corn starch to thicken thin sauces and get them to adhere better.  I add it to
try to rescue gravy when I have added more liquid than the roux can handle.  I add it to stir fry with lots of vegetables in an effort to get the liquid cooked off the vegetables to congeal into a sticky sauce that is not all left in the bottom of the pan / bowl.   When you cook down something with corn starch it gets gooey and tacky as you describe.  But corn starch is not sweet.
Try making a sauce with corn starch and the flavorings you like.  I have used a sauce pan for this.  Whisk in some and then some more.  When you get the consistency of the sweet sauces you are used to, try using it to coat ribs or chicken.
Note: taste it first.  The corn starch sauces look great but can be astonishingly flavorless.


Why does frozen food seem to have lost its original taste and texture after reheating? I usually freeze my leftovers.

Then, when I reheat them, the flavors are diminished - less salt, less chili, less everything.

Any ideas why?

There are a variety of factors at work here:

Freezing foods "improperly" (i.e. not flash-frozen, not vacuum-sealed) causes ice crystals to form within the food, damaging the molecular structures. This is what causes many frozen leftovers to become "mushy" or change in texture.
Again due to the formation of ice and the movement of water when the food is reheated, tiny particles such as spices can be lost in steam and/or runoff water.
Extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) can denature enzymes in the food, changing their flavor, texture, etc.
As food sits, flavors in the food may blend together in different ways, causing the food to have less distinct flavors.
If your freezer isn't especially clean and your food not well-sealed, your food may be absorbing other odors which are again "masking" the original flavor of your food.

Hope that gives you some ideas.


help me identify the factors which make grass-fed beef tender or tough I have been buying grass-fed beef straight from the farm both in Germany and in Poland. The beef I bought in Germany was invariably tender, regardless of the cut and what way I prepared it, while the beef from the farm in Poland was usually tough, chewy, to the point of being unusable for anything else then making broth. Even the supposedly premium cuts where somehow dry and tough.

Summary of all the possible differences:

German beef was from Highland breed cows, Polish beef where Salers, Piedmontese, Limousin.
German beef was hanged for two weeks after slaughter, Polish beef was cut into pieces almost immediately after slaughter, and sold to me within 3-5 days.
The beef from Germany I mostly ate before freezing it, the beef bought in Poland I have mostly frozen, and kept in the freezer for up to a few months, -32 deg C. Some of the German beef I also frozen, but for a much shorter time (days). Still very tender.
The Polish beef was slaughtered about 24 months old, the German I am not sure, might have been a little younger, but not much, maybe 15 months old.

I was buying all kinds of cuts, both cheap cuts and premium cuts. Even the cheap ones from the German beef where quite tender after slow-cooking them a few hours. The beef from Poland, regardless of how I cooked it, fast or slow, where somehow tough, chewy, dry. Even the Entrecôte from the Polish beef, was much tougher and drier then some cheap flank from the German Highland beef. Both the German and Polish beef where purely 100% grass-fed on pasture. The only tender meat from the Polish beef was when I slow-cooked brisket on the bone overnight in broth. And the tongue (also cooked overnight). But the German beef, even cheap cuts I can just braise for an hour or two, and its amazing.

My question is what is the most likely the major factor in such astonishing difference between the two sources of grass-fed beef?

Is it just the breed, and that Highland cattle is more juicy and tender?

Does the two-week hanging of the whole steer make the difference?

Or does the long-term freezing of mine destroy the beef, freezer burn?

I don't think its the way I cooked them which made the difference, as I tried both beef in several kinds of ways, mainly braising, slow cooking, crock pot, cast iron dutch oven. Never frying or anything like that.

I was buying the beef from Germany shortly in 2013 and then in 2014 I was on the Polish beef and I though I just had luck in 2013 to get a really tender steer, but now in 2015 I bought from the same farm in Germany again, and again its so tender and juicy compared to the Polish Salers, regardless of how I cook it.

Some breeds are more tender.

Aging beef for at least 2 weeks allows the protease enzyme naturally present in beef to relax rigor mortis.

The way the beef is chilled initially can cause something called "cold shortening" in which protein fibers contract, and so are more chewy.

The amount of exercise that the animal gets during life affects the toughness of its muscles. Sedentary animals are more tender.

Older animals are tougher but also more flavorful.

A calcium deficiency can prevent protease enzymes from working as well, and so there is less natural tenderization during aging.


Can you reconstitute garlic powder? Every time I have garlic powder around, it always ends up forming into a hard sticky lump. Is there any way to reconstitute this into a usable form? Placing it in warm water seems to take forever and it never really dissolves.

I've had this happen with other types of spices as well. I put it in the blender or coffee grinder to loosen it up again. Works well for me.


How to detect if meat (or any product) is not safe to be prepared as food? What are the marks that product is spoiled and not safe to cook or eat?
Besides obvious visual signs, like rot or bad smell of course.

The reason I'm asking is that I leave a meat in fridge for an extended periods of time, and  don't know how to track if meat is still safe to eat.

Visual signs and smells are an unreliable source for making this decision.  Foods can be contaminated, and/or unsafe, and you will be unable to tell by looking at a product or smelling it.  The only reliable ways to be safe are to (a) understand the source of your food, (b) ensure (or assume) that it has been prepared and stored properly before it got to you, (c) pay attention to packing dates and shelf life, (d) store the food properly yourself, and (d) cook your food properly.

According to foodsafety.gov (USA), in general, raw ground meat, poultry, and seafood has a refrigeration shelf life of 1-2 days. Raw roasts, steaks, and chops (beef, veal, lamb, and pork) have a 3 to 5 day shelf life, and cooked meat, poultry, and seafood can be stored in the refrigerator 3 to 4 days.


Dry cured chicken with bad odor I dry cured some chicken for three weeks: I cut chicken breasts into 1 inch slices, usee 10-20% salt and rubbed thoroughly. I left it to dry cure for 2-3 weeks. I did this however I forgot to remove all the fat that may have been on the breasts. After the 1st week a bad smell started to appear and it has got worse over the last 2 weeks.

Although I used chicken breasts there was still strings of fat on the chicken and my guess it seems the smell is coming from the fat.  The meat itself looks red, hard and cured.

If it is the fat, is the fat unsafe to eat?
Is the meat still usable even though it has been surrounded by this odour for 2 weeks?
If I just cut the fat pieces of will that make the meat safe to eat?
If I do not cut of the fat and then steam/or cook the meat in a soup with the fat, will the soup water and meat become unsafe to eat?

Just to add: I am NOT trying to make beef jerky or the like and I do NOT want to use a dehydrator.  The thing I am trying to cook is a soup where the chicken meat is very salty.  Dehydration or wet brining doesn't achieve this.  As such I am trying to dry cure the meat and then cook the soup as you would have with Virginia ham.

Don't eat it! The soup or the chicken.

Chicken meat may contain bacteria (inside the meat, not just surface) and can grow.  Even if you've kept in the fridge for the weeks, it can still carry enough bad bacteria to seriously harm you.  From what I know, the meat and fat structure of chicken doesn't lend it to curing in open air and long term.

If you are in fact trying to make a beef-jerky or cured sausage style and then cook in the soup to give the soup flavour and maintain decent flavour in the chicken, then you should be doing it differently.

You can dry cure the chicken in a dehydrator set to temperatures above 140°F as in this recipe.

For the soup: you'll need a soup base that is nearly as salty as the chicken (say %6 solution) so the salt doesn't leave the chicken and try to establish a new equilibrium between the saltiness of the chicken and soup.

This may mean that you might have to hold a portion of your soup back to add after the chicken is pulled out so it becomes less salty, but maintain the chicken flavour.


Minimalist Burger Patties I've got more grass-fed ground beef than I know what to do with and, I'd like to perfect my burger recipe.  I see lots of involved recipes with tons of spices, but I'm looking to keep it simple.

The best I've made so far is just S&P, minced onion and minced fresh parsley.

Any suggestions on how to improve from there? I'm pan frying them, if that makes a difference.

I would say if you want to improve on your burgers, go even simpler. Season only with salt and pepper, or even just salt, after you form your patties. Rely upon the salt to bring out the flavor of your beef, and the maillard reaction from cooking to add flavor and texture. Anything more and you are likely to overwhelm what is some quality beef.


The function of glycerine in fondant What is the function of glyceine in fondant?

Is there a specific grade of glycerine used for fondant?  I ask this because the one I buy in the bakery store looks no different than the one I see among cosmetics

Glycerine's functionality is a "moisturizer", in that it's very good at keeping moisture for a long period. In the case of fondant, it will help to keep it pliable for a longer period and help to minimize drying out too quickly when working with it (rolling out, icing sugar/cornstarch, application). It also slightly helps any sugars from crystallizing, which as you can guess, fondant has a LOT of sugar.

Note: It's the same glycerine in the cosmetic aisle.


Any other flour which can be used to replace Maida flour for chewy cakes? From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maida_flour

  Maida has been linked with diabetes[10] and known to cause blood sugar imbalances, have negative influence on Insulin.[1] Consuming maida makes people become prone to kidney stone and heart disease.[11] Maida contains anti-nutrients which can affect the digestive process.

and

  maida is popular in a white color, bleached with benzoyl peroxide,

It is not easy to find special cake flour where I live. Wheat flour contains gluten which will result in hard cakes.

Now, considering the fact that I won't mind a bit chewy cakes, what other flours other than Wheat have lowest gluten which can be used to make a bit chewy cakes?

UPDATE

I just saw a muffin in market whose ingredients contained "corn flour". That muffin was not extremely soft, it was just a bit chewy. So, corn flour can be used instead of maida? What else?

Flour labeled as Cake flour usually is weak flour: low W value, or less formally "low protein" or "fewer gluten". This is somehow weird, as some cakes will require weak flour, whether others nedd strong flour (for yeasted dough cakes, if they add lots of fat/oil to the dough, if they add lots of sugar, pieces of fruits/nuts, etc).

I specifically don't know whether Maida is strong or weak flour, despite this answer and it's comments.

Wheat plants has been selected for several milleniums to get more productive varieties, and, yes, grains that give stronger flour.

Substitutes as weak flour

Trying to get flour from a more "primitive" variety of wheat, such as spelt, emmer or einkorn. These are expensive where I live, and usually sold as bio, but maybe spelt is easily found in India. As they have not been so "genetically selected", they still have less gluten than today's "normal" flour. They also tend to have more and better taste than "normal" flour.

Another flour with low gluten content is rye. It has a different taste than wheat, but I thing it fits really well with cakes. This grain grows better in colder climates, so I'm not very sure how hard will it be to get it where you live.

Other flours, as rice or corn / maize have no gluten. It means gas bubbles won't be trapped in, and will result in a much too dense crumb. You might search some gluten-free bread tricks to solve this.

Substitutes as strong flour

Any bread flour will probably work. Maybe it won't rise as much and you'll get a crumb with a denser consistency, more similar to a "chewing gum" than a "soft cake". But if you are ok with this, you can go on.

Note(Thank to @Anisha for the suggestion):
Notice that different flours have different absorption, so some readjustment on hydration should probably be made to the original recipe.


(Is it safe?) Preparing Breakfast in Bulk Seasoned Advice-Givers,

I make an excellent breakfast, but would like to prepare a 7-day supply in bulk, to eliminate the preparation time I expend every weeknight.

The ingredients are:

3 Cups Rolled Oats
Large handful of Sultanas
Large handful of Dates
3.5 whole bananas, thinly sliced
Enough milk to completely submerge all ingredients in a sealed, air-tight mixing bowl

I'm reasonably confident about how well the sultanas/dates/oats will hold up, as far as food safety goes. (If I'm wrong, I'll know in about a day or so). BUT, I'm a little worried about putting the bananas into the mixture.

Obviously, bananas are quite perishable, once peeled, but what if submerged entirely in milk, mixed with the other ingredients, in an air-tight, sealed mixing bowl? Will they go rotten rather quickly, or will the described environment preserve them?

Keep in mind, I do not mind mushy, rich, super-soft bananas that have started to turn - I think these are quite flavourful. But I don't want to cross the line into sanitarily dangerous.

I know I can get at least 1 day without them spoiling, but I'm aiming for closer to 7 - It is likely the bananas in the mixture would still be safe to eat by Day 7? If not, at how many days do you recommend that I should draw the line?

This would be stored in the fridge, top-shelf toward the back, which is the coldest part. Fridge set to a 4 out of 7 on the temperature dial, which is one notch before ice will form on water.

Many thanks,

David

I honestly can't think of any reason that the bananas or milk would spoil over the course of the week.  None of your ingredients seem to interact with each other in an adverse way.  You might try making a small batch, sealing it, and checking on it after a week.  That should give you a solid (no pun intended) basis of comparison.


Why add salt to dumpling dough? I often cook Russian dumplings - pelmeni, but it relates to any similar kind of dumplings. Basically, you wrap small balls of ground meat (mixed with spices and other ingredients like onions) and boil them until ready. All the recipes I saw suggest adding small amount of salt to the dough (about a teaspoon to 500 g of flour). What's the purpose of it? The filling is flavorful and dumplings are boiled in salted water, the dough will be flavorful enough at the end (like, for instance, cooked pasta). I never add salt to my dough, and I tried it last time, and tasted no difference, as I expected. What task is solved by adding salt?

For the reason salt is most commonly used: it's a flavor enhancer.  We're not used to thinking of dumpling dough as possessing a lot of flavor--especially when it's there to provide a bland contrast to the savory filling of the dumpling.  But salt in the dough will "make it taste more," as my mother used to say.  Specifically, you'll taste the subtle richness of cooked flour more easily than if you omit the salt.

The same thing happens when you cook dry pasta.  Few amateur cooks salt the cooking water enough.  It should be sufficiently salty that some of the salt penetrates the pasta as it cooks and softens, so that by the time it's done, and ready for saucing, its intrinsic flavor--flour and egg--is heightened.  Slightly.

In both of these examples it's very easy to use too much salt.  When I'm cooking something new and I don't know how much salt to use I try, in tasting, to see if I taste the dish itself better with more salt without actually tasting a salty taste, which indicates oversalting.

Chocolate-chip cookies are so much more delicious when properly salted, as is, believe it or not, blueberry crisp.  Generously salting the bread crumb topping of a blueberry crisp brings out the tastes of the ground nuts, the flour, and the butter, and makes it an even more lovely contrast to the cooked fruit.


Can something have more sugar per 100g than the percentage of sugar that's in it? If this is the wrong place to ask this, please direct me to the correct place.

I am a big fan of cereal, and I like to eat a fair amount, but don't like to have too much sugar. I recently started eating Shreddies, which claims to have only 13g of sugar per 100g.

However, (and this is where my question arises), on the box of cereal, as well as in the nutrition information, it states that 96% of Shreddies is whole grain wheat, and also on the box it says that 96.2g of whole grain goes into every 100g.

How can it be, that they say that 96% of the product is wheat, but also somehow that there is 13g of sugar in every 100g? Surely it shouldn't be possible for there to be more than maybe 6g of sugar?

Where does the other grams come from? I know whole grain wheat doesn't have that much natural sugar in it so I don't understand how they can say there is 96g of whole grain wheat for every 100g in Shreddies, but also somehow say that there's 13g of sugar in every 100g, which seems to be a contradiction.

Please could someone educate me on this, tyvm.

Looking up Shreddies, I found this site. It lists, in the ingredients

  Whole Grain Wheat (96%), Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup, Barley Malt Extract, Salt, Molasses, Vitamins and Minerals (Niacin, Iron, Pantothenic Acid, Folic Acid, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin)

There is no percentage for the sugar in the ingredients list.

And the nutritional information says

  Carbohydrate  70g
  of which sugars   13g

If that's where your confusion comes from, then it is simply that you didn't realize the different meanings of the word "sugar".

Chemically, sugars are a class of molecules with a roughly similar structure, most of which taste similar. For a cook or food technologist, "sugar" is any ingredient that constist of one or many of these molecules and can be used to sweeten food. And finally, in everyday language, "sugar" without any further qualifications is exactly one of these products, namely white crystal sugar, that consists of the molecule sucrose only.

In the ingredients list, the second ingredient uses this third meaning of the word sugar - they have put less white table sugar than whole grain into the cereal (making the white sugar amount at most 4%). The nutrition label uses the first meaning - it sums together all chemical sugars in the cereal. And it is normal for even unprocessed whole grain to contain some of those - this being a cereal, and a malted one at that, it has more of them. So, part of your "whole grain" ingredient is made up of (chemically) sugars, as well as the "sugar" ingredient, the "invert sugar syrup" ingredient, possibly the "barley malt extract" (pure malt is quite a bit of sugar), and the "molasses" ingredient. Together, the weight of chemical sugars is 13% of the cereal.


Making Dumpling Conserve Better When I make Chinese or Japanese style dumplings I often make too many and then store some for the next day

When I reheat them, they always go a bit strange and seem to taste worse then when they were fresh

Are there ways to store or re-heat the old dumplings to make them conserve better?

Dumplings should freeze very well.  If you freeze the uncooked dumplings immediately and then cook longer the next day, you should have a similar result to your freshly assembled dumplings.


Temperature range for canned goods Temperature range for canned goods?

The question is about home canning in glass but I suspect the same applies to commercial metal cans.

I have read under 70 F and bad things happen fast at 100 F.

Is there a lower bound?  If they freeze will they survive.

I want to set up an outdoor kitchen that I would use for home canning and cooking. I would like to build a cabinet for the canned goods (one reason is to keep them out of the sun).  It will only get to less than freezing maybe a couple times a year and doubt they would freeze.

Is the lower bound above freezing?

I don't know that outdoors would be the best place to store your home canned goods. Even in an insulated cabinet, that the sun doesn't hit, the temperature in the cabinet may rise in the summer above recommended levels. Also, humidity may rust your lids(and bands, if you leave them on).
From Nation Center for Home Food Preservation

Label and date the jars and store them in a clean, cool, dark, dry place. For best quality, store between 50 and 70 °F. Also for best quality, can no more food than you will use within a year unless directions for a specific food provide other advice.
Do not store jars above 95° F or near hot pipes, a range, a furnace, in an uninsulated attic, or in direct sunlight. Under these conditions, food will lose quality in a few weeks or months and may spoil. Dampness may corrode metal lids, break seals, and allow recontamination and spoilage.
Accidental freezing of canned foods will not cause spoilage unless jars become unsealed and recontaminated. However, freezing and thawing may soften food. If jars must be stored where they may freeze, wrap them in newspapers, place them in heavy cartons, and cover with more newspapers and blankets.


How to use a bottom concave ebelskiver (Æbleskiver) pan on a glass cook-top stove? I've recently come in to a lovely cast iron ebelskiver pan (pictured below) and would like to try to make some  ebelskivers.

The problem is I don't have a gas range and I'm rather sure that my glass-top stove won't be able to adequately or evenly heat the pan due to its concave underbelly. The bottom of the wells aren't even level with the skirting rim of the pan.
Is there anything I can do short of replacing my range top or starting a fire in my backyard to use this pan to make some stuffed pancakes?

You could consider heating it up, while empty, in an oven (I would go for, say, 200C/390F). Keep it there for at least 30 minutes: the transfer of heat from the air to the cast iron is not very efficient! Then take it out quickly, pour the batter in, and return it to the oven until done (and then make the next batch, if you're making multiple).

An issue with this could be that the Æbleskiver might cook too quickly from the top. You might need to experiment with the target temperature you leave the oven at.


Can I reuse cedar grilling planks? Since wooden cutting boards are safe for use with meat, I was wondering if I can reuse the cedar grilling planks.

Yossarian's answer to this question about how to prepare a plank says you can use one again depending on what you're cooking.

So, what determines whether you can reuse the planks?
How should I clean them after use?
After too many uses, will they lose the ability to impart flavor to what's being grilled?

The ones I bought were fairly expensive, so I'd like to get as much use out of them as possible.

I will generally reuse a plank on two conditions:

The bottom isn't completely charred. Sometimes, the bottom ends up complete black. I find that this won't start to smoke a second time. It's also a mess to store anywhere.
The top isn't a mess of food. This is largely dependent on what you cook. Fish skin sometimes gets cooked on, glaze bubbles and chars, oil lights on fire and the top surface chars. Something like shrimp, tomato, or sausage will be fairly clean though, and nothing will cook on to the top.

In order to reuse the plank, I clean it with soap and water, the same way I'd clean a wooden chopping board. I've never managed to use a plank more than twice and I usually just toss them after a single use.

Keep in mind that a dried cedar plank is a dried cedar plank. Cost is generally more based on the store that you buy it in than the product you're buying. A hardware super store (like Home Depot) will generally have these quite cheap.


Reheating no boil lentil lasagna noodles after freezing Can I use no boil lentil lasagna noodles, cook  the lasagna, then freeze and reheat without mushy noodles?

Thawing will always result in somewhat mushier texture than freshly baked pasta.

I'm not familiar with lentil pastas, but I would expect them to be mushier after thawing compared to regular wheat flour pasta.

If you intend to prepare your lasagna in advance for lunches (for example), you could undercook the pasta a little bit so that it finishes when reheating.


What does the date on eggs mean if it does not say sell by or expires by in the United States? I have several cartons of eggs that have a date stamp but the date stamp does not say, sell by, expires by or best by. It's just a date. By the way the date is in the future so I know it is not a pack date of when the eggs were packed. If I knew that I would be OK.

What is the default if the date is just a future date? Should I assume it is an expiration date and it's time to toss them out after that or should I assume it is a best buy in which case it is good for another 2 weeks or so? I assume on eggs there is no such thing as best by because you need to know or be able to figure out when they will expire so you can toss them out.

The date appears as follows "May 29 11:45" 121 P1008 L6". I know you will be tempted to say pack date but May 29 is in the future. Should I eat them all by May 29 or do I have the standard 2 weeks after a sell by date?

In the US, the most important thing to look for on the carton is the number which shows the day of year that the eggs were packed. If the number is 1, that's January 1st. If it's 365, That's Dec 31st. In other countries the system may be different, so find out what system in your country indicates the pack date, if possible. Note: apparently some states in the US don't regulate this, so you would have to see what your state's protocol is, if not. All the good states do, and the others can go suck an egg.

Eggs last a very long time (a few months at least) properly refrigerated and are safe to eat long after the sell date. The egg will lose water, and the air bubble in the end of the egg will continue to grow, so if you put the egg in water and it floats, it's pretty old, but can generally still be eaten if the eggs is not crazy old.

The membranes will also thin over time, making the yolks easier to break if you're trying to separate them or use them for sunny-side up eggs, e.g. The whites will also thin and the thicker part of the whites won't be as pronounced from the thinner parts.

Some recipes actually call for aged eggs. Also note that in the US eggs are washed and the outer membrane is removed, so they must be refrigerated. In some other countries the outer membrane is left on and the eggs can be stored safely outside of the refrigerator.


Is cold chicken breast done? How can I tell if a COLD cooked chicken breast is fully cooked?  I poached chicken last night, (single layer of breast in a large pan, covered in water and brought to a boil, then covered the pan and then simmered for about 15 minutes. But then I turned off the burner and let it steam for an hour or so.)  I can't use a thermometer anymore, since it's cold! It is white, not pink, and it tears really nicely - not tough at all.  In fact, it's super tender.

There is no way of knowing. The importance of cooking for food safety comes down to log reduction of pathogens.* Without accurately knowing the exact temperature that the meat reached and for how long it was held there, you can't known if it cooked long enough to be safe.

Additionally, you can't count on color, texture, or juices to indicate how cooked a piece of meat is - acidity, age of the meat, etc can play a large role in the appearance of meat. Typically, yes, white meat with clear juices is cooked... but not always.

*: In case the source goes down some day - table of 6.5 and 7 log reduction times for salmonella, at given temperatures. Low end is 130F/54.4C 121 minute for 7 log reduction. High end is 158F/71.1C 0 seconds for 7 log reduction. That is, you will reduce the count of salmonella to 1/10 millionth at the given cook time and temperature. This is why we tell people to cook pork and chicken to 165F - it instantly kills any salmonella in the meat. Salmonella is a very heat tolerant microbe, so if we've performed a 7 log reduction on it, we've done an even larger reduction on other harmful microbes. All of this information is super useful if you ever decide to sous vide meat.


Why don't the single serve coffee cream cups need to be refrigerated? It seems to me that it would be subject to the same bacterial/spoiling processes that the larger containers are.

And if it's that opening a container exposes the cream to contamiants (which I believe), then why do the larger containers have "sell by" and expiration dates whereas the little packets do not?

Those single serving 'creamers' have been manufactured using Ultra High Temperature (UHT) processing. According to wikipedia (the most reliable information source in the multiverse!), milk treated by UHT has an unopened shelf life of 6 to 9 months.

The reason there is no 'best before' date is that they are purchased in bulk by the merchant, the container for a bunch of them (which the retail buyer will rarely see) would have the best before date on it.


How to thaw soup without noodles going mushy I made a great vegetable soup in which I also put noodles and beans. Fresh, it was perfect. I froze most of it in small containers to thaw as I needed them. The problem is that when I thaw them, the noodles seem to get overcooked (they were "just-right") when the batch was fresh. I thaw the soup in a pot on the stove. I don't cook it exceptionally high, just hot enough to melt and warm the soup. Is there a better way to do it, so that the noodles (and to a lesser extent, the beans) won't get mushy when cooking to thaw?

Pasta will get softer and mushier with every heating and cooling cycle. Try a grain or rice instead.


What are best practices for using Yoghurt as a Marinade? I'm cooking for 30, Lamb Chops are on the menu and I want to do them in a Yogurt Marinade. I've done Yogurt Marinades with mixed results and I wonder if there are some best practices? specifically:

How long should I marinade? With vinegar based marinades you don't want to marinate for longer than 2 hours. Is this also true with Yoghurt Marinades? If not, what is the idea amount of time to Marinate.
I heard somewhere that you shouldn't add salt when Marinading with Yohurt until after the meat is Marinated. Is this true and if so why?
lemon is an important flavour to this kind of dish. Can I add lemon to the yoghurt, or will that make it curdle or do something else negative to the dish?
Is there anything else important to consider when using Yogurt as a Marinade?

If additionally you could break it down in terms of chemical processes, that would be sweet. I'm a bit of a food science nerd.
thank you very much

To answer part 1. I recently watched the Chicken Tikka Masala episode from Blumethals "Further Adventures in Search of Perfection". The recipe calls for  marinading the chicken for quite a long time. A transcribed recipe says 10 hours: http://www.dominicsayers.com/documents/ChickenTikkaMasala.pdf.

They also go on to compare the results of a yogurt marinade and a yogurt-less marinade on chicken under an MRI scanner. I don't know if this is valid, but the yogurt apparently had an effect.


What can be done with left over mussel shells? What can be done with left over mussel shells? I have heard of them being boiled to make sauces etc.

Is there any other culinary use for them once the mussels have been removed?

The leftover shells of many different shellfish are excellent to use as cooking vessels. They clean up nicely and can be reused over and over if cared for properly. Bonus, they make a great presentation.

I use scallop shells for stuffed scallops (entree portion) and other casserole-type entrees, stuffings, and some side dishes. I use medium sized clam shells for stuffed clams, stuffed scallops (appetizer portion), clams casino, etc. They can be used for both appetizers or entree portions. Small clam shells work well for appetizers.

Mussel shells are perfect for - of course - stuffed mussels. They also make a great cooking and serving vessel for many other appetizers. (I use them mostly for appetizers because of their size.)

You can be very creative and the actual mussels, clams, etc. don't have to be the main focus. E.g., I may have a fish fry and use shells for appetizers or sides. The smaller shells, like mussels, also make a quite nice vessel for individual condiments. Kind of a theme and quite unique.

Note: Most everything I use the shells for goes into the oven or on the grill. Therefore I put a very light coat of oil or butter on the shells so the food doesn't stick. For anything cold, the oil wouldn't be necessary.

You do want to wash and dry the shells before the first use and then after each subsequent use. Larger, heavier shells I wash on the top rack of my dishwasher. Smaller or thinner shells I hand wash and dry.

Some people do boil their leftover mussel shells with herbs and seasonings of their choice to make a seafood stock. And, of course, it can be reduced to use as a sauce or as a part of one.

If you intend to make a stock or sauce, I would refrigerate the shells immediately after your meal and keep them refrigerated until you use them. In this case you wouldn't want to wash them first. But if you intend to reuse them, be sure to wash and dry them thoroughly.


Why should rice be cooked uncovered? The recipe on rice packs I buy says rice should be boiled uncovered. Why is that? I tend to cover it while cooking as it lets me use much less power. Do I miss something taste-wise?

You can cook rice covered or uncovered, it will not impact the flavor.  The amount of liquid you begin with, and your cooking time, could certainly be impacted. There are several methods for cooking rice (covered, uncovered, and both).  If you are using pre- or par-cooked rice, the directions are likely just a finishing step, formulated so that you don't over-cook the product.  You could still use a cover, but would likely need to keep a close eye on it or experiment a bit to get a result you like.


Is there a difference between Brie & Camembert? I was listening to a program on Radio NZ where the broadcaster claimed that apart from size there was no difference? It's almost like today we put a brie label on and tomorrow a camembert one. Is this the case world wide or only in in NZ?

They are both soft-ripened cheese, and there are certainly many similarities, but they are by no means the same.

Camembert is aged at least 3 weeks; Brie may be aged as little as 1 week.
Brie is generally drained for 18 hours; Camembert is drained for 48 hours.
Brie may be salted before aging; Camembert is not.
Brie is more often pasteurized than Camembert (although "genuine" Brie is unpasteurized).

That said, there are many different varieties of Brie and many different varieties of Camembert, and it wouldn't be too surprising to find at least one Brie that tastes exactly like another Camembert.  Still, they are quite different - different moulds, different draining, different aging.


How do I pick up and move shortcrust pastry dough without breaking it? Apologies if this is a bit of a newbie question!

I have no problem with making, chilling, and rolling my pastry, but for the life of me I can never manage to pick up my pastry without it breaking either due to it's own weight, or getting stuck on the surface I've rolled it on.

I've tried floured worktops, baking paper, floured baking paper, using a slice to help support the pastry as it lifts etc.

What is the best method of picking up my pastry and placing it into my pie dish without it breaking?

If the pastry is sticking to the rolling surface regardless of how well floured it is, it is possible that you are pressing down overly hard and not keeping the board floured throughout the process.

These are the stages I use in rolling out pastry:

Shape the ball of pastry into a thick disc or rectangle using my
hands, to make it easier to get the rolling started.
Flour the surface well and make a pass in one direction with the
rolling pin make a quarter turn with the pastry and slide it about a
bit in the process to make sure there is still flour underneath.
(While your pastry is still quite thick it is easy to lift it a
little to scatter a little more flour under)
Repeat this process until the pastry is getting too big to more
about, but don't try to achieve a lot of thinning with each pass, much better to make more passes which thin the pastry a little each time than a few passes which thin it a lot.

If your pastry feels as it it is sticking once it has got a bit larger, use your rolling pin to pick it up to add flour. Place your rolling pin near the edge of the pastry furthest from you and slip the fingers of one hand under the edge of it to hold it eh pastry against the rolling pin, then supporting the pastry with your hand roll the pin back towards you so that the weight of the pastry is spread across the pin and lift from the board. if it is sticking you can use a palette knife to ease it free. Add more flour to your surface and roll the pastry back down.

Use this same technique of rolling the pastry onto the pin to
transfer the finished sheet to the pie-dish.


Is it safe to eat sauteed onions left at room temperature? I made a big pot of sauteed onions and garlic (~9 onions and a head and a half of garlic), and forgot to put it away overnight. It was probably off the fire for around 8-10 hours... Is it safe to keep?

(Edit: Does it help that the onions and garlic will all be reheated, as they are going to be frozen in small portions and used to start off soups?)

After being cooked, the onions are much more subject to spoilage than they were whole.

After 2 hours (4 hours at the outside) cumulative at room temperature (well, between 40-140 F/4-60 C), they should be considered tainted and discarded, per standard official advise for perishable foods.

See also:
https://cooking.stackexchange.com/tags/food-safety/info


What are marshmallows? What are marshmallows and how are they made?

Marshmallows are a white, fluffy candy, that easily melts and becomes sticky. They are almost all sugar (and corn syrup which is also sugar), with whipped gelatine. They're vanilla flavored, usually with clear vanillin, because the pure whiteness is the very essence of the candy.

They're sometimes colored, but not usually:

The little ones are often served in hot chocolate milk, and they're often used as ingredients in other things like fudge.

It's also very traditional to skewer them on a stick and roast them over a campfire:

Put the roasted marshmallow between graham crackers with chocolate, you have a s'more, a favorite snack of campers everywhere.

Here's a tour of a huge marshmallow factory: YouTube video with some fun trivia too.

Here's a homemade version that I have done, complete with handy video, it's kind of a fun afternoon: Alton Brown's Marshmallows


Meat is thawing in failing freezer. Can it be refrozen? Freezer is failing and meat is thawing. Still refrigerator temp cold. Is it safe to refreeze?

Safe?  As long as you the temperature has stayed below 40 degrees F, sure.

On the other hand, the lifespan is probably reduced.  Also, it will likely dry out more when it is cooked.  When meat is frozen, ice crystals poke holes in cell membranes.  When you thaw meat and see liquid pooling, that's where it has come from.  If you thaw and refreeze meat, you are repeating the membrane puncturing.

On the other other hand (as it were), if the meat has managed to be well insulated, well wrapped, and towards the center of the thawing mass (and you have managed to be a little bit lucky), it might still be frozen, so any new damage might be minimized.


No Shortening and No Refrigeration, Buttercream Frosting Can anyone tell me what I can add to Buttercream frosting that doesn't include shortening and will still allow me to keep the cake at room temperature?

I hate the taste of shortening

There are several different types of icing that are referred to as buttercream, none of which require the use of shortening, including:

American Buttercream -- Butter, powdered sugar, perhaps some milk, and flavoring such as vanilla beaten together.   While some recipes call for shortening, using actual butter gives a better flavor.  See a sample recipe from Savory Sweet Life.
French Buttercream -- Egg yolks are beaten and cooked by adding hot sugar syrup (at the softball stage).  The yolk mixture is then beaten until it is cool, and butter and then butter and flavoring is beaten in.   See sample recipe from Chicago Tribune.
Italian Buttercream -- An Italian Meringue (egg whites beaten with hot sugar syrup) is prepared and then cooled, and butter and flavoring beaten in.  See sample recipe from Martha Stewart.

Any of these are stable at room temperature for a day or two, but like most perishable foods, should not be held indefinitely.

In addition to buttercreams, you may wish to consider other frostings which don't contain shortening, including ganache (chocolate melted with hot cream and cooled), whipped ganache (ganache that has been beaten until it is foamy), and Seven Minute Frosting (essentially a meringue frosting).


What should I do if power goes out while I am baking cake/cookies? If I am baking cake or cookies in the oven and I lose power, what should I do?

Does it make to sense to leave the cake/cookies in the oven until the power comes back on, or should I take them out?

When/why would I need to leave them in the oven vs. take them out?

Removing things from the oven halfway through is not very friendly to baked goods. In general, they'll collapse as they cool off since the structure isn't cooked and set, and the leavening (baking soda/powder in these cases) will be spent, so there's no way to get what you originally wanted. It might be something like what'd happen if you forgot the leavening in the first place.

In general: if there's only 5-15 minutes left, just leave it in, and the heat retained by the oven will take care of things. If it's barely started - just beginning to get warm, not bubbling/rising much - probably best to take it out and wait to bake later, especially if it's something that can survive waiting at room temperature. Anything else, leave it in and hope the power comes back; it's going to be ruined if you take it out and ruined if the power doesn't come back on so you might as well go for it.

So for example, cookies could probably survive this by leaving them in. They don't have very long baking times - somewhere in the 5-15 minute range. Your oven won't cool off all that much in that time without power. So if you leave them in for a little bit longer than the original baking time, they'll probably be fine. If your oven has a window, look in with a flashlight to check on them - you don't want to open it to check them.

A cake is iffier. If it's 15 minutes into a 45 minute baking time, you may just be out of luck. I think I'd still leave it in, hoping that the power comes back within 5-10 minutes, in which case it'd probably make it. As I mentioned earlier, if you lose power early and for long enough, the cake will have spent its leavening and collapsed. You could finish baking it, but it'll still be collapsed - it probably won't have a terribly palatable texture (definitely dense, maybe chewy).

The only time this has actually happened to me was with some cornbread muffins, around 2/3 of the way through their baking time, and the oven didn't have a window. I wildly guessed how much extra time to add, pulled them out then, and they were great. So there is hope!


How to slice smoked salmon really thinly? I have recently decided to try to home smoke fresh salmon (FYI using a half-size school locker). Once I have the product, though, I am not sure how to slice it thinly, as it is commonly sold commercially.

I have a half-baked idea that I could freeze it, then run it through a slicer, but I am afraid the freezing (not to mention the cutting) might damage the flesh.

Is there a best practice for this?

First off, chill it in the refrigerator overnight.  Preferably in the coldest part of the refrigerator (the bottom).   After that put it in the freezer just long enough to get stiff enough to slice thinly, but do not let it completely freeze.

The initial chill will help keep any ice crystals that form inside the cells small, thus decreasing the risk of the meat getting mushy.


What determines if a juice is clear or opaque? I've always wondered why some juices are usually clear (can be seen through, look like tinted water) and some are non-transparent.

Examples of clear juices are: Apple*, Cherry, Pomegranate, Cranberry, Pineapple*.

*Some Apple juices can be seen opaque. Portion of Pineapple juice can be opaque.

Examples of opaque juices: Orange, Tomato, Carrot.

I figured that most juices are basically mashed fruits and vegetables, so it would be natural for all of them to be opaque, but some of them are clear, and still have a taste. Is it because some juices can't be filtered or because (like with apple juice) the manufacturers have found that customers prefer clear/opaque version of a juice?

Can tomato, carrot and other vegetable juices be filtered clear and still retain their taste? What effects would that cause?

Visible cloudiness is a result of suspended particles of about 1 micrometer (micron) or larger in size.  Technically, just about any juice could in theory be filtered to remove those particles.  But there are a couple things going on here.

First, any filtering, clarification, etc. does cause some modification of flavor.  Flavor compounds can be much smaller than 1 micron, but how they're perceived can be modified by larger particles that contribute to mouthfeel and by their relative concentrations.  If you're measuring against the raw food, any change subtly modifies how it tastes.  A raw tomato tastes slightly different from tomato juice, which in turn tastes different than tomato water.  This can have an especially strong impact on subtle flavors like vegetable juices.

Second, 1 micron is pretty small.  The average pore size for your standard drip coffee filter is about 10-15 microns, meaning you have to go a full order of magnitude smaller in order to remove visible cloudiness.  Besides physical filtration, there are other ways to do this like gelatin clarification, but those may also remove things like suspended oils or specific flavor compounds.  That might be okay if you mostly care about sweetness and you can add artificial flavors back later (as with mass-produced juice blends) but could be a problem if you're going for a very "natural" flavor.  In general, more filtering means more processing and more associated flavor change.

Third, you're right that there is a marketing aspect here.  Consumers have grown used to certain types of juice being clear (like apple juice) and others being totally opaque (like orange juice).  A certain subset might also actually prefer clouded juices, seeing them as less processed (which they generally are) and therefore more "healthy", regardless of whether that's actually true.

In short, you could filter just about any liquid clear through some means or another, but it will taste different, and will likely affect how much people will pay you for the result.


Will seeds effectively sprout after blending and leaving them in water? Title is the question.
I'm most curious about the results with pumpkin seeds.

It´s very likely that the blending will destroy the germ/embryo in the seed and also will separate it from the endosperm which delivers the required energy for the sprouting. So the seed will not sprout anymore when blended. But you could consider to let the seeds sprout first and then blend the sprouts.


Caramel Sauce vs Caramel Syrup Specifically, what is the difference between caramel sauce and caramel syrup? Whenever I see someone make a caramel mocha latte or any caramel coffee, they either flavor it with the sauce or with  the syrup. What the difference? And is it better to use one over the other when making an iced coffee vs a hot coffee?

Caramel syrup, as the name says, it is a syrup, so it is composed mainly of sugar and water, then cooked to concentrate the water and caramelize the sugar.

Caramel sauce on the other hand, usually contains heavy cream or other sort of fat-heavy component (some people add butter, or vegetable cream) to make it similar in consistency to a ganache.

The application depends on the intent.

If you mix caramel syrup in iced coffee for flavor, it will not mix well and remain as a layer in the bottom. Caramel sauce is easier to mix and dissolve, and it also has a richer flavor because of the dairy / fat.

If you want to use it to decorate your coffee (hot or iced) on top of the whipped cream, I'd recommend syrup because it holds well in lower temperatures and it is better to make drawings.


Why should I "rest" meat after cooking? I often read in recipes that I should "rest" meat after it has been cooked but what does resting the meat actually do?

There are a couple of reasons why 'resting' meat is a good idea. First, as the meat cooks the muscle fibres contract, which forces the juices out. Letting the meat rest helps the muscle fibres relax so the juices are re-incorporated into the meat and not lost on the chopping board, which would happen if carved immediately.

The second reason to let meat rest is to provide an evenness. Basically as the meat rests it continues to cook slightly and it allows the meat to gain an overall 'doneness'


Can you cook a 25 lb turkey in an oven that is 9 inches from the bottom rack to the heating elements? I am trying to find out how big an oven has to be to cook a 25 lb. turkey.  There is a new double oven on the market at Sears that has the two ovens about the same size...a standing stove not a built in with two ovens.  The clearance is about 9 inches from the bottom rack to the elements above.  Is 9 inches big enough for a 25 pound bird?

My double oven now is a Maytag 14 years old with two oven, one being small in height and the bottom oven is much larger and does indeed take a 25 pound bird.  I wish I had a 25 pound bird here so I could measure its height.  I like the idea of the two oven being about the same size BUT not sure about a bird.

9 Inches in height does indeed sound like it might not be enough to fit the turkey in at all. You also need to take into consideration that you need some space around the bird to allow the heat to spread evenly through the inside of the oven. I would generally not try to cook something in an oven that it barely fits in to.

I did a bit of Googling for you and found this semi relevant link where you find a little table with advised sizes for roasting pans compared to turkey weight.


Are electric kettles a good choice for tea? From my experience, electric kettles stop only when the water is at a rolling boil, which is bad because:

The water loses oxygen when at a rolling boil
If you make teas other than black or herbals (like white, oolong or green) you may bruise the leaves with boiling water

So are electric kettles recommended for tea making?

Well, my kettle will boil water to 70, 80, 90 or 100 degrees, which eliminates all of those problems you mention. If you are concerned about those things I would recommend shopping around for a kettle with more functionality.


Can I freeze dried rice noodles after they've been rehydrated? I'm on a diet and am eating a lot of stir-frys. I use very thin dried rice noodles. Because I only want a specific amount, which is hard to judge when I pull the noodles apart, can I freeze them once they've been rehydrated? Many thanks.

As a Professor who teaches Asian Cuisines, I can assure you that rice noodles cannot be frozen. If you were to freeze them that would disintegrate immediately after hitting the water.
If you do have extra rice noodles consider using them in a noodle salad. There are many wonderful rice noodles salads that you can make with little effort.


Why do recipes often use ingredients of a similar color together? One thing I've noticed anecdotally is that a lot recipes is that recipes often use ingredients of matching colors (e.g., almost deliberately using lots of green ingredients together).

Is this a thing in cooking? Is this for visual appeal? Is it just biased sample of recipes I cook? Any insights would be appreciated!

Occasionally, sure. Green goddess dressing wouldn't be as much fun with tomato paste added, and strawberries would look awful embedded in blue Jell-O.

In general, though, recipes tend to derive their color almost entirely from one or two ingredients. A ragu Napoletano has a ton of ingredients of different colors, but the dominant color is red from the tomatoes and adding some more thyme isn't going to change that.

That's not to say that color isn't important to food. One reason a beurre blanc matches so well with white fish is because the light color implies a subtlety of flavor which works with the delicacy of the fish. Dark brown suggests more of a roasted, savory flavor; greenness suggests freshness; blue suggests artificiality. To a certain extent, these associations happened naturally rather than through developed convention, and as a consequence recipes will often have the "correct" color automatically. But it's common to adjust a recipe to perfect the color, particularly in this era of Instagram.

One thing you might notice is various green ingredients being close together in the recipe. That's not the green section, though -- it's the herb section, since the author chose to group the herbs together.


How to tell if fresh chilli is off? So, I keep running into this difficulty.  I buy and use a lot of fresh chillies in my cooking, but sometimes the dish turns out, well, significantly worse and I cannot identify anything I am doing differently, at least, until I started suspecting the sometimes-soft chillis i'm buying from my local supermarket.

Smelling them, some smell different, almost sweet, and when bitten into, have an odd, bitter taste.  Others don't have that smell, and taste how I would expect chillis to taste.

How do I tell if a chilli has gone off?  Am I imagining this difference in taste?  I've checked google but only found advice on growing chillis, not determining fresh from off, or even if they go off.

When I buy hot chilies, I look for firm, uniformly bright (or dark, depending on the type) green specimens. Unless I'm in a big hurry, I pick through the pile and choose them individually. I avoid any that are soft, discolored (including the ends), missing caps (the part that attaches to the stem -- they spoil faster after this is removed), wrinkly or otherwise look damaged or old.

If your store doesn't have any that look bright green, crisp and plump, try to find a new place to buy them, or just buy them in smaller quantities and get the least disreputable specimens and use them immediately.

You want to buy chilies from a place that has a high turnover on them and most supermarket produce sections don't really do that much business in hot peppers, so they tend to sit for a while. My favorite place to buy green chilies is at Indian markets (the busier, the better for turnover), second favorite is other Asian food markets, then other specialty markets from places that like spicy food, then farmers' markets, then a long way down the list, regular grocery stores.

When I get them home, I clean them off by hand (remove any stray leaves or any bad ones I accidentally missed, etc) and put them in the fridge in a lightly closed baggie. If I bought a large amount (or if I happen to be growing them and have a lot ripe at once), I will sometimes freeze them. I have a small bag of frozen habaneros at home right now. The texture is most definitely affected by freezing, but the flavor isn't (unless you keep them so long that they get freezer-burned), so if you are planning to cook with them, freezing is perfectly fine.

I usually don't wash them before storing, just pick them over. I wash them just before using them, whether I get them from the garden, the store, the fridge or the freezer.

If I have chilies I'm not sure about, I do smell and taste them to see if they are ok. If they feel/smell/taste weird, I don't put them in the dish. I'd rather replace green chilies with red pepper powder instead of using something iffy.


egg yolks and egg whites I was making an old recipe to serve and it is with pineapple, cream cheese, dream whip and other ingredients and it says to beat 2 egg yolks and mix in then beat the 2 egg whites and fold in at no time do you cook this recipe.  You put vanilla wafers for the crust and then layer this pineapple mixture until you have used it all and top with dream whip and refrigerate for at lease 24 hours.

My question is will the egg yolks and egg whites be ok not being cooked?  It has been over 30 years that I have made this and I just can't remember ever using raw eggs.

There is a non-zero risk of getting a salmonella infection from raw eggs.

However- with only 2 eggs that risk is very low. If you are only serving the dish to healthy adults then the repercussions of the potential infection are also minor.

You should understand the risks and then decide whether you are ok with them or not.

If you are not you can always use pasteurized egg product instead.

Personally I have no problem using raw eggs when I cook.


My brisket is too sweet Using a slow cooker, I made a brisket in a sweet red wine.  The result was a too sweet brisket that I do not want to eat.  Is there a way to even out the flavor?

You can probably get rid of much of the wine and its sweetness by removing the brisket from the sauce, and possibly rinsing it (at some cost to flavor).

This may leave you with an under-flavored brisket; you could try putting it in a flavorful (and maybe spicy, if you like that) tomato sauce to give it some balance.  Acidity tends to cut any remaining sweetness.


Combining hot melted sugar with cold liquid ingredients So I was making a corn-syrup-free pecan pie, and it called for a procedure that I've never seen before. To combine the liquids (milk, eggs, vanilla) with the solids (dark brown sugar, butter, flour) it called for combining the solids over medium heat, cooking it until the sugar was completely melted, and then combining with the liquids.

Now, my candy experience starts and stops at "things containing chocolate", but I can melt sugar. However with the addition of butter and flour I was worried about it burning, and I didn't render it all the way down to full on molten sugar. It was quite melted but it poured more like a thin batter than like liquid sugar.

Combined the liquid(y) sugar with the liquids, and exactly what I thought would happen, happened: the sugar immediately solidified into chunks, and wouldn't incorporate. Rescued it by heating the whole thing, and stirring until it incorporated. This worked, but I think it sent the texture off a bit.

My question is: is this even feasible? Can you really melt sugar to a thin liquid, and then seamlessly incorporate it with a cold liquid? And wouldn't the addition of flour cause issues with cooking the sugar? I pretty much expected it not to work, so it may just have been a failure of will on my part.

That sounds . . . strange. It would make more sense to heat the milk and sugar together first, thicken with the butter and flour, then add the eggs (tempering them with some of the hot mixture first).

Alternately, you could just mix everything together cold (except for the butter, which would need to be melted). I don't really understand the necessity of pre-cooking some of the ingredients, unless this is supposed to be a "no-bake" pie or something. Enzymes in the eggs will digest the flour unless the mix is brought to a boil first, but I doubt there's enough flour in a pecan pie recipe to really matter (it would take a few days for anything to happen, and I've never seen a pecan pie last that long).


Frozen sea squirts: any suggests on cleaning/preparing? I bought a pack of frozen sea squirts from Korean market. They are quite small - 3-4 cm long creatures. I dug all possible recipes about sea squirts, but all of them are about either alive or dried sea squirts. Can you please recommend how to clean them and prepare for cooking?

My current idea is to unfreeze them, wash intensively, and ultimately cook (uncut) in a medium intensity sauce for 10 minutes.

Small world, just defrosted my pack of 4cm ers. Peel skin, cut in half, cut out liver, rinse well in cold water, slather in your favorite hot sauce for your first one! Then be creative from there or throw the rest down the toilet, its a very acquired taste!

Meonggeboy


Can I clean enameled cast iron with steel wool? I've got a new enameled cast iron skillet that I've been cleaning with stainless steel wool along with a standard dish rag.

It occurs to me that scratches in the enamel might eventually cause problems.  What's the consensus?  Is steel wool safe to use on an enameled surface?

Thanks.

it is perfectly safe to use stainless steel wool on a Vitreous enamel. I presume that the cast iron skillet has a Vitreous enamel finish.

The reason is simple:
Vitreous enamel is essentially a type of ceramic and has a hardness of around 5-6 on the Mohs scale. Steel has around 4-5 on the same scale. This means that generally, you can not damage it with the steel wool.
Also no not confuse the "grit" of the steel wool with its hardness :P

The only thing that will happen is that the enamel will get very small scratches and that things will stick a bit better in them. You can get rid of most of them with a good polishing compound if they disturb you to much.

Personally I would advise you "not to need" to clean it with steel wool in the first place, but is something burned up badly and you do not have heavy cleaning agents nearby steel wool is an acceptable solution.

If it is just for cleaning leftovers , usually soaking in soap water and a hard plastic brush does a very good job as well.

Remember that even thou Vitreous enamel is very hard and durable it may be damaged by overheating or crack if dropped.


Do Raisins Become Stale Do Raisins become stale?  What happens to them?  How should I store them?

They absolutely do. They're "dried" but they're not really dry. They will continue to dry out until they become grainy and weird. Most dried fruit is this way, with the exception of freeze dried fruit, which has the opposite problem: once you open it, it absorbs moisture from the air, and gets gummy and gross.


At what temperature to bake waffles in a Lékuké silicon mold? We bought a Lékué silicon mold for waffles to be used in the oven, but the box in which we bought it does not mention the temperature at which to use it.

Can anyone having experience with baking waffles in an oven give us advice?

According to reviewers on Amazon and this video by Lékué, you should bake the waffles in an oven preheated to 220C (430F) for about 9 minutes. If the outside gets done before the inside, drop the temperature so you can bake longer. Other, more obscure sites and blogs say the same thing.

Did your box not include a recipe book?


Cream puff shell shaping I am trying to figure out the best way to shape my cream puff shells into a volcano shape for baking. Any suggestions?
Thanks!

My mother used a large cake decorating sleeve for her pastries. She would squirt out a mound, and then cut the middle out after it was finished baking.