What is the fastest way / highest temp you made duck confit? I know I know this is supposed to be a slow thing, but how have you "cheated" and got away with it?

Most recipes calls for at least 4 hours of cooking and at less than 275F. Cooling then re-crisping the skin.

Simply recipe has a version that I feel works sometimes (~300F for 2 hours), but the skin is often as not great, because it gets uneven, and curls too fast.

If you're looking into cheats for duck confit, this might be the grandest:

Simply dousing the duck with oil after cooking is some shortcut that apparently some world class chefs couldn't tell the difference:

  Based on taste tests run by Nathan Myhrvold and his Modernist Cuisine
  team, this             appears to be the case: “We performed this
  experiment with duck confit and pork carnitas. In each case, we
  prepared one batch traditionally and made a second batch by cooking
  the meat sous-vide or steaming it. We then anointed it with oil (duck
  fat for duck, pork fat for pork).

Excerpt From: Ferriss, Timothy. “The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life.”

Tim has a fake-confit recipe to match the above.  Even if you don't use the recipe (i recommend the book), just knowing the above might help you in your quest.

The recursive quote within Tim's book is from page 129 of Vol.2 of Modernist Cuisine. While they actually do the opposite (Sous-vide for 48hrs) of your goal, what's important here is that frying the duck in oil doesn't impart flavour beyond the skin.  So once you have a cooked duck and then pan fry with oil, you're cheat is nearly complete.

a note about the skin if you've brined the duck with skin, the salt will make the skin hold more water and become chewy.  A trick is to inject the brine into the meat using syringes.


How to get Taiyaki crispy? Are they even supposed to be crispy? My homemade Taiyaki always turn out wrong in texture: They are soft and chewy both on the inside as well as the crust. While inner texture is right — fluffy, chewy and soft, with molten Anko, the crust is not like at street-stalls in Japan: Crunchy, crisp and thin.

I’m using one of these cheap Aluminum Non-Stick Taiyaki-pans, and tried various batters and heating regimes: Neither the amounts of Milk (if used), Egg, Baking-Soda, nor whether to bake hot-and-fast or cool-and-slow seems to get them crisp.

How can one achieve the authentic texture even with home Taiyaki-making equipment? And — is a crispy, crunchy outer crust even authentic — or were the ones i ate in Japan maybe bad examples of how a Taiyaki should be?

They are supposed to be cripsy. I would give it a quick toast in the toaster oven or turn on the boiler for a moment. Usually the tai yaki pan is cast iron so it's a lot hotter.


Stirring with knives? So this past weekend I encountered a peculiar line in a recipe which I am hoping someone with more cooking knowledge than me can shed light on

  Combine flour, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt in another bowl. Using two knives, work cold butter, cut into pieces, into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle mixture evenly over blueberries.

What I ended up doing whats putting everything into a pyrex bowl and pathetically hacking at the butter chunks until my wrists hurt.  My question is two-fold:

1) Why? I assume the recipe has some justification for why two knives are the appropriate tool.

2) Is there a particular technique one should use when "working" the mixture?

You need to incorporate the butter into the flour such that the butter is in hazelnut sized lumps, without melting the butter. If you chop it that small on a board it will soften as you handle it. So you have to do it in the bowl.

You could buy a pastry cutter/dough blender but to be honest they are a pain in the wrist. If you have a food processor, you have a perfect pastry making tool - just blitz the butter and flour with a couple of pulses, then dribble in some cold water, blitz again, and repeat until you have a coherent (but not too sticky) dough with the aforementioned hazelnut sized lumps of butter mixed through.


If a few of my eggs crack when making them hard-boiled, is it still safe to eat them? I was making about a dozen hard boiled eggs last night and a few of them cracked when boiling.  The yolk partially came out of the shell but I continued to cook them as other ones in the pot were fine.   Is it safe to consume the partially broken eggs after they cool?

Yes, it certainly is safe to eat them, it happens all the time. They won't last quite as long in the fridge as ones which don't crack, but as long as you eat them in a couple of days you are fine. They may look like nuclear mutants but they will taste the same.


Could I substitute Anaheim chilies for Guajillo Chilies in a curry paste? I am trying to prepare a red curry paste, and the recipe calls for dried Guajillo chilies. I could not find them at any of my local stores, but I did find dried New Mexico and Anaheim chilies (which I've discovered after the fact are probably the same thing).

I read that the Anaheims are a bit less spicy than the Guajillos (500-2500 vs. 2500-5000 Scoville Units). I wanted to mention that I'm already aware of the difference in spiciness, because I am not especially concerned about that aspect of the comparison. The recipe also includes some considerably spicier peppers, so this part shouldn't make much difference.

I am more interested in the flavor. Since I am not familiar with Guajillo chilies, I do not know if their flavor is sufficiently similar to that of the ones I have for me to use them in the recipe.

Anaheims would be OK, but their flavor isn't just milder with respect to heat, but just generally weaker.  Pasilla would be closest in flavor.  Ancho is usually pretty easy to find and is fairly similar, just not as hot.  Chile de Arbol would be a good substitute, as would plain old cayenne if you can find dried cayenne peppers.  Heck, red pepper flakes (made from cayenne) might even do the trick, but getting the amount right would be tough.

Alternatively, Amazon (of course), Penzeys, and other online food stores sell dried guajillo chiles.  Then you won't have to worry about it!


Is it possible to freeze my own 'oven-fry' crumbed food items? I cook quite a lot for a less able person, who would find it impossible to shallow fry the fish-cakes I make for her, but who would be quite capable of taking them from frozen, or defrosting them, and baking them in an oven.

The ingredients (fish,potato,seasonings) are all cooked before frying, but the crumb (flour, egg-wash, dry breadcrumb) is not.

I imagine the commercially available oven-bake fishcakes have been treated in some way, in particular introducing fat, somehow, so the result of baking them is reasonably similar to the result of frying your own, and, of course, safe.

Has anybody any experience of preparing their own 'oven-fry' crumbed items that work in a similar way to the shop-bought ones?

I have experience with 2 methods:

The "parfrying" method:

Heat your favourite deep-frying oil to 175°C (350°F)
Fry the crumbled food items until the temperature drops below 175°C (on most fryers: until the red temperature light goes on, on some: until the green temperature light goes off)
Let the items sit above the oil until 175°C is reached again
Fry them again for about 20 seconds

The "parbaking" method:

Pre-heat your oven till 150°C (300°F)
Put the items on parchment paper
Spray them with a little bit of your favourite oil
Leave them in the oven for 10 minutes
Take them out of the oven, turn them upside-down, spray the other side, put them back into the oven¹
Leave them again in the oven for another 10 minutes

Whichever of the above method you've used, your items are now ready to freeze (I always use the fast-freeze section of my freezer while they're still hot, but YMMV) and can then be re-heated in the oven at 175°C for 20 minutes if unfrozen or 35-40 minutes if frozen.

Note ¹: This is to ensure your oven is closed and stays at 150°C while you're turning them upside-down.
Note ²: The above method is for items about 2 thumbs in size. If your items would be smaller, (e.g. little balls), diminish the times above.
Note ³: Maybe there is a professional term for "parfrying" and "parbaking" but I'm not aware of any so just these as an analogy to parboiling, without the water... ;-)


Where to find a crepe maker In my childhood I have memory of a clockwork crepe maker using an alcohol burner. It was quite compact, and sat on a small side table

The glow of the burner and the whir of the clockwork mechanism was somewhat "romantic", and of course there was endless discussion of whom got the next one, and what they where going to put on it (golden syrup, currants, and lemon juice!)

It looked something like this

The large drum had a circle of steel wrapped around it, and the clockwork motor rotated it against the pickup roller in the batter tray, which transfered batter only to the circle, not the whole drum. The alcohol burner heated the drum so by the time it got to the other side it was cooked and slid into the left hand tray. The crepes were nearly transparent, and just beautiful

The machine is very similar to how I understand commercial tortillas are made?

Can you still buy these, if so where?

If not, are there modern automatic crepe makers for domestic use? Looking for something way under a grand!

I can make a perfectly good crepe on the comal, but this is not fun for a whole party load!

This is called a crepe maker drum or an automatic crepe maker.

CMCRP makes one that retails for about $5000 and can produce as much as 80m  of crepes per hour (more than 1 mile / day). Probably worth it if you can afford it and need that many crepes. It is made by  and can be purchased from "PastaBiz.com"

You can see a video of it on YouTube.

Another model is the ANKO CR-200, a video can be found here, and you could contact ANKO to find a local distributor.

Good Luck!


Is 3 days too long to soak dried fruit for my fruitcake? My fruitcake recipe calls for soaking dried fruit in molasses and wine overnight. I mixed that up and it's macerating in the fridge, but a surprise schedule change means I won't get it into a cake for another two days (a total of 72 hours of soaking, rather than the expected 24).

Is this going to negatively impact the consistency of the fruit bits in the fruitcake? I like them somewhat chewy, not extremely soft. (The "dried fruit" in question is this mix of peel, pineapple, and cherries, plus raisins.)

The Christmas cake recipe I use (from Mary Berry's Fast Cakes) soaks the fruit in sherry for 3 days (and doesn't call for refrigeration).  It comes to no harm at all. I have tried less time, and that's OK but either way it needs a couple of stirs to ensure even soaking (this is more important for shorter soaks).


Is there a name for incompletely-sliced potatoes? I recently made this recipe, but I am wondering if there are any names for this type of slicing (for potatoes, and otherwise).  I suppose it somewhat resembles "blooming" an onion.

Potatoes that have been sliced almost all the way, buttered, spiced and then roasted until they fan out often go by the name Hasselback Potatoes.

Reputedly they were invented by a Swedish chef in the 1950s and the name is based on the name of the Swedish restaurant, Hasselbacken, in Stockholm.

I don't think there is a specific culinary term for "slicing almost all the way".


Can I eat venison that was frozen for 13 years? My mother in law has has vacuum sealed venison in the freezer for about 13 years. Would it still be ok to eat? It doesn't look like anything is wrong with it.

The US FDA guidelines do not explicitly call out game meat, but none of their guidelines call for storing meat in the freezer for more than one year.
https://www.fda.gov/media/74435/download


Ingredients or techniques to a more solid lasagna What are the crucial ingredients or cooking techniques to a more solid, or "brick" like lasagna? Most lasagna I've seen tends to get a bit sloppy in the pan as it's being dished out but I have seen lasagna that comes out very firm and solid. Is this due to a certain combination of ingredients, a cooking technique, or both?

For example, I've seen recipes that use cream cheese and eggs instead of ricotta, and various combinations of tomato paste, sauce, and crushed tomatoes. I've also seen various (relatively close - usually 350-375 for 45 minutes to an hour) cooking times.

I have the same preference. Three things that work for me:

(1) If you are using any vegetables, saute them to get as much liquid out as possible in advance. For spinach or other greens, actually squeeze the water out using a tea towel or potato ricer.

(2) Use less sauce or make the sauce thicker. You can accomplish the latter by starting with thicker ingredients (tomato puree vs. chopped tomatoes), or by reducing it on the stovetop somewhat first.

(3) For ricotta fillings, indeed add a couple of eggs to help them setup.

Here is my spinach and ricotta lasagna recipe, which as you can see from the picture, sets up very firm and sliceable. And I've also got a summer squash and portabello mushroom lasagna which illustrates points 1 and 2.


How long can I soak gulab jamun before serving? I would like to make some gulab jamun for a party in the afternoon. Because it's a work party, I can't prepare them in the morning and let them soak the recommended few hours. Instead, I need to prepare them the night before.

I have read many recipes and they all recommend a minimum soaking time but I have not found one that addresses preparing them ahead of time, or suggests soaking overnight.

Would there by any negative effect if I soaked them in the syrup all night, refrigerated, and then let them warm up to room temperature before serving the next day? Or even multiple days later/indefinitely? I'm not worried about spoilage and I assume any change in texture of the syrup will be reversed as it warms but I'm a little concerned that the texture of the jamuns will change, that they might get too soft or perhaps fall apart.

You can leave your Gulab Jamun in sugar syrup for minimum 30 minutes to maximum as long as you wish.

Before service you can bring Gulab Jamun to room temperature or you can even microwave and serve little warm.


Sage - how much can you eat fresh? I have just bought a flowerpot of sage - Salvia officinalis.
I know that the leaves can be used for tea. But can they also be eaten fresh, as a snack or as part of the salad? Is there any limit on the amount of fresh Salvia leaves that is safe to eat per day?

Sage (Salvia officialis) is a staple herb in various cuisines. It pairs with veal in an Italian Saltimbocca or pork in the British sage and onions stuffing and is eaten even on its own, e.g. battered and fried. So yes, it’s clearly edible. However, personally I would not serve it as a salad leaf, it’s probably too pungent to be truly enjoyable, but taste is of course personal preference. There are recipes that use sage in vinaigrette, though.
As the flavor is quite intense and a little goes a long way, most consumers will never nibble on enough to get in the range where the thujone content matters (similar to the amygdalin in apple pips). But let’s do a rough estimation to get a ballpark number. The amount of oil that can be extracted from S. officinalis leaves is between 0.5 and 1 %. That oil can contain up to 50% thujone, so we can just use the 0.5% as thujone content of fresh leaves. Considering that the LD50(mice) of thujone is 45mg/kg and that 30mg/kg gives a 0% mortality, a healthy 75kg “average person” could probably eat 2g of thujone or 400g sage leaves and be fine - but it wouldn’t be a good idea nevertheless, taste-wise. Excessive, especially habitual/long term use is sometimes discouraged.
The EU has limited the amount of thujone from sage a food product may contain to 25mg/kg. That would equal 50g sage leaves in 1 kg prepared food.
Conclusion: Enjoy cooking with your sage, forget about the salad leaves idea.
————-
Further reading: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20727933/


Why is my yeast so slow? Yesterday I made a batch of dough for a bread-like treat. It was a mix of cooled-off mashed potatoes, flour, instant yeast, room-temperature milk and room-temperature water.

According to the recipe it should rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. So I placed it near a window with a hot towel on top for about an hour in the end, but nothing at all happened. I tried baking some of the resulting dough anyway, but it was not working at all.

So after that I gave up, turned down the central heating and went to bed a bit disheartened. I left the dough on the counter, in an open bowl. When I came back this morning, the dough had risen to at least twice it's original size, maybe more.

How come the dough rose to such a size overnight and what should I change to make it happen in minutes instead of hours? Am I underestimating what a "warm" environment is? (The house is usually at around 20C and the radiators are usually off, is that too low?)

And if the dough rises slowly and openly like this, is it still okay? I'm planning to try and bake it again when I get home from work, but it'll have been in the open for close to 24 hours then.

There are so many factors in the rising of bread, have a look at this previous answer for something more exhaustive. I will say that 30 minutes is pretty short, especially when you are starting from a cool dough. You are using milk, which will enrich the dough, and although you haven't mentioned it I'm sure there is salt in the mix, both of these will slow yeast development.

There's nothing wrong with this, in fact slower is better for good gluten and flavor development. I would be prepared to let an enriched potato dough prove at least 3-4 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.

24 hours may be too much at it may have over-proofed, also foodborne illnesses may have developed in that time. Personally I'd discard it and try again.


How can I tell if bell peppers have gone bad? I regularly buy bell peppers from a local supermarket, but unfortunately they don't always have the freshest vegetables. Sometimes I can tell that the peppers have gone bad when they have brown spots or even mold, but more than once now I have bought peppers that looked fine from the outside but when I opened them they had mold in them and smelled bad. On the other hand I also had peppers that were very wrinkly or had dark seeds, but other than that seemed fine.

So my question is: How do I know if a bell pepper has gone bad?

What are indicators that a pepper has gone bad?
Are there indicators that I can see or feel from the outside?

Here are a few things to be wary of when buying peppers:

Wrinkled skin -- it's a sign that they're drying out.  It should be firm and smooth.
Soft areas -- it's a sign that it's starting to rot in areas.  It should be firm all over.
Fuzz near the stem or blossom end -- you can't always see outward signs of the fuzzy mold, but if you do, it'll be right around where the stem attaches, or in the crevice on the other side.
Cracks -- it's a sign that someone's dropped it, and opens up the possibility of rotting faster
Spots -- besides the soft areas, you can get small dots in an area ... it's a sign of disease.  (I'm not sure which; I typically get this when growing my own, don't see it in the store).
Holes -- a sign that there's an insect that's eaten its way inside.  (again, I see this more on home grown ones)

Things that aren't always a problem:

Discoloration : if it's a green pepper, it might start turning red, yellow or orange.  Red peppers might have an area that looks black or brown.  So long as that area isn't soft, and the color changes look blended in (not where it's an obvious line between colors), it's fine.
Weight : you typically want heavier specimens, but some varieties are thinner skinned, and won't be as heavy.  If you find one that seems abnormally light, compare it to similar sized ones in the display.  If they're all the same, and don't have wrinkled skin, they're probably okay.
White lines : you typically see this more on hot peppers, but it can happen on bell peppers, too.  They'll be roughly parallel to each other, along the line from stem to blossom.  It's a sign that they got a sudden burst of water while growing, which caused the skin to crack (but then heal).
Folds : some varieties of peppers are more balloon-like, while others may have a few folds; so long as it's still smooth skin (not wrinkled), relatively heavy for its size, and you don't see fuzz in the folds, it's not an issue.


How much is a "round" of butter? This is in an old pound cake recipe I have a very old pound cake recipe that calls for a “round” of butter.  How much is that?  I have no idea.

Looks like a misprint for Pound. The point of Pound Cake is that you use the same amount of each ingredient - for example, a pound.


Why does water leak from a refrigerator? My Whirlpool refrigerator is leaking water. I was using the the highest setting #5.  My landlord said I probably froze something behind the unit (it is not a freezer that ice builds up in and you have to defrost); he claimed that the temp should be 50F-55F. As I see it, this is not true; 35F-40F is a safe temperature. We are going to defrost the unit for 24 hrs, then adjust the setting so it is 40F degrees and see if water keeps leaking in the fridge. Does anyone have any advice for me? Does anyone know why water would be leaking in the fridge part?

Internally there are evaporator coils that produce the cold. Condensation will build up on them. There is a drain to the bottom. Often so little water is built up that it evaporates and you never need to empty the drain pan. That drain pipe/tube may be blocked. If the drain is blocked the water will drip into the refrigerator (by design). A fan may have gone out and the coils are iced up. Defrost the whole unit is worth a try - the drain could iced over or the tube could be iced.

A freezer with defrost cycle would not eliminate chance of a drain tube icing.


How long can I store a food in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer? How do I know if a given food or ingredient I have is still good, or if I should discard it?

How can I best preserve a food or ingredient?

  This broad question is intended as a "general reference" question to quickly answer many how long will food keep for? questions. Please feel free to edit this question to expand and clarify as needed.

General comments on the shelf-, fridge-, and freezer-life of foods
The shelf-life is the amount of time a food can be stored before it is considered unsuitable for use. It may be unsuitable due to quality degradation (no longer tasty) or food safety (risk of food poisoning). [1]
As far as food safety goes, food stored frozen at 0°F (-18°C) or below is remains safe forever; only quality degrades over time. [2]. Thus the freezer-storage times below are entirely about quality. This temperature should be maintained fairly closely (within 3°C[6] or 5°F) and a defrost / no-frost freezer should not heat air surrounding the products by enough to heat the products more than that.
If your freezer is set at a temperature higher than -18°C (three-star setting), these times may not apply. Especially the safe storage time in one-star freezers (-6°C) is much reduced.
The times all assume proper storage. Freezers 0°F or below, refrigerators 40°F (4°C) or below. [3] Cans should be stored in a cool, dry place, below 85°F (30°C) [4]. The freezer itself should also be placed correctly: if the environmental temperature drops below 10°C (50°F), oil might be too viscous and work less well or damage the compressor[7], so please refer to the operating manual before deciding on an unheated garage.
The tables given here assume proper storage. Food which requires refrigeration is considered unsafe if left for over two hours at temperatures between 41–135°F (5–57°C) [5].
The Tables
Regardless of the table below, if a food shows signs of spoilage (including mold, with some exceptions described below), its past its shelf-life. Note that the lack of spoilage does not imply safety.
Uncooked Proteins

Item
Fridge
Freezer
Sources

Ground (meat, poultry)
1–2 days
3–4  months
[KC]

Non-ground meat
3–5 days
steaks: 6–12 monthschops: 4–6  monthsroasts: 4–12 months
[KC]

Poultry
1–2 days
whole: 12 monthspieces: 9 months
[KC]

Eggs
in shell: 3–5 weeksseparated: 2–4 days
in shell: not recommendedwhites: 12 monthsyolks: not recommended
[KC]

Bacon
1 week
1 month
[CFG]

tofu
1 week
5 months
[CFG]

fish
1–2 days
lean: 4–8 monthsfatty: 2–3 months
[CFG]

Cooked proteins

Item
Fridge
Freezer
Sources

luncheon meat
opened: 1 weekunopened: 2 weeks
1–2 months
[KC]

cooked meat and poultry
3–4 days
2–6 months
[KC]

cooked fish
3–4 days
1–2 months
[CFG]

hard boiled eggs
1 week
not recommended
[KC]

hard sausage
2–3 weeks
1–2 months
[CFG]

Dairy

Item
Fridge
Freezer
Sources

butter
1–3 months
6–9 months
[CFG]

hard cheeses
opened: 3–4 weeksunopened: 6 months
6 months
[CFG]

soft cheeses
1 week
6 months
[CFG]

cream cheese
2 weeks
not recommended
[CFG]

Sauces

Item
Fridge
Freezer
Sources

mayo
commercial: 2 monthshome-made: see below
not recommended
[CFG]

gravy, broth
3–4 days
2–3 months
[CFG]

For home-made mayo, there don't seem to be official shelf-life estimates.
Seasoned Advice has a question on this,
Making "long(er)-life" homemade mayonnaise.
Vegetables
Freezer times are given for cooked or blanched, then frozen. Generally, this is
required, otherwise enzymatic degradation will occur. See "Where can I go for
details on a specific food?" for where to find specific steps for each vegetable.
Refrigerator and shelf times are for storage raw.
If a column is -, it means that storage type is not recommended. "Ripe" means
"until ripe".

Item
Shelf
Fridge
Freezer
Sources

Asparagus
-
3–4 days
8 months
[FK]

Green beans
-
3–4 days
8 months
[FK]

Beets
1 day
7–10 days
6–8 months
[FK]

Cabbage
-
1–2 weeks
10–12 months
[FK]

Carrots
-
3 weeks
10–12 months
[FK]

Celery
-
1–2 weeks
10–12 months
[FK]

Garlic
1 month
1–2 weeks
1 month
[FK]

Herbs (fresh)
-
7–10 days
1–2 months
[FK]

Lettuce (iceberg)
-
1–2 weeks
-
[FK]

Lettuce (leaf)
-
3–7 days
-
[FK]

Mushrooms
-
2–3 days
10–12 months
[FK]

Onions, non-sweet
2–3 months
2–3 months
10–12 months
[ST]

Onions, sweet
1–2 months
1–2 months
10–12 months
[ST]

Peppers
-
4–5 days
6–8 months
[FK]

Potatoes
1–2 months
1–2 weeks
mashed: 10–12 months
[FK]

Squash, summer
-
4–5 days
10–12 months
[FK]

Squash, winter
1 week
2 weeks
10–12 months
[FK]

Tomatoes
ripe
2–3 days
2 months
[FK]

Fruits
Many fruits must be at least partially cooked (blanched) before freezing in
order to deactivate enzymes that would otherwise degrade quality while in
storage. Some are best frozen packed in acid (lemon juice or citric acid)
and/or syrup. See "Where can I go for details on a specific food?" for where to
find specific steps for each fruit.
If a column is -, it means that storage type is not recommended. "Ripe" means
"until ripe".

Item
Shelf
Fridge
Freezer
Sources

apples
1–2 days
1–3 weeks
cooked: 8 months
[FSG], [FK]

apricots
ripe
2–3 days
-
[FK]

bananas
ripe
1–2 days*
peeled: 1 month
[FK]

berries
-
1–2 days
4 months
[FSG], [FK]

citrus fruit
10 days
3 weeks
-
[FSG]

grapes
1 day
1 week
1 month
[FK]

juice
-
6 days
8 months
[FSG]

melons
1–2 days
1 week
balls: 1 month
[FSG], [FK]

generally:

3-5 days

*: bananas stored in the fridge will blacken. This is not a sign of spoilage, and they can be eaten safely.
Cooked dishes
2 hours on the counter, for all of them, unless you prepared a known shelf-stable item which generally does not go in the fridge (like cookies, or a canned jam, or others). It does not matter how long the individual components would have lasted on their own.
Refrigerated: generally 3–4 days in the fridge. This includes pizza, soups, stews,
casseroles, pies, and quiche [KC]. Some salads get a fifth day [CFG].
Freezer time is generally under three months.
Infused oils
Putting any plant matter in oil (such as garlic, chillies or herbs) creates the danger for botulism, a rare but fatal disease. Thus infused oils are not shelf-stable. They can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, discard them earlier if you see cloudiness or gas bubbles. Or buy commercially produced infused oils, they have been treated with industrial methods to kill the botulinum spores.
Shelf-stable until opened

Item
Unopened
Opened, in fridge
Source

Commercially canned, low-acid (meat, poultry, fish, soups, stews, vegetables)
2–5 years
3–4 days
[CFG]

Commercially canned, high-acid
12–18 months
5–7 days
[CFG]

Olives
12–18 months
2 weeks
[FK]

jam, jelly, preserves
1 year
6 months
[FK]

shortening (Crisco)
8 months
3 months
[FK]

Pantry (not refrigerated even after opening)

Item
Shelf life
opened (if different)
Source

Baking powder
18 months

[FSG]

Baking soda
2 years

[FSG]

beans (dry)
1 year

[FK]

Bouillon
1 year

[FSG]

cornstarch
18 months

[FK]

extracts
3 years

[FK]

flour
white: 6–12 monthswheat: 1 month

[FK]

herbs (dry)
1–2 years
1 year
[FK]

honey
1 year

[FK]

pasta (dry)
2 years

[FSG]

egg noodles (dry)
6 months

[FSG]

rice (dry)
white: 2 yearsbrown: 6–12 monthsflavored: 6 months

[FSG]

vegetable oil
6 months
1–3 months
[FSG]

vinegar
2 years
12 months
[FSG]

General tips for storing foods
How do I freeze fruits and vegetables?
Fruit. Ripe (but not overripe) fruit should be used. Wash them, and sort according to size. Working in small batches, remove pits, seeds, and blemishes. For fruits that turn brown, apply ascorbic acid or sugar and citric acid. Most fruits benefit from packing in dry sugar or a sugar syrup. Small, whole fruits (e.g., berries) can be spread on a tray and individually frozen, then packed in a freezer bag or other airtight container.
Vegetables. Most vegetables need blanching. To blanch, immerse in boiling water over high heat or steam over rapidly boiling water (steam). After blanching, transfer to ice bath for the same amount of time as blanched. Drain and dry. Freeze either by packing in a freezer bag with as much air as possible removed, or by allowing to freeze on a tray, then putting in a bag or other container.
General guideline is 8–12 months for best quality.
The above is a very quick summary of Iowa State University's Preserve the
Taste of Summer: Freezing: Fruits and
Vegetables. The
five-page document includes full details on over forty fruits and vegetables.
Feel free to ask here on Seasoned Advice if that guide doesn't answer your
question.
What about mold?
Some foods are expected to have mold in them (e.g., P. roqueforti in
Roquefort cheese). Unexpected mold, however, is something to be concerned
about. Mold can grow even on refrigerated foods, and even those high enough in
salt or sugar to deter bacteria. Some molds produce mycotoxins. Mold growth can
be minimized by cleaning the refrigerator every few months (use a mixture of 1
tablespoon of baking soda per quart of water, then rinse with plain water, then
dry), by keeping dishcloths, sponges, mops, etc. clean and fresh-smelling; and
keeping indoor humidity levels under 40%.
In general, the visible surface mold on a food is only a small part of the
actual mold growth. For most foods, any visible unexpected mold growth means
you should discard the entire item. There are several exceptions:

Food
How to handle mold

Hard salami, dry-cured country hams
Scrub mold off surface.

Hard cheese
Cut at least 1 inch around and below mold spot, do not cut through mold.

Cabbage, bell peppers, carrots
Cut at least 1 inch around and below mold spot, do not cut through mold.

Everything else, including soft or shredded cheese, soft fruits and vegetables,
bread, peanut butter, jams and jellies, sour cream, yogurt, luncheon meats,
casseroles, and cooked pasta should be discarded.
All this information comes from the USDA FS&IS's Molds on Food: Are They
Dangerous? fact
sheet.
Where can I go for details on a specific food?
The web site StillTasty maintains a comprehensive list
of food storage times, notes, and procedures for a wide variety of food items.
They draw information from a variety of reputable
sources and should probably
be the first place you check.
Another good source of information is the Food Marketing Institute's Food
Keeper. This is also a searchable database of foods.
Finally, if neither of those two references answer your question, you're at the
right web site. Please ask here on Seasoned
Advice.
Bibliography

[CFG]: USDA FS&IS Cooking for Groups: A Volunteer's Guide to Food Safety
[KC]: USDA FS&IS Kitchen Companion: Your Safe Food Handbook. February 2008.
[FK]: Food Marketing Institute, Food Keeper
[FSG]: Julie Garden-Robinson, North Dakota State University, FN-579 Food Storage Guide
[ST]: StillTasty.com, Keep It or Toss It?

Note
This is a work-in-progress. I still need to finish adding information to it. Also, this answer is a community wiki, please feel free to improve it.


having problem with chicken pot pie crust I made two chicken pot pies last night, and the crust turned out like a giant cracker.  Not soft and flaky at all like the store bought ones.

I think I have identified two probable reasons:

1)  I skipped the egg was at the end.  So the top layer was just really dry.

2)  I probably overworked the dough.  I used the pizza dough setting on my breadmaker which takes 90 minutes.

I used butter that was almost frozen.  And I chilled my water in the freezer for 10 minutes before mixing.  I think I did those parts right.

Next time I will try just working the dough by hand and handling it as little as possible.  And I definitely won't skip the egg wash.

My question is:  Next time I do this, how can I know if I've done it right without just simply cooking the pie directly.  This was a TONNE of work.  It would be nice if I could focus on mastering the crust before I make another pie.  Can you just cook a crust by itself in the oven to see what happens?

Edit: After reading some related topics, there seems to be a technique called "blind baking" which may be what I'm looking for.

Should I just omit the filling and keep baking crusts until they start turning out the way i want?

You started out great with cold cold butter and water and then you beat the livin crap out of em for 30 min.

You are making a pie crust.  The thing that makes pie crust flaky is  that the small little pieces of butter, shortening, lard remain intact and then are gently  flattened when you roll out the dough.

  ( good quality lard is best but a combination of butter and shortening will do ).

The butter, shortening, lard  are not mixed into the flour, they are coated with flour and when you GENTLY roll your dough out you squish them so that you have little layers of lard and flour. When you bake them the lard steams between the layers of flour creating a flaky crust.

Butter has low melting point so it should be nearly frozen, If you insist on butter cut it into very small pieces and the put it in the freezer. it is best to chill shortening and lard as well.

Cut your butter into your flour/salt mix with a pastry blender cut it together until the lard is in small little pieces about half the size of small peas. Add ICE water ( water with ice cubes in it but you just spoon out the amount you need ) in small increments until it a shaggy dough. (You want it so you can grab a little in your hand a squeeze and it will just hold together.)

You do not need a mixer but if you use one use it just enough to bring the dough together to the shaggy state.

Divide the dough into portions appropriate for your pie plate. gently form it into a ball, gently press it flat. Wrap it in plastic and chill it in the fridge before rolling it out. Roll it gently , do not over work it.

Use the egg wash, cut it with a little water or milk. If you find it is browning to much brush it on part way through the baking time. Do not brush the edges.

Once you do it a few times it will not be a "tonne of work" and you can make enough to keep some in the fridge for a while or freeze some.


What went wrong with my Chocolate Chantilly (Hervé This' recipe) I just made Hervé This' Chocolate Chantilly and it didn't taste anywhere near as good as I had hoped. The consistency seemed almost right, though very slightly grainy, but the taste was, well, what you might expect: watered down chocolate.

Does anyone know what, if anything, might have gone wrong? I'm using Weiss chocolate with 57% cocoa solids. I was expecting it to taste something like chocolate mousse. Do I need to alter my expectations?

This dish should taste like the chocolate you use and have the texture of a mousse. I'm not familiar with Weiss chocolate, but I don't think 57% is adequate. I would suggest at least 70%.

Perhaps you should try a different brand? Again, I'm not familiar with Weiss, but is it any good? Do you like the taste of the chocolate alone? You should. If you try a different brand, I'd suggest Valrhona.

Update

The graininess is a result of over whisking. If you over whisk you can simply return it to the pot and start again.

Also, I looked up Weiss chocolate with 57% cocoa solids, and I'm more confident that this is the primary cause of your flavor problems. The breakdown for this is: 57% Cocoa, 42% Sugar, 36% Fat (the fat is included in the cocoa solid). Cocoa butter (the fat) is what carries the chocolate flavor (provided by the non-fat cocoa solids) and provides the richness and body of the chocolate. Chocolates with 57% Cocoa typically contain 33-36% fat content. Whereas chocolate with 70% cocoa solids typically have a fat content in the range of 40-42%. This lack of fat can lead to a "blander" taste in the finished dish.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this dish gives you a fair amount of wiggle room. If you whip it up and it feels like it's still lacking in some fat, then melt it, add more chocolate and start over. If you end up with something that isn't light enough, you can simply start over and add a little more water. As long as you don't burn anything you can do this indefinitely.

Finally, if you feel like experimenting you can use something besides water. In the original article Herve This recommended orange juice or blackcurrant puree.

Another Update

I found a video that uses tea in place of water. It also demonstrates how to do it without whisking, using a N₂O siphon.


Do I need two filters to strain cold brew coffee? I have a Filtron cold brew system that uses both a paper filter and a wool filter to strain the coffee after it has brewed. However, in the last batch, I forgot to insert the wool filter! Is it okay to strain the coffee through the paper filter alone before drinking it, or is the wool filter doing something that the paper filter does not?

I make cold brew regularly using an ISI whipper, and simply filter through one paper filter in a Chemex set up.  So, I am sure you are just fine.  The wool filter appears to be the main filter in this system, with the paper filter in place simply to extend its life (see the FAQ on the website).  You probably want to go back to the wool filter, since this is the design of the product, but I am sure your result is drinkable.


blanching slightly frozen fresh garden carrots I searched online to see if a person could still blanch slightly frozen carrots, but nothing seems to give me a straight answer. Get a lot on how to blanch them, and that I can freeze fresh carrots, but nothing in regards to if it is possible. Hopefully someone can give me some answers and advice. Thanks

freezing and thawing will break cells and make the carrots (in that case) a little bit mushy.
Other than that, blanch away; I don't see any problems with that.


How should I deal with blood released while thawing meat in the refrigerator? Saturday I pulled a package of venison from my freezer to thaw and hope to make stroganoff with it tonight. However, this morning I noticed that the package (in a bowl) had really released a lot of blood. I have a few questions here:

It hasn't been above 40° F (4.4° C) much, but am I going to run into a moisture or consistency problem? If so, can I do anything in the stroganoff to balance this out?
Also, assuming the meat is safe, and still worth cooking, should I attempt to utilize the blood in building up the sauce; if so how? (I will likely be preparing the sauce using [drippings/blood(?)], a pound or so of mushrooms, and cream/sour cream.)

To start with, the red, or dark, juice from red meat is not, in fact, blood, which is a common misconception. Most blood is drained from red meat when it is butchered. It is, rather, a protein (myoglobin) and a lot of water.

It is an animal's levels (or lack of) myoglobin, that determine whether it is a 'red' meat or white.

As for its safety after being frozen, this is discussed further here.

  Beef stored in the refrigerator for more than 5 days will start to turn brown due to chemical changes in the myoglobin.  This doesn’t necessarily mean it has gone bad, though with this length of unfrozen storage, it may have.  Best to use your nose to tell for sure, not your eyes

As your venison was frozen, rather than just refrigerated, as mentioned above, I would say you are more than safe to do a nose test, as recommended above.


How to prolong the life of chillies in a refrigerator? Last week I bought a packet of green chilli from an Asian store, the really hot ones. I only used 5 of those and had about 20-25 still left in the little plastic bag (with holes). I just kept it refrigerated but within 4 days, there was mold growing on the stem of the chillies. So, I took the stem off and froze the rest. But then I read that the chilli goes mushy in the freezer.

What can I do to prolong the shelf life of chilli so they stay fresh for longer in the refrigerator (but not frozen)?

Per Still Tasty, the shelf life of chili peppers is only going to be about a week.  You were probably simply unlucky in having them turn more quickly than that.

In general, this type of chili is not eaten raw, and featured for its texture, so freezing should in fact be a very good option, despite slight degradation in texture that may occur.

Depending on your planned use, you may also consider making refrigerator pickles which will allow them to last several weeks or more refrigerated, but will give them of course and acidic and pickled flavor.


How can I remove aluminum foil from a candy cane? I got a rather large candy cane, and was far from able to finish it in a single sitting. I thought I would preserve it by wrapping it (somewhat tightly) in aluminum foil. Now, a month later, I can't get it off. I have tried everything up to scraping it with a butter knife, but I can't get all of the foil off. Any advice? I would rather not throw the whole thing away.

Wrap it in a wet, lint-free towel for a few minutes - this will dissolve the sugar near the surface and you should be able to peel the foil off.  Repeat as necessary.


How to make vivid color candy with a small quantity of natural food coloring? I use some natural food coloring for candies. The problem is that they are not very intense and that not many vivid natural food colors are available in the market.
I tried powder, liquid and gel coloring: powder and liquid had very dull colors ( I tried several brands and several colors) while on the contrary gel coloring was the only one that gave vivid colors.
The components of the 3 types for coloring are the following:

gel: E422 glycerol or glycerin or glucose syrup + water (optional) + color
liquid: water + color
powder: just color

What I don’t understand is : how come the color intensity changes so much for gel with just this additional ingredient? Did I miss something?

To the question in the title: you can't. Food coloring works just like any other dye or pigment. It consists of tiny colored particles, and the more particles you have in one place, the more intense the color. If you dilute the particles, the color will be pale, no matter what. If you want a certain shade of color, you need the corresponding quantity of particles, and cannot arbitrarily decrease it.
As for the reason for different color intensities with different food coloring products, there are too many possible reasons, both due to technical limitations and marketing decisions.

the different product types can use different colorings
the different product types can use different densities of color particles
the size and structure of the color particles matters. It is normal that a powder will give you a dull color, if it is insoluble - powders generally have low saturation, and transparent crystalline materials are white when powdered (prime example: sugar).
I wouldn't be surprised if color particles suspended in gel droplets can be perceived as more vividly colored, since the gel droplets do have their own optical properties. This is just speculation though, I don't know if it is possible to reliably create a structure in which the color is enhanced, and if yes, if it is being used for such a cheap product as food coloring.
even if it is technically possible to make e.g. a powder with the same coloring result as a gel, the companies might prefer not to, to achieve better market segmentation

So, there are many potential reasons, but the result for you as a baker is the same: the color hue you get is a physical property of the product you pick, and its intensity is a physical property of the amount in which you use it. You cannot magically change that, so you have to determine what gives you the shade you want, and use that.


Making cake without oven In the case that there isn't an oven;

is it possible to make cake on electric cooktop by using basic kitchenware?

Yes, but it's a pain (and depends how much kitchenware you have). When I was in the Peace Corps, I learned how to construct an "oven". You'll need two pots of the same diameter that are big enough to enclose your cake pan, hopefully with about at least an inch of room on all sides. (Just one pot is needed if it's tall enough.)

Put one pot on the burner, then put something in it to elevate the cake pan at least 1/2 inch above the bottom of the pot. Three small rocks work well, as will three stacks of coins. Put the cake pan on top of this stand, then put the last pot upside-down  on top as a lid. (If your first pot is tall enough, you would only need a regular lid, not a second pot.) It's best to set this up on the burner as moving it can be risky. Use a low setting for the burner and expect a longer baking time.

This method can work on a stove or on a charcoal grill (with very low heat in the case of grill). It will work better if you can add heat from the top as well (e.g. put a few coals on top). It's finicky though and takes some practice. Bread is a pretty safe thing to try, though I would guess that a box-cake would do okay.

Microwave cake is an easier option, just google "microwave cake" and you'll find lots of recipes.


How to stop sushi nori tasting too strong? Vegetarian here (who doesn't eat fish), I love sushi and I've made it a few times at home and the technique is relatively pain free but the taste is just... off.

From a shop, usually Yo-Sushi or recently Wasabi (which is an amazing oriental place I might add.) - it's delicious. The sea/fishy flavour of the nori is perfectly balanced but when I make it at home all it tastes of is seaweed. It feels like I'm licking an eel it's so damn strong.

How do I make the nori have less flavour? It completely over powers everything and by the time I'm finished I feel sick from the strong taste. It's not so bad the next day after it's been in the fridge but there must be something I'm doing wrong?

The nori I buy is from the supermarket and I believe it's Kikoman branded, I have some more authentic imported stuff sitting in the cupboard which I haven't used yet. Could it simply be that the stuff from the shop isn't fresh? Having said that I've had to wait for my sushi to be made and it was still delicious, so perhaps the nori I bought was just different?

It does sound more like a balance of flavours issue... Are you adding rice vinegar, sugar and salt to your rice once it is cooked? If not your rice will be less flavoured and therefore the nori would taste stronger in comparison.


My Pineapple Open Tarts won't dislodge from their moulds I am baking pineapple open tarts using individual aluminium moulds. I use shortcrust pastry. I have difficulty in dislodging them from their moulds when they are done? I tried to remove them as soon as they are out from the oven as well as after having left them to cool in their respective moulds. No difference, they just won't leave the moulds. The moulds were oiled with butter before use. What have I done wrong?

If there is really no way to delicately take off the moulds, I'd suggest feezing them. Then once they've hardened, heat up the mould and try to push the tarts out/bang the mould on a hard (not fragile...) surface. They'll be hard enough so you can apply more force without breaking.

As a last resort... :)

Also, removing them right out of the oven might not be a great idea as they will often shrink while cooling down, which can help take them out. And as Fabby pointed out : butter AND flour.


How to stop grease dripping on coals from catching flames? I am using one of those small grills where the grate is only about an inch or two above the coals. When I cook something that doesn't have much grease (like vegetables), it is fine but the main thing I got the grill for is grilling mackerel. It's a fatty fish and drips grease on the coals, which then catches flames and carbonizes the outside of the fish while the inside remains uncooked.

There is a reason we have this little (slightly bigger than a shoe box) grill and that's because we like to take it camping (where we also like to grill mackerel). I understand the problem might be solved by a bigger grill where the flames don't reach the food. Is there any technique to mitigate this situation with this little grill?

I do wait until the coals have no more flames and are almost out. Just a few seconds after I put fish on the grill, flames start from underneath it. I move the fish to a different part of the grill where there is no flames but flames start there after just a few seconds.

Well these are not really techniques to prevent dripping fat from catching fire, as far as I know that is not easy to achieve, these are rather workarounds to minimize the damage.

Use some sort of water sprinkler system like a squirt bottle, sprinkler bottle or vaporizing or a squeeze bottle over the flames. If used moderately directly aimed at the flame area, it will reduce the flames without killing the fire.
Keep a box of ashes from previous fires around, when flames erupt sprinkle a little over the flame area. If used properly will have the same effect as the water above. It may be slightly less practical due to being harder to avoid inadvertently pouring ashes over the food, but its less likely to cool the fire.
Catch the fat before it hits the embers. If what you are grilling can effectively be cooked with indirect heat, then place a tray, box or any wide catching container to collect the fat before it hits the fire. Possibly filled with water to be easier to clean afterwards. It is what most electric and indoors grills use.


Where can I find "food safe" glass marbles for sous vide cooking? I would like to find "food safe" glass marbles for sous vide cooking.  They can be used for keeping bags from floating, to space out ingredients in a bag, or even as "filler" space in a chamber vacuum to get a higher level of vacuum sealing.  Even for bags that don't float, the extra weight can keep the bags from moving in the current generated by a immersion circulator with a strong water pump.

Here is an example of using them as a anti-floating weight.

Many "toy" glass marbles are in China or other countries.  They may have lead or cadmium or have other dangerous metals or chemicals added -- especially if the glass is colored and even clear glass may be made with chemicals that are not "food safe".

Does anyone know where to purchase glass marbles or beads that are guaranteed to be "food safe"???

I would recommend using Whiskey Stones. They are used in whiskey instead of ice cubes. So they should be heavy, won't rust, and are supposed to be immersed in liquid that you'll consume. I think that probably meets all your criteria.

Whiskey Stones

Another alternative is to use a rack. This comes with the Sous Vide Supreme and I find it quite useful for keeping meat submerged. It does however only accommodate certain sizes of meat. It works quite well. You can buy it separately online for $12.


Cooked meat diaper: toxic? I accidentally left the meat diaper underneath my roast in a slow cooker. After 8 hours, the diaper is mostly disintegrated. I am able to fish out fragments, but big chunks seem to be missing. (For one thing, these sorry remains don't have any thickness to them.)

Is it safe to eat the rest of my roast?

According to the USDA:

  If packaging is accidentally cooked in a conventional oven, is the
  food safe to eat?

  Plastic packaging materials should not be used at all in conventional
  ovens. They may catch on fire or melt, causing chemical migration into
  foods. Sometimes these materials are inadvertently cooked with a
  product. For example, giblets may be accidentally cooked inside the
  turkey in their packaging or a beef roast may be cooked with the
  absorbent pad from the fresh meat packaging underneath.

  The giblet bag and the absorbent pad are clearly not intended to be
  cooked, however if this happens and the packaging materials remain
  unaltered (that is, do not melt or come apart) the cooked meat will
  not pose an imminent health hazard. If the packaging materials have
  melted or changed shape in some other way do not use the product.

Who are they kidding? Of course, they are altered. With deep regrets, I threw my roast away. (More info here.)


On an electric stove, does the smaller burner produce fewer BTUs than the larger burner? I have a US electric oven/stove combination with four stove burners, two smaller and two larger.  I feel the stove is already a bit anemic so I want to make sure I am getting the maximum energy out of the stove, but I also like using smaller pans on the smaller burner.  Do typical US electric stoves put the same amount of total energy (i.e., the same amount of BTUs) through the smaller burners as through the larger burners, or are the smaller burners also lower energy?

Electric stove elements have a different KW rating depending on construction and size

A typical spiral element of 200 mm (8") diameter will be 2 KW, a 150 mm (6") diameter element will be 1.3 KW

Different stove makes and models have different ratings. But not many go above 2 KW, except in USA where they go up to 3 KW

Stove makers usually publish exact specifications on their web sites

1 W is approximately 3.4 BTU


What is a "raw smoked" gammon (or ham)? In many recipes I've come across the term "raw smoked gammon" (sometimes also "raw smoked ham"). English is not my primary language, so such terms are sometimes difficult. This site has an answer on what "gammon" is (meat from pig's hind leg), but I'm baffled by the "raw smoked" part. How can something be raw and smoked at the same time?

The way I understand these terms:

If it's raw then, well, it's raw - it hasn't been processed in any way. The butcher cut a piece off a freshly slaughtered animal and delivered it to the store, probably cooled (but not frozen). You can't eat raw meat, you need to process it first.

Smoked on the other hand means that it's been processed with smoke, all the bad bacteria have been killed, and it's safe to eat. Also, it's the very opposite of "raw".

So... WAT?

Added: also, I realize that such things might be regional. Foodstuffs that are common in one country might be nonexistent in another. Perhaps this is one of such cases, so I'll really appreciate a detailed explanation. :)

There is a lot of ambiguous and misused terminology in cooking... added to that, different countries have specific legal definitions for foodstuffs that vary from one jurisdiction to another.

Gammon vs. Ham

Some sources call it gammon if it is raw, while others claim gammon differs from ham because it is cured with the belly and then detached, whereas hams are detached from the rest of the animal and then cured (a nearly useless distinction); also the words gammon, ham and bacon are sometimes used interchangeably.  In the US we call it ham when it is cured, whether it is cooked or raw; and we call it fresh ham if it is uncured (We pretty much call anything from the hind leg of a pig ham).

Fresh vs. Raw vs. Cooked

Raw does not mean that no processing has been performed, it just means that it hasn't been cooked or the proteins haven't been denatured chemically. Curing, smoking, marinating, freezing, and drying, and milling can all be performed without cooking.

Generally, "Fresh" means no processing has been performed. In the US and UK, the term "fresh frozen" has gained a foothold more as a marketing term than actually providing useful information.

There are a number of cured hams that are eaten raw and are safe. For example prosciutto, jamón ibérico, jamón serrano, and some country hams in the US.  Most of these are dry cured and may or may not be smoked.

Types of smoking.

The more commonly known type, and what most people call "smoking", is actually hot smoking. Hot smoking is what happens when the item being smoked is kept in a smoker at a temperature high enough to cook the item, usually in the 225-250˚F/105-120˚C range.

The other type of smoking is cold smoking.  During cold smoking the smoker or smoking chamber does not get hot enough to cook the item being smoked, usually 100˚F/38˚C or lower. This type of smoking used to be much more common as an added protection and flavor for cured foods as well as food that are more delicate.  These include gammon/hams, fish, cheeses, bacon, and seafood. Just as many foods that were previously dry cured are now wet cured, many of these products are now produced industrially using "wet smoking" or smoke flavor additives instead of cold smoking methods.

As with cold-smoked meats, some "wet smoking" yields a product that is technically raw, because its proteins have not been denatured by heat. Instead, liquid smoke or smoke flavor is added to the brine or applied as a coating before cooking.

Cold smoking has had a bit of a resurgence lately with the invention of smoke guns, which allow you to add smoke without the need of a large cold smoker.


How to prevent scorching and sticking when boil soy milk So long story short, I really like making tofu at home and I have done it a lot of times. I am pretty happy with my end results, but the boiling soy milk part always bothers me.
No matter how much I stir the soy milk while boiling it, the soy milk always sticks to the bottom of the pot and burns, leaving lots of mess. I also tried the microwave method, the sticking and burning is gone, but it is very time consuming (takes 15 mins to fully cook 2-3 litres of soy milk).
So just wondering if anyone has any great method to fully cook a few litres of soy milk? Perhaps steaming it? If steaming actually works, how long can I expect it to fully cook the soy milk.

My understanding is that the soy has to come to the boil, and be held there for several minutes to deactivate enzymes.  I hear you.  I hate the clean up after making tofu.  You can certainly avoid burning by stirring and controlling the heat, but the lees will stick to the bottom and sides of the pot. I don't think there is any way around it, unless you use a non-stick vessel of some sort.  I don't have access to that, so, my solution is simply get water into the pan right after the straining, and clean as soon as possible.  A scouring pad of some sort really helps, but it takes some effort.


How to keep my oven evenly heated While baking at 350 yesterday part way through cooking the broiler element came on and burned the top of my cake. Any ideas on why that would happen?

It maybe that you had the oven set to Preheat or Broil instead of Bake. If that's not the case, you may have a problem with the controller for the oven (I have never heard of this happening in older ovens, but with newer electronic/computer controlled models I could see something like that happening.)


Is it possible to make a wheat free/gluten free/dairy free apple pie? Is it possible to make a pie that does not include gluten or dairy?  What techniques and ingredients can I use?

You have several options for the crust.  It is possible to purchase mixes that will get you started.  There are also several recipes available.  A good resource for all your gluten-free baking is Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, and you can find a recipe there.  Another great option is former pastry chef Helene at Tartlette.  This question has compiled a list of gluten-free baking recipes which may also provide you good jumping off points.

You can make a dairy free crust by replacing butter with lard or vegetable shortening.  Margarine is likely not be dairy free.  Lard will provide a texture and taste that is better than an all shortening crust, but shortening is easier to find in stores.  If the dairy free requirement is a requirement to avoid casein, you will have to do some experimentation on your own to find an appropriate egg replacement, as gluten free crusts appear to require eggs to hold together.  Options for egg replacers can be found in this question and this question.

Once you have assembled a crust recipe from these tips, if you have questions about it or are struggling you can ask a follow-on question here about how to improve the crust and the community can provide specific help on a provided recipe.

In general it appears that the gluten free crusts available are actually similar to work with versus a regular pie crust, something that is not always the case in gluten free baking.  As usual you want to do everything cold and refrigerate your dough over night.  Pie dough of all forms is easiest to roll when you place it between two floured sheets of parchment paper.  Remove the top piece of parchment paper, flip the bottom piece with crust on it (hold it all together, because your crust shouldn't be sticking) into the pie plate or onto your pie, and remove the top piece.

Apple pie is sometimes thickened with flour, and obviously you do not want to do this when cooking gluten-free.  The absolute best pie thickener is actually not flour, so you are set here.  In taste tests the editors of Cooks Illustrated determined that instant tapioca, a gluten-free product, is the best pie thickener.  Make sure, however, not to use more than 2 tablespoons or your pie may be gummy.  Since apple slices contain pectin, you shouldn't need more than 2 tablespoons for your pie to set up.

Sugar, apples, and the usual apple pie spices (if you choose to spice your pie - with good apples you can actually make an amazing pie with simply sugar, instant tapioca, and apples) should all be gluten free and dairy free, with the usual caveat that in gluten-free cooking and baking you want to make sure that there has been no gluten added to anything by carefully reading labels.


What to look for in a hand mixer for occasional bread dough kneading? My handmixer just died. I used it (with its kneading hooks) to knead bread dough once every two weeks in addition to blend and mix and beat cream.

I'm now looking for a new model, which is maybe a little bit more robust and contains less plastic. Which parameters do I have to consider? Is there a model which is semi-professional or do real chefs always use big self-standing machines?

That particular style of handmixer you've been using is not really used in the pro or semi-pro (this is why rumtscho says there is nothing).  The main reason is the torque gets translated into wrecking your wrist.  Dough has a very high viscosity and it is a non-newtonian fluid which can make mixing with a handheld machine a frustration chanllenge.

Simply put, a hand mixer is just not the right tool for making dough.

To make dough, you're better off with a stand mixer (like a kitchenaid artisan or pro).  For larger batches you'd need a bigger mixer (planetary or spiral) like a Hobart.   They  get bigger from there (met a baker in Pittsburgh that worked with a mixer-motor made by Harley Davidson).

Most pros use the vertical type handheld mixers (they look like immersion blenders)

They're referred to as hand-held mixers, power mixers, immersion blenders, or in some kitchens "boat motor".  But they are not made for making dough.  They will do the blend and mix cream part and are almost indestructible with mostly stainless steel parts. Your local restaurant supply dealer should have the category. Some brands are: Thunderbird , Robot Coupe, and Dynamic.

That is to strictly answer your question regarding new model, more robust, less plastic, semi-professional part.

However, if that's overkill for the once every two weeks, and a stand-mixer is not in the cards, I'd recommend the 9-speed Kitchenaid:

These have two important features for dough making:

Mixing Load Sensor should prevent those runaway mix speeds and help protect the motor from burning.
The shape of the dough hook is not a corkscrew.  This seems quite clever. They have mixed the spiral direction of the hooks to reduce the corkscrew-effect and the dough-shoot-effect you might have experienced.

Finally, if you are going to be using this kind of tool, try to pay attention to your biomechanics.  Operating them with off-angles of your wrist and elbow could place undue pressure on the joints.  If you find that you're fighting with the machine, stop and kneed by hand the rest of the way.  The strech and fold technique is quick and easy as illustrated by Richard Bertinet in this video.


Spare Ribs: spacing out the soak and the grill A specific recipe I like for preparing ribs involves a slow four hour soak at 250 degrees in the oven and then a grilling period. I was wondering, how badly is it going to affect the end result if I do the four hour soak the day before, and then placing them in the refrigerator to be grilled the next day?

This will have almost no impact (if any) provided you wrap them well using a cellophane wrap. This is also a good opportunity to apply a rub to the meat.


How to identify turkey liver Making turkey gravy - the recipe says to not use the liver. How can I identify the liver from the magical bag of turkey bits?

I ended up with 4 things. The first looked like 2 organs connected by some sort of tendon. The 2nd was more firm and sort of bean shaped - a little bigger than the first digit of my thumb. The last 2 looked like they might be the same thing - dark red (I would say "liver colored" but they are all this sort of darkish red color), kind of flat, with tear drop shapes on one end.

Still need to find the neck - I know what that looks like - hopefully it's in this bird somewhere.

Here is a great place to go to compare identified inards with what you have.

http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/11/offal-of-the-week-turkey-offal/

Personally, when making gravy, I just use the drippings from the turkey, sometimes I throw the neck in for a little extra, if I need to make some more.  Call me squimish, but I usually toss the rest, but that's just me.


Replace the potatoes in a corned beef hash with something that isn't starchy? I am following a low-carb diet, and would like to make corned beef hash at home with left over corned beef brisket. Onions are no problem, but I would prefer to avoid root vegetables, and potatoes in particular. What would make a good substitute, in terms of texture and taste?

Cauliflower might work.  I've put cauliflower in a food processor to get it to a uniform small-ish size, and then stir-fried it until soft, as a low-carb substitute for rice.  Maybe you could dice it into small pieces and do the same.  Boiling or steaming instead of stir-frying may give you a softer potato-like texture.


How can I cool chocolate in a couple of minutes? I wonder how to cool chocolate in a couple of minutes, without losing its quality. I'm looking for a portable chocolate cooling machine. I think of using it in my kiosk. Meanwhile,
it's acceptable to lose some of its quality.

The short answer is: you can't.

The long answer: chocolate has very complicated thermodynamics. There is an optimal speed of the cooling process, and it is slow. Chocolate should be tempered to 33 Celsius (there is some variance depending on the cocoa content) and cooled in an environment between 27 and 20 Celsius. Then it looks and tastes good.

Chocolate which has been cooled in a cold environment will not have any shine, and the colder you get, the larger your problems will be. You can even get uneven distribution of the cocoa fat, with it pooling along the nuts on the inside and letting the outer layers unpleasantly dry. Besides, you will get condensation, which is ugly and makes the chocolate sticky to handle and watered down in the mouthfeel. In extreme cases, you may even end up with distempered chocolate, especially if you don't have seed crystals.

No matter what you are doing - truffles, chocolate dipped fruit, pure pieces of chocolate in a mould - you can't rush it and get good quality.


Is a sprouting carrot lower in sugar and does it lose nutritional value? If carrots use their sugar reserves to start the sprouting process, does that mean that the sugar content is lower? Does the sprouted carrot lose any of its nutritional value? If a carrot is a root and it begins to sprout I wouldn't think it would.

The answer to this is sort-of. There are a range of different forms of sugars that are involved here.

Tap roots like those found in the carrot are a form of storage of energy for the plant.  When growing the plant generates simple sugars such as glucose and fructose via a process known as photosynthesis. These sugars are readily transportable and metabolizable. Some of the sugars are used by the plant to run its metabolism, but photosynthesis is super efficient and generally out-weighs the metabolic needs of a plant so that excess sugars are generated. These sugars are transported to the root where they are converted in to the complex sugar storage form of polysaccharides, which are very stable and can be used as structural components in the plant (cellulose generally) and many other things. In plants the energy storage is usually a polysaccharide known as starch, which does not taste sweet, and is the major component in things like potatoes. This is also why young carrots, which have not had time to convert their sugars to starch taste sweet but old carrots, which have converted all their sugars to starch already do not taste sweet.

Once the carrot starts to sprout it produces an enzyme that converts the starches back into simple sugars, which can then be used in metabolism and transported to the regions of the plant that need them to grow. Growth in this case means production of leaves and new secondary roots. The leaves will, in the normal course of things, allow photosynthesis to take place, producing more sugars than the plant needs for its metabolic needs again.

In the absence of light and subsequent photosynthesis to produce more sugars, the growth process will eventually convert the stored starches back into sugars and deplete the sugar content through the metabolic process of respiration, which takes sugars and burns them (figuratively speaking) to provide energy, releasing carbon dioxide and water. This would result in a less sweet tasting carrot over time.


Is foreigner-grade VB sold within Australia? As a gift, a friend of mine was given a collection of Australiana. It included some iconic Australian foods, some other knick-knacks, and a can of Victoria Bitter. I suspect that they're from a single pre-prepared bag of Australiana.

While I know that VB's advertising is very famous and regarded as very Australian, I've heard rumours that the VB that's sold overseas is inferior to the VB sold in Australia. Is that true? If so, is foreigner-grade VB likely to be sold in collections of Australiana within Australia?

Its possibly due to the recent changes the company made to their branding.. which also changed the strength, and the labelling.. its likely your friend received "old ones"..

There was a loutish back-lash against the company, they have since "reverted", and embraced the fact that people LIKE a stronger brew..

still has no fizz though.

http://www.news.com.au/business/aussie-beer-favourite-victoria-bitter-back-to-full-strength/story-e6frfm1i-1226464247134


How can I get my flavorings to flavor my carnitas all the way through the pork? So, I've been trying for a while to mimic taqueria carnitas at home with my slow cooker. I initially tried a recipe that had you put some water in and then cook in its own juices, with seasoning; that was good, but it was a bit dry, and the seasoning all stayed on the outside.  since there were multiple options for what recipe to use, I asked the folks at the tacqueria I go to which recipe they use, and they said they use oranges and milk. So I tried a couple different recipes with those properties, and they still only flavored the outside. So I tried experiments with submerging it in lard - an experiment each with spices smeared over the meat, then with them mixed into the lard. Still only flavored the outside. I tried using more of the spices; that was good, but it was emphatically not the right thing.

So for comparison, what I'm trying to reproduce - the carnitas from the tacqueria - is pretty subtly flavored, and notably, basically does not taste like pork at all. It pretty much tastes like milk flavored pork. Furthermore, it's super moist all the way through but it's as though it's moist with milk - when you cut into it, the runoff from inside looks like milk mixed with a small amount of pork fat. and it looks grey most of the way through, with only small spots of pink, whereas mine look pink in the middle.

My current hypotheses:

they might be using a pressure cooker or deep fryer rather than a slow cooker
they might be marinating it with milk
they might be adding the milk afterwards
they might be shredding it then cooking it further (seems unlikely, they often give me large chunks)
they might be using better meat (mine is the cheapest pork butt/shoulder I can find)
they might be cooking it in a smaller pot, as described as beneficial on serious eats (but I already tried packing my slow cooker with meat and nothing else and it was exactly the same)
they might be using a completely different spice mix than cumin and oregano (but I can hardly taste any spice in theirs at all, whereas it's always obvious in mine, so they're at least doing something to blend it in better)
they might be using more milk than I am (I'm using a cup for 3lbs to 7lbs of pork, they might be going as far as to submerge it)
they might be using a meat tenderizer
they might be cooking on a much higher heat
they might be using more orange than I'd expect, maybe marinating in orange tenderizes such that milk soaks through?

I don't have any pictures of theirs, unfortunately.

One of your possible answers is pretty close to what I think is the correct one. To flavor carnitas all the way through, put them back in the braising liquid that has been reduced since cooking the pork. You can create a kind of glaze out of the braising liquid, and toss the shredded pork in that (defat the braising liquid before reducing it).

BTW, I never fry carnitas. I may throw them on a greased grill, but I never deep or shallow fry them.


What is "rendered chicken fat"? I know it's completely basic, but I've been reading up on alternative ways to make chicken wings (admittedly because I've been trying to find a similar recipe to Korean soy garlic chicken) and I came across this recipe from Momofukufor2.

It mentions rendered chicken fat, and I'm not exactly sure what that meant. I'm familiar with twice fried wings, so is this just another way of saying "the oil you cooked the wings the first time around"?

When heated above 200°F/95°C, the fat in meats will liquify and can be used for cooking.   This process is called rendering.  As rumtscho said, you're cooking the chicken in the fat released when it was heated the first time.

You can also use a long, low-temperature baking to render the fat out of duck carcasses and skin for use in duck confit.  In this case, the fat should be skimmed and filtered with a fine cheesecloth or fine chinois to remove bits of meat.

If you filter the fat from meat and cook off water, it will become very nonperishable, and can be used for cooking for a long time.  Bacon and duck fat are liquid gold for cooking, and can make even mundane dishes (roast potatoes) gourmet treats.


Too much Baking Soda in Banana Bread I accidentally put in banana bread 1 1/2 tsp of baking soda instead of 3/4 tsp of baking soda.  Is it going to be edible?

Edible, yes. The best banana bread you've ever had? Probably not.

Over-leavened quick breads tend to just get uneven in texture - you may get an uneven loaf with one section that's a little too dense and other sections that are a little too airy, or the whole thing may end up coarse and a little flatter than you'd prefer. But these breads are often rich enough that they're still perfectly tasty.

There's a little risk of the extra baking soda introducing an off flavor, but in practice, I've found that most people won't notice it until you're WAY over-leavened. Taste buds vary but I don't think it'll be an issue for you.

It's been an hour since you've posted the question so I'm assuming that we will have the actual answer pretty shortly.


Fingernail can scratch cooking board = too soft? I was using a lot of elbow grease to sand down my cheap cutting board to remove the deep grooves caused by my knife. Then I questioned myself if it's even worth the effort and just get a new better quality cutting board. I recently realized can scratch my cutting board with just my fingernail. Is that sign that it's too soft?

American Test Kitchen recommends the Proteak cutting board because it's not too hard or soft. I will get this board if it's truly worth the money.

Since it's not all that clear what your question really is, I'm going to go with the question in the title:

If you can mark your dry cutting board with a fingernail, the wood is softer than you want for a good cutting board.  In fact, your cutting board would need to be a very soft pine, fir, or similar wood to be that soft, none of which are ideal for cutting boards.  This explains why you have "deep grooves".

I own a teak cutting board (it was a gift), and I don't know that I'd recommend it.  Teak is hard enough to dull my knives faster than a softer hardwood like beech or maple would (bamboo has the same issue).  Beyond that, there is quite a bit of debate about which wood is best for cutting boards and instead of trying to reproduce it here I'm going to give you some reading:

Tasty Kitchn's Best Wood for Cutting Boards
Serious Eats Recommendations on Cutting Boards
Brooklyn Butcher Block's opinion on various woods


Creating a thanksgiving brine for a 7-8 lb Turkey? How much salt is one need for a typical brine for an average 7-8lb turkey?

Or is it more appropriate to ask what the ratios are of water to salt for a brine ?

I found a SA.SE question regarding brine and salt but it asked about salt content of the turkey: How much salt does brining a turkey add?

Also, there was a link for information about brining on that thread but unfortunately, it's no longer available.

Alton Brown uses 1 cup kosher salt and 1/2 cup sugar for 2 gallons of liquid (1 gallon ice water, 1 gallon vegetable stock).

You can reduce the amount of liquid to whatever you need to immerse the turkey in liquid. So for 1 gallon of liquid you would use 1/2 cup salt and 1/4 cup sugar.

The answers in this question recommend a brine that is 5-10% salt by weight (comparing salt to liquid).


What is an easy way to turn a heavy-ish cake? I don't have a metal cake pan. I bake my normal cakes and cake layers in a pan with a glass bottom and silicone walls, and cakes which can be expected to leak in a porcelain quiche pan.

Sadly, my oven has a hot corner. If I don't turn my cake around during the baking, one corner is going to be overbaked or even burn. So I have to turn it while in the oven. But the bottoms of my pans don't slide easily on the rack. The first doesn't touch the rack with the glass, it touches it with the silicone part, which has a friction comparable to smooth rubber. The porcelain pan has an unglazed bottom, and it is an even bottom, not just a rim like on most porcelain plates, so it is even harder to turn.

I mostly try to grip the rim of the pan above the cake to turn. The silicone rim is high enough for that, but squishy, and it wiggles under my fingers. The porcelain rim is so low, the cake layer reaches it, and even rises above it. So I have to squish part of the cake. It gets worse because of the thick silicone rubber mittens I have, they are not very easy to maneuver with.

Are there any easy tricks to turn the cake? Is there something I am missing here?

Well, the obvious answer is to buy a metal cake pan. Otherwise:

You could try putting a jellyroll or cookie sheet under it. Then grab the cookie sheet to rotate. Beware that depending on what the pan is made of, it may affect browning especially on the bottom of the cake. Adding some insulation (e.g., parchment) may help.
Plain aluminum foil may work too. That'll slide fairly easily on the rack, and again you can grab it easily. Especially if you pull the pan out of the oven, aluminum foil surrounded by air will cool quickly, and you'll be able to grab it without the inflexible mitts.
Similarly, a sheet of parchment paper under the pan. Same principle as the aluminum, except even at oven temperatures you can grab parchment briefly.


Keep or remove skin when grinding poultry? After reading this I made "burgers" with ground chicken thigh. (Didn't have turkey thighs handy.) I have the feeling chicken thighs have plenty of fat, so less likely to dry out than turkey, but it occurred to me: what are the pros and cons to removing skin before grinding poultry meat? Especially if the complaint of turkey "burgers" is that they are too dry and lack flavor, wouldn't the skin help with that?

I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned fat.  Leaving the skin will give your ground poultry a higher percentage of fat content, resulting a more tender and moist "burger".


Preparing cut vegetables for the next day? To speed up lunch cooking, I'm considering pre-cutting some veggies the day before.

I often do quick meals with zucchini and eggplant and both do seem to be not too well suited for cutting and then storing them in the fridge for like 18 hours. (If I cut them the evening before.)

Are there any tricks for "pre-preparing" these?

I find that a small amount of acid helps prevent the ugly browning and "sliminess" that may occur, however many foods like eggplant, okra, etc. that rely mostly on their moisture for structure, tend to be the poorest performers. I've had more luck cooking certain vegetables like this in advance then refrigerating, than I have trying to prep in advance.


Digital recipes storage? What works well for storing recipes digitally? Software and web solutions are both welcome.

For me, the ideal solution would accept recipes from different sources (copy/paste, or email) in any format, and would automatically generate ingredient lists. It would be available from multiple devices (phone, iPad, computer) and would automatically prepare shopping lists.

I'm using Evernote for all my digital recipes, though it doesn't give you any ingredient list. The list is no issue for me though since I prefer going through my cupboard and check up on what I have, what I need and what I'll soon be needing. I find the ingredient lists to make you focus on one meal at the time instead of having a mixed basic setup.


How to Bake Cookies Without a Convection Oven? I'm used to bake cookies in a convection oven and they bake well.

However, now I have a normal oven (without convection) and I am unable to cook them well:

The bottom of the cookies is burnt and the top is not enough baked.

I tried to put the plate at the top, the middle and the bottom of the oven and the result is always the same. I also tried to bake the cookies at a lower temperature, but the top of the cookies won't be enough baked.

What can I do to succeed in cooking cookies without a convection oven?

Thanks.

Lots of people bake very good cookies without convection ovens, so it's certainly possible. :)

If the bottoms of your cookies are burning/overbaking, the first thing to try is a lighter-colored cookie sheet. Sometimes, even just using some white parchment paper on a dark cookie sheet can help, but the best is to invest in a shiny, light-colored metal cookie sheet, perhaps even an insulated one (i.e. one with two layers of aluminum with an air core in between).

Also, get a good oven thermometer, and make sure your oven is actually at the temperature suggested by the recipe.

If your oven has the heating element in the bottom (which is most of them), try putting the cookies higher up in the oven - not necessarily way up at the top, but just above the middle rather than just below.


Correct measurement for chicken broth powder to water I have some concentrated chicken broth powder in a jar but no instructions that explains how it should be mixed with water.

What is the standard chicken broth powder to water mixture?

I know that the concentrations may differ depending on the product, but assuming this product is on par with the average?

The amount is totally subjective. In general, I prefer lighter amounts in soups and heavier amounts in any flavorings (I.e collard greens or broth powder used as spice.) Cooking is really more art than science, so precision is not usually my top priority. For whatever you are cooking, and if it is safe to do so, add a small amount, stir and taste. Chicken broth powder usually has a high sodium content, so treat it as flavored salt. If more "saltiness" is desired, add a teaspoon, stir, taste, and repeat.


What temperature should a crock pot slow cooker cook at? I have a crock pot that will generate a low boil on the "Low" setting and dries out anything that is cooked for a long period. I'm wondering if the temperature regulator is too high, but I can't know that unless I know what the temperature is supposed to be.

I, like you, assumed that a slow cooker would have a temperature regulator. I took mine apart, in a bid to find the thermostat and adjust it -- and discovered that it does not have one.

Cheap slow cookers contain an heating element which delivers a constant low heat, and all you can do is choose between two or three levels of power. It does not stop supplying that heat when the contents reach a particular temperature. It just keeps pumping that heat into your food.

This means that -- as long as less heat is lost out of the cooker walls/lid than the element is putting in, the contents will keep getting hotter until they reach boiling point, whereupon  the energy will instead go into turning liquid into steam.

I don't know whether more expensive slow cookers have a proper thermostat. It would be good to know.


secret ingredient in a restaurant bolognese I have dabbled with almost every ingredient I can think of in varying amount to get my Bolognese to taste similar to a restaurant made Bolognese in the italian alps.

Including:
Pepper
Sugar
Salt
Tomatos and tomato puree, tinned and chopped tomatos
garlic
lea & perrins / Worcester sauce
Onions & onion gravy granules
different meats, pork, beef and veal
Herbs Basil, greek basil, thyme and oregano
red wine
and most recently balsamic vinegar

These all get close and do make a nice Bolognese. However the secret ingredient is still missing!

If you are missing an umami note, it's possible you are missing a very common ingredient in bolognese - chicken livers. These give a meaty, almost sweet flavour. Soak them in water for a few minutes, then finely chop or pulse in a food processor. I use minced (ground) pork, beef and chicken livers.

You might also try adding pancetta, to add a smoky tinge.


What does it mean to "fold in" an ingredient into a mix? I see this in baking recipes, but I've never been quite clear on the difference between mixing and "folding."

"Folding" is a more gentle mixing technique than "stirring" and "mixing".  Stirring and mixing both denote a more vigorous action.

Folding is usually used for items where something has previously been whipped (such as egg whites or cream) or where tenderness is desired and thus less mixing is advisable (muffins & biscuits).

Folding is usually done with a rubber spatula (for liquid & dry ingredients) or with a wire whisk (often beneficial for whipped cream and egg whites so that the mixture gently incorporates as it falls through the wires).

To "fold" ingredients together:  Hold the spatula or whisk in your dominant hand and grasp the far edge of the bowl (side that is away from you) with your non-dominant hand.  Turn the bowl towards you with your non-dominant hand while simultaneously scraping around the edge (also toward you) and finish by folding the mixture over on top of itself.  Return both hands to the far side of the bowl and follow-up by cutting through the center of the mixture with your utensil and once again folding the mix over on top of itself (again, turning the bowl simultaneously).  Alternate scraping around the side and through the middle of the bowl until the mixture is just combined together.

Note that if an airy mixture such as egg whites or whipped cream start to go from soft and billowy to more liquid-like, you are overworking it and need to stop to maintain volume.

In the case of whipped cream and egg whites you typically add a small portion to the heavier mixture and actually DO stir this in.  While yes you're losing some of the volume of that portion, it serves to help lighten the heavier batter/mixture.  The rest of the whites/cream are then folded in to the mix in several additions.

Sometimes dry ingredients may be sift on top of whipped eggwhites before being folded.

The larger the spatula or whisk, the fewer strokes that will need to be made and the better the results will be.


Using/selecting a centrifuge in the kitchen? I've seen several articles about using a centrifuge for clarifying solutions, making colorless sauces and other things.  Where does this practice come from?  What is your experience with it?  Are there cheap options outside of lab-grade devices?

The idea of using "science" equipment in the kitchen is a byproduct of the modernist cuisine movement, famously nurtured by Ferran Adria of the restaurant El Bulli in Spain. A centrifuge would be the optimal piece of equipment for separation and clarification, though there are other techniques that can be applied in home kitchens...admittedly slower, but which work fairly well.  High quality, high capacity, bench top, refrigerated centrifuges can cost several thousand dollars.  On the other hand, small, kitchen counter models can also be had for under $200 (see Amazon.com).   What you get for that price is much less capacity, no refrigeration, and slower speeds...but you could play.   Dave Arnold, inventor, author, cocktail expert, and owner  of Booker & Dax bar in NYC has developed and is preparing to release a fairly powerful home centrifuge. If I remember correctly, word is forthcoming this fall/early winter. You could Google him...or follow him on twitter.  A word of caution, some have recommissioned used lab centrifuges.  You have to be super careful, as these may have been used to spin liquids that could be dangerous if consumed.  Again, Arnold has discussed, and maybe even written about how to very carefully clean these reclaimed machines. This link would probably have some helpful info for you.


Does the sugar used in the curing process of Gravlax add to the caloric value of the final product? When making Gravlax, a mixture of sugar and salt is used to coat the fish and cure it. After the curing time has passed, the curing mixture is washed off together with any spices used and the excess fluids secreted from the fish.

Does the sugar penetrate the fish and add to the caloric value of the final product, or is it used only to draw fluids away and is all washed away? And if yes, to what extent?

A similar question goes about the salt and sodium content of the final product.

The salt and sugar used in gravlax will largely be absorbed into the salmon. Gravlax doesn't produce a lot of brine, and in my experience none of the dissolvable components of the surface treatment remain undissolved after curing.


Pastry flour for bread I was looking through my Julia Child cookbook and noticed she said that the French use low protein flour for their plain French bread with a value of about eight percent. That is the value of protein in pastry flour but the only pastry I could find was Arrowhead Mills brand. On a whim, I thought I would whip up a loaf to see what would happen, though her recipe calls for all-purpose flour.

I found the dough to be very wet and a light brown color. I added some flour so it would be more manageable. There are three rising times including the final one. The first two bubbled up well, three times the initial size, but the last really didn't happen and I wound up with a flat loaf.

My question, then, is what happened? Does pastry flour require less water due to the lower protein? I used a quick rise yeast, too, but didn't decrease the amount. Did the yeast eat up all the protein and ran out by the final rise?

I also question whether I might have the wrong kind of pastry flour. The bag says "whole wheat pastry flour" but I read elsewhere that someone used "white pastry flour". I haven't found a difference yet.

My goal, as I said, was to make a loaf with eight percent protein flour.

EDIT: Looking around, I found what I suspected. Pastry flour absorbs less water, almost 50% less, than all-purpose. So reducing the amount of water might fix the problem. I intend to make another batch using all purpose and another with less water and pastry flour to see what happens.

As rumstcho said in comments, European flours operate on a completely different system than the American "protein = gluten = strength of flour" system.  Not to go too far into this, but American flours vary a lot depending on type of wheat.  "Harder" wheats produce higher gluten/protein flours.  If you buy American "pastry/cake" vs. "all-purpose" vs. "bread flour" vs. "high-gluten", a lot of the difference will often be due to the precise type of wheat used.  In some cases (especially all-purpose), the flour can actually be a blend of multiple wheat types.

But dough strength is not only impacted by total protein content or type of wheat.  European flours often vary significantly in "extraction" rate, which is how much of the bran and germ are removed from the pure white starch.  This also happens in American flours, particularly for cake and pastry flours where pure starch is more desirable.  This also changes the "ash content" of the flour, which is basically correlated to extraction and more-or-less denotes the amount of stuff leftover after the pure starch is burned away (which consists of various minerals, etc.).  Differences in milling procedure and size of milling particles can also significantly affect the way flour behaves by damaging the protein/gluten or by leaving larger particles of bran that can interfere with gluten networks (as in whole grain breads).

My point is that it's perfectly possible to have a "10% protein flour" that behaves close to a pastry flour or an all-purpose flour or even a bread flour in terms of various characteristics (gluten network formation and durability, elasticity, hydration tolerance, etc.).  For some applications, some European bakers will still use relatively low-protein flour by American standards for various types of breads, but because of differences noted above, sufficient rise is still possible.  But other characteristics may change (for example, a more tender crumb with different elasticity).

A final note is that stronger flours have become more common both in the U.S. and in Europe over the past century or two.  If you go back to the 1700s or 1800s, historical evidence suggests bread was often baked with much "weaker" flours in terms of gluten content than today.  Even a few decades ago in the U.S., "bread flour" was often a specialty item and "high-gluten" flour was unheard of for the average consumer.  My grandmother and mother baked bread for many decades ONLY ever using what would today be considered a somewhat "soft" all-purpose flour.  European standards have also changed significantly over the past century, so it's difficult to know exactly what Julia Child's flour was like beyond just the protein number.

And unless you have a close match to that original flour not only in protein content but the other characteristics I mentioned, you may have difficulty producing the original bread.  If you want to see some other folks struggling to replicate Julia's bread using modern French flours (which are probably still not a match to Julia's original flour), I'd suggest a look at this thread.

Regardless, if you want to make bread recipes work with lower protein flours than they're expecting, do be prepared to decrease hydration significantly, and perhaps increase interventions during fermentation to maximize gluten strength (e.g., stretch-and-folds, using a pre-shaping and bench rest, good shaping technique in general).  My guess is that may the reason behind the "three rises" in the recipe you mention; if you're seeing failures, I'd recommend decreasing total fermentation time before bake and instead increase frequency of interventions to strengthen gluten.


Is there a way to save cookies that were baked without flour? I forgot to put flour into my cookies (though I was careful to remember the oatmeal, and I blame the lack of flour on that).  They are absolutely delicious, but also difficult to eat because they have more the consistency of goopy pie filling than a cookie that you could hold in your hand.  Ideas include mashing them up, balling them, and freezing; and mashing them up, adding flour, and rebaking.

I understand that at this point they'll never be quite like cookies, but I refuse to waste them, and that would be easier if I could get them into a more manageable to eat format.

Once it's baked that's really it, re-baking them will likely ruin them. Why not make drop cookies and put them in the fridge? They'll keep for most of the week that way.