What dishes are paired with agnolini in Mantuan cuisine? I am preparing agnolini alla mantovana and I would like to pair the dish with a second course and side in classic Mantuan style.

 source

Mantuan cuisine is famous for its "set meals".

What are the classic pairings, in the sense of pairing tastes but also of reuse of resources, for example if I pair it with boiled meat, I can use the stock with the agnolini? I'd rather avoid the boiled meat in this instance.

The Google translation of this article was a bit rough, so I went through it for you and added some links to recipes and such. I hope this helps. I learned a bit myself. That Torta Sbrisolona shall be mine!

The recipe for Agnolini doesn't call for stock, but I bet you could use it in that preparation as long as you reduce it enough. You don't want a runny filling.

Source. http://www.ristorantimantova.info/piatti-tipici-mantovani

  The Mantuan kitchen is closely linked with the history and traditions of its neighboring cities. The
  geographical location of Mantua, squeezed between Venice and Emilia
  Romagna, characterizes the kitchen. The ruling Gonzaga dynasty heavily
  influenced the culinary traditions of Mantua. The Mantuan kitchen is
  often referred to as "Of the Princes and the People" because it
  combines the refinement of Gonzaga kitchen with dishes typical of the
  peasant folk.

  Among the typical dishes of Mantua, the real backbones are the first
  courses.

  Among the dishes are the very Mantuan "Miller's
  Risotto",
  the
  Agnolini (picture)
  and Tortelli di
  Zucca,
  a true symbol of the delicious local cuisine.

  As for the main courses, the Mantuan cuisine offers both fish dishes,
  such as catfish, trout, pike and saltarei the famous Sauced
  Pike
  and meat dishes, such as roast beef, poultry and game, stews, pot
  roasts and boiled him.

  Another highlight of the delicious local cuisine are the cold cuts and
  sausages. In addition to the famous Mantuan salami, one must not skip
  a tasting of Ciccioli, the
  Gras
  Pistàs,
  the sausages used for Risotto alla
  Mantovana
  and, especially in winter,
  Cotechino.

  Equally famous are the DOP (“Denominazione di Origine Protetta” or
  "Protected Designation of Origin") Mantuan cheeses Grana Padano,
  Parmigiano Reggiano and Provolone and the condiment Mustard
  Mantovana.

  As for fruits and vegetables, country kitchens are famous for their
  cultivation of melons and pears.

  Desserts, along with the first course, are the real highlight of the
  Mantuan cuisine, such as La Torta
  Sbrisolona,
  La Torta delle
  Rose,
  and La Torta
  Elvezia

  We must also say a few words about Mantuan wines: Denominazione di
  Origine Controllata Lambrusco Mantovano red
  wine, Colli
  Morenici white wines, and Garda Colli Mantovani
  wines.


Caffettiera (Moka Pot) is not making coffee properly I have fairly large Italian Caffettiera used for making coffee. I think it makes about 8 cups. The thing is it sits on my lit gas stove for at least 15 minutes and nothing comes out.

Any ideas?

PS. Yes, I put water in it ;)

You may have a broken or loose gasket. Separate the two main parts of the caffettiera and check underneath the top part. There should be a large rubber gasket. Over time this gasket gets harder and develops cracks: these cracks let steam and cofee out and prevent the necessary working pressure to build up. If this is your problem, you will notice that the caffettiera hisses and sputters but no coffee comes up.

You should describe what kind of noises your caffettiera is making. On an other tack, are you sure the fire is big/hot enough? If the caffettiera is really large (like, a 16 cups one) and the burner is too small it may be that the pot never gets hot enough to boil.

Lastly, it may be that the caffettiera is so clogged up that water/coffee cannot go through. This would be unusual, and I assume that you have already checked that.


Cayenne stripes inside fried chicken strips how is it made? We've all been to KFC and had those spicy chicken strips.. and also fried chicken legs wings etc.. my questions is how does the cayenne powder or sauce get inside the chicken strips  ? By needle ? Everytime u take a bit u find red stripes inside.

Good luck pinning them down on that trade secret! ;-) KFC claims their chicken strips are in fact strips of whole chicken, not ground and formed meat. If there are stripes inside, they are almost certainly injected into the meat. If you wanted to make them at home, you can buy meat injectors pretty cheaply. Remember, it's not just cayenne in there– there are other spices like smoked paprika, black pepper, and other things to buffer the spice so you don't just burn your face off without a whole lot of flavor. I'm sure you could fry up a delicious approximation of the real thing at home.


How do you store scoby? Scoby for kombucha usually needs to be fed every 10-14 days. I’m going away for a month and can’t take it with me. I need to devise a super simple way my family can take care of it till I get back. What’s the best way to do this? I would assume that feed it right before I leave and put it in the fridge but it is exposed to air and until the PH goes up (due to it being cold and slowed down) I’m concerned it will go moldy.

Do not EVER refrigerate a kombucha scoby, as this will weaken several of the bugs comprising it and make it more susceptible to mold.
You can actually just let it keep going past 10-14 days. The tea will continue to acidify and the scoby will be happy hanging out in it. Just leave it where it won't be disturbed, as always.
Here's an article
which talks about maintaining scobys in your "hotel" long-term.


My induction stove does not evenly heat a frying pan. Is it broken or am I doing something wrong? I have used a Kenmore Elite induction stove after moving about 6 months ago from a gas range and it has many good qualities but no matter what I try I can't get it to heat evenly when frying food. Like when I try to sear a steak  with some olive oil or stir fry something the pan ends up with a hot spot in the middle and a cool outer rim. This applies not only when heating up the pan but also in the middle of cooking it maintains this problem. This happens no matter which heating circle I use. I have tried cast iron, steel, induction element pans of various sizes, and yes they are flat,and always have this problem.  I desperately need advice at this stage.

What I would do is invest in a $30 - $50 single induction hob that can be put on your counter, and see if the problem persists there. At the worst case, you just have an extra hob for stocks or something, but it could very well be that you'll have some success there, which gives you a hob that you could use for searing and such. It helps you to eliminate the range itself as the culprit.

The other thing you could do (again, any action here is going to cost money) is invest in some 3 or even 5 ply cookware from a vendor like All Clad. They have steel / copper / steel / aluminum / steel 'sandwich' pans that are tested to conduct heat perfectly evenly.

Given what you've tried, I tend to think the range itself is the culprit. Some induction ranges (especially earlier ones) just didn't perform very well for cooks that ventured beyond basic boiling and frying. This is why getting an extra hob might be the best course you could take.

If it is the range itself then high-tech / high-performance layered cookware is going to probably help a little, but it's not going to fix the fact that the rings aren't functional comparable to the dispersion of a flame (which modern hobs can mostly claim, even the cheaper ones).

While cast iron isn't guaranteed to be an even conductor and can have its issues, those issues shouldn't be nearly as bad as what you're seeing, which strongly points at the range itself as the likely culprit.

Good luck, unfortunately this is one of those problems that requires a little spending to figure out.


What is the most comfort temperature for tea? It is hard to catch a right spot between underheated and overheated cup of tea when heating in a microwave. Is there any average value which applies to every human?

If it differs from person to person, how do tea masters make ideal tea for others?

Tea temperature and brewing time is purely personal preference, as is tea condiments (milk, sugar, honey, lemon etc.)

The only real factor is maximum brewing heat, some teas taste very bad if brewed too hot. Most teas should be brewed at 95°C or less, which luckily is more or less what happens if you aren't too fast with pouring out the kettle. AFAIK heating tea above 95°C or boiling tea brings out a very bitter tannin that most people do not like to drink

Interestingly most tea brewing charts with any science behind them are from Asian medical studies on tea health properties, and reflect the best way to brew tea to get the claimed good bits out (antioxidants, flavonoids etc.). These brewing time and temperatures charts don't necessarily reflect on the method to get the best taste, and certainly this is anecdotal to my own experiences with tea


Help Identifying a pale green, spherical squash-y like vegetable Got it from the local co-op, no idea what it is! I assume it's some sort of squash.
It's about the size of a medium-large orange.

That's a cue ball zucchini.

It's similar to a one ball zucchini (yellow), and an eight ball zucchini (dark green, almost black). All of them are round and great squashes to stuff and roast. Hope you enjoyed it!


Flavored caramelization When should flavorings to brown sugar-caramel be added: during caramelization of after?

I make caramel regularly for inclusion in coffee based drinks. The caramel recipe is simply: brown sugar caramelization via heating with water (up to 260 F on a candy thermometer), then the addition of honey (invert sugar) and a butter vanilla oil/flavoring.

I haven't gotten around to testing, but I wonder if there's any knowledge on whether flavorings like butter vanilla assimilate into the total flavor better if added during or after caramelization?

Or the chemicals of the flavoring don't integrate with the chaining of sugar molecules so it doesn't matter? The butter vanilla liquid I'm using seems to be a polar substance since it mixes well with water.

Most of the aromatic compounds contained in vanilla are highly volatile and / or degrade in high heat, so I would add the vanilla after caramelization.


Do defrosting plates work in reverse? Does heat transference go both ways? Can I use the defrosting plate to cool something more rapidly, say a hot pot or pan?

Does heat transfer go both ways?   Generally yes, the conductivity of a material is the same if you reverse it and you could use a defrosting plate to cool hot food.   The plate would require good contact with the hot food to allow the heat to be conducted into the plate.   This heat would then be conducted through the whole plate area (larger than the contact area with the food) and dissipated by natural convection to the air.   If you've ever cooled a hot drink by putting a spoon in it, you'll get the idea.


How does the USDA grading system work? I understand it has to do with the marbling of the meat.  Does the grading system apply to the entire cow, as in any cut from this cow is considered prime/choice/select?  Or is it done by the portion of meat cut; could the same cow produce both prime meat and sub-select meat?  And who came up with prime-choice-select instead of a simple letter grading system?

A thorough introduction to the specific methods behind grading is found here.

USDA beef grading has two primary components: a "quality" grade and a "yield" grade.  Both are done for a whole carcass, so all cuts from that carcass will have the same declared grade.  Most American consumers only see the "quality" grade at retail stores.  More detail can be found at the links.

In sum, "quality" grading for retail cuts -- usually Prime, Choice, and Select -- is ONLY a reflection of marbling (i.e., fat distributed through lean muscle), which tends to influence tenderness and flavor in fast-cooking methods.  Basically, you should use a quality grade to help determine a good steak or perhaps a prime rib roast.  That's where the rating system is most relevant for consumers.

Because "quality" is only based on marbling, different breeds of cattle and feeding regimens may result in incompatible "quality" estimates.  The most common example today is probably the rise in grass-fed and free-range cattle.  These tend to produce a much smaller amount of Prime graded carcasses, since they tend to be leaner overall than grain-fed cattle and/or those in confined feedlots.

(Note that studies have shown the vast majority of American consumers do not know what the rating system is about, with more than half thinking that high "quality" ratings correspond to leaner beef, when the opposite is true.)

Quality Grades

USDA beef "quality" grades only measure two things:

Marbling in the ribeye muscle at the cut surface between the 12th and 13th ribs.  (This is the traditional place where the carcass is separated between the "front quarter" and the "hind quarter".)
Apparent age at slaughter, based on bone and cartilage development and color/texture of lean meat.  Note that this is not based on actual chronological age, but rather the apparent physiological age, which might vary depending on growth conditions, feed, etc.  When there's a conflict between age estimated by bone development vs. lean meat color and texture, the bone development is generally given greater weight in determining age for grading.  (This age element is not of much relevance for retail grading, as will be discussed below.)

That's it.  Beef grading does not consider flavor, texture (except as a minor contribution toward determining age), cattle breed, living or slaughtering conditions, or any other factors that consumers might associate with "quality."  It also does not consider any individual parts or cuts of the carcass, which could vary in significant ways (e.g., in different cattle breeds or depending on exercise, feed, and other "lifestyle" elements for the cow).

Age grading is only relevant in determining whether the cow is less than or greater than 42 months of (physiological) age.  If less than 42 months of age, the carcass may be graded in one of the categories (Prime, Choice, Select, or Standard) which tend to be seen at retail sale.  Meat from those graded at more than 42 months of age rarely end up at retail markets (since they can only be graded Commercial, Utility, Cutter, or Canner grades, and mostly end up in processed products).  So age grading is basically irrelevant for the typical American consumer when choosing a retail cut.

Thus, the only thing a retail "quality" grade represents is marbling between the 12th and 13th ribs (which is roughly indicative of marbling through much of the beef).

For those retail cuts, the grading may fall into four categories:

Prime, which has "abundant" or "moderately abundant" marbling.  (Trivia note: cow carcasses cannot be rated Prime, only steers, bullocks, and heifers.  Also, bull beef grades are not directly comparable to others.)
Choice, which has "modest" amounts of marbling.
Select, which has a "slight" amount of marbling.  Note that Select beef must be age graded at less than 30 months, which may tend toward a slightly more tender product to make up for the decreased marbling.  Prime and Choice grades allow up to 42 months of age, with no difference in rating.
Standard, which has "traces" or no marbling at all.  Beef that would end up as Standard grade is usually not graded at all, but rather sold at retail as ungraded meat, often as a "store brand."  (It also allows up to 42 months of age.)

There is often more detail given in grading, such as a "Choice+" or "Choice-" to indicate more detail in marbling, but retail stores rarely present that information.

Sometimes Commercial grade beef appears at retail, which may have variable marbling, but the carcass is greater than 42 months of age.  When sold at retail (if at all), it will not generally be advertised with this grading, again perhaps appearing as a "store brand."  As mentioned above, older meat also has lower grades that basically never appear at retail.  Moreover, beef grading is voluntary, so retailers have no obligation to advertise grades.

It's also important to note that some retailers will use similar terminology that can appropriate these adjectives in a variety of ways to make the meat sound like it's a higher grade.  (The USDA officially approves of and even gives examples of this practice.)  For example, a store brand might label its products "Nation's Choice" or "Lean-Choice" (for leaner meat) or "Prime Rib of Beef," even if the actual meat is graded lower, such as Select grade.  Consumers should look for the official "USDA Shield" and grading symbol, which is the main way to determine whether the nomenclature actually refers to quality grading.

Yield Grades

Carcasses are also graded within the USDA system by their expected total yield of trimmed retail cuts, based mostly on amount of surface fat.  The system is numerical, from 1 to 5, with 1 having the most yield (and lowest amount of trimmable fat) and 5 having the least yield (most external fat).

Yield grades are mostly used among meat packers and retailers to get a sense of how much meat they can extract from each carcass.  Consumers very rarely see these grades.

History of USDA Grading

Details can be found here.

The USDA beef grading system was gradually developed in the early 1900s.  The modern system was basically adopted in 1926 and implemented in 1927.  Originally, the intention was to standardize grading across the nation.  One effect was to allow local and regional meat producers to compete with national packers -- by having a term like Prime or Choice to sell at retail, they could compete against the "house brands" of familiar national packers.  (Originally, Select grade was labeled as Good; this was changed in 1987 in response to consumer perception studies.  Various other alterations to the system over the years; see the link.)

The large national meat packers fought this grading system and developed their own internal grading systems to compete with the USDA, but these alternative systems disappeared within a few decades.  Nowadays, of course, large-scale meat packers are the norm in the US again.


Is it safe to freeze ground beef one day before its expiration date? I ended up buying some ground beef that was 50% off, I left it in the refrigerator one day, and now when I was cutting it into 500g (1.1 pound) pieces to freeze, I noticed that it was only one day to the expiration date.

Could it still be frozen and be okay after two weeks? I heard if I cook it first, it can be stored for longer, is that something I have to do? and how long can it be stored?

P.S. I'm very worried about getting food poisoning, and I don't want to throw it away since I currently haven't a good budget.

It's fine to freeze, no need to cook if you don't want to; just be sure to use it immediately after thawing.

Freezing things essentially stops the clock: food will stay just as safe to eat no matter how long it's frozen. It can deteriorate but it's more about drying out (freezer burn), taking on odors, and so on, not safety. So since it's safe right now, it'll be safe frozen.


Is there a way to prevent my Fruit Pie from getting runny? Is there a way to firm up the consistency of a fresh fruit pie (like peach or apple) - sometimes it gets too "runny"?

Yes. Presumably you're doing the firming up during the cooking, and not afterwards?

Drain off liquid / condense any liquid. Heat fruit before placing in pie to drive off moisture
Use a touch of cream
Use binder / starch
Use gelatin in the fruit mixture
tapioca (credit to justkt for this one)


Can I convert this cocoa frosting to a coffee frosting instead? Our family's go-to recipe for celebration cakes is a hazelnut torte with a semi-sweet, cocoa-based chocolate frosting. The torte is completely flourless, and pretty sweet (gotta get structure from somewhere!). Thus, the frosting is minimally sweetened to provide contrast, and to prevent the whole thing from becoming sickly-sweet.
Problem is, we have two close friends who are allergic to chocolate. A few years ago, I got the excellent suggestion to use a coffee-flavored frosting instead. We (my sister and I) tried it, and it worked as far as the flavor goes, but the frosting just wasn't as good as the chocolate original: it had texture issues, and despite doing our utmost to make sure we didn't add too much sugar, it was still too sweet.
I've looked for coffee frosting recipes, but they all seem to involve several cups of powdered sugar. Riiiight.
So, can y'all help me convert this recipe to using coffee instead of the cocoa? Bonus points if the end result is gluten-free (just to uphold the tradition, really). Also, the torte is made with 8 egg whites, so it would be nice if the converted frosting recipe would continue to use up the 8 egg yolks.

Ingredients: 2 heaping tableserving spoons Dutch-processed cocoa (the original recipe just calls for 2 big spoonfuls, but in family practice, this has morphed to a whole lot more cocoa than that), 3 to 5 tablespoons granulated sugar (depending on how heavy-handed you were with the cocoa), 5 tablespoons water, 8 egg yolks, 2 sticks unsalted butter.
Method: combine everything except the butter in the top of a double boiler. Cook slowly, stirring pretty much constantly, until very thick and sticky. (It'll take a while, and your arms will get pretty tired.) Let cool. Meanwhile, whip the butter until light and fluffy. Combine the cooled chocolate mixture and the butter.

The first thing I notice is that you are missing starch. Cocoa powder is 60% carbohydrates by weight. It will change the texture a lot, giving body and smoothness. The rest is fat and protein.

I would suggest that you start with 60% as much starch as your usual cocoa, and 5 tablespoons brewed coffee instead of the water. Cook your pudding - you may have to cook it through instead of using the double boiler, I don't know if cocoa starch is behaving differently, but when adding cornstarch to custard, it is normally cooked through because 1) it thickens better and 2) the yolks can "eat" your starch within a day, liquefying it, unless deactivated by heat. You can try small batches with both versions and see which one turns out better.

The fat in the cocoa is not so much, so maybe it's not worth replacing it. But if you want a fat which gives the whole thing a bit more solidity, add cocoa oil, about 15% of the original cocoa powder weight. Or even add more of it and reduce the butter for a stiffer effect.

Using your original amount of sugar and Arabica coffee should result in a recipe which isn't too sweet. But if you still have problems with sweetness, try adding small amounts of acid, maybe cream of tartar (citric acid has a noticeable flavor of its own).


Cooking qualities between Glass and metal pans I have this recipe that is of the cake family.  The base is canola oil and sugar.  Whenever I cook this pan in a square glass pan it cooks perfectly.  However, when I use metal pan it doesn't cook properly.  I don't fully understand why this is.

This is completely normal. The pan stands between the heat source and the cake. It lets through radiation and also conducts heat at different speeds. Also the convection patterns in the oven are changed by the shape of the pan. You cannot predict which pan will speed up or slow down the baking by comparing it to another pan, because the relationships are complex. But you can simply bake a cake and observe both.

As to how to avoid it: baking by time simply makes no sense. It is a coincidence that you have a combination of oven and pan which bakes the cake in exactly the time the author suggested. As you found out, as soon as you change the pan, the time directive doesn't work.

Bake your cakes until they are done. This way they will work in any pan as long as the general height/area ratio is right.


Protein in mayonnaise...none? I was looking at a Hellman's real mayonnaise jar with whole eggs and yolks, and the nutrition label says there are 0 grams of protein. How is that possible? Is this common for mayonnaise in general?

It's just rounding. The Hellman's nutrition matches the USDA generic mayonnaise nutrition very closely for the single serving size (1 tbsp, 13.8g), but the USDA one also includes amounts per 100g. It's 0.96g protein per 100g, and when scaled down to the serving size that's only 0.13g and gets rounded to 0.


When to season popcorn? I enjoy snacking on popcorn, and i recently found out you can pop it without losing flavour in the microwave.

I have always seasoned my popcorn after popping, but i am not really sure what is best with the microwave. Would it be to salt and pepper my snack before, after, or both?

I worked three years in a movie theater in my early twenties.  The butter is tricky.  We would microwave it then separate the water from it.  If the water is still in the butter and put on the popcorn the water will make the popped corn soggy and give off an unappealing smell.  We would usually pour it off to separate them but that works best when a large amount is used.  A small amount could be warmed in a pan long enough to evaporate the water.  then alas put it on the finished popped corn.  Time it so both the corn and butter are warm at the same time.  Don't cover the popped corn with the idea of keeping it warm; There is still a little moisture in the popped corn and will make your treat less crispy.
If dried spices are the idea then try infusing the spice with the butter after the water is removed.  Don't get the mixture any warmer than warm.  You don't want the spices getting browned.  If the spices were put in the kettle while popping the corn they would be too toasted.


Kitchen aid artisan: won't turn on lower speeds I have a fairly new kitchen aid artisan. Recently we probably did a larger batch of dough, than reasonable and there was some burnt smell. After that the kitchen aid won't turn on on the lower two speeds. It will only work on speed 3, which seems to me to be the new speed one, basically very slow.
I know that kitchen aid has plastic gears which are designed as breaking points, so the motor doesn't break. But what could cause this effect? Is it most likely the famous plastic gear or could it be something else?

all non-pro Kitchenaid mixers have plastic gears, if used properly it should not be an issue.
According to this, the plastic gear is a "safeguard" :
"This gear is designed to shear or break apart should the machine bind up and protects the motor from burning up or otherwise become damaged. They are available for all models through Amazon or other vendors and easily replaced by anyone with a little mechanical aptitude."
You said that you made a larger batch, maybe it pushed the motor too hard and something had to break.
You should try to get it fixed.


Is natural yoghurt & soured cream a good replacement for khatta dahi (Indian sour yoghurt/'curd') Dahi is a natural unpasteurised yoghurt eaten as-is and an ingredient in India, aka curd in Indian English (different to curd in Br/Am E. though). Khatta dahi is more soured (khatta means sour).

What's a good commercially-available (outside of India/Asia) substitute? Natural yoghurt for dahi, plus some (how much?) soured cream for khatta dahi perhaps?

I don't think commercial natural yoghurt could be soured at home, since my understanding is that they pasteurise it (to prolong shelf-life) before re-introducing the desirable bacteria (but not the undesirables).

Or perhaps dahi is often only used because it's so common anyway, and actually if we're substituting it needn't be a yoghurt at all; we could just use (soured, for khatta) cream? - which is of course higher in fat, but so is buffalo milk, which is also used (I'm not sure whether it or cow's is more common) for dahi in India anyway.

There is quite a big difference in the process of making dahi vs yoghurt (aside from pasteurisation), as yogurt is made with bacteria (called yogurt cultures) and curd is made by curdling milk with an acidic agent (like lemon juice).

I would personally use full-fat greek yogurt and add a little fresh lemon juice to the yogurt for a quick-fix. You could, however, follow this recipe to make sour yogurt. I see the author also suggests just adding lemon juice to yogurt as a faster solution.

Let me know if this worked for your recipe!


What is the film on top of tea? The quiet surface of a cup of tea always seems to be covered by a thin, immovable film, even when convection currents are still moving things around inside the liquid at some speed. The surface reflects light a bit like oil. When touching the film with a spoon it seems to crack like ice, and adheres to the spoon in flakes as a brown substance. What is this substance? Is it the main component of what stains tea cups? Does it come from the tea, or is it from the water, made visible by the colour of the tea?

The scum on the top of the tea is due to hard water (ie calcium carbonate) deposits combining with the tea and reacting with oxygen, this article has some more details if you are looking for them. I live in a hard water area and I use brita filters to get rid of some of the hardness, I know when the filter needs changing when the hard water scum comes back.


Christmas-ifying seafood linguine How would you modify seafood linguine to give it a holiday twist? I am cooking and some of my conservative guests are in shock after hearing the menu. How can I mollify them?

You could use fresh chopped green herbs and some minced red pepper as a Christmas color themed garnish.


How can I stop my pie from burning? My oven heats up by putting on the grill. Yesterday I was making pie and the top burned a little bit. This happens almost every time. It happens at the moment the grill goes on for a short moment because the oven has cooled down a bit. So the top of my pie burns, but the middle is not fully cooked jet.
I always make sure the oven is fully heated before putting in the pie, and of course keep the oven door open as short as possible.
I was wondering, is there a trick so that my pie does not get burned when the oven is re-heating?
Right now I turn down the oven a little bit so it won't re-heat which indeed prevent the pie from burning. However, in this way I do not get the optimal result.

What you need is to deflect the heat from the top of your pie. If you have two racks in your oven, and can position them so that the pie is in the middle with a rack above it, place a piece of aluminum foil directly above the pie. Another option would be to set a piece of foil on top of the pie after it has partially baked. Either way will protect the top from direct heat, allowing the ambient heat to penetrate and bake the whole pie.


How sharp should a paring knife be? Recent bought a chef's knive and a paring knife,  both are high carbon stainless steel. The chef's knife is quite sharp and can cut a piece of butcher's twine just by touching it, with little or no pressure. The paring knife cannot. In fact, I can even grip the blade quite hard and it doesn't cut me. Should I have it sharpened?

All cutting (slicing, chopping) knives should be as sharp as you can get them, really. A dull knife is much more likely to cause an accident and cut you. Dull knives are more difficult to use properly and any knife used improperly is likely to lead to accidents. The duller the knife the more pressure you need to apply in order to cut your food, leading to a higher chance of slipping and hurting yourself


Can I make up for under-proving my bread dough during the first rise by doing an extra long second rise? Long story short, I think I overestimated how much my dough expanded during the primary fermentation (it's supposed to double in size, I'd say mine was only 1.3–1.5× the size). Now the dough is already shaped and has been plopped into the loaf pan for the second rise, and it is still growing albeit slowly. Can I let this dough sit for a longer time than usual in order to compensate for the inadequate first rise?

This is an all-purpose flour dough made with a poolish pre-ferment, fairly lean but with a few tbsp of butter.

No, you cannot and should not, as the first and second rises serve different purposes.

The first rise is mainly for developing gluten and flavour, and after pressing the air out the second rise allows the bread to be fluffy when baked without large air holes developed in the first rise. This is especially true with bread baked in a loaf as you specified, where relatively tight crumb (as opposed to that of a baguette) is usually desirable.

So one issue that may arise is cracking on the sides where the dough rose as it was cooked, due to the lower amount of gluten development, but this should not affect the structure or taste of the final product. If you were to proof the bread too long in the second time, the bread may collapse in the oven, resulting in a dense loaf.


How do you keep chicken breast juicy when grilling? Most of the time it ends up dry. Are there any special marination tricks?

Don't over cook it.  Aim for it to be a little under done.  It will still be hot and will finish cooking after you've taken it off.


How to make perfect crunchy popcorn? I always found my popcorn a bit soggy and noticed the microwaved packets aren't. So yesterday I made a little experiment with a friend of mine.

I took popcorn kernels and microwave popcorn sets then conduct these experiments :

Microwaved popcorn (900W, 2'20'')
Air popper machine (the cheap one you find on all Chinese store)
Stovetop without oil
Stovetop with oil
Stovetop with butter
Stovetop with microwave popcorn (at this step I discovered that this kind of popcorn is completely coated with palm oil)
Air Popper machine with microwave popcorn

Here the results :

Crisp perfect
Very soggy and quite small
Burned, they didn't really popped
A bit soggy
same as 4 but with a better taste
Very soggy
Almost same as 6.

Eventually I still don't understand why I can't make popcorn as good as the one I can eat in theaters.

Any idea?

Over the years, I've microwaved, air popped, and tried a pot on the stove...even tried over an open fire.  Once I found the Whirley Pop, I never returned to any other method.  You can't beat it.  Perfect "crunchy" (maybe crisp is a better description?) popcorn every time.


Does the alcohol in wine affect cooking process? When cooking with wine or other booze does the alcohol have an affect on the cooking process?

Example: deglazing a pan or making a wine-based sauce. My understanding is that the alcohol evaporates  quickly, so the booze is mostly there to add flavor and act as a liquid medium, and thus substitutible by another liquid, e.g. stock. Is there more going on than this?

The alcohol aids in extracting flavour enhancing compounds which may be more soluble in alcohol than in water.


Difference in caffeine levels between light and bold coffee? Over the last few years I had come to believe that the roasting process for bold coffees removed caffeine from the beans resulting in a lower caffeine content than compared to a light roasted coffee. I got this idea from Good Eats with Alton brown. Here's the clip where the master roaster makes this point.

However, yesterday's On Point w/ Tom Ashbrook had on a coffee expert that made the opposite claim. Also, comments the page have pointed to sources describing the inconsistency of caffeine levels: Caffeine content by roast level and Does dark roast coffee have less caffeine than light roast?

Searching around on .edu sites I find charts that seem to support the idea that bolder coffees contain more caffeine. The charts show smaller amounts of bold coffee (2-4oz) contain the same amount of caffeine as larger amounts of light roasted coffee (6oz). So, obviously, typical consumption amounts play a role in how much caffeine will be ingested.

Caffeine Charts

http://www.uhs.umich.edu/caffeine#contents
http://www.psychiatry.ufl.edu/aec/research/abstracts/sobpcaffiene.pdf

In the end, I'd like a definitive answer to this question: after roasting which bean contains more caffeine or is the difference negligible? And/or does the brewing method significantly alter the caffeine content?

I believe that the following study provides a definitive answer:

Application of high performance liquid chromatography to the analysis of some non-volatile coffee components

From the abstract:

  High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was applied to the analysis of caffeine, trigonelline, nicotinic acid and sucrose in Arabica and Robusta coffee. Green and roasted coffee samples were used in this study and the degradation of sucrose and trigonelline, with the formation of nicotinic acid, was followed during roasting. Caffeine did not undergo significant degradation with only 5.4% being lost under severe roasting.

Roasting does in fact lower the caffeine content, so bolder coffees will have less caffeine if they come from the exact same bean. But even under the worst conditions, the impact of roasting is trivial compared to the impact of bean selection, brewing method, etc.

What does degrade is sucrose (sugar), which is why heavily-roasted beans tend to taste so bitter (or "bold").

Bottom line: Make your roasting decision based on flavour preference, not caffeine content. Because the effect on caffeine is so small, you really can't compare the caffeine content of light roasts vs. dark roasts categorically unless you have a controlled sample, which you don't unless you're working in a lab.


What are the pros and cons when microwaving food in microwave-safe bone china, glass, or silicone? All of them can be used in microwave, as far as I know. But the question is which one should be preferred?

What are the pros and cons on the basis of which we can decide which one to prefer?

Out of microwave safe bone china, glass, and silicone wares which should be preferred for heating food in microwave?

Can there be a speed difference w.r.t heat reaching the food in the vessel due to its material?

As Shalryn hinted to, not all glass is the same.

Although I would recommend glass also, I wouldn't recommend something like a thin colored glass cup, as they can't typically take the thermal shock of heating.

What happens is that the glass absorbs microwaves differently than the food being heated; if you're heating a liquid, the top of the glass above the liquid can stay cool while the portion touches the liquid heats up from conduction with the liquid.  Not all glass can take that strain, and it breaks.  (the opposite happens in the oven, the stuff above the liquid line heats while the part in contact stays cooler.

In theory, every piece of glassware that is rated for the oven should be safe for the microwave, but I'd be wary of colored glass, as they're typically colored using metal.  (eg, I have blue glasses, which is often cobalt).  Things that are neither oven save nor microwave safe include:

Metal rimmed glasses
Glass with air bubbles trapped in it
Thin walled containers (anything less than a typical mug thickness)

One test for microwave-safe containers is to heat the glass in the microwave on high for a couple of minutes (possibly more if you have a low-wattage microwave), and see if it heats up.  If it does, it's definitely not microwave safe.  When I've done the test, I check every 30 seconds or so and stop if it's warm.

inserted: You may want to place another microwave-safe container with water in the microwave when testing (see comment from Ecnerwal).  If you do this, you'll also need to increase the time, to let the test container absorb enough microwaves (as a good portion will be absorbed by the water)

... but that really only checks to see if it absorbs microwave radiation  (which was a frequent problem when microwaves were new).  It won't test for thermal shock, which may not happen the first time, but after a few uses.

These days, new products will be advertised as 'microwave safe' or possibly as not microwave safe, so if you're unsure, stick with the ones that claim to be safe.

As for speed issues -- if the container breaks and you have to clean up the mess (and can't eat the food, then yes.  I don't know how much the vessel absorbing microwaves actually affects speed ... the part in contact with the food will conduct heat to the food (especially if it's liquid or relatively wet).  You might be slowed down wondering if it's safe to eat after microwaving something in plastic, and finding the rim partially slumped.  (which I have no idea if it's safe.  When I was a grad student, I'd probably have eaten it.  Now I'd likely pitch it)


What do I need to know when moving from an electric hob to a gas hob Soon I will be moving into a flat with a gas hob, and I've only ever had experience with electric hobs before.

What do I need to be aware of in terms of the differences between them? I've heard that gas hobs tend to heat up more quickly - is that the case? If so, will I need to adjust cooking times?

The main difference is speed that it changes temperature. So when you turn the hob on it is at the heat you turned it to almost immediately, if you turn it down it is cooler that second.

This won't take long to get used to but if you have recipes which say something along the lines of "Bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer" you can now do exactly that as opposed to the best approximation electric gives.

Another important thing to note is that you want the flames under the pot, not going around the edges: so you need to use the right size pan; usually you want to put it on the largest ring which means the flames are under. If flames do go around the edges you'll find pan handles won't last long and you might have more trouble getting the temperature you want.

You will also find that you have more flexibility with choosing new pans as the thermal contact isn't just at a flat surface: woks, or pans with ribbed or curved surfaces will work better. Pans you might not have liked much before could become new favourites!

You'll love it, I don't think i could ever go back to electric.


Any tips/resources/guidelines for making homemade pasta with other flours/grains? I've made homemade pasta with AP, 00, semolina, and durham flour.  Now, I'm interested in experimenting with incorporating farro (because I had a great farro pasta dish at a local restaurant) or rice flour (because I have some gluten free friends).  How should this be done? What are the rules?

You should have no trouble making egg pasta with farro. There are a million different recipes for egg pasta, and as I'm sure you've discovered. It's all about developing the gluten and having a good water content. I like to use two cups flour to two whole eggs plus four yolks, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. The mistakes I made early on were usually around not kneading enough or using too much flour.

Rice flour, on the other hand, is another story. It is a lot harder using a pasta machine to roll out flour that has no gluten, so you may want to roll by hand and use for recipes that are more forgiving of the thickness of the dough.


What kind of containers for homemade ice cream? In the past, I've usually stored homemade ice creams and sorbets in reusable/disposable plastic containers (e.g. Gladware), but I've busted more than a couple of these when trying to scoop hard-frozen ice cream. The cold plastic is somewhat brittle, and the scoop can easily punch a hole in the side. One solution is to let the ice cream warm up a bit so that it's easier to serve, but who has time for that?

Can you suggest an airtight, ice cream-friendly storage vessel that'll stand up to a forcefully-wielded scoop?

Restaurants solve this problem one of two ways:

Tough, professional-grade stainless or Lexan containers.  I suggest 4" to 6" deep 1/6 size hotel pans AKA steam table inserts, or lidded 2-4 quart Cambro containers.
Cheap, disposable quart delitainers.  These are actually reusable and dishwasher/microwave safe, but at $0.25-0.50 apiece, it doesn't matter if they break regularly!  Just remember to recycle the broken ones. You've probably seen these used for take-out soups in Chinese restaurants or delis, because they're cheap but work well.

For the first option, remember that professional-grade equipment is built to survive YEARS of punishing abuse, but you'll pay more for that quality.  Expect a pricetag of $5-7 or more for each of the smaller containers, or slightly less if you find a good restaurant supply store.  Sam's Club also carries some of that stuff.

The flipside is that you shouldn't ever have to replace the containers unless you do something really dumb, such as putting a pan hot off the stove down on the lid. For this reason I suggest planning ahead before making a purchase, because you want to get the right sizes for regular use.


How many calories does 8oz of de-fatted homemade chicken broth contain? Does anybody know how many calories are in 8oz of chicken broth if I skim the fat during production?

I made my broth with a whole chicken, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, turnips, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Homemade chicken stock can have a variety of densities, from being almost thick enough to cut into cubes at room temperature, to being a very thin broth, depending on the volume of chicken solids you used in making it, and how much you reduced it.   The variation is mostly going to be from gelatin.

With this level of variability, there is no reasonable way to give you a specific calorie estimate.

Live Strong estimates 75 calories per cup, but don't detail the nature of the stock they are assessing.  Still, this probably a good baseline; your product is probably in the 50-100 calorie per cup range.


What are the preservatives in protein bars? How are protein bars such as Quest bars and Buff Dude protein cookies able to last so long? What are the preservatives in it?

Ingredients for Quest Bars ("Birthday cake" flavor):

  Protein Blend (Milk Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate), Soluble Corn Fiber, Water, Erythritol, Almonds, Palm Kernel Oil, Natural Flavors, contains less than 2% of the following: Sodium Caseinate, Sea Salt, Gum Arabic, Spirulina extract (color), Red Cabbage extract (color), Turmeric extract (color), Radish extract (color), Sucralose, Sunflower Lecithin.

Buff Dude No Bake Chocolate Protein Cookies ingredients (the link is to a recipe)

1c. Oats
3 Scoops Chocolate Whey Protein
2 T. Coconut (shredded)
2T. Baking Cocoa Powder
1/4 c. Peanut Butter (we like super chunk)
1/2 c. Chocolate Almond Milk

These don't have such good keeping properties:

  Keep these in the refrigerator (for as long as they last).

TL;DR: They may not need preservatives, relying on dryness and the preserving capabilities of sugar

All are rather dry, and similar foods like biscuits and flapjack (UK meanings; I guess the American terms would be crisp cookies and granola bars) keep almost indefinitely in an airtight container, even if home made. And the processed products are much better sealed than most people can do at home; the air sealed inside can also be of controlled low humidity even if the composition isn't modified (which it probably isn't in this case).

The ingredients are generally very stable when dry. This is only a very limited guide to the stability of the final product.

Many protein bars, and the related examples I mentioned above contain lots of sugar, which is a preservative in quantity, especially if there's very little water. You can estimate the water content by adding together the weights on the nutrition label and subtracting from the total weight. The exact approach varies as different countries use different subcategories.

Some bars may be heat treated, either after packing or simply hot packed in controlled conditions.

How the ones that claim to be cold pressed and contain only natural ingredients (and no sugar) keep so well is another matter.  They often use a source of sugar that they can call something else (dried concentrated apple juice for example).

The protein bars I used to buy were based on whey powder and oats, and had a stated shelf life ("best before") of just under a year after purchase. They don't list anything as a preservative and aren't as sugary as some I've had, but they do list antioxidant (tocopherols) which has a limited preservative effect.  I suspect they put a nominal year on rather than test for longer. I recently ate one that was over 3 years past this date and it was just as unpalatable as ever. This isn't a suggestion, but an indication that the already long shelf life is cautious.

I have a few different protein/energy bars that I use when cycling.  These are the water contents calculated from the 100-(fat+carbs+fibre+protein+salt+minerals):

13% (Quest as edited into the question, not available here)
12% (Trek Protein flapjack original)
12% (USN Nature's energy bar)
14% (Body Me Cacao mint organic protein bar)
19% (Trek berry energy)

I suspect the last is higher because it contains date pieces, and dried dates seem to be over 20% water.

You can't convert moisture content to water activity in a simple way, as it depends on the amount of soluble material (in our case salt and sugar).  However we can consider an analogous product: dried fruit. Raisins contain < 19% water by weight, with dates and prunes higher.  These have a water activity of ~0.6, enough to stop mould proliferation.  These protein bars have a similar water percentage to dried fruit and a comparable sugar contents, so may be expected to have a similar water activity.


Sourdough starter without whole grain flour Is it possible to make sourdough starter without whole grain flour? I have glanced over the two recipes: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe and https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2019/03/beginner-sourdough-starter-recipe/, and both call for whole grain. Is regular all purpose good enough?

Note: This will also be my first time ever making sourdough starter, so if it is much easier to succeed with whole grain, please let me know!

Yes, a sourdough starter can be made from AP flour. Rye and other whole grain flours are recommended because they can generally be built up more quickly, given the higher level of nutrients available to yeasts and bacteria, but I've been able to make the process work with AP flour.  It is fairly likely that you will need at least some whole grain flour if you get into bread making.  So, it's not a bad idea to have a small amount of whole grain flour on hand.  In either case, give it a go.  There is not much to lose!


Why do my cakes taste like cinnamon? I baked a cake using eggs, butter, milk, vanilla extract, flour, cocoa and baking soda.
I baked it at 450F for 30 mins. I tested it and the knife came clean. It looked okay but tasted horrible, like it contained cinnamon.

Then I tried another recipe which had the same ingredients but I was told to add baking powder. This one was baked at 325F for 30 mins in the middle rack of the oven.

However, when we ate it, it tasted horrible and like it had cinnamon, though I had put no cinnamon in either.

Why are my cakes coming out like this? How do I fix it?

From your list of ingredients, I can tell you are missing at least one ingredient.

Sugar

Or any kind of sweetener. Cocao powder by itself is very bitter and acidic. Without the sugar it's not too surprising the cake taste bitter and slightly sour.


Cleaning tin discoloration on copper/tin lid I have a tin-lined copper sauce pan from Rameria Mazzetti, which I love, but I notice the tin discoloring. I have read that it is normal that the tin becomes dull/gray when you cook in it.

My question concerns the lid: it has gotten some weird brown patterns after cooking with it a couple of times. Is this normal? Can it be cleaned without damaging the tin layer? A wipe with a sponge and soap doesn't do anything.

Well you can clean the copper and the tin with some tamarind, it is a trick we use in our home to clean the copper and brass vessels and they come out to be very clean. Your may notice discoloration again in some 20 or 30 days after cleaning but then you can clean it again!
Just wet the cleaning surface with some water and apply tamarind or simple tamarind paste to it, then simply scrub it with a normal scrubber and  wash it.


Repairing the Seasoning on a Cast Iron Pan I had some caked, hard burned substance (garlic, really, from steak) on my cast-iron pan. I tried cleaning it with a brush, and it didn't come off.

So unfortunately, I put a bit of muscle into it, and now the bottom of my cat-iron pan has bits that are positively shiny and silvery. I'm pretty sure the seasoning came off here and there.

Is there a way to fix it, other than completely re-stripping the seasoning and re-seasoning it from scratch?

So, just answering the new part of the question:

You can simply season "over the top" of the existing seasoning.  To do this, you'd go through the normal seasoning process, wiping the pan with oil, heating in a 500F oven, wiping again, heating again.  This will fill in the "holes" in your seasoning and you'll be able to use the pan again.

However, you will also end up with somewhat rough, uneven seasoning on the bottom.  This will make things more likely to stick than if you completely reseasoned the pan.   You can improve this by scrubbing the bottom of the pan with a mixture of course salt and oil.  This will "sand down" the seasoning without completely removing it.

You should also ask yourself if maybe the original seasoning of the pan wasn't faulty, given that some of it already scrubbed off.


Is there any difference between cheap and expensive vodka? Vodka is supposed to be odorless and flavorless (with the exception of flavored vodkas). So if I switch to a dirt-cheap vodka, can I save some money?

Is there any difference between cheap and expensive vodka?  Are there any reliable studies demonstrating this?

Here's a report on an informally conducted taste test suggesting that there are indeed detectable differences between various vodkas: (the report does not say so, but I suspect that much like wine, whether one vodka comes out as better as another one has little to do with its price, except at the very bottom end of the price range)

And, yes, there are differences—a truth known by anyone in the liquor industry with a little sense. But one that is frequently forgotten— partly because our government insists on characterizing vodka as a "colorless, flavorless, odorless" beverage; [...] That there are subtle, and sometimes dramatic, differences in flavor and odor between one vodka and another was driven home recently by a daylong seminar hosted by Absolut. [...] Central to the event was a blind tasting of 12 different vodkas. [...]
The main lesson of the tasting—or re-learned lesson, since many of us in the room knew it already—is that the biggest difference between the flavors of various vodkas derives from the source material, and that difference is easily detected, if you pay attention. Vodka can be distilled from anything, but the most common raw materials are grain and potatoes, with a few using molasses and grapes and other things. Grape-sourced vodka typically has a fruitier character; grain-sourced has the expected bready, yeasty and, yes, grainy notes, with the rye vodkas having more bit and spark than the barley or wheat ones; and potato-sourced vodka has a rounder, sometimes buttery flavor.
From: http://offthepresses.blogspot.be/2010/03/vodkas-and-their-differences.html

Another taste test conducted by the New York Times suggests the same thing:

Delving into the world of vodka reveals a spirit unlike almost any other, with standards that make judging it substantially different from evaluating wine, beer, whiskey or even root beer. A malt whiskey should be distinctive, singular. The same goes for a Burgundy or a Belgian ale. But vodka? Vodka is measured by its purity, by an almost Platonic neutrality that makes tasting it more akin to tasting bottled waters, or snowflakes. [...]
A lack of distinctiveness is a separate matter from a lack of distinction. The vodkas we tasted had character and their own flavors and aromas, even though the differences among them were often subtle and difficult to articulate. [...]
That being said, at the end of our tasting it was Smirnoff at the top of our list, ahead of many other names that are no doubt of higher status in stylish bars and lounges. [...] The prices of these vodkas ranged from a low of $13 for the Smirnoff to a high of $34 for Potocki, a Polish vodka that did not make our cut. The Belvedere also cost $34, but that was for a liter rather than the usual 750 milliliter bottle. Imported vodkas tend to cost more, partly because of taxes levied by various governments, currency exchange rates and, not least, marketing concerns: as has been proved in many industries, wine not least of all, raising the price of a product increases its status among consumers.
From: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/dining/26wine.html

As a counterpoint, here's another report suggesting most people can not tell the difference:

To summarize our findings,

Given a particular brand of vodka, people prefer its taste after it has been filtered, but this is most likely because filtration reduces the alcohol content.
Most people can’t tell the difference between an expensive vodka with high alcohol content and a cheaper vodka with lower alcohol content.

Our second experiment demonstrated approximately equal preferences for Pavlova and Ketel One. Although Pavlova contains 3-5% less alcohol by volume than Ketel One, it is also 70% cheaper, so it would seem a clear winner.
From: http://www.monzy.com/vodka-research/


Beans, bacon, and chicken I am eating a mix of boiled bacon, broiled chicken, and boiled beans (+ salt & pepper). It tastes awkward. What can I add to improve this flavor within $5 to restaurant quality?

(I am not actually the one who came up with this concoction of madness)

Unless you've made a typo, you should brown at least part of the bacon.  Browned bacon will add a great flavor that goes great with both beans and chicken.  Keep the bacon fat and just stir it in as well.  Just the beans and bacon is good.  If you're going for more of a baked beans type flavor, add some brown sugar and ketchup as well.

If the chicken is the star and this is supposed to be a whole meal, you need some kind of starch.  Given the chicken marinade and the beans, it sounds like it needs some rice or corn.  You could make a little rice pilaf, or put the rice in with the beans.  Creamed corn would also taste good with this, but the texture may not contrast with the beans enough.  Maybe a cornbread.


Canning jars seal then go bad I have canned a lot in the past with with aa jar here and there. But the last year I have lost so much food to crowning of lids after they have sealed. I again lost 22 quarts of beautiful red beets. All sealed two days later the lids are swelling and crowned lost all 22 jars.
We do have lime in our water and it seems to be stronger since the dry weather.

Since you don't describe your process in detail it`s impossible to figure out the exact cause of the spoilig. Most common mistakes while canning are:

Improper sterilization of the glasses and lids.
Too short or cold pasteurization of the canned vegetables. Time and temperature required are highly dependent on the type of canned good. For raw red beets it should be 45 min at 100°C, for pre-cooked 20 min at 100°C.
Too much air remaing under the lid.
Failing to create a vacuum for sealing, allowing micro-organisms to enter the glass.


How to bake bread and desserts without an oven? Preface: I already read Is it possible to bake a cake without an oven? and Baking pizza without an oven.

The package of many prearranged, UNcooked frozen flour products presuppose the use of an electric or microwave oven. However, how can these desserts be cooked without them?
I have available an electric stovetop, pans, and also a rice cooker.

I exemplify frozen flour products with the following: ACE Bakery Frozen Bake Your Own™ Baguettes, Flatbreads, Focaccia   and Waitrose Frozen Cheesecakers, Pies, Tarts.

From your list of 'electric stovetop, pots, and rice cooker' I would suggest constructing a double boiler by placing one pot inside another where the inner pot has a lid and the outer pot has a measure of water sufficient to support the inner pot (a steel bowl would be preferable, but you didn't mention that). Using a low heat (just enough to bring the water to a boil). Place your product inside and be prepared to wait. The double boiler will closely resemble oven like convection to evenly (albeit slowly) heat your food. It should brown well and you minimize the risk of burning. If you are making something like a small pizza, you should definitely add a small bit of oil/butter to the bottom of the inner pan.

Do you have access to a 'slow cooker' (crock pot)? These can be used to create a variety of 'baked' goods (breads, pizza, cakes...) But I am guessing not (because you didn't list it...) However, you do mention a 'rice cooker' which is not that different (depending on the brand/style) and I would be inclined to experiment with that.


Keep milk (or milk alternative) for a day without a fridge I like to drink my coffee with milk, but my new place of work has no refrigerator I can use. Is there any milk or milk-substitute I can use that will not taste funny around 15 o'clock, when I remove it from my home fridge at 8?

What if I buy 1L of long-lasting milk and bring in ca 100ml in a airtight container a day for coffee, will that be OK?
Maybe a substitute like almond, soy, rice or oatmilk will keep better? Will it taste good?
Another option I can see is powder milk, but that does seems like a hassle.

Bonus points for minimal amount of waste.

I would invest in a small thermos bottle, about the size of what you need for one day. They are not only designed to keep hot food hot, they can also keep cold food cold. Choose a size that will be as full as possible when you start, it will keep better.

This is what the small B&B we‘re currently staying at supplies to their guests. If it’s good for an early morning tea, it’ll be good for afternoon coffee as well:

If you want to go all the way, you can pre-chill the container, then fill it with well-chilled milk from your home fridge. You could even freeze some milk as ice cubes, if you find that it doesn’t stay cold enough until the end of your work day or your last coffee break. Store the thermos away from heat sources and not in warm sunlight, of course.

Note that you also have the “two-hours in the danger zone” buffer and that “unsafe” doesn’t automatically mean “spoiled”. Especially when the milk is still quite cold and only shortly after the two-hour window the risk for a healthy adult should be small. No recommendation, just a thought.

Switching to milk alternatives won’t change anything where food safety is concerned.


Rule of thumb for cooking multiple things in a microwave at the same time? Is it possible to cook multiple things at the same time in a microwave and how do I adjust the cooking time?

What if the two items are identical, do I double the time or multiply it by some other factor?

What if the two items are different and have different individual cooking times?

For different food types there is no single correct answer, as it is very dependent on the specific microwave energy absorption and reflectance characteristics of each item (food and container) in the microwave oven

It's possible to put one item in which has a high absorbency and one with a low absorbency, and to have one fully cooked and the other still cold

e.g. A potato placed in a ceramic bowl, and a sausage on a glass plate, would result in a hot sausage, and a cold potato (assuming the sausage and potato are of the same weight)

For similar food types a general multiplication is required, but not exactly by weight, as each microwave oven has an 'efficiency to food and weight' exponential curve. You will find the result of this out by experience with the oven. This rule applies somewhat to normal thermal convection ovens too

e.g. 250 g of potato takes 6 minutes in your microwave oven, then 500 g may take 9 minutes not 12 minutes, and 1 Kg may take only 12 minutes, until you reach the equilibrium point of no further improvement (about 1 Kg for my domestic microwave oven)


In England, can I buy fresh fish directly off the boat? In Trondheim, where I used to live before coming to England, sometimes I bought fish directly off the boat. The fish was fresh and cheaper than the supermarket. I am interested to know if it is possible to do the same in England. Is it common to buy fresh fish off the boat in England?

Note: I asked the same question in Expatriates.SE, but was advised to ask here instead.

People don't become fishermen in the UK to get rich. We simply don't eat enough variety of fish for them to sell it in person. The way they make the most money is wholesaling it for export to the rest of the EU.

That said, apart from possibly Yarmouth you are in one of the best areas in the country where you might get this service. Here's one based around Cornwall:

http://www.mouseholefish.com

They put posters up when they will be heading out.

For more suggestions you might consider a Facebook group or similar for your town?


Why don't chicken and turkey sausages typically have sodium nitrate, but other meat sausages do? It's just something I've noticed while shopping. All of the chicken and turkey sausages I've seen (across multiple brands) do not contain sodium nitrate, but all beef- and pork-based sausage always has sodium nitrate.

I vaguely understand the role of nitrates in the food safety of cured meats, but I'm wondering what is it specifically about turkey and chicken that don't require nitrates.

Check this essay: Time-dependent depletion of nitrite in pork/beef and chicken meat products and its effect on nitrite intake estimation

Check the Figure.1, while preserving meat in long days, the nitrite content in chicken sausage is much higher than pork/beef sausage.
For food safety, Nitrosamine where is transformed from nitrite is an important cancer factor. So there are only pork/beef(red meat) sausage in market but not for turkey/fish(white meat).


Why does unpeeled fruit rot? Generally, pathogens does not enter into fruits even if plant is irrigated with contaminated water (Link). Hence , an unpeeled fruit should not have pathogen inside to rot it. Why does then an unpeeled fruit rots ? Does a rotting fruit is caused by pathogens ?

Rotting occurs as cells break down and autolyse together with other chemical reactions and aided by microbial (fungal and bacteria) contamination.  It is not initiated by pathogens, but is rather a normal cause of events.

Note that ripening (i.e., the earliest stage of rot) and fermentation (e.g., beer and kimchi) are related processes performed under controlled conditions


Is it ok to leave a slow cooker unattended? Is it safe to leave a slow cooker (Crock-Pot) on unattended (for example, while you're at work and no one is home)? Or is that a fire hazard?

That's exactly what they are designed for!

In general their electrical construction, and possible failure modes fully support being left on unattended

They should pose no more fire risk than any other electrical kitchen device being left on at the wall e.g. an automatic toaster or kettle

Some slow cookers have automatic fuses that blow if the pot runs dry, but most seem to keep going with no ill effect. There is no reason for a slow cooker to run dry unless you leave the lid off for over a day!


What is the difference between how nut flours and nut butters are made? Nut flours are made by grinding nuts.  Nut butters are made by grinding nuts as well.  Do nut flours have the oil removed, or are they just ground a different way?

It is both, depending on what you understand under "nut flour".
The first kind of "nut flour" is something that may more precisely be called "nut meal" or "ground X" (where X stands for the nut, as in "ground almonds"). Nut meal is simply nuts reduced to small particles (larger than flour particles though) and is created by cutting up the nuts with bladed machines. You can make it at home in a food processor.
The second kind is true nut flour. It has finer particles, good water absorption, and behaves more like an actual flour in baking. For that product, they de-fat the nuts, and then I assume they actually grind them up instead of using a bladed machine. I am not entirely sure how these flours are produced, AFAIK there is no way to make them at home.
Nut butters are created by grinding in a mill, using actual shear force and not cutting, and may need adjusting the ingredients by adding more oil, but that depends on the nut, with e.g. peanuts grinding up nicely without needing extra fat.
I also suspect there may be a difference in water levels, with nut butters working better with fresh nuts, nut meals getting no special processing (but they do dry out quickly after grinding) and true nut flours probably needing a dehydration before they can work well. This is more of an intuition of mine, I don't know if producers actually have to do it that way.


Chinese alternative to Olive Oil? I'm actually in china and here olive oil is expensive and difficult to be found.
I need it to fry slightly onion/garlic for ex. to prepare tomato sauce.

What can I use as alternative?

Nothing else is going to taste like extra-virgin olive oil, but extra-virgin isn't necessary for cooking at all. As a matter of fact, the smoke point of extra-virgin olive oil is so low that it's not often used for cooking. For cooking with olive oil, usually the choice would be "refined" or "pure" olive oil. Honestly, those don't taste like much. So whatever neutral oil you usually use (soybean, canola, peanut and vegetable are a few options) will work just fine.


What can I do to make my Cheese & Onion Pie freeze well? Here is my Mum's recipe for what she called Cheese & Onion Pie, which was a favourite of mine as a child, and I continue to make occasionally to this day.

Boil some chopped potatoes until soft.
Drain, add milk and butter, and mash them.
Add grated cheese and finely chopped red onion and mix. About two thirds potato, one third cheese & onion.
Transfer it into a dish.
Cover with pastry (I cheat and use ready made pastry, sorry)
Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes.

This works very well. Over the years I've experimented with different types of cheese, and also things like black pepper and garlic.

However, if I freeze it, it does not defrost very well. It comes out watery and with a lot less taste.

I have tried leaving it to defrost at room temperature, defrosting it quickly in the microwave, and putting it straight in the oven frozen. The end result is the same.

I have also tried leaving the pastry out and just freezing the mixture.

There are two issues with freezing it:-  The watery texture, and the taste. Are they connected?

Is there anything I can do to make it suitable for freezing?

To clarify: I make a large pie, serve half and freeze the other half. I'm not making it specifically just to put in the freezer.

The way to freeze this well would be to use instant potatoes simply mixed cold and not cooked.  Then when you bring it out to reheat, you'll cook the potatoes.  The taste will be of instant potatoes, though.

The problem is that the starches in the potato will undergo retrogradation, recrystallize and expel moisture when reheated.

You could counteract this by stirring in some potato starch after the potatoes have cooked and cooled and before you assemble the pie, but the instant potato method will work better and will require less experimenting.


What part of meat is mince meat made from? It seems to me mince meat contains connective tissue(i.e white bits) and a lot of fat also comes from it.  Therefore I imagine it is not a lean cut of meat.

What part of meat does mince meat usually come from?

If you are referring to ground beef (as we call it in america) then it can be from anything really. Usually trimmings. Ground beef for hamburgers is usually from the chuck, but sirloin is also used (among every other cut of beef in theory)


Can I use duck feet to make duck stock I had my first crack at making chicken stock the other day and now I would like to try duck stock.

One of the posts I read when learning how to make chicken stock was about using chicken feet. It mentioned:

  It has its own unique and wonderful flavor, and the added gelatin from
  the feet give whatever dish is made with the stock a luxurious feeling
  when eating it.

Is this also true with duck stock?

Can I follow a chicken feet stock recipe and simply swap the chicken feet for duck feet?

Duck feet will render plenty of gelatin because of the amount of cartilage, same as chicken feet. Any bird's feet are a good choice.

The method for making stock is pretty much the same no matter what you put into it, so yes, you can follow your favourite recipe for chicken stock and substitute duck feet. The only thing to keep in mind is that duck feet, like any other duck parts, are substantially more fatty than their chicken equivalents, so assuming you want a clear or mostly-clear stock, you'll have to spend a lot of time skimming.

Alternatively you can "clean" the feet and other bones by boiling them in plain water for 5-10 minutes, then dumping it all out and starting over - which is what your linked recipe suggests. I don't usually do this for brown stocks because you lose a lot of flavour, but if you're starting from raw then it won't make much difference and it's an easy/lazy way to get rid of a lot of the fat at once.


What exactly is a boozy preserved egg and how are they made? On page 431 of Fuchsia Dunlop's The Food Of Sichuan there is a sort of vague description of a boozy preserved egg (zaodon, 糟蛋) but I'm having trouble finding any more detail on how they are made.
This is the description of how the eggs are made in the book:

Zaodan are made by tapping duck eggs all over to crack their shells, while leaving their inner membranes intact. These fragile things are then steeped in a wonderfully aromatic liquid, dark as long-steeped tea, fragrant with fermented glutinous rice wine, strong baijiu grain liquor, brown sugar and spices, for up to three years.

I found this recipe which, when I passed it through google translate, seems to describe something similar, but most of the recipe has the eggs sitting in "sweet grains" and only at the end do you soak it in alcohol. I also found a couple youtube videos (here and here) of people eating some sort of preserved egg which looks like it might have been fermented in a grain but I can't tell if it is the same thing described in the book. All the other recipes, videos, and descriptions I could find seemed to be of tea eggs or century eggs and the English search results were mainly just about eggnog.
Should I be using other search terms? Are the eggs in grain from the recipe I found and from those videos the same thing as the eggs described in the book? How are these made, and is this something I could reasonably try at home?

Here's a (slightly abridged) translation of the recipe you found:

(i) Select clean and fresh duck eggs with even shells.(ii) Other ingredients: glutinous (sticky) rice, wine lees, salt, brown sugar etc.
(i) Soak the glutinous rice in water - 24 hours at 12C, an hour less for every 2C increase in temperature.(ii) Drain and rinse the rice. Steam for 10 minutes, then sprinkle on some water. Steam for 15 more minutes, give it a mix, then steam for 5-10 more minutes.(iii) Rinse the rice with cooled boiled water to cool it down to 28-30C.(iv) Mix the lees with the cooled rice, and pack it into a fermentation crock. Sprinkle a layer of lees on top. [Using a rolling pin or similar,] create a deep hole in the middle of the rice. When the hole is filled with liquid, mix everything together. Age for half a month.
Using a piece of bamboo [or a spoon], crack the eggs very gently, making sure not to break the membrane.
(i) Sterilise a fermentation crock by steaming it.(ii) For 100 duck eggs: prepare 5kg rice wine [made in part 2]; 0.8kg 65% alcohol baijiu; 0.8kg brown sugar; 20g each of dried tangerine peel, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns; and 1kg salt.(iii) Combine the rice wine, the baijiu, and the salt and layer the mixture with the eggs in three layers and store at room temperature.
(i) Remove the hard eggshells.(ii) Soak the eggs in baijiu for 1-2 days until the egg white/yolk solidifies.(iii) Add the sugar and spices from before to the fermentation liquid, then add the solidified, peeled eggs back.(iv) Age for 3-4 months, stir, then age for a further 2-3 months, after which they are ready to eat.

As you can see, this is a very long and involved recipe. What you're doing in step 2 is basically making fermented rice or laozao- here's a good guide on how to make this. It's also very similar to Dunlop's description, so I think it's very likely that those videos you found are of what she's describing. You can see the shells have been removed to leave the membrane, creating a sort of "soft-shelled" egg. It's certainly possible to make at home, but quite complicated.


Is it safe to keep reusing a portion of old dough? My grandma told my mum a weird process of making flatbread dough recently that she started to use. But I am not sure about it's safety at all.

Initially, normal wholewheat bread dough made with Instant Yeast. Used to make bread but a small piece is kept (~70-100gm) in refrigerator.
Next day, when making new dough, that 70-100gm portion of old dough is mixed in and it's allowed to rise for 2-3 hours.
A 70-100gm portion of this mixture is kept again in refrigerator and mixed in next day.
Repeat same everyday.

The result is definitely great for the flatbread naan but I am not sure about safety of this.
Question: Wouldn't a small part of it be too old after 2 weeks or so? I am sure some of of the old dough remains, however diluted. Mom claims she'd start process totally fresh after a month but I believe that's too long.
Edit: I heard it's similar to Pâte Fermentée but I'm still not sure if about a whole cycle.

This is how bread was made in my area just two generations before, not only flatbreads but every kind of dough. And the process wouldn't be started from scratch with new instant yeast, because it didn't exist yet.
I understand why you would say that a diluted piece of the old dough would remain after a month, but mind that fermentation is a metabolic process that converts molecules, and although actual atoms could be there, they were processed and rebuilt each time the dough ferments.
Compare that with any plant you eat; a part of this plant was a previous plant that was used as a fertilizer, maybe even passed through the animal metabolism. It's a cycle.


How to use vanilla beans? I used a vanilla bean in a water-based beverage and did not get any taste.

Further research showed that vanilla is apparently oil soluble, not water soluble.

I know that it is a common practice to make vanilla tinctures using alcohol, but if it is fat soluble, why not use oil? The problem with alcohol is that it gives bad taste to many things.

I see in vanilla ice cream there are the little black seeds. Do they just mix the seeds in the milk, and the milk fat absorbs the taste? How long does this take? If I want to add vanilla to a fat-based food, how long do I need to let the seeds sit in it for the flavor to spread throughout?

Vanilla extract is essentially vanilla infused into alcohol. If you don't have any problem with storebought vanilla extract, I doubt you'd have much problem with homemade vanilla infused into alcohol (i.e. homemade vanilla extract) either. While people do sometimes describe real vanilla extract as "boozy", it's not so much about the alcohol as the vanilla flavor. Some do still like it a bit less, though.

Infusing into oil will certainly work, but it does introduce botulisum concerns if you want to store it for very long. So you're much more likely to see it infused directly into a high fat food like ice cream.

For ice cream, you scrape the contents of the bean into the warm custard mixture (milk/cream/egg), and let it steep for 20-30 minutes. (You can also put the whole bean in and fish it out later.) The heat and the fat content both help extract the flavor.


Why did people start using CO2 (instead of e.g. oxygen) for carbonated drinks? I am curious about why those who invented carbonated drinks chose to use specifically carbon dioxide in the liquid, instead of some other gas (say, oxygen).

(Obviously they wouldn't necessarily have been called "carbonated" if some other gas had been used, but that is besides the point.)

Is there some reason such as that CO2 does not dissipate from a liquid as fast as other gases, or something else?

CO2 tastes good! Carbonated water is actually a weak carbonic acid solution; this is what you taste. It's like "salt and pepper", but for water.

Slightly acidic water is usually popular, hence lemon juice is sometimes used to taint a jug of water in times when no carbonated water is available.

Carbonated water releases CO2 bubbles for many minutes after pressure is released (dissolved carbonic acid reforming), which is an important presentation effect that other gases do not generally have.

In many countries the local water supply is slightly alkaline (due to limestone rock being very common), and this can leave a bad after-taste, and make food in your mouth taste soapy. The addition of weak acids to water helps with neutralising this effect.

Around the world, some lucky towns have natural springs with effervescent water (carbonated water), and man-made carbonated water is just imitating this. In history people have often travelled great distances to try effervescent water, so its popularity is well recorded.

Nitrogen is used for water pressurisation in brewing and cooking as it leaves little or no taste, and generally does not form other chemical compounds. It's used mainly when bubbles are required, but not an acidic taste.

Oxygen is unsuitable for water pressurisation as very little can be dissolved at normal soda pressures, and it has no taste, but may readily form unwanted chemical compounds.

In the 18th century, Joseph Priestley was the first person to document this manufacturing discovery. He noted precisely that it tasted good, and that it was similar to the German Selters water. He was discovering "airs" (gases), and uniquely identified quite a few different gases. CO2 was the only one he listed as tasting good. His cheap source of CO2 was the fermenting grains from the nearby brewery.


Fresh cranberries OR frozen cranberries I have a recipe that calls for 1 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries mixed with 1 cup of sugar (let stand). Then you add egg whites, orange juice and vanilla. Finally, you fold with whipped cream.

Since cranberries are seasonal (and out of season right now) can I use frozen berries in this recipe and have the same results?

Yes, cranberries freeze extremely well.

Since you will be macerating them with sugar, and since the texture of fresh cranberries is not that pleasant anyway, any slight softening from the freezing should not be a detriment--it might even be an improvement.


Why does this custard say to boil milk cool and boil again I have this recipe (from a really great book that has never failed me) for a custard and it says to

Bring the milk to the boil.
Put to the side for 10 mins.
Whisk the yolks and sugar.
Return the milk to the boil.
Add milk to eggs.
Heat till thick.

But why the double boil step?
It has made a lovely thick custard, my best recipe yet.
Edit: I have eaten it now and it was the most scrummy custard I have ever eaten. but that may be the 4 egg yolks and double cream :)

I can't say about this particular recipe, but 'scalding' milk was a commonly used to change the milk (cooking proteins, deactivating enzymes, etc) in the days before pasteurization ... but that was normally done when the milk was to be used at a non-boiling temperature.
It's possible that this 10 minute cool down gives it sufficient time for the desired changes to the milk to happen, without the problems of boil-over and evaporation that might happen if you tried to hold the milk at a boil for an extended period.
It's also possible that this is related to another question on here in which someone noticed that re-boiling milk was less likely to foam up.  (but then couldn't re-create it, so there might be something else going on)


Stove top Sushi rice - Which method? I am planning to have my first attempt at making sushi by myself in a few days. Right now, I am still struggling with the rice and it's cooking. Many recipes/tutorials call for a rice cooker which I don't own, so I can only cook the rice in a pan on top of my stove.

I know this also can be done and the results can be quite good, but what is the best method for this? What ratio of water : rice should I use, how long should I cook the rice and at what temperature? How long should the rice rest? Anything I really have to take care of in general while cooking?

Cheers

The rice, as you know, is the cornerstone to quality sushi – no matter how superior seafood you obtain (which is also very important), if the rice isn't done properly your sushi fails.

Always use a glutinous, short-grained, japonica rice, or else your rolls and other sushi construction will likely fall apart as soon as your guests pick it up. A good quality rice will not have too many broken grains. Rinse it several (at least five or six) times, let it soak for 15-20 minutes at least one of the rinse cycles.

Unlike long grain rice, most sushi rice instructions (including what I use) call for equal amounts water and rice, or closer to it than the usual 2 parts water to 1 part rice. Bring it to boil, cover it then let it cook on your stove's lowest setting. Cook it without removing the cover for about 12-15 minutes before checking for doneness.

For two cups of rice, use about 1/4 cup of rice vinegar, and approximately two or three tablespoons of sugar. I recommend using unseasoned rice vinegar and adding sugar to your taste rather than using the pre-sweetened stuff, so you can control the amount. Add a couple of tablespoons of mirin (Japanese cooking wine), optionally a pinch of salt to taste.

Combine the other ingredients while the rice is cooling to about body temperature (98F; 36C), then mix gently with the rice, being careful not to smash or break the grains,then assemble your sushi.

Eat the delicious sushi until you either explode, or need a crane to lift you away from the table.


Marinated Chicken without Grill How would you prepare the following marinated chicken without a grill? I tried pan searing my chicken after marinating for 24 hrs but completely blackened the exterior without cooking the inside much. Would the oven retain the marinade flavor, should I invest in a griddle, or just change recipes?

I'd say the difference between frying or even using a griddle pan is that compared to a grill [US] barbecue [UK] that the latter generates more heat all round the food as it's cooking, as opposed to mainly the portion touching the surface of the pan.

With that in mind, some possible solutions…

Fry then oven - would give you the surface texture plus enough time to cook the inside. [Oven then fry might work too, though the surface would then be more difficult to fry evenly].
Butterfly the chicken before marinating, or even just slice in half - half the thickness, quicker to cook to the centre, with double the crispy surface & more marinade on it. Stronger flavour & a change in the proportion of textures, but you may like it that way.
Broil [US] grill [UK] with a more controlled temperature. You could achieve a similar, though not identical result compared to the default grill/barbecue method. You can decrease cooking time slightly by using metal skewers through the centre, like a kebab.


Adding raw chicken to a meal that is being reheated So, a friend of mine told me they frequently add raw chicken to their (already cooked) leftovers when reheating (in a pan) to top them up. Though they stress that the chicken is completely cooked by the end of the reheating.

I feel like this is extremely unsafe in terms of food hygiene and food contamination, but apparently my friend and most of their family members have done this quite frequently without issue.

Other than the reheated food being overcooked and degraded in quality, I am not sure how I could explain  that this isn't a safe practice. Or am I completely wrong in this matter?

If a dish, any dish, leftovers or otherwise, has raw chicken added to it, then is cooked until said chicken is fully cooked, it is then safe to eat. There is nothing from what you describe that justifies assuming that the way the dish is handled would be unsafe.


How can I make matzo meal and matzo farfel? I have a surplus of matzo this year thanks to Costco, and I assume I can crank out my own matzo meal and matzo farfel at home from whole matzo.

Has anyone done this?  Should I just put the matzo in a food processor to make the matzo meal until it looks right?

What about the matzo farfel?  Should I just smash up whole matzo with a meat tenderizing mallet in a bag or something?

According to Sassy Radish, yes, you can make your own matzo meal by the obvious method of putting some crumbled matzo sheets into the food processor.   She notes that you will get about 1/2 cup from two sheets.

Farfel can be made simply by breaking the matzo into appropriately sized pieces.  This site explains that it is easiest to do it by hand to get the uniform size.  About.com's Kosher Food section even says that is all farfel is: broken up matzo.


Creating a recipe for a glazed fruit pie - what starch to use? I am assembling a recipe for a glazed fruit pie, refrigerated and not cooked. The glaze will be made from a starch which will be boiled with water and sugar, poured over berries in a jelly roll pan and refrigerated to soft set. They'll then be placed into a cookie crumb crust and put back in the fridge to finish setting. It's all fairly simple.

However most of the recipes I have found call for cornstarch. The store-bought glaze mixes I've found include tapioca starch (along with citric acid, salt, and some natural flavors/coloring). I have both tapioca starch and cornstarch on hand, as well as potato starch. Is there a benefit of any one over the others? For instance, I have read that cornstarch can impart a significant cornstarch flavor. Also, cornstarch will often result in a cloudier appearance when set. The goal here is a completely transparent appearance so one could barely tell that there was anything beyond fruit present. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

Use the tapioca starch, or, if you cannot find that, another tuber starch. It is more waxy than cornstarch, and therefore better suited for a glaze. It will give you a glossy, transparent appearance.

Cornstarch is a mealy starch, with high amylopectin content, and creates a soft, fluffy, somewhat cloudy mass, not as glossy or as transparent as waxy starches. By the way, it shouldn't have an off-taste if you cook it through.

I guess that most recipes haunting the Internet use cornstarch because it is so much more common in a home kitchen, and the home bakers found the result good enough for their purposes and/or were not aware that tapioca will give them a better end product. As you describe that you want a really good glaze, go for the tapioca.


Why did my cookies come out like this? Here is the recipe. http://www.handletheheat.com/2013/10/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
It looks completely different from the web-site.What could be the cause of this mistake? too much eggs? Baking powder? or maybe not enough flour?

However, I live in south east asia. Do you think the temperature here could be one of the factors or maybe conversion from cup to grams are different?

Thank you

It can be challenging to get recipes exactly right in different parts of the world, but not to worry - you can usually fix it with some modifications. This may require some trial and error.

There are a few things which could be going wrong:

too much liquid: this is a US recipe, and US large eggs are generally smaller than the rest of the world's large eggs, so you could be adding too much egg. You could also be adding too much butter - a stick is 1/2 US cup of butter by volume or 113 grams. Try weighing the butter to get the right amount. The recipe also calls for bread flour, which has a high gluten content, and gluten soaks up liquid. If you aren't using bread flour then there could be too much liquid. In any case the answer is use less butter and/or egg, or increase your flour content a bit
The dough is too warm: warm dough will spread out much faster, try sticking it in the refrigerator for an hour or so, and return the dough to the fridge while your cookies bake
The dough hasn't rested: most cookie doughs need some time to meld after mixing, to allow the ingredients to completely combine. Try letting it rest. Steps 2 and 3 are both accomplished by wrapping the dough and putting it in the fridge
Too cool an oven: Cookies stop spreading and rise when the mixture crystallizes and gains some rigidity. If the oven is too cool then the dough has more chance to spread before it crystallizes. If you can find one buy an oven thermometer, that will tell you whether your oven is the right heat. You could also try moving your cookies higher in the oven

What is isn't likely to be is too much baking powder or baking soda. Your spread comes from other factors.


Process fresh salmon into Sushi / Sashimi salmon? I am a Sushi and Sashimi lover, especially salmon flesh. I recently bought some fresh salmon from Taobao. It's not frozen and has been kept around 4°C for 24h (during delivery). The product page said it's suitable for eating directly. After eating a few slices I noticed something different from what I eat at a restaurant. I see some white fluidy solid in my sauce plate, which is possibly fat. I washed the flesh and applied juice from squeezed lemon to it before eating. I'd never met this phenomenon before.

What's that white fluid in fresh salmon flesh? (No quality issues)
Is it fat? It does not dissolve in water or sauce.
How is this fresh salmon different from that in a restaurant?
How should I process the salmon so that it gets consistent with the one in a restaurant? Or simplifying this question, how can I get rid of the "fat" (since there's no other issue)?

Edit: I can now confirm it's fat. It's exactly the white layer between red layers(fresh flesh). How do I stop it from "washing off"?

Sushi fishes are usually flash frozen for a few days before being used for safety (to kill off bugs)
It might change the texture of the fish as it is unfrozen; the better the restaurant the better the fish will be unfrozen.

http://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/myth-sushi-grade/

  For fish that contain parasites, the FDA provides guidance under their
  Parasite Destruction Guarantee. This states in part that fish intended
  to be consumed raw must be “frozen and stored at a temperature of
  -20°C (-4°F) or below for a minimum of 168 hours (7 days)”.

As for the fluid, I don't know, maybe fat or just water with dissolve fish protein (the thing that turns white when you cook salmon).


Can I make sourdough starter with raw potatoes? Looking at different websites I found sourdough starters using potatoes instead of wheat or rye. They all used cooked mashed potatoes.

I wonder if it is possible to just grate raw potatoes or other starchy vegetables and use them. I still have some self-made wheat sourdough starter at home. So I could mix a bit of that with my grated potatoes.

Has anybody here tried before?

Yes!
I'm currently attending Le Cordon Bleu for Baking and Patisserie.  I'm in the breads class right now, and my text book has a recipe for a potato sour with raw potato.  Here..

8 oz Bread Flour
6.5 oz Warm Water
.16 oz (1 tsp) Salt
.16 oz (1 tsp) Sugar
1 Large Potato, peeled

Mix together the flour, water, salt, and sugar into a smooth soft dough.  Add potato.
Place in sterilized bowl. Cover tightly with muslin or other clean fabric so the starter can breathe.  Let rest in a warm place for up to 24 hours, until the mixture becomes frothy.
Stir well and cover with plastic film.  Leave to stand 2-3 days in a warm place, until the mixture becomes light and foamy.  Stir thoroughly each day.
Pour the fermented starter to a glass jar and store in the refrigerator for approximately 3 days, or until a clear liquid collects on top of the mixture.  This indicates the mixture is ripened enough for use.Carefully pour all the liquid collected on the surface into a measuring jug, discarding the solid mixture that remains on the bottom.  The weight of the liquid should be greater than the weight of the water used, because some of the flour will be poured off with the liquid.