Is my "non stick" pan kaput? I have a Circulon frying pan I've been using for a few years. I got it second hand in good condition.

The non stick factor was great when I got it, but when I fry with it now, I find I need to use quite a bit of oil or it sticks.

I've tried hard to clean off what seems to be a kind of oily residue, but I'm wondering if it's the last of the non-stick coating I'm trying to remove!

Other than the stickiness, it's a great pan.

Are this pan's non stick days over? Or otherwise, what can I do to restore it?

Let's just mention that there are health controversies about using a broken nonstick coating and/or bare aluminium surfaces, and see them as controversies that are off topic here.

Non-stick wise, this pan is wrecked.

There is no practical way to fix a modern nonstick coating to original state yourself at home.

It seems that some spray-on products used to exist, but these were not actually teflon based even if they were sold as teflon repair sprays, and did not give an equivalent result to industrially applied coatings.

There are professional refinishing services, but the price of the refinishing plus shipping costs is about the price of a brand new medium quality pan, and even this could only work with a piece where all non-heatproof fittings can be dismantled from the pan itself; the refinishing process will involve baking it at a high temperature.

The only thing that would be possible to do yourself, IF the base material of the pan is either stainless steel or carbon steel/cast iron/wrought iron, would be to completely get the damaged coating off and use the cookware as a stainless steel, or seasoned iron, piece. But with most non-stick cookware, the base is aluminium, which is not useful as an uncoated or seasoned cooking surface.

EDIT: It seems there are seasoning techniques for some types of bare aluminium, they might or might not apply. As I mentioned, there are health controversies about it, so make informed decisions.


How is it that zinfandel can taste spicy? How can it be that zinfandel wines taste spicy (hot?)  I experienced this sensation for the first time recently, but never have sensed this before in cabernets, merlots, or other reds.  Subsequently I read zinfandels described as "spicy" elsewhere afterwards.

I'm certain that there are no peppers being used in the process of the wine.  Is there significant capsaicin present or is it from the alcohol level?

This has to do with esters, which are flavor compounds created during fermentation.

  Each grape variety has a unique physiological make up with aromatic compounds found in trace amounts within the grape skin cells. The concentration of each of these aromatic sensations is dependent on the grape type and is mostly undetectable until the juice is fermented. Fermentation magnifies and makes these aromas more easily perceived by the nose, so think of wine as a caricature of the grape.

From winegeeks.com.

another good reference

about the pepper flavor specifically, although in Shiraz I imagine it's the same or similar to that in Zinfandel:

  Australian chemists have identified the compound responsible for the peppery aroma of the country's iconic Shiraz wines - and discovered the same molecule is by far the strongest aroma in peppercorns themselves.


How far ahead of time can I make or bake a bread with fruit and honey in it? I want to make several loaves of a honey-apple challah for Jewish friends for Rosh Hashanah.  However I am going to be out if town for Labor Day weekend.  If I bake some on Saturday night and seal in Ziploc bags and store it in the fridge, will it be fresh enough to deliver the following Wednesday?

Refrigerating bread promotes rapid staling, do you do not want to do that.

However, ironically, breads in general and challah in specific will freeze very well.  You just want to be sure it is well protected against freezer burn.  For a few days, a zip lock bag should do quite well; for longer storage, wrapping tightly in film wrap, and then putting in the zip lock type bag would be better.

Do make sure the bread is fully cooled before freezing.

You can optionally slice before freezing as well, should you want to, which can be convenient.


Serving Creme Brulee to a large group of people I have 60 creme brulees set in mason jars. The idea is to serve this to a group of 60 people at once. How do I ensure my crust for the first one doesn't get soggy?
Each creme brulee, from opening to torching takes about 30-60 seconds. This means the first one could end up sitting for 30-60 minutes before all are complete. This will definitely get the crust soggy by the time of service.

Any ideas on preventing this?

To be honest I wouldn't have thought the top would get soggy. I've also made hundreds of brûlées for wedding parties in the past and the top has never gone soft. Unless you're putting them in the fridge between colorizing and serving? That will definitely cause problems.

If you are actually getting a soggy top it means one of two things:

You've not browned them enough.
You've not used enough sugar on the top.

One thing I could suggest if you are doing so many in one go, something I learnt quite late into being a pastry chef (6 months of a two year stint): make a nice perfectly coloured caramel, leave it to cool a little, but keep warm. Then when you need it just pour it over the top of your brûlées as you're serving.

Be sure to use glucose in your caramel to stop it setting too hard, as it may splinter and kill a couple of your guests.


Fast meringue technique I use the slow method of baking a meringue, as described here.

I'm aware that there is a fast method, but can't find it online. (Besides, I'd really prefer the human input garnered here!)

Currently, my knowledge would be to mix the meringue as with the slow method, spoon onto baking paper and put in a hot over (possibly 180c?) for 10 minutes.

I have tried that and ended up with the result shown here (though not in that particular instance.)

So, does anyone know what the fast meringue method is?

After some confusion in the comments, I think I have an answer for you. There are three main methods for making a meringue and two main methods of cooking them.

First we have a French meringue, which is what you've made before.

Second, we have Swiss meringue. Here the egg whites and sugar are gently heated over a water bath stirring constantly until the mixture reaches a temperature of 79 degrees Celsius. At this point you transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and whisk until cooled.

Finally, an Italian meringue is made by whisking a hot simple syrup into the eggs whites.

The different methods of preparation have slightly different outcomes. A French meringue tends to be more fragile before cooking and the end result is lighter. A Swiss or Italian meringue has more volume and tends to be more stable before cooking and have a more marshmallowy/chewy end result.

All these meringue types can be cooked either slowly in the oven as you describe, or toasted. The slow oven cook will produce a meringue that's hard on the outside and either fluffy or chewy on the inside. This is used to make for example Pavlovas or meringue cookies.

For a pie topping, you instead simply pile the meringue on top of the pie and torch it with a blowtorch or (place it in the oven on 'grill') until the top is your desired level of toasted. This takes at most a few minutes. Toasting can be done with any merigue, although Swiss and Italian are preferred, since the egg white has been heated to safe temperatures already. If you toast a French meringue, you are serving mostly raw egg white and need to take appropriate precautions to avoid salmonella.


Does temperature of water affect carbonation process For sake of the question:

I'm using a Sodastream brand
I like max carbonation
Normally, I use cold water from my Brita pitcher out of the refrigerator

Sodastream's FAQ states:

However, we do recommend using COLD water to achieve best results.

I suspect that best results means max carbonation, and I should use cold water. Or a conspiracy theorist could suggest their lawyers promote cold water so fewer machines will blow up. Or maybe it has something to do with flavor..
Anyway, just curious about this. I don't have the physics pedigree to know the answer.

Carbon Dioxide (and gases in general) dissolve more easily in cold liquids. This means that it's easier to carbonate (inject with Carbon Dioxide) your soda using cold water than warm. As your liquid heats up the gas falls out of solution creating the bubbles in your soda. Fountain dispensers usually have the water lines run through the ice hopper (or they have a cold plate) to further chill the cold water they feed to the machines for this same reason.


Why is my soymilk going off so fast? Long before the expiration date on my soymilk, I'm having to toss it and buy a new container. I use soymilk only for my morning tea, and it develops this strange metallic and bitter flavor (it may also be astringent, or it might be that it's no longer countering the astringency of my tea, it's hard to tell). When I dumped out the latest such container, it had grainy bits in the bottom as well.

I store it in the door of my fridge, only taking it out in the morning to pour some in my mug; is this not the best way to store it? Is this flavor actually even a result of it going off, or is there some other problem with my soymilk?

The milk in question is Silk Vanilla Soymilk.

Expiration dates on milk are not intended for open containers. Any open milk is only good for 3-5 days. After that, it is not safe for drinking, and taste is not guaranteed either.

Many people seem to not know that. Traditionally, you could only buy HTST pasteurized milk, which has 7-10 days of usable time altogether. It spent 2-3 days on its way to the customer, and if a milk opened on day 3 after production went off on day 8, nobody wondered, because it was on or just before the expiration date.

Today, you get also ESL milks and nut milks, which have a much longer life in the closed container. But once you open them, they start acting like any other food - they are only good for 3-5 days in the fridge, no longer. The expiration date doesn't matter for open foods.


When you simmer certain spices in fat and water, where do the spices/nutrients go? I'm referring to ingredients like cumin, coriander and tumeric.

If you have a fat and water mixture, both the fat and water will seperate i.e. fat moves to top.  Will these ingredients and their minerals concentrate in the fat or dilute in the water?

Chemically fat and water are much different.  Fat is an organic with very little polarity.  Water is a non-organic and very polar.

Polar means one side is positive and another side is negative. In water the oxygen is dominate and pulls in extra negative charge.

Most spice (if not all depending on your definition) is organic. Spice will concentrate in fat. If you don't have enough fat the spice will just fall out of solution and be a solid at the bottom of the pot.

Salt dissociates into positive and negative ions is soluble in water as what happens is negative oxygen in the water hugs the positive (NA) and the hydrogen hugs the negative (CL). Again if you don't have enough water (huggers) the salt will just fall out as a solid.

I know a strange analogy. Alcohol is out of your system in 24-48 hours as it is not fat soluble. Marijuana is organic (spice like) and is fat soluble. It can be detected up to 30 days.


Why doesn't mayonnaise taste like pure oil? The mayonnaise I tried making myself today (first try ever) wasn't entirely bad but there was something off-putting to the taste too, as if eating a spoon of pure oil. Now if I had never had store-bought mayo I would think that's normal, considering that by far most of what goes into making mayo is pure oil. But I don't recall experiencing a similar off-putting taste in any store-bought mayonnaise, including the one I have in the fridge at the moment. So why is it that mayo (at least store-bought) doesn't seem to taste like pure oil?

My current hunch towards explaining this (after some Google'ing) is the following. Mayonnaise is an emulsion of a large amount of small drops of oil in a small amount of something watery (vinegar, lemon juice, …). The bigger the drops, the more the mayo still resembles pure oil, and hence tastes and feels like it in your mouth. Conversely, the smaller the drops, the less it resembles pure oil and (for some reason I don't understand) it tastes different or just gives a different mouth feel. Does that make sense? It would mean that next time I try to make mayonnaise I should whisk it more vigorously to get smaller drops of oil? Does that mean mayonnaise is better if you make it with a blender, as it's easier to get smaller drops?

I also considered it might be that I just don't like the taste of the oil I used ("salad oil", the fine print says it's "100% canola"). But I don't think that's it, considering that another store-bought mayo which I like is also made with canola oil (found the ingredient list online, the store-bought mayo I have in the fridge right now is another brand which vaguely says "vegetable oil" in the ingredient list).

Starting from the basics: Mayonnaise, as you know, is a combination of water-based liquids, water-soluble ingredients, and lipids (fats/oils). Since water and lipids are immiscible, that makes mayonnaise an emulsion.

Because the droplets (of fat) suspended in an emulsion are not actually dissolved, the properties of that emulsion depend entirely on the size of those droplets and their dispersion.  The most likely reason that your mayonnaise tasted like oil is that it actually was pure oil in spots.

The technical term for this is flocculation.

(source: Cube Cola)

This is probably what happened to you - it's possible that if you had really poor dispersion, you might have even been closer to the "coalescence" stage.

To use a more tangible example, consider what happens when you dissolve flour or corn starch in cold water, then heat it.  The starch gelatinizes and you end up with a fairly uniform, thick paste.  Now think of what happens if you toss it into hot water; you'll tend to end up with something that isn't uniform, instead you'll end up with big globs of cooked flour floating around in thin, cloudy water.

Keep in mind that the chemistry is completely different with an emulsion - in fact, there technically is no chemistry happening with an emulsion until emulsifiers come into the picture - but the concept is the same.  You might not be able to see those globs of oil floating around in the water as well as you can see the globs of flour, but if you didn't get proper dispersion and suspension, they're there, and they will taste exactly how you'd expect a glob of pure oil to taste.

Traditional mayonnaise uses raw egg yolk (containing lecithin) and mustard (containing mucilage), both of which act as emulsifiers.  These are called "emulsifiers" mainly because they help the emulsion to stay stable, which is why the store-bought mayonnaise doesn't separate (it also probably has a few extra additives).  However, they aren't all that helpful for getting that initial dispersion; the most efficient way to do that is to let small drops of oil into a liquid that is being constantly and uniformly agitated.

You can do this by stirring, but an even better way is to use an immersion blender with emulsifying blade.  Note that this is not the flat aerating blade that is often confused with the emulsifying blade, nor is it the star-shaped liquefying blade that is the default on most sticks and many manufacturers confusingly call an "emulsifying" blade.  The one you want looks a bit like a hubcap; it's flat with several slits or holes and is sometimes also called a "smoothie blade" or "whisk blade":

or

(the one I'm talking about is the bottom left)

These things are perfect for preparations like mayonnaise, but if you don't have one, you can get halfway decent results with a wire whisk.  You'll just need to use a lot of elbow grease.

If you get really good dispersion, and use sufficient emulsifiers such that the emulsion doesn't separate too fast, then I promise you, your mayo won't have that "fatty" taste and it will be 1000 times better than the store-bought goop.


Oxtail soup - oxtail tightened up during simmering? I've been hungry for a light oxtail soup, and managed to find some (around 1.5lb) frozen at the butcher. I'm aiming for light flavor to go alongside leeks and bulgar, so I figured I would simmer the oxtails until they fall apart, pull out the bones and simmering veggies, and then add sweated leeks and bulgar and reheat.

I let them thaw for 2 days, and then earlier today put them on a baking sheet for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, turned, and did another 10 minutes to lightly brown.

Afterwards I put them in a slow cooker with some veggies, 4 cups of water, 2 cups of beef bullion, and 1 cup of cream sherry, and set it to a low heat. to start simmering. I am planning to simmer for around 20 hours, but at about 5 hours in the oxtail chunks are still very tight - think the texture of a steak that's been cooked, put in a refrigerator and then reheated. I know I have another 15 hours to go, but still, I would have thought I'd see it breaking down a little bit more by now. I didn't try and slice off any of the meat from the bone, so maybe that is it?

Did I do something wrong, or am I jumping the gun timewise? Candid feedback is appreciated!

A common braising time for oxtails would be on the order of 2-4 hours.

Oxtails are a tough cut of meat, with a lot of connective tissue made of a protein called collagen.  It needs to cook in a hot, moist environment in order to hydrate into gelatin.

This process happens over time and temperature.  Typically, braising is on the order of 200 degrees F (93 C), give or take, in order to get the expected tender product in the expected time.

If your oxtails have not become tender already in the 5 hours you have already given them, perhaps your slow cooker's low setting is not hot enough.  This is of special concern because you also want it to be at least 140 F (60 C) for safety.

I strongly urge you to use an instant read thermometer and measure the temperature at several places within the pot.  If it is not above the safety threshold, you should discard the contents, which would have been essentially incubating for the entire time.

If it is lower than the desired braising temperature, you can try your high setting, or transfer your braise to the oven (if the crock is oven safe, or in another covered oven safe pot such as a dutch oven).  Oven braising is usually done at about 350 F (180 C), which should bring the contents up to the desired braising temperature.

In any case, an expected cook time of 20 hours seems excessive by a factor of about 4 times.

Note also:  if your goal is to produce beef stock for the soup rather than tender, delectable meat, you want the temperature up around a slow simmer, which is about 200 F (93 C), although at the end, the flavor will have gone from the meat into the broth.  Even for stock making, I cannot imagine a cook time being required in excess of more than 8-12 hours.


Why is my fresh tofu fa (douhua) sour? I made some fresh tofu fa following this recipe: http://ieatishootipost.sg/how-to-make-tau-huay-tofu-fa-almost-everything-you-need-to-know/

When I eat the tofu (about half an hour after pouring, so it just set), the tofu is sour, especially at the bottom.

I followed the recipe, but used gypsum instead (2 tsp).
The soybeans were soaked overnight, then shelled, and thinking it might have been my water, I used bottled spring water.

I've read that lactone can make the tofu sour, but I used food grade gypsum.

Quality of the beans aside, it's likely that you soaked your beans for too long and they have started to ferment. Gypsum is basically tasteless so it should not have an effect on the taste.

When soaking soybeans for soymilk you will want to soak them for no longer than six hours (four in the summer or areas with high humidity). If you soak them for too long, they will start to ferment (thus producing the sour taste), which is likely to be the cause of the sour taste. If you may also want to consider soaking them in the refrigerator to prevent fermentation.

Consider tasting the soymilk batch you produce to ensure that the beans you used has not started to ferment.


Is 'Pizza yeast' any different than normal baking yeast? A friend (Italian) mentioned that she uses 'Pizza Yeast' for making pizza, and one can't use normal yeast or it'll "grow too much".. I looked around the internet for "Pizza yeast" and all I found was people saying that it was a marketing gimmick and it was just normal instant yeast.

So here's my questions, is there anything special in "Pizza yeast" or can we just use normal yeast (in lesser amount of course) and achieve the same??

From what I can find, it contains 'dough relaxers' so you can shape the dough without it springing back. It also claims you don't need to let it rise, but it then tells you to bake your pizza for 30 minutes! So it essentially rises in the oven.

Compare this to 'proper' dough which you let rise for a couple of hours, pull into shape and then bake in a screaming hot oven for 5 minutes tops. It strikes me that using pizza yeast is 'pizza for dummies'; claiming 'it stops it rising too much' is nonsense because if the amount of yeast is correct in your recipe you control the rise anyway.

So it depends on whether you like doing things easy or doing things right. You can bet your pepperoni slices they don't use 'pizza yeast' in Naples. Personally I cheat just a little and use dried fast-action yeast as it has a longer shelf-life and you don't fuss around proving it, and my pizzas come out great.


How can I fix my parsnip puree? So I've been trying to up my cooking/plating game.
I see that in many Michelin Star restaurants it's almost a meme to plate some protein on a vegetable 'puree' base, put some flowers and greens on top, and maybe some herb oil.
So I found some parsnips in the store, and I made a parsnip puree after looking at a couple of youtube videos.
I basically used ~500g Parsnips, 4 chopped cloves of garlic, ~365ml Half and Half, and ~50g Butter, along with a bit of salt. After bringing it all to a boil, I simmered it until the parsnips were fork-tender and simply blitzed it in a blender until I got a smooth puree.
I served this by putting some sautee'd fish on top. Very simple just to see how the flavor combo worked.
I think I messed up by using Parsnip Puree instead of Cauliflower Puree - the parsnips are pretty earthy. While it worked with the fish, it wasn't as smooth as I would have liked.
It's definitely easy to play around with on the plate for nice platings/smears, but I'm just not sure if I love the flavor by itself. Very earthy - I mean, it tastes like parsnips - so I'm wondering how to fix this.
Should I add something crazy into it like a fortified chicken broth/demi glace?
Is it better with meats?
Does it need to go with an acidic sauce?
Any ideas?

It doesn't even necessarily need to be a "pairing" but something that you can add to your existing puree to improve it.
I think you're on the right track with acid -- it's often overlooked in how it can brighten up otherwise dull & muddy flavors.  You might try adding some lemon juice, vinegar, or even a prepared mustard.
I generally don't cook only turnips, so I'm not sure what's best in this case ... I'll do a variety of root vegetables, like carrots, potatoes, turnips, and onions.  You can also look to recipes like colcannon or stamppot and mix in some cooked dark greens.  You can then serve it with or mix in some sort of processed pork product like cooked sausage, bacon, or ham.  (I wouldn't go with just any type of meat ... I think the salt & maybe the fat are the key here, as both can help mask bitter flavors).
If you're boiling the vegetables to make a mash, I'll also toss in a few garlic cloves, and mash them in with everything else.  After the fact, you might try mixing in some chives or if it's still hot, some finely minced scallions or shallots (so they're cooked slightly in the hot mash)
You might also look to where the puree / mash is used as an ingredient in some other dish ... I would think that a shepherd's pie / cottage pie could be really good with a turnip puree on top.


Precautions making carpaccio I saw in TV chefs making carpaccio.

They get a nice raw meat and fillet them in thin pieces.

Then they make a sauce and side dishes.

Isn't eating this raw meat dangerous?

Well, I usually add quite a lot of fresh lemon juice on it. This acid environment should kill most pathogens. However, you have to use the most fresh meat possible, when I eat raw meat (very common in Italy) I eat it the same day I bought it from the butcher.

Tell to your family butcher that you're going to do carpaccio (or generically that you will eat it raw), so that he can give you the appropriate cut.

Absolutely never use raw chicken or pork meat!


Overly salted sauerkraut I made two batches of sauerkraut. The first one turned out great and is already  canned.   In the 2nd batch I put too much salt, and it is not working as quickly as  the  1st.

What I was wondering: if I put a couple of raw potatoes in the overly salty batch, would it draw out some of the salt?

I'd actually add more cabbage rather than an entirely different vegetable.

Despite what grandma believed, potatoes are not this magic salt-absorbing sponge: the advice to add potatoes to oversalted foods stems from the fact that more food with the same amount of salt equals less-salty food. In other words, potatoes don't absorb salt, they dilute it; and pretty much anything you add to a dish will serve that same dilution purpose, as long as what you're adding doesn't contain salt already. Thus, to dilute the salt in a vat of cabbage, I'd add more cabbage. Yes, this will result in some of the cabbage being more-fermented/softer than the rest, but depending on how long the sauerkraut has been going already, it may not be a noticeable difference in the finished product.

You can also try removing the salt by pouring off some of the brine that has developed and replacing it with water, but you'll be diluting the cabbage taste as well as the salt.

Another option is to just let the sauerkraut ferment, knowing that it'll take longer because of the increased salt levels, and when you're using it, rinse the bejeezus out of it.


How was Chinese Master Stock stored in olden days before refrigeration I've heard that some Chinese Master stocks are 100 years old. If so, how did they store their master stock before the refrigerator was invented?

The thing here is to use the stock often. Add to it often with other juices. Keep it at or above 160f. Filter often to keep impurities out. At 160f bacteria does not form in it. If let set bring to boil. Skim & filter. The cook stoves or heat never shut off.  If stoves ovens cooled to fast they could crack. So were always kept warm. Then came refrigeration. Modern ovens & stoves. Brick & stone stoves are like that. It takes 3 days to bank down the heat before you can cool them or they crack or fall apart. Fire clay. Turn of the heat cool fast. The clay will turn to powder. So to use the banked down heat. overnight sauces could be kept warm. Meat slow cooked in them at night. To use that heat.


Do vegetables ripen like fruit? This may be a silly question, but I've never seen an unripe vegetable. Is the growing of a vegetable different from a fruit's? I could pick a carrot up from the dirt whenever, and eat it, but I would never do that to a strawberry.

Also, is it dangerous to eat particular vegetables (potatoes, I believe) before they're fully grown?

Vegetables don't ripen. Carrots, potatoes, leafy greens, etc...

They will get bigger of course and some veggies will get more bitter or woody with age. Greens will get bitter.

Generally speaking veggies are better young. Carrots are particularly sweet and tender when young. Potatoes are also perfectly fine at any size.

The possible exceptions would be the fruits that are labelled vegetables for cooking purposes like some squashes and tomatoes. These do need to be ripe and whether they can be ripened after picking will depend on the plant.


What is this sauce-making technique called? My mother was not the best cook, well she cooked because she needed to, but I don't think she ever enjoyed it. One of the things she did was if she was making sauce, is to take a spoonful of margarine or butter and use a fork to knead a little bit of flour into the fat.

She would then slowly add milk to the butter paste to get the thickness she wanted, and then flavour it depending on what sauce she wanted to make.

Is there a name for this? Was she making a roux or a beschamel without even knowing what either is? Is this a French technique?

If she was doing this in a pan on the heat (melting the butter, stirring in the flour, then adding milk), this is called making a roux, then a béchamel. If, instead, she kneaded the flour and butter 'cold', then added this to a hot liquid, it is called beurre manié. Notice that in both cases, the sauce is heated. From your question I could not tell if, and at what point, your mother introduced heat to the butter-flour(-milk?) mixture.


How to prepare celery for dipping? I like celery with dips (e.g. blue cheese or ranch dip) but I am not sure what is the best way to prepare the celery petioles: Of course I clean them. I also remove the very lower, white parts (which are often more dirty and spotted) but what else? Remove the leafy top parts? What bothers me the most is the strings. Sometimes they are OK, sometimes they are annoyingly hard to chew. How to know? How to remove them?

It's all edible, of course.  So, much if your treatment is personal preference.  I find that the outer stalks are typically more stringy than the inner ones.  You can use a vegetable peeler to remove a layer of strings from the stalks.  That can help.


What kind of cooking knife is this? In a show (One Piece), the character uses the following kitchen knife. I've never seen anything like it before; what is it?

Here it is in action:

An ulu knife

That looks like a variant on an ulu knife, a knife whose blade is below the handle.


What is the fastest way to cool hot soup? I am making vegetable soup for about eight people and would like to cool it in little time. Refrigeration seems to be a good choice, but I would like to know if there are better methods/techniques out there.

Ice bath.

Put a bunch of ice in your sink or in a container large enough to place your soup pot in.  Add enough water to cover the ice.  If the soup pot is large or wide, you can speed up the cooling by periodically stirring it: this is particularly important for thicker soups or stews, where the middle section of a pot can stay warm for a long time.  Or, for maximum cooling, break up the soup into smaller -- preferably more shallow -- containers first and then place them in the ice bath (though this isn't generally necessary if you're using ice).

If you don't have that much ice, you can use a cold tap water bath to at least get it down to near room temperature before refrigerating.  But you will need to replace the water frequently for fast cooling.

(Unless you're breaking up the soup into smaller containers first, I would strongly recommend an ice bath over simply putting a large pot in the refrigerator.  It can take many hours for the contents of a large pot to cool completely in a refrigerator, which can be a food safety hazard.  If you do use the refrigerator alone, put into smaller containers and don't stack them to allow air circulation, and obviously don't place them next to highly perishable foods like raw meat, etc.)


Finding the right cooking classes? I'm new to this whole cooking business. Not - can only cook spaghetti bolognese new. More - "Frozen pizza? Nope - that's hard. Order in".

However - there's hope for me yet! I recognize how much of a life skill cooking is and before I  get too far along in this whole aging process I should really start acquiring it.

I've started looking around at cooking classes in my area but from what I've seen everything appears to assume some prior knowledge and is specializing in dishes from some country or other that the West thinks themselves better than.

What kind of classes are appropriate for me? Is there a 'term' for basic cooking classes that I'm missing (I did try searching for "basic cooking lessons" but Google in all its power returned nothing).

How do I learn these utter basics so I can start enjoying food I've prepared, not purchased?

Cooking classes aren't the only way to learn cooking - in fact, they're a relatively expensive way to go about it, especially as it's hard to introduce all the various techniques in one lesson.

There are any number of beginner's cook books out there that introduce basic concepts and techniques extremely well. There are masses of videos on YouTube covering just about every cooking topic and recipe*. Food blogs abound online. Check them all out, start with basic things like sauteeing onions, boiling eggs etc, and take it from there. I know this works, because it's pretty much what I did (though I started before I had the benefit of YouTube).

Another good way of learning is to find a friend who does cook and help them out chopping veg etc, and have them talk you through a basic recipe (like spaghetti bolognese) as they go. And of course, you can always ask the wizened sages of Seasoned Advice.

If you do decide to go for cooking classes, don't discount those focusing on a specific cuisine; food has to come from somewhere, and they all use the same basic set of techniques. There's only so many ways you can chop and heat foodstuffs after all. I started cooking by learning how to make a decent Chinese stir fry, for example.

*I realise I recommended YouTube in my answer to your other question, but it is a great resource. I don't work for them :)


Naan without tandoor? I miss Indian food and especially good naan bread. I haven't really tried it, but I wanted to test if it's possible to make naan without a tandoor? Has anyone tried this, do you have some good tips and do you manage to make it just as good as the naan you get in India?

Never having been to India, I've only had naan from Indian restaurants and frozen from the supermarket. That said, I have made it with some success before.

The best method I've used is to grill (American) it. You can do it with a gas grill (barbecue) set to high, or with the hottest of hot charcoal. It doesn't quite approach the 900 F (480 C) typical of a tandoor, but it's close, especially with charcoal. Simply oil the grill and do 2-3 minutes per side.

The next best method I've tried is using a pizza stone in a blazing hot oven. The cook times are similar.


What's are the benefits of different sourdough starter consistencies? Is there any real differences between keeping a sourdough starter at a thick dough like consistency compared to a more watery consistency? Aside from the general thoughts of thicker being easier to keep.

Since a starter is actually a symbiotic mixture of microorganisms, factors like hydration level can change the balance of bacteria and yeasts. Depending on which organisms are favored, it can change the flavor, gas production, etc. They're not necessarily "benefits", but different consistencies can definitely produce different starters. The biggest and most consistent difference that I can think of would be that wetter starters are usually more active.


Cutting sugar in savory butternut squash dishes In making savory dishes--specifically ravioli or soups, I find the sweetness of the butternut squash to be a little much.  I typically roast the squash with onions, and this only concentrates the sugars.

What are my options for adding something to reduce the (for me) overpowering sweetness of these dishes?

Ruth Lively at Fine Cooking has a similar problem and suggests:

  Orange or lemon juice (or zest) adds brightness and zing. A splash of    vinegar helps, too.
  Tomatoes, which are both sweet and acidic, make a bridge for    full-flavored squash dishes.
  Sharp cheeses like Asiago, Parmesan, feta, and goat cheese lend a    salty note and highlight the nutty side of squash’s flavor.
  Robust herbs, such as sage, rosemary, and thyme, work with the earthy    qualities of the squash, yet still offer an assertive
  contrast    to    its sweet side, too.
  Bold spices like cumin, coriander, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, ginger,    and curry have a natural affinity to squash, making the perfect
  bridge from earthy to intriguing.

You may also consider substituting a differing squash; Royal Oak Farm Orchardhas a nice guide (pdf) to many squashes and includes sweetness among the descriptions.


Since when have eggs in the UK said "at home, refrigerate" (and why)? Eggs in the UK (and most if not all of Europe) are sold at ambient temperature.  This question is specifically in this context.

When putting a box of eggs away in the cupboard yesterday I noticed that they were supposed to be refrigerated.  This makes no sense as they're sold at room temperature with a single date given as "best before/display until", i.e. they could be kept at room temperature in the shop until the only date given (which was about 10 days after I bought them).  In practice, in a cupboard, they are fine several weeks longer than this.  I tend to buy rather large boxes as I like to have enough to make a large omelette if I want a quick dinner; they also work out cheaper that way.  The previous box, from a different supermarket, had similar text.  I don't plan to keep them in the fridge, but if there's a good reason, I'll have to start buying smaller boxes.

So:

Has this been going on for years without me noticing?
Why can eggs be kept for day if not weeks in a shop at room temperature but not in a house?

Storing eggs in the fridge avoids temperature fluctuations, and ensures they are kept below 20°C.

I am happy to report that there exists the British Egg Information Service, who state:

  For optimum freshness and food safety, eggs should be kept at a constant temperature below 20°C. To avoid the typical temperature fluctuations in a domestic kitchen, we recommend that eggs are stored in their box in the fridge.

As for supermarkets storing eggs at room temperature:

  Most modern supermarkets are kept below 20°C so it is not necessary for retailers to store them in a fridge. This also prevents significant temperature fluctuations (for example eggs being moved from a fridge to a hot car after purchase).

Indeed, the British Lion code of practice - a scheme for ensuring the safety of eggs with the Lion mark in the UK - recommends that retailers store eggs at a consistent temperature below 20°C. It also looks like eggs won't usually be in the shop very long, as they say the display cabinets should ideally be cleared completely twice a week.

Personally, I've always thought that keeping eggs in the cupboard is fine but that they last longer if you put them in the fridge. Remember that passing the best before date only means that flavour and texture might not be as good; food can be past its absolute best but still be acceptable.

It's worth pointing out that eggs really must be kept in the fridge in some countries, for example the US. See the answer by Cos Callis.


What to look for when buying good quality loose black tea? What features should I look for when buying good quality loose black tea?

Every tea can have potentially various grades and different teas will have different qualities. I'm not sure what is available where you are, but if you're fairly new to drinking loose leaf teas, I'd for starters find a store that lets you see, smell and possibly sample various teas. Once you have a better idea of what you're looking for, then online dealers will be easier to navigate.

So, firstly, find a reputable store, one where they are knowledgeable about their product, and difference in grades.
Ask to smell the teas. Please DO NOT stick your head in the tea, waft it with your hands or the lid of the tin. If you like the aroma, it's a good starting indicator of how you'll like the tea.
Look closely, are the tea leaves fairly even in size? An unbroken leaf is generally graded higher than a leaf that is broken/crushed. Though since you're specifically asking about black teas, note that certain black teas are deliberately cut, to encourage a stronger flavour. If the leaves are torn, crushed, it may be a sign of a rough machine harvest, or poor handling. This could result in bitterness. The lower grades (small crumbs and dust) generally end up in tea bags. So, note that.
Most importantly, taste it! If the store offers a few different sampler sizes, go for that. Ask the people there, about how they'd recommend you prepare it. And try a few different kinds and grades.

Note, if you're new to loose leaf tea, it should taste different than what you're used to. Trust your taste buds and your nose first... Regardless of what it looks like and the price and what the description says, if you don't like the way it tastes & smells (which is often subjective) the rest is pretty meaningless.


Bad tasting avocados recently I'm new/ignorant to using avocados and never really enjoyed them until 3 months ago when I bought some on a whim. The avocados actually tasted great. They were creamy and had the consistency of butter. The seed was a bit of a pain to clean, as the skin around the seed would stick to the avocado, so I had to pick it out. Also the avocado skin would tear easily if I were to eat it with a spoon.

For the past week, the avocados I've been buying taste awful. It feels like I'm eating Aloe Vera or some other type of plant. The avocado is easy to clean (the seed pops out easily) but they taste watery, grassy and bland. It reminded me of why I didn't like avocados. Also they're not mushy/creamy like the previous ones I was buying. In fact, they're hard, even if they seem soft on the outside.

My question is, are these just bad/unripe avocados or are they a totally different type? If so, which are the nice type?

"Watery, grassy and bland" and "not mushy/creamy" (a.k.a hard) match my experience of avocados that aren't sufficiently ripe. An avocado should be very soft and creamy when it's ripe. (But not brown/grey/gross - that's over-ripe.)

At least in Israel, avocados are sold somewhat unripe, since that prolongs their shelf life, and because soft ripe avocados bruise much easier than rock-hard unripe ones. If you buy an avocado that isn't ripe yet, you should wrap it in some newspaper, and leave it out of the fridge until it's ripe. depending on how unripe your avocado is, that can take a week or more.

I'm afraid I don't know the names of American Avocado varieties, but my experience has been exactly the same with the green smooth-skinned elongated ones, small black rough-skinned ones that peel easily, and roundish, leathery-skinned green ones. When ripe, they all taste pretty much the same.


What do I do with the egg that contains a crack while curing in brine? I am making some salted eggs using a saturated brine solution. I just noticed one of the eggs has crack in it. Should I be worried? The recipe instruction says I should check if one of the eggs have a crack but did not specify why or what to do with it.

The instructions mean that the quality, safety, or both, will suffer when you use cracked eggs. You are expected to throw the cracked eggs out and go on with the whole ones.


Lack of structure in a no-knead pizza I hope this question is not too vague but let me try anyway. I followed a NK recipe for a pizza with the following baker's percentages

100% flour with 13% protein and W300/320 according to the manufacturer's website

75% water

0.2% dry yeast

2% salt

then some SF folds, 1hr at room temp, then 18h fridge and the last 4.5h again at room temp. The volume did increase compared to the day before, not too much but enough to make me decide to go forth and not tossing everything.

When I tried to stretch it on a surface dusted with semolina flour (see below), the structure seemed quite loose and, although I could move it from the working surface to the baking dish, I obtained some thin spots and a "mattress" effect in other points.

If this were a kneaded dough, one could say that the lack of structure is due to lack of mechanical work, but what can be said in the NK case?

Perhaps this flour couldn't make the whole water in a NK recipe, although I find online stories of people who make 80% hydration with it with no problem.

During the mixing,  I noticed was that the first 80% of the water could be mixed all right and when I finally added the remaining, the dough started to become suspiciously wet. But also I thought: it's a NK, it is supposed to be wet, right?

Moreover I wonder about the stretching technique itself. Many "roman style pan pizza" are about 80% hydration and are stretched out on a board dusted with semolina flour, then flipped to lose the excess flour and then moved to the sheet. It is exactly during this flip that I noticed how loose my dough was.
This technique is used for kneaded doughs, though.

In other NK recipe I execute, the dough is stretched directly on the baking sheet greased with oil. On one hand, in this way I have no clue how loose my gluten structure is, on the other, I don't make a mess and I can obtain a uniformly stretched pizza/focaccia. Comparing these techniques, does it make sense to say that the former is more indicated for kneaded doughs and the latter for NK?

To create gluten from glutenins and gliadins mechanical work is required. So if you want to stick with the NK approach, switching to an even stronger type of flour (Manitoba) or special purpose flour (e.g. Mulino Caputo Nuvola Super) might be your only option. But even then chances are high that the results will not be as good as they could be.


What is a "boned lamb leg"? I'm cooking a lamb recipe from Donna Hays' book "Fast, Fresh, Simple" and it calls for a "small boned leg lamb" (1.6kg). I saw "bone" and "lamb" and went out and bought a lamb leg roast on the bone.

What exactly is meant by "boned"? Does this mean the bone is removed? If so, how do I go about removing the bone from the steak I have, and should I butterfly it?

Also, the recipe recommends cooking for 25 mins at 350F after browning, but the piece I bought is 1.2kg with the bone in, so likely closer to 1kg with it removed. How should I adjust cooking time?

Thanks.

If a recipe asks for a boned piece of meat, this indeed means that the bone is removed. I think the easiest and cleanest way of doing this is just asking your butcher. As for doing it yourself, there a some videos available online, e.g. this one.

Since your meat is a bit smaller, I would suggest to lower the temperature a bit (to 340F) and leave it in the oven till you have a good internal temperature. I think it would take about 20-25 minutes, but this is just an estimate.


What is tofu that's crispy outside and fluffy inside called? I sometime eat asian dishes having tofu cubes. The tofu looks a bit fried, it is a bit crispy on the outside but quite soft and fluffy inside. I love this texture combo, I would eat a whole wok of it! Unfortunately I know neither how this kind of tofu preparation is called nor how it is made. What is the name of this preparation style so I can learn how to make it myself?

Traditionally, it's first dropped into boiling water & allowed to sit as the water cools for 15 minutes before drying off & deep frying.

There's a 'cheat' method, though.
Press to dry, sprinkle with a little cornflour & shallow fry, on its own. Add to the dish when cooked. Dress with anything you fancy - chilli, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar...
It's not quite the same as deep fried, but it's a whole lot quicker & easier.

Start with firm tofu; otherwise you'll have to give it the 15 mins in boiled water to firm it up.

Edit: The question changed direction slightly after I'd posted this - as to what it's called; other than 'deep fried' or 'crispy' tofu, I really don't know.


UK alternative to corn syrup? I've noticed that often when using recipes from the US that corn syrup is called for, and I was wondering what the best alternative to it would be to get in the UK?

I've heard some people saying that golden syrup is comparable, but when using it in cooking (particularly baking) it always seems to give a sticky / stodgy texture that I don't think is meant to be there?

Any ideas?

As far as I understand the basic chemistry, golden syrup should do well for you.

A different option is to dissolve a lot of sugar in some hot water and then to slowly reduce it to the right consistency, which should be more or less identical to corn syrup.


What should the consistency of the meat filling of moussaka be like? I intend on cooking a lamb moussaka (having never eaten one before); in planning to do this I've referred to numerous recipes. The meat filling of the moussaka seems to be it's most integral element however in looking at all these recipes I've been unable to reach any consensus as to how this should be cooked. The sticking point seems to be the choice of ingredients to cook the meat filling with. My options seem to be:

tomato passata/canned tomatoes/peeled tomatoes
tomato puree
or a combination of both.

I am under the impression that the meat filling in a moussaka tends to be less tomatoey and thinner than say a Ragu alla Bolognese meat sauce. When cooking a Ragu alla Bolognese meat sauce you're aiming for a nice thick consistency with caramelisation of the tomatoes in the sauce.

I feel that cooking moussaka meat filling with tomato passata/canned tomatoes will result in the meat sauce being similar to that of a Ragu alla Bolognese. Is this desirable for moussaka?

Can someone tell me the consistency I should be striving for?

From my travels in Greece I can say that it's 100% dependent upon taste.  I've had it many different ways.  In some restaurants it's so thick that the servings sit like a block on your plate and some that the filling was quite runny and there are staunch defenders and critics of both.

As with most traditional dishes there are as many variations as there are cooks who prepare it.

The traditional recipe calls for chopped tomatoes to be mixed with the aubergine(eggplant) and meat and spices and reduced to the desired consistency.


Blender part in dishwasher, poisonous? I washed a part that should not be washed in the washing machine. Now the metal part is no longer shiny and gives off an oily substance. How dangerous can this be? In terms of toxins and to the other things in the dishwasher? I did a quick wash without soap after I found out.

Edit:
Awaiting answer from tech support, they might have to ask the factory. I think its strange that the inside of the cog is covered in oil, if its from the part above. There is no visible oil on anything else, even on the plastic or the blades. I think it may be a coating on the cog, reacting to water and soap, may be completely wrong here.

It seems that oil has been driven out of the bearings.

For getting rid of oil contamination, soap is actually very useful. One or two empty runs should certainly get rid of what is left in the dishwasher itself, even if the oil is not food grade - otherwise, everyone running a dishwasher professionally would have to be worried about someone having eg touched a cup or plate with motor oil on his fingers.

Check if the bearing still runs decently; it might be best to take the bearing apart and re-grease it (this one looks like it is designed to be taken apart) - check whether you can find a repair manual and/or advice from the manufacturer on what grease should be used here.

If you use any non-approved type of grease, pay heightened attention when using the blender - any strange noises, smoke, slowing down... mean turn it off now.


How can tuna/bonito be tested for histamine? I think I suffered scombroid food poisoning, together with some other people. I actually got the worst of it. The others experienced pain in the mouth. I had facial flushing and tachycardia as well.

This is not the first time this happens as we've experienced pain from both tuna and bonito. Both cooked and raw (tartar).

According to the Wikipedia, this can be due to inappropriate handling of the fish. I bought this last bonito from a fish shop five minutes walking away. I guess it's hardly likely that the error was on me, but I won't rule it out neither. My handling of the bonito was to cut it up, put it into a vacuum bag and freeze. The batch that made us ill was vacuum and unfrozen. I've got more tuna from the same batch in the freezer, so I'll have to throw that out. That's one shop where I'm not buying anymore.

Is there a way of testing for histamine to prevent future problems?

If you say that your handling of the fish was a 5 minute walk and to cut it up and freeze it, it is more than likely that the contamination occurred during the supply chain. Once the enzyme histidine decarboxylase has been formed, it can continue to produce histamine in the fish even if the bacteria are not active.

There are test kits available for checking histamine levels but they are intended for commercial use. http://www.noackgroup.com/Live/ProductCatalog_en.YoCms?GROUP=%24D_FAA_07_01#_1NEO9505 is one of the places that has them.


Can non-dairy creamer be used to make desserts like rice pudding? I've used Soy Milk before, but never tried Non-dairy creamers - any help?

What about other type of pudding?

I think it will work; you aren't really using any "fancy" properties of milk when you make rice pudding, it is mainly just serving as a liquid medium for the starch from the rice to thicken. Not saying it will taste great or be great for you, I think the soy milk, rice milk or almond milk would be more pleasant non-dairy choices, but I think it will work.


How did inventor Robert C. Baker bind breading to chicken? I read on Wikipedia that Robert C. Baker invented a revolutionary new way to bind breading to chicken, which also sticks on the chicken after it was frozen and heated again.

I can't find what this way is called and how it is done, does someone of you knows that?

From an article entitled The Forgotten Inventor Of The Chicken Nugget on BusinessInsider.com

  Baker’s prototype nugget, developed with student Joseph Marshall, mastered two food-engineering challenges: keeping ground meat together without putting a skin around it, and keeping batter attached to the meat despite the shrinkage caused by freezing and the explosive heat of frying. They solved the first problem by grinding raw chicken with salt and vinegar to draw out moisture, and then adding a binder of powdered milk and pulverized grains. They solved the second by shaping the sticks, freezing them, coating them in an eggy batter and cornflake crumbs, and then freezing them a second time to -10 degrees. With trial and error, the sticks stayed intact.


Is this wok nonstick? I bought was what I thought was a carbon steel wok, but after realizing that it's black color means it isn't a "classic" carbon steel wok, I am trying to find out what it is made out of :)

I am pretty sure that it is this product, which says it is a black oxide coating: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Fry-Pan-Chinese-Wok_254864972.html

Does this just mean it is preseasoned or is it possible this is Teflon/Xylan or something like that?  Anyway to tell if it has a coating or not?

I have a similar wok, I bought at Target. It was described as "seasoned". I thought I was buying a genuinely seasoned wok.

Nope. It was a black coating just like the one you linked to.

It's a non-stick coating. It worked well for a few meals, then it started to peel.

I used a plastic scrubby to clean the sauce that stuck to the pan, and it cut through the coating. From now on, I will not buy anything from Target. Lie to me one, and you are done.

I paid $80 for it a few years ago. $80 would buy a genuinely seasoned wok back then.


Cook a smoked ham and scalloped potatoes My ham is to bake for 3 hours at 375 and my scalloped potatoes are 400 for 55

Your question is a little bare, I'm going to assume you are asking whether you can cook these together, and if so which temperature you should pick. Keeping in mind you should take the ham out 30 minutes before you serve it to let it rest the potatoes will be in the oven for 30 minutes by themselves, so start the potatoes in the 375°F oven, then turn it up to 400 after the ham is out. A 25 degree difference isn't going to make much difference to your potatoes, maybe 5 minutes extra cooking time, if that.


Can I clean cast iron with a steel pad I used a Brillo pad on my cast iron skillet. It is seasoned, not enameled. I want to know if this could damage my cast iron skillet. Also can it be fixed?

I'm not finding an exact duplicate of this question, but you should read these related questions:

Cleaning Cast Iron
Scouring pads vs. Chainmail

So, the answer to the first part of your question is yes, a Brillo pad can damage your cast iron skillet.  If you scrub it for a short time, then it can remove the seasoning from the pan.  If you scrub it really hard, it can also scratch the iron underneath, since cast iron is softer than the steel and abrasives in the Brillo pad.

In response to the second part of your question, yes, you can recover it.  How difficult this is depends on how much scouring you did.  If you just removed seasoning, you'll need to do either a light seasoning or completely reseason the pan.  If you scrubbed through the seasoning and scratched the iron itself, then you'd need to sand the bottom of the pan before completely reseasoning it.

I recommend watching Kent Rollins' video series on caring for cast iron to avoid problems in the future.


Baked sweet potato french fries (chips) too soft, how to crispen? My first ever stab at french fries, and 20 minutes with olive oil and seasonings in the oven preheated at 450*F was not enough to make them crisp. They were cut thick.

Could I simply cook them longer to dry them up? They have the texture and consistency of a baked potato.... except the skins are crisp

You can try a few things:

dredge the fries in cornstarch (whack them in a plastic bag, give it a good shake), shake off the excess, then season.
ensure the fries are in a single layer in the pan - crowding and stacking will mean they steam, not roast
when they're nearly done, turn the oven off and leave them in there for 20 minutes or so before serving.

I would also avoid cutting them thick. They should be french fries, not steak fries.


Is it possible to fry breaded or flour covered chicken with only butter? I understand that I would be using a lot of butter, but my only concern would be burning the milk solids.

So would clarifying the butter be key?

Would it take better than using oil?

Yep, you can fry anything in just butter. You only need to know that whole butter has a lower smoke-point (~350F,177C) than a lot of other oils, so it needs to be done a bit slowly.

See this Smoke Point Chart: (the last column involves fatty acids, not relevant here)

Higher smoke points of course mean the oil can get hotter without burning. For what it is worth, slow frying in butter is often an awesome way to cook anything. It tastes great.

Clarifying butter brings the smoke point up to over 400F (205C), but you sacrifice some flavor that way. Exactly how hot you can get clarified butter (or unclarified butter, for that matter) depends upon several factors, including how it is manufactured and/or clarified.

If you're looking for breaded, bone-in fried chicken ala KFC, don't try to use butter, it would be problematic to keep the breading adhered at such a low temperature. It would have to fry for a very long time. I suspect the breading would get greasy and fall off. Plus, that much butter would be really expensive for cooking oil that can't handle multiple uses.

If you are looking to deep fry whole (bone in) breaded chicken thighs, for instance, it's pretty much unheard of (but not impossible) to do it it butter. However, butter can be great for breaded, boneless chicken breasts.


"Cloth" that's edible (or even better, yummy)? For the birthday of a keen sailor I want to make a a yacht-shaped cake, ideally with a sail rigged (not least because with my rather limited cake-creating skills it will reduce the risk that it gets mistaken for a radio mast, unusual stick insect, etc...) An inedible sail seems too much like cheating (taken to the logical conclusion I could just put chocolate icing on a toy boat), a sheet of gelatin or rice paper would be technically edible but not very festive to eat, and my other idea of a thin layer of hard toffee seems poised between being soft enough to sag/collapse and hard enough to be dangerously fragile.

So the properties I think I need for the sail are:

about 30cm high, 20cm wide (i.e. a triangle formed from folding an A4 sheet of paper)
strong enough to support its own weight for a few days
light enough to be supported by an edible mast (I hope to use one or more chocolate Mikado sticks for this: yet to perform the delicious process of determining their load limits)

You can press cotton candy into a thin sheet that resembles paper or cloth. Put the candy between two pieces of parchment, flatten it with your hands and cut into shape. Consider that the sail may be delicate or very delicate, depending on how thick you make it. To attach it to the mast use caramel, isomalt, couverture, marzipan ...

El Bulli used to serve 'Flower Paper' made with this technique. Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLpTCN9pT2Q to see a Demonstration (Flower Paper starts around 6 min 30 sec).


Balsamic vinegar reduction The balsamic vinegar reduction that I made a few months ago has solidified. It has been refrigerated. Can I heat it to liquefy it and still use it?

Balsamic vinegar should not need storage in a refrigerator, just in a cupboard away from light and in an air tight container.

I would warm the balsamic vinegar by leaving it to warm in at room temperature, covered with a tea towel. If you want to speed up this process I would suggest putting it into a pan or warm water and then reduce it again.


How long will a Thai dressing keep in the fridge? I use a dressing made from:

60ml fish sauce
juice of 1 or 2 limes
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 clove of garlic
3 fresh red chillis

How long will this keep safely in the fridge?

I have reviewed the answer to How long will homemade salad dressing stay good in the fridge? but chose to list the specific ingredients as it seemed the presence or absence of certain ingredients would change the answer.

This particular dressing, unlike others that carry a botulism risk, only contains water soluble components. Oxygen will always be able to dissolve in here and prevent the botulism conditions, unless there is a TON of garlic at the bottom.

Garlic botulism risk comes from creating an anaerobic environment, where the bacteria can act under a protective blanket of oil, without oxygen from interfering.

The components you mention all are used in other instances to retard bacterial growth. Low pH for acid, sugar, and no oil. I do not have good data on whether capsaicin is a preservative, but it is certainly not a big risk.

Over time, since these components are exposed to Oxygen, there will be degradation of the flavors due to oxidation, but there is very little food safety hazard. The 60 mL fish sauce is so salty that bacteria don't stand a chance.

I keep, and have an Indonesian friend who has a similar jar out at room temp all the time. Lime rinds and garlic peels and odds and ends in that category go in it all the time and it is a staple.

That all being said, every precautionary guideline will say to follow temperature danger zone recommendations, so we also have to understand our bodies and immune systems.


Ate raw beef patty that I microwaved for 2 mins first, Is it safe? I was given this Great Value brand beef patty from a person who didn't like them.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-100-Pure-Beef-Patties-8-lb-32-Count/10804578

I don't have a grill or stove so I decided to just microwave them. I did 1 min each side. It was brown and tasted fine.

Just want to be sure this is safe before doing it again. Also if anyone else does this, please explain your process.

You can cook meat products in a microwave, and be safe, but you need to make sure they're fully cooked.

Microwave ovens vary a lot in both their power output and how evenly they cook, so 2 minutes may not really be enough to be certain of cooking thoroughly. Next time I suggest you cut it in half when you think it's done, and check that the middle is both brown and very hot to touch. A thermometer would be the gold standard, but you're  not running a restaurant, you're feeding yourself with limited equipment. If in doubt, cook a little longer, and you'll know for the future. Repeat the test if you cook extra another time.


Proper storage of Kiwi I bought some kiwi fruit on Friday ( 2 days ago) and left them in the plastic bags from the store... the fruit and veggie plastic at the grocery store . I also had them tied so no air was actually able to get to them. I was going to put them in a bowl when I got home bc that's how I usually store them but I forgot. It says to store them in plastic with ventilation or in a paper bag or fridge. Will the kiwi I have still taste decent or ? I didn't know the reasoning or if keeping it in a bag like I did with no oxygen is bad .  They look alright but I wasn't sure if their was other reasons they would be bad . Any help or suggestions ?

You're right that a sealed plastic bag wasn't ideal. But if they still look and feel okay, no obvious spoilage, no dark and squishy spots, then you've gotten away with it and they're probably fine.

As with most fruit, storing without ventilation can definitely encourage kiwis to overripen and spoil faster, and they're a relatively sensitive fruit especially once ripe. So I wouldn't have been surprised if yours had fared badly, but on the other hand if they started out underripe and the room wasn't that hot, I'm not surprised if they're still okay.

Sounds like you already know what to do, though: the fruit bowl is good, at least until they're ripe, and once they're ripe the fridge can hold them longer before going bad.


Why didn't my cheesecake bites come out right? I used cream cheese, condensed milk, sugar and vanilla extract and some chopped oreos to make Oreo cheesecake bites. The crust was an actual Oreo. I baked this for an hour and when I took it out it wasn't sweet and it didn't come out like a cheese cake. It wasn't creamy like a cheesecake and it was a little bit hard on top. What did I do wrong? Please help

My immediate response would be that an hour for cheesecake bites seems to be way to long. The smaller your baked goods are, the faster they bake. I
I would lower the baking temperature slightly and reduce the time by at least half and test fro there.

If they are baked as a pan and cut, then the oven itself might be running hot, and you may want to check if it is accurate. Again try baking at a lower temp, cheesecake does well at lower temperatures. Could even try baking them in a water bath to keep them from getting to hot.

As to it not being sweet enough, the simple fix is to increase the sugar.


What plants have the most oil? I was looking into making my own vegetable oil, something exotic they don't have on store shelves.

So my question: Which plants, or what kind of plants, can you extract the most oil from? Would it be ones with low water content, or is it more complex than that?

Some background

Unlike animals, which have large amounts of fat and related substances throughout their body (cholesterol for example is a major part of the animal cell wall, the insulation of nerves also contain lots of fat), plants have cellulose based cell walls and very little fat in most of their tissues. They use fat mostly for energy storage for their seedlings, and sometimes to bribe animals towards their seeds. So, meaningful amounts of oil are practically always restricted to the seeds, with some exceptions (olive, avocado) found in the fruits. Fat does exist in other parts of plants, but in miniscule amounts.

The economics of oil making

Traditionally, oil has been made by pressing. For this, people used edible seeds, preferring those which are rich in fat, large, and easily separated from non-seed matter. That's how you get traditional oils like sunflower, walnut or peanut. With industrialization, seeds as byproducts of other food became available (e.g. rice bran or grape seeds) and methods were developed for getting oil out of seeds which are lower in them, for example chemical extraction. So the palette of available oils grew. Nowadays, you also get speciality oils which are not traditional, for example argan oil and pine nut oil. They tend to cost more because 1) there are no economies of scale, 2) there is less demand, and 3) the traditional oils are the low-hanging fruit in yield.

By the way, even though you tagged this with "vegetables" and stores use "vegetable oil" as a catchall term for different oils, the oil is not made from the plant parts we eat as a vegetable. Corn oil, safflower oil, etc. are all made from the seeds, not from the green parts of the plant you would usually cook as a "vegetable".

Making oil at home

You obviously cannot start a huge production with hexane extraction and whatnot, so you will have to keep to traditional methods, which is basically pressing. This can be fun, but you also have to consider what it is not:

it is not going to save you money. Because of the logistics involved and the economies of scale for industrial producers, the seeds used for 1 liter of oil will cost you more than buying one liter of oil of the same time. That's before you start counting opportunity costs.
it is not going to be convenient. The logistics of having a large oil press sitting around, or dealing with large amounts of raw material and spent pomace for small amounts of oil, or spending time to make the oil, are considerable.
it will not give you access to more exotic oils. As discussed above, with home methods you are constrained to certain oils, and these are the same oils which have been popular since preindustrial times and thus widely available. Even when you think of plants which have a good oil yield but are not traditionally used for oil, you only have to search a little bit online and you will find that the oil is probably easier to obtain than the raw material. Good examples are argan oil or hemp oil. If they seem costly, read the points above - they will be even costlier when you make them yourself.

I am not trying to tell you not to do it, but to point out the realities of doing it. If you still want to do it, go ahead - sometimes the joy of having learned something new, or of making the things you consume with your own hands is worth the hassle.

A rough list of good plants to use

I will restrict this one to nuts, because 1) it is much easier to obtain nutritional information for them than for other seeds, and 2) it is unlikely that you will find a good source for other kinds of seeds. So here is what a simple search on nutritiondata yields for nuts high in fat. Note that it is not perfect, because it depends to some extent on the preparation of the nuts. Also the categorization isn't perfect - the list includes some not-exactly-nuts like coconut and sunflower seeds, but not others like peanuts. Note that you can buy the oil from practically all of these. The ones I have not seen as oil are hickory nuts and butternuts, but I have never seen the actual nuts either, so I suspect that in areas where you can get the nuts themselves, you will probably also find the oil.

Macadamia
Pecans
Coconut
Pine nuts
Brazil nuts
Walnuts
Hickory nuts
Hazelnuts
Butternuts
Sunflower seeds
Almonds
Sesame seeds


What strategy can I use to identify a cookbook with a torn off cover? My mother left me a cookbook that is the most amazing one I have ever seen. It is approx 1700 pages, the last pages are missing on my copy. I remember the cover, which is long gone, was green. It is definitely American as it has instructions for dressing American game. Also includes canning, preserving and pickling. As well as freezing, menus, diet patterns, a homemaker's handbook for purchasing fruits and vegetables. Also instructions on stretching the food dollar. So my question is how or where can I find out the name of this cookbook?

You can find online copies of such cookbooks in Project Gutenberg, in the cooking section. For example:

The American Frugal Housewife, by Lydia M. Child
The Golden Age Cook Book
The Allinson Vegetarian Cookery Book, by Thomas R. Allinson.


Where can I find complex recipes? Very often when looking for recipes for something I want to try, I will only find "easy, ready in 20 minutes, one pot, etc." recipes. The problem is that I want to be challenged, I actively seek recipes that are NOT simple.

Where can I find recipes that dont cut corners to be simple?
Are there specific cookbooks known for this? Or websites?

If you truly want complex, I’d suggest the Alinea cookbook by Grant Achatz. This book highlights molecular gastronomy techniques  and recipes featured at his award winning restaurant in Chicago.

Another route to go would be to look for traditional recipes from different cooking heritages.  The James Beard Foundation will annually award the best cookbooks from around the world. These will be high-quality, no shortcuts, or traditional cooking.


Can oil be replaced with yoghurt in a cake recipe? A cake recipe is asking for "one cup" oil!!

I don't want to eat so much "oil", can I replace it with yoghurt or something else?

Short answer - not really. Fat is an essential component in any cake, and milk just isn't very fatty - about 5% for whole milk. You can make cakes with milk, but they require totally different recipes: you can't simply substitute milk for oil.

Bear in mind that you're distributing the cup of oil throughout a whole cake, so that any one slice will only have a fraction of the oil. I assume you'll also be sharing the cake with others, so you'll be 'spreading the calories' somewhat.

You should be using a neutral oil like canola (rapeseed) oil anyway, as it has a relatively mild flavour. A popular alternative these days is to substitute all but a couple of tablespoons of the oil with apple sauce (really), but this can be hit and miss and doesn't work with all recipes - it usually works best with things like quick breads (scones etc).

Of course, there's also the point that cakes are supposed to be a treat, and they'd be less of a treat without the fat, in which case why bother? If you want to be healthy, make a salad. If you want a treat, make a cake and don't worry about the contents too much.


Are meatballs different from Hamburgers other than in terms of size? The recipes in for meatballs and hamburgers have their variations, but a lot of overlap. Many look almost the same. Other than the cooking method and size, is there a fundamental difference that sets them apart?

In the US, hamburgers are usually flat patties weighing somewhere between 3 and 8oz. and typically 100% ground beef. Many variations are possible, including mixing spices and other ingredients into the meat, but binders such as egg and breadcrumbs are not common. The defining characteristics of a proper hamburger for most Americans are the shape (flat), approximate size, beef as the primary ingredient, and sandwich-style presentation. A ground meat patty not made from beef is likely to be named differently (lamb burger, turkey burger, etc., even though the name 'hamburger' has nothing to do with ham).

Meatballs are smaller (maybe 0.5 to 3oz), roughly spherical, more likely to be seasoned, much more likely to contain eggs and/or breadcrumbs as binders, made from just about any kind of meat, cooked differently, served differently.

Also, the cultural traditions surrounding each are completely different. Spaghetti with meatballs and tomato sauce is classic comfort food; spaghetti with hamburger is unthinkable. Meatballs are usually served in a sauce of some kind; burgers (beef or otherwise) are served on a bun or bread with mayo, ketchup, mustard, melted cheese, lettuce, tomato, and so on. Many people like their hamburgers (beef) cooked rare or medium rare, but meatballs are always fully cooked. Meatballs can be held at temperature for a long time, or even cooked, chilled, and reheated; only cafeterias and other low-quality, high volume restaurants would pre-cook and reheat a hamburger -- at home or at a good restaurant the burger would be served as soon as possible after cooking.


Is methyl cellulose edible? I blend methyl cellulose for cosmetic products (I use the fine powder). Is methyl cellulose edible?  I want to make an edible gel without sugar; just stevia and fruit flavours.

Methylcellulose is commonly used in molecular gastronomy to raise the freezing temperture of solids and liquids. Think piping-hot ice cream.

For the gel, you could use agarose (commonly agar) to create a jelly.

The other obvious choice for the gel would be gelatin. Buy plain gelatin at the store and have at it with the directions.

You can create a foam using either the gelatin or the agar and an N2O whipper. This is also called an espuma.

The third, more fun choice would be to get thee to an asian food store and buy and flavor some tapioca pearls.


Azuki Bean Substitute for Anpan I want to try to make anpan and I was planning to use this recipe for koshian for the anpan's filling. However, I do not have access to azuki beans. Is there another bean that I can use as a substitute?

There are many different kinds of "an" paste. Left unspecified, the generic type is "red beans", specifically azuki. I've found it pretty easy to find azuki beans in Germany, the US, Japan and Korea, so I can't imagine it being terribly hard anywhere else; in the US and Germany it was often sold by natural foods shops when there wasn't an Asian market nearby. The name was sometimes spelled adzuki.

One reasonable alternative is white navy beans, sometimes called cannellini beans in the US, or perhaps lima beans. Either one can be used to make "shiro-an", or white an. Mixed with salted cherry blossoms, shiro-an becomes sakura-an. Alternatively, it could potentially be flavored with sesame or something like the herb yomogi.

Another alternative is uguisu-an, which, as far as I understand, is made from green peas and generally has an improbably bright green color. The word comes from the Japanese word for nightingale, supposedly due to the visual similarity to nightingale poo. In the Japanese sources I have checked, it's not 100% clear to me whether one should be using dried or fresh/frozen shelled peas. It looks like there are precedents for both.

Fresh green soybeans (or frozen ones), known as edamame in Japanese, can be used to make zunda, which is from Sendai. I don't know how well zunda would stand up to baking, though, as I find zunda better suited for serving with mochi or shiratama dumplings.

In China, lotus seed paste, made from boiled ginko nuts and sugar, is also popular, and could be used in baked goods.


What does adding water during the cooking process do to a curry? I am learning how to make chicken tikka masala. Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_weLAzB1nFk.

In this video he adds water many times to the curry. Many of the other videos I watched I did not see them do this.

What is the effect of the water? Does it prevent the ingredients from burning, and then cook off by itself? Doesn't it dilute the flavor? If the heat is too high, can you reduce the heat and forgo using the water?

Firstly, a good rich curry can become too rich (too concentrated and even too salty) as you continue to cook it and water evaporates - that is, cooking reduces the curry.  Adding a little water can restore the balance. Yes, it “dilutes the flavour” but that may be desirable.

Secondly, keeping the water content of your curry up to a consistent level (not too much, not too little) throughout the cooking process does ensure gentle cooking. A little gradual reduction over the cook by evaporation is fine (if that’s what you need to achieve the flavour you are after) but you don’t want to take that too far. If the curry gets too reduced during cooking you begin to alter flavours - you will even see it beginning to brown. In the end, yes, it will begin to catch on the bottom of the pan and burn.


Should I drain water after I cook noodles in microwave? I have just cooked noodles in microwave. In some websites it says to drain water before eating it. Some doesn't say about draining water.

Should I drain the water as I have cooked it in microwave?

Do you like your noodles swimming in water? If not, drain them.


Is there any way to predict/calculate the pH level of a recipe when the level of individual ingredients is known? Is there some sort of math formula that can be used or is it
more complex than that?

Is it as simple as just adjusting for the different amounts of
ingredients and calculating the average pH? So a recipe with
100g of ingredient X with a pH of 3 and 200g of ingredient Y
with a pH of 6 would be (3 + 6 + 6) / 3 = 5? Or am I completely
off?

Short answer — it's definitely not that simple.  For one thing, the pH scale is logarithmic, not linear.  For another, almost every acid and base you're likely to encounter in a kitchen is “weak” - meaning there's an equilibrium between neutral and ionized forms. When diluted, the equilibria shift. When the temperature changes, the equilibria shift.  When mixed, the equilibria interact with each other.

If you're working for a big industry and filling railroad cars with your recipes, and doing the same reactions again and again, and trying to maximize profits, it could be worth doing the math. But for a small scale cook - you could probably get as far as accurately predicting the pH of a mixed drink, but not a lot further, I think.


How can you cook multiple omelets without burning them? Over the weekend, I was making omelets for 5 people in a single frying pan. The first few came out fine, but by the time I got to the fifth one...well, I'm glad that one was mine. The pan had gotten so hot that the eggs burned almost immediately, and while it was still edible, it certainly wasn't good.

How can I prevent the pan from overheating when cooking for multiple people? I've had this problem before with some other foods as well (e.g., quesadillas), but the problem is most pronounced with eggs, at least for me.

I have had the same issue when cooking lots of quesadillas, and have found the following combination of techniques to work quite well.

The obvious answer has been hit upon already, lower the heat. But I think that's missing an important aspect of the issue. What's happening is most likely that you are turning on the heat and then cooking your first omelet before the pan has actually reached temperature. Depending on the type of pan, it can take up to 5 mins for the pan to reach temperature. So, as you continue to cook, the pan is getting closer to temperature. Of course, each time you add more cold egg, the temp decreases again. So your heat is too hot, but it doesn't really become apparent until the last omelet. Rather than just starting at a lower temperature though, start at the same temp you tried and then turn down the temperature as you continue to cook.

The pan can also heat rapidly between omelets. Take the pan off the heat, swirl your butter or oil through it, add the egg, and then put it back on the heat. If it seems really hot when you add the egg, you can cook it for a second with just the radiant heat of the pan before returning to the burner. This will stop the pan from getting too hot between omelets.


What is the purpose of baking soda in chocolate-chip cookies? I thought baked goods which include baking soda should be put into oven immediately, otherwise they won't rise. But some cookie recipes call for cooling the dough in the fridge or even freezing it, which seems would negative the leavening properties of soda. Does it have other purpose or could it be left out?

Baking soda also raises the PH of the product resulting in better browning.

Soda can be left out. Many recipes- especially for chewier cookies- don't call for any leavening besides the eggs.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/the-chewy-recipe/index.html

Cookie recipes often call for the dough to be chilled so that it spreads less in the oven before it sets. This creates a taller, less crispy cookie. Cookie recipes don't typically have very much water in them for the soda to dissolve into. Much of the water is tied up in the butter and won't be available until the dough melts in the oven.


Three ingredient peanut butter cookies - how to improve texture I am Gluten free and I thought these looked good for peanut butter cookies:

peanut butter,
maple syrup
salt.

They really do bake up beautifully. However, they crumble on the way to your mouth.

I added egg.
Now the batter has become gummy and pasty.
I added baking soda.
While stirring in the baking soda the peanut oil separated from the peanut butter based cookie dough. I baked them and they are an interesting texture of tough and chewy.

What can be done to the original three ingredient cookie recipe that will make them not crumble so much, and not alter the entire texture to a totally different cookie. I think I have run out of options.

I use a recipe that is similar and have good results. I believe that I use 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 egg.

These turn out a very nice texture. If I were you I would sub some or all of the syrup for regular sugar to make it a bit dryer and make sure to add an egg.


Can you brine frozen meat? I want to brine a frozen chicken but I'm unsure if there is any reason why brining frozen meat is bad?

Can you brine frozen meat, or do you first have to defrost it before you can brine it, or does it not matter?

No, you can't.  Or at least, you won't get the result you're really looking for.

Water needs to be able to move through the meat for the salt and flavorings to be transported to the inner cells of the meat.  When the meat's frozen, you're dealing with ice crystals.

... that being said, you can thaw the meat in the brine if you're desperate, but you have less control to know exactly how much salt will be absorbed.  (and I vaguely remember another question on here about temperature & brining, and I seem to recall someone reported on experimental results that really cold brines didn't transfer flavors deeply into the meat.).


non stick presto electric skillet My skillet is dishwasher safe but it comes out with rust colored spots on the bottom.  The non-stick surface is rough and if I use a paper towel to wipe it down it leaves little pieces of paper behind.

Instructions say not to soak it. It has a sticky feel to it and patches that look and feel like burned on grease.

I feel like I have tried everything. Anyone have any suggestions for me?

A rough surface on a non-stick pan sounds like you have used oil or fat in it at a high heat

You do not need to use oil or fat in a non-stick pan, and doing so may result in the polymerisation of the oil or fat into a rough and tough surface

You can remove this by the normal use of a polyester scrubbing bad (green 3M pads) and dish soap. Normal non-stick surfaces are strong enough to resist polyester scrubbers, but polymerised oil is not. I use broad circular scrubbing patterns to avoid wearing out one spot when "fixing" a non-stick pan


How to optimize the order of ingredients for crêpes batter? I am French and I make every Sunday crêpes for breakfast. The crêpes are great (I am told :)) but I rarely manage to get a homogenous batter. First, the batter (NSFW :))

The clumps are not simply flour-based, my guess is that this is the butter clumping with flour, helped by the liquid (milk or milk + water, or milk + sparkling water).
I think this is the case because once I pour this liquid + white stuff on the pan, they disappear (= melt) and the resulting crêpe looks good (below the recto and verso):

The usual order I make the batter is:

egg + a bit of sugar
some flour to make a paste
melted butter
some more flour to make the paste
some milk, baking powder, liquid vanilla
some more flour
some more milk

→ the point is to keep a homogenous paste, which would then finally be diluted by the milk.
So I end up with the amount of paste (the consistency is of a very heavy cream) I believe will be good for the day and I slowly dilute it with milk.
And I end up with the white stuff.
Is there a more optimal order to get a homogenous batter? I sometimes get one but never remember what I changed in the order.
Just to clarify: the crepes are great once they are done, it is just that handling the batter is not easy when I have to somehow get some liquid and some of the white stuff each time.

You really don’t want a “paste”. What you’re seeing is gluten formation. In combining flour with a small amount of liquid and repeatedly stirring, you’re essentially making bread dough and then watering it down.
Combine and mix the dry ingredients. Combine and mix the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.


I have leftover baked chicken - can I reheat it on the grill? I have leftover baked chicken breast. I want to know if I could reheat it on my gas grill and if it would still taste good after that.

You can, but you'll likely end up drying it out if you just slap it on the grill.

If you're just trying to warm it up while grilling something else, I'd put it in a (relatively flat) foil packet, and use low or indirect heat, so you're just warming it, not heating it so far that you overcook it.


Can I soak dried fruit in sweet wine instead of liqueur for use in fruitcakes? The recipes for fruitcake that I've looked at say to soak the dried fruit in brandy, rum, etc., i.e., something with a high alcohol content.  I've been using liqueur which works well.

I was wondering if using a sweet wine would work; has anyone tried this?

A good quality ($20 or so) sweet Port, Madeira, or Sherry could be lovely, and add a delicious flavor note of its own. Make sure it's something that tastes good by itself, with a flavor that appeals to you, complimenting a piece of cake.

Note that these are so-called "fortified wines" — they are distilled to a higher alcohol content. Historically, this was done to achieve a long shelf-life without preservatives, so they're more like spirits. Unlike regular "corked" wines, an opened bottle of fortified wine can last a long time, so the cork is made as a stopper that can be easily resealed.

I don't think you'd get good results with a moscato or such. I also wouldn't skimp and buy a cheap (e.g.: Taylor) bottle of Port — that would be like using cheap, imitation vanilla extract! Spending $30 to get a high-quality flavor that you enjoy, is money well spent.

This kind of wine typically comes in both sweet and dry variants. If you're making an entrée sauce, you probably want a dry wine. For fruitcake, be sure to select a sweet variety. Sometimes, they're not specifically labeled "dry" or "sweet", so you need to read how it's described the label, or ask your vintner for a recommendation.


Why "Pre-oiled Pita"? I have started buying Kontos Pre-oiled Pita, and am super pleased with the product.
They taste great and also seem to last forever on the shelf.
.. but I have never heard of "oiling" pitas!  Is this something that is done?  I can not find any references out there for it on google.
Also, what do you think this oiling process is, and does it preserve the pita?

It is really common to brush a pita with some oil prior to heating for an extra crispy treat. We sort of do that at my house, except be coat the heating device (a frying pan) with oil instead of the pita itself.
From kontos.com:

Pre-oiled Greatness
Our pre-oiled breads are infused with extra virgin olive oil for flexibility and rich taste.

So pre-oiled pitas have more flexibility, so to be more convenient for wraps, and pre-oiled pitas have a richer flavor and crisp better when heated.


Bread has tough, crunchy crust but is underbaked in the middle - how to fix? I've been attempting to make white bread using a recipe from my grandmother. However, since she used to bake this bread every weekend and could probably have done it in her sleep, when she wrote down the recipe she was very vague. Recipe is as follows:

  In a large bowl:
  4 cups boiling water
  3-4 tablespoons shortening
  6 tablespoons sugar
  1 tablespoon salt (this may be left out)

  In a medium bowl:
  2 cups cold water
  2 cups hot water
  1 1/2 cups powdered milk

  In a small bowl:
  3 tablespoons yeast
  2 teaspoons sugar
  1 cup water 110-115 degrees

  Let yeast dissolve and begin action. Mix all ingredients in large
  bowl, making sure hot liquids have cooled enough before adding
  dissolved yeast. Add flour (not too much) and beat with electric
  beater for a few minutes. Add enough flour to make a firm dough. Knead
  approximately 8 minutes. Grease large bowl and place dough in bowl.
  Grease top of dough. Let rise. Punch down and shape into loaves.
  Grease pans and place loaves in pan and grease top of loaves. Let
  rise. Bake at 350 degrees approximately 30-40 minutes.

I usually halve the recipe since it results in a lot of bread otherwise. When halved, I add roughly 8-9 cups of flour (I have a flour scoop that picks up just over 1 cup flour) into the dough before rising, then another 2-3 cups that get mixed in while I'm trying to knead and using flour to keep the dough from sticking to everything.

One of the problems I'm having is crust vs interior doneness. Every attempt so far has resulted in a very thick crust which is either painfully chewy, extremely dry and crispy, or both; while the inside of the loaf is doughy and undercooked.

My grandmother's oven was 40-50 years old, beneath a gas stove, and not in the best of shape, so I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't actually baking at 350 degrees. Also, she lived in Michigan while I live in the Pacific Northwest (basically at sea level), so that's probably also not helping things.

What should I do differently to get bread that's fully baked in the middle, without a crust that's difficult to chew?

First off, there is a way bakers measure the proportions of ingredients that is pretty unique to bread—everything is measured relative to the amount of flour by weight. A ratio of 0.6 (or 60%) means if you use 10oz of flour, you use 6oz of that other ingredient.

There are typical ranges for these. For example, salt will typically be 1–2%, yeast (depending on type of yeast) ≤2%. Water will be between 55–85% (the low end is bagels, the high end is various artisan rustic breads), and typically 60–66%. Note that high gluten flours (like bread flour) soak up more water than lower gluten flours (like all-purpose), so they'll need a few % more water. The more water the looser and tackier a dough becomes (and, ultimately, becomes a batter instead with enough water.)

Please forgive me for working the rest of this in metric, it's what I normally use to bake. Yes, despite being American… The math is so much easier without having to do lb→oz, etc. conversions.

Your recipe has 9 cups of water, which is ≈2130g. It calls for a firm dough, and you're using bread flour, and hand kneading (which means you'll add a little more in from dusting as you knead) so I'd go with around 62%. That'd be 3435g of flour (2130÷0.62). [That's 121 oz, or 24 c. if you insist.] We can now use that to compute the baker's ratios of the other ingredients:

3T of yeast, according to an online converter is ≈29g. So that's 0.85%, which is reasonable.
3–4T shortening is ≈1–1.5%. Shortening (or fat in general) tends to make bread less chewy (think of a good baguette and how that has a chewy toughness to it—shortening lessens that.)
1½ c. powdered milk is about 100g, about 3%.
6T + 2t sugar is about 85g, or 2.5%.
1T table salt is 17g (0.5%). There is another gram or so in the powdered milk. Salt slows down yeast, and does various other things, but mainly it's for flavor.

Those all look pretty reasonable, so this recipe should work. (Personally, I'd suggest doubling the amount of salt in there, for flavor.) Also, it's possible that all-purpose flour might actually work better than bread flour, since you're not going for chewy.

Now, for some ways it can go wrong:

You're putting a lot of warm ingredients in your dough. Starting with boiling water (I have no idea why, honestly. Maybe to melt the shortening?). Then you add hot water, and finally some cold water. Unless "cold water" means "ice", the resulting mix is still going to be hot. You must not heat the yeast above 130°F. That will kill them pretty quickly. I'd interpret that "cooled enough" step to mean 115°F at most.
If you measure your flour by volume (cups), that's error-prone (you can easily put anywhere from 4–6oz/cup, depending on how you measure). A $20 digital scale is far superior and quicker, too.
When you start kneading this, it's going to be tacky and stick, at least once you get all the flour mixed in. Try not to add too much additional flour while kneading—use only the minimum required to make it handleable. As you knead, even without adding flour, it will get better. You can use a bench scraper (or a pie server or even a table knife in a pinch) to help pull it off the board if it sticks.
If at some point during kneading it becomes stretchy and difficult, let it rest for a few minutes.
This dough should double (and no more) before you knock it down. Then you shape it (and there is a technique to that), and it should double again in the loaf pans. Be patient.
When done baking, the center should be at least 190°F, maybe even 200°F. If it's under 190°F, put it back in the oven. Feel free to turn down the oven if its browning too much. (Though I think your times are reasonable.)

Finally, almost all bread has a crispy crust after cooling fresh out of the oven. Once it cools, place it in a plastic bag for a few hours—that'll soften the crust.