Simple way to pit plums I have a large amount of small plums, and have spent hours pitting enough to make a crumble. I cut them in half and squeezed the pit out. Is there an easy way to pit large quantities of plums?

Not sure what you mean by "squeeze the pit out".  After you have cut the little guy in half, the pit is sitting exposed on the cut edge of one of the halves, and you squeeze it into a jar or something?  I guess getting the pit to disengage from the plum flesh is messy & time consuming (?) .

I have done this a more wasteful way in the past by slicing twice on the flat sides of the seed, then using the two outer cut off (seedless) slices, and even cutting off some of the flesh of the center section (containing the seed) if I was feeling frugal, .... otherwise discarding the whole center slice.  Depends on how wonderful your plums are.  Mine were considered "junk fruit" by the tree's owner.

See diagram: you start with "A", make your cuts, and wind up with two "B"s and a "C".

Anyway, it is still pretty labor intensive, but pretty quick once I got the hang of it.


Correct oven temperature for chicken tikka at home To make chicken tikka in oven, should I bake at 350c for about 40 min and then broil it on high for 2 min?
I don't expect same taste as if it was a tandoor oven, but hoping for something close.

Assume I have the ingredients for proper marinade?

Make sure that the tikkas do not touch a surface e.g. an aluminium foil or a tray. Suspend them from a grid and use a lined tray at the bottom of the oven to collect the fat/juices. Cook at 180°C for 20-25 minutes (to cook the chicken through) and then cook on maximum temperature (usually 350°C) for 5-7 minutes to get the charred/burnt effect.

As a side note, roast some besan (gram flour) and ajwain (carom seeds) in 1 tablespoon of mustard oil and add it to the marinade. And sprinkle coriander and mint extremely finely chopped together over your chicken immediately after it is out of the oven.

For the best tikkas or tandoori, if you have the time and space, build and use your own tandoor as described here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ukb_WoUG2Q


In making a cookie dough I forgot to add the salt. Is there a way to still add the salt? I forgot to add the salt ingredient to a cookie dough that is already mixed. Is there still a way to add the salt?

At this point, I recommend skipping it. In the long run, it's not likely to "ruin" your cookies. It's usually just there for a bit of flavor enhancement, not likely for any chemical reason. There may be some slight difference in the importance of the salt depending on the type of cookie you're making, though. Something like a sugar cookie or chocolate chip isn't likely to need it much. A peanut butter cookie, though, the salt does a lot for the flavoring but if you use salted peanuts/peanut butter, there's probably already a good amount of salt in the ingredients, so you'll still probably be OK.

Mixing the salt with the flour is an important step in making sure it's distributed evenly. Once the dough is complete, getting the salt mixed in well would likely overwork the dough and give you tough cookies and even then, you may end up with salty pockets and some parts that are unsalted.


Induction cooker on a wooden table? I have an induction cooker like the one in the image below. Is it safe to place it on a wooden table?

Induction cookers utilize electromagnetic induction to heat the pots on them rather than the plate itself.

Induction cooking works by creating a magnetic field that is constantly oscillated (north and south pole are switched). This causes an electric current to run in the bottom of the pot and heat it up via resistive heating. Since the current literally runs in circles (around the bottom of the pot) it's safe to touch and you won't get electrocuted.

The magnetic field spreads out like an invisible ball around the cooker's plate, therefore it can interact with the table the cooker stands on. That's why you shouldn't put it on a metal table, the table could heat up like the pot (in reality this is very unlikely but not impossible).

Wood, on the other hand, doesn't interact with a magnetic field and doesn't conduct electricity. Therefore it's safe to place an induction cooker on a wooden table.

Wikipedia has additional information:

  Persons with implanted cardiac pacemakers or other electronic medical implants are usually instructed to avoid sources of magnetic fields; the medical literature seems to suggest that proximity to induction cooking surfaces is safe, but individuals with such implants should always check first with their cardiologists. Radio receivers near the induction-cooking unit may pick up some electromagnetic interference.


How to make a gel that doesn't harden at below freezing temperatures So I have an idea for a lemon bar ice cream and I want to swirl in the custard and add chunks of short bread in. I could just make the custard for a lemon bar as is but I suspect that after freezing it won't maintain the same gooey texture and flavor. Is there enough sugar in the custard to solve that problem? Is there something I can do to keep it gooey, like caramel, if I swirl it into the ice cream?

There are a number of ways to depress the freezing point of a solution, the most common of which in an ice-cream context would be adding sugar and adding alcohol. Another solution, if you're not married to the idea of the lemon custard being a separate swirl mixin in differently flavoured ice-cream, would be to have the lemon custard be the custard for the ice-cream in and of itself.
For the first option, the higher the sugar and alcohol content of your lemon swirl mixin, the lower the freezing point will be, and the softer it will end up in the final product. The fat content of the lemon custard might increase and sort of 'spread out' the freezing point also. To this end, you could try making your lemon custard with a higher sugar content than usual and maybe some added vodka (or limoncello if you can get it) and seeing how that freezes. If it still freezes too hard for what you want, you might abandon the idea of a lemon custard and go with a lemon syrup or puree that might be closer to the consistency of more conventional berry swirls you see, while relying on the ice cream itself to provide the creaminess and fat content you expect from a lemon bar custard.
Serious Eats has a guide for making such a thing here.
You might also consider, instead of mixing in a lemon swirl, replacing the ice cream custard itself with something to evoke your lemon bar topping. I don't know what your recipe for lemon bars uses - I'd be familiar with a 'lemon curd' mixture made from lemon juice, zest, sugar, eggs and butter, but you might be using something more 'custardy' with cream and/or milk as the dairy component. In either case, if you modify that recipe to proportions more typical of an ice cream base (presumably by adding or increasing dairy content), you can skip the lemon swirl entirely and just have a shortbread mixin.


Structure of tomato, ginger and garlic after blending in a blender Found a new recipe, and it called for blending two (average sized) tomatoes, about a tablespoon of grated ginger (15 grams let's say), and four grated garlic cloves. Blended it all, everything fine.

When it was time to use the blended result, I expected it to come out of the blender jar like a (thick) liquid, but instead it just stayed in the jar. It actually acted liked beaten egg whites (clinging to the container), and structurally looked quite like a mousse. When I scooped out the "mousse", upon touching the heat of the pan, it dissolved immediately into liquid components again.

Is this a known property of blending tomato, ginger, garlic in a blender (or any "high speed" mixing device for that matter) together? Or a combination of those components?

[Edit]

If it helps, I used multiple smaller sized tomatoes to make up for one "average" tomato. So more tomato peel was involved, if that matters. Weights for the tomatoes were not given, but the replacements I used quite accurately match what I would consider "An Average Tomato".

I suspect the culprit is the tomato, which does a good job taking on air and looking 'foamy'. I've noticed this if I use my stick blender when making pasta sauce from a few jars of canned tomatoes as well as when I make gazpacho. Even a few short bursts in a blender can whip up the contents.

A food processor, which typically has a flat blade, won't incorporate as much air as the blender, rather it's going to chop vs. whip.

Also, love how you asked about 'why' vs. expressing disgust at the result. Probably makes no different in the final result as the heat of cooking will take care of the foam, as will time.


Roast chicken cooking time What is the best method for determining when a roast chicken is done cooking? Many of the methods I have seen online provide approximate time ranges for cooking dependent on the weight of the chicken. I don’t usually have a scale handy when I cook, especially if I’m only cooking part of the chicken. Are there any precise approaches I can use that are easily accessible?

If you have an instant read thermometer in your kitchen, that can be particularly useful for determining when all kinds of meats are done cooking. For chicken, I would insert the thermometer into the inner thigh of the chicken (try to avoid the bone) and check for a temperature of 165 degrees F. Once the thermometer reads that temperature, the chicken should be ready.


How long will my homemade marinade with orange juice last? I have a question regarding a marinade that I made. It contains juice. How long will it keep in the refrigerator? I have the final marinade in a air tight glass jar.

Here are the ingredients:

6 Scotch bonnet or spicy habanero peppers (seeds and stems removed)
6 scallions (chopped)
4 cloves of garlic
1 yellow onion (chopped)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tbsp of fresh thyme leaves
3 tbsp ground allspice
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh ginger (chopped)
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 weeks minimum. If it's in an air tight and sterilized jar which isn't constantly being opened and closed. I'd push more for a couple of months maybe longer.

All the acid in there, sugar and salt work as great preservatives and the spices also will help. The 2 things you need to be watching for are either the oil going rancid or the juice fermenting. Fermenting if probably the most likely. Both should be quite easy to spot.

Fermented sauce will start bubbling at the top, and if you shake the jar it'll fizz up like you'd expect from a bottle of soda. Also if the jar "pops" when you open it this is also a good sign fermentation has begun.

Here's a link for helping spot rancid olive oil the same rules apply pretty much to all oils http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/05/olive-oil.aspx


What adjustments are needed to change a pie recipe to a turnover recipe? I want to make turnovers (e.g. a similar product is popular at McDonalds), instead of pie in a pan. Is this simply a matter of making a dumpling-shape with the dough, and then putting the fruit inside, or are there other adjustments I need to make to ensure that the crust and ingredients inside will be baked nicely? With respect to preparation and baking, what is the difference between pie in a pan and a turnover, if any?

You may want to scale up the thickening agent, if present, should the filling be too runny. Adjustments are not typically necessary to the dough itself. From my experience with turn over or pocket pies in Vegan Pie in the Sky, they rely on the same dough recipe as the other pies (pastry crust style dough), they just get cut into a different format.

Basically speaking it is just a different format but the dough will hold together and brown appropriately. I would recommend baking on a pizza stone, but baking on a cookie sheet (with/out parchment paper) would be equally effective depending on your preference for the bottom.

You will likely follow the same baking instructions depending on the filling. Some recipes may call for a longer cooking time that extends beyond the crusts ability to bake without shielding (probably once you pass the forty minute mark). In this case, although standard pie shields won't work, you can cover the pie with aluminum foil once it has browned lightly.


What are the fundamental sauces that every cook should know how to make? I'd like to learn to make some sauces and I'm looking for the most common, "standard" sauces that professional cooks all learn how to make in culinary school.

What sauces form the basic "building blocks" of cooking and how are they prepared?

The next answer is a simple pan sauce.

After sauteing a protein in a pan, there are caramelized bits of fat, spice, and flesh that make for a great sauce base.

Getting those bits into a sauce takes a little work, but it's easily accomplished by adding an acidic liquid to the pan and allowing it to deglaze, or breakdown the fatty bits into the sauce.

You can deglaze with red or white wine, stock and lemon juice, or alcohol (be careful if it's high proof, since it will flame).  After adding the acid, stir to break up the bits and let simmer for long enough to reduce the liquid about 30 to 50 %, longer for thicker sauces.

Then add fat, either butter, oil, or cream, and whatever seasonings (tomato paste, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, etc. you want in the sauce). Simmer for just long enough to incorporate the ingredient (1-2 minutes max).

This is a good technique because it can work with any pan-cooked dish and whatever ingredients you have around.

The basic steps are the same, but the results are varied and quite tasty.


How do you clean or gut fish I'm lucky enough to have been gifted two Trout by a neighbour... and have not had the pleasure of preparing fresh fish before (or at least not unprepared fish).

I've attempted an internet search but haven't found a source that looks reliable to me.

Here is a a basic video tutorial so you can see the basic steps.

The biggest traps when cleaning fish is failing to remove all the guts, leaving bones in the filet, and not removing all the scales from the fish.  You can, if you choose, just gut the fish and cook whole stuffed with some aromatics, which can be really good. This guy will show you how. This works very well with smaller fish like trout assuming your guests are used to it.

So to avoid the pitfalls mentioned above, you need to make sure that the cavity of the fish is
fully empty before you start the filet. You also want to run your hand over the outside of the fish after your rinse of the cavity to make sure that all scales are gone.  The best way to keep bones out is start at the spine and let the fishes rib cage guide your knife down and out.  If you want to remove the skin (not recommended for trout but other fish have much tougher skins), just put the filet skin-side down and slide your knife along at a ten degree angle.

Oh, and the most important thing? Use a filet knife that is super sharp, you definately don't want to tackle cleaning with out a sharp knife.


Cooking time for steaming vegetables "Al Dente'? I have a pack of mixed vegetables (peas, broccoli pieces, green beans and diced leek) that I want to steam in a two pan vegetable steamer (the bottom of the top pan is perforated).

The pack contains vegetables that are:

Mixed together (and cannot be easily separated).
Fresh not frozen.
The leeks are already sliced into rings.
The broccoli pieces are quite small.
I don't know what kind of peas they are.
The beans are a small variety of green beans.
I like my vegetables "Al Dente".

I have the following questions:

Do I bring the water to boiling before adding the vegetables to the top pan?
How long should I steam them for?

Here's a guide to steaming times for vegetables.

From that guide your ingredients take:

peas, sugar snap, whole pea pods, trimmed - 5-6 minutes
beans, whole - 6-10 minutes
broccoli, trimmed stalks split in half or florets - 5-7 minutes
leeks, trimmed, cut in half - 5-8 minutes

As you can see, there's a bit of variation here in time but (assuming you're not talking about shelled peas or snow peas), it looks like 5-7 minutes should be a good starting goal.

You might be prepared to pull the peas out early or maybe start them a bit later. Unfortunately, it's a matter of taste, so times really are very flexible. With a mix like this, you're likely going to need to be willing to have some of the vegetables a bit soft and some a bit hard but some textural variation should be nice as one texture can get a bit monotonous after a while anyway.

Note, though, if your leeks are cut smaller than this, particularly if they fall apart into rings or half rings, they will likely take considerably less time to steam.


How can I stabilize a berry coulis? I made a coulis from fresh blackberries by simply using a fork and sieve. I did not cook, neither added sugar to the final juice. The creamy coulis had beautiful color and texture, however it clearly separated into a watery phase and a more granular phase. How can make the coulis a stable substance which works well for decorating a plate?

Xanthan gum if you don't want to modify the flavour.

Or

Boil in heavy sugar syrup if you don't mind sweetening the sauce significantly.

Personally I'd do both, I imagine what you've created it BlackBerry juice without much flavour. I'd first start by boiling the berries in some sugar untill much of the water had evaporated and tasted exactly how I wanted (intense BlackBerry flavour) then if it required use a little xanthan gum to get the right consistency.


How do I pick the best fillet mignon at the supermarket? What should I look for when I'm at the store picking out fillet mignon?  How can I tell by look which pieces are more likely to be higher quality pieces of meat?

Marbling
From my experience working in butcher shops, you want to first look for good marbling (unless you are on a low fat diet). To illustrate:

I prefer personally anywhere between No. 5 and No. 8. No. 9 and up I find a bit excessive, though some people like it that way. I have had some below No. 5 and they were still good, though.
Dry-aging
From Wikipedia article:

The process changes beef by two means. Firstly, moisture is evaporated from the muscle. This creates a greater concentration of beef flavor and taste. Secondly, the beef’s natural enzymes break down the connective tissue in the muscle, which leads to more tender beef.

Some higher-end butcher shops will dry-age their own beef (at considerable expense) but if you don't have a shop nearby that does that, you can also dry-age it yourself.
Other things
I would recommend not to marinate fillet mignon and season it only lightly. If you plan on wrapping it in bacon, as many do, if you wrap it a day or even a few hours ahead of time the meat will absorb more of the smokiness of the bacon.


When kneading bread dough, how sticky is 'too sticky'? I often see the directions "If it's too sticky, add more flour". This usually comes shortly after "Add as little flour as possible." Being a perfectionist, these two instructions combine to make me an agitated baker. In general, how sticky is too sticky? Does a general answer to that question exist? I know that, no matter what, my 100% hydration pain au levain will be a lot different than a 60% whole wheat or something. However, how often should I be putting aside the dough for bulk ferment and then washing gobs of dough off my hands?

Adding to this confusion is that, when I've made bread with the KitchenAid in the past, the bread can be sticky and leave flour on the sides of the bowl for the first nine minutes of kneading and then poof something magical happens in the last minute and it stops being sticky, gathers the rest of the flour from the sides of the bowl, and is very pleasant to work with. Should I be adding flour until something like that happens? Or perhaps kneading it with the lower flour amount until that happens? I feel this is related enough not to create another question but I can do so if needed. Thank you!

Having dough stick to your hands is not a sign of failure.

Stickiness is related to the hydration in your dough, no more and no less. A focaccia dough is going to be very sticky, and it is meant to be. Unless you knead with oil (a valid technique for sticky doughs) you will be cleaning dough off your hands, and a lot of it. At the same time, if you are making a drier dough that you know should not be sticky then it's a sign that your dough either hasn't incorporated the water, the gluten hasn't fully developed, or maybe you need a bit more flour in it. If you've been kneading 10 minutes and it's still sticky then a dusting or two might be required. If you've been very precise with your measurements (you weigh everything in grams, including the water) then this should rarely happen.

If dough on your hands bothers you then you can reserve some from the recipe and add it in as you knead it, it will keep the dough from sticking and make it easier to handle.

EDIT:
From the comments it sounds like you are reserving flour and only adding it after you let it autolyse. This isn't ideal, what will happen is that the yeast will operate on the water and gluten available, and the flour will soak up the rest meaning the available moisture is gone. Adding flour after you autolyse means it won't get incorporated. Add all the flour before you autolyse and don't add any after, except maybe a very small amount for dusting. I'd suggest if its still sticky try giving it a longer resting period or knead with oil instead.

You are also kneading before you autolyse, which is also not recommended, the right way to do it is to mix your ingredients until incorporated, then rest, then knead. If you knead it before you toughen it up too much.


How bakeries do a soft crust breads and making the same at home will result in a crisp crust? A baker gave a pain de mie recipe which he do in his bakery, and the result is a soft and fluffy bread.

I tried at my home at same temperature with same recipe and resting time, the result was acceptable from the inside (fluff, and airy) but it has a crispy crust. His bread was completely soft (soft crust and soft interior).

Is it because at bakeries the ovens are essentials in creating such textures ?

The read contain: flour, salt, yeast, sugar, water and butter.

In a commercial bakery Pain de mie would be baked in a sealed tin. I think it is a similar bread to the `Pullman loaf', which is baked in a special Pullman tin. (Easy to find a picture on the web.) This minimizes crust formation.

More generally, domestic ovens, particularly fan ovens, are designed to cook food in a dry environment. Low humidity means heat gets transferred quickly to the exterior of the food. This is good for roasting meat etc. For bread it means you are likely to get a thicker and darker crust than in a commercial bakery. You can try to counterbalance this by putting a tray of boiling water into the oven just before the loaf, or (more successful in my experience) using a preheated Dutch oven inside your oven.


Difference between vegetable shortening and vegetable ghee? What is difference between vegetable shortening and vegetable ghee? Can we use vegetable ghee as its substitute?

There's not really any difference between the two apart from the colour. Sometimes ghee contains a few extra flavourings to make the taste more distinctive. However, I don't think there's much of a difference.


Steel honing rod vs ceramic honing rod I got a fairly expensive Kramer/Zwilling knife as a present and so now I am forced to learn how to at least hone a knife (or keep it on a shelf and never use it). I think for now I'll let a pro actually sharpen the knife since the knife sharpening sets are fairly expensive and I don't want to ruin the knife.

Anyhow, I was wondering if i should go with a ceramic or steel honing rod? If it makes a difference the blade is damascus steel. Any other considerations I should look at when honing this blade?

It depends on how often you want to hone, what steel and edge geometry your knife uses, and how you use it.
Generally, for the vast majority of kitchen knives -- even Kramer knives -- the following apply:

The knife is made of stainless or light carbon steel, to hardness of below 62HRC
The knife is double beveled although not necessarily symmetrically
The cook uses primarily slicing or light chopping action, which reduces the chipping damage to the blade that comes from chopping bones and other hard products

If these conditions are true, I would recommend using a ceramic hone and honing frequently.....ideally before every session with the knife.  Failure to hone will cause the edge to soften, fold or burr in a way that a hone cannot restore, which is when you'll need to send it on for sharpening.
Some notes:

Make sure you have a good cutting board. Stay away from brittle hard surfaces like marble glass or stone, and use wood or plastic.

FWIW I like the Epicurean boards because they're hardy, they don't splinter like bamboo, don't need the conditioning required of butchers blocks, and are better looking than plastic..... But this is a separate and more subjective topic.

If you are using high carbon, very hard steel then a ceramic hone will have limited effect so you may need to use a leather strop, fine wet stone or even steel to hone that edge. Contrary to popular opinion, very hard blades are not necessarily better and can be a real pain to maintain.
If you have a single beveled edge typical of some Japanese knives, then honing is more difficult....in this case learn where the bevel is and be careful of your honing angles to make sure you don't fold or dull the edge accidentally
If you're using your knife as a chopper with bone or hard products then honing will have little effect since the chop impact will be damaging the blade. Get a separate chopper!


How much citric acid to preserve my juice I wanted to preserve my juices longer. I am using a mango juice powder that includes the ingredients Sugar, Mango Juice, Malic Acid, Natural Flavor. I am dissolving about the powder into 8 oz of purified water. How much citric acid should I use to make it last longer and about how long will it last me? I know this won't be exact but I am just trying to get an idea of how it will work. Thank you so much in advance and please let me know if you have any questions.

Have a great rest of your day!

Short answer: Enough citric acid to get the pH below 4.2, then pasteurize. One mM citric acid solution has a pH of 3.2, but it's essentially tribasic with pKa of 5.21, 4.28 and 2.92, so figuring it out on paper will take some work. It might be easier to just add some acid and see what the pH is, repeat as necessary.

References: Tetra Pak White Paper on Pasteurization, Citric Acid wikipedia

How much additional storage time will you get? I cannot answer that, there are multiple other ways foods can spoil, storage conditions are not mentioned (temperature, storage vessel, etc.), and generally without lots of careful work one cannot achieve at home the storage longevity of commercially-produced items.


Is Bisquick the same as self-rising flour? Is Bisquick the same thing as self-rising flour? or if not, what differences are there? Is it a good substitution if a recipe calls for self-rising flour?

Self rising flour consists of flour, salt, and baking powder.

Bisquick contains all of these ingredients plus hydrogenated vegetable shortening.

Per Wikipedia

  One cup of Bisquick can be substituted by a mixture of one cup of flour, 1½ teaspoons of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of oil or melted butter. Optional: to the above mixture add 1/2 cup buttermilk powder.

so while it is fairly easy to convert a recipe from using self rising flour to Bisquick (by also reducing the fat from the recipe), they are not quite a 1:1 substitution.


Straining seeds from jam I have a jar of real fruit jam, made without pectin, it tastes fantastic but the berry seeds are extremely hard. Can I reheat it in a pot on the stove and strain out the seeds and put it back in the jar and keep it refrigerated?

For a jam, (assuming with fruit solids), be aware that since you will have to force it through a strainer whether you warm it up or not, it will lose some of it's fruity texture. But it will taste the same. It will be easier if you warm it, but do NOT let it get hot enough to steam or bubble. And yes, keep refrigerated.

My reference is 65 years of making my own.


Is garnish meant to be eaten? Are sprigs of plants decorating meat dishes, or the slice of lemon/olive in drinks meant to be consumed? Are they at least safe to eat?

Garnishes should always be edible - there may be laws depending where you are, but in general anything on your plate should be edible or very obviously not meant to be eaten (like a skewer or a paper wrapper). Depending on the specific case, it might not necessarily be meant to be eaten, though. The defining characteristic is the appearance.

Springs of parsley or stronger herbs might not always be too pleasant to eat on their own, so there's nothing wrong with skipping them. I don't think whoever cooked your meal is going to be too upset if you don't like eating sprigs of parsley - but eat them if you want!

With lemon on a glass, you can enjoy the scent as you drink water without actually eating it, or you can squeeze it into the water if you enjoy that little hint of acidity.

So probably the best garnishes are ones that look good and are pleasant to eat. For example, a dish sprinkled with something small (finely chopped herbs or cheese or nuts or anything else that's already in the dish). Some garnishes are really all about the appearance, though. You'll have to use your judgment to figure out which is the case for whatever dish is in front of you!


How to Use Ravioli Maker without Press Insert I have a ravioli maker, the kind that is rectangular and has 12 squares with 1" holes meant to be used with a rolling pin to seal the ravioli. I've never used it and have never made ravioli. I see online that it's meant to be used with a plastic press to create the sunken part to put the filling in. I don't have this press. Should I just push down with my fingers to make the pocket? Or is there some other way that might ensure uniformity?

Just push down gently with your thumbs; you want an impression that's about 1cm deep.  There is no way to ensure uniformity if you have lost the insert.

You can just buy a replacement ravioli maker, which will have the plastic plate.  I suppose you could even fabricate a replacement for the missing plate, but anything you make is liable to be more expensive than simply buying one.


How to reduce the chewiness of fruit leather I have found out quite a lot on fruit leathers.  I have researched on Google about them but from my research it appears everyone loves the fact they're nice and chewy and I can't find any website which explains why they're chewy.

My issue is, when I do them with passion fruit, they are far too chewy (as in they get stuck in your teeth). The only other ingredient I use is the fruit and sugar, but I do let it reduce in a pan first.

How can I make the fruit leather less chewy?

The answer has now been posted on my other question

What is the name of this dish involving fruit & sugar - blended and baked thin and flat?

It is by adjusting the sugar level.


What is a good method to clean stainless steel hot water pot? Cleaner / Stripper

Note - If this question requires more information to be a better fit for the website, please comment so that I can make it a better question.

I have seen the suggestions over at the following thread: Given the images of my pot and the nature of the stains (not sure if they are grease or what, we do use the pot only for boiling water, but the stains feel thick and somewhat greasy). I have no interest in buying a new pot as this one seems serviceable.

To be honest I can't recall if the pot was this orange color or not but at this point, I'd like to end up with a stainless steel pot stripped down. Please give me a solid recommendation to accomplish this objective.

Thanks in advance.

BTW ~

I've already used a lot of elbow grease and Brillo pads with cold water to get to this point (~ 1hour). I am hopeful that any solution could simplify the task.

Wow! That is quite a patina you have built up there.

I would try Barkeeper's Friend (oxalic acid) in a thick slurry and soak it for a day and see what happens to remove the blackening. It still won't remove the orange enamel paint though. So you might end up having to wet sand it after taking it to a wire wheel.

Sound like a project.


How can I make dry coconut from fresh coconut meat? For my recipe I need dry coconut, but I have only fresh coconut meat in my kitchen. Is there any easy option to convert it into dry coconut?

Fresh coconut meat is approximately 47% water (Basic Report of Raw Coconut Meat from the USDA National Nutrient Database. I would imagine you could grate fresh coconut meat and spread it on a cookie sheet to dry in an oven. I'd keep it on the lowest setting possible - no more than 150° F (65° C), otherwise it may turn out to taste more toasted. Stir it a number of times to evenly dry.

Since I've never done it, I have no idea how long it would take but I think not more than a day. Hopefully, someone else may have tried it already. Are you sure freshly grated coconut couldn't be substituted?


How can I achieve large bubbles in my bread? No matter what I do, my recipe produces bread that is pretty dense, I get none of those nice huge holes in the crumb. My recipe goes like this:

500g flour (300g wheat, 200g rye)
350ml water
2 tbsp vinegar
two pinches of salt
I use 1 packet of dry active yeast (for 500g of flour) or fresh yeast (20g)

I typically use my my stand mixer w/ dough hook to mix this for about 5-10 minutes. Then let it proof for 20 minutes, flatten and let rise for another hour. Then I bake the bread starting at 260 celsius for the first ten minutes, then decreasing to 200-200 until finished. I create steam at the beginning by pouring hot water on a baking tray.

What could possible be wrong with my recipe that prevents me from getting crumb like this? Is that only achievable with sourdough starter? I experimented with that for a while and my results were a little bit better, but not quite where I want to be.

In order to get large bubbles like you see in a Ciabatta you want to knead your bread as little as possible. Literally I mean knead it till just smooth but no longer. You really don't want to stretch any of the gluten. The more you stretch it the stronger it gets which is not what you want when trying to create nice UN-even air pockets.

On top of this, you DO NOT want to be knocking it back at all. I tend to prove my Ciabatta style bread on what ever I intend on cooking it on. That way I don't risk over handling it.

Also you want to let it gently prove, at room temperature. No hot box or heat lamps at all.


Which kinds of closures for spice and herb containers exist and what are their advantages and disadvantages? I have an extensive collection of spices and dried herbs, which I store currently in apothecary bottles with a cork stopper.

Most websites that deal with closure types focus on the differences for beverages, especially wine. Considering the requirements for storing spices and dried herbs (protection from humidity, flavor-retaining, pest control and prevention of contamination by the storage container itself due to industrial binding agents within cork or PVC plasticizers), is a cork stopper the solution with the most benefits?

The only truly, definitely airtight seals widely available are either plastic snap locks with a gasket, or bail-lock type glass containers.

Mind that there are a few spices (clove powder and mixtures containing it) that can be surprisingly aggressive towards plastics.


Making large amount of Gravy When making larger amounts of gravy do you have to increase the amount of roux I usually use 4 TBSP of fat and 4 TBSP of flour but wondering if making larger amount of gravy like maybe 8 cups would you increase amount of roux?

I would assume yes.

you use 4tbsp flour and fat for what amount of liquid ?

if you double the liquid, you should double the roux.

If there's not enough roux, then your gravy will be too "liquid".

for reference this recipe :
http://www.chef-menus.com/large_quantity_recipes_gravy.html


What is this leafy green with a sharp taste, and how do I safely use/cook it? I recently purchased this vegetable at a farmers' market without getting its name. It was marketed as organic/fresh/local in the Northeastern United States in late September.

The leaves are thin and non-waxy, but a little moist (when I try to slide my fingers across the leaves they stick a little).
When I tasted a small portion of a leaf raw, I immediately felt moderate burning in the mouth which I (mistakenly) believed to be oxalic acid at first. In reality, it was a mustardy spicy/sharp taste (which I didn't expect from greens). Because I don't know the name of this plant, I'm not sure if this is the case. In light of that concern, does it require any special preparation to be safe for healthy individuals?

From the photo & description of the leave look & feel, these sound like green wave mustard--a variety of mustard greens with curly leaves.
Mustard greens have a "spicy" or peppery taste, which also seems to align with your experience.
Mustard greens can be safely eaten raw or cooked. It can be a raw salad ingredient, or be sauteed, braised, grilled, etc. Because of the assertive flavor, some people find it best when mixed with other leafy greens to balance out that spiciness you describe.


How do I know if a black banana is too old to be eaten? From time to buy, I buy too many bananas. For the future, I am considering refrigerating them instead of eating them, but they turn black.

How can I know whether a black banana is still edible?

One thing to add to the answers above - as bananas ripen, the starch in the flesh is converted into sugar. This continues until the starch that was providing the firmness and structure for the banana has, for the most part, been converted to sugar, which is also partly why the insides continue to get mushier as the banana ripens. So more time converting starch to sugar means sweeter fruit.

This is why black bananas are often preferred for breads and such - when the peel has turned black, the banana has converted almost all the starch to sugar and thus has gotten as sweet as it can before it spoils.

So for the sweetest possible banana bread/shakes/smoothies/etc, let the banana peel turn completely black, but harvest the banana before the insides turn to dark brown or black since that will indicate that the flesh has spoiled.


Is there a lamb dish that is as easy to prepare as steak? I need to cook a romantic dinner and my wife wants lamb, which I've never cooked before.
Usually I make us steaks in a cast iron - it's easy, tasty and quick.
Can I do something similar with lamb? What is the name of the cut I need to buy?

You want the ones that look like little tiny T-bone steaks.  Typically they are called Lamb Chops, but look first as there are different cuts under that name.   You might also consider doing a rack, which is the equivalent to a Rib Roast, but obviously much smaller.  For the rack, I'd sear it in a pan, and then broil it until done. (15-25 minutes, 140-160 degrees).


How many standard cake boxes will i need if i'm baking 3 or 4 9 inch round cakes? I am baking an ombre cake for my sister's birthday party. I want to use white cake mix as I don't have much time to make it from scratch and I am planning on dyeing my batter. Since I want three or four layers, how many cake mixes will I need?

If you are in the US, a standard box of cake mix makes two round layers. So you will need 2 boxes to make 4 layers. Outside the US, I think the same applies, just read the box.

I recommend 3 layers if this is among the first few cakes you have made. Bake the two boxes (4 rounds) then choose the best three of the four rounds out of the oven.


Advice for low temperature cooking I want to try out low temperature cooking of some meat, e.g. beef

I don't have a reliable oven and am looking for advice before starting. Or alternatives to ovens.

I heard some people use meat in vacuum sealed plastic bags that they cook in a pot of water, (easier to measure temperature?)

What are the timings for weight/temperature combinations?

What dis/advantages does low temperature cooking have compared to grilled?

Anything else I should now before trying out?

Buy a slow cooker.  They're cheap, and it will cook your food slowly in around 6 hours.

Don't overcomplicate things:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_cooker


How do you reflavor nuts? how do you replace a flavor on nuts? i did not see the label and bought some cashews that are spicy by mistake. Can the flavor be washed off and replaced?

If you want them to taste like cashews, there should be no need to "replace flavor" - you can attempt washing and then drying in the oven - results may vary depending on how the "spicy" was applied. Probably they will remain somewhat spicy, as those flavors tend to be fat-soluble, so they will get into the nut but not come out with a wash (and I can't really see "washing in oil" as an effective or economical technique.)

Giving them to someone that likes spicy things would be another option, and more reliable. Then buy some that are not spicy for you.


How to make spherical chocolate-enrobed candies? How does one enrobe a candy center in chocolate in such a way that you get a smooth sphere with no ugly mark where it was sitting on a rack, or hole where it was held by a skewer?

What you need, my good man, is a candy fork.

Basically it's a two-tined fork with incredibly thin tines. Dip, lift, allow excess to drip off, place on parchment (you will get a tiny 'foot' but this is normal).

unless you're talking about absolutely perfect spheres? to my knowledge this is not doable by hand, you will need industrial machinery. and the two hemispheres method will leave you with a seam.

i have heard one solution for the tiny hole left by a thin skewer is another tiny dab of chocolate and a quick blast with a hair dryer to smooth out any imperfections, but i have never tried it myself.


How to keep cooked French fries (for French fry dogs) warm and crispy? I want to make French fry dogs. Basically, hot dogs that are battered and then coated with cooked French fries and then deep fried.

I have tried cooking them and then setting them aside for a couple of minutes, but they turn out to be cold and the crispness was gone.

Depends on what kind of fries you are using. If they're frozen fries— who knows. They're not all processed the same way— some have flour or batter coatings— aren't all made from the same material— some are made from formed, pureed potato and/or reconstituted potato flour— or cooked to the same level of doneness. If they're fresh potatoes which have been par cooked, they'll last in the refrigerator at least overnight before they dry out.

The other problem is your batter. If you're using a batter with baking powder, carbonation, or anything else like that to give it a little puff, it will flatten out if you hold it for more than a few minutes.

Generally, foods with batters are much better when you cook them immediately. If you only need to store it for a short amount of time, maybe less than half an hour, cook it then put it in an oven preheated to the lowest possible temperature (ideally there's a warming setting) on a sheet pan with a wire rack on it. It should keep the fries crispy, but the longer you keep it in there, the drier it will get.

Good luck!


Cake with ganache on top going to the freezer I’ll pour the ganache over the cake, then freeze the cake with the ganache on top. Will it freeze ok together?

Freezing a cake with ganache should be fine.
You can read more about freezing a cake with ganache here:
https://www.cakecentral.com/forum/t/680186/can-i-freeze-a-cake-covered-in-ganache


Cream of Tomato with garlic + cilantro stalks aroma I've been trying to crack this Cream of Tomato recipe for many decades now that is served in almost all Indian five star hotels and professionally managed kitchens.
At the end when it's served, it has a strong and the most fragrant aroma of garlic, cilantro stalks, nutmeg, etc but does not necessarily feel 'garlicky'.
Here's my recipe to start with:

Add oil+butter in a pan with black pepper corns. Add crushed tomatoes, garlic and cilantro stalks. Let cook for 15-20 minutes. Blend and then strain.
Start again with butter and nutmeg powder.
Add all purpose flour and then some milk and let cook for a couple minutes.
Pour the blended/ strained tomatoes. Let cook for 10 minutes. Test salt/ white pepper.
Serve.

What can I do at the end to get the garlic aroma in soup?
Thanks and best wishes.

This is mere theory/guesswork, but I wonder if they might do it like a tadka [tarka] you add to dall [lentil] recipes?
Fry garlic & other spices in oil, then pour over right at the end. Stirring in is optional, for presentation effect.
Here's a link to a rather elaborate tadka method, including smoking charcoal which sounds fabulous, though I've never tried it myself
https://www.cookwithmanali.com/dal-tadka/
Alternatively, my own 'cheat' to punch up the garlic in a dall recipe is to add powdered garlic right at the end. This punches up the fresh 'garlickiness' a lot, with very little effort. It has a tendency to go lumpy if you're not careful, so mixed in as a slurry is the easiest way to avoid that.
As to the coriander/cilantro, I can think of no method to get the bright, fresh smell & taste into a soup just before serving other than to make a quick purée & stir it in. I'm sure you would be able to spot the bits of bright green, though, done this way, but coriander really doesn't keep that bright flavour more than a few minutes once heated.


Standard weight conversions for converting cups of flour to grams of flour? I hate the idea of measuring flour using something as imprecise as measuring scoop.

What numbers do you treat as definitive/authoritative/canonical for doing weight conversions for different types of flour?

There is no official standard.  The USDA uses 125g/cup, but labels on packages claim different weights for one cup:

Gold Medal brand: 130g
King Arthur brand: 120g (updated 2016)
wolframalpha: 137g
superpacked: 165g

I always convert my recipes to weights using 140g/cup.


Why should pine seeds/nuts be pan-toasted without oil? Most recipes with pan-toasted pine seeds say they need to toasted DRY, WITHOUT oil.
Why?
It does not make sense to me. Toasting them DRY gives them a spotty appearance. Dark toasted spots where the seed touches the pan and pale where the seed did not. Not the maximum of flavor with the added danger of burning.
However frying them WITH plenty of oil leaves them a uniform golden color with the maximum of flavor and they are less likely to burn.

When coated in oil you don't toast them. You fry them.
And toasting pine nuts usually means in oven, often tossing (also apply to doing it on stovetop but then tossing should be constant).
Adding oil is pointless for few reasons: Pine nuts (or nuts in general) are already fatty on their own. Adding different oil don't make the taste better. It's just a safety net for a cost of changing the taste.
If you want just use oil from roasted nuts in your dish.


What are some good substitutes for salt for those on low sodium diets? I try to keep my sodium intake fairly low to ensure that my blood pressure doesn't get too high.

Salt is such a common part of cooking, and it's especially difficult to cook Asian-style food without a lot of salt due to its reliance on salty sauces such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, etc.

I have tried salt substitutes such as potassium chloride but that can be particularly nasty on the palate, giving the food a chemical taste.

What are some good substitutes for salt in food?

There is no substitute for salt. Sorry. It has effects on the tastebuds and the body that cannot be replicated.

However! They can be approached to a degree that most people will find interchangeable. Acids can mimic the flavour-enhancing qualities of salt in a big way. The more acid you have in a dish, the less salt you will need. Beware of going too far, of course, as too much acid is just unpleasant and will need salt to counterbalance.

Heat--as in capsaicin, chili peppers--can produce much the same effect.

Echoing papin's information above; NA and K (sodium and potassium) exist in balance in the body. Too far in one direction and you have a heart attack (too much K), too much in the other and (if memory serves; I could be wrong) you essentially drown (or is it edema? I can't remember). If avoiding sodium is related to a health concern, please speak to your primary healthcare provider before adjusting your diet in this way.


Can I substitute agar-agar powder for gelatin in no-churn ice cream? I saw that many no-churn ice cream recipes use gelatin to prevent crystalization. Unfortunately, I don't have any gelatin left but a lot of agar-agar powder.  Can I use agar-agar powder instead? And if yes, what is the best way to use it? Because normally I have to bring the mixture to a boil to cook agar-agar powder but I don't want to boil my milk.

Thanks for your help.

Sure, why not.
350ml of liquid with 0.5g of agar-agar powder.
Just use another 50ml of milk for this 0.5g of agar-agar powder. Before boiling it, mix 0.5g agar-agar powder with around 5 to 15ml of warm water to avoid cobble up and then only boil with the 50ml of milk.


Does peeling potatoes before boiling them actually increase the amount of water they absorb? I've read the argument in several articles and recipes (I don't have the references in front of me right now) that peeling potatoes before boiling them increases the amount of water they absorb, which in turn hurts their flavor and/or texture. Is this true?

Cook's Illustrated "New Best Recipe" Book in their dissertation on making Mashed Potatoes used several methods: peel & dice, peel & whole, etc.. and the 'best and most consistent' results achieved was by boiling them whole then shocking them to cool (put in an ice bath) and then peeling by hand (grip in two hands and twist).

Having used this technique for several years I will say you have received good information. Less water, but still soft and fluffy...and most importantly 'tasty' (IMHO).

Ok, so it's a couple of days later and I finally have a moment to catch up to this. From Cook's Illustrated "New Best Recipe" Book pp.186-8

  We started by peeling and cutting some potatoes into chunks...while
  cooking others  unpeeled and whole...even when mashed with identical
  amounts of butter and half-and-half...and salt...The potatoes that had
  been peeled and cut made mashed potatoes that were thin in taste and
  texture and devoid of potato flavor. Peeling and cutting before
  simmering increases the surface area...through which they lose soluble
  substances such as starch, proteins, and flavor compounds , to the
  cooking water. The greater surface area also enables lots of water
  molecules to bind with the potatoes' starch molecules . Combine these
  two effects and you've got bland, thin, watery mashed potatoes. The
  potatoes cooked whole and peeled after cooking yielded mashed potatoes
  that were rich , earthy, and sweet.

(note: If you can pickup a copy of this book, it is a treasure trove of useful kitchen information)

In short it isn't just water absorption (water into the potatoes) that makes them weak, but also what the water removes from the potatoes into the water (and then down the drain) which will produce disappointing results.


How do you fat into meat when grilling or is there a better cooking method? I want more of the fat to stay in the meat when grilling. It seems grilling is the best way to do this since wet heat methods boil the fat out, frying takes it out then puts it back in however I always find frying leaves the outside layer orangey and I don't like that.  So it seems low heat and short grilling is the best?

Is there anything else I can do?  I know people coat with oil to keep moisture in however would that also prevent fat dripping out i.e. more fat will be retained in the meat?

Fat comes out due to melting

The primary way that fat will leave a grilled meat is through melting. Animal fat isn't a pure or refined substance, so it doesn't have a set and exact melting point, the way that water does. In my experience, fat melting occurs in the 55 - 70 C range (130 - 160 F). You will see little fat gone at an internal temp of 55 C, but heavy melting at an internal temp above 70 C.

As an example, a rare steak at 52 C/125 F will still have most of its fat attached, although it will be softened (and delicious!). A pork butt cooked up to 90 C / 195 F will have almost all the fat melted; even if you left the thick fat-back on it. Therefore, fat retention is somewhat independent of the grilling method, it is all about the internal meat temperature. Cooking meat until "done" thus precludes leaving the fat in some cases. You don't want to serve your guests chicken or pork cooked only up to 55 C.

How to keep the fat in

If you want to keep fat in your meat even when cooked to high temperature, there are two solutions. First, you can leave a lot of fat on your meat in the first place. The second solution is to not let meats sit too long at high temperatures; after all just because fat is melted doesn't mean it immediately exits your steak, gravity has to pull it down and out.

An example of the first method is the aforementioned pork shoulder. The thick fat-back can be left up before cooking and, even over a 12 hour cook time, there will be plenty of fat left at the end. An example of the second method is a well marbled steak. The fat will start to melt, but the short cooking time at higher temperatures ensures that most of the fat stays where it is

On the other hand...

...maybe don't try to retain too much fat? Fat does add lots of flavors, but for items like chicken and certain cuts of pork, too much fat can be a bad thing. Also, an untrimmed steak can often include lots of connective tissue in the fat (depending on the cut) and that can make your steak gristly and unpalatable.

In general, I have never made any attempt to keep more fat in a grilled meat, of any cut. Much more often, I will trim to keep less fat. You need enough fat for flavor and juicy-ness, but too much often just ends up as a greasy meal.


Can garlic or onion stored in the fridge help to sanitize? Can garlic or onion stored in the fridge help to sanitize? How to protect fridge from dangerous elements which can spoil stored food?

I have often heard claims that garlic has antibacterial properties when consumed. I haven't read any reliable sources which prove or disprove that, so it could be false. Even if it inhibits the growth of certain bacteria, the botulism cases caused by improperly stored garlic alone are an indication that garlic, unlike substances like pure ethanol, doesn't kill all bacteria. But even assuming that garlic has some antibacterial properties, it doesn't do anything for your fridge. Oh, and I have never heard these claims for onions - just because two plants are botanically related, it doesn't mean they have the same effect on living organisms.

Garlic isn't something magic which kills germs through its mere presence. You would have to get it in contact with them. As germs live on food, if garlic is indeed, as per our assumption, antibacterial, you would have smear garlic juice on each food item before packaging it, which is clear nonsense.

Luckily, you don't have to do that. There is no need to sterilize your fridge at all. It doesn't preserve food by killing bacteria; it preserves food by lowering the temperature to a point at which bacteria don't multiply, or do so very, very slowly. You don't have to rid of the bacteria present in food before you put it into the fridge, it will keep anyway for a reasonable length of time.

The only thing you want to do is to keep your fridge clean of spilled food. Bacteria multiply in food media. If you put a droplet containing bacteria on a clean, cold metal surface (like a fridge wall), they will fall "asleep" due to the temperature and eventually die of starvation. If you put them in that puddle of spilled pancake batter you didn't clean because you were in a hurry, they will start multiplying very slowly. After a few days to a few weeks, you will have a big bacterial colony in your batter puddle. And while the bacteria won't magically jump to any food items held in the same fridge as the puddle (airborne pathogens are pathogens people cough on each other, they can't fly by themselves), any physical contact of a food item with the puddle will result in contamination.

Bottom line: Keep the fridge clean on the inside with a sponge and some detergent, and you are safe from fridge-caused bacterial contamination. Your food can still spoil if held for too long time in the fridge, but there is no way you can prevent that except for methods which change the food a lot (e.g. canning, salting, or drying). Garlic will not help you in any way.


Are Saffron Crocus petals edible? Can the saffron crocus flower petals be used for food/drink coloring? Are they poisonous/edible? (With reference please.)

I found a link, that states that the bulbs are edible, but there is nothing regarding the petals.

It seems that the answer is yes...

The vast majority of the literature out there around saffron petals relates to the pharmacological compounds found in the petals. For normal use, the petals are considered a "waste" product from the production of saffron in the forms of the well known stamens used in food flavoring and coloring.

However, I have found that petals contain less of the flavoring and coloring compounds, but still contain some and are sometimes used as an adulterant (see Substitutes and Adulterants section near the bottom) in the commercially produced stamens. I also found a book Saffron production and processing, which states (see linked page 8 of chapter 1) that the petals could be used to generate natural colorings for foods, particularly anthocyanines.


Does a head of lettuce really need to be refrigerated? At the grocery store here in Germany I saw that lettuce isn't refrigerated. So I brought a head home and it's been in my pantry for 3 days and it seems fine... The English speaking internet says that's not ok, I don't know what the German one says.

It is all due to storage lifetime.  Lettuce is particularly perishable, compared to many other vegetables.

You will get a considerably longer storage lifetime if it is refrigerated, rather than kept at room temperature.

According to the USDA:

  Storage Conditions: Lettuce should be quickly cooled and
  maintained as close to 0 °C (32 °F)  as possible with 98 to 100% RH.
  Head types are better adapted to prolong storage than are the other
  types,  but none keep longer than 4 weeks, and about half that time at
  5 °C (41 °F). Film liners or individual  polyethylene head wraps are
  desirable for attaining high RH; however they should be perforated or
  be  permeable to maintain a non-injurious atmosphere and to avoid 100%
  RH on removal from storage. Lettuce  is easily damaged by freezing, so
  all parts of the storage room must be kept above the highest freezing
  point  of lettuce of -0.2 °C (31.6 °F).

They follow up later in the document with this chart showing how lettuce's respiration rate increases with temperature—and of course, once harvested, the lettuce only has so many nutrients available to metabolize:

You can see at warmer temperatures, the lettuce will expire much more quickly.


Is there a simple way to make refried beans? This is a dish that I always eat when dining at Spanish style restaurants, but never seem to be able to replicate at home using black beans and olive oil.  The main problem is that the beans seem to cook down to a soup consistency to quickly - any tips?

The heightened flavor of refried beans (over regular beans) comes from two components: the extra fat, and the Maillard (browning) reactions caused by the cooked beans shallow-frying in hot fat. Effectively, a crust forms where the mashed beans contact the fat. This crust breaks up later when the dish is stirred together.
If you can get them, try pinto beans rather than black.
Standard Refried Beans (from a can)

Drain and rinse the canned beans.
Heat your fat of choice (olive oil, lard, shortening) in a heavy pan.
Mash 1/3 of the beans coarsely in a bowl, using the back of a fork and a little water, if necessary. You want the consistency of the mash to be somewhere between pancake batter and cookie dough.
Add this mash to the fat in blobs of 1-2 tablespoons. The idea is to get as much surface area exposed to the fat as possible, because this is where the yumminess comes from, so, not a big blob in the middle of the pan. Preferably, many smaller ones.
After a time, start stirring the bean mash and fat together, then mix in the reserved whole beans. Thin with water or broth.

Bonus:Roasted Garlic Refried Beans (from a can)

Peel a couple of whole garlic cloves. Leave them whole.
Put these in the fat as it heats. If the fat doesn't cover the cloves completely, you can either stir from time to time, or, better, tilt the pan so that the fat and garlic pool on one side.
When the garlic cloves are the color of milk chocolate, remove them and add the mashed beans as above.
Mash the cloves with the back of a fork and add them with the whole beans at the end.


How do I change the flavour of honey? I am currently planning to make my own energy gel, for which I will need some form of carbohydrate source, in my case honey. I will appreciate if you can tell me another carbohydrate "agent" that I can easily flavour.

Now I am a person that doesn't like the taste of honey, no matter which one I try I do not like it.

How do I remove the flavour of honey?

You cannot change it. It is always going to be there and bug you.

You taste things when some chemical compound hits a receptor in your mouth or nose (in this case, it is likely to be the nose). It doesn't matter what you add, the offending compound will still be there, and you will still notice it. And as we don't know which compound it is, and given the limited chemical changes you can do to food while staying palatable (basically you can heat things or change the pH and hope that some reactions occur) you are unlikely to ever change that compound. Worse, it is even more likely to be the combination of multiple compounds which you hate in honey, and then you cannot hope to randomly change them all.

People do try masking or dilution. For masking, you add something with such a strong smell that the signal from that one compound gets drowned out when the brain is creating the olfactory sensation. It can work for things to which you are mostly indifferent, but once you absolutely hate something, it stays salient and is perceived together with the masking smell.

Dilution works because some aromas are only unpleasant when they are too intense. But seeing that you want the honey to be a major component, you cannot use dilution here.

So, there is nothing you can do. Either eat cheap bars which you hate, or switch to something else regardless of cost.


"Banging" cookies half way through baking So I found a recipe for cookies which calls to "Bake the cookies for 10 mins, taking the tray out halfway through and banging sharply on a work surface covered with a couple of tea towels - this dispels the air, making lovely squidgy cookies." (Source)

Is this sound advice?

Based on the recipe, it seems that the intended result here is for a denser, chewier cookie. If you were able to perform this percussive therapy maneuver in exactly the method desired by the recipe-writer, then yes, it would knock some of the air out of the cookie, and collapse its structure a bit. I think that this maneuver would be difficult to perform precisely and repeatedly. Also, you'll have lots of variation in cooking time, as you have to open the oven halfway-though which lets lots of the warm air escape from the oven.

Instead of the "bang", just introduce less air into the cookies during the initial preparation. The easiest thing to do would be to under-cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar.


What determines whether a sherbet will set or not? A couple nights ago I was watching the Food Network show Chopped and one of the contestants made sherbet. Because the contestants are limited to 30 minutes to prepare their desserts, the contestant who made the sherbet made a mistake and the sherbet did not set.

From what I can understand sherbet is very similar to ice cream but it usually contains much less dairy and is fruit flavored.

It is getting warm and I am very interested in making my own sherbet recipe using fresh fruit but before I can do that, I need to know what makes sherbet set. Is there a minimum fat ratio I need to meet(using milk/cream) or is there something else that determines whether the sherbet sets or not?

EDIT: By set I mean actually freeze and turn into the expected sherbet texture. I have seen other contestants make ice cream and sherbet in the past within 30 minutes. I guess my question really is what ingredients in sherbet inhibits it from freezing?

There are several things that keep frozen desserts (ice cream and sorbet, not just sherbet) from freezing into a block of ice. They're essentially all the ingredients besides water. If you have too little of these things, you'll have very hard ice cream; if you have too much, it might never get firm enough to scoop in your freezer.

Fat - ice cream is the easiest to get soft, since it contains the most dairy, but this works on sherbet too. The more cream, the softer. But even butter freezes hard, so this isn't going to keep it from setting.
Sugar - this is pretty easy to vary in all frozen desserts. It'll have a noticeable effect on softness, but reasonable quantities won't make it too soft.
Alcohol - obviously you won't always want to use this, but the right alcohol often goes very nicely with sorbets. Enough alcohol would of course keep it from setting, but it takes a lot. A sorbet made from wine, sugar, and strawberries still sets, though it's quite soft.
Air - this gives the dessert a softer, fluffier texture, but of course won't ever stop it from freezing. Make sure to churn things long enough, though you can only ever do as well as your ice cream machine lets you.
Additives - gelatin is the main one that's common in kitchens; guar gum, and xantham gum are next up. There are also various stabilizers for keeping ice cream smooth.

I don't think I've ever seen a recipe for a frozen dessert that wouldn't set at all. It takes an awful lot of fat, sugar, or alcohol just to get it too soft. My best guess in the case of what you saw on TV is that she either went overboard with some kind of additive, or didn't manage to properly freeze it. Note that with home ice cream makers, things will be at least a bit too soft coming straight out of the machine - but they'll set much harder in the freezer.

In practice, if you're making your own, the problem you'll reliably have (especially with random recipes online) is that it's too hard. Storebought frozen desserts if anything tend to have more sugar and fat than you'd use at home, and often have additives to soften and stabilize on top of that. So most things you make at home will tend to be harder than what you buy in the store.

Credit where it's due: I learned some of this from the introduction to The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz; a lot of similar information is available in this post on the author's blog.


Reusing coffee grounds Besides using it as a fertilizer, how else can I reuse my coffee grounds?

An actual culinary application for used grounds:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Gourmet-mushrooms-in-an-old-coffee-cup/

Grow mushrooms in them.


How can I stop chocolate chips sinking to the bottom when I make cakes? I love making and eating chocolate chip cakes - both large cakes and cupcakes, but almost always when I make them, the chocolate chips sink to the bottom (or, occasionally, rise to the top).

Is there anything I can do to try and stop this happening? If so, what?

Coat the chocolate chips in flour (whichever type of flour goes into your cake).  Put a few ounces or two of flour and the chocolate chips into a zip-top bag, close tightly and shake.  The coated chips will then adhere and tend to "float" in the batter.  Subtract the amount flour used to coat the chips from the flour otherwise used in the recipe.

You could do this with cocoa powder instead of flour.


Sushi tasted like pure seaweed What can I do to get avoid a super strong seaweed taste when making sushi? I've had sushi wrapped in seaweed before, and I absolutely love how the roll tastes. However, I attempted to make my own sushi at home and everything was turned out fine but the moment I took a bite it tasted like pure seaweed. I know that it'll have somewhat of an after taste, but it tasted as if I was eating the dried nori itself.
Any tips on what to do or why my sushi tasted that way?

Real dried seaweed isn't very pungent/overwhelming in taste

Its taste will increase if it's roasted or made wet

I suspect you got either bad seaweed or its flavor was artificially enhanced


What is the reason behind seasoning "from a distance"? I've seen some top chefs like Gordon Ramsay seasoning their food in the "air" or "from a distance".

Please take a look on the following example, where Chef Ramsay is seasoning a scallop:

https://youtu.be/SyBF8S_Ocf0?t=1m12s

Why is this technique used? Chef Ramsay specifically gives directions to season like this, so I imagine there must be a reason.

Other similar example is this now famous Turkish chef who has become an internet sensation and meme.

Looking at the Scallop-and-peas video, it just looks like the chef is trying to sprinkle seasoning evenly onto a relatively small area of food. If you rain seasoning down from a distance it is less likely to land unevenly than if you shake some on at close range. Imagine spray-painting a wall: for even coverage, you gotta stand back.

In the case of the Turkish meat-chef, it is because it looks cool. Notice his theatrical posture.


How can I modify my hot sauce to make it Shelf Stable? I would like to be able to can and then sell my own hot sauce. The hot sauce I make is a low acid meat (ground beef) and tomato based sauce. I had sent it in to get a shelf life expectancy, and was advised the acidity level was too low and the only way I could make the sauce in a way that it was shelf stable was if I used a retort or sold it as a frozen product. Neither of these are options I can consider at this time.

Low acid products must be pressure canned. Products intended for sale must be canned in FDA registered facilities and typically inspected by a state regulator. Many areas still have community canneries with some being FDA registered and state inspected where you can prepare your product with equipment that is well suited to the task. These community canneries have staff on hand who can teach you how to use the equipment and offer pointers while helping you adhere to any applicable regulations. The best way to locate nearby community canneries is to contact your local county extension office or university agricultural extension / food science program.

Edited to add an example of a community cannery: http://www.co.hanover.va.us/works/cannery.htm


Sous Vide leg of lamb WITH bone? I'm a new owner of a Sous Vide circulator, and I'd really like to make a leg of lamb for Easter. Making leg of lamb the "old" way (in the oven) I always get a better result if the leg is with the bone attached. However, all the recipes I find for Sous Vide calls for meat without the bone (typically 55 C for up to 48 hours). Is there anything I need to do different to make it on the bone?

(My circulator is the drop-on kind and can handle 40 liters, so I can fit the leg. Also, I have vacuum bags by the roll, so as long as I can find a leg which is quite thin, that shouldn't be a problem either. I plan to sear the meat after Sous Vide with a propane burner)

UPDATE

Just wanted to say how it turned out: 55 C for 48 hours made the meat tender... VERY tender. Almost liquid ;) I'll go for 24-30 hours next time :)

According to Kenji Alt's experiements (admittedly with beef), the major effect of the bone is insulation, which matters in a high-heat cooking environment, but not in sous-vide.  See: Do Bones Add Favor To Meat

For sous-vide cooking, the bone adds little value, other than appearance.

It may also make it harder to put the product in your bag and seal it without a puncture.

Still, there should be no harm in leaving it on if you choose to.  In his ultimate steak method, Kenji Alt does leave the bone on for the sous-vide process.


How to make a Hungarian Túró Rudi at home? I want to make some Túró Rudi for a Hungarian friend. Túró Rudi is a chocolate sweet available to buy in Hungary, and vast numbers are sold every year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BAr%C3%B3_Rudi

The outside is easy, it's just chocolate. The tricky part is the inside, which has the consistency of the inside of a Bounty (coconut) bar for those that know it. the centre is white firm and sweet, but in the Túró Rudi it is made with cottage cheese (Túró) and sugar, but how can I make a firm, sugary centre out of cottage cheese? I've had them in a restaurant so they can certainly be made in a kitchen.

I've searched and searched for a recipe, but I cannot find one. I'm happy to experiment, and any help is welcome.

I spent quite a bit of time working on a variety of recipes for this. In all honesty, none are particularly close to the "real thing" but the results can taste pretty good and are reminiscent of the actual product.

The main challenge is in buying authentic túró. After a lot of work, I've confirmed that there's no standard, easily available equivalent in the UK. British quark, an easily available curd, is very different to túró. British cottage cheese is really nothing like túró. So if you're in the UK and want to make anything with túró, you'll need to compromise on taste, or buy some túró from a Hungarian or Eastern/Central European provider. Alternatively you could make your own by acquiring the curd from soured milk.

The recipe I used with the best results was simple. Mix the túró with a little sour cream and some fine sugar to sweeten it to your taste. Stir in some liquid (melted) gelatine. Pour the mixture into moulds (I used a small ice cube tray) and freeze it. When frozen hard, quickly dip each in chocolate and put them in the fridge.

The texture is jelly-like, which is very different to a real túró rudi (which is firm and slightly crystalline), but it tastes pretty good.


What can I use for a Crème brûlée if I don't have a blow torch? I've always wanted to make a Crème brûlée but I don't have a blow torch to burn the top with. Is there anything else I can use to get that nice crunchy caramel on top?

Follow these steps and watch very carefully...

Set your oven on Broil (high) and put your rack on the top shelf.
Let the oven get nice and hot (3-7 minutes).
Fill an oven safe dish with crushed ice and water and place your dishes into the ice/water bath.
The cold bath should keep the custard from cooking, but the sugar on top will heat till it caramelizes.
It'll only take 3-4mins.


How can I identify quality bacon? I see bacon in store that varies widely in price. From the bulk ends and pieces packed in a solid block to thinly cut off-brand to expensive thick cut bacon.

Some of the differences in quality are obvious. The really cheap brands are thin enough to see through and very fatty. I haven't done side-by-side taste tests to judge for myself how bacon at various price points compare.

What makes premium bacon more expensive? Is it simply a more meaty cut or is the smoking process more flavorful?

The other side of the question is- How can I identify good bacon that has those characteristics? Is it really just you get what you pay for and inexpensive bacon can never be good?

Just look out for artificial flavorings; a lot of bacon comes with artificial "hickory" or "maple" flavors, which are disgusting and often taste like chemicals.  The better bacon won't include such things.  Nitrate-free bacon is important if you're sensitive to nitrates.  The fat content is more of a matter of taste than a hard-and-fast rule; personally, I like a fair amount of fat because I like to cook other things in the rendered fat!  Same for the thickness.  If you like very crispy bacon, you may want your bacon slightly thinner than the "thick-cut" styles that command a price premium.


How would I measure Bouillon Cubes compared to the actual powder Is there a standard measurement that can be used?

The bouillon cubes I am familiar with are equal to 1 teaspoon of powder.


Are my dried moong dal beans bad? I have some moong dal that I bought at an Indian market a few months ago. I've stored them in a sealed tupperware container. When I opened them today (to make them for dinner tonight), they smell strongly - not necessarily bad, but pungent. Is this normal? Or have they gone bad?

Moong dal has a characteristic odour that concentrates over the time in a closed container (like Tupperware). So you are good. Just make sure that the dal is not stuck in clusters, has changed colour or has developed mold. In which case you will have to discard it.


Removing the skin from chicken before or after cooking? when cooking a whole chicken to make bone marrow soup with, should I remove the skin before or after cooking?

Removing after will be much easier as everything will just fall apart when the collagen has been dissolved out.

The skin has a lot of fat that will have to be skimmed or separated if left on.


What is the difference between various cuts of steak? I'm sure each has their own differences in texture (and cost) but don't really know exactly what they are or what they are best used for. I like bone in ribeyes so I haven't bothered to try experimenting with other cuts such as:

Boneless Ribeye
T-Bone
New York Strip
Sirloin
Porterhouse
Delmonico
Filet
Filet Mignon
Rib

I'm mostly looking at this from the perspective of grilling.

There are a number of sites that provide diagrams and information on the different cuts, one fairly extensive resource is Beef Glossary - Different Beef Cuts , Diagram, Types Of Meat

Edit: Made a change due to comment.


How to tell if frozen mussels are good? I live a far distance from any body of salt water, so the only mussels available are packaged frozen mussels.

I have always heard that cooked mussels must open or they are not good to eat, but when we cooked the frozen mussels only a few opened. I went ahead and ate them anyways, they tasted fine and did not make me sick.

Is it normal for frozen mussels to not open their shells when cooked?
If it is normal, is there a way to tell if they are safe to eat?

'You shouldn't eat mussels that don't open' is an unfounded myth. It was first mentioned in a book by the British food writer Jane Grigson in the 1970s and grew through repetition to the point that 90% of cook books mentioned it in the 1990s.

The fact is, mussels that don't open after cooking are more likely to be safe than those that do.

You should, however, be careful to remove any mussels that have opened before cooking, as they'll be dead and likely to make you ill.


Effect of the type of oil on a vinaigrette's texture? When I prepare vinaigrette, I always use the same basic technique: first the vinegar (or another acid liquid like lemon juice), some salt, a spoonful of Dijon mustard and then I add oil little by little (not as carefully as with mayonnaise – in that case I use an electric whisk – but not all at once), whisking or even simply mixing it with a spoon or fork.

Usually, that's enough to obtain a nice emulsion but in some cases the oil and vinegar never seem to mix properly and the texture isn't right. It's merely anecdotal but I have the feeling that the type of oil I use is the key factor here. Olive, walnut or pumpkin seed oil all seem to work very well, sunflower oil not so much.

My question is: Is it really the case? Does the type of oil have a well documented effect on how easy it is to get a good emulsion? And if that's the case, is there some “neutral” oil I could use instead of sunflower oil if I want to avoid the strong flavour of olive or walnut oil?

Add egg yolk or lecithin to your mixture and whisk it again.

Here is some theory:

To make an emulsion (consistent, not separating oil–water mixture), we rely on emulsifiers – long organic molecules that on one end bind with water, and another with oil. They play role of a glue that does not let molecules of water and oil separate.

The most common emulsifier is a lecithin – compound found in egg yolks.
There is a more complete list of them I found on this website:

Emulsifiers in food


What is the magic time and temperature for stewing meat and vegetables? I made an oxtail stew in the crockpot/slow-cooker today, and 6 hours later I added the vegetables (carrots, onions, celery) which was also one hour before dinner time. Unfortunately, two hours later, the vegetables were still tough and crunchy, which earned me a reprimand from my wife for dinner being late. :-(
The reason why I didn't add in the vegetables from the beginning is because I didn't want the vegetables to be overcooked and too soft.

Motivated by the desire to earn praise rather than rebuke from my darling, what is the right time and temperature for stewing meat and vegetables? Is the solution to first sweat the vegetables?

What I have found so far:

According to Rose Prince (see link), the magic time and temperature for a beef stew recipe is 7 hours at 80°C = 175°F
According to What is the lowest possible temperature for stewing meat?, vegetables should be done at 80°C-95°C

While point (1.) tells me how long to cook the meat, I'm not sure based on point (2.) whether that will leave the vegetables undercooked or overcooked.

If you are going to wait until an hour before serving you definitely have to sweat the vegetables, you could also add them to the stew earlier, like half way through the cooking of the meat. In a pinch I have also put vegetables in some water with seasoning in the microwave after about 4 or 5 minutes, the will be softer, then add to the stew. I also don't think that adding the vegetables with the meat for the whole cooking time is a problem, the vegetables take on all that flavor that the meat gives up.


Am I able to put uncooked chicken back in my fridge for a day? I just took my chicken breast out of the packet and cut it up to make schnitzel then realised I had no oil. Is it safe to put it back in my fridge for a day?

If it's within it's use by date and hasn't been out of the fridge for more than 2 hours since you bought it, then yes, it should be fine. Cover it well.


When cooking pasta in salted water how much of the salt is absorbed? Most chefs recommend that you should add quite a bit of salt to boiling water which you cook pasta in (sometimes 1 teaspoon).

For those watching their sodium intake, how much of this salt will actually end up being absorbed by the pasta, and how much will be thrown out with the water?

Here is a report entitled "Change in sodium content of potato, pasta and rice with different cooking methods".

So the "scientific answer" is:

The sodium content in pasta cooked with different levels of salt increased approximately linearly with the amount of salt added to the cooking water. Pasta cooked in 4g salt/100g raw took up on average 28 mg Na/100g whereas when cooked in 40g/100g raw this increased approximately 10 fold to 230 mg Na/100g.

HTH!

PS: This may help you forget the Na intake temporally


What is the purpose of cooking byriani in stages? Risotto and pilaf are generally cooked as a one pot dish, where the aromatics are fried and then rice and cooking liquid are added.

Most byriani recipes are see the rice is part cooked separately and then layered on top of the sauce. Since its all mixed together at the end this seems to add complexity in two pots and having to drain the rice.

What's the advantage that this two step process adds?

A risotto and a pilaf are very different dishes from what is happening during the cooking process. In a risotto, you want the starch to come out of the rice to make the "sauce", whereas in a pilaf the rice is generally soaked, washed, then pre-fried in oil or butter to prevent excess starch causing the grains to stick together, or indeed a sauce forming. While both can be cooked in one pot, the risotto will be more liquid and starchy than the pilaf, which should have clearly separate, dryish, but buttery, grains.

The same applies to a Byriani. If you were to add uncooked rice to the pan, the meat, veg, juices etc. and then seal and cook, the result would be more like a risotto and the rice stodgy. Byriani generally uses partially or fully cooked rice for this reason, resulting in more separate grains.


Too much barley in vegetable soup I added half a cup of barley to a vegetable (medley) soup and now the soup only tastes of barley. I made the stock from yesterday’s roast chicken. What can I add to counteract the floury taste?

In my personal experience barley is often like lentils and rice in that it can "take over" a recipe if not used judiciously. Too much barley and your soup turns into stew. That happened to me recently.

I've recently been reading "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" by Samin Nosrat and besides it being an excellent primer (or refresher course) on how to learn to cook intuitively she talks about what you can add to various dishes to counteract various ingredients.

As barley is a starch the best you can do is dilute it, or thin it out a bit. You may need to add a fair bit of broth and more of your vegetal ingredients. Possibly to the point of doubling your recipe. It will depend on when you find the taste and texture to have gotten back to acceptable levels.


Off flavor whipped cream from an ISI charger Several times over the last year the whipped cream produced by the ISI whipped cream maker had an very off flavor.  Almost metallic.  All of the parts were cleaned with the same results.

Bob, welcome to Seasoned Advice. Are you thoroughly rinsing whatever chemicals you use to clean it? Also, are you adding any other ingredients, such as sweeteners?

Obviously it wouldn't be the same bad batch of cream over a full year (although that would certainly explain a gross taste...), but you might check the freshness and flavor of any other ingredients.


Grams to tablespoon conversion Do different powders (for example cocoa powder, wheat flour, health drink powder, baking powder) measure different numbers of grams per tablespoon? If yes, why and how do I find out how many grams per tablespoon a given powder is?

It varies by material. A tablespoon (or millilitre) is a unit of volume; a gram of weight. The ratio between the two is called the density, and that varies a lot.

So, you have to look it up, or weight it yourself. Or, if you're lucky, it's on the side of the package.

You can access some of the measurement conversions in the USDA NDB data files I posted a link to via the much-more-friendly web interface. Cocoa powder gives you weight per tablespoon, exactly what you want. Unbleached AP flour gives 125g/cup, and you can convert that to tbsp (since cup is also a measure of volume; Google will happily tell you there are 16 tbsp per cup. (In general, they try to give useful measurements. E.g., "small" and "large" for onions, "stick" for butter, etc.)

From just those two examples, you can see one is 5.4g/T and one is 7.8g/T, so you can't just use one number for all fine dry powders.


What is a good website or book to learn kitchen techniques? For example different cutting techniques such as julienne or brunoise. I'm aware it can never be the same as attending a proper cooking course but still with a good book with pictures or even better online videos you can learn something. Basically I'm looking for a place to get a crash-course in what you'd learn in a proper cooking college.

Jacques Pépin's Complete Techniques is an extremely useful guide to every technique you can imagine. Each step of each technique is fully illustrated with photographs.


Why is my microwave popcorn burned and undercooked at the same time? I recently bought a new microwave, and started to experience a very bizarre phenomenon when trying to cook microwave popcorn.

For clarification, the Popcorn I am using is pre-packaged and in a paper bag, designed to be put into the microwave at ~800W for ~4 minutes. If it matters, it's called "Kelly Microwave Golden Pop", but I don't want to sound like I'm advertising for them.

With my old microwave, I would just wait until the popping would die down and I would have around 10 seconds between each pop. This would make my popcorn barely not burned, and would not leave too many unpopped kernels.

However, with my new microwave, it doesn't work at all. When going full power, I end up with extremely burned popcorn and half the package unpopped. I tried other power settings, specifically 80%, 50% and 30% power (my microwave only deals in percents, not Watt sadly), but the end result is always the same: Some of the popcorn is already burned, while a lot of it is still unpopped.

I have read that, when food is burning in the microwave, putting it off-center works well, but due to the size of the bag and the microwave, this is not an option for me.

What can I do to save my movie night and get unburned popcorn without throwing half the bag in the bin?

Well if it is burning some of the popcorn I'd say that means it is going for too long or you are setting power too strong, otherwise it wouldn't burn.

If there's still unpopped corn at the end, then it could mean three things I can think of, right now.

Uneven microwave distribution in the chamber, which is a very common issue for which rotating platters have been created.
Poor quality corn maybe mixed varieties which don't pop so easily.
Insufficient humidity. Microwaves heat water well, but not other substances, if there is not enough humidity in the form of water/grease content in the package, or it is unevenly distributed, there may be kernels that never get proper temperature.

Try interrupting the microwave mid cycle and shaking the paper bag around a bit about half way through, instead of doing it all in one go. Make sure the platter is rotating.

Some unpopped kernel is expected regardless.


How can you cook milk without it burning the pan? How can you cook milk without it burning the pan? The intention isn't just to heat/warm the milk, but to thoroughly cook it. Burned pans are hard to clean, and they make the milk taste burned.
The traditional approach of boiling milk on the stove tends to cause it to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, if not done properly.
Background: The reason I want to cook milk is because I tolerate cooked milk better, depending on the gallon of milk. Most gallons of milk from the grocery store give me a lot of gas. Some gallons don't give me any gas at all (and those tend to keep a lot longer, interestingly). Either way, I tolerate it very well, without gas, when it is thoroughly cooked. I don't personally believe I have a milk intolerance or allergy; I think it's just yeast in the milk that grows as it nears expiration and contributes to its spoilage, as I am sensitive to some yeasts and molds; I tolerate other cow dairy products just fine (e.g. cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, butter, and sour cream), regardless of whether it is cooked.
This is a Q/A where I answer my own question, but you're free to participate as usual, of course. I figured the question had already been asked, and I came here to add my answer to the list of answers. (But I couldn't find a question like it on the site.)

Double boiler.
You can buy a purpose built double boiler and if you are going to do this often you should.  But for now you can fake it the way I do.  Here is my setup.

The little saucepan is floating in the water that is in the larger pan.  Because of the water, the temperature never gets higher than 100°C unless you boil all the water off.  Milk at 100°C will boil but it will not scorch.  That is milk gravy (white sauce) in the small pan which happened to be in there and which I thought was a good illustration.
Float a small pan in a larger pot of water and cook your milk in the small pan.  If you like it, buy a double boiler.  Sometimes the floating pan is too heavy and some water comes in over the side.  Not a big deal for milk but a total loss if you are using the setup to melt chocolate chips.


How to compare the strength of commercial natural vanilla extracts? Vanilla extracts usually don't give details on the content of vanilla. Only the main ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration.
On the Kirkland brand I saw a figure of 2000ppm naturally occurring vanillin.
So:

How to compare the strength of commercial vanilla extracts?
How can the consumer properly compare prices for different varieties without details on the concentration of vanilla extracts?
Are there differences in intensity of different vanilla bean varieties?

By US law, any "pure" vanilla extract must contain at least 35% alcohol and 13.35 oz vanilla bean per gallon; I'm willing to bet companies do their very best to keep the vanilla concentration to exactly that amount and no more.  I have no idea why the Kirkland brand talked about ppm.  A "pure" vanilla extract lawfully may contain other things besides vanilla, alcohol, and water (e.g., corn syrup), but the best ones don't -- check the ingredient list.
If, by the way, you search the internet, you can find double- and even triple-strength extracts, but these are not sold in the typical megamart and few recipes call for them, so there is little point for the home cook to worry about them.

Unfortunately, your only choice is a taste test (unless you have access to a highly sophisticated food-chemistry lab).

Yes.  Vanilla is grown in a variety of tropical and sub-tropical climates, including Florida and Hawaii, but there are three commercially significant places where vanilla is grown:  Tahiti, Mexico, and Madagascar.

Tahitian vanilla is its own variety of plant (vanilla tahitensis); it produces beans with a delicate floral aroma.  Many say Tahitian vanilla is the cream of the crop, but it is also the least potent.
Mexican vanilla (vanilla planifolia) makes bean with a potent, sometimes even funky aroma (funky in a good way), which will provide the greatest vanilla bang for the buck.  The main problem is finding a reliable supply.  Note that some extracts claiming to be of pure vanilla that were made in Mexico have proven to be vanilla-flavored extracts that do not, in fact, contain any vanilla.
Madagascar (also planifolia) produces about 70% of all vanilla imported into the US.  It is sometimes called "Bourbon" because the French imported the plant back when they were the colonial masters of Madagascar, then called the Island of Bourbon.