Avoiding over-mixing when using a stand mixer I've been having a problem when I try to make baked desserts using my stand mixer: cookies come out flat and cakes come out too dense.  I've tried several recipes and had them come out great when mixing by hand instead, so I'm pretty confident it's not a problem elsewhere.  I'm using the slowest setting and running it only as long as necessary.

I don't know baking chemistry that well, but I'm guessing that the power of the mixer is starting the baking soda/powder reaction too early, leaving it without enough reaction left to do its job in the oven.  Does that sound right?

Any ideas for how to fix this?

It could be a lot of things. Cookies in a stand mixer can suffer from gluten production and there would be no really good way to reverse this effect. However, if you are not mixing the cookies for more than a couple minutes, this is not likely the issue. Other things can effect the texture of cookies that might be a byproduct and not a direct result of the stand mixer.

One example might be that the solid fat that is used in the recipe was over mixed or out too long. Soft fat will make a denser crisper cookie. Refrigerating the cookies for a while would help fix this issue.

Another cause could be a minor substitution. See the blog link below for how different substitutions affect a cookie recipe.

http://www.handletheheat.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Along with the above make sure to check things like the expiration date on your baking powder. They lose potency pretty quickly after expiration. This could also cause dense cookies.


Are European white truffles significantly superior in flavour to those from North America? There is a rumour that white truffles harvested in Europe by pigs or dogs are much better in terms of flavour than those from North America, hence the reason for the higher price of European white truffles, the main reason given for the aroma difference is that it has something to do with the way the Americans harvest their truffles.

Are European white truffles much more aromatic and flavourful than the North American ones? I would like to try truffles but I do not want to spend too much money on the European ones if the American ones are just as good or nearly as good.

I think the truffles that are exported are of better quality on average than what you'll find on the european market. I've never tried the american ones consciously (they're not imported to Europe as far as I know).

You could also take into account that the fresher the truffles are the better the quality, so in theory it would be better to eat american truffles in the USA and european truffles in Europe.

Given the mind boggling price differences and the supposed high quality of the stuff found in the forests in Oregon, you're likely going to be well off picking the local stuff.


What's the trick to seal sous vide foil if liquid contained I experience problems with sealing sous vide dishes if they contain liquid. Think of marinade for example.

While sealing, the liquid is flowing up and prevents proper sealing. Current workaround is to take more foil for example or seal without proper vacuum.

Do you know of a 100% working trick?

I would say that having lots of liquid makes your life easier, not more difficult, because you don't need the vacuum at all.

The purpose of the vacuum is to have heat conduction take place properly. If you were to put a piece of dry food in a plastic bag and close that, the air trapped in the bag would act as an insulator, preventing from the water bath to heat the food.

The good thing about marinades and other liquids used in cooking is that they are great heat conductors. So if you have a bag full of liquid, with pieces of solid food swimming in it, the sous vide process works as intended, without any vacuum.

The most practically convenient way to go about it is to use ziplock bags without a vacuum device. You place your food-with-liquid in the bag, submerge most of the bag, and manually press out the air, then seal by hand. A few air bubbles will be left inside, but they're not a problem.

From there, you can proceed the same way as with a heat-sealed voided bag.


Can I turn my unset jelly into cactus fruit gummies instead? I tried making prickly pear fruit jelly. I accidentally used regular pectin instead of low-sugar pectin. Is there a way that I can turn my unset jelly into cactus fruit gummies instead?

Yes, but you can also reprocess the jelly and see if it will set. See this article for more info: http://www.pickyourown.org/how_to_fix_runny_jam.htm

If you want to make gummies, usually gelatin is used. You'll need unflavored gelatin for that. I've used this recipe with success, but they are pretty firm, so you may need to play around with the amount of gelatin. (Also, I wouldn't add more sugar since you've probably already added some when you tried to make jelly).
https://elanaspantry.com/gummy-bears/


Recreating Tonka Bean Gu Cake Last year, Gu released this cake bar, described as

'Dessert with Layers of Milk Chocolate Mousse, Salted Caramel Crémeux, Chocolate and Almond Sponge on a Crisp Praline Base

Irresistible layers of velvety Belgian milk chocolate mousse, tonka bean infused salted caramel crémeux, decadent chocolate and almond sponge on a crisp praline base';

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/gb/groceries/all-desserts/gu-festive-chocolate-bar-600g?langId=44&storeId=10151&krypto=DxLxtJ%2B5LYoBOqqxg%2FWPKn9DP9qJQdQ0%2BQZAoTgk22lid3miVrBgmgj18A0zAWNeuZwOxESCgt50nzDj9lnJY924GqN2GdPB5Dir9lBiGdcbQTl9nblc9795Xh2BfR9ZU0EFaR1tSKGCHBBF35q%2BfSshwhudCMebv%2F%2B9hDvzB6E%3D&ddkey=http%3Agb%2Fgroceries%2Fall-desserts%2Fgu-festive-chocolate-bar-600g

Which was amasing. However they no longer do it. Does anyone have any experience creating something along these lines? As we were planning to try to recreate this ourselves. Any tips, similar recipies (or indeed a location to buy the original :) ) would be much appreciated!

We are mainly concerned about the 'Cremeux' as we have made similar things to the other components before but can't get a recipe or anything on the Cremeux.

Thanks

In the oven at about 340/350 F, bake high quality/real white chocolate chunks or chips or buttons until evenly but lightly golden brown, moving it around with a wooden spoon or spatula. By doing this, you are caramelizing the sugars in the white chocolate = your caramel component.

Remove from the oven and place into a container. Heat 35% whipping cream to a simmer and just cover the caramelized white chocolate. Less cream will make a thicker emulsion (more ganache style) and more cream will make a thinner emulsion (spreadable). While hot, add some sea salt or salt of choice. With a hand blender, whizz up the mixture until evenly combined and whipped.

At this point you could use it as is (may need to heat slightly to use or spread), or you could opt to whip it further for a lighter, more mousse-style finish.

This filling can be used in macarons, cake layers, thinned out as a sauce, a pudding, etc etc. I highly recommend this.


Avoiding poisonous quince juice I'm cooking jelly from quinces, with core housing and seeds. I try to remove sliced seeds. From the leftover mass I prepare delicious quince bread by passing it through a food mill ("Flotte Lotte"). What is left in the food mill (seeds etc., now called residuum) I put in the freezer to get additional juice after quince season. The seed shell from the seeds is damaged/removed during the milling process.
Is it safe to cook the residuum once more? I've read that the hydrogen cyanide inside the seeds is water solutable and volatile. So I'm unsure if

hydrogen cyanide is still inside the seeds after cooking for one hour
the hydrogen cyanide can escape from slightly damaged seeds
I cook poisonous juice
I poison myself from the gas while cooking

I really don't want to put anyone's health on jeopardy.

Short answer: No.
Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) boils at 26 C (79 F), which is quite low, so after one hour of boiling you would be left with very little HCN. You need about 200 ppm in most mammals for the LD50 (dose at which 50% of a group of animals die). You are very unlikely to reach this concentration in a kitchen with the window open or an extractor fan running. I've been unable to find values for the HCN content in quince, but there are closely related species like apple and pear that do have available values for the HCN containing compounds.
However, what is actually in quince seeds is a nitrile compound - this is a group of chemicals that contain a cyanide group; the most commonly studied and mentioned form of this is a chemical known as Amygdalin. These are altered by the stomach acids and enzymes and can release the HCN from the nitrile. How much is released is probably a bit dependent on the conditions under which it is treated. Boiling seems to be effective at extracting amygdalins and that they contain in apple and pear between 3.0 and 1.3 mg/gram of amygdalin respectively. This converts to 0.1772 mg HCN per gram of seed dry weight for apple (please check my maths - HCN Mr = 27.0253 g/mol; amygdalin Mr = 457.429 g/mol; there is 1 HCN per amygdalin). If you boiled 100 grams of the (dry) seed you would get ~12 milligrams of potential HCN. The NIOSH limits for HCN exposure are a time-weighted average of 10 mg/m3 over 8 hours, so you would need to absorb all of that amygdalin over about 8 hours to see any effect.
It seems that the seeds are incorporated into a bunch of remedies (see sections on edible and medicinal uses), so it is likely that there is actually much threat from the seed or products of the seeds unless consumed in significant amounts.


Freezing ready-cooked veg I really don't like blanching.  Could I cook the veg. ready to eat and put straight into the freezer?  If so, how long might it last?

OR, as an alternative to blanching, could all the veg be boiled for just 1 or 2 minutes, dried (it's said they're still continuing the cooking process during this time) and then put straight into ziplocked bags and into the freezer?

I get fresh produce from the Farmer's Market and would like to freeze it, mainly short term, up to a month max.

Blanching is a necessary step prior to preparing vegetables for storage in the freezer.  Blanching deactivates the enzymes, present in fruits and vegetables, which are responsible for browning and potential off flavors during storage. Your blanched vegetables will look and taste better after being frozen.  They will also last longer.  Blanching is a quick process.  Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add vegetables.  Allow the pot to return to the boil (cover on).  This should take about a minute.  Remove to an ice bath.  Drain.  Package.  Freeze.  If you are ok with boiling for a minute or two, this should not add much time to your process.


In what ways does the size of the baking pan matter while baking cakes? Rose Levy's reviews warn about using the right sized pans, and say that failing to do so will result in failure.

I have glass ware and silicon cups for baking cakes. I prefer to bake the cake material in cups so that it takes less time, etc.

So, what kind of precautions should be taken if the intention is to bake cakes in cups?

The right size is important, because baking times are designed for a specific batter thickness. If a recipe is meant for a 26 cm pan and you pour the whole batter in a 18 cm pan, it will be much thicker and the middle won't get done before the top burns. That is why high cakes are made by stacking layers, not by baking one high cake.

You can pour a batch of batter into multiple small cups and have it turn out all right as long as the height stays more or less the same as it would have been in the large pan. My advice is to calculate the area of the pan given in the recipe and the area of your silicone cups, so you can know how many cups to use. You don't have to be completely precise, for the average cake it is not too terrible if you have +-0.5 cm difference in batter height. If the difference is larger, you can still get good results, but you should adjust the baking time.

The resulting cupcakes will still have the thickness of the normal cake, or somewhat more if you use less cups and bake accordingly longer. I would advise against trying to bake high-rise muffins from normal cake recipes. Even a sponge cake recipe might need some adjustment of the amount of baking powder before working as a high muffin. Other types of cake, especially the more exotic ones (genoise, flourless cakes) are unlikely to bake well if you fill them into deep cups.


How much to reduce salt when using salted butter in place of unsalted butter I normally don't keep unsalted butter on hand since I use it so seldom. So when a recipe calls for salt and unsalted butter among its ingredients would it be alright to use salted butter and reduce the amount of salt? And if so, by how much should the salt be reduced? In other words, how much salt is typically contained in a tablespoon, ounce or gram of salted butter?

Depending on brand, it is approximately 1 1/4 tsp per pound (US), or a little more than 1/4 tsp per stick (4 oz).

For most applications, yes it is fine to substitute and adjust; you can just adjust the "salt to taste" step of your recipe in many cases.

There are a very few uses (such as yeast raised dough) where you want to be more precise.  I would not use salted butter for a yeast dough by preference, but if I had to, I would calculate the amount of salt to remove from the other ingredients based on this ratio:

1 1/4 tsp salt / 16 oz butter


Condensed milk doesn't mix well into iced coffee I enjoy Vietnamese/Thai/Brazilian iced coffee with the signature condensed milk. However, my efforts to reproduce have fallen flat.

Using either condensed milk from a can or squeeze bottle, it never really mixes well and falls to the bottom. It ends up as a 'strand' down the length of the class. What is the proper method of adding condensed milk to iced coffee and having it mix well?

Steps I am taking:

Fill regular glass to near-top of the rim with ice
Add toddy brewed iced coffee (refrigerated)
Add milk or half and half
Add tablespoon+ of condensed milk
Stir with spoon or straw

Is the secret heating up the condensed milk? That seems terribly inconvenient.

It definitely works if everything is room temperature or a bit warmer, maybe 20-30C (68-86F), and it definitely won't work if it's all pretty cold.

It sounds like you may be a little too far on the cold end. You have coffee at 0C, plenty of ice to hold it at 0C, and a small amount of condensed milk at room temperature that'll rapidly cool down as soon as it's added. The upshot is that you're basically stirring at 0C, not even room temperature, and condensed milk at 0C is indeed pretty darn thick.

To keep things simple, I'd start out by just stirring the condensed milk in without ice. You could even stir it into just the milk/half-and-half, since with a smaller quantity of refrigerated liquid, the temperature won't drop as much. Stirring that into the rest of it should then be much easier. You may also want to stir continuously as you're adding the milk, rather than after adding it all.


What does Joy of Cooking mean by "canned spaghetti"? My sister was browsing through her Joy of Cooking (the 1975 edition, her copy printed November 1983) and found several recipes that call for things like "1 can spaghetti: 24 oz." or "2 1/2 cups canned spaghetti". We can't for the life of us figure out what this means.

For example, here's a recipe for "Quick Spaghetti Meat Pie" (page 217):

  4 servings
  Preheat oven to 375°
  Sauté lightly:
     2 cups cubed or ground cooked meat
    2 teaspoons grated onion
  in:
    2 tablespoons butter
  Add:
    1/4 cup cream
  Season it with:
    Salt and pepper
    (1/2 teaspoon basil)
  Place in a greased baking dish:
    1 can spaghetti: 24 oz.
  Make a depression in the center. Place the meat in it. Sprinkle the top with:
    Au Gratin III, 553
  Bake about 25 minutes.

When we ask our friend Mr. Google to show us what "canned spaghetti" looks like, he shows us pictures of spaghetti sauce. Is "canned spaghetti" something that (thankfully) died out sometime in the intervening 40 years since this recipe was written?

Canned spaghetti unfortunately is still something that can be bought at supermarkets. A common brand for canned pasta is Chef Boyardee. They have ravioli, spaghetti and sometimes even canned meatballs inside the spaghetti.

These spaghetti will have a very very soft texture similar to what you would expect the spaghetti texture to be if you overcook it by at least 10 minutes.


Why did a jar of vinegar destroy this metal lid and turn it black (see pic)? About a month ago, I filled a thoroughly-cleaned-out glass salsa jar with vinegar and hand-tightened the lid. Specifically, I filled the jar with generic white distilled vinegar ("diluted with water to 5% acidity"). I did not open the jar between now and then.

Today, I opened the jar, and I couldn't believe what I saw. The inside of the metal lid has been destroyed, filled with clumps of abrasive, black particles that are firmly attached to the lid.

The inside of the lid also has some rust, which is even more odd, because I thought that vinegar removes rust.

The jar was not even all-the-way full. This is the vinegar jar in question:

This is what the lid looked like a month ago, when the jar was empty:

This is what it looks like today:

I have two questions.

How on Earth was this metal lid destroyed by the presence of vinegar?
What container material is best to store vinegar for long periods of time, without deterioration?

I purchase vinegar in a gigantic plastic carboy, because it is cheaper in bulk. I would like to have the vinegar available in a smaller container. I prefer to use a type of container that's recycled from a common item (like salsa).

Note: Not that it matters in the context of my questions, but I'm not actually using this vinegar for cooking. I use it as a safe disinfectant for items such as a retainer. Given that vinegar is typically viewed as a food, I thought that it would be appropriate to pose this question to Seasoned Advice.

Vinegar is an acid and acids are not stored in metal, it eats them.  Some are less reactive, like stainless steel, but still not a good idea.  Normally plastic is fine, that is what vinegar is often marketed in, but glass is usually best as the main container, but lid should either not be metal or should be fully and well coated, and I would tend to avoid that as well unless I knew it was non-reactive.

An option for ready use would be a glass decanter, as used for oil and vinegar dressing.  These often include a glass stopper, so they make a good but spill prone option.  For longer term storage, my choice is a wine bottle and cork.  The corks (including the synthetic ones and even the twist on) should all be designed for a similar environment to vinegar.  Lower acid but longer term so the same general effect.


Is it possible to use puree in a siphon whip? does someone have experience with putting puree in a siphon whip, to achieve a fluffier texture? Does it work?

Yes you can; you can do both sweet and savory foams.
I never did it (I don't have a siphon), but from what I can feel when eating foam/espuma is that the input purée needs to be quite fine; blend/purée and then pass through a fine mesh sieve.
Just google "foam espuma recipe" and you will find a lot of recipes.


What emulsifier can be used for an Egg-free mayonnaise? What emulsifier can be used for an egg-free mayonnaise?

Aquafaba! (also known as chickpea water) Here's a good recipe from Serious Eats:

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/03/easy-vegan-mayo-aquafaba-recipe-vegan-experience.html


What are some flavors that have a strong early presence? I've just started using Soylent and I'm in the process of making it more palatable.  Most of the flavors I've tried adding help, but they come in as an aftertaste.

What are some flavors I can try that might come in before the Soylent taste?  Or, is there a way to figure out what kinds of flavors generally do?

I've never tasted soylent. But note that in order to make a flavor more powerful, you'd want the flavor ingredient in most quantity and a higher concentration. And the easy way to make any flavor "appear first" is to make it touch the tongue first.

Say, if you mix in lemon juice for flavor, consider spreading finely chopped lime zest on top of the glass. And maybe also throw in the drink something that goes with lemon. Perhaps mint leaves?

Now, as you bring the glass to your mouth you'll first smell citrus. next, the sour-bitter-sweet zest will touch your tongue and hopefully be more to your preference of dominance. Later you will encounter the mints, as if you were casually eating a rarely disgusting Ben & Jerry's.

Of course I don't know if Soylent goes with lemon. But either with chocolate, hot spice or tea (can you infuse tea in it? maybe on a very low flame?) I think the general approach is worth trying.


What's really happening when reusing tea leaves? I reuse my green tea bags three or even four times with little to no loss in flavor.  But it's a pain to reheat water to the correct temperature after I'm done with the first cup and wait another three minutes for the tea to brew.

I've never tried brewing a single bag in 24 or 32 ounces of water rather than eight, but I'd be surprised if the resulting tea would result in the same strength as brewing three individual cups.  Is this the case?  What if I let the single bag brew for more time in the larger volume of water?  What exactly is happening here?

Bonus points:  Why is it that green tea doesn't seem to lose much flavor after reuse, but black teas are practically useless after a single brew?

There are couple of factors at work when re-steeping green tea: temperature, time, and the quality of the tea (the size & way it's been processed).  Green tea is supposed to be brewed with water that's been brought to boil and allowed to cool to 167 - 176 degrees Fahrenheit (though many people simply heat the water to that point or what they eyeball as hot but not boiling).  Green tea is typically steeped for 1 - 2 minutes.  And green tea, especially loose leaf, but also with higher quality tea bags, has furled and sometimes rolled leaves.  The lower temperature, the short steeping time, and the curled leaves mean that flavor is still left within the leaves even after multiple steepings.  The leaves continue to expand and release in subsequent baths.  I don't, unfortunately, know any of the exact science--what's being released when, etc.

However, a possible alternative to boiling & brewing individual teas when done or simply using more tea (the typical choice when brewing larger quantities), you can bring your water to temperature, steep, pour it into a preheated or heat retaining container, and repeat the cycle until you've brewed your multiple cups in one go.  As far as I know the tea leaves don't need to 'rest' in between brewings.

The reason green tea can be re-steeped is also the reason most black teas can't.  Black tea is subject to boiling water for a longer period of time (typically Western use is 3 - 5 minutes; some cultures favor an even longer steep for the deeply bitter tannins).  The hotter and longer steep pulls more flavor out of the leaves faster.  Some black teas, especially high quality whole-leaf, can be re-steeped, however.  Most bagged black teas--and a lot of loose leaf--can't.

The heat & steep time is dictated by the processing of the tea once it's picked.  Green tea has minimal processing--pluck, wilt, shape & dry.  Black tea is allowed complete oxidation (called fermentation).  Fermentation breaks down chlorophyll, releases tannins, and forms many of the taste & aroma compounds that typify black tea.  Oolongs and other varieties are subjected to varying degrees of fermentation.  The size & shaping of the tea leaf--allowed to remain whole, broken, rolled, or (for most bagged tea) cut into fannings and dust, also affects how tea should be initially steeped and whether it can be re-steeped.  Highly rolled oolongs, for example, often hold up to more steepings than green tea and are even said to taste best only on the 3rd or further steeping.


What is meringue powder? I've got a recipe that asks for meringue powder and I have no idea what it is. So my question is what is meringue powder and what purpose does it serve in recipes?

Meringue powder is a pasteurized egg product - "dried egg whites with stabilizers and anti-clumping agents such as cornstarch".

It is used to stiffen recipes and I think there are two main reasons for using it (as opposed to egg whites):

1) Reduced risk of salmonella

2) Less time/labour/effort used - you don't have to beat the egg whites for a long time to stiffen them

I would guess as well that it would have more consistent results. When making meringues with egg whites you have to be careful not to get any yolk or other fat into the mixture or it won't stiffen properly. There is no real risk of this with meringue powder.


Why does a portafilter machine take so long to warm up and a modern machine doesn't? I was wondering why a portafilter coffee machine takes up to 15 minutes to warm up in order to make an espresso.

On the other side, a modern Nespresso Citiz doesn't even take a minute to warm up.

What makes the difference here?

By portafilter I assume you mean the standard large coffeeshop espresso machine.

The Nespresso is only heating enough water for a single shot, which can be done pretty quickly. I'm pretty sure commercial machines take a long time for that first shot because they're preheating the large reservoir so it's possible to fully heat and pull shot after shot in fairly quick succession once you get going.

So the lag is because the bigger machine is heating a bunch more water--even if it doesn't superheat any more per shot than the Nespresso.

Somebody correct me if I have this all wrong, but that's what I was led to understand.


Cooking rib roast for a large group with minimal time We're having a decent sized party, and hoping to serve rib roasts (we're looking at 3 7-rib roasts).  The problem is, we only have access to the ovens on site 2 hours before we want to eat.  This doesn't give us enough time to do the full cooking on site.  What's the best way to start them at home and finish them off on site?  Would it work out to do a couple hours at 250 or so to warm them, transport them foil wrapped in a cooler, and then blast them at 450 on site?  Or flip that around and cook at high heat first and try and hold them once we get the kitchen?

This is a perfect application for sous vide cooking.  I would pre-sear, bag, sous vide @ 58C (136.5 F) for 5 to 10 hours, then chill. All that can be done ahead of time.  Bring to the site, re-therm for a couple of hours, crank the oven, and finish in a hot oven to develop outer crust.


Low-calorie French Fries Update

thanks to Max's answer I decided to give baked fries a try. Experimenting with different methods, this is my recipe so far. There are still a few problems with it (read below):

Boil fries for an hour until tender.
Carefully place fries in a microwave for 2 mins, or until they are approximately 60% of their original weight.
Place fries in a freezer for 2 hours.
Dip frozen fries in oil briefly to coat them. Place fries on a rack and bake at 400F for 15 minutes.

Baked Fries Problem 1: Lack of uniform golden texture

While fries this way turn out crispy, they don't have a uniform golden texture that french fries do. Instead, they have certain 'brown spots'. Just google 'Oven fries' and you will see what I mean.

Baked Fries Problem 2: Oil content

To coat the fries, I poured a large amount of oil in a rectangular tray. I dipped the fries in oil before placing them on the baking tray. I found out a batch of 114g of fries used up about 30g of oil after coating them. I wonder if there is a way to reduce this amount to cut down even more calories.

Original Post

Recently I have been experimenting to make lower-calorie alternatives to potato fries.

I tried using rutabagas, also known as swedes. These were 39 calories per 100g, as compared to 79 calories per 100g of potatoes. A much lower calorie option!

I prepared the rutabaga fries the same way as I did potato fries, with some modifications.

Cut into 0.5" sticks and boil them for 45 mins, until tender.
Dry in refrigerator for 2 hours.
Fry at 170F/130c for 4 mins.
Put back in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Fry them a final time at 370F/190c for 4 minutes.

However, unlike the results I got from conventional potato fries, the rutabaga fries came out limpy, greasy and wrinkled up. Fries were often hollow. Not crispy at all.

After some research, I attributed this to the high moisture content of rutabagas, as compared to potatoes:

Per 100g:

Potatoes, 77 calories, 79% water content
Rutabagas, 37 calories, 91% water content

My understanding from cooking French fries is that deep-frying drives moisture out of the fries, displacing the water inside each potato fry with an almost equal amount of oil.

For rutabagas/swedes, the high moisture content meant that a lot of oil was pushed into each fry. It also made the fries wrinkle up much more severely during the drying step, leading to hollow fries.

The high moisture content also means that when comparing the calories of dry, fried rutabagas to dry, fried potatoes, they are not much healthier as I thought.

I thought I could make diet alternatives with rutabagas and even pumpkins but it seems like their high moisture content makes them unsuitable for French fries.

Am I wrong, or is there something I have not tried?

I thought of trying to coat the rutabagas with a corn starch batter and frying them just like banana fritters or chicken wings. This would give them a crust, while maintaining their moisture content, thus making them lower in calories than potatoes.

Isn't the oil (and bad oil temperature), the main reason for calories in fried food, not the vegetables themselves?

Just coating in corn starch will not help at all, the moisture in the vegetable will still make them limp and oily.

If you do a tempura or batter type frying, then the batter itself becomes the calories sponge.

If you want to make "lower" calories french fries, just do them in the oven.

cut and prepare your potatoes, put them in a bowl and add a little bit of oil (and seasoning) and shake/mix well and put on a sheet and put them in the oven until crispy (flip them around a couple of times).


How to adjust oil in recipe when adding peanut butter I made a peanut butter cake, but it had too much oil. I used a recipe I'm familiar with, but added peanut butter to it. I used natural peanut butter (only contains peanuts and a little salt).

How much should I cut back on the butter (the only oil in my recipe) when adding peanut butter? Do I need to adjust the eggs as well? I used approximately 1/3 c peanut butter for a single layer cake.

Natural Peanut butter is about 50% fat, butter is about 80% fat. If you want to maintain the original amount of fat in the recipe, you would decrease the butter by 60% of the amount of peanut butter you used. So if you used 1/3 cup of Peanut butter, subtract about 1/5 cup (a little less than a 1/4 cup) of butter from your recipe. Don't adjust the eggs.

Hope this helps! I had to use too much math to get to the answer.


How to change the texture of pudding? I made this recipe today that involves making instant pudding with chocolate ice cream instead of milk.  It was supposed to come out as a super chocolaty mouse but it tasted a little grainy, like not all the pudding got incorprated. I rarely use box pudding but I was thinking this could be a quick dessert to yank out if needed.  Anyway, I was wondering what the best way to knock out the graininess was. Should I add some milk or just use more ice cream?

The original recipe was from serious eats : http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/08/cakespy-chocolate-ice-cream-pie-recipe.html

Part of the problem could be the refreezing of the ice cream.  You know when you take out ice cream, eat at it for 5 or 10 minutes and then put it back in the freezer...and then the next time you take it out, some of the ice cream is a little icy and bit grainy?

I'm not sure you can solve this if you use the same recipe.  Instead, I would recommend using the highest fat chocolate milk you can find instead of using melted chocolate ice cream.

I really doubt the pudding didn't get dissolved completely.  If that really was the case, you could heat the mixture before you put it in the pie crust.


Do Ice Wands have an advantage over a homemade solution? It's recently come to my attention that I've been flirting with disaster by regularly cooling large pots of stock (~2 or 3 quarts at a time) by moving them straight from high temperature (>180F) to the fridge to cool overnight. This apparently leaves the stock in the danger zone for bacteria growth for several hours. The most efficient and effective alternative I've heard mentioned is an "Ice Wand" or "Ice Paddle"; essentially a plastic container that can be filled with water and frozen, then used to stir hot liquid and quickly cool it.

However, there is a price difference between the specialized Ice Wands and other food-safe and temperature-resistant plastic containers. As just one example, Nalgene sells a variety of types of plastic water bottles that are food-safe and have temperature ranges below freezing and at or above boiling temperatures, and those bottles normally retail for $12 or less for a 48oz container, while the cheapest Ice Wand I could find listed was $25 for a 64oz container.

Is there anything different about the construction, materials, or function of these Ice Wands that's different? Will another frozen container work too? Are there any gotchas if I use something else for this purpose?

Putting it simply, the nalgene ones are probably only more expensive than regular water bottles because they are more specialized and there is a smaller market for them. That makes it easier for the companies to justify a higher price, especially if they think it will mostly be used for commercial purposes.

For efficacy, you simply want something that will transfer and remove the heat quickly, like a heat sink on computer components. Part of the effectiveness comes from the material used (and its thickness), part of it is the surface area that is exposed, and how much of the cool material (in your nalgene ones, the water capacity) is there to pick up the extra heat before the temperatures have equalized.

I think the actual difference between a plastic water bottle and a plastic water-filled ice paddle/wand is mostly in the shape (and possibly in the thickness of the walls). Probably, using several frozen food-safe water bottles would be fine, but you might need to agitate them a bit more to get the same effect due to a cylinder having less surface area than the paddles.

In homebrewing, I use an immersion chiller, a copper coil that gets hooked up to the sink faucet with food-grade tubing. You run cold water through the coil and it spirals through the hot soon-to-be-beer (wort) and copper, being an effective conductor, transfers heat into the cold water which comes out hot at the other end into the sink (or into your garden). It works very well, but it's also pricey because it's copper, and it uses a lot of water (which in the California drought means I need to try to recapture it).

As the comments note, an ice-water bath in the sink also works well. Fill the sink with cold water, add ice, add your pot. Stir a lot in the pot for maximum heat transfer and use a separate spoon or your hand to stir the water in the sink. Replace ice cubes as they melt.

Another option for quick cooling is to transfer it into shallower containers with more surface area and put those in the fridge. More dirty dishes and more chance for spills, but it will let it cool faster in the fridge than in your stock pot (if you have room on your shelves for a bunch of shallow trays).


How do I pour from a dutch oven without making a mess? This is a seemingly simple question, but I can't seem to find good helpful techniques or suggestions for this.

After frying in a dutch oven (or any other pot with little or no lip) and letting the oil cool down a bit, I like to store the oil in the container it came in.  Whenever I do so, even with a funnel, I end up spilling almost as much as I save.  Typically it runs down the side of the pot instead of pouring out.

Now this is a problem with trying to save any liquid (e.g. soup, sauce).  Is there a trick that doesn't involve making a mess?

Some dutch ovens are easier to pour from than others; it depends on the how the edge or lip of the pot is curved.

If you have one that is not easy to pour from, minimize the amount of pouring that you do by transferring the content out with a ladle... or since ladling can be slow.... I use a glass measuring cup as a scoop.  These tend to pour quite well, hold a lot (I have three sizes, including one that holds a quart or liter) and have a handle so you don't get your hand messy.

Once most of the content is transferred, you can pour the last part.  Usually this will not make as much of a mess, but if it does still drip down the side of the oven, there was much less of the product involved.

Lastly, do the transfer in or over the sink.  This won't save you from having some of the content escape, but it does make cleanup much, much easier.


Why don't some Italian tomato sauces and pastes use citric acid? I bought tomato paste that came from Italy that just contains tomatoes and no citric acid. Another jar of tomato passata also only contained tomatoes. Are Italian tomatoes more acidic or is there a reason that they don't seem to use citric acid? I would be more comfortable knowing the ph is at the right level for food safety reasons but perhaps it is?

Citric acid is added when the PH of the overall product is too high. Most of the time a product with pure tomatoes doesn't need any help with PH as the tomatoes should be acidic enough, when you see citric acid added you will usually see water added as well in some form. Water is added to bulk up the product and make it cheaper, some companies add tomato juice instead of water as it looks better on the labeling , but at the end of the day tomato juice is just flavored water. Water increases the overall PH level, so you have to bring it back up.

When you don't see citric acid in a can of tomatoes or a tomato product it's usually a sign that they are really good quality.


Why do we dimple a focaccia? When I was making a focaccia earlier today, I realised that I've never been told why we dimple them before baking. A quick Googling didn't reveal anything, so I'm asking here: why do we make dimples in a focaccia before baking? Is it strictly cosmetic, or is there another reason?

I have read that the dimples are there to catch the olive oil that is drizzled over the top  (sometimes water may also be sprayed) before baking.  The little pools of olive oil soak in and further enhance the crust texture and flavor.


How do you properly cook a steak? I love steaks so much, that I would like to get a green card and live in the States just to enjoy good steaks whenever I want.

When I try to cook a steak at home (I live in Italy), it always turns out burned outside and almost totally raw inside. Actually only a thin layer is cooked (or I should say carbonized).

If I try to lower the temperature of the grill pan, I get an extremely dried meat that resembles cork.

So, which are the basics for properly cooking a steak (say, to a medium-well grade)?

You can use the rule of thumb method to measure the "doneness" of the steak:

You loosely touch one of your fingers with your thumb depending on how well done you want it, and the tension of the muscle of your hand below the thumb will be the same as how the meat should feel when you press it.


Unopened Canned Food in Spare Commercial Fridge - Safety & Storage for Prepping Our pantry is packed to the hilt, we have food stashed everywhere.... yet with the famine in route we still need more.  We have an empty single door commercial fridge in the pole building.  I figure we could get 300 16oz cans or better in it.

My thoughts are to set the fridge high (like 60F) and load it down with canned food for long term storage.  This would add a nice 90 days to our supply cheaply.

In Ohio, temps in pole barn range -10 to 110.

Thoughts?

If you're talking about commercially canned food, like from the supermarket, then at 60°F [15°C] You've pretty much got until the cans rust.

Practically, no limit. Sensibly, 2 - 5 years.

'Best Before' dates on cans in the UK are typically between 1 & 2 years - but 'best before' is only a guide as to how 'like new' the product will be, with full flavour & texture as designed. It is not a guide as to when it would become unsafe.

I can't think in Fahrenheit, so I hadn't realised how much of a swing -10 to 110 actually is, so the next part doesn't really work anymore, until you get to 'bury it underground'.

I don't think even small temperature fluctuations would affect shelf-life, but as you can control it, I would do, just to be doubly-certain… although if 90 days is going to be your top limit, then I'd probably not even power up the fridge, just keep the door shut. If you think internal temperatures may still exceed the USDA's limits, invest in a high/low [max/min] thermometer.

From comments - if this really is some kind of 'survivalist' thing, then forget the power & bury it deep enough that temperature fluctuations will no longer affect it critically. [I'm only half joking there; if there's no food, what makes you think there's going to be power… once your generator runs dry].

From Wikipedia - Shelf Life

  According to the USDA, "canned foods are safe indefinitely as long as
  they are not exposed to freezing temperatures, or temperatures above
  90 °F (32.2° C)". If the cans look okay, they are safe to use. Discard
  cans that are dented, rusted, or swollen. High-acid canned foods
  (tomatoes, fruits) will keep their best quality for 12 to 18 months;
  low-acid canned foods (meats, vegetables) for 2 to 5 years.

Anecdotally, I once opened a can of condensed milk which we estimated had been forgotten in a cupboard at nominally 15-20°C for twenty years. It had solidified to a kind of jelly with huge sugar crystals in it, but smelled just fine & was still roughly the right colour. No, we didn't try eating it to see.

Late Edit:
Since the subject cropped up of fridges condensing & potentially corroding the cans, or additionally keeping the correct temperature at an ambient temperature below that it is supposed to be internally, I decided to look into this.
No fridge is good from -10 to 110°F [-23°C to 43°C]
No fridge is good below the temperature it is supposed to be keeping.

Fridges have Climate Classes, temperature ranges they can operate in.

SN (Sub Normal) +10°C - +32°C
N (Normal) +16°C - +32°C
ST (Sub Tropical) +18°C - +38°C

That's it. That's all there is.
Fridges are designed to be used "indoors" in already climate-controlled conditions, not in the garage nor out in a shed exposed to massive temperature fluctuations.
You might depend on its insulation to hold off a few hours of the extreme at the sun's zenith, or a sharp frost overnight, but you are going to have to put it underground to prevent that massive heat swing from having a seriously deleterious effect long-term.


A question of Fishmonger basics and fish processing and handling? I went to a fishmonger for the first time yesterday and I have a few basic questions. Should the place smell like fish? I have been informed that it should not smell like fish and if it did they did not keep a clean and fresh store. It should be a pleasant smell. I bought a pound of mahi mahi and a pound of rockfish both fillets. I had to scale and debone the mahi mahi and debone the rockfish. It wasn't like there where a lot of bones or or scales it just looks like they got lazy and didn't finish the job.

I am trying to prepare more fish dishes and it took me almost an hour to clean those fish having not done those particular tasks before, but with small kids I wanted to be methodical about it. So I guess this a multi-part question; Are my expectations to high for my fishmonger, should I have asked him to do those tasks and not assumed they would have been done? The second part is there a good reference to deboning and cleaning fish, what is the best way to remove the skin? I hacked at it with my pairing knife and a pair of wire pliers.

It's common for a few bones to be left behind, so you should always check over the fish before cooking. I use a pair of small pliers to pull out any leftovers. It shouldn't take an hour to clean, though. Any leftover scales should come off with a quick rinse. If the fillet was supposed to be de-boned and scaled, and there were a lot of bones left and scales still attached, that's a bit of a problem.

Did the fish itself smell bad, or was it just the store that had an odor? Did the store just smell a bit "fishy", or did it smell like an environmental disaster? If you're not used to working with fish, you may be a bit sensitive to the smell. Once you get the fish home, you should not smell any off-odors on the fillets.

If you weren't impressed, I would just try to find another place and see if you like it better. It's not a bad thing to have high expectations, and you should find a fishmonger that you're happy with.


Accidently mixed instant and cooked pudding packages I'm making the layered pudding dessert and without looking I dumped an instant pudding mix and a cook and serve pudding mix in the same bowl. I am now staring at said bowl in horror. Too late to scoop and separate. How do I save this? Was my last two packages!

update: It seems that the salts used in instant pudding are heat stable (one turns into the other one at 450°C), so it's possible that it might work by following the cooked directions ... but I'd advise a slurry as a backup.

You're going to have to add something to fix it.  Either more gelatin (to have it set cold), or starch to have it set when boiling.

I'd probably go with the hot method -- you'll bring it to a boil, which will screw up the setting properties of the gelatin.  I suspect that you'll want to let it boil for a minute or so, to make sure the gelatin isn't going to set at all (and possibly make it too thick, or interfere with the starch).

You didn't say which size of boxed mix you're using, but looking at a few recipes, it seems like you want 3 to 4 TB of cornstarch to set 2 cups of milk.  Use that as a basis to scale your recipe.

(updating instructions per DebbieM's comment)

So :

Mix cornstarch (1.5 to 2 TB per cup of milk needed for the instant pudding) with some (less than 1/4 c.) of milk in a jar, seal and shake to make a slurry.
Stir in the cold milk (the sum of what's called for on both boxes).
Heat to a boil (see notes from cooked pudding package about stirring, etc).
Check to see how well the pudding coats the back of a spoon.  (wipe a finger through it to get an accurate estimate of how thick it is)
If not thick enough (note: it will thicken more when cooled), add some of the slurry, and let it boil for a minute or so (keep stirring or whisking during this).
Repeat 4 & 5 'til you've achieved the thickness desired.
Follow the cooked pudding package instructions from there.

If you don't have cornstarch, I've seen some recipes that use flour (about 1/4c. per 2 cups of milk), but they're always chocolate ... I suspect it's to cover up the raw flour taste.

If you have unflavored gelatin, you could also bloom some in some cold milk, and then mix it in with the cooked pudding as it's cooling to try to achieve the desired thickness, but too much might end up setting like a blancmange.


Forgot to add Sugar in cookie dough . Is there any way to add sugar? While adding ingredients to mixture(for cookies), I forgot to put brown sugar..
Now that when i've baked cookies, what alternate can I add to retain their taste?

There are tons of things you can add to them after the fact:

Icing
Jam
Crème au beurre with lots of sugar
Whipped cream with 2 packs of vanilla sugar instead of one
Grated chocolate
Honey
...

With some of the above (like jam, chocolate and honey), you can put them into the oven again at a low temperature (50°C / 120°F) and get a unique cookie!


how to coat truffles with chocolate I need help please, I have just made my first batch of truffles. I decided to coat them in chocolate (untempered) but after I had dipped about 8 the chocolate started to go too hard. I tried to melt it again but it just got more solid. What did I do wrong? I have lots of truffle mix left so need to coat at least 30 more! Thank you in advance.

Working with chocolate is so tricky!

Introducing even a tiny amount of water to melted chocolate will cause it to seize. The water could come from unexpected places: steam from a double boiler, condensation on the interior of a lid, the use of a wet utensil. Seized chocolate can be returned to a smooth, melty texture, but it will no longer be suitable for coating. It can be put to other uses, though.

However, you may have overheated your chocolate, which will also cause it to seize - overheated chocolate can be saved, though. Blending overheated chocolate with solid chocolate, or pressing it through a sieve, may save it.


How to make century eggs? I have discovered century eggs while living in Thailand, and instantly fell in love with these treats. Unfortunately, I haven't lived in Thailand for a few years now, and I desperately miss century eggs. It's impossible to purchase them anywhere within 1000 km radius, so I guess the only option is to make them myself.

So, I need an advice, how can I recreate this mesmerizing gift of Asian cuisine?

What have I tried so far — I have followed this recipe on Instructables, which in short was:

Made brine by combining 42g NaOH + 72g NaCL + 1L water, boiled, dissolved and let it cool down. I have used pipe drain cleaner (100% NaOH).
Carefully put four chicken eggs in a glass jar, poured brine until eggs became fully submerged.
Put a small glass weight on top to prevent eggs from floating.
Kept them in brine for 10 days at approx 18°C.
Removed eggs from brine. Found two eggs to crack, with only disfigured yolk remaining inside.
Thoroughly washed two remaining intact eggs with tap water, then dried them up completely with paper towels.
Tightly wrapped eggs in few layers of clear thin plastic wrap, then covered them in modeling clay shell.
Kept them for 20 days this way.

After time was up, I opened them, to find out to my own disappointment that my experiment had failed. The eggs were filled with a foul-smelling opalescent runny fluid about the density and viscosity of water, and the eggs themselves had shrunk away to the size of the yolk. The egg whites had stayed white, dense and opaque, and only a thin layer of it was left around the yolk. The yolks themselves were still yellow with a slight blue tint, and had overall texture of hard-boiled yolk.

Obviously, this was not the result I wanted, so I threw them away without tasting :(

Since then I have done a few more attempts, still with no luck. I have even discovered scientific papers on this matter, e.g. "Effects of alkaline concentration, temperature, and additives on the strength of alkaline-induced egg white gel.", Zhao Yan et al, doi: 10.3382/ps.2013-03596, however I was somewhat hesitant about experimenting on myself, as the paper gave no conclusions whether the provided metal salt concentrations are safe for human health with prolonged consumption.

So, can anyone point out any mistakes I've made during my attempts, or provide me with the right technique to make Century Eggs that I can follow? It is surprisingly difficult to find English recipes for these on the Internet.

What I think you have made is brined or salted eggs which are very different from the blackened "century" eggs.

Salt preserved eggs do need cooking, at least the egg white will need heat to solidify. If you extract an egg yolk and cure that with salt and sugar (no added water), you can use it almost like cheese, the texture would allow you to grate it over pasta without cooking for example.

The blackened century eggs do not require cooking, because it is already cooked, or the proteins fully denatured. It takes alkalines and salt to achieve that. The high pH usually comes from a combination of lime (calcium oxide) and calcium hydroxide. The process is very different. Strangely, you get the opposite of brining when it comes to textures - solid "white" and runny yolk vs runny white and somewhat hardened yolk.


How many eggs in a Mille Crêpes Cake? I've looked through a few recipes for Mille Crêpes and see that many use double as many eggs in the batter compared with most plain crêpe recipes (6 eggs per cup of flour compared to 3).

I'm not a fan of eggy crêpes so I'm tempted to go with my usual proportions. Does anyone know from experience whether the cake version really requires the extra eggs?

The extra eggs help to make a more cake like consistency. Other wise it's just a stack of crepes!

To remove the eggy taste, remove half of the egg yolks. They will still cook more or less the same, and will be the same eggyness of a three egg batch


How to put stuff inside baked sandwich and bread? I would like to cook some rolls or bread with the condiments already inside. The condiments that I like range include tomatoes, olives, sliced ham, and bacon. Notice that I mentioned acidic and fatty foods. Can these ingredients derail the development of the dough, particularly the leavening?

I currently do not have much trouble baking a good focaccia or piece of bread that I like.

My question is how and when should these ingredients be added to the dough?

Adding inclusions like vegetables, fruits, nuts, and meats to bread loaves and rolls is usually done either during the initial mixing stage or during shaping.  When you should add the inclusions really depends on how large the ingredients are and how you want them distributed in the final loaf. When adding inclusions at the initial mix it is advisable to add them late in the mix/knead, after some gluten development has already occurred. Adding them early in the mix can  increase your kneading time, break up or pulverize your inclusion, or give an uneven or "off" color to the crumb from juices and colors bleeding out of the included ingredient.

Smaller, minced, or chopped inclusions can be added during the mix if you want it distributed evenly

or at shaping if you want it to appear in a distinct layer. Larger inclusions are easier to add during shaping.

Inclusions with high water (like fresh tomatoes) or fat content (like raw bacon or pepperoni) will cause large cavity formation and layer separation that might make it difficult to use the bread as a base for sandwiches and can lead to doughy undercooked areas around the inclusion.  To reduce this effect you can use a drier/dried version of fruits and vegetables such as dried tomatoes or raisins; you should render out the fat from bacon or pepperoni by pre-cooking.  If you pre-cook your bacon or pepperoni before you mix the other ingredients you can add some of the rendered fat to the mix so that the flavor permeates the bread, just reduce the amount of butter or oil called for in your original recipe.

Cheese can be added at either stage and can cause issues related to both water and fat if the wrong type of cheese is used.  Cheeses that tend to release oil and separate (like Cheddar and most aged cheeses) are better grated and added in the initial mix.  Cheeses (like Jack, Colby, Havarti, or American) that melt well can be added grated at either stage.

Most inclusions have little noticeable effect on leavening.  Cured meats and cheeses contain salt so you may need to reduce the total salt added to the dough; the curing salts used in cured meats may slightly reduce yeast activity.  Spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and nutmeg can increase yeast activity, while mustard inhibits yeast activity.

Other Tips on Bread Inclusions


Why am I failing to sharpen my WÜSTHOF Classic Ikon 8" Cook's Knife, on my Shapton Glass Stone 1000 Grit 5mm? Please see this video clip with sound. What's my grandpa flubbing? What can he improve?
If you know how to upload that .mp4  here to spare readers from clicking a link, please don't hesitate to edit this post.

It looks to me like a three--fold problem

The angle is constantly changing.

The action is bi-directional. You should only push.

You need to push the knife at about 45° to the direction of travel so you offer up the entire blade in each sweep, rather than just one end of it at a time.

oh, & a late 4… I don't think 1000 grit is going to be coarse enough to get the edge back on it once you've badly messed it up. I think you'll need 400 or so to get it back in the ballpark before refining it.
Having been rubbish myself at this for years, I'd honestly either give up now & get a decent electric, or at least try an angled clamp at the correct angle for a euro knife, 20°.
I also really really would advise against practising on a good knife.
Some images of blade edge profiles.

These are all "correct" profiles for different usages… however, let's just look at the top row first.
You really want one of the compound bevels [I think centre is Japanese, right is European]. To achieve these by hand you need some serious skill & practise. The best you'll really get is going to be closer to the V, if you're good &/or have a clamp system.
What you probably have right now is something closer to the convex on the 2nd row. In the right circumstances this could be a good thing [bushcraft or an axe-head]. In the hands of someone like me, it will barely cut cheese, let alone a soft tomato.
There is a lot of remedial work to be done to get back to one of the top row profiles.


What does "serving" and "serving size" mean? I have a tin of 16 oz mixed nuts, whose label says

Serving Size 1oz
Serving Per Container 16

I have a can of 454g refried pinto beans, whose label says

Serving Size 1/2 cup (124g)
Servings Per Container about 3.5

What does "serving size" mean? Does it mean the appropriate amount of intake in a meal for a normal adult? What if I eat much more than the specified serving size each time, such as 3oz of mixed nuts, or 248g of refried pinto beans?
What is a "cup" in serving size? Is it the same as a cup for a rice cooker?
Does the "serving size" assume that I also eat other things in the same meal, or I eat nothing else in the meal?
Mixed nuts do not seem like staple according its serving size 1oz, while refried pinto beans do because its serving size is 124g. Does determination of the serving size of a can/tin of food   depending on whether the food is intended as staple or not?
Does it imply how many servings per day? I.e. the frequency of servings?

Servings/serving sizes are simply an amount that is "customarily consumed". There is no implication about what you should consume, about how much to eat per day, how often, or what part of the meal. It's just about what people tend to eat.

The FDA has put a fair amount of effort into coming up with some sort of guidelines for all this. If you care to see details, you can read this part of the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 21, Part 101, Subpart A, Section 101.12). Essentially, they have amounts for categories of foods, so that ideally if anyone makes a new product, there'll already be an applicable entry in the tables.

But obviously generalizations only work so well. There are foods in any categories where those serving sizes will be unrealistic. There's personal variation. There's variation in how large a part of a snack or meal a given food provides. There are manufacturers trying to make high-fat high-sugar high-calorie food look less bad, and picking serving sizes as low as possible within the guidelines. So you'll frequently find that they're wildly off from the amount that you'd eat for a single snack or single meal, and they'll more likely be too small than too large.

A better way of looking at serving sizes is that they're intended to be of the right order of magnitude, so that you can reasonably easily estimate the nutritional content of the amount you actually eat. For example, if your cereal is in the category with a 30g serving size, and for your particular cereal that's one cup, then whether you eat half a cup or two cups of it, you'll be able to do the math.

So for that purpose, what matters is the rough amount that people tend to eat, hence the notion of "customarily consumed" amounts. That does mean that as you say, "staples" which people tend to eat as a large part of a meal will tend to have larger serving sizes, while things typically eaten as snacks will have smaller serving sizes. But that's not a judgment about how you should eat them, just how people typically do eat them.

The parts of nutrition labels that are intended to provide some guidance about how much they think you should eat are the % daily value column, for the individual nutrients, not the serving sizes. So to see whether your mixed nuts or refried beans are an "appropriate" amount to eat, you have to look more carefully, and possibly adjust for differences between your dietary needs and the generalizations made by the FDA to pick the daily value numbers.

It's not too hard to find things where one serving provides more than the recommended daily intake of some particular nutrient, and it's also not hard to find things where ten servings would be well below the daily value for everything. So the serving size itself definitely doesn't indicate anything about number of servings to eat; it's just a sort of arbitrary but hopefully convenient unit.

That covers most of your numbered questions. As for "what is a cup"... it's a standard measurement. In US stores you should be able to find 1-cup (or fractions/multiples thereof) measuring cups. It's equivalent to 236.6 mL. It's not just the contents of any arbitrary cup, so the measuring cup that comes with your rice cooker is probably not the same - likely 180 mL.


How to roll pasta thinly by hand Last weekend, I made some fresh pasta without a pasta machine. I used a simple recipe of 200g AP flour, 2 large eggs, ~1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt, kneading by hand then resting the dough (for about 1.5 hours) at room temperature wrapped in cling film. However, when rolling out the dough (using a wooden rolling pin) I was unable to achieve the thinness I wanted -- at some point, the dough started springing back as much as I stretched it with each roll.

How can I roll out pasta dough by hand to any thinness? How do I stop the dough from springing back?

If the dough is springing back, it's cause the gluten is still tight. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes, then try again.


How should I choose a BBQ sauce for root-beer-braised pulled pork? I made some pulled pork using this slow-cooker recipe a few weeks ago.  Ingredients include:

1 (2 lbs) pork shoulder
1 (12 fl oz) can or bottle root beer
1 (18 oz) bottle "your favorite barbecue sauce"
8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

The pork was very shreddable due to the acidic root beer.  The flavor of the meat was also pretty good.  The only thing that I was unhappy with was the BBQ sauce I choose.

What should I consider when choosing a BBQ sauce? What style of BBQ sauce would pair well with these ingredients? Is there a "standard" BBQ sauce or type of sauce used in traditional Southern pulled pork?

A Southerner will probably tell you that there is no type of BBQ sauce to go with this type of pulled pork because it's not actually real pulled pork... or real BBQ. Authentic pulled pork is smoked, and that comes with a completely different set of pairings. This is technically just braised, shredded pork.

Which is not meant as a criticism, mind you - I often make a similar recipe in the winter time using a dutch oven. But terminology is important here because there's a huge difference in flavour between pulled pork and braised pork. I'll note for the record that any kind of slow-cooking will make a pork shoulder fall right apart; you do not need the root beer (which isn't that acidic anyway, and acid-tenderizing is somewhat of a myth) to tenderize the pork. The heat and moisture do that all by themselves, although root beer is as good a choice as any if you're braising.

Now onto the flavouring. Because the braise, unlike smoke, only minimally flavours the meat, you're going to need strong flavours from elsewhere. If you're really trying to mimic an authentic Southern-style pulled pork then you need to incorporate the smoky flavour somehow, which means using a smoky BBQ sauce (hickory is common) or better yet, incorporate this flavour at the very beginning of the cooking process by applying a dry rub containing smoked paprika or including a small amount of liquid smoke in the braise.

If you do use a rub then the other flavours are up to you - there are plenty of recipes out there - just don't use salt in it because pork already has plenty. As with any braise, stick to aromatics like garlic/onion powder, various chili powders/peppers, cinnamon, etc.

Once you've successfully incorporated the smoke (or what passes for smoke in indoor cooking) then a little sauce goes a long way. Definitely incorporate some of the leftover braising liquid so as not to waste those delicious drippings - I use about half of it but that's with a much milder braise. Ketchup and dijon mustard in a 50/50 to 60/40 ratio is very simple and surprisingly effective when mixed in with the juices.

If you still find this to be lacking punch, you can throw in some cider vinegar, which pairs well with both the pork shoulder and your root beer braise. I actually boil off the pan (after reserving some braising liquid) and use cider vinegar as a deglazer for the fond, but since you're using a crock pot (or equivalent), you probably won't have much/any fond and this would require an extra vessel, so... just throw a splash or two into the finished sauce, and reduce if that makes it a bit watery. Worcestershire sauce is also a good way to punch up any homemade sauce, and if it starts to get too intense or tangy from either that or the vinegar, tone it down with some brown sugar or molasses if you have any.

If you're dead-set on following the recipe to the letter, then, as above, I think I'd choose a hickory or mesquite sauce, something smoky and not overly thick. Some of the better brands/products will actually include a small amount of alcohol, like whisky or bourbon. Almost all will contain onion, garlic, paprika, sugar, molasses, and vinegar (often cider vinegar, as above) - not surprisingly, exactly the same kinds of ingredients as I'm suggesting in the dry rub and homemade sauce.


Ganache alternative for "Nanaimo bars" Introduction
I'm making Nanaimo bars for my coworkers. Some of them don't like chocolate, so I'm going to make a second, terribly non-traditional batch with different flavours (I'm thinking maple syrup is the obvious choice, dried apple, and cinnamon).
I need an alternative to chocolate ganache for the top layer.
Replacement Criteria
Taste
I think that my coworkers who dislike chocolate dislike its bitterness and "chocolatey" flavours. If possible, I'd also prefer to avoid the flavours of white chocolate, either by covering it up or using something else.
Texture
The replacement should be something with a bit more tooth to it than icing, since it has to contrast the middle layer, but not something sticky like caramel or hard like crème brûlée.
Relative importance
The most important part is that the replacement doesn't taste like chocolate. I think the contrast in texture is important to the experience of eating a Nanaimo bar, so keeping the texture close to ganache is the next most important part.
Original Ganache Recipe
I am planning on using this Nanaimo bar recipe. The portions of the recipes that deal with the ganache layer are quoted below:
Ganache Ingredients:

4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet baking chocolate
2 teaspoons butter

Ganache Instructions:

...melt the [4 ounces of] semisweet chocolate and 2 teaspoons butter together in the microwave or over low heat. Spread over the chilled bars.

Additional Comments
I also considered this ganache recipe by Ina Garten. However, I doubt it will be dense enough, so I'll probably end up using the one in the Nanaimo bar recipe.
Would dulce de leche work? I haven't worked with it before so I don't know the consistency.
Thanks!

I would suggest a dark, dry caramel. If you make a dark caramel and add just a tiny bit of cream or butter to it at the end, it will be firm and dry (at least, as much as ganache is) and not "sticky", as you say in your question.  The trick will be adding enough butter or cream that the caramel remains pliable, but not so much that it is sticky; you may have to experiment some here.

A dark caramel will also add some bitter notes and contrasting flavors that would otherwise be missing in the chocolate-free bars.


Stick wafer sticks to mudcake How can I stick chocolate wafer sticks like this:

on a mudcake to get this result:

Coat the outside of the cake with a moderate layer of icing to bind the stick cookies.  This is analogous to the mortar behind facade bricks in building a wall.

You could also put a drop of icing underneath the bottom, but that probably is not necessary.

Update:  I just noticed in the photo you can actually see some of the icing between the cookies, showing this is exactly how the show case cake in the photo was done.


What is the proper usage of a pie bird? I have one of those ceramic pie birds that vent steam from a pie while it bakes.  What benefit does using this provide to the end result?  Also, in what types of pies should it be used?

From this site I found that there are two major benefits to using a pie bird

  Prevent the pie from boiling over in
  the oven by allowing the steam created
  when the fruit filling or other
  contents are cooking to escape from
  inside the pie

  Support the pastry crust in the center
  of the pie, so that it did not sag in
  the middle

Based on the site it seems that they can be put in any type of pie.


How do I get rid of that calcium chloride taste in my tomato sauce? When making high-heat, quick tomato sauces using economical brands of tomatoes packed using calcium chloride (and citric acid typically), the metallic taste and fake-fresh texture are disturbing. Aside from shelling out more money for products without the additives, I would like to know if there is some work-around for sub-premium tomatoes that could address the following;

Is there a way to balance out the metallic taste of the calcium chloride present in these tomatoes?
Considering cooking time is short, my assumption is that the texture issue is basically intractable without longer cooking time; am I correct?
As a follow-up, is there a good workaround for the taste of the citric acid?

To begin with, you can microwave the tomato before cooking it in the pan; this will also shorten the cooking time. Doing this, the tomato "grains" will already be hot inside when they begin to cook from the outside in the pan. You'll still get the external "roasted" feel but with a softer texture.

You can compensate for the citric acid, and for the excess of the tomatoes' own acid, by adding some sugar.

In order to hide the metallic taste, add some herbs. Try one leaf of bay laurel; or a combination of dry herbs like savory, fennel, basil, thyme, and oregano.


Why don't the Rhodes cinnamon rolls from a bag turn out as good as the ones in the foil pan? My family and I like the Rhodes cinnamon rolls that come in a foil pan -- straight from the freezer into the oven. Getting the timing just right (not doughy, not overcooked) requires some care, but they rise nicely, and generally turn out really good.

You can also buy frozen Rhodes cinnamon rolls that come in a bag and that you cook in your own pan, which is much cheaper. These rolls seem the same when frozen (and say "from freezer to oven" on them), but never turn out as good. They don't rise well, the cinnamon/sugar filling bubbles out and gets crusty, and they are generally more like hockey pucks.

I've tried some different pan types -- glass, dark non-stick, and lighter non-stick. Any suggestions on what might make the difference?

First of all, are the ingredient lists the same? Sometimes with packaged foods, there are specific differences in formulas for different product lines.

If we assume that the formula is the same, it could have more to do with the consistency of the ingredients. The ones that come in a pan get stored in the right shape and probably don't get handled the same way as the ones in a bag, which tend to change shape during the freezing process, and probably get handled/reshaped some in transport, etc.

It seems like the ones that are not in the special pan are getting dehydrated more in the freezer, and the "freezer to oven" method (a high heat blast for thawing straight to baking) is not letting the dough redistribute its moisture well, since the outside edges are baked before the inside dough is fully thawed.

I know that the packaging says "freezer to oven", but what might significantly improve the result for you is to do the following:

put the frozen rolls in your pan
let the dough thaw (in fridge overnight, for example)
bake for less time, as they are now thawed

This change in technique would allow the dough to reshape itself some, and redistribute the moisture while it is thawing, so the baking would be more effective, now that the dough is all at the same temperature.


What is White Cumin and Green Cumin? I'm learning about the spice cumin (Cuminum Cyminum) and I understand how it is naturally a golden brown color seed that tastes bitter with a hint of lemon and warmth.

I learned that black cumin (Nigella Sativa) is a different plant all together and has a black pepper and oregano taste.

What I can't figure out is the other two color cumins.

What is Green Cumin? Is this an unripe cumin seed picked early? I see it referenced in Iranian cooking but I haven't found out what plant this is. It seems like Persian cooking uses both black and green cumin frequently.

What is White Cumin? Is this a sun bleached cumin seed left out to lose its color? Does it have a milder taste than regular cumin or is this a different plant all together? I see White Cumin listed in Indian cooking.

If anyone knows what Green Cumin or White Cumin are and can cite the plants or any references to them I'd be much appreciative!

The question is "what is language and why the people cannot stick to one original name?" ;)

What could be find under "white/sweet cumin" is actually aniseed (and sometimes it's called green cumin). What is "green cumin" is dill seeds.

The way to go is to look for latin name or the look of it. What could be more troublesome is difference between Roman Cumin and Persian Cumin (very, very very often treated as same thing). Roman cumin is much more mild than Persian (or sometimes even called Turkish) one.

White cumin might be regular cumin just looking "whiteish" because of the place of origin but might also be aniseed but it could be lost in translation of the recipe.


Why does waffle dough get dark? Always when I make waffles or pancakes the dough of it gets dark after a few hours. It looks like having black sprinkles.

Why is that and how long can I still use it?

The ingredients I use for waffles are:

250g sugar
250g margarine
500g flour
5 eggs
500g milk
baking powder
a shot of rum

And for pancakes I use almost the same

sugar
flour
eggs
milk
baking powder

It will get darker - it is still pretty fresh.

This is strange. I've never made waffles before, but that pancake recipe is almost exactly the one I use, except for the baking powder. If it goes dark soon after preparing the mix, it is most likely a chemical reaction between two or more of the ingredients. It should still be perfectly safe to use, so don't worry about the discolouration. :)


I'm having trouble making grilled cheese, what am I doing wrong? When I cook grilled cheese, I put a tablespoon of butter on the pan, and the pan is hot enough that it quickly melts and sizzles.
However, when I put the bread on, it just soaks in the liquid butter on the pan and the bread doesn't make any sizzling noises. I also use mozzarella cheese as my cheese for grilled cheese. Why won't my bread cook?

Preheat your pan on low to low-medium.  Build your sandwich.  Butter the bread or the pan.  It doesn't matter.  Place the sandwich in the pan.  Keep the heat low, to low-medium.  Wait.  Check the underside, looking for a golden brown.  You want the heat low, because you want the cheese to begin melting without burning the bread. Be patient.  When you see evidence of the cheese softening and a golden toasting, flip your sandwich.  Again, be patient.  You may have to adjust heat until you find the sweet spot for your stove, but keep it low, and complete the task by looking for melted cheese and golden toast.


What could I substitute for coffee in an Opéra cake I would like to bake an Opéra cake for someone who doesn't really appreciate the taste of coffee. Since coffee and chocolate are the two main elements, I am wondering: what flavour could I substitute for coffee in my coffee buttercream? I suppose the qualities I'm looking for are a bit of bitterness, and it should go well with chocolate and orange liquor?

PS: I just noticed that the English wikipedia describes the sponge cake as “soaked with coffee”, but in the way I usually do it it's soaked with Cointreau so I don't need any replacement there.

Some sort of nutty flavor perhaps? Hazelnut syrup? I think it should go well with both chocolate and orange. Otherwise I think the cake will be quite delicious even without a substitute, just using plain buttercream.

EDIT: I just noticed that the cake has an almond base. Perhaps a few drops of Amaretto in the buttercream would work. That would play nicely with the almond flavor already there.


Is two-month old eggs laid by backyard chicken still edible? Someone gave me some eggs laid by his backyard chicken about two months ago. I left them in a regular egg container on my kitchen counter for about two months now. The room temperature ranges between 50 F degrees to high eighties. Are they still edible?

You can test an egg for its freshness by placing an egg in a bowl of water as seen here.

If the egg sinks to the bottom and lays on its side, it should be fresh and safe to eat.
If the egg sinks to the bottom and stands upright on one end, it should still be fine to eat.
If the egg floats to the top, it's not fresh but not necessarily unsafe to eat. In this case you should break open the egg shell and smell if there is an unpleasant odor see here. If there is an unpleasant odor, you shouldn't eat the egg.


Ideal Coffee Grind for dough-like recipes Is there an ideal coffee grind for culinary (i.e. actual food, not beverages) use, particularly in dough? More particularly, when the coffee is the main ingredient (in matters of flavor)?

What effect, if any, does the kind of grind have on a solid recipe taking ground coffee?

This question appeared to me from a recipe of my own, which is Coffee Cookies (essentially a typical chocolate chip cookie, with cocoa, ground coffee, less flour and dark chocolate chips), in case it implies a more specific answer.

If you're putting the actual ground-up beans in the dough rather than brewing/extracting, I suggest one of two extremes, depending on the effect you're aiming for:

A very fine grind so it's evenly incorporated and not easily detected by feel (think of nut flour for the texture you'd be aiming for). As you're replacing some flour with coffee in your recipe this might be your best option.
Very coarse, more like cracked beans than actually ground.  Then you get the pleasant* crunch of the beans, and the burst of flavour. If you were just adding coffee to a normal chocolate chip cookie recipe this would be better (IMO).  This is what I'd do, but I rarely bake for coffee-lovers.

Anything in between could easily lead to an unpleasant graininess, while there's no advantage in terms of flavour over a fine grind.

* Pleasant to those of us that enjoy eating chocolate-coated coffee beans and similar things.


Spaghetti sauce too sweet Trying to make spaghetti sauce and this is too sweet:

2 each 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (low salt)
8 oz can tomato paste
1 red onion diced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 garlic cloves
1 lb 97% fat free beef

Brown the beef and simmer everything for 3-4 hours.

It just comes out too sweet.

Salt and sausage (fat) would make it less sweet but also less healthy.

I am thinking about poblano peppers and / or cilantro.

How to make this spaghetti sauce less sweet, without adding fat or salt?

The tomato paste in your recipe is a large contributor to the sweetness. You could reduce the amount you are using or substitute with tomato sauce.

The addition of an acid would also help balance the sweetness. A splash of vinegar or wine for example.


Why can heating things in a microwave make them soggy? Why does heating something (like pizza) in an oven make it crisp but heating it in the microwave makes it all soggy?

Microwaves specifically heat water molecules in the food. This turns them to steam, and because the air in the microwave is actually cool, the steam then condenses. There is often not proper air circulation to move the steam away from the food. Often times the outside edges of the food will not be soggy, but rather burnt, because they receive more energy and the water can totally vaporize.

For better results when reheating food, do not reheat your food on "high" or the default power. Reheat it at a lower setting for longer time. For pizza specifically, I heat it in the microwave only to room temperature and then finish it in the toaster oven or in a pan.


How soon after baking can you refrigerate freshly made fruit pies? How soon after baking a fresh fruit custard pie can I refrigerate it? Must it be at room temperature before it's put in the fridge?

EDIT: Although the question title says "fruit pies," the question specifies a "fruit custard pie."  The following answer relates to custard pies and other pies containing fillings with eggs and/or milk.  Actual plain "fruit pies" generally contain enough sugar to prevent rapid spoilage and therefore often do not require refrigeration.  If you do plan to refrigerate a plain fruit pie, there's no significant advantage to getting it into the fridge quickly.

Pies do not have to come down to room temperature before refrigeration.  In fact, most food safety organizations recommend the same general policy for egg-based and dairy-based pies as they do for other foods: don't leave leftovers out for more than 2 hours after cooking.  See, for example, recommendations here:

  Foods which contain eggs and milk, with high moisture content, must be
  kept refrigerated, as bacteria love to grow in these foods. Failing to
  put that pie back into the refrigerator before it has remained on the
  counter for more than 2 hours can make a very merry celebration for
  the bacteria, but not so good for friends and family.

So, 2 hours should be a maximum before refrigeration.

As for recommendations about the appropriate time to let cool at room temperature, see here, for example, which states:

  Cool cream pies at room temperature for only  30 minutes after you
  take them out  of the oven.

  After 30 minutes, put them in the refrigerator  to complete the
  cooling and to keep them  cold.

While it says "cream pies" here, the guidelines above in that link imply that such guidelines also relate to custard and pumpkin pies.  (The first link above also says the same thing about pumpkin pies.)

Basically, the only reason to keep a dairy-based or egg-based pie out of the refrigerator after removing from the oven is to allow cooking and setting to continue.  Many custard pies will continue to set a bit while cooling, and putting them in the refrigerator immediately might "shock" them and disrupt this process of solidification.  Changes in humidity levels and condensation might also have unpredictable effects on the pie surface while it is very hot.

(As for concerns about putting hot food in the fridge, see links to food safety organizations on the subject in my answer here.  Basically, you shouldn't put a hot or warm pie near anything that's very perishable in the fridge.  Otherwise, you're safer getting it in the fridge as soon as it has stablized after cooking, which shouldn't take more than 30 minutes or so.)


What is the best type of plastic to store alcohol? What kinds of food-grade plastic is best for storing alcohol for cooking use? Does the type of plastic differ based on the percentage of alcohol?

My question actually comes from wanting to brew alcohol in an area that has no access to glass for storage purposes (rural Tanzania), but does have access to food grade plastics.

In the United States and Canada much of the plastic bottles used to package alcohol are made with PET (polyethylene terephthalate). I also know it is used in Europe.
This site may be useful - https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/everything-about-polyethylene-terephthalate-pet-polyester

I believe some bottles are'laminated' with several different plastics and PET being the 'contact' layer.

I have been told that plastic beverage bottles have a relatively short shelf life, but never had reason to research this.

Anyroad, this information might provide a starting point for your project


How long do you cook a custard after you add cornstarch? I use cornstarch as my thickener when I make pastry cream.  No matter how long I cook the cream I still get that "cornstarch" taste.  Any help? My recipe is 1 Cup of milk, 2 egg yolks, 2 ounces of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. butter and vanilla.

I would argue that it is the gentler methods like Doug suggested which create problems. They are intended for eggs only custards, not eggs-and-starch. If you use them, you risk that your mixture doesn't get hot enough. Then your starch stays uncooked, and your eggs' starch-digesting enzymes stay intact and can liquefy everything.

If you use either starch only, or a mixture of eggs and starch, your custard has to boil. I slurry the starch with a bit of the milk, never tried it with the eggs. Then add the slurry to the almost-simmering milk (which already contains sugar and flavors), and pour in the tempered eggs afterwards if using them. From the time the starch hits the liquid, you have to stir constantly or you risk burnt bottom, so you don't want to do it too early, but if you do it too late, the stream of slurry will start gelatinizing before it has been dispersed in the milk, and will clump. So, do it just before simmering, or if it has started to simmer, take it off the heat, mix it there, then back on the heat.

After you have the slurry well mixed in, you simply stir slowly until after it has blubbed. You will notice a moment when it goes from liquid to thick, this is when the starch starts gelatinizing. Less than a minute later you should see the boil bubbles, which are very large and slow-forming in the viscous liquid. That's the time to take it off the heat, your starch is fully cooked and will not taste chalky. If you are serving it for a fussy occasion, it makes sense to pass it through a sieve to catch stray clumps of starch or egg protein, but I usually don't bother.

If you were trying to keep the eggs from overcooking, that's impossible. Eggs overcook at around 87 C, while starch gelatinizes around 96 C. Also, the yolks will eat up your starch after 24 to 48 hours if not heated well. So you cannot keep the taste of a starchless custard if you use starch. That's not a problem texture-wise, since the starch takes care of the texture and you don't get the corning or whey exudate associated with overcooked egg custards.


Can I use my blender for food processing the ingredients in my Gazpacho? My wife and I would like to try Gazpacho, and part of the recipe calls for 'food processing' coarse cuts of red onion, cucumber, tomato and red pepper.

We don't have a food processor, and we can't afford one.  What we DO have is a blender.

Can we use or blender to 'food process' these ingredients?

Edit: For those wondering, here's the text directly from the recipe:

  Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped.  Do not overprocess!

The main difference between a food processor and a blender is its shape and how the food is mixed while it is being "cut up".

In a blender, it relies on the funneling action of liquid to mix the food around. Otherwise only the bottom gets blended while the top stays solid.

Food processors usually have a flat bottom and have a mechanism to turn the food as it cuts it up. This results in evenly chopped food.

If you want the gazpacho to end up completely smooth, then the blender will definitely work in this application as it will be liquid enough to get the funnel action going to mix the food around. Keep it mind it would be a good idea to start blending the vegetables with high water content such as tomato and onion first to create a liquid "base" for the other vegetables.

IF you want coarse chunks for the vegetables, it is slightly trickier but still possible to use a blender. You need to work in smaller "batches" and use the pulse functionality instead of just blending. If the batch is too big, you end up with overblended mush on the bottom and unblended chunks on top.


How can I make cupcakes lighter? I'm a new baker and I've had some pretty decent cupcakes but I feel that they are more thicker then wanted. What can I do to make them lighter?

My best guess is you are probably over mixing the batter. When you over mix, gluten networks develop leading to a denser and chewier texture.

You should mix the batter until "just combined" which just means until you can no longer see the ingredient you just added.

http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2014/05/what-happens-when-you-overmix-cake-batter.html


Can I freeze fresh hyssop? Is it possible to freeze fresh hyssop? Can I expect it to be as aromatic and flavorful after defrosting?

In my experience, the answer for most leafy herbs is yes, fragance and flavor is preserved. Never tryed hyssop, however Gardening Know How site says it freezes fine:

  it can be dried or frozen and stored for later use. When harvesting a hyssop plant, cut it in the morning hours once any dew has dried. Hang the plants upside down in small bunches to dry in a dark, well-ventilated area. Alternatively, you can place the leaves in a plastic bag after removing them from the stems and place in the freezer until ready to use.


Can I dry-brine a turkey crown while it's defrosting? At the suggestion of certain knowledgeable parties, I plan on dry-brining my turkey crown for Christmas dinner this year. However, I will most likely be buying a frozen crown, so I'm wondering what the timing should be like.

I've heard that you can dry-brine while defrosting, but I can't find any details. I'm thinking that I should let it partially defrost before salting, letting the outer part of the turkey soften a bit. The joint will be about 2.5kg (5.5lbs), so will take about 10 hours to defrost in a cold room (boy does my kitchen fit this description). I'm thinking perhaps salting 3 hours into defrosting, letting it fully defrost, then placing it in the fridge overnight - I know dry brining should usually be longer, but this is a relatively small joint and I'd rather not give my guests massive food poisoning as a Christmas gift.

In summary, yes, you can dry-brine while thawing.

The effect will proceed no faster than the turkey thaws, as the diffusion of the salt cannot proceed into frozen meat.

I cannot recommend thawing at room temperature, which is not one of the four safe thawing methods.

Instead, you should place your turkey crown on a rack over a tray, and salt it liberally, including any other herbs or spices you choose (although these flavors will remain at the surface).  Then place it into the refrigerator for 24 hours or more.  You don't really need three days as indicated in the recipe linked in the question, although it will do no harm to let the turkey sit longer.  The amount of salt you apply is finite, so you are not going to "overbrine".

Don't cover it or uncover it for the last 24 hours of resting time; the open air circulation will encourage some drying of the skin and giving you a crispier result.


Is pickled herring cooked? With respect to pickled herring, is the herring cooked before being put into the pickling solution?

If not, what safety measures are in place to ensure bacteria are within safe limits?

No, it is not.

Traditionally it is first cured with salt to reduce the water content of the meat, then placed in a vinegar-based brine.

Recipes vary a bit, but for classic Bismarckhering 14% salt and 7% acetic acid are used. Additionally, today pickeled fish is stored in refrigerators (as opposed to the 19th century), providing additional safety.

This is sufficient to stop the growth of harmful microorganisms, including the feared clostridium botulinum.


How to ensure that the salt is very homogenized in a given food? Maybe this is a question/doubt dumb enough.

I've been doing a mashed cassava and put salt only at the end, when all the ingredients were homogenized. Consequently, asked me (to put the salt) if adding salt would be present in any scoop of mashed cassava that I was taking.

So, my question is: Given X any food, as a guarantee that the salt will be well distributed throughout her?

There are a few things I can think of that would help:

Sprinkle the salt over the surface rather than dumping a blob in one place.
Add the salt in multiple additions, stirring between each.
Stir sufficiently to distribute.

I made pancakes a few months ago and forgot the salt. After eating the first couple, I realized the mistake and added salt to attempt to give it some flavor. Unfortunately, I didn't follow the three points above and ended up with salty patches in my pancakes, so some pancakes were still unsalted and others were so salty it (literally) made me feel like I was going to throw up.

Other than promising myself to never wait so late to add the salt in the future, I thought about solutions and came up with the points I mentioned.

If you add the salt to one spot in the mixture, it will be much more difficult to evenly disperse the salt throughout. So, sprinkling it on the surface makes it less likely there will be clumps of overwhelming saltiness.

With something like mashed cassava or potatoes, you can taste for saltiness, so adding small amounts and tasting between additions is a great way to be sure you get the level of salt you want and since you stir between the additions, the part of the mixture that the salt is applied to, is likely to be different with the subsequent additions.

Stirring sufficiently is the final point... if you only stir once or twice, it's unlikely that the salt will reach all points in the mixture, likely remaining towards the top. Be certain to stir enough and do it well, being sure to pull the mixture from the bottom to fully incorporate.


Alternative to Fenugreek in curry? Is there an alternative to dried Fenugreek in curry? Is it required?

Fenugreek is one of those flavours that you can't really substitute.
However, I've been cooking Indian for a couple of years now, and I get by fine without it.


How long to roast pistachios If my home roasted pistachios are not crunchy, do they need to roast longer or at a higher degree?  I did 15 minutes at 300.

Never go by time when roasting nuts.  Always go by smell.

When you smell toasted nuts, get them off the heat immediately, and out of the hot pan.


How to absorb/remove excess water that you've added to a dish? My cooking style involves putting a bunch of ingredients (e.g. chicken, rice, mushrooms, tomatoes) in a pot, adding water and seasoning, turning on the heat, and coming back half an hour later.  (Don't steal my techniques please.)

The problem is that this [highly scientific] method is sometimes inaccurate in the amount of water that remains in the dish after half an hour.  If the water is running low, I can just add more, problem solved.  But what can I do if there is too much water?

It's true that I can try to learn from my mistakes and add less water next time.  However, is there a way to save the dish?  I know I can just remove the top, turn up the heat, and let the extra water boil off, but sometimes that will overcook everything to a mush.

Is there anything I can add that absorbs the water?  Kind of like rice, but maybe faster?

Stuff happens to us all, especially when using highly scientific methods. If your seasonings/flavors are the way you want them and the only issue is too much liquid, just ladle out until you are left with amount of liquid you want.

You can even save the seasoned liquid you take out (stored in refrigerator) and use it later when preparing another dish.