Differences between rice/pressure/multi/slow cooker? I'm really confused about what these products are supposed to do, and if some products can do the same as others in the following list.

What are the differences between the following devices?

Rice cooker with keep warm/cook button only
Rice cooker with multi function/programs
Slow cooker
Pressure cooker
Multicooker

Does a multi cooker do all of the above? Or only some multi-cookers in the market? How can i tell if a pressure cooker can be used also as a rice cooker, etc? It's very confusing.

There are several different categories of these devices, but they do all tend to look quite similar. Prices can vary by a very significant amount, though. So.

Rice Cooker

The simplest kind of rice cooker is the kind with just a switch on the front to turn it on. Mine is like this - when plugged in, it's in "warm" mode, press the switch and it goes to "cook" mode. Rice cookers are designed to boil their contents, then wait until the water's all absorbed/evaporated and switch back to a keep-warm mode. That's all you need in order to cook rice, so it's all a basic rice cooker will do. You can cook other things with it, if you bear this in mind.

Rice Cooker with other functions

Depends what the other functions are. I've most commonly seen rice cookers which can also be slow cookers, in which case they heat more gently and disable the automatic shutoff used when cooking rice.

Slow Cooker

A slow cooker, commonly also called a crockpot after a popular brand, is a device that looks quite a lot like a rice cooker but usually has a fairly chunky ceramic cooking pot instead of a thin metal one. Slow cookers are designed to heat up to a moderate temperature and stay there for long periods of time, allowing you to gently cook something like a stew or a shoulder of pork for hours upon hours without having to use the oven or dance attendance on a saucepan. Slow cookers often have two or more temperature settings - mine has "high", "low" and "warm", but they can come with more. A common extra feature is an even lower temperature setting designed for making yoghurt.

As mentioned above, a common combination is a rice cooker which can also be a slow cooker.

Pressure Cooker

A pressure cooker is a very different beast. Pressure cookers have a sealed chamber (typically with a big, heavy lid which you put on and twist to lock it into position) and a pressure valve. They heat up and form a high pressure environment, which raises the boiling point of water. Because the water stays liquid at higher temperatures inside the pressure cooker, food cooks a lot faster. A lot faster. This also has impacts on flavour and texture of food, sometimes positive, sometimes negative.

To answer one specific point in your question, you can cook rice in all pressure cookers, in much the same way as you can cook rice in all saucepans and all microwaves, regardless of if they have a "rice" button.

You can get stovetop pressure cookers, which require careful control of the heat from the burner to maintain the right pressure inside. People tend to be wary of these as we worry about them exploding, although modern cookers have excellent safety valves which will vent long before there's a risk to the integrity of the pot.

The easier kind to use is the electric pressure cooker, which heats itself up and takes care of maintaining pressure automatically. These come in a variety of models with more or less sophisticated features including multiple pressure levels, automatic venting/keep warm/cooling at the end of the cooking time, and various other cooking functions, which leads us to...

Multicooker

Any one of a number of devices which aims to combine one or more of the above categories, plus more, into one device. A rice cooker with a slow cooker mode is technically a multicooker. Some multicookers claim to do techniques usually done on the hob and be able to roast things and deep fry things. Whether this is successful or not is something you should really check the reviews about.

The popular multicookers these days are usually electric pressure cookers with more modes. They may have a hotter heat setting to use for frying and searing with the lid off, or a slow cooker mode which lets you put the lid on but won't build up pressure as it would in pressure cooking mode. Some have a rice cooking function, although typically they will pressure cook the rice rather than simply boil it as a standalone rice cooker does.

How to choose one

First, decide what you want.

Then, decide how much you can afford.

Then, read the feature lists. If a rice cooker can be used as a slow cooker it will tell you, because this is more expensive so they need to advertise that capability. Electric pressure cookers seldom come without some claims of being at least 6-in-1 devices. Mine's one of the most basic on the market and claims 6-in-1, in reality it's only capable of sauteing things (with the lid off) or pressure cooking them (with the lid on). So check carefully. Read reviews. There's no substitute for some research work in choosing a device for your kitchen.

You may wish to have multiple objects so you can use them all simultaneously - which means you can gradually acquire a very affordable slow cooker, rice cooker, pressure cooker, whatever, one by one. But that takes up lots of space as well, which maybe you don't have, so you might want to spend more money and get something which has many modes for different ways of cooking.


What's the biggest reuseable filter with smallest pore size? I love clam and mussel broth, but they're always replete with grit and sand! I've been pouring it over a Stainless Steel Coffee Filter, but this takes way too slow if I'm cooking for many people and  have much broth to filter! Don't recommend anything with a pore size > 10 micrometers.
There must be bigger versions of these Stainless Steel Coffee Filters? This isn't my direct question, but what do coffee shops and breweries use? They can't be using these teeny filters, because customers can't wait that long. Can I use what cafes use to filter mussel broth?

They can't be using these teeny filters, because customers can't wait
that long.

Specialty coffee shops that offer 'pour-over' (drip) coffee definitely make coffee to order using small filters like the one you show (although in my area, they usually use paper filters). Customers are fine waiting the 2-4 minutes this takes.
For larger quantities, what a coffee shop might call 'batch brewing', larger filters such as these are commonly used:

These come in sizes ranging up to 12 cups, but might be tricky to find. Alternatively, you could experiment using one or more layers of cheesecloth, which is perhaps more easily available and scalable, although it might not filter as well as you'd like.
As a final note, I think your demand for pore sizes <10 micrometers might be a little too stringent. The filter you link to lists a .2mm mesh (i.e., 200 micrometers). I found this page with an analysis of the pore sizes in various coffee filtering products, if you're interested.


Would replacing sugar with a sweetener affect bread dough fermentation? I've been baking Asian style sweet bread rolls using the Tangzhong method with success. However recipe calls for quite a bit of sugar (60g for 2.5 cups of flour).
Will substituting a natural sweetener like stevia work in place of sugar? Will this affect the fermentation process? If it does, what would be ideal minimal amount of sugar I could add to get a good rise?

The short answer is that it's probably safe, but here are some considerations:
What Does Yeast Do?
Yeast eats sugar and converts it to carbon dioxide (also alcohol, but that's not a consideration in most bread baking).  "Sugar" doesn't necessary mean sucrose (table sugar) - it also means fructose and glucose, like you'd find in honey or agave syrup.
If you don't provide the yeast with anything to eat, it won't produce any carbon dioxide.
Can Yeast Eat Stevia?
No.
Stevia is not any kind of sugar, nor can it be converted into sugar (more on that in a moment).
Does Leavened Bread Need Sugar (glucose/fructose/sucrose/lactose/maltose)?
No1
Many (most?) bread recipes do not contain any sugar - and yet they can rise impressively.  How does the yeast produce carbon dioxide if you don't add sugar?  The flour can feed the yeast.
Flour is largely starch, which is a chain of sugar (glucose) molecules.  Our digestive systems are powerful enough to break starch down into sugar, but yeast cannot do so.  Fortunately, the wheat berry itself contains the solution. An enzyme present in wheat berries (amylase) will break down the starch into sugar.  Once this happens, the yeast can eat the sugar and happily bubble away.

1 I had a note here about proofing active dry yeast, but this information is now out of date.
Active dry yeast has been reformulated. It's now in smaller particles and does not need to be dissolved in water. It can be added directly to the dry ingredients.  If your active dry yeast is nearing its expiration date, you can proof it by mixing it with warm water and a small amount of sugar.  This doesn't do much to affect the bread, but it does allow you to avoid baking with dead yeast.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2015/09/25/active-dry-yeast
Will Anything Else Happen If There's No Sugar?
Possibly - that is, some things will change, but you may not detect the change.
(Most of the rest of this information comes from this article - "How to reduce sugar in yeast bread".  Feel free to skip my summary and go straight to the source!)
The bread may be drier

when you reduce sugar in yeast bread, the only textural difference you might see is a tendency towards dryness.
Why is this? Sugar is hygroscopic; that means it attracts and holds moisture. Without sugar, moisture evaporates from bread during baking, creating a drier loaf. The more sugar you cut from a sweet yeast bread recipe, the more you’ll notice this effect.

Counter intuitively, it might speed up the dough's rise

Remember, sugar is hygroscopic. And in yeast dough, this means it can deprive yeast of the moisture it needs to grow. Ever waited impatiently for your sweet bread to rise? Blame the “arid” atmosphere

The bread may brown more slowly

Some of the sugar in yeast dough rises to the surface and caramelizes as bread bakes, yielding rich brown color

A Note about Acacia
A comment asks about acacia, otherwise known as acacia gum, or gum arabic.  As the Wikipedia article says, "Gum arabic is a complex polysaccharide," which makes it chemically similar to starch (also a polysaccharide).  But can amylase (or some other enzyme already present in the dough) break down this polysaccharide?  I would guess so, but here's where we come up hard against the limits of my high school chemistry education.


Is it safe to eat freezer food with bad odours? I accidentaly switched my freezer off for a week.  This lead to spoilage of food, pool of blood inside freezer etc.  Trays are unremovable and difficult to clean.  I have thrown everything away and tried cleaning with baking soda, bleach etc but smell hasn't fully gone.

I'm assuming its just the smell of blood and I don't want to buy a new freezer straight away. If I freeze food in the meantime
1. will it absorb odours?
2. If it does will the food be safe to eat?
3. Can you suggest how else I can clean the freezer or should i go and buy a new one?

Thanks

Food placed in a freezer with bad smells will definitely absorb odors, unless it's in very very airtight containers/packages. It won't make it unsafe to eat, just very unpleasant.

As Michael said in his comment, the odor is likely in the plastic now, so it's going to be pretty hard to get rid of. You'd want to clean every last trace that you can - use brushes for hard to reach places, use whatever cleaning products you need to help dissolve caked on stuff. After that, all you can really do is let it air out until it doesn't smell too bad - door open, preferably some moving air (outside would be best). It's hard to say exactly how long it will take or how successful it'll be; that depends on all the details. Depending on how porous the plastic his, how nasty whatever soaked into it is, and how long it had to soak in, things could vary widely.


How do I make the ingredients in a burrito evenly distributed? I've been to countless "Southwest" Mexican restaurants, but for all of them except Chipotle, they just can't seem to get the ingredients in a burrito evenly.

For example, one burrito I had had all the lettuce up on the top, the rice was in the middle portion, and the meat I had was stuffed at the very bottom the burrito.

If possible, is there any way to ensure an even mixture of ingredients in a burrito? Is there a certain place to put these ingredients?

I'm asking this because it's one thing to have a poorly wrapped burrito, and it's another thing to bite into a huge chunk of pure guacomole.

To assemble a burrito:
Traditional method

Lay your tortilla down on a flat surface

Spread a layer of the first filling (perhaps rice) down the center of the tortilla in a little row, about 1/4 the width of the tortilla, leaving about 1/4 tortilla width on both ends for the folding.  Something like this:

Spread a layer of the second ingredient (such as beans) on top of the first ingredient.

Repeat step 3 with each subsequent ingredient.

Fold up the tortilla.

Obsessive Method

Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl and toss, as you would a salad, until they are uniformly distributed.

Spread down the middle of the tortilla as indicated in the diagram above.

Fold up the tortilla.

Tips for Success
Make sure the filling ingredients are suitable for being uniformly distributed.  For example, don't use large slices of avacado, use a dice.
Folding

Take one side of the tortilla (as indicated in the diagram above) and fold it over the the edge of filling towards the other side.  It can overlap the filling and other side a bit.

Fold both the top and bottom of the tortilla over the filling at the edge of the filling.

Starting with the previously folded side, roll the burrito until it is a single role.

Place seam side down on the platter or pan you will heat it on, top with sauce or cheese as desired, and bake.

Consuming Burrito
Eat it.  However you want.  Enjoy the variety of flavors and textures the distribution of the filling provides.


What does tin foil do when baking a pot pie? If you buy a pot pie at the store, the cooking instructions say to fold a strip of tinfoil around the edge before putting it in the oven.  I've seen what happens if I forget to do this: the edge gets all burned.  Apparently the foil helps keep some of the heat off.

Something strange happened to a friend of mine a while ago, though: she had never made one of these before, and she misread the instructions and put a sheet of tinfoil over the entire top of the pie.  It turned into a bit of a mess; after baking, the whole thing was only about half cooked!

That makes me wonder: what exactly is the foil doing?  It's nice and shiny, and if this were being cooked under a really powerful heat lamp I could understand how it would reflect a lot of the light away, but this is a conventional oven.  Heat is transferred from the air into the food by convection, and aluminum is a very good conductor of heat, so intuitively I'd think it would do practically nothing at all to keep the heat off.  But clearly it's actually being very effective, so what's going on?

There are three modes of transfer of heat, as you already mentioned: convection, conduction and radiation. In everyday life, practically all heat sources employ all three of them, although the ratios differ. You certainly have all three of them in an oven.

The foil slows down all three modes of heat transfer, but not equally. First, it is intransparent (or nearly so) for infrared. So, the whole infrared component is practically eliminated. This comes in very handy when you happen to have food whose surface is already well browned but the inside is not yet ready: you cover with foil on top and continue baking.

The convection is also made much less efficient. Normally, the oven heats the air near the top and the bottom, the air in the oven moves around due to a heat gradient and frequently a ventilator, and so you get hotter air surrounding your food, ready to conduct heat to it. When you cover your food in foil, the hottest air cannot reach the food while it moves around. The only air touching the food is the one trapped under the foil, and that never goes to the heater.

Third, there is conduction. Conduction is never perfectly efficient. So instead of having the air conduct heat to your food, you have the air conduct heat to the foil, and then the foil conduct heat partly to the food itself (where it's touching it) and partly to the air trapped inside, which then conducts to the food. Now, instead of one energy-loss step, you have two or three of them. "Good conductor" means that this loss is less than with other materials, but it is not zero.

Then you get a ton of other, more complicated effects. When you bake food, moisture evaporates from the surface. If it gets trapped below a foil, you have a much moister environment, and get a different baking result than without the trapping (although that one is mostly noticeable in the baked surface and less in the centre of the baked or roasted food).

So, physics easily explain that indeed, adding a sheet of foil (or other material) will give you very different results from "naked" baking.


Does the size of chilli pieces affect the hotness If I'm chopping fresh chillis to use as an ingredient, does how fine I chop them affect the heat of the dish in any way?

Logically, smaller pieces would expose a greater surface area, however, I have experienced greater heat from a dish when using larger pieces.

It really does depend how you're cooking them.

  Logically, smaller pieces would expose a greater surface area, however, I have experienced greater heat from a dish when using larger pieces.

The small pieces give an even heat that permeates the dish, but the big pieces give a burst of heat when you encounter them.  Even using both wouldn't be unreasonable.

The difference will be reduced in long slow cooking, especially with some fat in the sauce, as the capsaicin (i.e. the heat) will have more chance of dissolving and spreading into the rest of the food.


How can you make gelatin at home? I'm looking for something maybe from a really old recipe book, be it fish, chicken or beef. I've been searching all over and obviously most people's opinions are to buy store bought gelatin. That doesn't work for me - I want it to be kosher or halal, and I can't find that.

After a quick Google I found this recipe :- http://www.grassfedgirl.com/diy-make-your-own-healing-gelatin/

  Ingredients:

  3-4 lbs pastured animal bones (any kind will work, I even mix them between animals) (the more bones the more likely it will gel…fill’er
  up! )
  4-5 quarts filtered water
  1 tbsp sea salt

  Directions:

  Put all the ingredients in a slow cooker over night or for up to 48 hours.
  Strain it off through a wire mesh strainer.
  Refrigerate until firm or overnight.
  Chip or scrape off any fat and save for cooking or discard.
  Melt the gelatin and add fruit and sweetener to make something sweet the refrigerated again.

  Or use the gelatin as a base for making a soup or stew.

  This gelatin will keep in the fridge for a week (or a year in the
  freezer.)

One thing to note, the recipe makes no mention of all the meaty juices which will settle to the bottom during the cooling process. So where it suggests scraping the fat off the top I would recommend flipping the big gelatin block over a slicing the bottom off also.

Also during the straining process, if you can get hold of some cheese cloth or muslin it'll help ensure there are no meat particles in there anywhere.


How to mix a spaghetti carbonara? When cooking spaghetti carbonara, I mix the pasta, bacon, cheese and egg yolks together with a scoop. This technique frequently results in mashed spaghetti as well as bacon clustering.

What could I do different?

Here's how I learned from my great grandmother:

cook the bacon/salt pork/home/whatever 'til crispy
beat the eggs (she used whole eggs) with a little black pepper
drain the cooked pasta, and immediately mix the pasta with the eggs; if it's too dry, add some of the pasta water.
Add fried pork product and mix a litle more.
sprinkle cheese on top while serving.

...

But I've also been known to mix everything but the pasta together (maybe not the pork if it's still too hot), and then toss it all together while the pasta's still hot, kinda like if you were tossing to mix the dressing on a salad.  (tongs work really well)

...

Either way, you do end up with the fried pork bits at the bottom of the pot you were mixing in.  The easy way around this is to save 1/3 to 1/2 of it, and sprinkle it over the top when serving.


Is there a way to make falafel without deep frying? I see in this video how the falafel balls are fully submerged in oil. Are there other ways (e.g. baking) to prepare the falafel balls after the balls are formed? Note: I do not ask for recipes.

Growing up, my mother always used to bake them. They do turn out a bit drier than if you deep-fried them, but not overmuch. They cook for about 15-20 minutes at 400°F (~200 °C), or until golden and crispy on the outside.

Alternately, you can pan-fry them, as other answers have suggested.

Or you can split the difference and oven fry them. If you're unfamiliar, Google can acquaint you with the process. Here's a good NPR article to get you started: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130673515


Cinnamon Rolls for a dessert crust I want to try a dessert using a can of cinnamon rolls for a crust. What I plan on doing is pressing the cinnamon rolls in the bottom of a 9"x13" pan, spreading them out so they cover the bottom of the pan, then baking it until it is done, about 10 minutes. After this is cooled, I'll add a pudding type filling. Will this work?

I expect the "crust" will puff up significantly since it has chemical leavening agents in it, unlike traditional pastry crust.

Using pie weights would help. Docking the crust (poking with a fork) would help, but might not work with a liquid filling.

If you prepared the pudding separately, chilled it to semi-firm, then poured it in that might work better.

If all is a failure, a cup of pudding, with a crumbled cinnamon roll topping sounds pretty good too!


Using whole uncored apples in chutney? I got an apple chutney recipe from a friend.  It's an old family recipe and it specifically says to chop the apples but to NOT core or peel them.  The recipe is basically just apples and pears, red onions, raisins, brown sugar, cider vinegar and various spices which you simmer gently for a couple of hours. It says nothing about straining or grinding. The onions are finely sliced and it says "chop apples and pears roughly but without coring."

Does the vinegar somehow soften the seeds and core of the apple?  Is that important to the taste or texture? I am hesitant to used the whole apple as most recipes I have found online say to core or even peel and core.

Apple cores contain more pectin than the rest of the apple, so including the cores will likely get you a thicker, more gelled chutney.

With enough cooking they'll indeed soften, as long as it's an apple variety that softens when cooked (as opposed to baking varieties that hold their shape) so it's really just the seeds you'd have to worry about. Sounds like the recipe doesn't really deal with them, so I guess you'd have to pick them out after chopping, or strain or pick them out at the end.


Thinning Tomato paste I have been experimenting with making my own condiments over the paste few weeks and there is one thing I cannot get correct.

The tomato paste has a thicker grainy texture that is really not desirable in a condiment so I was wondering if there is a good way thin out that texture for a more saucy feel.  I am also trying to maintain a strict Paleo diet so using corn syrup or other things like it are not ideal.

thanks

I think tomato puree or passata might be something for you. It's thinner than tomato paste.
To know for sure whether it fits in your diet or not, you should check the label. Ingredients may vary from brand to brand, but normally, it's just tomatoes.


Does shortbread ship well? I'm planning on shipping shortbread to another state, and it may take 3-5 days to arrive to the destination. It's a fairly butter-rich cookie: 3 sticks butter, 5 cups flour, 2 cups sugar (about) plus spices. How well would they ship, and how long will they stay after shipping? Could they go rancid?

Shortbread ships well, especially if you make the individual biscuits fairly thick.  Walker's should be your guide here: theirs are about 0.75 to 1cm thick, which helps prevent crumbling in transit.  Shipping them in a tin is also advised.

Shortbread is also fairly shelf-stable.  Freshness time depends on storage conditions, of course, but below 75F they should be good for one to two weeks.


How do I preserve a tomato's freshness after it is cut? I've seen and read online, and experienced firsthand, that refrigerating a tomato is an awful idea.  Not only does it lose freshness, it does little to prevent wilting and leads to flavorless tomato.

But, eventually a tomato needs to be cut if it's going to be used in slices (for say, a sandwich), and I hate to throw it out when there's still a full half of the fruit left.

How can I preserve the tomato after it has been cut, without putting it in a refrigerator and spoiling the freshness?

I peel and seed the leftovers, freeze them, and use them the next time I make tomato sauce or marinara.


Should I fry the chicken first or should I pressure cook it first? I fried the chicken breast in the oil till its surface was brown and then I pressure cooked it.
The result was hard chicken. I found it quite difficult to chew.

What should I do next time to make it utterly soft?

Frying the chicken tends to set the muscle fibers by drawing moisture out. An example of this would be taking a thin (1cm) cutlet and frying it until both sides start to turn golden. It will be pretty dry and hard.

Pressure cooking it on the other hand tends to soften the muscle fibers without drawing moisture in (if anything, its putting moisture in).

So, ideally, you should boil/pressure cook your chicken prior to frying in oil (though do make sure to drain the chicken first to prevent splatters!). Additionally, you should undercook the chicken slightly in the pressure cooker since you'll be finishing it in the fryer.

If you are broasting the chicken, then you are going about the recipe incorrectly by frying then pressure cooking it. When broasting, you should pressure fry - if that makes sense.


Silicone Utensils and Cookware Does using silicone in place of metal, Pyrex or other materials have an impact on food taste?

Silicone utensils are extremely nonreactive, and thus do not have any impact on the taste of foods directly.

Like most utensils, if they are cut or abraded, and soil remains, that may affect taste or performance, but that is not inherent to the material itself.


What "begin to flake" means in the context of sauteing a fish? I encountered

  When you see the bottom of the fish fillets turn opaque, tilt the pan and, using a large spoon, baste the tops of the fish with the hot oil. Do this constantly until the top of the fillets begin to flake, about 3 minutes.

in a recipe. It is unclear to me what it means. For example in https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flake closest to this use is "To break or chip off in a flake" what seems to make no sense - especially as recipe explicitly mentions "preventing your fish from falling apart". Example images in recipe also display the fillet in one part, without small parts separated away.

What is the meaning of "begin to flake" in this context?

relevant recipe: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cod_sauteed_in_olive_oil_with_fresh_tomatoes/

When the fish cooks, the meat will start turning opaque; at one point, you will see that the fish will start to "split" into flakes or layers.

see this video (at about 2:15 and onward) you start to see layers in the fish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gluRaUv88sk

For example in the following video, you see the salmon has "layers" of fat and meat; when the meat is just right, the layers will be easily "flaked" when the fish is cooked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KLQnGS1TjQ


Does bread flour (vs AP flour) make a big difference in the density of the dough? I've been trying to bake a no-knead bread (like everyone else), and I've gone with Binging with Babish's recipe.
In his video, after leaving the dough to rise overnight (or so), and then working it a bit to form a ball, the result is this:

It's a nice and (relatively) taut ball of dough. I've followed his recipe and substituted the bread flour with AP flour, which all indications suggest wouldn't make a lot of difference.
My first batch was very wet, and upon inspection, his recipe is nearly 80% hydration (400g flour for 1+1/3 cup of water, which according to my conversion is about 315g water). So I tried again, and this time I've adjusted for 65(ish)% hydration. While the result was easier to handle, it still felt closer to a thick batter than to anything like his video.
Finally, I've tried the suggestion of J. Kenji López-Alt to put the dough in the fridge for a while since cold makes the dough easier to manage. While it was definitely easier to manage, it was still pretty thin, and when I've proofed the dough, it spread further like the previous ones.
Is bread flour really that different? Is this all the AP flour fault?
I'm asking because I end up with a rather low-rise bread, and I think that is at least in part due to the fact that when the dough is placed into the dutch oven, it's already pretty flat (compared to the picture and the result in the video).

The recipe I've used this time:

400g flour,
1/2 teaspoon of yeast,
67% hydration,
1.5% salt (I've done 2% in the past, and will return to doing so because of the superior flavour).

Mix with a wooden spoon, cover and let sit over night. As per the suggestion of J. Kenji López-Alt, let another day of relaxation in the fridge. Rolled into a round loaf, proofed for an hour while the dutch oven was warming up, baked for 30 minutes with lid, another 15 without, left to cool on a wire rack for a couple of hours.

Bread flour has a higher protein content than AP flour.  That should aid in the development of the gluten structure of your dough.  So, bread flour will help, but that might not be your only issue.  No-knead, doesn't necessarily mean mix it together and leave it alone. (I did watch the video...I see he doesn't knead, but his dough does not look like it is a high hydration dough). There are many variables that influence water absorption in flours...so often a formula will behave differently in your kitchen and with your ingredients.  From your description it sounds like your dough needs more structure, and would benefit from the use of techniques that build that structure.  The most obvious is kneading, but slap and fold (or stretch and fold) is often incorporated into high hydration formulas.  There is a learning curve, so reducing your hydration is a good way to get a feel for things...but I suspect that you need to work on building the gluten structure.


Reasons for separating eggs in ice cream There are a lot of recipes requiring the eggs in the ingredients to be separated. And I know that whipping whole eggs cannot foam up as much as just whipping egg whites.

But why separate eggs in making of the custard for ice cream? Egg whites can foam up better than egg yolks, so it seems counter-intuitive to remove egg whites from the recipe because you would want to incorporate more air into the ice cream, right? :/ I can simply use 1 whole egg for every 2 egg yolks required in the recipe.

I don't think I need to taste egg in ice cream. Can I assume the reason to add egg is just for the color?

Referring to the Wikipedia articles: Yolk, egg yolk is nearly 1/4 fat and 1/3 protein; Egg as food, whole egg is nearly 10% fat and 10% protein. If we ignore the protein and through some clever maths, can I adjust the amount of cream and use whole eggs without separating eggs?

P.S. I'm sorry for being a sciency person and not just follow recipes but I am curious.

Milk and cream are essentially made up of water, fat, and protein molecules. Within milk and cream, the fat globules are already emulsified in the surrounding water by casein (one of the proteins found in milk and cream). This means that casein molecules surround each fat globule and prevent them from coming together. This is why milk doesn't separate into fat and water, even though it's made up of two substances that don't naturally mix.

However, casein is a little too good at emulsifying the fat. When we add egg yolks, the lecithin in the yolk displaces some of the casein surrounding each fat globule. This partially destabilizes the emulsion of the milkfat by casein and allows some of the fat globules to partially coalesce when the ice cream base is chilled and aged overnight.

Partially coalesced fat forms a network that traps and stabilizes the air that is incorporated into ice cream while churning, leading to slower melting, better shape retention, and overall improved texture. Lecithin is why we need egg yolks.

Egg whites, however, are mostly water and don't contain lecithin. Adding water to your ice cream base leads to an unfavorable icy texture in the final product and doesn't contribute to partial coalescence of fat. Water is why egg whites are typically left out.

Further reading:

Chart demonstrating fat interactions with and without an emulsifier
More on factors affecting partial coalescence in ice cream
In-depth overview of ice-cream emulsifiers


Roasting small chicken What's the best way to roast small chicken (500g or one pound) in the oven so its skin has enough time to get crisp? I have broiler and convection and familiar with spatchcocking (usually do it for regular-sized chicken but not sure if it's a way to go in this situation). Other tools that I have that could potentially help with it is cast iron pan and a blowtorch.

UPD. Did the first one by spatchcocking a straight out of package chicken, separating the skin from the meat and putting it into a 200C oven with convection turned on for 15-20 minutes. The meat was great, the skin underwhelming.

There are a couple of easy steps you could take to ensure crispy skin:

Let the chicken dry uncovered in the fridge overnight (or at least for a couple of hours). This desiccates the skin which will lead to much greater browning on the skin, and if you stuff the cavity with something that will let off steam during cooking, like lemon and herbs, this will not dry the meat out.
Make sure you season the skin generously and add a small pinch of baking soda to the salt before applying. The alkaline property of baking soda speeds up the Maillard reaction, which will lead to more browning in the short cook time.

Lastly, I would stay slow and low with the cook time, although that applies to all roasts.

I have never used a blowtorch and I am curious what effect that would produce. If you do use one please let me know how well it works!


Which container to use for combined milk? My local supermarket was out of 1% milk today, so I decided to get half a gallon of 2% and half a gallon of skim milk and combine the two at home. Now I'm wondering in what I should store the combined milk...

I still have a 1 gallon container from the last milk I purchased which I can use. There's a tiny bit of milk left in there, but it will be finished by today. The only thing I'm worried about is that, even if I wash the container the best I can, it will still have traces of bacteria in there from the old milk. Does this mean, then, that I should treat the expiration date of the combined milk as the same date printed on the old container?

Should I store the milk in some other container (e.g. a pitcher)? Should I temporarily combine the two in a pitcher, then put them back in the two half gallon containers they came with? Any other ideas?

Don't reuse an old milk jug for storing the new, combined milk. The standard plastics used in milk jugs in most areas cannot be properly sanitized for reuse (even with standard sanitizing solutions).

Instead, use a properly sanitized and covered glass or plastic container, preferably one that you clean in a hot water dish washer.  Milk stored in a properly cleaned container will have the maximum shelf life (and reduced chance of other contaminants).


Is it safe to leave mint leaves in unrefrigerated in water overnight? Instead of drinking plain water, I would like to start drinking water with mint. I plan to put several leaves of mint in a 1.5 liter bottle filled with tap water during the night, and drink the water during the following day.

So I would like to know, is it safe to leave the bottle un-refrigerated during the night?

If you drink the herbal water the next day, no significant decomposition will have occurred so it should be perfectly safe, healthful and tasty. I would first wash the plant material to minimize any bacteria and chemical contaminants leeching into the water.


How long will a balsamic reduction keep? Related to making small quantities of balsamic reduction, if I make a large quantity of balsamic reduction, how long will it keep? What's the best way to store it?

I know vinegar will keep for a long time, but the reduction tastes so sweet and so not vinegary that I have no faith that preservation is related.

It should last years. If the reduction contains just vinegar, reduced until thick. This yields a very acidic solution very high in sugar (partly caramelized, depending on how long it was cooked). Other than sugar and acetic acid, there are some polyphenols and other gunk, some aromatics, and a bit of water.

There are two primary ways that food spoils: decay by microorganisms and oxidation. Decay happens when things get stinky and slimy, such as meat that has been left in a warm place for a few days. Bacteria can live in a lot of habitats, but need fairly mild conditions to thrive. Oxidation occurs when unsaturated fats (and other substances) pick up rogue chemicals from the environment, and is often refereed to as 'rancid'. This process will occur whenever something that can oxidize is exposed to air, but tends to progress slowly.

In the case of a balsamic reduction, the high acid and sugar content will stop bacterial growth. Since the reduction also contains acid, anything that could have been oxidized has already oxidized. Therefore a balsamic reduction should last pretty much forever. You might want to seal it up to keep bugs from getting in it, but other than that, it should be stable for years.


What is the difference between French and British cuts of beef? What is the difference between French and British cuts of beef?

I am told they just butcher the animals dfferently. Certainly the cuts don't seem the same. For example is faux fillet really exactly the same as British sirloin and is entrecôte really the same as rib steak?

Here is a picture of British beef cuts.

The simplest way to see the difference is to compare the cut diagrams:

British

French

Images courtesy of Wikipedia - Cut of Beef

The main difference is in how certain areas are sub-divided. We can see that faux-filet is part of the British sirloin, and entrecote is partly forerib and partly sirloin.


long term wine storage I'm planning storing some wine over a long period of time. I'm not sure about the exact duration, but I'm thinking of either 25 or 50 years.

What should be taken into consideration? Here's a list of what I can think of:

Material (stopper/bung/cork/screw cap/..)
Temperature
Humidity (might matter in combination with some stoppers)
Light
Orientation (lying down or vertical, something non-intuitive as upside down?)

Does anyone has experience with this or is it generally doomed to fail to store wine this long?

Update

  Will this be managed storage [...]?

Yes, I'm willing to take actions regularly if necessary.

  Also, what type of wines are you planning on storing (not all get better with time, and most can't take that much time).

An excellent point I actually was planning to include into the question but then somehow forgotten to: It is not decided yet (except for that it's going to be a red wine). if there's anything to consider with that, please let me know.

  Unclear what you ask [...]

A bit of clarification: Since I want a good tasting wine after a long time of storage, I want optimal storage conditions. I came up with several factors that might be important to control, but there might be others. Any input on what the optimal conditions have to be helps, even if it is not included in my list of potential factors.

Keep your wines between 45-65 oF (7-18 oC). Wine that is too hot will age faster and frozen wine can expand and push out corks or shatter bottles.
Keep the temperature relatively consistent: avoid large swings in temperature.
Keep the wine out of UV light (sunlight and some types of fluorescent light) which will age the wines faster.
Humidity levels shouldn't be so low that the corks dry out or so high that mold can form. Keep between 50-80% roughly.
If the wines are stoppered with cork, keep the bottles on their side to keep the corks moist. You don't want the corks to dry out and lose their seal. Bottles stoppered with screw caps or plastic cork don't need this treatment. However storing bottles on their side is pretty space efficient. (Also, it really sucks to remove a dry cork from a bottle of wine, which can be a problem if you buy cheap wine from places like Trader Joes where they are not always stored properly.)
Keep the wines away from vibration. (This is why storing wine on top of a fridge is a horrible idea, it's hot and shaky up there.) Excess vibrations can disturb sediment.
I've also read that you should keep wines away from strong odors because corks are porous. So maybe don't store garlic and vinegar with your wine collection.
Enclosure shouldn't matter a huge deal... if your wine stoppered with a cork is tainted, it was tainted before you aged it in your cellar for such a long time. Screw caps and synthetic corks prevent the taint from happening in the first place.
You don't need to rotate your bottles, which disturbs sediment.
Not all wines age well, especially many whites. (Although there are definitely whites that do age well.) I have suffered the problem of storing many of my own Sav Blancs for several years without tasting to make sure they were still good, then having to pour out several bottles when they were over aged. So if you have many bottles of a single wine, drink a bottle every now and again to see how it's holding up.
Finally, here's an interesting article I just read about aging champagne. Apparently it's not always a bad idea.


Can I make Corn Dogs in advance? I have about 100 people who will be coming over for a carnival. We wanted to make corn dogs, I made them for the Super Bowl to test it and 16 took me close to 1.5 hours. At that rate, in the 4 house we will be making the party I will have a lot of disappointed people. I need about 150.
I used this recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/corn-dogs/ is was very good. What if I make the in advance and freeze them, then defrost them the day before and pop them back into the frier for taste and to warm them up at the party?

You can make them ahead of time, you can partially fry them after dipping them in the batter and frying them until they are a light golden color (enough the batter wont stick to each other). As you complete them, put them in the freezer and when ready just pop them in the hot oil (defrosted of course.) This will not only let you get them ready to go ahead of time but will also shave off time in between serving each corn dog. As with anything before serving to a large group though, test it ahead of time to make sure nothing funky happens.

Also, what kind of fryer do you have, it may very well be the culprit here if you are not using a restaurant quality one. If you aren't, there are a couple of decent options. Let me know what you are using, and I will get back to you on what you can do instead.


How can I save my mussels? For the record this is my first post here, so hopefully it is on topic I do mean the fishy kind, not the strongman kind:

I bought a kg of mussels but I have never cooked them before so I asked the guy in the shop, the basics and went back to cook them. However, I mistakenly chucked them in a simmering pot without checking and then realised that I need to pull the bits of stuff off them! I didn't want to take them back out in case they were still half alive or something so I have left them to cook.

I am wondering if it will be ok to cook them till they are cooked and then drain them, clean them and put them in some fresh water with some garlic and butter to cook again (straight away after that) or if I have foolishly missed my only chance to cook them properly. If the latter, can anyone advise on how I should have gone about it (I think I should have pulled the bits off - should I have rinsed them or would that be too cruel?)

I don't want to waste a kg of mussels but I preference this to food poisoning so experienced advice would be welcome! Thanks.

Short answer:  It is safe, although by far the predominant practice is to remove them before cooking.

This is, of course, assuming the "bits of stuff" you refer to are the beards of the mussels, which they use to attach themselves to their growth substrate.

According to ISSC, International Shellfish Safety Conference, you can leave the beards attached if you wish (emphasis added):

  HOW SHOULD FRESH MUSSELS BE HANDLED STORED AND COOKED?

  Mussels
  should be scrubbed with a stiff brush or coarse sponge and rinsed with
  cold water to remove any debris. Beards can be removed or left
  attached.

Lesser quality sources concur:

According to Blue Ocean Mussels, you can remove the beards after cooking--assuming the bits of stuff you refer to are the beards.

According to Yahoo answers, its safe but I give them little credence.

Here is one article at The Kitchn describing how to prepare mussels and clean them, with photos, in case it helps in the future.  They also note, by the way:

  The beard isn't harmful or inedible (just not particularly desirable
  to our taste buds), so don't fret if there are a few little threads
  left that you can't grasp.


best way to preserve ricotta? I buy ricotta in large quantities (1kg) and I'm always throwing it out when it gets yellowish on the top border, and I'm pretty sure that yellow stuff is toxic.

Since I always eat ricotta with lots of seasonings (most of which are also used to preserve meat in more humid places), I'm wondering if it would do any good storing it already seasoned.

Usually I use za'atar and olive oil. But I'm open to pretty much anything if tasty and will help preserve it longer.

I'm already doing the basics: airtight container, store at back of the refrigerator, do not leave it out more than necessary.

Seasoning does not preserve food. Some foodstuffs normally used for seasoning, like salt and vinegar, can help to preserve food, but the concentration you need will make your ricotta unpalatable.

Salting can preserve food, when combined with dehydration. Bacteria need a humid environment to live in. Salt is hygroscopic, it both helps dry out the food you are preserving (usually meat) and directly dehydrates any bacteria which come in contact with it, killing them. Even then, you want to use charcuterie salt (a mix of NaCl and NaNO2) to prevent botulism, as pure table salt (NaCl) doesn't kill Clostridum Botulinum.

Trying to get ricotta preserved that way is counterproductive. Not only will it be way too salty to taste well. You will also have to dry it out to the point where neither mould nor bacteria can grow on it. Hard cheeses are durable exactly for these reasons, but dried-out ricotta is not tasty. In fact, I am not sure that "the yellow stuff" you see is "toxic", it could just be dried-out. Still, I wouldn't be willing to risk eating it, even if the taste was acceptable.

You could try preserving your ricotta by adding acid. To have it hold a long time in the fridge, it has to be as acidic as a typical pickle recipe. I only mention this because you say that you spice it heavily. But frankly, I can't imagine anybody wanting to eat ricotta that sour.

The option I would choose is freezing. You already mention "the freezer", but if you are really freezing it, then it sounds like you are thawing and refreezing the whole container. Alternatively, maybe it was a slip of the keyboard and you meant to say that you are holding it in the back of the fridge. Whatever you meant, I would suggest freezing it in portions, for example using silicone muffin moulds. Once you have frozen your ricotta (you can add spices it first, if you prefer), remove it from the moulds and place it in a freezing bag. Only thaw the amount you will need for a single meal. This should work well enough, in the worst case you'll have a layer of freezer burn to remove.


Why does oil puddle in some non-stick frying pans but not in others? I have an old teflon frying pan with a non-stick coating (I think all teflon pans are non-stick, but let's not be picky :) ).

If I pour some oil on it, it doesn't spread out and cover the pan, it collects in small puddles.

I know this is expected because of the nature of the non-stick coating, but what I'm wondering is:

I bought a new teflon non-stick frying pan and when pouring oil on it, again, it doesn't spread and cover it but instead of forming in puddles it only leaves drips/drops on the surface.

Is this because my newer pan has a higher quality non-stick cover or is it some other property that dictates HOW MUCH oil won't puddle/spread on it?

All Teflon pans are non-stick, but not all non-stick pans are Teflon ;-)

Teflon, when new, is one of the slippiest substances known to man. Nothing will adhere to it, not even oil. When new, you can have a hard time getting an even coating of oil unless you make it deep enough to fill a base layer. The oil will be more attracted to itself than to the pan.

Once you've been frying in Teflon for a few months, the surface gradually does begin to get coated in carbon, from burnt ingredients &/or oil. I don't know quite what causes this - potentially the surface getting slightly damaged or roughened by abrasion; but an older Teflon pan will more easily coat in an even layer of oil.

If it pools in patches, then the best reason I can think is that some areas are more abraded than others, or the pan base may be going out of true. Most cheap frying pans will eventually bow one way or the other over time - some forming a 'moat' round the edges as the base has bowed inwards, others a 'pond' in the middle, as it bowed outwards.
A 'quick fix' for cheap pans affected in this manner is to put it [cold & clean] on a carpeted floor & gently stand in it. It's a bit rough & ready but it's not worth fixing professionally.

From comments - The Frying Pan Ballet Company…
[credit David Hoffman + 10 mins in Photoshop by yours truly]


white sauce / bechamel - without lumps Possible Duplicate:
  How not to mess up bechamel scauce

So you melt the butter and mix the flour in = easy
Adding the first bit of milk and making a paste = easy

Now getting from that to a sauce without lumps = tricky.

Other than cheating and just using a power whisk or putting the resulting mess through a sieve are there any other tips?

In my experience, you want to add as little milk as possible at first, whisking well, then very gradually add more milk as you whisk vigorously the entire time.  From your second line, I think you've got the "small amount" part covered.  If you're not already doing this, whisk as you pour - once you start adding milk, I recommend to not stop whisking until the milk is incorporated.

I was also told that you should use warm/hot milk (I give it a quick hit with the microwave) instead of cold.  That might be the difference that's causing yours to lump if you're already whisking very well.  I don't always heat my milk and still get a good consistency, but I also whisk like a madman.  I would recommend trying to the milk and see it if helps.


Would there be a difference between boiling whole black peppercorns or fine ground black pepper in a stew? When putting whole black pepper in a stew e.g. curry, am I right in thinking that they completely dissolve because I don't remember seeing any in the finished pot or dish.

I was reading alternatives to using chilli and black pepper was listed so I thought if I want to try it, maybe I should make a fresh ground black pepper then add it in the same way one would add chilli powder.

However it has occured to me since whole black pepper dissolve in curries, what would be the point fine grounded black pepper to replace chilli, wouldnt the fine black pepper just dissolve too and hence you may as well use whole ones as you will end up with the same result/flavour?

Well, I've never had whole black peppercorns dissolve.  In very long cooking, and depending on the variety and age of the peppercorn, they can soften somewhat.  But when adding whole peppercorns to a dish, I either plan to remove them after cooking or be prepared to bite into a serious bit of pepper every now and then.  To avoid this problem, I generally at least "crack" or crush the peppercorns a bit if I intend them to be in the final dish.  (This aids in softening and seems to allow the flavor to blend a bit more, though large bits can still be very peppery.)

Black pepper tends to lose a lot of subtleties of flavor quickly once it is ground, which is why pepper grinders are so common in restaurants (and at home).  There's no advantage of using pre-ground pepper in a soup or stew, but I definitely tend to grind it myself right before adding to avoid the large chunks of peppercorns.  (Different varieties of peppercorns can vary a lot terms of potency, especially when they are fresh, so perhaps yours are more mild than the ones I generally use and thus less noticeable when in larger chunks.)

Some people buy pre-ground pepper and find it convenient, though.  My one caution, if using pre-ground pepper and you desire a very peppery dish, is to not overdo it.  Whereas whole peppercorns will gradually release subtleties of flavor, pre-ground pepper can change somewhat quickly from barely noticeable to a burst of strong pungency.


What are the different applications for differently shaped wooden spoons? A while back I got a set of wooden spoons that contained 5 differently shaped wooden spoons. Take a look at the following photo to see the different shapes.

I have mainly been using wooden spoon #1 because that is typically the shape I am most familiar with when I think of a wooden spoon. I have yet to figure out what the other wooden spoons can be used for.

Are there any specific applications that each shape excel at?

Number five is a folding spoon. It is made for folding flour into light foams without overmixing, for example when making Genoise. The big hole makes the mixing easy, and the shape is good for scraping the bottom of a round bowl.

As Dave Griffith already said, 3 and 4 are for stirring stuff in pans and skillets (making roux, cooking off the liquid in tomato or pepper puree for ajvar-like condiments). They prevent the contents burning on the bottom, because they remove the very heated layer from the bottom and let cooler liquid flow in.

The slot in spoon 2 make it a poor replacement for a skimming spoon. Normally, you want a bigger perforated spoon for that, with bigger holes. Also, I think metal is a better material in these cases, it isn't so good to put wood in boiling water.

Number 1 is useless in cooking. Historically, these spoons were made for eating. When they were big enough, housewives just used an eating spoon for stirring, because this is what they had at hand. Nowadays, people don't eat with wooden spoons, but the tradition persists in that they continue using the traditional shape for stirring. This is a bad idea. It has the wrong shape for flat-bottomed pans and curved bowls. There is no use case for which the other spoons aren't a better fit. Maybe getting flour out of a package into a bowl, but being much flatter than an eating spoon, it is inferior also for this use.


Are there significant differences between different zesters? I'm thinking of purchasing a zester and I need some indication of a good one. Can anyone help? What should I look for?

I think there's probably a bigger difference between types of zesters than between brands.

No matter what type you choose, look for one that limits how deeply you can cut into the fruit's peel. You want to get only the colored layer, and as little of the white pith (the bitter under-layer) as possible.

The most common kind that I've seen--a series of little loops at the end of a metal scraper thing (hard to describe, I guess)--are too small in my estimation. They work OK, but they are usually kind of dull, so they release a lot of the oils as you use them, and it takes a long time to get a lot of zest. Some also have a second slot to allow you to cut a fat piece of zest, appropriate for a martini or the like. Even on the fine side, the zest they make isn't really very fine, and might wind up as a texture in the final dish. (I think of these as more of a bar tool than kitchen tool, and wouldn't purchase one of these of any brand)

Microplane graters are quite popular for zesting, and they're what I use the most. They don't dig deep, and are crazy sharp so they don't bruise/mash the zest much--less fragrant oil on the tool, more in the dish. They also work really fast--it takes very little time to get the zest from an entire orange. The zest produced is very fine and will disappear in most cooking applications. Because they're sharp it's easy to grate your fingers by accident, so they require some care in use. There are lots of styles out there, from the classic that looks almost like a wood rasp to ones that look more like a grater. I think these are great to have on hand anyway, since they're really good with parmesan cheese and other hard items, and they're killer for zesting.

Another option is a standard vegetable peeler. These take bigger slabs of skin off, and take some practice not to cut too deep. If you do cut too deep you can use a sharp paring knife to remove the excess pith from the backside. Kind of a lot of trouble, but with practice you can get good enough that you don't need the second step. You can get a lot of zest in a hurry this way, but the pieces are huge. You'd either need to cut them down or only use them in a recipe where you wanted to take the pieces of peel back out before serving. Since you probably already have one of these, this is your most economical option.


Botulisum and Food safety Should i worry? We just had a vinagret made with olive oil, crushed garlic, white wine vinager, dijon and chives. It was on the counter in air tight container for 6 hours and then stored in fridge for 3 days.

I would chunk it, better to waste it than risk illness. Fresh garlic and olive oil left at room temperature for a significant amount of time (not like the 10 minutes it might sit during prep for addition to soup, pasta, etc.) makes a prime breeding ground for botulism.

Potentially dangerous things like this shouldn't sit out longer than 2 hours at room temperature. Three days in the fridge would be fine if it were safe when it went in, but in this case it wasn't.

For further information:

Brief write up on harvesting and storing garlic from UC Davis

FDA sheet on the temperature danger zone and two hour rule

Flavored vinegars and oils, article from Colorado State Extension


Texture problem with marinated chicken I made a simple chicken marinade from a Nigel Slater recipe the other day: some olive oil, maple syrup, soy sauce, chilli flakes. I marinaded it (1 piece of boneless chicken breast) overnight. When I cooked it, it had tons of flavour but it was too soft.

How can I marinade a piece of boneless chicken breast so that I get tons of flavour but it isn't too soft?

The piece was frozen and then thawed in hot water. Not sure if that's relevant.

You said thawed in hot water. That is the problem. Thaw in cold water or in the fridge overnight. Using hot starts cooking the meat. I would also suggest searing the meat on both sides and then cooking at 400 until it temps 155, then pull it and let rest for 10 min. The resting will allow the temp to hit 160.


What are the core differences between strawberry varieties? What are the core differences between strawberry varieties?  (For commercially available strawberries in North America and worldwide0)  For example, strawberries from Oregon and Washington are smaller and redder than those from California, but they don't have as long a shelf life.

(Also, what names - rather than their origin - identify these different strawberries?)

I can only answer this for northern europe:
In Europe 'Elsanta' is the variety most grown commercially. Its because it stands up to transportation better then anything else. But its taste is lacking. Given a choise, get something else, even if they look good, which they will.
Grown in Denmark:
Honeyoye - early. taste ok, not great.
Sonata - very good strawberry and its mid season.
Polka - good taste mid season.
Florence - late season. Good taste.

My experience with strawberries is get it locally, always. The great tasting strawberry varieties don't stand up to transportation very well, Its best if they are eaten within hours after picking. If that is not possible I would get strawberries from as cold a climate as possible, because berries in general get more complex flavors if grown under cool condition.


I have left my cast iron pan on the heat for 2 1/2 hrs. How do I stop the release of black on paper towel and when first cooked onions? I left my empty cast iron pan on the stove top for 2 1/2 hrs.  My problem is not a rusty residue, but black that continues to wipe off. What can I do? I have washed with steel wool, rinsed well, but when I wiped with oil, the paper towel continues to wipe black.

Fully clean it
The residue is burnt seasoning (fats) that you haven't fully removed yet. It takes a surprising amount of effort, but this article describes how to completely strip your pan so that you can re-season it.


Buying European flours in the United States? Is there somewhere I can buy Grupen Meyer Danish Flour or Campaillette French Flour in the United States? Watching different videos of master bakers in Europe, I keep seeing these products used.

I have looked at… King Arthur Flour, Anson Mills, iGourmet, google's shopping search engine, ebay. Any other ideas?

Many European flours are made from grain imported from North America, chances are if you buy European flour in the states you are paying for it to go across the ocean twice! In the mean time it will be absorbing moisture and losing freshness. It's not worth it, especially since you can find flours that are almost exactly the same at most grocery stores.

The main differences between flours of the same grain are the milling and the protein content. Flours that are milled finer will give different results from ones that are coarser. Gluten is protein, so the higher the protein content the higher the gluten level. Gluten is good for bread but bad for cakes and pastry. So if you want to get something similar find out how fine or coarse the target flour is and how much protein it has and shop for that.

Or you can simply buy appropriate locally produced flour that is made for what you want to bake. If you want to bake bread, use bread flour or flour with a higher protein level, typically medium to coarsely milled. If you want to bake cakes get cake or pastry flour, which is a finer milled and lower protein flour.

You'll be better off spending your money on quality flour made closer to you than buying something imported.


What are the differences between spice paste and spice powder? Which should be preferred over the other for what reasons? Assuming both are freshly available, are there reasons why one should prefer paste over powder or vice versa?

Example: I have seen both Garlic powder and Garlic paste available in the market.

Which one should be used in which circumstance for what reasons? Please answer in a generic way rather than focusing over Garlic.

Consider what the "no cheating" version of the ingredient is, and get the closest thing to that, that's convenient enough for you.

For things like garlic, ginger, etc., the "no-cheating" version is to get the fresh ingredients and crush/grate them - what you end up with is a paste. The paste you can buy in jars is this stuff, with preservatives added to make them last. Some flavour will be lost.

To make powder, the paste is dried, and more flavour is lost. But the powder will keep for a long time in the cupboard.

Note that some spices take on different, desirable flavours when processed. Paprika powder has its own properties when compared to fresh paprika peppers. You'd use fresh ginger in many curries, powdered ginger in many cakes, candied ginger in some other sweet dishes. Recipes will specify what to use.

For things like black pepper, cumin, turmeric, coriander seeds, the "no-cheating" version is to get whole seeds, roast them and grind them in a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar. So buying the ready-ground version is only one step away from the ideal. Try grinding your own at least once. The extra depth and complexity of flavour is striking. But for convenience, ready-ground spices are fine.

"Roasting", for small quantities of whole dry spice, involves briefly heating them on a hot dry pan. It brings out spice flavours you don't get from just frying or boiling the spice. Of course, it's optional.

Ground spices have a shorter shelf life than whole dry spices. If you open a jar of powdered spice and it doesn't have a strong aroma, throw it away -- you might as well use dust. Whole spices have the aroma "locked away", to be released when you grind.

To make a paste, these are sometimes mixed with wet ingredients (like garlic and ginger), water and oil. That's the basis of the jars of "spice mix" you can buy in supermarkets. It's also the first step in many curry recipes -- grind your spices, mix with oil to make a paste, and gently fry before adding the onions.


How to thaw a bottle of beer that got frozen accidentally without exploding the bottle Recently I had occasion to put @Kevin Selker 's answer to the test in terms of rapidly chilling beer. However, we uncovered a problem the next morning where people had taken beer and thrown it in the freezer only to forget about it.

I will flip this question around now, what is the best way (is it possible) to take beer from your freezer and safely thaw it for drinking? Is it actually worth drinking if you freeze it solid, then thaw it then chill it again? will the glass be compromised? anyway, i guess this is some regular event at my parents and i would like for this to stop happening.

[as an aside: we wrapped up the two bottles in towels and put them in the basement (which was relatively cool. we came back awhile later and the one bottle had exploded, the other on had a crack around the neck. we had to throw both out. so either this method is fail, or needed augmented.]

I've had the same experience as you, with beer and other liquids frozen in glass bottles.  Whenever I try to rapidly thaw them, it seems the structure of the glass is compromised in some way and it either explodes or cracks - this even has happened to me when trying to slow thaw, like you did.

Beer bottles, and especially cans, can explode in the freezer and will make an ungodly mess.  Beer bottles exploding in the freezer are rare, but I've heard anecdotal stories from people I trust who said it has happened to them, perhaps with improper bottling and not enough room for expansion in the neck.

Since a few bad experiences with forgetting things in the freezer (I had an aluminum can of Hawaiian Punch literally explode all over the freezer one night, that was a MESS) I now only use the salted ice bath method!

I have tasted beer that was frozen and thawed without any glass shards in it, specifically a can of beer that partially exploded (I guess I didn't learn my lesson from the Hawaiian Punch that quickly).  It had enough left frozen in the bottom of the can that I figured I should thaw what was left, and give it a taste.  It wasn't bad, but it tasted a little...flatter than normal, I guess?  It just wasn't as full flavored as I expected.  Definitely a noticeable difference to me.


What is a device used to slice tomatoes with in one motion called? I worked at a restaurant for a month once and they had a device there. It was a rectangular box: you'd put a tomato in it, and there was a handle at the one end you could use to push the tomato against some blades. The tomato would come out the other end in 5 slices.

It was so much more efficient than using a knife, but I don't know what it was called.

I almost want to say it was a tomato slicer, but I never heard anyone call it that.

Yes, believe it or not... it's called a Tomato Slicer, but they are also sometimes referred to as a Tomato Saber. Which is a product name originally from the commercial company Price Castle.

Although I agree with Stephie and janeylicious just include the additional keyword 'commercial' with your search.

Another option is that you can try the keyword 'Tomato Saber', this should also aid to a successful search.


Under ideal circumstances, how easily should raw chicken cut when using a sharp knife? I've had two distinct textures while cutting raw chicken.

Tender such that I barely even need to apply pressure with the knife
Very tough and "chewy" feeling

Does chicken come in all shapes and sizes, and is this something I should take note of? How does it affect cooking times?

If you're picking up a pre-packed chicken in a supermarket, there will be information you cannot access or use - the variety of bird, its age, its diet etc, so what you are left with is a simple rule-set.

The bigger it is, the tougher it is.

Take chicken breast...
A single chicken breast of 150g should be tender. One at 300g won't be. So, avoid the bulk packs that appear to be better value; also check the breast is whole & hasn't been trimmed to look like a smaller one than the bird it came from.

Also avoid the supermarket's sneaky trick - "Mini-fillets"
These look like very small whole breast pieces so your first impression would be that they ought to be tender. In actual fact they have been torn out of the centre of much larger breasts & are often tough as old boots.


How to prepare summer squash without the peel becoming rubbery I occasionally prepare summer squash as a side item, and typically fry it as it is both easy and flavorful. Recently I tried various ways of baking squash by hollowing out the soft center, adding a stuffing to the peel, and placing the hollowed portion back on top.

The dish is usually good, but the peel tends to always have a rubbery texture that produces an odd glancing bite. Is there a way to prepare the peel in order to keep the savory crunch which adds to the texture, yet softens the outer layer of the peel so it's not ruined by the rubbery feel?

So it sounds like you're saying that you prepare the squash by slicing it in half, removing the flesh, leaving just the peel, then you return the flesh back to the empty peel. You then bake this as a whole. You want to make the peel crisp/crunchy but not rubbery.

Because the peel and the flesh have different compositions, (i.e. water content, density, etc.) and you're trying to achieve two distinct textures (tender flesh and crunchy peel) you could consider using two separate cooking techniques, one for the flesh and one for the peel, rather than cooking both together, once both have been cooked then you can reassemble them. You could bake the flesh just as you've been doing because it sounds like you're satisfied with that texture.

You might need to experiment some with the cooking technique for the peel to achieve your desired texture. One possible solution would be very quickly deep-frying the peel, this should soften it, but allow you to keep it crisp.
You could also investigate pickling/lacto-fermenting the peel, this would allow you to get a crisp texture, while softening the peel.
Another interesting option is the use of slaked lime (aka Thai red lime paste, Thai pickling paste, cal, or more accurately as Calcium Hydroxide, see here for more details). It is commonly used in food applications to cross-link the pectins that "cement" the cell walls of fruits and vegetables together, thus it preserves a crisp texture that will stand up to intense cooking methods. This is used in South-East Asian cooked fruit desserts and in pickles.

If you don't wish to cook the peel and the flesh separately, then you could use a two step cooking method, like first baking them with the cut-side facing up, then once you've achieved the desired flesh texture, flipping them over and quickly broiling them. The broiling will affect the peel significantly more than the flesh in this approach because you will have flipped them so that the peel now faces up and is closer to the broiler (which provides intense, top-only heat).


Hot Peppers in Olive Oil Safe? I chopped up some raw assorted hot peppers, covered them with olive oil and then refrigerated them immediately. How long will they keep in the fridge?

Anything stored in olive oil is subject to bacterial growth, even in the fridge. If it is in an air tight container, such as a mason jar, it should last about 1 week. :)


How to remove onions smell from hands? Why does the smell of onions linger on your hands long after you have been cutting them? Even after washing your hands. I have heard that stainless steel remove odors from hands? Is it true?

There are some specific food scent removal soaps. I keep some made by 'method' by my sink. https://methodhome.com/products/kitchen-hand-wash/


Melted chocolate wafers When I make crunchie bars my melted chocolate that covers them goes white if I put them in the fridge. Will cocoa butter chips help that issue. I'm not sure why the chocolate goes milky white on areas.  If I add cocoa butter chips make a difference

Chocolate turns white due to "fat bloom", that is, the fat content of the chocolate wanders to the surface and crystallizes into this white bloom that you observe. This can be avoided if you cool your chocolate in a cool, but not cold spot. 18 °C or about 65 F seems to be the sweet spot for this. Source here.

Alternatively, you could try to reduce the fat content by using chocolate with a lower cocoa butter/fat content.


Do chefs use customer feedback to improve dishes? I understand that chefs can gauge the quality of a dish by monitoring its popularity. However, suppose a chef wants to improve an existing recipe, how might he/she do that?

Will the chef rely on customer feedback? Suppose a customer says he likes the steak but thinks the sauce can be improved. How can a chef use that information?

Clarification - I want to understand if and how chefs might use customer feedback to improve dishes.

Suppose a chef surveys 100 customers. 60 of them say that the steak sauce need some improvement. Will the chef investigate further to improve his recipe? If so, how would he do it?

Also, suppose that the same 60 customers say that they prefer the steak sauce in another restaurant, will the chef go to the another restaurant to investigate?

I'm not senior enough to leave comment, so thanks to everyone that tries to help!

I'm only a semi-pro chef, but let's have a go at answering your question.

There are some people who have an actual impact when they provide feedback on one of my dishes. These are people I have cooked for more often and whose tastes are familiar to me. They will often function as a "test panel" when I want to try out a dish I'm considering for the menu of a commercial event I'm planning.

Should this test panel think my sauce needs more seasoning or more acidity, this would certainly cause me to adjust the recipe and/or process.

On the other hand, feedback from an individual guest whose tastes are unknown to me is pretty much meaningless. How would I be able to tell whether their likes and dislikes are anywhere near an average opinion? There those who will nearly always reach for the salt shaker when served a dish, even if to the average taste it is well seasoned.

So this hypothetical individual customer that features in your question seems pretty unlikely to cause a chef to change his recipe, unless of course the same feedback has been given before and a pattern emerges. In that case an individual customer can of course tip the scales in favor of a change.


What is redshell sushi or rødskjell sushi? This is a rødskjell sushi in Norwegian (where I point with the sticks) and translated as redshell sushi in English. I am trying to find what it is. They have used some green to roll it around, it is probably some sea thing. Is it a fish or is it something else?

According to a few sushi websites, red shell sushi is known as arc shell, akaki or akagai sushi. It is a type of clam that gets its red color from lots of hemoglobin in its flesh.

One source
Another source

And the green stuff is definitely nori.


High Elevation Souffle I am making a Blue Cheese Souffle today and because I live in the Mile-Hi city, I am a little concerned about it not working.  Are there any special tips - specifically for Souffle's at high altitude or elevation?

I have tried everything imaginable for my favorite chocolate cake and the only time it did not sink it tasted very bad, so I have learned to live with a sinking cake.  I would like to balance the flavor with the rise, so please include side effects for any suggested tip.

Thanks!

Mary,

Everything I see online does indicate that souffles can be problematic at altitude, so you're right to seek advice.

Here's two resources for help:

Cooking At High Altitude Blog: http://cookingathighaltitude.blogspot.com/2008/11/chocolate-souffle.html
Pie in the Sky Cookbook: http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780060522582-0


How do you cook boneless chicken thighs? I can cook beef steak and chicken breasts pretty good, but boneless chicken thighs is where I have some issues.

First it is uneven in width, making it hard to properly cook the insides without overcooking the outside.

Second I do not know how to work the chicken skin. By the time the chicken is properly cooked, the skin is scorched - not crispy.

Third is that I do not know what kind of liquid goes well if I want to deglaze the pan. I am looking for a tangy, savory sweet gravy but I do not know what kind of ingredients will get me there (just basic deglaze knowledge).

I hope you guys can provide some guidance as to how to nail boneless chicken thighs and solve these problems I am having because YouTube and Google have not been my friends today.

EDIT: I have noticed some confusion about what is a chicken steak, so here:

EDIT V2: Using what the comments have taught me, I have changed from  "chicken steak" to "boneless chicken thighs". I will keep the picture to avoid further confusion.

This is my favorite cut: the boneless, skinless chicken thigh. I generally sear it in a pan that already has oil and spices in it, to seal the meat, and then reduce the heat to the higher end of Medium to cook it in an open pan. If hovering over it while it cooks isn't practical for you, try spicing and breading it before you fry it. The coating makes the meat more forgiving about when it is turned, etc., and helps to seal in the moisture.


Can someone identify this herb? I found this herb in an Asian supermarket. The label didn't actually say what it was, and the clerks at the store didn't speak English well enough to ask them.

My first thought was mint, but I would expect mint leaves to be more wrinkly than that.

My second thought was holy basil, which would be a pleasant surprise as that's generally very hard to find. I looked at pictures of holy basil online, and it looks pretty close, although these leaves look a bit more pointy than in those pictures.

Can someone identify the herb in the picture?

I don't think it's shiso, as that tends to have a more jagged edge.  I suspect it's the botanically related Korean kkaennip (aka 'sesame leaf', which is also of the family Perilla):

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/07/seriously-asian-perilla-leaves.html
http://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/perilla-leaves

(but I can't discount bitter leaf, as that's not something I'm familiar with)


Does blending oil (for vegan butter) make hydrogenated oil? I recently figured out the recipe for garlic vegan butter which is made primarily by roasting garlic, then whipping it in a blender with coconut and olive oil, and cooling in the refrigerator. It's delicious, textured similarly to butter and, as far as I know, not terribly unhealthy.

Then my father mentioned to me that that is similar to the process of making hydrogenated oils. I DO remember once reading something about whipping oil being a bad idea. Is that true? Am I basically just quaffing hydrogenated fats?

Oil is hydrogenated by bubbling hydrogen through it at high temperature (on the order of 400 to 500 degrees F), in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel.

Air is 0.00005% hydrogen, you are probably not using temperatures high enough, nor doing it for a significantly long period of time, nor having an appropriate catalyst present.  The amount of hydrogenation introduced via this recipe is somewhere between none and vanishingly small.

However, coconut oil itself is about 92% saturated fat--which means the fats are naturally saturated with hydrogen.   While a natural saturated fat, not a manufactured one, coconut oil is saturated.

If your recipe is delicious and you enjoy it, eat up in moderation like anything else (chocolate excepted).  :-)


How to store a double iced cake I am entering a baking contest (well, two actually that are two days apart).  The first contest I am only baking three items, but the second I am baking (potentially) 15 items.  Normally I have a much better head start, but this year seems to have gotten the best of me!

Most of the items will be baked Thursday afternoon or sometime Friday to be as fresh as possible.  Two items for Thursday's baking contest are also in Saturday's.  One item is in the freezer (pound cake).  My question is the second item.  It is a chocolate cherry coke cake with two frostings (a marshmallow fluff frosting and a chocolate cherry coke frosting).

The marshmallow fluff needs to be put on the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven to help melt the fluff and make it spreadable.  Then the second frosting gets poured over the top of the marshmallow fluff almost immediately.  Instead of making a 9X13 cake, I made two smaller cakes.  Both have been frosted and are currently in the fridge.

The one for tomorrow should fine (I'll pull it from the fridge tonight and leave it at room temperature over night).  My concern is the one for Saturday.  I don't think freezing is the answer, but I'm worried that too much time in the fridge will make the cake too hard.  But if I leave it at room temperature for the next three days, will it be OK?  Is that too long to stay at room temperature?  (I live in FL so I'm used to keeping everything in the fridge to avoid humidity's effects.)  The first frosting is just the marshmallow fluff.  The second is cocoa power, butter, cherry coke, and powered sugar.

This question (How long can a stacked carrot cake be stored) is close as it asks about storing a stacked cake, but I'm looking for the best way to store a double frosted cake to stay as fresh as possible for three and a half more days.

You'll run into another problem when you take the cake out of the fridge -- condensation.

Air will cool when it's near the cake, and the moisture in it will condense on the cake, possibly causing odd dots when you try to blot it dry.  (possibly smearing the icing, or the water could cause problems on decorated cakes with any variations in color)

You have a few options:

Chill the cake unfrosted, and then find another way to get the fluff spreadable.  You might try warming it up in a double boiler.  (note that it might adhere differently to a warm vs. cold cake, though)
Wrap the cake after frosting.  If it's a hard frosting, this isn't too much of a problem.  With your cake, I'd most likely frost it with the fluff, then let that cool.  Before putting it in the fridge, then use a bunch of toothpicks with a blunt end, and put them in every few inches, so you can wrap it in plastic wrap (aka cling film) without the wrap touching the icing.  If you can't find the blunt-end toothpicks, use ones with points on both ends, but cover exposed end with a marshmallow.  As you'll be putting on a second frosting, that will cover up the toothpick holes.  (normally you have to plan the toothpick placement so you can place flowers or other decorations to cover them).  On the day of, take the cake out of the fridge but do not unwrap it until the outside has come back up to near room temperature.

As you're making smaller cakes, if you have a suitably sized cake carrier or other storage container (or find a cake supply store to buy cake boxes), that might be easier than wrapping for #2.


120 guests including children - Amounts needed please for party catering Together with our families, my fiance and I are doing the food for our post wedding party.
We have 117 guests including around 15 children.

We are serving the following
Beef Chilli - GF (100 people)
Veggie Chilli - V/VG (17 veggies)
Creme Fraiche
Jalapenos
Bread - French Sticks etc
GF Bread
Butter
Cheese
We are also having Coleslaw & Potato Salad (friend who is a caterer is doing this for us so I don't need info on this)

My question for you all is, how much chilli should I try to make?
How much bread should I buy? Thiking french sticks, in a basket with a bread board/knife so they can chop this up themselves.

Chilli etc will be cooked on the hob in the kitchen and kept warm in slow cookers where guests can help themselves.

This will be a buffet of sorts, nothing being served as such.

Any information/advice would be greatly appreicated!

Thank you

I know that people frown upon recipes on here, but in the book "Quantity Recipes: From Meals for Many" by the New York State College for Home Economics, 1945, they recommend a serving size of 3/4 cup, which for 50 to 55 people is:

9 lbs ground beef
2 lbs ground pork
1 1/2 cups onions, chopped
1 cup beef dripping or other fat
5 qts kidney beans (#10 can) or 1 3/4 lb dried
5 qts tomatoes (1 1/2 #10 cans)
2 1/2 TB chili powder
5 TB salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 TB sugar
1/2 lb crackers, broken

I personally wouldn't use that recipe (1.5 cups of onions and 2.5TB chili for 11 lbs of meat?), but it should give you an idea of quantity.

You might be better off making a 'normal' batch of your chili recipe and measuring to see how much it makes, but possibly adjusting if it's significantly less than 3oz of meat per serving.

It's also worth noting that chili freezes really well.  If you have the freezer space, you might want to make some in advance and freeze it.  (I use 1qt deli containers, which would be 5 1/3 servings by their estimate).  Of course, I'd also freeze it without beans and add them back when reheating (or serve it separately as an option).


Ways to counter the burn of too many scallions? Last night I made mashed cauliflower and made the mistake of putting in too many scallions before I blended it.  The result is a mashed cauliflower that has the distinct burn of eating raw onion.  Is there anyway for me to counter that?  Aside from watering it down with more mashed cauliflower is there anything I can add to it in modest amount that might neutralize the burn with out destroying the cauliflower?

Cauliflower fritters. Mix some egg, ice-cold water and flour, then stir in the other ingredients. Gently put about one or two tablespoons at a time into a deep-fryer using two spoons. We do something similar to make "kaki-age", which is a mix of vegetables prepared using a batter similar to tempura, and generally includes onion. You can probably also get away with doing this in a frying pan with just the bottom covered in oil if you keep the oil temperature stable enough.

For what it's worth, I prefer to make mashed potatoes by ricing them then adding butter, milk, scallions and cream then letting them roast for a while in an enameled cast-iron pot. I've never noticed an unpleasantly raw taste with the scallions in this way. Perhaps a similar approach would work for the cauliflower.


I want to cook chicken legs, but will be out of house for 2.5 hours at what temp do I need to cook it at so it's not over or under cooked I want to cook chicken legs, but will be out of house for 2.5 hours at what temp do I need to cook it at so it's not over or under cooked? I have just a basic oven, so I can't set a timer.

Operating an oven when no one is home is not a good idea, although some people would disagree with me.

If you can find an appropriate slow cooker recipe that you like, that would be your best best bet.  Dark meat chicken is well suitable to braising, which is what slow cookers are best at.

I cannot give you an exact temperature, as most slow cookers or crock pots have only "high" and "low" as settings... the real issue is leaving the chicken in long enough, but not so long it turns to mush and gets that overcooked taste.  Your three hour interval is certainly long enough to be safe.

The hardest part is finding a recipe suitable for your three hour time interval.  Most slow cooker recipes are designed for around 8 hours, so you can leave them while at work, although I suspect they would actually work very well in 3 hours--you could certainly try them and googling them is easy.  I actually suspect most 8 hour slow cooker recipes are badly overcooked, but haven't done experiments to find out.

Many more traditional chicken braising recipes are much shorter; again, they can probably be adapted to your slow cooker at three hours as dark meat holds up well to longer cooking.

By googling three hours chicken legs, I was able to find some promising recipes, including this one for very basic "barbequed" chicken legs.  That could be adapted easily for almost any sauce you like.


Is there an alternative to cornstarch when used to thicken a pie filling I made a some pies a couple of days ago. The recipe called for cornstarch and it thicken the filling after it came out of the oven. The only thing is I could taste a bit of the cornstarch when I was eating the pies. I would just use less of it but I am afraid of making my pies to runny without the cornstarch.

Is there an alternative to cornstarch to thicken the pie filling or should I just use less and hope I still use enough?

There are several alternatives, but the most common I know of are tapioca flour and arrowroot powder/flour.

That said, most cornstarch substitutes aren't appropriate for pies, because they break down under high heat.  The only substitutes for corn starch that I'd use in a pie are potato starch and tapioca.  Tapioca powder can be hard to find in some areas though; I usually get it at Asian grocery stores.


Which is a better option for making dosa batter. Indian mixie or US blender? Moving to US next week planning to avoid the Mixie as it weighs almost 3 kgs . Which is the best option in blenders for making soft batter and chutney? I have got few recommendations like Osterizer not sure if this can make soft batter

You can buy Indian style
Mixie's in the USA. What I found was Preethi brand. They sell for what looks like between $150-$250USD. From the description of the appliance, they are spice grinders in addition to being mixers, so a blender may not be quite a proper substitute, however we do have a lot of blenders, food processors and standup mixers to choose from, so you may eventually have a full set of Kitchen appliances up to the task, but I think you will either want to bring your mixie or buy a new mixie when you get here if you want an appliance that does exactly what the mixie does.

I may even have to buy one now.


Food Safety: Do I have to boil pork and then fry it? I know that I should cook pork at 63 °C and without rinsing to avoid cross-contamination. My question is the following; I want to fry pork chops: Does this means I have to boil the pork in water until that temperature and then fry or just toss it into the oil and wait until it reaches that temp? And if I don't rinse it, does it mean the pork just goes with the blood to the boiler or frying pan?

Sorry for the stupid question, but I'm really a noob at cooking and everyone adviced me to just rinse it with vinegar.

No, you do not. A pork chop can be safely cooked by only frying it. That doesn't mean that if you fry a pork chop it's guaranteed to be safe. You can use a meat thermometer to see if the inside has reached 63 (or whatever recommend temperature you're aiming for), and don't take it out of the pan until it does. (Note you are not cooking it at 63, you are cooking it to 63.)

When the chop is very thick, you might find it too seared on the outside by the time it gets to temp in the middle. A way around that is to sear both sides and then put it in the oven. Again you use the thermometer to be sure it is cooked.

I won't say that no-one ever boils pork. Many people boil (or more accurately, simmer) ribs for a long time, to break down the connective tissue, before quickly glazing them on a grill. But boiling a pork chop is pretty unusual.

I don't rinse pork before I cook it. Many cultures have a tradition of rinsing meat with water, vinegar, or lemon before cooking it. Modern advice is that this isn't needed. It won't hurt the pork if you do, but it's possible you could spread contamination through your sink or wherever the water ends up. That's why people advise you to skip any kind of rinsing.

As a final note, I don't add oil when I fry a pork chop. I don't "toss it into the oil" I put it in a pan - nonstick, or a heavy stainless steel. Don't turn it too often: it will release from the pan as it cooks.


Is it okay to bake caramel pudding rather than steaming it? I have a simple recipe for caramel pudding. It says to steam the pudding mix until it's set. It's a somewhat old recipe I've never tried before.

So, rather than steaming (which is very time consuming), can I use my oven instead? And what temperature and time would be preferable? Since the recipe only asks me to steam, I'm thinking of baking it for about 45 mins at 120°C.

I haven't seen your recipe, but from looking at others, steamed pudding takes on the order of a couple hours of steaming. Doing it in the oven won't be any faster or less boring than steaming it - it may even be slower, since heat transfer from steam is pretty efficient. 45 minutes at 120°C would probably leave it undercooked, and if you cook at a higher temperature, you'll be missing the point - steaming for a long time lets it cook slowly and more evenly. You could work out how to cook it hotter and faster, but it wouldn't be a steamed pudding anymore, it'd be a "normal" pudding.

If you want to do it in the oven, you should use a water bath to keep it from getting too hot - put the vessel with the pudding into a larger vessel, and add water to come most of the way up the sides of the pudding. Then you can increase the temperature of the oven, perhaps to 150-175°C, without overheating the pudding. But I doubt you'll be able to get the cooking time very much less than the original cooking time with steam without significantly changing the results.

Finally (thanks Elendil), steaming helps keep the pudding moist, and an oven even with a water bath is not a terribly humid environment, so it might still be drier than desired. Covering tightly, and possibly adding a tiny bit more liquid, might help with that.


How to reduce microwave power to prevent burned popcorn? I got a Nordic Ware "microwave popcorn bowl" for Christmas, that my dad and sister had been raving about. I usually make stovetop popcorn in my Whirley Pop popper, which does a great job, but wanted to give the microwave one a try.

Unfortunately, my 1100 W microwave seems far too powerful and tends to end up with either burned popcorn, or having to stop the process with a LOT of unpopped kernels. I was going to give up on the thing but tried it at a vacation house we rented where the microwave was a lot less powerful. It produced amazing popcorn!! Absolutely delicious, tasted more flavorful even though I used way less coconut oil.

I've tried using reduced power setting on my microwave but it doesn't seem to help, the fact that reducing power just makes it shut off for brief periods (see this question) seems to mess up the popping.

Is there something else I can try, like maybe putting a glass or two of water in the microwave with the popcorn? That might help absorb some of the microwave energy. Perhaps I will experiment...

A glass of water in the microwave will result in less microwave energy reaching the popcorn.  I use a large glass of water (8 - 12 oz.) when I'm softening butter because I want the water to absorb most of the energy.  For popcorn, you may get by with 2-4 ounces of water.

I've also found that the amount of oil makes a huge difference.  I sometimes pop popcorn in a paper lunch bag.  If I don't use any oil, I get the combination of burnt and unpopped you described.  With a teaspoon of oil added to 1/3 cup of popcorn, results are a lot better.  Perhaps you just need a little more oil to get great popcorn.