Does it harm juice if I store it in sub-zero temperatures? I have several packs of juice (or multivitamin nectar, to be precise), and I can either keep them in our flat or put them outside, where it's freezing during the night. Is it going to do any harm to the juice if I do the latter?

Freezing juice will definitely not harm the juice itself, but it might harm your container if you're not careful.  The juice can expand quite a bit during the freezing process, so make sure that your container isn't completely full before you freeze it.

If the juice is already in a container (i.e. you bought it) then keep in mind that the container might not be designed for freezing and could explode at freezing temperatures due to the expanding volume.  If you're not sure, you might be better off transferring them to some large freezer bags.

I should also mention that freezing will only slow down the enzymatic activity that degrades fruit (and fruit juice) over time, not stop it completely.  Most fruit juice has been boiled to inactivate the enzymes, but if yours hasn't, then you might notice (bad) changes in the colour and taste over time.  If you plan to consume it within a few weeks, or if the juice already has various preservatives, then don't worry about it, but if it's very fresh juice and this is for long-term storage, then you might want to briefly boil it before storing if you're not sure about its history.

Keep in mind that the above will itself alter the taste, so if you plan to do it, test it on a small amount first to be sure that you can live with the "blanched" taste.


Citric acid for hard-boiled eggs? I recently ordered some dish from a local food delivery company. The dish, among other ingredients, contained hard-boiled eggs. The ingredient list read the following:

  [...] Hard-boiled eggs (egg, citric acid), [...]

Due to that formatting, the citric acid was definitely used for the eggs, not for the dish as a whole. I am wondering what the purpose of using citric acid for cooking hard boiled eggs could be. I am not sure how/in what quantity/when it is added to the eggs. I could think of a few possible reasons to using it, however, I am not sure if any of these is real. My ideas are:

Perhaps, given that it is acid, it helps removing the bacteria and/or feces remnants from the shell, or
Given the lime content of egg shells and the fact that lime is pretty reactive to some acids, it might help with peeling. It sounds reasonable as we are talking about a food delivery company, probably cooking eggs up in the quantities of the hundreds to thousands.

These are just my two cents, does anyone know the (possibly) real reason behind it?

US patent EP0020011 A2 describes a process of packaging shelled hard boiled eggs where the egg is dipped in a citric acid solution to prevent discoloration of the yolk at the white-yolk interface. I would guess that’s what is going on in this case.


Why does homemade pasta using wholemeal flour break easily as compared to all purpose flour? Why does wholemeal pasta break more easily than pasta that is made from all-purpose flour?

This is quite typical for anything made with wholemeal flour. It has all of the wheat berry ground in it, including the hard outer hull. These hull particles tend to cut up the gluten of the dough, resulting in brittle end products.

The more "rustic" your wholemeal flour is (so larger hull particles), the more pronounced the effect gets. An organic store in my city has a small electric mill for people to buy a pack of grain of their choice and grind it themselves immediately, this makes a flour that is almost impossible to use for dough. Industrially milled flours with smaller particle sizes work better, but not as well as white flours.


Chopsticks versus forks? Why are chopsticks the main eating utensil in many Asian cultures, but forks and knives serve the same purpose in many European cultures, and those descended from European cultures?

Note:  good answers will reference solid historical or anthropological facts or resources, not just be speculation.

Why have chopsticks been adapted as the primary utensil of choice:

The answer I've been taught my whole life (and I'm Chinese) was that Confucius believed that forks and knives promoted a sort of violence when eating and that it was best to keep weapons off of the dinner table and promote a gentleness when eating. This would follow his philosophical teachings.

Where do chopsticks come from:

The origin of the chopstick itself is fairly unknown, but believed to be an evolution of the ancient chinese who would roast meats over/in coals and use long sticks to fish them out. As food and fuel became more scarce food was cut into smaller pieces to cook more quickly and smaller sticks were needed to pick up the food.

History of chopsticks: http://www.asianartmall.com/chopstickshistory.htm
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/food/2009/08/the-history-of-chopsticks/

Confucius and Chopsticks: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-01/09/content_297513.htm


How do I press avocadoes to make avocado oil? Avocado oil is expensive and I've been trying to figure out a solution to make my own. I'd love to make a press (I do woodworking) but I haven't found anything online.

Is there a way to extract avocado oil from avocadoes at home?

The cold process is easy.Just blend the fresh pulp using a kitchen blender to make a thin and smooth pulp.Heat the pulp in low heat and maintain a 50 degrees celcius heat for about an hour and a quarter.This is called malaxation which enables the oil molecules to collect into globules visible by eye.Then after malaxation,take the warm malaxed pulp and strain it into a cheese cloth or a muslin cloth and press by squeezing out the oil as it collects into a container beneath.There you have pure virgin avocado oil.I never buy cooking oil at home.I use this for deep frying,baking and desserts making.Its very health and pocket friendly cooking oil especially if you live where avocado is grown in plenty like my home area of Meru in Kenya.I have 20 avocado trees which i make use of.You can try this too at home and enjoy your cooking.


Brined cheese behaves almost as if carbonated I bought (at least what I thought was) some Bulgarian/Turkish-style brined soft cheese today, and when I got home I noticed the container seemed over-pressurised (it's sold in a kind of tall tin can/metal cylinder, and both ends bulged noticeably).

Upon opening I, hardy surpricing, got the soda bottle effect (and a bunch of brine over my shirt). The whole thing smells kinda strange (I can't think of a better word than "chemical") and the brine behaved almost as if carbonated (it "fizzed" when I took out a bit of cheese), but there's nothing visibly strange about the cheese itself.

I tasted a tiny piece (taken from the inside of a block and after quickly rinsing it), and it has a very strange, rather acrid taste. I've bought similar soft cheeses from the same producer before (a couple of different kinds), and they've always been fine.

As I'd feel silly for throwing out 1kg of cheese due to being uneducated I'd like to know whether the cheese is simply off or if it's of some variety unknown to me. If the latter case, what is one supposed to do with it? In the, arguably, more likely case that it's simply contaminated/gone bad, I'd be curious to know why it's behaving the way it does.

Some additional info:

Just noticed it has expiry date today. That being said, I can't remember having any problems with similar cheeses even few days after the expiry date, and then after having been opened several days earlier.
The ingredients list is as follows: "Pasteurized milk, salt, starter culture, vegetable rennet"
There's a large label in some language Google Translate identifies as Turkish, but more or less fails to translate:

  Bildiǧiniz lezzet, özlediǧiniz peynir!

  Onbir ayin sultani

  RAMAZAN'A [iFTAR'LIK VE SAHUR'LUK] öZEL PAYNiR

This cheese sounds completely off.  I urge you to discard it.

There are no cheeses I know of that should generate pressure like that, nor have an acrid odor.


When milk is cultured (eg kefir), what changes occur in terms of lactose, glucose and galactose levels? When milk is cultured (eg kefir), what changes occur in terms of lactose, glucose and galactose levels?
What happens to these sugars, and why?

In general, the process of fermentation is a conversion of sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Lactose being a disaccharide composed of glucose and galactose is somewhat harder for the culture to digest, so as fermentation progresses, the levels of all three sugars will fall but lactose will fall at a slower rate than galactose or glucose.


preseasoned pan - now blackened and chipping While I've found similar posts, I have not found a perfect answer and thought I'd share my cleaning routine in case that is creating a problem.  I purchased a pre-seasoned Lodge skillet about a year ago. I also have my Grandmothers old Wagner that looked to be well seasoned as well.
My issue is that the Lodge currently is fairly lumpy on the bottom and food will pick up quite a few black flakes.  I've tried taking a spatula to it to try to pick up some of it and then wiping it, but it doesn't get much of it.  I think when the pan is hot more comes off.
My cleaning routine is this:  After using pan, I boil hot water in it to pick up any of the baked on food.  I "scrape" it as it's boiling with a wooden spatula.  Then dump the hot water and rinse with just plain water wiping it dry with a paper towel.  I then will add a little oil (either grape-seed or regular olive oil) and wipe that around the entire pan with a paper towel.  Then putting the pan back on the hot burner to "cure".   All along I've thought of this as a mini curing session each time I use it which is a lot.  But maybe it's too much somehow?  Or maybe the boiling of the water in it after use is too much?  I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.  I do the same thing with all of my cast iron pans and I have varying degrees of "not smooth" bottoms.  Including the Wagner.  Please help!  I definitely do not have that baby smooth surface like others speak of.  Thanks in advance!

Try to use vinegar in the hot pan to remove solids of food. Also, adding salt while washing and brushing helps removing that heavy duty dirty.

After that, gently dry the pan in the stove and add oil just after all the water evaporates. Use a paper towel to help evenly spread the oil.

Then put the pan back in the stove or oven in a low fire.

That's what I do.


Grilled Turkey and Gravy I'd like to grill my turkey this Thanksgiving. Cook's Illustrated's method has you put the turkey on a V-Rack on the grill.  If I do this I won't have any pan drippings for my gravy.

Is there an advantage to putting the turkey right on the grill?  Can I just put my roasting pan + turkey right on the grill?

I grilled my turkey this year, here is how I made the gravy:

Cut the wing tips off
Make a mirepoix (chopped carrots, celery and onions)
Brown the mirepoix really well.
Brown the neck, wing tips and giblets (but not the liver-fry that separately and eat it for a snack)
Simmer the mirepoix and browned meat bits in a few cups of water for an hour or more to make a rich stock.
Add browned mushrooms if you like (adds umami).

This can all be done while the turkey is being grilled.

When you take the turkey off, put it on a platter to stand.  You will collect some juices in the tray.  Use these juices and the stock you made to make the gravy.

See: Making a natural gravy?


Picking up wet dough I've been making sourdough recently and trying to get the knack of using a really wet dough. I've watched a number of YouTube videos, and I do all the stretch and folds and periodic reshapings, and this all seems to work - the dough builds up some tension and becomes much less sticky to the touch on the non-seam side. I do all this in a pyrex tray.

The problem comes when I tip it out onto the bench to do the final shaping. Then, although I flour the bench, it starts to stick to it quite badly, and then when I try to pick it up to put it in the proofing basket it just turns to slime, loses its shape and becomes very sticky again.

I then leave it to proof overnight in the fridge, and while it rises perfectly it sticks to the proofing basket, which causes it to deflate in the oven. This is despite covering the basket with large amounts of flour beforehand. I'm assuming this is partly because I've messed up the tension in the dough by not picking it up properly.

My questions are (1) is there something I might be doing wrong that's causing it to stick to the bench and become very difficult to pick up, and/or (2) is there a special technique for picking up wet dough off the bench? In the videos people seem to just deftly scoop it up into their hands and it doesn't look especially difficult, but I might be missing something.

In case it makes any difference, our bench top is made of metal.

If it is turning to "slime", losing shape, and becoming sticky again, you are probably not building enough strength in the dough.  First, I would try the same recipe, holding back 50 - 100 g of the water.  Work with a slightly lower hydration until you get the feel for things.  Then, make sure your initial kneading/stretch and fold takes at least 8-10 minutes.  Subsequent slap and folds should be 1 set (to me that is like four folds, which reshapes the dough into a sort of ball), spaced by about 30 minutes. I use no flour on counter, even with very high hydration. Initially, with a wet dough, you will get a lot sticking to fingers. This will reduce with time and the building of the gluten structure.  For final shaping, either a very light dusting of flour (often none), but a wet bench scraper and wet hands usually does the trick.

High hydration dough is tricky. I really had to work up to it to understand the behavior of the dough.


How do you get 'ears' when baking bread? When slashing bread, how can I produce crusty 'ears' on the places where the slash opens up?  Most of the time they open up, but just end up flush with the rest of the crust.

In my somewhat limited experience you have two things that affect growth of the crispy ears. As Caleb mentions using a lame to score your bread means you can cut with a bit of an angle that will promote a little flap.

The second is ensuring a rapid oven spring, which will cause the flap to open as much as possible before the starches on the surface set. The key to good oven spring is having a hot enough oven (preheat longer than you think you need to if you are using a stone or other heat-storing vessel in the oven), and a source of steam injection. A few ways to do get some steam:

When you put the dough in, pour a 1/2 cup of boiling water into a small cast iron skillet pre-heated in the oven.
Spritz the walls of the oven with water when you put the dough in.
My favorite - preheat a large dutch oven, and put the dough inside the dutch oven (lid on) to bake. For the last 10 minutes of the bake, remove the lid. The dutch oven stores some of the initial steam release and makes for much nicer spring and crusts. Of course, only round bread fits.


How do I tell if my pasta is molto al dente? I cooked pasta tonight for my families dinner, and cooked it "al dente" then cooked it in the sauce. Surprise surprise it was overdone. So I looked it up and apparently it needs to be "molto al dente". So now I'm just wondering how will I be able to tell if my pasta is "molto al dente" and what is the definition of "molto al dente"?

How to see if your pasta is "al dente":

If your pasta cooks about in 10 minutes (for example), when you put pasta into the boiling water take one pasta after 8 minute (about 20% before the time of cook), bite it and observe the pasta: the external is more yellow than the internal that is white. When the internal white disappears the pasta has cooked "normale", when the internal white is small the pasta is "al dente".

Greetings from Italy

Everybody know cooking, not everybody speak english very well


What side dish should I have with saltimbocca? What is traditionally the side dish you eat with saltimbocca a la romana?

I would venture to say there is no one specific traditional side dish.  If you go to Italy you aren't going to see saltimbocca with a side of anything on the menu.  You can pick you primi and contorni yourself.  I think s very simple mixture of roasted or grilled asparagus and/or squash would be very nice.

If your wanting traditional and you are making a roman style saltimbooca (saltimbocca alla romana) You can try to pick a primi and contorni that would be common and traditional to that region.  For example you can do "bucatini all'amatriciana" as a primi. With a nice fennel and orange and/or artichoke salad as a side  And of course to the season it is being prepared.  To me that is really what is "traditional" Italian cooking.


I didn't put the lid on my slow cooker(crockpot) for first hour of beef stew. Will it still be safe to eat? I didn't put the lid on the slow cooker (crockpot) properly for first hour of beef stew. It's on high now with the lid on, will it still be safe to eat?

It'll probably be fine. An hour isn't very long and I am willing to bet your food was getting hot anyway even if it wasn't getting as hot as quickly for the first hour.


Using Sourdough Breads to reduce Fructans Short version: How can you minimise the fructan content of a spelt sourdough loaf? Is using a freshly rebuilt starter (low acidity, low sourness) ok? Is 9-10 hours of proofing enough, or should I retard the proof?

Long version:

Hi guys, my sister is on a low FODMAP diet, which includes reducing the intake of fructose and fructans. Wheat is quite high in fructans, so it's on the banned list in the FODMAP diet. Spelt, however is much lower in fructans and can be tolerated by more people. My sister can't tolerate "regular" spelt bread, but is fine with high % (33%+) sourdoughs which have fermented for a long time.

I'm just starting out making sourdough breads, but I've gotten to the point where I'm concerned about the impact that my handling of the starter has on the taste of the bread. "Fresher" starters which have been recently rebuilt from about a tablespoon of starter + wheat & water have a great, fruity, mellow taste. Is this fresher starter still effective at breaking down the fructans in the dough, or should I opt for an older, more acidic starter.

Also, does the proofing temperature (room temperature vs fridge temperature) and therefore the length of the proofs impact the levels of frutans in the final loaf, or am I OK as long as the loaf doesn't resist a poke too much at the end of the proofing?

Thanks for your help,
Jeremy.

There isn't really any scientific information available about the fermentation of fructans in sourdough. I did find this page which says that there are some lactobacilli that are effective at breaking down fructans, but the effectiveness varies by strain of bacteria and type of fructans. (There are also many lactobacilli that don't break down fructans: of 712, only 16 were effective.)

While a longer fermentation time will mean more of the sugars in your dough are digested, since you are aiming to ferment a specific type of sugar, the establishment of your starter may be more important. According to this study, a couple of the strains of lactobacilli shown to be effective at breaking down fructans are found in well-established starters.

In short, rather than giving your dough a long fermentation time, it may be more effective to make dough with a high proportion of a well-established starter instead. The starter will have had a longer cumulative fermentation period to break down fructans, and if your starter has the appropriate culture, it will be more effective at breaking down the fructans in the added flour of your final dough. There is little research on this specifically, so this is largely conjecture and entirely dependent on the culture of your starter.


What does it mean to let gluten relax? I'm new to cooking and have no experience cooking.
I know a bit about gluten in that it gives bread the toughness for stretching, which is good for chewy bread and bad for soft cakes.
I've watched some baking videos where the cook says to "let the gluten relax". I just know it means to leave the dough alone to do something.
What exactly does it mean to let the gluten relax? What happens with the gluten and how does it change the bread/cake?

It means exactly what it says: the gluten relaxes. You can observe it for yourself.
When you leave the dough alone after vigorous kneading, the gluten relaxes and goes from a tensed up state to a mellow state, similar to how human muscles relax depending on the owner's emotional state. The dough goes from hard and modeling-clay-like to pliable and elastic.
The difference for the final bread is a bit indirect. While trying to bake with a completely tense gluten will probably lead to a bad rise, you actually would never do that, because you leave the dough to rise after kneading anyway, and it relaxes during that stage. The real advantage of giving the dough time to relax during kneading is that it lets you properly knead the dough. If your dough has tensed up too much, further kneading motions are not making the structure better, they are making it worse - breaking the dough, for example, and certainly not contributing to the pliable, resilient elastic mesh of gluten you want. If you try to force tensed up dough by kneading, you will end up with overkneaded dough, and if you stop at the point that it's tensed up and let it rise, it will be underkneaded. So instead, you give it a rest, the dough relaxes, and from that point on, you can continue kneading.


Difference between brown sugar and white sugar? While visiting a coffee shop with coffee I was offered these two kind of sugar. But don't know about differences between them. And why does brown sugar absorb moisture quickly compared to white one? And can we use brown sugar instead of white sugar or vice versa?

Brown sugar is just white granulated sugar with molasses added. Dark brown sugar just has more molasses than light brown sugar.

Coffee shops often have turbinado sugar, a common brand is Sugar in the Raw. Turbinado sugar is brown because it is less refined than white sugar.

The turbinado sugar is less "wet" than brown sugar, so it will dissolve somewhat faster than brown sugar. The molasses inhibits the sugar from dissolving quite as quickly, but will also contribute to the sugar drying in hard clumps.

Given a choice in a coffee shop, I would choose the turbinado or the white sugar. The molasses in brown sugar doesn't add anything that I want. Honestly, I can't really tell the difference in coffee between turbinado and white sugar, but I use turbinado anyway - for no particular reason.


Why are there white spots appearing on segments of canned tangerines? I recently opened a tin can of tangerine segments, only to find that the segments contained little white spots throughout the segments.  Can anyone tell me more in regards to what the white spots are? Are they poisonous, or known to be recognized as a food borne pathogen, disease, illness, etc.
I tossed them out before realizing I could ask Seasoned Advice, so I don't have a photo.

Following quote is the abstract of a 1981 article, "The nature of freeze-induced white spots on orange segment walls," Raymond D. Bennett and Roger F. Albach, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 1981 29 (3), 511-514
DOI: 10.1021/jf00105a019 (full article is behind a paywall)
Emphasis mine:

Exposure of oranges to freezing conditions causes formation of white spots on the walls of the fruit segments. The spots are actually located in the tissue comprising the separation zone between segments; when two adjacent segments are pulled apart, each white spot is split in half. The chemical nature of the white spot material was previously in dispute, but it has now been shown to be microcrystalline hesperidin coating the walls of cells in the separation zone. Freezing causes damage to cell membranes, and a soluble form of hesperidin located in the cell vacuoles is thereby released and crystallizes.

Hesperidin is a flavanone glycoside (naturally occurring flavor chemical) found in citrus fruits, so according to that 1981 research, the spots are caused if the orange was frozen. It can appear on oranges or tangerines.


Can I use a metal bowl with rubber bottom as double boiler? So long story short I am attempting to make some chocolate covered strawberries for my wife for mother's day tomorrow. I found some easy recipes that I want to try, including one that say you can just melt the chips in the microwave, like this. After only two rounds of 30 seconds the batch I put in microwave was starting to burn, granted I did only use a smaller amount to test it and avoid ruining my whole pack of pieces...

Due to this I started looking for make shift double boiler ideas I can use and I found one that mentions using a pot with a metal bowl on top. So like this I will be able to stir everything the entire time and it sounds promising but the only bowls we have are like these with rubber bottoms...

Can I use these bowls for my make shift double boilder? If this is not safe or advisable is there any other tips you guys have that could help out a noob cook trying to be sweet?!

Well, I think I found something this morning after starting to scour the internet again for an answer. I don't know if it applies to all bowls, but this link applies to my bowl at least. In the bottom left of the second page it straight up addresses using the bowl as a double boiler! Not sure how I never found this yesterday... Mission accomplished.


Continued use of the same dripping for frying - is it advisable? I fry lamb chops and leave the dripping in the pan where it solidifies. Next time I cook something, the lamb dripping imparts extra flavour.
I have heard that some people just wipe a frying pan instead of washing the grease off. I don't even wipe the pan - I let it build up.
My reasoning is that (a) dripping doesn't go off and (b) any germs/bacteria would be killed by the heat of frying.
Note: I leave the pan covered by a lid when not in use.
Is there any reason that I shouldn't continue with this practice?

Firstly, I would challenge both of your assumptions.

(a) dripping doesn't go off

Like any other fat, lamb drippings can and will go rancid over time.

(b) any germs/bacteria would be killed by the heat of frying

While it's true that any molds or bacteria themselves will be killed by heat, the same does not hold for any toxins they may have produced.
Secondly, when you fry anything, you introduce small particles into the cooking fat. These will burn and -- health risks aside as they are off-topic for this site -- start ruining the flavour of the fat.
You can cook using animal fat rendered from lamb chops, or pork chops, or bacon, etcetera, but you should filter the fat, keep it refrigerated and cannot expect to reuse it indefinitely.


My ginger is blueish... is it safe? I bought ginger at the grocery store last week and kept it, unpeeled, in the fridge. Today I sliced it open and there is a ring of a blueish colour, instead of the yellow I was expecting. The ginger still smells like I'd expect (I haven't tried tasting it).

Would this be safe for use (I was planning on putting some in a salad dressing), or should I toss it?

Having just returned from Hawaii, I actually have a possible answer for you. There is a type of ginger that you can get there (though it's not all that common, far as I could tell) that's called blue ginger. It's just like regular ginger, only it has the blue layer inside as you describe. There was a guy selling it at a roadside fruit stand when we were there.

It should be absolutely safe to use.

edit: I found a link to somebody talking about it. Hawaiian Blue Ginger


Will skim milk powder go bad when mixed with peanut butter? I love to make those peanut butter energy balls to take with me on camping trips, or even a day fishing or after a long run. If I add skim milk powder to them is there anything that will make the skim milk powder spoil? I never refrigerate these and won't be able to.

By the way, these are really cheap to make, taste amazing and offer loads of energy and protein while being healthier than candy bars

I have my own recipe but the standard recipe appears as a Google result when searching: peanut butter energy balls

It is basically: oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and then whatever you want. No need to bake them.

I would think since there is no water, the skim milk powder won't go bad. I always thought it would be great to add a little bit of it for extra protein to help keep me feeling full on long camping trips without buying a lot of expensive products like beef jerky or protein bars.

I couldn't find this question asked via Google so I joined here to ask :)

I would think that you'd be okay adding non-fat powdered milk to your energy balls. Powdered milk, when mixed with other ingredients, will last as long as the quickest expiring ingredient it is mixed with. http://www.eatbydate.com/dairy/milk/how-long-does-powdered-milk-last-shelf-life/
It doesn't sound as if there is enough liquid in your energy balls to reconstitute the milk. If you are really worried about it you might consider adding a whey protein powder to your energy balls instead of the powdered milk. Although those tend to be more expensive.


Can you freeze a Pecan Pie? Can/should I freeze a pecan pie I plan to use 7 days after making?

You sure can. You should wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, aluminum foil, and place it in a freezer bag. It will be best quality for 1-2 months.

It's important to wrap it tightly to minimize ice crystals & freezer burn.

Source: StillTasty


bread that does not get moldy How can a bread have an expiration date of one year into the future?? The bread in questions is Deutsche Küche rye bread (from Aldi).  Yes, it is a dense bread, but it is not dry like a cracker, so there seems to be enough moisture for mold to grow.  There are no preservatives.

Edit (pictures added):

It's the baking and packaging.

These dark rye breads are baked for a very long time (effectively pasteurizing them) and then sealed in their packaging. If you do this in a commercial setting that can ensure a mostly contaminant-free environement, such breads can last a long time.

Once you break the seal by opening the pack, your bread will get moldy like all other breads.

The very dense crumb structure and compounds in the whole-grain rye used might to a certain degree inhibit the growth of mold, but not enough to make the bread last for months.


Green and white mold on dry part of onion only. What to do? I purchased a bunch of red onions and then went a week or two without using them.  When I went to use them last night, I discovered that most of them had grown lots of green and white mold.

This is strange to me - I'm used to onions lasting really long.  In fact, the white onions in the same container were a few weeks older and had no mold or rot.  The white onions aren't even moldy in the presence of the super moldy red onions, and neither are the potatoes or garlic in the same container!

The most interesting part, though, is that only the dry outer skin of the red onions are affected.  The fleshier, shiny layers of skin have no mold.

What kind of mold grows so fast on dry onion skins?
Can we save anything in the bin?

Because nothing else is affected, your red onions probably acquired the mold spores before you purchased them. Perhaps they were stored in a humid area that facilitated the rapid growth.

Hopefully, you didn't store them in the refrigerator. Onions should be stored in a dry area of your kitchen or pantry in a manner that allows for good air circulation. Use a wicker or wire basket rather than than a plastic container.

I see a big red flag in your mentioning storing potatoes in the same container. Potatoes should never be stored in proximity with onions because onions give off a gas which will cause potatoes to spoil. Keep your potatoes in a separate area, preferably dark, and which also permits air to freely circulate.

Regarding what to do with the moldy onions now: wash off the mold and allow the onions to dry, and/or cook with them as soon as possible. After peeling off the outer skins, if the flesh of the onion looks good, with no mold or dark spoiled areas, then I think they'll be safe to use.

If you have too many onions to cook right away and are afraid the mold will progress, slice and/or dice the onions as desired, and blanch them in some boiling water. Then, seal the blanched onions tightly in one or more packages for freezing.


What flavors complement pistachio (pudding specifically)? My department at work is having a potluck holiday lunch, and I've settled on making something really easy and low-effort: a pistachio pudding pie.

Instant pudding in a store-bought crust actually tastes really good to me so I'm not just being lazy here.

But I had the idea of punching it up a little bit by making a special whipped cream to top it, I'm just not sure of a flavor. I don't want anything too overpowering.

I've been looking around, and I've seen pineapple suggested as a flavor that goes well with pistachio, or rosewater which could be interesting.

In the past I've made Irish whiskey whipped cream that tasted great but I'm not sure it would work here. I am open to using liqueurs to flavor the cream.

I have used orange as an excellent flavor pairing with pistachio in cakes, biscottis, panna-cottas, custards, etc. I always add the zest of orange and a few drops of orange essence.

I've also tried cardamom and saffron with pistachios specially in Indian desserts and it is a very popular pairing in India. Just use a few strands of saffron and powdered cardamom seeds in a bit of warm milk before mixing in the rest of the ingredients for color, aroma and flavor.


What constitutes the majority of meat? Looking at 100g chicken breast for example, I see that ~30g is protein and ~4 is fat. What is the rest of the 100g piece made of? Is that all connective tissues? Fiber? Something else?

It's essentially just water.

You can directly see this in the full USDA nutrition facts (link is for "Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted"). Per 100g, there is 65.26g of water, 31.02g protein, 3.57g fat, accounting for 99.85g. The rest is probably just trace nutrients and rounding errors.

You'll see the same kind of thing for other meats. Details vary by cut, but for example here's beef chuck eye steak (64.48g water, 18.86g protein, 16.35g fat), pork loin chops (69.7g water, 20.71g protein, 9.03g fat), and Atlantic salmon (64.89g water, 20.42g protein, 13.42g fat).


Washing or rinsing fish and seafood Do you wash or rinse your fish before cooking it? I usually don't, but I'm not sure whether I'm right or wrong.

Well, ok, I guess it's probably unnecessary in most cases but, what if we're making a raw fish dish like a ceviche? Does that scenario changes the rules?

Same question goes to seafood of all types: mussels, clams, shrimps, so on...

Thank you in advance!

Like in all things: IT DEPENDS and always try to buy the freshest seafood as possible and consume ASAP.

Fish, depending on the fishmonger, sometimes I will rinse a whole fish it if there is blood or innards still in there; I will make certain after to dry it out completely before using.

For filets and portioned fish or shelled shrimps, no, i will only dry it out.

For shellfish like mussels, clams, I will rinse them and let them soak in cold salted water (I never tried the corn meal trick, google it).

For raw unshelled shrimps, I will clean them out and rinse after.

For your question about Ceviche, I will use the above guide (my own) to prepare the fish before cutting and marinating.


Are the molecular gastronomy additives kosher? Are the molecular gastronomy additives kosher?

Most gelling agents are derived from flora of some kind - usually plants or algae. Since they aren't derived from any animal, they are kosher and also vegan.

The primary exception is gelatin, which is derived from animal bones.  Gelatin is as kosher as the animal it came from and the conditions under which it was prepared; genuine kosher gelatin does exist (usually produced from fish bones) but it is somewhat difficult to find in most areas.  If you see it, you'll know, because it will be labeled as kosher.  Beware of "KoJel" and other kosher gelatin "substitutes", as they are usually some other additive or combination of additives, such as agar and/or carrageenan.

Here's a quick (incomplete) list of where some of the additives come from:

Agar - algae
Alginate - algae
Carrageenan - seaweed
Gelatin - animal bones (not kosher unless specifically indicated)
Gellan - bacteria
Guar gum - beans
Lecithin - beans (soy)
Methylcellulose - various plants
Pectin - fruit and other plants
Xanthan gum - bacteria

As you can see, there's nothing in there to make it unkosher.

Of course in practice it depends how strict you are.  Some of these things may be prepared in facilities where they may come into contact with unkosher foods - so if you're orthodox, you might have to seek out products that have the K stamp.  Good luck finding them.


Red ptitim (pearl couscous)? I used to work in an office by a restaurant that served red ptitim - Israeli-style pearl couscous, today are cooked in some sort of tomato sauce and come out red tainted - but not wet: i.e they're not swimming in sauce: they're served just sightly moist like any other ptitim dish.

I tried to reproduce this at home by cooking the ptitim in tomato juice, tomato paste and even ketchup - but to no avail: they either come out in a lot of sauce or properly dry and not red.

What am I missing?

I've never cooked ptitim specifically, but for Mediterranean[1] rice, bulgar, orzo or cous cous, the recipe varies only slightly - so I imaging ptitim to be very similar.

Use a ratio of 1:1.6 grain to water, by volume.

You can add optional onion/peppers etc to this. Soften first, remove & re-add just before the water, or part-soften, leave in, then proceed as follows

Sauté the grains in olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat until they start to change colour [not just clarify because of the oil, actually start to go golden].
Add approx 1tbsp per cup of grain of either tomato purée/paste, harissa paste[2] or any combination of both, then continue to sauté for another 2 minutes. Sautéing tomato paste makes it sweeter & less bitter.
Add your water, straight off the boil from a kettle.
Salt to taste.
Give it a quick stir, drop the heat to minimum & put the lid on.
Allow 13-15 minutes for the water to be absorbed. Don't take the lid off to check. At most, lift it a tiny bit & see if you can hear the crackle as the last bit is used.
Switch off the heat.
Put a tea-towel or paper towel over the pan top & put the lid back on over it, trapping the towel.
Allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
Fluff with a fork & serve.

Brighten the flavour & presentation with some fresh flat-leaf parsley.
Sprinkle Aleppo pepper flakes for an extra burst of colour, heat & flavour.

[1]Generally, anywhere from Greece right round to Morocco uses a variation on this method.
[2] Both will add a similar colour, but tomato adds sweetness & harissa adds spicy heat.


Can I eat raw salmon I froze for a week on my home freezer? The FDA standards say that raw salmon should be frozen at -20C for seven days before it's safe to eat. My freezer goes down to -25C.
Salmon in my supermarket is considerably cheaper if it's not frozen. Can I buy that salmon, freeze it at -20/-25 at home and eat it raw without significant risk, or am I missing some other requirements?

If the salmon is cheaper "raw" than frozen, it's probably a product that was frozen and then thawed so subsequently refreezing it will have the opposite effect of what you're trying to accomplish as thawed products must be cooked before being refrozen to ensure bacteria introduced during the thawing process are eliminated.

That being said: we cannot give you good advice without actually holding the salmon and feeling and smelling to ascertain it is not a thawed product.  You should ask the supermarket's HQ if refreezing that product would be safe as the local people will probably not know...


How do you correctly soften butter for spreading? How do you correctly soften butter for spreading on bread? Is it simply a matter of leaving it at room temperature for a few hours, or do tools like butter conditioners do a better job?

If you want to turn your cold butter spreadable quickly, patience is about your only option. You can try microwaving it very briefly, and maybe on the "defrost" setting, but you run a strong risk of melting it too much.

If I'm thinking of the same thing you are, a butter conditioner is really just a unit that allows you to keep your butter in the fridge but still keep it closer to room temp--so that's more about storage than turning hard butter into spreadable butter on the spot.

A storage option that allows you to keep your butter fresh for a pretty long period, but still leave it out on the counter so it's soft, is a butter bell. You can look them up online--many shops have them. It's basically an inverted cup that sits inside a larger one with a little water at the bottom. The butter is packed into the inverted cup and stays put when you place the cup so the edges are under the water in the other cup. The water keeps air out so the butter stays fresh even at room temperature. You could do the same thing by mashing a bunch of butter into a teacup, then setting it upside down in a saucer full of water. If it's too hot in your house, though, the butter will slip out of the inverted cup, so I mostly only use our butter bell in the winter.

One thing to note about butter itself: Some butters are more spreadable at cooler temperatures. The Irish and French butters we can get here are much closer to spreadable at refrigerator temperatures than the regular US supermarket brands. I'm not sure what the difference is, though.


What's the best material for a durable muffin pan I make two or three dozen muffins a day for various customers. I don't like to use disposable cups, so I grease the pan each time. No matter what I do, after a certain time, my muffin pans end up giving a subtle metal taste to my muffins.

I was wondering what would be the most appropriate material for a muffin mold to avoid this situation. I'd be ready to pay the price for a pan that would last significantly longer... Bug which one should I choose?

First, I concur with @rumtscho that the pans may not be the culprit and second, I do not make muffins in anywhere near the quantities you report, but I have had great luck with silicon muffin trays. They clean well and release the muffins nicely.


What's a good vegetarian substitute for Worcestershire sauce? The only thing I really miss since I started the whole rampant vegetarian thing is the taste of Worcester sauce in all sorts of dishes.
Is there a way to get close to the flavour without doing anything rude to any anchovies?

I have found a few recipes on the web:

Vegan Worcestershire sauce
Vegetarian oyster sauce

There are also a few hard to find ready-made vegan Worcestershire sauces on the market, such as Annie's.

When I read these recipes (which I have never made) I can tell that their flavor profile is missing some key aromas present in the original Worcestershire sauce. As strange as it may sound these sauces could use some of the aromas found in Parmigiano-Reggiano and in broccoli.  Whichever recipe works out, someone should write a blog post on this topic.


Drying fish before cooking - Is it okay to leave it uncovered in the fridge? I found an article where a restaurant chef shared a trick to prevent fish from sticking to the pan : leave it on a plate, uncovered for about an hour in the fridge to dry it out.

When I tried it, my housemate complained that it was "unhygienic" and insisted that I cover it with foil...which kind of defeats the purpose of drying it out in the fridge. I tried to explain that I was drying it out, but she just kept saying "please...its unhygienic..."

(Her food was not even on the same shelf by the way)

Do you think it is okay to leave it uncovered in the fridge? Any alternatives?

Totally safe to have uncovered

Bacteria can't jump off the fish and fly through the air. They can't crawl, swim, walk or ride bikes between items in the fridge by themselves. If you carefully place it in a clean container it is safe. The aroma may carry, but if the fish is fresh it should have little aroma and this will dissipate anyway.

Better Yet, dry it on the counter at room temp

You can also just have the fish out on the counter. This will bring it closer to room temp, and much of cooking and creating good texture is about temperature differences. Starting the fish at a warmer temperature will also help to create good texture and not stick. Do not worry about the safety of this. If the fish is fresh, any bacteria growth that might begin will be immediately killed in the cooking process. You can blot the fish gently right before cooking with paper towels for maximum drying. If the fish is still cold it will have condensation continually forming.

USDA guidelines show the time that food can be in the danger zone. Don't be alarmed by the 'doubling every 20 minutes.' Everything we touch, eat, see, taste, smell has bacteria on it or in it. It takes many doublings and the bacteria have to emit the toxins for something to become dangerous. If you hold food at room temp, it is coming out of refrigeration and into the danger zone, then will be cooked, ending the cycle. If the fish is poor quality to start with AND you have immune system deficiencies, then extra caution is required. Aged, infirm, or otherwise compromised immune systems should be treated with more caution.


partially cooked meats I am making tomato sauce.  I plan to brown several kinds of meats and poultry today and finish cooking them in my tomato sauce tomorrow.  Is there some health issue I should be concerned with partially cooked meats that will spend over night in the refrig before putting them in my tomato sauce that will be cooking for several hours?

There really isn't a safety issue here as long as you brown the meat soon after taking it out of the fridge and immediately re-refrigerate it. Just don't leave it out of the refrigerator longer than necessary to do the browning. It wouldn't hurt to save the browned meat in a clean container, not the one that that held the raw meat.


What stabilizer can be used in non-dairy ice cream with alcohol? I am making coconut milk ice cream with alcohol. I'm using 28oz of coconut milk, fruit macerated in 1/4 cup of alcohol, another 1-2T of alcohol, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of arrowroot. It tastes great, but it melts way too fast. What can I use besides xanthum gum, guar gum. Could it be the freeze time? Or the tupperware containers I use in the freezer? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Assuming a few things about your recipe - your coconut milk is full fat, your alcohol is a liquor at 80+ proof, it sounds like you're just adding too much stuff that doesn't really freeze. You've got a total of maybe 3/8 cup of alcohol, when just 2T is enough to soften ice cream noticeably. Ice cream made with just cream is already plenty soft, so adding that much alcohol can make it really soft. You didn't mention sugar, but that would make it softer as well. This is the opposite of the normal problem of too much water, not enough fat/sugar, making ice cream freeze too hard.

The simple solution is to just add more water, in whatever form suits you. Since you're using fruit, I'd suggest simply adding more of that! You could also try using light (reduced fat) coconut milk so that you have less fat. I suppose you could even reduce the booze - just slowly simmer it until the volume is reduced, so it'll have less alcohol, but retain flavor.

Otherwise you're going to have to dilute things - use less coconut milk or alcohol and add something more water-based that freezes harder. For example, you could replace alcohol with some kind of flavored extract, or replace some coconut milk with milk.

(The arrowroot isn't making your ice cream melt. It'll thicken it a bit, and stabilize it (keep the fat and water from separating), both of which are fine things. The stabilization is probably good, since coconut milk does separate eventually.)


How to make wafer paper? I would like to make wafer paper like it is used as basis for some Christmas cookies or as used in church (oblates).

This seems to be too basic to be mentioned in usual recipes. Internet search results are so much spammed by recipes using wafer paper that it appears impossible to find clear instructions on how to make the paper itself.

I found only generic instructions like "Use flour and water, maybe sugar salt. Bake."

"Use flour and water" also applies to making pizza or bread and I would prefer to avoid too much experimentation.

How do I choose the ratio between flour and water? What type of flour should I use? How long and at what temperature to bake?

I know this requires experimentation, I am mainly looking for a starting point to reduce the parameters to try.

As recipe writing is off-topic here, the starting point to reduce the parameters is to look for recipes containing "Sacramental bread recipe", "unleavened communion bread recipe", or even "edible paper recipe".

Just ensure to enclose the search items in-between double quotes (copy-paste the search terms above) and if you find a real church recipe, substitute the biblical grains like Spelt, Khorasan_wheat, ... by organic white flour without any additives if you cannot find the original easily and use a little less water.


Which side of the baking paper should face up? My baking paper has two sides: one waxy looking silky-feeling side, and one clean looking side with more friction when you run your finger over it.

Which side should face up against the food?  I've had the paper stick to pizza several times & I keep forgetting to check which side causes it.

Baking paper has a silicone coating to prevent sticking. If yours is only coated on one side (the waxy side), this side should touch the food.


Are roasted nuts nutritionally different from raw nuts? If I roast a selection of mixed nuts, does it significantly change their nutritional content?

Also: Are there any potential food safety issues around roasting nuts (e.g. does it damage the oils)?

Discussion of the long-term health effects would be little more than speculation; however, there is a specific nutritional claim which can be tested, and has been tested in the commercial food-processing setting.
See: Formation of Lipid Oxidation and Isomerization Products during Processing of Nuts and Sesame Seeds:

The aim of the present study was to quantify some nutritional and safety quality parameter changes that take place in nuts (roasting) and sesame seeds (dehulling, roasting, milling, and sterilization) during processing.
...
All these parameters were significantly affected by the different processing stages, especially by roasting and sterilization (tahina). Nut roasting and sesame heat treatment increased the primary (hydroperoxides) and secondary (aldehydic compounds) lipid oxidation products, with the p-anisidine value reaching 6−11.5 and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances 3−5 mg/kg (equiv of malondialdehyde) in the different end products. In addition, roasting led to the formation of CML (between 12.7 and 17.7 ng/mg) and tFAs (between 0.6 and 0.9 g/100 g) in nuts and tahina, which were absent in the raw material. Roasting parameters appear as the critical factor to control to limit the CML and tFA formation in the final product.

You'd have to read the whole study for a detailed analysis of how roasting affects the lipid oxidation products, which are the same products seen in rancid or overheated fats, but there is going to be some effect.
This is really more of an issue in a food plant because they use big machines designed to roast huge quantities of nuts (we're talking 200 kg/h for a low-end, $5000 gas-fired machine).  The heat characteristics of one of these machines is going to be completely different from the comparatively slow roasting of a tiny quantity of nuts in a home oven, so don't panic.
To be any more specific, you'd have to specify the kind of nut.  The oils from different nuts peroxidize at different temperatures; some unrefined nut oils start to smoke at around 160° C / 320° F (peanut/walnut), others go well into the 200° C / 400° F range (e.g. almonds). In any case, it's very rare that you'd actually be heating the nuts up to these temperatures unless you left them roasting too long, and they'd smell very burnt at that point.
Just don't eat hundreds of pounds of roasted nuts every month, and don't burn them when you roast them, and you'll be fine.


How can I remove bitterness from custard after adding pineapple to it? I recently made custard with a huge amount of milk, custard powder and sugar. After boiling it for few minutes I added vanilla essence to it. After it was settled I added apple and pineapple. Then I placed the whole mixture in the fridge and the custard was tasting fine at that time. But after a half hour of cooling, when I tasted the mixture it was bitter. I googled about the issue and found out that milk and pineapple are not good friends, but I don't want to waste the whole thing now. Is there any way to reduce the bitterness?

You can't. This is caused by an irreversible chemical reaction. The bitterness is there to stay.

If it is just a tad too much for you, you can try diluting: make more pudding and mix. But if it is the strong bitterness I know from mixing mix and fruit enzymes, that won't help either.


Hamburger in the oven Can you bake hamburger in the oven? Is it safe? I am trying to make tater tot casserole and always have baked my hamburger in the oven with it is that not a good thing to do?

As long as the hamburger is actually getting cooked through, you're safe.

But in a casserole-style bake, that may be a bit tricky, so you want to be certain that you're checking the temperature of it before you serve. You want the beef to reach the safe temperature of 160F. Think of something like a meatloaf... they're definitely cooked in the oven, not on the stovetop, but you need to reach a safe internal temperature or risk foodborn illness.

My guess is that most recipes call for cooking the meat first because when you brown the meat in a skillet, you'll develop some flavors in it through the process of the maillard reaction that give a more complex flavor. In baking the entire thing from raw, you will only achieve this browning on the surface of the casserole, whereas when you brown the meat first, you get it throughout.

Additionally, when you brown it first, you're able to cook off a lot of the moisture and grease (if you're using a high-fat percentage beef), which might otherwise make your tater tots soggy or very greasy. So, if you haven't, I'd recommend giving a version that uses browned meat a try first to see if you like the outcome.


Cooking temperatures with non-stick cookwear I'm looking at replacing most of my cookware, since it's beginning to show signs of wear. A lot of what I've been looking at is various brands of non-stick options. However, I've noticed a trend. The descriptions say to avoid cooking above medium heat. Most of the time, I do cook at medium to medium high heat, but I do cook higher when I'm doing things like boiling water.

Is medium heat sufficient to boil a water in 3-5 qt pans? I also tend to stir fry at medium-high to high heat. I've done this for both gas and electric (currently have electric) stoves.

Should I have non-stick options (like a non-stick wok for stir fry and a non-stick pot for boiling water) or am I just doing it wrong and I should be cooking more at medium or maybe medium-high heat and almost never using high heat?

The temperature guidelines are for frying and can be completely ignored if boiling. Being full of water is a very effective way to limit the maximum temperature of a vessel. You'd avoid boiling dry in any container.

To be honest, the guidelines are essentially nonsense for any use. "Medium" varies too much between stoves and burners. For example with my large non stick pan, medium on the big burner would be only for very fast frying while medium on the middle size burner would be very gentle.


what is the best vegan substitute for lard? I am attempting to re-create a heart-of-palm torte I had while in Brazil and while it is pretty simple, I am having difficulty finding a vegan substitute for the lard that will still make the crust flaky. Any ideas what the best substitute is?

The best substitute in general for lard would be a combination of vegetable shortening - which is generally hydrogenated palm oil - and butter.

Since this is a vegan substitute, you'll have to just stick to the shortening.  That's OK - shortening was quite literally invented to replace lard - but you'll lose a lot of the flakiness and full flavour if you don't mix it with some butter.

For pastry crusts, you might also mix some coconut oil in with the shortening; the flaky texture essentially comes from saturated fats, for which coconut oil ranks pretty highly.  Just don't use too much, as it imparts a not-so-subtle flavour of its own.


Is it advisable to use the Extra Virgin Olive oil for Indian cooking, and baking? I use this oil for baking cup cakes, and I add this oil to the whole wheat dough meant for preparing parathas on the gas stove?

My mother uses it for frying vegetables on the gas stove.

Hence the question in the title. Should I be vary of anything here?

I would not use olive oil in indian cooking and baking. The olive flavor is not compatible with the flavors of most styles of indian food. I wouldn't use it for baking cup cakes in any style of cooking, I would recommend a more neutral flavored vegetable oil.


What is the functional difference between imitation vanilla and true vanilla extract? When baking or using vanilla, most recipes call for vanilla extract. In the supermarket you can find imitation vanilla flavoring for less money. Obviously the imitation is meant to be as close to the real thing as possible, but:

Is there a detectable difference between imitation vanilla and vanilla extract?
Do any issues arise in baking/cooking resulting from using one or the other?

Yes, you can detect the difference. How much of a difference will depend on the quality of both the imitation and of the real thing.

That said, it's difficult if not impossible for me to pick out the differences in baked goods. So I keep both around, and use the (much cheaper) imitation stuff for baking, and the real stuff for sauces, icing, custards, milkshakes, etc.

Incidentally... In a pinch, bourbon makes a half-decent substitute for vanilla.


What is sumac used for? A friend of mine told me she uses sumac (I am not sure she was teasing me, or what).
Is sumac used in cuisine? If it is used, what is it used for?

Sumac is commonly used a tart flavoring element in the eastern Mediterranen region.  Historians believe that it was the common sour element in cooking for that area prior to domestication of lemons.  It is a characteristic seasoning element in Fatoush, a Syrian bread salad.

It's not usually available in the mainstream spice section of most grocery stores.  The best place to locate it is in mid-eastern markets, delis, upscale stores such as Dean & Deluca or online through Penzey's or the Spice House.


GF Wonton/Dumpling wrapper tip from pintrest (lasagna noodle + egg) I bought gluten-free lasagna noodles, but I'm at a loss for how they want me to fold them. They are hard pasta noodles. Do I whisk a whole egg up to brush them? Just egg whites? Just egg yolks? Am I supposed to par-boil them to soften them up? Dip them in water first? Any ideas are helpful.

 (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/11329436541148003/?lp=true)

It definitely seems like you were supposed to purchase fresh Lasagna noodles, as Elenna123 said in a comment. If the noodles are hard, they're not fresh. Fresh noodles would be pliable enough for you to fold them like dumplings, for example.

If you really wanted to make use of the dry lasagna you purchased, you could attempt to cook them (follow the instructions on the box) and then after a small amount of drying (maybe about 15 minutes in an oven at 200-250, if I had to guess?) attempt to prepare them using the egg brush and folding them. You would normally whisk the eggs and brush that on the edges, like you expected.

Hope this is helpful, but really, my best suggestion for what to do with the dry noodles is simply to make some normal pasta. Lasagna is pretty tasty, after all. :)


Is it possible to "tidy up" chocolate fondant? I've just helped my wife roll out a large block of chocolate fondant icing but the texture of the icing seems wrong. It sort of looks dried out and has tiny wrinkles and creases in it. Is there any trick to fix up these defects and generally make it look a bit nicer?

Thanks!

Fondant must be kneaded like dough, until it's soft and smooth, before you roll it out. If you roll it out straight from the pack it will be too cold and stiff.


How long and at what temperature do the various parts of a chicken need to be cooked? I'm interested in baking thighs, legs, breasts and wings.  How long do each of these items need to bake and at what temperature?

Ochef.com answered this question.
Here are some quotes from the webpage.

  According to the USDA:

  Round chicken/turkey: 165°F / 74°C
  Whole chicken/turkey: 180°F / 82°C
  Poultry breasts, roasts: 170°F / 77°C

  Additionally, the USDA says the thighs
  and wings of poultry should be cooked
  "until the juices run clear."

Although the following temperatures will make the meat safe to eat, you might want to drop the temperature by 3-5°C for more flavor.


How can I keep hot food hot when transporting it? How can I keep hot food hot when transporting it, e.g. to a friend's house or a potluck? I usually just give up and take cold food, but I'd like to have more options.

Depending on what it is I am transporting I use different methods, and I use the same methods for both hot and cold transport.

The easiest is the towels in a box; lay four towels down in a shallow box, hanging the other ends of the towels out each side of the box, then put your dish or bread or pot or whatever in the box and fold each of the four towels over the food.  If you have hot food, lay some more insulation material over the top, as heat rises.  If you have cold food, put the box on the seat, not the floor, as the floor will conduct heat from your vehicle up into your food.

I always have a sleeping bag in my rig and I will sometimes wrap food well with towels and then open the sleeping bag and shove the food into it, wrapping the rest of the sleeping bag over the top if hot food and under the bottom if cold.  This has worked a lot for frozen foods when I go bulk shopping in the city, holding food frozen food for 4 hours and more.


Mushy homemade dill pickle chips We made about 13 gallons of homemade dill pickles last summer. These are made with vinegar, not the fermented type. Water bathed for 15 minutes in quart jars.

We kept the whole cucumbers on ice over night to chill them down. The next day we made spears and processed those. With the after bits, we cut them up into chips and processed the same way. The spears came out great but the chips were mushy and we wont eat them.

How can I fix this next time? Should I use less time in the water bath or should I have placed the left over bits in the fridge until I get to them or both? Maybe another trick I'm not thinking of?

Keeping vegetables directly on ice tends to create damage on a cellular level, leading to softness once the vegetables are processed. Next time, instead of using ice, consider a cold brine bath, with or without added vinegar, for your cucumbers and/or slices. If you have room in the fridge, you can store them there overnight. If not, put them in a non-aluminum pot, wrap it twice with bubble wrap to prevent direct contact with ice, and store the pot in a bucket or a larger pot filled with ice.


How to set up the sous vide bath for guineafowl breasts? I have a hard time finding hints on how to sous-vide guineafowl breasts properly. Traditionally in an 140-165°C oven they’re really hard to get right. Some of the few recipes i’ve found place them in a bath of ~65-70°C for some 30-120minutes. This feels a bit short for my taste, as i’m not sure whether the breastmeat will reach the desired temperature at its core in such a short time. So the time-temperature for this cut in sousvide would be one point i’m interested in.

Furthermore, i’ve often heard that poultry especially contracts muscle fibers when “temperature shocked”. So i guess i’d start the bath with cold water and cold meat, to get a slow heat-up.

The last question is for sauces which could go well with it. The meat itself should be way more aromatic than many other poultry meats. Due to this i’m not sure if using the liquid from the sous-vide-bag as a base for sauces (i.e. fruity riesling butter sauce with caramelized onions and some mushroom bits? Maybe others?) is a good idea. On the other hand, if not using the meat-juices there’s pretty little base you can make a sauce of … right?

One of the benefits of sous vide cooking is that you cannot cook food over the temperature set, if you set the temp to 70 degrees it's physically impossible for it to go over that. This means that if you cook it longer than it needs to get up to the desired temperature you won't dry it out. I would think for guineafowl that 120 minutes would be enough. As for temperature shock you'd have to go much higher than 70C to run into that, so I'd start with the water at your desired temperature.

As for sauces guineafowl is very rich and savory, so something with acidity would help to balance it. I like your sauce idea and think it would work fine. Riesling is a good choice if you get one with a more mineral character than a sweet bomb, although a squeeze of lemon can supplement the acidity if needed.


What is 91/100 CV when referring to olives? I often see numbers like 91/100 CV when buying olives.
Example: GREEN OLIVE MACARICO GORDAL 91/100 CV 500G
What do these numbers mean? I tried to do some research and I think it might have to do with the size of the olives, but I still cannot figure out what they mean exactly.

Olives are sized by "number of olives per kilogram" (or per pound, in the US). In this case the packaging is 500 grams, so I'd assume we're talking olives per kilo here.
91/100 olives mean that it will take between 91 and 100 olives in a kilo. There are additional requirements to ensure consistent sizing, so that there isn't a mix of golf balls and tiny olives in a given container.


How can I tell if a mushroom is poisonous? Assume I have found and want to eat a to me unknown kind of mushroom. Is there some way to find out if that mushroom is poisonous by looking/smelling/soaking it?

No as per: "There are no outward characteristics that all poisonous mushrooms have in common, so picking and eating wild mushrooms requires the utmost caution. To be absolutely safe, the only mushrooms you should eat are those found at supermarkets and restaurants!

All the old wives’ tales about how to tell if a mushroom is poisonous – such as whether it tarnishes silverware or turns blue when bruised – are dead wrong.

There’s a saying that there’s no such thing as an old, bold mushroom hunter."


Cooking meat directly above the flame of a gas stove What's the easiest way of cooking meat holding it over the flame of a gas stove burner? Is there any device to help with it? How I am doing it right now is holding a skewer a couple of inches over the flame. What annoys me more is the oil dripping on the stove and having to hold it.

Stoves aren't grills. They're not meant to have food in contact with them. If you're doing something like warming a tortilla above it that's fine, but as soon as you mention things dripping into the flame that's a red flag, especially if it's fat. You really don't want to start a grease fire, especially one that's down in the burner.

A couple alternatives:

use an actual gas grill, outside
use the broiler in your oven, with a broiler pan (they have grates so the food is held above the pan)
use a very hot skillet or a tabletop/countertop electric grill; it's not the same but it's still good!


Parmesan Cheese Substitute Possible Duplicate:
  Cheaper alternative to parmesan cheese?

What cheese tastes most similar to Parmesan Cheese?
Note: I am not looking for a fake-cheese substitute, just a real cheese that tastes similar to Parmesan.

Romano cheese is nearly identical to Parmesan, as in you almost certainly will not tell the difference between the two, either in texture or in taste. You could probably also get away with an Asiago. While it has a different flavor and melting properties, it does share a similar nuttiness with Parmesan.


How can I keep delicate food from sticking to the grill? When I grill fish or chicken, often much of the meat and/or skin ends up sticking to the grill. What's the best way to avoid this?

Other people have answered similarly but definitely make sure your cooking surface is VERY HOT before the food hits the surface. Cold food+cold metal=sticking!

In addition to this, you should also make sure you don't start trying to flip too early. Let the food cook and get a good sear on one side before you try to flip. If you do this with a hot surface, you shouldn't have any problems with sticking.

One more thing, it's important that the grill surface is clean, so cleaning your grill religiously after you finish using it each time, and then oiling it lightly before you use it, can be a huge help in this area.


Metal vs paper filter for Chemex? What is the significant difference between using a paper filter over a reusable metal mesh filter for Chemex?

A paper filter is a true "filter" in that it basically only allows liquid to pass through. This means that you will have no sediment in your coffee, if that is a concern to you. Paper filters are absorbent though, so some of the flavor compounds of the coffee will be absorbed into the paper, and some other compounds as well (a chemical in coffee that causes a rise in cholesterol is absorbed by the paper). The paper can also lead to a papery flavor in your coffee.

Metal filters only filter out particulates of a certain size, so you will frequently end up with a layer of "sludge" at the bottom of your pot. Metal filters should be non-reactive though, so they will not add a flavor to your coffee and will allow everything extracted from your coffee to pass through.

If cholesterol isn't a concern, I'd say try both and see which you like better.

Types of Coffee Filters

Coffee & Cholesterol


Are there any differences in cooking techniques for Farm raised Salmon versus Wild Salmon? In the last couple of months my grocery store has started to sell Farm Raised Salmon and separating it from "Wild" Salmon.  Any difference in cooking these two that I should be aware of?

You want to minimize the amount of fat you consume from farm-raised salmon. This means you should trim the fat from farm-raised salmon and avoid frying. Farm-raised salmon should be grilled, broiled, or baked, anything that burns away some of the fat. (Farm raised salmon is 52% fattier than wild caught salmon).

Why? Farm raised salmon have ridiculously high amounts of carcinogens known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as compared to wild salmon, and many other foods for that matter. You can blame the feed they are given. These carcinogens are concentrated in the fat of the fish, which is why you want to minimize the fat intake. The levels of PCBs in farm-raised salmon can be 10 to 16 times higher than wild caught salmon, and up to 40 times the level found in other foods.

Experts recommend eating farm-raised salmon no more than once a month to minimize exposure.

Sources:

http://www.ewg.org/reports/farmedpcbs
http://www.healthcastle.com/wildsalmon-farmraisedsalmon.shtml
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/132952_fish30.html


What are the four cheeses generally used in"four-cheese" pizzas? In common consumer pizza, microwave and bake-at-home pizzas are often advertised as four-cheese pizzas. What are these four cheeses, traditionally? Do different brands use different mixes, or does everyone stay about the same? How are these cheeses traditionally mixed, in what fashion?

They all seem to use different cheeses depending on the brand.

The most consistent cheese is definitely mozzarella, which makes sense as it's the default cheese on most pizzas.
Second to that is some sort of hard grating cheese like Parmesan or Asiago... which also makes sense as it's a traditional pizza condiment.
Other Italian cheeses also seem popular like fontina and provolone
But non-Italian cheeses like cheddar certainly show up.

Below are some examples. I don't recommend any of these products, they just came up in web searches and specifically describe which four cheeses they use.

Amy's uses: Fontina, provolone, Parmesan, mozzarella:

Frontera uses: Mozzarella, white cheddar, smoked provolone, asiago.

California Pizza Kitchen uses: Mozzarella (apparently more than one kind), fontina, gouda

Lean Cuisine uses: low fat mozzarella, Parmesan, asiago, romano


Can Guava seeds be used to make a coffee-like drink? According to this website containing info on strawberry guavas:

  The seeds can be eaten carefully or roasted as a coffee substitute.

Apart from that site, I can find no other references anywhere suggesting that a drink can be made from guava seeds. That site doesn't give much detail about how this would be done.

Does anyone know if guava seeds can be used in this way, and if so how to go about it? If you went to all the trouble, would it taste any good? You can dry, roast and grind the seeds of anything but that doesn't mean the end result would make a drink that tastes better than hot sand. My understanding of coffee production is that it is a tricky process to go from the raw beans to the final product so perhaps careful steps need to be followed to make a perfect cup of guava seed?

I tried making some today with seeds I collected by blending, straining and separating with water. Then roasting using a method I have seen used with coffee beans. Honestly was not that great, it was very weak, I tried a drip method and also french press, but both were very watery. Here Is a short video of what I did, not including the seed separation process. I am sure some coffee roaster is turning over in his grave, I am by no means experienced in this so you may be able to produce better results. https://photos.app.goo.gl/yVKNpwnF5Dpl91fm1 (sorry about vertical video.)


How can I color pasta during cooking or afterwards, preferably using natural coloring? My daughter asked me if I could make her red bowtie pasta in honor of Matt Smith as Dr. Who.

I'd rather not use an artificial dye.  Either way, how would I go about coloring the pasta itself? Assume that I am starting from store-bought dry pasta. Would I have to add the dye to the water in large quantities, or would adding some to melted butter and tossing work?

You are not stating whether you are making the pasta yourself or if you are using premade pasta. I am going to assume it is the former.

For red pasta, I would recommend substituting some of the liquids with beetroot juice. You will need to experiment with it to get the color right.

I would also recommend trying it in pasta both with and without egg, as the yolk will play a role in how the color develops.


Why do some Parmigiano Reggiano contain bacterial cultures? I was under the impression from what I have read/DOP specification that only rennet was to be used for Parmigiano Reggiano.

Milk coagulation, obtained exclusively by the use of calf rennet, takes place in bell-shaped copper vats; up to two wheels are made for each vat.

Yet, I come across many Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses imported from Italy with the real Reggiano logo and the DOP symbol (e.g. Tre Stelle, Italissima, President's Choice, Compliments, etc.)

Is it just a loophole in the specification and found only in lower-end Parmasen Reggiano?

The bacterial cultures are what the document you quoted from refers to as "fermented whey".  The previous paragraph in the Specification of the Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from the Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Consortium
 web site reads as follows:

  Fermented whey is added to the milk, which is a natural culture of lactic ferments obtained from
  spontaneous acidification of the whey remaining from the cheese-making process of the previous
  day.

All Paramgiano Reggiano cheeses would have these bacterial cultures in them, not just the cheap ones.


Will egg whites still whip after being in the fridge overnight? I'm making ice cream tonight and chiffon cake tomorrow. I need egg yolks for the ice cream and whites for the chiffon cake, will my egg whites still whip if they are kept overnight in the fridge?

Certainly yes. In fact, aged egg whites can whip better - sensitive applications like macarons will frequently prescribe holding the separated egg whites for a day or two before using.


What is the best knife/sharpener setup for an active cook? There are several posts that get close to this but I am looking for a specific knife(ves)/sharpener(s) combo(s) that can be used routinely and that work(s) well.  My opinion is in this answer.

If you have top quality knives, I generally discourage the use of any do-it-yourself sharpeners.  I take my knives yearly to a professional knife sharpener who puts that amazing 17 degree edge back on my Shun knives.

In between sharpening you should be using a quality honing steel every time you use your knife.

Additionally, your knives shouldn't need routine sharpening. Unless you intend routine to mean every 6-18 months. If you're sharpening knives more frequently than that, you're doing it wrong. From what I've seen the quality sharpeners on the  market are just too expensive to justify their space in my kitchen. Maybe if I charged friends for sharpening services?


Why does the breading always come off of my oven fried chicken? I love fried chicken, but have been trying to cook oven fried chicken instead due to the lower caloric content. I usually use chicken that has been soaked in buttermilk overnight, drain excess moisture, and then roll it in a flour/breadcrumb mix. After the initial coating I do a dip in egg wash, and back onto the breading mix. I then place it on a non-stick pan with some Pam sprayed on it and stick it in the oven. When I flip the chicken halfway through about 30 minutes in, I lose half of the coating almost every time. I have tried cooking at a higher temperature and coating longer before flipping, both to no avail. I have also tried those pre-made mixes like baking magic and it still comes off.

What do I need to do differently to ensure that the breading will stay on?

The longer you let the flour/breadcrumb mixture set on the chicken before cooking, the more the gluten network will set up, which will improve adherence to the meat, as well as make the breading stay intact as a shell. The issue is that when you cook the meat, the breading and meat expand at different rates and are pulled apart. A longer set time will make the breading hold up better. Also make sure you're baking on silicone mats or parchment paper. Any amount of sticking to the pan will make the coating peel off - non-stick pans are great, but nothing is non-stick like parchment paper is, for baking.

I'd recommend trying to bread the chicken then let it sit in the fridge overnight so the gluten network can set up more. If your breadcrumbs get soggy try doing the egg wash and bread crumbs as the very last step - apply the buttermilk, flour, let it sit, then add the egg wash and bread crumbs just before baking.


How does a splash of vinegar help when poaching eggs? What does splashing in a shot of white vinegar to the simmering water do when poaching an egg?

Is it for taste or is it supposed to react in some way with the albumen?

Vinegar and salt both help the proteins (albumin) to denature (unwind) more quickly and link up to form a network of proteins, thus setting the egg.  The quicker the proteins denature the less feathering there will be around the edges and the nicer looking the egg.


bread dough rising without airing cupboard I did live in a house with an airing cupboard which did work.  However, I have a breadmaker and make the dough ready to shape into pitta bread pieces but how do I make it rise as I don’t have an airing cupboard.

Use your oven. If you wish, turn the oven on at its lowest temperature for about 10 minutes before you want to rise your dough. Then turn it off and place your dough inside.

Another trick is to add a pan of warm water to the bottom of your oven while the dough rises -- this increases the humidity which may help with rising.


How do I clean my hob? I am using a Creda Capri hotplate hob (possibly this one [pdf]).

The problem is the area around the burners has became too dirty, with sticky burns. Here's a photo:

I have tried using Dettol Spray Power And Pure Kitchen but was unable to remove the stains. What I can do?

I've had good luck using a finer grade steel wool, though don't press too hard. For smaller stains I really like "magic eraser" type sponges which work wonders on the hood as well. I don't know what country you are posting from, but the magic erasers are like a very high density foam sponge. They are amazing on soap scum too.


Why does a microwave rotate the food being cooked? And is there ever a time when it shouldn't rotate? Most microwaves I've used have a plate at the bottom that rotates when the microwave is running. I presume that rotating helps more evenly heat the food.

Interestingly, my microwave rotates by default but has a button you can press to disable the rotation. Under what circumstances or scenarios would you want to stop the microwave from rotating the food?

Microwave ovens have a turntable because the microwaves themselves form what are known as 'standing waves'. This means there are essentially static columns of microwave energy inside the cabinet itself.

You can see this for yourself - spread a tray or plate with grated cheese, take the turntable out (or press that button), and zap it for a couple of minutes. You should see bands of melted cheese interleaved with unmelted cheese. Thus, the food is rotated to ensure even heating.


Can I make "falafel" with different beans? I grow several types of beans in the garden, but the growing season is too short for chick peas. If I use a different bean - e.g., kidney, navy, cannelini, turtle (black) beans - do I need to make changes to a "standard" falafel recipe?

Yes, you can, however if you want to use red kidney beans, or white kidney beans (cannellini), please boil them at least 30 minutes at 100 °C, otherwise you might suffer from food poisoning.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytohaemagglutinin

Regarding taste, in the original recipes there is no need for eggs as an binding agent, so you can taste as you go. Go with the usual onion, garlic, fresh parsley, coriander, cumin and flour (+ obvious salt and pepper to taste), but you can add also a bit of mint and/or rosemary that goes nicely with the beans.

Also, you can do test ping pong ball sized specimen, fry em up, and taste which one is the best, then season accordingly the whole batch before frying.


Why must potato salad be placed in the refrigerator before serving? Many recipes for potato salad state that one should place the salad in the refrigerator after preparing. Some recipes state that one hour is enough. Others ask for several hours. Some recipes even require it to be stored overnight before being served. Why do these recipes have this requirement?

Refrigerating accomplishes several things:

It is the right temperature to get the intended flavor.  Flavors change with temperature, and some dishes get the correct taste when cold.
Flavors get to blend more.  Aromatic spices sometimes take time to soak into the sauce, and liquids absorb into the potatoes more
Cold is an easy way to prevent spoilage.  Potato salad usually contains mayonnaise, which is a natural growth medium for bacteria.  By cooling the salad you can leave it out to serve for a couple hours without risking illness.

Food safety of Potato Salad:
For potato salad, you have about 2 hours of safe eating in the 40-140F temperature range. Refrigerating is an easy way to extend this, by cooling below 40F. For hot salads, you can either reheat before serving, or keep it hotter than 140F by using a chafing dish and can of Sterno.

About Mayonnaise in Potato Salad:
Commercial mayonnaise is too acidic to spoil easily, but when mixed in with potato salad it can be diluted enough to spoil.  It is better to refrigerate than take the risk, right?  If you use homemade mayonnaise, you run the risk of salmonella on top of this.


How do I avoid duck ending up tough? I bought a small wild duck and I don't know how to cook it. I read that duck meat may be tough and hard to keep the meat tender after cooking. How do I avoid this? Should I debone it, or separate the breasts?

If tenderness is what you are after, cook it sous vide to an internal temperature around 130degF for about 3 hours. It should be easier than roasting it to keep the meat tender.

Cooking meat in a temperature controlled water bath being one of the simplest ways to cook meat without accidentally overcooking anything.
You can fine many sous vide duck recipes online.


Quick tiramisu with many restrictions My wife helps organize a vegetarian community kitchen. She recently had a request for tiramisu-like dessert but there are a number of restrictions:

The time frame of the kitchen means they only have two hours to prepare it before eating (including chilling)
They cannot use raw eggs
No alcohol
No cheese (the woman requesting doesn't eat cheese) but other dairy is okay

My wife would like to try to accommodate the request if possible.

She was thinking replace the traditional mascarpone custard with a mixture of Greek yoghurt and whipped cream (do you think the whipped cream needs to be stabilized with agar agar?).

Does this sound workable (she has never tried this before and is not a professional chef)? If not, is there a better plan, or does this request sound like an impossibility?

I think that it is doable, if the restriction doesn't require the dessert to be exactly a tiramisu.

Many dairy-based cremes are interchangeable, similar in texture, and require no eggs at all. The alcohol in some tiramisu versions can be safely left out. The short time is the worst restriction. Thickeners like agar agar may not set in the short time.

You should start with buying prepared lady fingers, as you can't bake them so quickly, and it is probably too much effort anyway. You can use any tiramisu recipe for the moistening liquid; if it includes alcohol, just leave it out. You can add a few drops of alcohol-free rum essence if it called for rum or another hard alcohol, or a fruit aroma if it called for a fruit liqueur. If it only specified coffee liqueur, leave out the liqueur but use normal coffee. You might want to use instant coffee dissolved in water instead of just-brewed espresso, because hot coffee will interfere with the short chilling time. Then you need the dairy creme, and you can finish with the traditional cocoa powder.

For the dairy creme, you have to choose one which will hold its shape without thickeners. You can add agar agar or carrageenan or the calcium-sensitive type of pectin, but don't trust them to turn a runny mass into a firm one, the time is too short. Use them as an insurance, and hoping that you will get something which gives some resistance to being cut or chewed, as opposed to being just scoopable. Whipped cream together with Greek yogurt is not a bad idea; other cultured milk products can work too, if they are on the firmer side. I have had similar desserts made with just schmand as the filling, but they stayed overnight so some whey could diffuse into the non-syruped cookies, making the cookies softer and the schmand drier. If you have access to the type of modified starch which will thicken without having to cook (for example sold as "cream stiffener", but also as a cream replacement product to be whipped with milk), using some of it may help. Don't use liquid sweeteners like corn syrup or honey, stay with sugar, and separate the whey from the yogurt to get a firmer result.

Another way would be to use a starch thickened pudding instead of a custard. This is a more common substitute, but normal starch has to be cooked to a boil, and will require longer chilling. You may be able to pull it off, if you make the whole dessert rather flat and wide, use a pre-chilled vessel and dip the ladyfingers into cold liquid, and then put the poured dessert into a freezer for a quick chilling. It will need quick work (so lots of time remains for chilling) and frequent attention so it can chill without freezing. The first version is probably less stress.

Whichever you choose, such a major recipe change is not easy. Make a prototype at home before you cook it for a crowd, so you can catch the major problems in an early version and relaxed environment, and then you will know if it is doable for sure.


What's the difference between deglazing with an alcohol or non-alcohol? What's the difference between deglazing with an alcohol or non-alcohol?
What difference does it make when you deglaze a pan with an alcoholic liquid versus non-alcoholic? Does it change the flavor? Is using one better than the other?

Deglazing with any liquid, alcoholic or not, will have different result in regards with flavor but there is no way to say which one is better than the other, it's just a question of personal taste.
Using different liquids, alcohol, juice, water, stocks, broths, will help remove bits and pieces from the bottom of the pan.


Sauerkraut soaks up too much liquid while fermenting I've been fermenting sauerkraut in a quart jar and for some reason forgot to keep an outer piece of cabbage to help keep the kraut submerged. For day 1-2 it was fine, there was plenty of brine to keep it submerged. Now though on day 3 and 4 the brine has all been reabsorbed into the kraut and no matter how much I push it down, in a few hours it's exposed again. Do I still need to worry about mold at this stage or has 2 or 3 days fermentation been enough to preserve it? Or should I top off with a brine solution or would this just add unnecessary salt to what should be now a pickled flavour?

It will likely mold on top, where the cabbage is exposed.  You can simply remove that layer, the kraut below will be fine.  Alternately, you can top it off with brine...or use a container, smaller than the opening of your jar, filled with water, to weigh it down.


When macerating apples to use in a pie, what should you do with the liquid? Because the liquid is so full of apple flavor, I usually cook it down into a caramel and put it into the pie filling.

I'm not sure this is good or even if I should be macerating my apples at all.   I originally started macerating to stop the pie filling from sinking, leaving a space in between the filling and my top crust.   Is there a better way to accomplish this?

On Serious Eats, Kenji Alt recommends precooking your apples (by a quick microwave or hot water bath) to set the pectin and prevent shrinking:

http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2011/10/the-food-labs-apple-pie-part-2-how-to-make-perfect-apple-pie-filling.html

Kenji is my favorite active practical food scientist, and a former recipe developer for Cooks Illustrated.


How do I preserve Tagetes Filifolia? It's turning to fall, and have a lot of Tagetes Filifolia to preserve. How should I preserve it?

I can't find anything on it but this paper on The Archaic Diet in Mesoamerica (page 334, Table 1) suggests that drying is a traditional method used to preserve Tagetes Filifolia flower and leaves.


Which non-rice grains cook up most like sticky rice? I enjoy sticky or sushi rice but have pretty much stopped eating rice (including wild rice)  because of concerns with arsenic.
Which grain, when cooked, tend to be the most "sticky" like sticky rice?

From a purely sticking perspective, I would say golden millet. When I leave a cooked batch in the fridge, it goes to a single slab within a few hours. However, tastewise, it is much more reminiscent of wheat than of rice. It is very mealy in texture, too.
Alternatively, you might want to experiment with adding tiny amounts of starch to a different grain, to make it stick, or maybe using pap instead of rice, possibly embedding some other grains (or maybe something like tapioca pearls) to have some variety in the texture.


Substitute Sherry for Wine in Sour dough cookies? Can I substitute Sherry for Wine in my sour dough molasses cookies?

Wondering if the Sherry might have a different effect on the fermentation of my dough.

Sherry is wine, so yes, you can use Sherry in your recipe. Sherry is fortified, so its percentage of alcohol is perhaps a third more than most other wines. You don't say what kind of wine you usually use, but you could slightly dilute the Sherry with water to give it a close to equal percentage of alcohol as your usual choice. That would be the safest way to make the substitution.


How can I make my seitan a bit firmer? I tried my hand at making homemade seitan the other night, and it was pretty good - my only complaint was that it wasn't as firm as I would have liked it to be.

These are the steps I followed (based on "Basic Seitan Recipie" instructions on the back of a vital wheat gluten box)

Mixed vital wheat gluten with water, kneaded for 5 minutes until it was elastic.
Formed into 2.5" log, let sit for 5 minutes.
Cut log into 0.5" pieces.
Heated vegetable broth over medium flame, added seitan pieces.
Brought broth to a boil.
Reduced flame, let seitan simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

So what could I do to improve this, and get firmer seitan pieces as a result? Less water in initial dough? Cut smaller pieces before boiling/simmering? Longer simmering time? Different type of vegetable broth?

I tried making seitan by boiling it once and didn't like the texture. The way I do it now is wrapping it in tin foil then steaming it (I recently got some cloth bags I'm going to try doing it in). I found my recipe here, and I generally follow a similar process for any seitan.


How to recognize when American style chewy cookies are done? I made chewy chocolate chip cookies. The recipe gave baking time suggestions, but noted

  check your cookies before they’re done; depending on your scoop size,
  your baking time will vary

and suggested to bake them "until the edges are lightly toasted". However, I used dark brown sugar, so my dough was much darker than in the pictures, it was an ochre shade. I didn't notice any changes in color, and I don't think I could in the dark dough, but my second sheet got rather hard after cooling, I suspect I overbaked them.

How can I notice the right moment to take cookies out of the oven?

Most cookie recipes (including the Nestle Tollhouse recipe) call for 9 - 11 minutes at 375 ° F (for a 3-bite sized cookie).  Within this range, finding the exact time (and temperature) for your preferred done-ness and with your equipment can be a fussy business.

One of the best indicators is the darkening color at the outer edge of the cookie, as shown in the last picture in your recipe.  (For what it's worth, substituting dark brown sugar for brown sugar may make a significant difference in the outcome of the cookie.)

You can also gently poke the edge of a cookie to test it.  (Only do this if your fingers are used to enough kitchen abuse to be OK with poking hot cookies and gooey melty chocolate.)  The edge of the cookie should be a little crispy and have a texture when done.  When un-done, it will be liquid and gooey, like the middle of the cookie.

If no other methods prove useful, I fall back to the "test cookie" method, where I bake one cookie at at time at different intervals of time (30 seconds), wait until they cool, and then re-use the time from the best resulting cookie.  (Same for dialing the best temperature.)  Go with a slightly overdone cookie for a tie breaker; when baking your batches of cookies, the extra mass will take a little longer to bake to the same done-ness.  Yes, this is a tedious and fussy procedure, but once you've got this figured out, you can replicate it ever time.  And, as with all baking, practice makes perfect.


Is it possible to make yoghurt directly in the milk carton using sous vide? I recently got a sous vide circulator as a gift. I've made yoghurt before but using jars and a thermometer, and the method is heating it to 82 degrees, cooling it down to 46, then adding the culture and leaving it in the oven with the light on.

I've been wondering whether it would be possible to put the whole carton of milk into the sous vide to get to the temperatures I want, then add the culture and let it do its thing inside the carton?

No, you can't do that. The inside of the carton is not cardboard, it is covered with a thin layer of a paraffin-like substance. If you hear the carton to 82 Celsius, you will melt the paraffin into the milk.

There are methods where you heat and ferment in the same container, but I don't like them. With traditional heating, you end up with a layer of milk proteins stick to the bottom. Sous vide somewhat relaxes the problem, but doesn't eliminate it completely. And then there is the skin formed on top during cooling. It's more tender of you do it in a closed container, but it still exists, and pieces of it spread through the container when you stir in the culture. So the yogurt is much better if you put the milk through a sieve after cooling and before adding the culture, and ferment it in a clean container.

The third consideration is that frequently, small containers are more convenient for using the yogurt rather than spinning it out of a big container, where you get contamination and whey buildup. So, it is even better to hear and cool in a large container, but ferment in small containers. So my own preferred method is heating and cooling in one large container, sieving into a second large one where I add the culture, then ladling into individual jars.

To sum it up, a single-container method gives inferior results. If you want to try it, it works, but not with the milk carton. At best, you could buy milk in glass bottles and use the bottle, but you'll have a very hard time getting it out. Better find a different container.