Recovering old wok with unknown lining I found this old wok in my new apartment, and I was wondering if it would be useful (and safe) to use after completely scrubbing off this kind of black enamel, which is already wearing down.
What kind of lining do you think it is? It is black and glossy, not a matte finish like your classic Teflon or any other non-stick lining I've seen before.

The way it is flaking off (flakes sticking out instead of breaking off) suggests it is an old-school (non reinforced) teflon coating, not an enamel.

If the underlying metal is actually stainless (not likely to be carbon, would not look bright after that abuse) steel, you could make it usable, but it is unlikely to be worth the effort - the remaining coating won't come off as easily as you think. If it is aluminium, forget it - bare aluminium cookware is controversial from a food safety/health perspective, especially if the unknown alloy used wasn't chosen with intent to be a cooking surface.

As it is, it is unusable as a nonstick wok - which is best for some stewed/braised dishes - but you want an intact coating for that.

It is unusable as an uncoated wok, where the last thing you want is any nonstick coating that can only take limited heat - even if intact that is. Some modern nonstick types that are rated to 350 or 400 °C (not °F!) could be ok for a saute/stir fry wok - old school soft teflon isn't.

The example shown would, at best, serve as a driver for bamboo steamers.


Does the type of strainer built in a teapot matter? I have been making tea in a simple glass jug for several years, but I happened to break it. When I went shopping, I saw many teapots with integrated strainers, which look convenient.

But there was a large difference between the strainers. Some were made from a fine stainless steel mesh, like a normal strainer. Others were from plastic or glass. The ones from plastic and glass typically had only a few holes, and they were rather small ones. Several had slits instead of round holes.

Does the type of strainer matter for the quality of the tea? Do a few slits work as well as an all-mesh strainer? Does the water move in and out of the strainer enough to make good tea in a strainer with a few small holes?

Second, what about the maintenance? Are the slit strainers easier to clean than the mesh ones?

By the way, the teapots with steel mesh strainers seem to be generally more expensive. Is this because they make better tea, or is it just because metal is more expensive and/or looks better?

I have used several types of integrated strainers and in my experience nothing is better than a wire mesh. The holes and slits in glass and plastic strainers are too small and too few to allow good water circulation, so you have to move the strainer around to get the tea to brew. Cleaning-wise, slits are the worst as their tapered ends trap leaved which can be annoying to remove. The plastic strainers are probably the easiest to clean, with wire being in the middle.

I'd personally go with the wire mesh type as it brews the best tea.


Can you extend shelf life by reheating? I marinated a couple of chicken breasts overnight in the fridge

The next day I baked it (in the same ovensafe dish it was marinated in) until fully cooked through

After baking, the chicken is still fully submerged in the marinade

I let it chill 30 min at room temp and then put back in the fridge

StillTasty says it will last 3-4 days refrigerated

If on day 3 I reheat, rebake or even boil it for 10 minutes, will it kill all bacteria that were present and multiplying during those 3 days in the fridge? In other words, can I restart the 3-4 days count whenever I recook the chicken, so that it will last indefinitely?

What you're concerned with when it come to food spoilage is the toxins bacteria produce, not the bacteria. While heating it will kill the bacteria, the toxins are typically proteins which will not be destroyed until your food has been turned to charcoal. Heating it will thus not increase the shelf life. On the contrary: heating and the cooling means your food has been in the 'danger zone' for longer than if it was refrigerated the whole time.

If you want to increase the shelf life of a dish like you described, freeze it. If frozen as soon as it comes out of the oven, it will last for several months in a normal freezer. The sooner you get it frozen the better for extending shelf life.


Why is this Surume Ika (Japanese Flying Squid) discolored? (Ingredient for Ika Somen.) I've been very interested in making Ika Somen.  I found both a recipe online, and a recipe in "Pass the recipe", by Hiroko Nomura.  Today I bought a Surume Ika (squid) from the local Japanese market.  When I've purchased squid in the past, I've bought Yari-Ika.

When I cleaned the Surume Ika, the skin was blotched red in places.  The squid didn't smell bad, but also didn't smell ocean-fresh either.  I ended up discarding the squid, just in case.  Would someone know if this discoloration is normal, and if not, what is it?

Thanks!

Just killed squid is white, but while death processes continue after defrosting internal organs and inner skin get reddish. It's still possible to eat it even for sashimi though it will be not tasty enough but absolutely fine for cooking.
At least this is according some japanese Q&A sites like this one http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/4199049.html

Most of fresh fish has almost no smell by the way.


What style of icing is this please? I want to make this cake with this style of icing and I can't find anything on it. Can someone please tell me what style it is or give me a link to a tutorial? I'm more interested in the icing on the cake, it is a dripping effect that I like. I'm unsure of what icing was used and how to get that look.

If you are talking about the sculptural elements, the icing used to create those is called fondant.

The name fondant comes from the french for melting.  It has a consistency somewhere between play dough and tootsie rolls.

Here is a good tutorial on making fondant.  It can also be purchased.  You can find millions of tutorials on how to work with fondant.  The tutorials tend to focus and what is being sculpted.  If you are looking for a very simple how-to for working with fondant this is a good tutorial


Molasses - dry vs. wet My gingerbread house dough recipe calls for 1 cup of molasses. I live in Europe and could only find a dry version (texture is similar to brown sugar, and is sticky). How do I substitute this dry ingredient when the recipe originally called for the syrupy-version of molasses?

The American English term 'molasses' translates to 'dark treacle' in British English. Dried molasses, at least that which I am familiar with, is sulphered blackstrap molasses (the darkest, most bitter variety) and typically used as animal feed or as a soil amendment.

If you can't find dark treacle and your recipe calls for white sugar substitute golden syrup (similar to a very light molasses) or honey for the molasses and substitute brown sugar (which is a mixture of white refined sugar and molasses) for white sugar to up the molasses flavor with dark brown sugar preferred as it has more molasses added. Pack the brown sugar and substitute 1:1 on a volumetric basis.


Can yeast be used as a main ingredient? Yeast is a fungus. We eat other fungi like mushrooms. I love the taste of bread yeast (although it's a bit expensive to make a full meal out of compared with other ingredients).

I know that live yeast produces CO2 and alcohol, which makes it unsuitable for consumption. But what about cooked yeast? Is it possible to make yeast soup? Yeast stir fry? Yeast stuffing?

Has this been successfully done before (where and how)?

Also, is the yeast which is used for making bread pure yeast? Or is it some type of dissolvable material used to carry the organisms?

I don't know that you'd want to make a full meal of it, but it sounds like you'd enjoy nutritional yeast. You can find it at any "health food store" type of grocery. It is deactivated, so you don't need to worry about it filling you up with CO2. The flavor is somewhat reminiscent of Parmesan cheese. Googling "nutritional yeast recipes" will give you plenty of ideas for what to do with it.


Best method to determine temperature while heating sugar I regularly making Panforte which involves heating an equal parts mix of honey and sugar to 115c. Due to the quantity of sugar a jam thermometer doesn't normally reach the mix in the bottom of the pan to work effectively. My technique at the moment is to stir it and every now and again tilt the pan to pool the honey and then use a normal but cheap probe thermometer. However, sometimes the mix visually looks much hotter (small bubbles, more 'activity') but still reads lower than my desired temperature.

In the finished bake I am getting very inconsistent results in terms of consistently; sometimes they are very soft and other times very hard and brittle. Given the baking times are the same I can only assume the inconsistency is due to the inaccuracy of measuring the temp of the sugar/honey mix.

So my question is is there anything wrong with the technique described above? Why might it be inconsistent? Or is there a better way to accurately take the temperature of the sugar honey mix? Would an IR thermometer be more useful than a probe?

IR thermometers are not accurate enough for sugar work. They make some assumptions (like reflectivity of the surface) which are not exactly met in real life.

My way of making small amounts of sugar syrup is to use a small pot with a long handle. I have a 12 cm stainless steel one with a long handle that's very comfortable, and similar vessels exist in even smaller sizes. This has the added advantage of not having too thin a layer of syrup, which can overheat quickly.

If your amount is too small to fill even a tiny pot, you might consider simply making more than you need. Sugar is cheap (OK, I know honey isn't always, but I doubt that you need the best honey if you are heating it) and if you don't feel good at the thought of throwing away food, simply making enough additional syrup to have for two glasses of lemonade will probably be enough to work with a 8-cm pot.


How to safely reuse glass bottles to store oils I like to reuse glass bottles and jars in my kitchen in order to create less waste. Recently, I bought a large quantity of olive oil which I would like to use by pouring some of it in an empty 500ml vodka bottle:

I have a few concerns, however, since the oil I bought came in a dark glass container which I can only assume is there to protect it from light. I also wonder if it would be fine to simply top off the oil in the bottle once it gets low or if I should clean the bottle every time to ensure it remains safe. Basically, how can I do this safely?

Yes, it is safe.

Just wash the bottle with dish soap and hot water.

Unless you do not use the oil in the new bottle frequently, degradation from light should not be an issue; you could store that bottle in a cupboard when not in use (or get a dark glass booze bottle)

Personally, I would try to use a small bottle than a 750ml bottle.


What's the fastest way to cook oatmeal porridge? I often eat porridge for breakfast, and the way I've been cooking it is by adding oats & milk/water to a bowl, putting it in the microwave until it boils, and waiting for it to cool.

The problem with this method is that the whole process takes 20-25 minutes, mostly due to the time taken for everything to cool down to a level that doesn't scald my moth.

Unfortunately this amount of time is often unacceptable in the mornings.  Is there an alternative way that is faster?  I could shave a few minutes by adding boiling water to dry oats, but there is still 15-20 minutes to wait for everything to cool.

For my daughters, I usually have a speedy porridge process that goes like this:

Oats, sugar and water to cover (we don't use milk, but it would be the same) in the bowl.
About 3 minutes in the microwave, just to boiling point.
This makes a fairly thick porridge, which is stirred for a minute to let steam out.
Drop an ice cube into the bowl and stir until it's gone.

Voila, edibly warm porridge that isn't scalding hot.

The whole thing takes about five minutes, and for the three of those that the bowl is in the microwave you can do other things.


Getting some crispiness in Burgers' crust I have been reading so much about making good burgers and after a few attempts, I thought I achieved a good level. I have been following the Serious Eats tips.

But last night I went to a Burger restaurant and had an amazing burger. What I loved of it was the crispiness of the crust. It was not extremely crispy but just a little bit and made it such a great experience.

Anyone would give me some tips to get the crispy on the crust of my burgers?

Crunchy (I suspect crusty is probably a better term) burgers are often made by what Kenji Alt of Serious Eats like to call the smash method, as described in The Burger Lab:  Smashed Burgers vs Smashing Burgers.

The basic technique is to form the beef into what he calls a "puck", and then cook them on a ripping hot skillet or cast iron pan, smashing them down into patties onto the hot pan.  This promotes the browning reactions and crisping on the first side of the burger.

The burgers mostly cook on that first side where the crust development will happen; the cooking on the second side is much more brief.


Why did my brown beef stock end up yellow? Over the weekend I attempted a brown beef stock for the first time.

I roasted (from frozen) a couple of kilos of beef bones in the oven for an hour or so until they were a deep brown colour all over.

I drained off the fat that had collected in the oven dish, deglazed with water and added this and the bones into a stockpot with an additional 2 litres of water, roughly chopped onions, carrots and celery, a few sprigs of thyme, a couple of bay leaves and a few black peppercorns.

The stock was brought to the boil and then left to simmer for 3 hours over a low heat. When I strained the stock, it was a yellowy tan colour and not the dark brown that I had been hoping for.

What did I do wrong?

The brown color of the stock comes from the cooking method, not the kind of bones, a chicken stock cooked in the "brown stock" method can be as dark as what we expect beef stock to be.

Roasting the bones was a good start; but you also need to brown the vegetables, either with the bones for the last half hour or in a pan on the stovetop.

One of the most important parts of brown stock is to add tomato to the vegetable mix, either finely diced or more often tomato paste. Cooking the tomato to a dark brick red will round out the components needed to make a very dark stock.

Whether you roast all the ingredients together in the oven or separate the vegetables to the stove; deglazing everything as you did helps the flavor, color, and of course makes cleaning the pans easier :)


What's the science behind making German potato dumplings (Knödel) fluffy but not fall apart? First off, I'm German, so you would think I know, but it seems traditional cuisine has not been passed down my family tree.

This question really consists of two parts:

What makes potatos dough (or I guess, starchy dough in general, there's all kinds of dumplings, there's pasta, etc) keep its shape when you boil it in water? This may extend to some degree to deep frying.
What properties make balls of dough "fluffy" or "textured", but not "tough", "rubber-like" etc.? I guess this will go somewhere along the lines of what structure the starch granules form with the water, how stable it is, and how dense.

There is about a million recipes online for cooked, raw, and 50-50 knödels. Some have egg, some don't, and just about everywhere there's people asking how to do them right. There's also a question to that here on this site.

However, it's hard to get some actual information on the key aspects (this is a problem I have with recipes in general). I'm pretty sure there ought to be no egg and not a lot of flour in the dumplings. I'm also certain that either all cooked, all raw or half-half are common and widespread varieties, but there it stops.

I would like to find some science based instructions, the kind of articles Kenji runs on The Food Lab. It looks like most recipes have some way of enriching the dough with starch above what's in the potatoes anyway, by draining water from the potatoes and adding starch powder. The father of a friend wraps the potatoes in cloths and puts them through the spin cycle of the washing machine, which (because of the preceding meticulous cleaning of the latter) is a tedious procedure that's only done for Christmas.

Millions of grandmas have reached the proper end result via various routes, using plain ingredients and unsophisticated equipment, so there should be some basic principle at work, which can be analyzed with science, very much like with roasting beef or frying potatoes.

Maybe, we could dig up something about related recipes, like gnocchi, which would be helpful.

Your dealing with a few things here. First is starches in general. The thing to know about starches is how they gelatinize and at what temperatures.

This powerpoint is a nice primer on that topic. www.cfs.purdue.edu/class/f&n630/gelatinization.ppt

Basically your dealing with amylose and amylopectin, together they are what we know as a starch. When they come in contact with water the starch cells begin to swell and when their gelatinization temperature is met they burst and release their contents into the medium they are in. In the case of a dough ball, your dealing with tons and tons of little cells being held together loosely at first by the physical pressure of kneading them into balls and then when the heat causes the starches to gelatinize they adhere to one another kind of like being caught in a net.

Now the fluffiness portion of the question can really depend on how the dough is being cooked. For something like a dumpling being cooked in the boiling water, one would typically want to work the dough as little as possible to avoid making it too dense and if using flour to lessen the gluten formation that can make it very chewy like bread. Some recipes call for leaveners that can create gas bubbles when heated to a certain temperature and then through gelatinization the bubbles are trapped inside the dough and create an airy texture.


What ingredient gives vlaamse mayonnaise that special kick? I love Dutch frites, and I particularly like the Flemish Frite Saus called vlaamse mayonnaise that they serve at the Frite shop called VleminckX Sausmeesters on Veotboogstraat (just one block off Kalverstraat, the main walking street down the center of Amsterdam).

What gives it that special kick. It's a bit more tart than American mayonnaise.

Frietsaus is just a special mayonnaise

Commercially it is lower in fat than plain mayonnaise

It has oil, starch (replaces extra oil), whole egg yolk, whole mustard seed, sugar, distiled vinegar, and lemon juice

So the kick is just the extra acid (vinegar and lemon juice), the bite from the whole seed mustard, mixed into a lite sauce, not a heavy greasy mayo

BTW: VleminckX Sausmeesters is just a touristy thing, there are plenty of shops in Holland that serve great fries

Personally I think that potatoes from Europe are a bit plain compared to many other continents/countries. the best I have had are from Fiji, the warm humid conditions make excellent deep frying potatoes, and I suspect they lace the cooking oil with a little coconut oil too :-)


Minimum procedure for sterilizing mason jars for canning My wife and I are about to do some tomato canning tomorrow. We have a bunch of mason jars that we didn't have time to sterilize.  She thinks that just washing them in hot water is enough. After searching around all instructions require boiling.

What is the bare minimum necessary?

Washing them in hot water is most certainly not enough. Sterilization via boiling under pressure is guaranteed to kill every harmful pathogen, particularly Clostridium botulinum, the beastie responsible for botulism. The "hot" water from your tap is not enough to kill the spores. C botulinum spores must be heated to 250 F for at least three minutes to guarantee they are killed.

Please do not compromise here under any circumstance. Canning requires sterilization, not sanitization. Botulism can paralyze and kill you.


How to parcook a casserole? I have a wonderful mousaka recipe which involves layers of baked potato, eggplant, and beef. It is topped with a cheesy bachamel and cooked until golden brown on top. It is very similar to a lasagna.

I would like to cook this dish for a party for 20 people. Unfortunately I cannot prepare everything immediate beforehand. So I would like to complete as much as possible a day in advance.

I could cook this dish completely and then reheat it in the oven before the party, but I'm afraid the bachamel top will over crisp and the bottom will burn.

Can I instead parcook this dish? I believe I could cool all the ingredients up until the point the bachamel is added, then chill it, and then simply bake as is for 1.5 hours until warmed through and the topping browns nicely.

Or should I worry about the sauce clumping or other concerns?

My family does this with lasagne every year for Christmas.  It works with most casseroles that are prepared in advance:

Make the casserole in advance, then either chill (if night before) or freeze (if a week before).
Place the cold dish in a cold oven, covered in aluminum foil, then turn it to medium-low heat (about 300°F/150°C).
Heat until the center of the casserole is sufficiently warmed through.
Turn the heat on the oven down to 'warm'

Just before guests arrive, make the bechamel.  Keep it on low heat on the stovetop, stirring every 10-15 minutes or so.

(20-30 mins before service) uncover the casseroles
Top with some of the bechamel (reserving the rest so people can add extra as they wish)
Crank the oven to 'broil' or 'grill' or whatever they call the 'top only heat' setting in your country, and cook the top to desired brown-ness.  If you don't have a broil/grill setting, move the casserole as close to the top element as you can without the food actually touching it, and turn the heat as high as the oven will go.
Remove the casserole and let rest to firm back up.  (take notes on how long this time, as that'll affect the exact time when you start broiling the next time you do this).
Place the reserved bechamel in a gravy boat.
Slice & serve

Note that there's also bechamel in the lassagne we make -- so you just make a little bit less when making the casserole initially, if it's needed for middle layers as well.


How can I cook meat quickly without pressure cooker? When I cook beef or mutton without a pressure cooker, it takes a long time for it to cook properly. Are there any methods of cooking meat quickly without using a pressure cooker?

The cooking time is dependent, amongst other things, on the thickness of the meat. Small cubes of meat will be cooked much faster than huge slabs. Look up 'minute steak'.


why does doughnut powdered sugar seem cool? Why does the powdered sugar which coats the outside of powdered sugar doughnuts give that amazing cool sensation on your tongue, when the powdered sugar in the box I buy from the supermarket does not? I am pretty sure this effect is not just imaginary since I see the question asked on the internet, but the two answers I find there are not satisfactory:

It's the cornstarch in the powdered sugar -- wrong. Cornstarch doesn't have that cool taste, ... and the boxed powdered sugar also contains cornstarch anyway.
Some thermodynamic mumbo-jumbo about latent heat of crystalization, or enthalpy [?] when the sugar dissolves on your tongue, which may be true for all I know, but can't be the explanation since it would apply to all powdered sugar - or maybe even all sugar.

I really think the doughnut makers are using some different type of sugar, or adding something that we don't have at home. Can anyone shed some light on this? (These are US doughnuts, if it matters.)

Summary: Most types of sugar will absorb some heat as they dissolve.  Commercial baked goods often use a type of "snow sugar," which is designed to be used on warm, moist foods without dissolving.  It's likely that commercial doughnuts use a lot of dextrose in their "snow sugar," which requires four times as much heat to dissolve as the sucrose in normal powdered sugar, leading to a "cold" sensation when consumed.

I tried poking around a bit in various sources and can't find a definitive answer, and I personally can't recall experiencing this "cold" sensation.  But it seems to me the explanations really can only come down to two possibilities:

(1) The sensation is due to ingredients that stimulate nerves which feel "like cold."  The standard example for this is stuff like mint or eucalyptus, whose menthol and eucalyptol create a sensation of coolness even without drawing heat.  The problem with this explanation is that the list of chemicals that cause this sensation is limited, and I don't know why they'd include any of them in powdered sugar.  That said, snow sugar products, as mentioned in comments, can contain various organic compounds to keep them from melting/running on warm moist baked goods. I suppose it's possible -- though unlikely -- that some doughnut coverings contain something that would do this.

(2) The sensation is actual cold, i.e., the increased heat transfer from tongue to donut, resulting in a perceived temperature drop.  That would be due to "thermodynamic mumbo-jumbo" mentioned in the question, i.e., heat/enthalpy of solution/dissolution.  That's just a fancy term to say that it takes some energy to separate a crystalline solid (where molecules are bonded together in an organized lattice) into individually dissolved molecules in a solution.

The problem with the second explanation is that we consume food all the time and don't generally sense the quite tiny amount of heat transfer it takes to dissolve things.  But powdered sugars are somewhat unusual foods in that (1) they exist as a crystalline solid with a high solubility, and (2) they are ingested with a fine particle size that increases surface area significantly and therefore rate of dissolution.

It's likely that the mixture of chemical components used in some commercial sugar mixtures like snow sugar are engineered to have an increased enthalpy of solution (and thus don't appear to "melt"/dissolve or run on warm baked goods).  While a warm baked good may not have enough moisture and heat to dissolve them, our mouths do, and that increased heat necessary for dissolution is perceived as "cold."

What exactly could the specific chemical be?  Some comments have suggested dextrose (which indeed is the primary ingredient in the King Arthur version of snow sugar as well as in the French product Sucraneige).  Dextrose (the D-isomer of glucose, and its most common form) has a endothermic heat of solution that's about double that of sucrose.  That means that "snow sugar" needs to absorb about four times as much heat per weight as normal sucrose-based confectioners sugar when dissolving.  (I'm assuming that the other components of the snow sugar are relatively minor; they'll have significantly worse solubility.)

Particle size, as mentioned, is also an issue.  The Sucraneige mentioned above claims 10X fineness, but many powdered sugars at the grocery store will also be the same.  If you are comparing a 10X sugar to a coarser powdered sugar, that will also make a difference: smaller particles have more surface area and can dissolve faster.  If it dissolves faster, the reaction happens faster, thus absorbing heat more quickly (and feeling colder).

Still, this amount of heat transfer seems quite small.  But I suppose for those who notice it, it could explain the difference.  A quick search of some common commercial powdered sugar doughnut brands (like Hostess and Entenmann's) doesn't clarify the powder ingredients, but dextrose is listed quite high in the ingredients list, just after flour in one of them, seeming to hint at some form of "snow sugar."  Other non-powdered types of doughnuts seem to have dextrose listed far later (if at all).

Technical note: For those who are wondering, why four times the enthalpy?  The enthalpies that are given in the linked table are 5.4 kJ/mol for sucrose and 11 kJ/mol for glucose/dextrose.  But these are per mole, and the molecular weight of sucrose is roughly twice that of glucose.  Therefore, to get the same amount of glucose by weight, you'd need roughly twice as many moles of glucose.  Since glucose already has twice the enthalpy of solution, the same weight of glucose will have roughly four times the enthalpy of the equivalent weight of sucrose.  Also, it should be noted that perceived sweetness of dextrose/glucose is somewhat less than sucrose (roughly 70-75% as sweet), so more of it tends to be used.  I don't know that that's a major factor here though, where doughnuts are doused in lots of sugar either way.


Making my Chicken Madras more savoury I have been trying to imitate the gold standard of curries; The British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Chicken Madras and have had some success.
I have made the base-curry sauce as per the books and it works out OK but there is a lot of preparation and the taste is not quite there.
One thing about BIR Madras is that is it always savoury.  When I follow homemade curry recipes I always find that my curry is too sour from the tomato, so I have taken to adding chicken stock (using Knorr cubes) and my curry is starting to approach my goal.
Can anyone suggest ways of making my curry even more savoury?
EDIT: This is my recipe, which won't surprise many people.

Marinade chicken breast in yoghurt and lemon for 30 mins in the fridge.
Rinse off marinade and partially fry the chicken and set aside.
Fry onion in Ghee until it starts to brown.
Add garlic and ginger paste.  Wait 2 mins.
Add dried kashmiri chillies.
Stir in spices; coriander powder, cumin, garam masala, hot chilli powder, tumeric and fenugreek powder.  Wait 1 min.
Add 1 mug chicken stock (1 Knorr cube).
Add tomato passata.
Add chicken back in and cook for 15 mins or so.

EDIT 2: I have seen several places that the garam masala should go in last; I will actually do that next time.

Let me try to at least start this one off…
Your recipe, as it stands, isn't bad for the finalisation stage of the curry, but what you are seriously missing is the base sauce.
The base sauce has all your depth, & a fair proportion of your texture & mouth-feel. Your 'tweaks' are just what is needed to get the chicken right at the end. It's just the add-on segment.
BTW, some of the 'sour' could be coming from your marinade - yoghurt & lemon.
BIR chicken curry is not marinated. The only marinated chicken is tikka.
You need to start 6 - 8 hours earlier.
Your actual ingredients are really the least important part of this, it's the method & time spent simmering that makes all the difference.
Start by par-boiling onions. Then puree them. Then get your bhuna or bhogar going [this is either wet or dry spices, depending on result required. Wet is easier to get right, but needs a good amount of oil, you can't skimp the oil/ghee - whenever you think you've got too much… add some more. Garlic/ginger purée can go in now, 2 mins, then, if you're going the tomato purée route, add now. If you're going with canned, wait til after your onions are at a simmer. Then fry your onion purée in your spice blend.
Once your onions start to go in, a bit at a time, whack the heat right up [watch out, they spit]. This is a bit of a 'be careful' moment. You don't want to burn your spice blend, but you need to caramelise the onions. Once you get a good bit of caramelisation going, drop the heat & simmer.
That is your absolute basic sauce starter. Give it at least 4 hours, preferably more. Think of it as a stock pot. Season to taste after maybe an hour, when it's settled enough to gauge accurately. You can tweak towards the end, so don't go overboard.
Done this way your onions & oil are your sauce base. You won't need to add any additional water. Can of tomatoes is as far as I'd go for additional liquid. I wouldn't dream of adding stock cubes to it. It doesn't need it.
If you want actual onion chunks for texture at the end, that's what your quick-cook does. What it doesn't do is give the sauce anything to stand on.
I'd probably get the Kashmiri chilli in at the initial sauce stage. tbh, I usually use pre-ground Kashmiri mirch, which is a fabulous colour-booster without adding much in the way of heat. It's a bit like paprika in that respect.
If you want the rehydrated chilli chunks/whole vibe [which certainly can work nicely] then save the whole ones until your later stage & use ground in the base.
...and leave out the passata & stock in your 'tweak' sauce. They're not helping. A tablespoon of purée, fried into your onion/spice blend, will give you the tomato addition that a 'Brit madras' needs.
When you get to the point you'd add your stock - that's when your base sauce goes in instead.
Your garam masala can go in twice - once to your base sauce, then again at the end. The long vs short cook on these aromatics will give you depth plus top notes.
Late notes after other answers & comments [includes some sweeping generalisations].
There's no colour on the chicken in a madras, other than what it picks up from the sauce. It's boiled, not fried. In a restaurant it's often pre-boiled in a simple spice blend, then cooled, so it can be dropped in the last 2 minutes to a take-away order. If you want pre-cooked/charred edge, you order tikka madras.
It's always chicken breast, skinned & off the bone, no dark meat. That's the way the Brits wanted it originally, that's what it became.
Unless you order tikka, it is not marinated at all, it's just boiled in spices from fresh.
Although I imagine it can happen in some takeaways, MSG is not needed to get a curry right.
Coconut is for Southern Indian dishes, not Northern Indian/Pakistani, which is where 'BIR' originated.
If you want a totally different experience, including coconut, pandan & curry leaves, try Sri Lankan. It's fabulous. That's actually my preferred home curry style, partly because it's the one I can do better than any restaurant I've ever eaten in. My madras is not quite as spectacular, but it's still pretty good ;)
Quick list of spices I'd envision in the sauce base
Cumin
Coriander
Turmeric
Garam Masala
Kashmiri mirch [if you can't find that, paprika will just about do instead]
Red chilli powder of any type, cayenne-like, depending on intensity required]
Fenugreek [ground seed]
… & then the ones missing from above
Cardamom
Cloves
Garlic powder - it's a BIR thing, different taste to fresh, which should be in too]
Asafoetida - gives a kind of sweet onion taste [smells revolting until it cooks in]
Black pepper - vital, different kind of hot to chilli
Methi - dried fenugreek leaves [totally different to seeds]
That's your basic - anything else will become dish-variant & go in your final cook.


What is 'Cooking Chorizo'? I have a recipe that calls for "Cooking Chorizo" (in the UK). What is this? Would normal cured chorizo be an acceptable substitute?

Spanish Chorizo comes in two forms both of which to the best of my knowledge are fully cured (cooked):  one which is more for eating on its own (like salami) and the other which tends to have a higher ratio of fat in it and is used primarily for cooking.  The latter one being what the recipe is referring to as "cooking chorizo".  Oftentimes the cooking chorizo is in a paper casing that must be removed (unless you need some extra fiber in your diet).  Either one of these would work, however you might need to add a little oil to the pan if you need to cook other things in the fat that would normally be rendered out.

Mexican chorizo is always a raw product which must be cooked and is usually in a plastic casing.


How can I make my own small pie dishes and still cook pies effectively? I need to make individual pies this week.  I would usually use pre-bought tin foil containers, approximately 10cm diameter, 3cm high.  I can't buy these anywhere near me and have left it too late for mail-order!  I also don't have any ramekins I could use in the oven.

Has anyone got experience making their own foil pie trays?  I am thinking of using a noodle bowl as a mold and just layering the foil.  How many layers of foil is optimum?

I am also worried that the pies won't have enough support while baking (they will be filled meat & gravy pies, traditional Australian style) and could burst open in my oven, so was wondering about placing them into a bed of rice/uncooked beans.  Would this still allow the shortcrust pastry to cook?

If you have oven safe noodle bowls (ceramic, not plastic) then line them, as you describe with the foil, but do not remove them from the bowls.  Bake your pie in the lined bowls, then remove the finished pies, with their aluminum "pan" intact.
Or just make pasties...no pan required.

As you indicate you don't have oven safe bowls and it must be a pie, I decided to experiment, using the double foil idea.  I have heavy duty foil.  I used a double layer and lined a noodle bowl making sure that there was plenty of foil out past the edge.  I then pressed another noodle bowl on top of the two sheets of foil to make sure all is acting as a unit.  While the top bowl is still in place, crumple up the excess foil, making a rim.  This is what will give you the strength you need.  I would then take the top bowl out, and line the now stable foil pie tin with your pie pastry.  Fill the pie and if there is a top crust, finish the pie.  You can now take the pie out of the noodle bowl and bake it as usual, although I would certainly do it on a baking sheet.

The double foil is much stronger than you'd expect, but the stability comes from the rim you build with the excess foil hanging over the edge.

Here's the finished bowl with the two molding bowls.


How to preserve and ship home made mayonnaise I am trying to preserve home-made mayonnaise so that it can be shipped to family and friends, without the hassle of putting it in dry ice packs or the like. Is there a way to preserve it and ship the bottled mayonnaise by regular mail or courier?

Nope. The only way you can really preserve things at home for room temperature storage is by canning in a boiling water bath or pressure cooker, and the heat from that will break the emulsion of your mayonnaise, completely ruining it. On top of this, mayonnaise will also tend to break at room temperature, so it won't work even if you make it safe.

Commercial mayonnaise uses pasteurized ingredients (in particular the eggs), and presumably the manufacturing process takes additional steps to avoid recontamination before it gets sealed up in jars. It also has additional stabilizers to keep it from breaking while sitting around at room temperature. The result is apparently shelf-stable, but even if you add emulsifiers/stabilizers to yours and get it to not break during shipping, I would be really hesitant to assume you've gotten it as bacteria-proof as the commercial stuff.


Granulated, hardened homemade caramel sauce Can hard granulated caramel sauce (supposed to be sauce) be remelted and used?  don't know why it hardened.

Most likely, it crystallized because something with a sugar crystal on it contacted the caramel while it was cooling.  This is why you need to change spoons a couple times while making the caramel, and take other steps.

If your caramel sauce is just sugar and water, you can remelt it, adding a water to it.  However, if you added cream to it, it's a bit tricky, because those dairy products will burn at caramelization temperature.  You may be better starting over.

However, there's another possibility: if you overcooked your caramel, it will have turned into toffee, which is also grainy and hard.  In this case, enjoy your toffee, because there's no turning it back into caramel.  You'll know that this was your problem because it's an intense dark brown.


What is the minimum temperature yeast will be active? We all know that warmer temperatures mean more yeast activity (provided a food source), and that yeast survives freezing, but what is the minimum  temperature yeast can perform fermentation?

As I gently warm a dough from freezing, what temperature will it start to rise? 10°? 15°?

Another way of asking this is, how cold does my dough have to be to stop rising?

It will even rise (very, very slowly) at refrigeration temperatures (4C, 39F). For it to completely stop rising you need to freeze it (or very close). A lot of recipes call for the dough to rise overnight in the refrigerator. Depending on the dough, it may it may in fact completely rise in the refrigerator overnight. Long rises create more flavor than short ones, often speed is not of the essence. Frozen dough will start (slowly) to rise as soon as it starts to thaw.

Never judge readiness by time. Temperature is only one of many factors that will vary from loaf to loaf.

Volume is the main indicator of readiness (usually double the "pre-rise" size). Also, there's the poke test. Stick a couple of fingertips a centimeter or so into the dough. If the indentations remain after your fingers are removed, that's an indication that the dough has risen enough.


What is the maximal thickness for choux pastry? I recently made puff balls. I made pâte a choux, but instead of baking it as small spheres (profiteroles-like) or piping it for eclaires, I shaped it into 3 cm big balls and baked it. They puffed beautifully to more than double their original size, but the planes of dough inside remained rather moist, they were actually underbaked.

What thickness (pre-baking) can I use for choux pastry shapes so I can be sure that they will bake on the inside?

This is not necessarily under baked.

What you made is a perfect creme puff. The dough in the middle is not raw- it has just been steamed from the inside instead of being dried and crisped the way the exterior was. There is usually very little such dough on the inside and the filling hides it.

Many creme puff recipes call for scooping out the soft dough from the middle before filling.

I don't know that there is any size that can guarantee that there will be no un-crisped dough left in the middle. Even medium-sized eclairs can have a few threads of dough inside that stay soft.


Quantities of salt and MSG for a chicken stock substitute I am making a stew, so all I am after in the stock substitute is some saltiness and umami. What would be the correct ratio of water, salt and MSG for this purpose?

I can just attempt to make this by taste, but some input from the community would help me a lot. I am brand new in terms of using MSG as an ingredient.

I think you need to use MSG by taste.  If you are too heavy handed, your stock will wind up tasting more dashi-like...probably something you don't want in a stew.  If you are new to MSG, to get a handle on it do a bit of a taste test on the end of your finger.  Compare salt, MSG, and a salt/pepper mix.  When you understand the taste perceptions, you can better season your final product.  By the way, you can always add more once the dish is complete...you can't remove too much.


How does the "Suicide Sauce" from Hot Licks rate on the Scoville Scale I bought the so called "Suicide Hot-Sauce" from Hot Licks about a year ago when I visited California. I forgot to ask how this sauce rates on the Scoville Scale, because I usually don't care that much about those numbers as long as the taste is good.

The topic came up in a recent discussion and I tried to find this information on the Internet. Many supplier provide this information, but I could not find anything, not even a rough estimate, about the Suicide Sauce. From what I have read so far this sauce is one of the less hot ones.

Can anyone who knows this hot-sauce give a rough estimate how hot it is?

Update:
According to their website the Hot Licks "XXX" sauce is three times as hot as the suicide sauce. In case someone has information about this one, this would help as well.

Edit: Is there a way to rate sauces on the Scoville scale? Does an index exist for sauces? Is there a way to measure the hotness?

I am Adrienne Fay, Merchandise Manager for Hot Licks, Maker of Suicide and XXX.
I just discovered this post. Unfortunately even I can not give you the Scoville rating because we have never had our sauce rated on the Scoville scale for two reasons:

The rating system is intended for peppers and even two peppers on the same vine will have two different ratings.
Everyone's perception of hot is different. So for some people,even a drop of Suicide sauce will destroy them, where some customers buy the product by the case load.

Most companies will estimate the Scoville rating by ingredients we know, but frankly we just set out to make a sauce with capsaicin extract that had flavor.  Hopefully you find the taste and heat level to your liking.

If you have any further inquiries you can email me at adrienne@2hotlicks.com


Which kinds of vessels insulate well? From here: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/13170/6168

  The first approach which comes to mind would be to use a pan which insulates well.

I use these glass vessels: http://www.borosil.com/products/consumer/storage/

Do they insulate well?
Are there any other kind of vessels which insulate better than this?
Will Aluminum vessels work better instead of glass?

After some thought on this, an isolating form for baking seems to be counterintuitive. It is about heating the dough, isn't it.

From an insulating standpoint, your best bet is probably a silicone baking form. Aluminum conducts heat about 300x better than glass, and silicone insulates about 4x better than glass. Also, the thicker the material, the better the thermal insulation generally.

Here are a few values of thermal conductivity in W/(mK) for typical kitchen materials

400 Copper
235 Aluminum
50-ish Steel
15-ish Stainless Steel
2-ish Stone
0.8 Glass
0.2 Silicone

As rumtscho points out, pyrex may be a bad choice, because it is transmitting infrared light so well. Also, it is unclear as to how well silicone transmits infrared. Silicone materials can vary wildly in physical and optical characteristics.

Pure silicone forms only work for some geometries, too. Soft form sides don't work well with rectangular geometries, for instance. Round forms work fine, though.

On further thought, with forms that do not transmit heat along the perimeter, the forms should be turned in the oven more often, because no oven heat is truly homogenous.

A compromise would be a silicone coated metal form. Cant say anything about these.

Personally, I hate baking in thin-walled glass containers, being scared of breaking them when any amount of prying is needed.

I love my soft silicone muffin forms.

But for cake, I go metal.


How to make the pasta in this TV show (Anthony Bourdain in Rome)? I'm talking about the one served on a parmesan crust bowl, but that's not all.
Besides the parmesan bowl (they only showed the chef melting grated parmesan and then molding it), what kind of pepper did he use? What else do I need to know to make that?

For how long should I let the parmesan melt before I can mold it? Should I let it cool down a bit first?

It looked really good, and the B&W thing gave it a mysterious look, something like hiding the details from it.

You'll need 2 recipes:

Cacio e Pepe ... just do some searches for that dish, and you'll find a bunch of recipes.
Pecorino/Parmesan Cheese Shell. Try grating fresh Parmesan and sprinkling it over a silicone baking mat. While it's still warm, drape it over an upside-down bowl to shape it. Once it cools, I think you're all set. I plan to try this!  EDIT: I'd only heat the cheese just until it gets melty... otherwise it'll stiffen up too soon.

Note: I have never made either of these... just trying to give you a starting place. In the video, I heard the guy say that the dish was called Cacio e Pepe, so I started hunting. It sounds great, though.


How to eat wheat as a staple? I'm wanting to stop having rice as my staple and try something else.  I was thinking to try wheat however I never heard that people eat pure wheat daily like they eat pure rice daily like in the far east.

What I mean to say is wheat is often associated with bread, biscuits, cereals which have extra ingredients which I want to avoid and I don't think you want to eat those as part of the main meal anyway.  I know it comes as pasta and sphaghetti but i'm not sure if that is the correct way to eat it as a staple?  Have people traditionally cooked wheat like they would rice or has it always been used as pasta and sphaghetti but never as a staple like rice has in the far east?

I've just seen a bag of wheat grain at my supermarket so I'm thinking do I just get it and cook it like rice but since this is unheard of(at least to me) as a staple I'm wondering if there's something wrong with it?

Some forms of wheat are suitable for immediate cooking in a similar way to rice, such as Bulghur.  This is traditional in much of the Middle East, and has been par-cooked prior to sale.

Cracked wheat is also available, but requires longer cooking.  Note that terms overlap and even manufacturers can be vague.  Whole wheat seeds do exist, sold for sprouting; it's not clear to me whether you could cook these directly but they'd take a long time if so.

Pasta is a traditional staple food in some parts of the world, and perfectly suitable for eating every day.  Some dried pastas have nothing but wheat in them. Couscous, like many kinds of pasta, is made from pure wheat, but it's more absorbent and can be treated rather like rice and served with stew on top, or cold as a form of salad. It's an important part of the diet in some North African countries.

Bread is also an everyday (or even every meal) food in many places.  These staple breads tend to be rather plain, at least when eaten as an accompaniment to other foods, and unless you're on a low-sodium diet it's a good source of complex carbohydrates.

Neither wheat nor rice can be treated as providing a full range of nutrients.  this isn't the place to get into details but living on grains alone won't provide enough macro- or micro-nutrients.


Basil - to wash or not to wash? Best practices? I know that washing basil weakens it's flavor significantly. I often buy it from local supermarkets where everyone can touch it, that's why I just have to wash it. But even when I buy organic basil, I still feel the urge to wash it.
How do you deal with that? Is there any way to 'wash' the basil without weaken it's flavour?

People generally wash fruit and vegetables (organic or not) to remove surface contamination ,and the bacteria it may host, from the farm and supply chain

This includes soil (ground based animal faeces), compost (rotted vegetable matter), airborne dropped bird faeces, road dust (often high in animal faeces), and other surface contamination that can host bacteria

A short and simple wash by hand in a bowl or sink of cold tap water will remove large amounts of these surface contamination from most fruit and vegetables. Some may require light brushing or scrubbing. And for best results rinse in running cold tap water after washing. Shaking water off usually works better than trying to blot it off with a tea towel

Gentle washing will NOT remove any significant flavour or aromas. Think about what happens when it rains :-)


Instant Pot -- how should I resolve conflicting sets of instructions? The manual that came with my Instant Pot says not to put the lid in the dishwasher. The Instant Pot website says that the lid is dishwasher safe. Which should I believe?

If you only have 2 conflicting pieces of information I'd choose the safer route and not put it in the dishwasher. The manual is specific to your model while the website is not. If you trawl through forums you'll probably find that there's experience out there on the subject.


My cake is moist but crumbly I have always used this recipe and this turns out really soft and moist, but also crumbly. How can I fix it?
Here are the ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans

3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted, plus more for pans

3/4 cup hot water

3/4 cup sour cream

3 cups cake flour, (not self-rising), sifted

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

I haven't used up all the batter yet, so I can do changes if required. Please help!

Replacing part of the water and/or cream with more egg should do the trick, as when eggs are headed, they firm up and act as a binding element, fixing the crumblyness of your cake.


What is a lean cut of beef (steak) to use in low calorie recipes? What is a lean cut of beef (steak) to use in low calorie recipes?  I am interested in creating some low calorie recipes using steak but am unsure which are the best cuts to start with.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the leanest cuts are:

Eye of round roast or steak
Sirloin tip side steak
Top round roast and steak
Bottom round roast and steak
Top sirloin steak

However, grain/corn fed beef may have more marbling (more fat embedded) so if you're going for low-cal, you might want to consider buying naturally raised/grass fed beef.

Personally, I prefer to find a meat source that has leaner beef in general and buy Skirt Steak or Clodhammer (rotator cuff) for their taste, tenderness, and reasonable price.


Other uses for Korean salted shrimp I purchased a jar of tiny Korean salted shrimp to make kimchi.  Since I only use a teaspoon or so at a time for the kimchi, I wondered if there were other (Korean or otherwise) creative uses for these salted shrimp.

Kimchi is probably the biggest use I can think of, but there's also steamed egg: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/egg-side-dishes

Otherwise, 새우젓 is frequently used as a dipping sauce for foods like marinated pigs' feet (족발) and blood sausage (순대). Also added wherever appropriate for a little umami punch.


What is the secret to avoid bitter-tasting rapini? At a certain pick-your-own-food-and-stamp-your-card-then-pay-at-the-exit restaurant, the salad bar includes a delectable rapini, even though it looks like it is prepared with nothing more than steaming or boiling, followed by sprinkling with olive oil and toasted sesame.

Yet my many attempts at duplicating the flavor have all resulted in an unpleasant rapini that is quite bitter.

I've tried steaming and boiling. I've used a lavish amount of water. I've cooked the stems twice to three times as long as the leaves/tips/flowers, as one might do with asparagus, all to no avail.

What is the secret to preparing rapini correctly?

To get the best out of rapini, you need to blanch it first. Use well-salted water. Detach the thickest stems from the leaves (these can be peeled and used).  Add to boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the water and chill (if using later), or add to a pan with plenty of olive oil and garlic to finish cooking. Remember, though, that bitterness is a characteristic of this vegetable, so you will not completely eliminate it.


Butter Alternatives for Baking Pastry I'm dairy intolerant but I really love to bake.  I've found success by substituting butter with either lard or coconut oil.  The other night, I made a short pastry dough that called for 13 tablespoons of butter to 1.5 cups of flour and instead of using butter I used coconut oil.  The dough was super delicate to work with since the oil heated up much more quickly and teared more easily than butter dough I've worked with before.

Would I achieve better results with a different fat?  Say, margarine or shortening?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

There are good quality vegan margarines (Earth balance, Alsan) on the market nowadays, often they are of the interesterified instead of the hydrogenated variety. They are designed to behave and taste similar to butter instead of (as many cheap margarines seem to do) staying spreadable at temperatures where butter would be very firm. Unlike pure coconut or palm oil, they do not act very brittle when cold, and also they soften gradually instead of suddenly melting like eutectic solder. These should be on the top of the list of things to try...

Also, some recipes recommend using more than one type of fat in pastry, for more interesting texture (eg such margarine, and smaller flakes of a hardened coconut fat).


Can I save peanut oil from turkey fryer after rain? I just fried my first turkey and left the oil outside to cool. While we were inside enjoying the turkey we realized it had been raining for a while. I didn't have a lid on the pot. I was planning on filtering the oil and storing for later use. How bad will it be to reheat the oil with a bit of water in it?

UPDATE: I should have given more information about how much water may have entered the pot. It was probably raining anywhere from 2-4 minutes by the time I went out and covered the pot. The oil was still over 200 F at this point. I wouldn't think that much water really made its way in. Also, wouldn't any rain water that hit the oil have immediately evaporated?

Generic, short answer, just to make sure a potentially dangerous state of things is not left uncommented.

Certainly unsafe for deep frying at that scale unless you can guarantee you got all the water out - any water separating out tends to collect at the bottom of the vessel, where it can boil suddenly when the setup is heated again, propelling hot oil out of the vessel. Hot oil being propelled in any way is usually very unsafe.


Spots in Stainless Pots after cleaning in self cleaning oven Is there anyway to restore the Stainless finish to a pot that has been cleaned in a self cleaning oven.  I burned it so badly it was the only way to salvage the pan. Still works great and didn't warp but it has a bad stained finish on the inside.  Anything I can do to restore the nice finish??

A self cleaning oven won't clean pans put in it, only the bits of oven wall that have the right surface and get hot enough. If the pan you put in was dirty, all you've done is burn the food on to it.

Stainless isn't a finish, it's a material, so you may be able to remove the discolouration by polishing or sanding it. But if you make the surface rough, food will stick to it.


What "all-in-one" single serving tea device(s) are sturdy, make "teapot quality" loose leaf tea, and are two pieces or less? I am looking for a convenient office/portable tea making/drinking system. Ideally the device should be portable and very easy to clean in an office setting and still extract the same quality of flavor that a traditional teapot would, but also be sturdy. Hence the following requirements

maximum of two pieces to clean, for all devices used during infusing and drinking
is covered during steeping
separates tea leaves from liquid after steeping
will not burn your hands when drinking (either due to material or handle)
Is sturdy (will not break from a 1 foot fall)

Preferably, no plastic or rubber touching the hot water. However, given the somewhat recent advances in plastic, this may be an irrational fear - in which case it would be nice to link to a relevant thread/article easing "plastic touching boiling water concerns" if recommending a style of product that is only available in plastic.

The only device I ever found that meets (1-4) is the quick gongfu style (a tea pot with holes in the spout area, where the drinking cup is the lid). But unfortunately it is fragile (not meeting requirement 5). Here are pictures of the device in various materials (from left to right clay, porcelain, ceramic, ceramic)

Now there are "all in one" devices that satisfy (1,3, 4, & 5) but not (2), for example, tipping cups,

and ones that satisfy (2-5) but not (1), for example the double wall glass/plastic travel brewers (note some glass products are quite strong)

But is there a device that satisfies all 5 desirable qualities in an office tea drinking/making system?

Note: This is not a product recommendation question. This question is about styles, types and materials, not specific products or brands.

Are you overthinking this? A small teapot, sized for one person, would meet your criteria, wouldn't it? Unless you count the infusion basket separate from the teapot itself, you just have a teapot to rinse out (no scrubbing needed) and a mug to wash.

This is mine:

It holds around 20oz of water, so I can fill the pot, steep for a few minutes, then lift out the infuser basket and dump the leaves. You can easily do this in a breakroom or kitchenette area of an office, and then take the teapot back to your desk and voila, 3-4 cups of tea with one trip to the breakroom. Mine's made of cast iron and easily keeps the tea warm longer than it takes me to drink it. When you're all done, rinse out the teapot (cast iron won't need much more than a brief rinse) and wash your mug in the sink.

Based on my tea this afternoon (admittedly, taken in my home office today rather than at work):

It's super easy to clean out the teapot, I just ran water through it a few times. The infuser basket took a little more work, but no more than 30 seconds or so of running under the water to make sure I got all the leaves out.
The teapot has a lid, to cover the tea while steeping.
The infuser basket lifts out when the tea's done steeping.
I was able to transport the pot by the handle from my kitchen to my office without any burns. It's a little warm, but not hot enough to burn you.
I'd love to see the drop that damages cast-iron!


Is it still possible to make cast iron skillets as good as the old ones? You always hear people talk about old cast iron vs. new cast iron: the old stuff is lighter, smoother, and generally better, while the new stuff is heavy, pebbled, and generally a poor imitation of what cast iron ought to be.

So fans of cast iron go to great lengths to find the old stuff, pay good money for it, and look down on Lodge Logic and similar pans.

So here's my question: why is this?

If we can make high-quality knives at a relatively affordable price, why can't we make cast iron pans as good as the old ones? We're not exactly talking about Damascus steel.

"Back in the day", cast iron pans were manufactured in a much more labor-intensive way.  Each sand mold (minimum of 2 per item) was hand-rammed around a form, which was a wood (later aluminum) "positive" of the pan to be produced.  The forms were slightly larger than the finished pan to allow for the shrinkage of the iron as it cooled. Molten iron was poured by hand into the forms, which is as much art as science to do properly.  After the iron hardened the frames of the molds were removed, and the "raw" pan was ready for machining. First the "gates" on the edge of the pan were removed by nipping/grinding. The pan was then placed in an apparatus similar to a brake drum lathe and turned. A counter-turning grinding burr (shaped as a truncated cone) was run across the cooking surface of the pan. The quality of the result was due to the fineness of the sand used in the mold, the age/quality of the grinding burr, and the skill of the machinist.  The bumps didn't get "smoothed out with use".  To my knowdledge, none of the major hollow-ware manufacturers sand-blasted any if their products.

In the late 50's, early 60's, domestic manufacturers had to compete with imports if cheap overseas manufacture.  Labor overhead made the old manufacturing methods economically unviable.  The surviving manufacturers, BSR and Lodge, retooled for automated casting. This led to the thicker, unmilled pans that are with us today.

The spiel about "the rough surface is for pre-seasoning" us pure marketing BS.  I bought Lodge dutch ovens in the 70's that had the rough surface and NO PRE-SEASONING. They were, however, shipped with a thin coat of paraffin wax to prevent rusting.  Lodge came up with the "pre-seasoning" story years after they started selling un-milled pans (and people complained about how tough it was removing the wax coating).

Older, smoothly milled, properly seasoned pans are WAY slicker than you can get any rough surface iron.  My daily egg-fryer is an unmarked Lodge #5 from the 40's.  It was a $5 crusted-up wreck of a thrift store find. Degreased in a lye bath, further cleaned by electrolysis, and re-seasoned with 6 baked coats of flax seed oil.  With a wipe of oil, over medium heat, the cooked eggs slide around in the pan, nearly as slick as Teflon.

Furthermore, cast iron does NOT do a good job distributing heat, but DOES do a good job retaining heat. Copper, and even cast aluminum, are better heat conductors/distributors. A thinner cast iron pan works just as well as thick one. The only thing that thicker, rough finish cast iron does better than the smooth pans is sear meat.


Why does my invert sugar always crystallize? I often use invert sugar as a humectant in confections.  The problem is that it always crystallizes after a few days.

My recipe is fairly simple.

1 kg refined sugar
200 ml filtered water
1 g cream of tartar

Bring to boil at 110C.  Let cool.

The syrup is definitely inverted, as the taste is distinct.  The invert sugar is also completely transparent which tells me there are no obvious undissolved sugar crystals.

Crystallization typically begins slowly at the point where I insert a spoon to portion out the syrup for recipes.

I store the syrup at room temperature in a glass syrup jar.  I have had no luck boiling the jar in water to liquify the syrup, as it appears saturated and it returns to the crystallized state.  Also I suspect the boiling temperature is above 100C, which the waterbath cannot exceed.

The crystalization is to be expected, that's what inverted sugar does. It is the same thing as with honey, which is chemically nothing but a contaminated inverted sugar. So, you are not doing anything wrong. In an inverted sugar at sucrose ratios, you will get sucrose crystalizing back out of the solution, just as you are observing now.

If you really need it smooth, you can try changing the ratio by adding some fructose, as such a mixture is less prone to crystalizing.

The one thing that puzzles me in your description is that you cannot get it back smooth by heating, this should in principle be possible. Maybe try adding a bit of water to the syrup itself during heating, so it can dissolve again.


Apple Cider is too sweet for gravy Hey. I'm in Vermont. We have lots of apple ciders and lots of amazing apples (let me recommend this year's lady apples...bet on 2010 Cider! )

I've been roasting local chickens, and then deglasing with apple cider, but the cider is too sweet. Any suggestions for how to keep the cider, but make the dish more palatteable. Thanks.

You can cut the apple cider with some apple cider vinegar. Adding a couple tablespoons of cider vinegar to 1 cup of apple cider should do the trick.

You can also add a bit of mustard seed, whole or ground to give it some heat that can help combat the sweetness. I wouldn't add more than a pinch of ground mustard or a half tsp of whole seeds.

I use this exact glaze on pork roasts all the time, but I've never tried it on chicken. Let me know how it is.


How to get rid of tiny black spots on white plastic cutting board? When I looked in the dishwasher this morning after it ran overnight, I noticed an amount of tiny flecks on the white plastic cutting board I have, on both sides of the surface. After taking it to the sink, no amount of scrubbing is getting them out!

-What is it?

-How do I get them out?

-Can I still use it?

As has been indicated, pictures would be helpful for this but without one a simple suggestion would be to try bleach. Depending on the size of your board you can submerge the board in a bleach and water bath or get a towel (paper or cloth) soaked with bleach and water and set that on top of the spots and let that sit for a while.


Can bitter almonds(or other nuts containing amygdalin) be made edible? I am interested because there seems to be information scattered here and there suggesting this, but offering no such instructions on just how it can be done.  What I am curious of is not now to use amygdalin-containing nuts as a minor ingredient(such as to add flavor or scent), but if they can actually be eaten as food.

So far, I have read the following:

Amygdalin, when exposed to water, releases hydrogen cyanide.
Exposure to heat denatures either amygdalin or enzymes in the nut that allow it to hydrolyze.

If those things are true, wouldn't there be any information on making bitter almonds safe to eat?  I can find nobody describing(better yet illustrating) a process to leach the almonds, yet it seems hypothetically possible.

I think it most likely that the methods you describe are theoretically possible, but risky and not particularly cost-effective.  Whatever the mechanism that could be used to render the almonds safe for consumption, it seems difficult to confirm this in a home preparation, leaving you with some potential (even if small) that they'll still produce some cyanide upon consumption. This doesn't have to be acutely toxic; chronic consumption can also be harmful in ways that you might not even notice immediately.

So then the question becomes, why take this risk?  Bitter almonds aren't likely to be a significant food source; in this way they differ from things like cassava which provide a staple crop (and thus more incentive to develop effective, reliable ways to detoxify them).  Even if you did develop a method, if you can't be certain that someone will follow it to the letter and could get sick as a result, it seems irresponsible to share your steps.  Far safer just to avoid consuming bitter almonds.


Problems with gelatine got the following recipe from a UK newspaper.  Tried it and it did not set.  At all!  My gelatine was fresh and 200-225 bloom and the grapefruit juice was freshly pressed.  It tasted delicious but we had to drink it!  Contacted the food and drink department of the newspaper but just got waffle as a reply.  Tried it again with double the gelatine but it still didn't set fully and had a slightly different taste.  Has anyone got any ideas please?

4 sheets gelatine,
400ml pink grapefruit juice,
150ml Campari,
2 tablespoons sugar.
Normal method of soaking gelatine and adding to slightly warmed juice.

The problem is that you're using 3 things that are enemies of gelatin:

Acids
Enzymes
Alcohol

These 3 things are very common protein denaturant agents, which means that they break down the protein structure. And well, gelatin is a protein, so adding freshly pressed grapefruit juice (acid + enzymes) and alcohol to gelatin will prevent it from setting.

You should boil well the mixture of sugar, juice and alcohol before using and rectify volume with water.


Making fully cooked meat (pork) less tough I bought some Red Chinese Barbecued Pork a few days ago, it's disappointingly tough. Even sliced very thinly and allowed to simmer for a few minutes in soup, the meat just feels dry and tough. I'm pretty sure it's tenderloin, so there really isn't any fat or collagen to work with. I'd like to make dumplings with it, but only if I can make it seem more tender. Do you know of anything that might work?

It sounds as if you have meat that has been cooked past the point of well done, so that all of the proteins as as contracted and tough as they are going to be, without the couner-veiling benefit of having collagen conversion.

Your only recourse, which may or may not give you results you find acceptable, is to resort to mechanical tenderization.  Your best bet is to grind it in the food processor.

Since you mention making dumplings, a healthy portion of cooked cabbage, mushroom, or other vegetables in the filling will also help get a more appropriate texture.


Why use metal cake pan instead of silicone one? I've been using silicone cake pans in my electric oven for a while and they work great and cakes come out easily and washing then is also very convenient. However I see that there're lots of traditional metal cake pans of the same form in shops and so I guess they are in demand.

Why use a metal cake pan and not a silicone one?

Dark metal pans provide superior browning for breads, muffins, and the like that are better with a crust on them. In my personal experience, foods do NOT release well and they are NOT convenient to clean. I actually have thrown out my silicone muffin and loaf "pans" because of their abysmal results. I've never baked a cake in silicone, though.


Ground beef stays pink for 10 days, doesn’t seem right I have a 1-lb package of 80/20 ground beef that seemed unnaturally pink. Did not open it for 10 days. Refrigerated, not frozen. Still within the “use by” date. But it’s still totally bright pink, none of the natural browning I would expect. What’s going on here? Has this meat been treated with some chemical?

The browning you are referring to is caused by oxidation.  Well-wrapped products are protected from air, and thus, browning caused by oxidation.


Proper proportion of cream of tartar to baking soda for snickerdoodles When I make snickerdoodles, they taste too "tangy" to me which I believe is due to the acidity of the tartaric acid. The recipe I have calls for a 2:1 ratio of cream of tartar to baking soda which is consistent with the proportions in How do I make a baking powder substitute? and What is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?
What can I do to reduce the tanginess?
Edit:
Here's the recipe from a 50 year old Betty Crocker cookbook (American measures):

1 C shortening
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 C flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs. Sift together all dry ingredients
then add gradually to the shortening mixture. Roll into 1 1/2" balls and roll
in a mixture of 2 Tbsp sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon (you'll need more than this).
Place about 2" apart on an ungreased baking sheet (you can use Silpat or
parchment). Bake at 400°F for 8 - 10 minutes. They should be lightly browned
but still soft. If you prefer a crisp cookie, add a minute or two to the baking
time. They'll puff up then flatten with a cracked top.
Makes about 5 doz. 2" cookies.

I've slightly modernized the instructions, but there's really no changes.
I've used what we in the US call "cinnamon" which is actually Cassia (it's what
you get at the grocery store and what you grew up on if you're American). If you buy Vietnamese or
"Saigon" cinnamon that's what you're getting. I've also used true cinnamon
(Ceylon). To me, it made the cookies taste very "Christmasy" and was a nice variation.

If they're tangier than you'd like that would be due to the acidity of the cream of tartar.  While most recipes for Snickerdoodles do in fact us cream of tartar and baking soda for a homemade form of baking powder (most likely due to the fact that snickerdoodles are fairly "old"-style cookie), a few I looked at are using baking powder and no cream of tartar.

Here are a few things to know and a suggestion:

Acidic doughs do not spread easily and do not brown easily.  Using the combination of cream of tartar in the 2:1 ratio w/ baking soda for leavening not only causes them to puff but with the higher acidic ratio it is also likely to help in keeping them more "cakey" and prevent them from browning as much.

You could try cutting back the cream of tartar slightly and seeing if that helps (possible drawback could be the soda making a more pronounced bitter soapy taste if there isn't enough acidity).

Or

Replace the cream of tartar and baking soda with baking powder.  Baking powder by volume isn't as powerful as baking soda because of the fact it contains soda, two dry acids, and cornstarch.  1 teaspoon of baking powder will leaven 1 cup of flour (vs. 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to leaven a cup of flour).  If your recipe calls for 2 cups of flour then use 2 teaspoons of baking powder and cut out the cream of tartar and baking soda.


Why does bread flour have lower protein content than all-purpose flour? I decided that after six months of breadbaking, I'm ready to check flours. Up until now, I just bought the bread flour in the local shop (ok, the local shop is out of breadflour and yeast, because of covid, so the sourdough is a real saver now:)). Google tells me the most important difference between flour is the protein content. High protein for bread, low protein for cakes and in-between of all-purpose. Now this is a bit strange for me already, since I guess there are three important proteins that are in the flour: gliadin, glutenin and amylase, so this seems a bit generic, but the sources seem to imply that protein content is equivalent to how much gluten will form.

So I checked the labels of the local brand I use and was very surprised that the all-purpose flour (9.8 g) had in fact higher protein content than the bread flour (8.6 g). This would mean that the all-purpose would make a stronger dough (testing in progress). This might be a local phenomenon (Hungary), but it is more likely I'm not understanding something.

Some of the texts mention how fine the milling is, but I couldn't find any definitive answer to how the fineness of the milling would alter the properties of the dough. I also think the ash content of the bread flour is higher, but it is not exactly clear to me from the labels.

A translation of the table on the labels:

energy
fat
of which saturated fat
carbohydrates
of which sugar
dietary fibers
protein
salt

Could somebody clear this up for me? How can the bread flour protein content be higher than the all-purpose? Is milling fineness important (I'm not sure I could tell the difference between the too, so it can't be extreme)?

I would just say that you are translating the terms too literally. In the USA, it is typicall to sell flour made from hard spring wheat under the name "bread flour", because people there traditionally enjoy bread made from it. In other countries, people have different expectations of their bread, and hard spring wheat was probably not even available prior to globalization. So it is logical that companies there formulate flour to produce the locally preferred bread texture, and sell it under a term which literally means "bread flour". This is a very common linguistic/cultural phenomenon - in different parts of the world, the local term for "cheese" without further qualifiers means a very different style of cheese.

I have never been in Hungary, but on the Balkans, traditionally, there is a preference for soft, fluffy, white bread. So I wouldn't be surprised if this Hungarian company has formulated their bread flour to produce something in that direction.


To sear or not to sear - slow cooking beef dishes I want to make beef goulash in my slow cooker (first time).  The instructions call for adding the beef as is.  Something in my gut (rightly or wrongly) tells me to sear it first.  Will it turn out basically the same if I don't sear?  I'm a little concerned because of the summer temperatures but would love it if I can just plop in the completely raw beef safely.

Thanks.

Will it work without searing it first?  Yes.

Will it have as much flavor?  No.

Searing does two things:  Create flavor through the browning process and jump-start cooking.  Searing does not "lock in juices".  The mere sound of the sizzling that goes on is indication that juices are exuding and sizzling against the hot cooking surface.

Benefit of Searing for a Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker recipe:
In the case of preparing meat in a slow cooker or in a pressure cooker, the purpose of first searing the meat is to brown the meat for better flavor.

If you have the time and don't mind having another pan to clean, then sear the meat before adding it to your slow cooker.  If time does not permit then it will still work to put the meat in without first searing, the flavor of the finished dish will just be a bit more subtle and not as "meaty".


How can I clean these brown iron stains in my pot? I use a big aluminium pot to boil water. I think the water contains iron because after 4-6 months, the inside of the pot is full of brown stains. The colour is just like ferric.  There are lots of circular brown areas (1-4mm diameter) in the pot.

Is this stain caused by the iron in the water? If not, what is the
cause?
How can I remove these stains?
Can I do anything to prevent these stains in the future?

Pictures

If it's rust stains or other kinds of scale build up, CLR will take care of it:

http://www.jelmar.com/CLRbasic.htm

From the pictures (thanks for adding) it looks like sediment from the water (source, pipes, etc) and CLR cleans it easily.  Just don't breath the fumes.

Also, you can try commercial coffee pot cleaners such as http://www.urnex.com/ to remove the build up.

Finally, if none of the above is available in your area, try Vinegar first.  If that didn't work, wash off and switch to baking soda.  you may have to make a paste and let it treat for a while.

There is also this recipe for cleaning rust stains from aluminum pots, though I haven't tried it.


How to get intended taste using baking powder instead of acid + baking soda? A coffee cake recipe calls for using sour cream and baking soda. I understand that acid + baking soda is a leavening agent and you can use them as a substitute for baking powder. But I only have baking powder.

If I use baking powder instead, will the taste of the coffee cake be majorly affected? It won't have the sourness of the cream anymore, but how important is that in a coffee cake?
Can I add something else along with the baking powder so I can get something close to the intended original taste?

If you use baking powder instead of baking soda in this recipe, you'll have an excess of acid.  That's not too bad (an excess of baking soda gives a soapy, bitter flavour).  The effect is likely to be as if your sour cream was slightly more sour. If you wish to tone that effect down you could  replace a small amount of your sour cream with cream or even milk.

The rise may be slightly affected but this should be minor; with or without the acid in the baking powder you're limited by the alkaline component. Baking powder is usally double-acting meaning some of the reaction is delayed until it gets hot. Sour cream plus baking soda is likely to start reacting immediately, so substituting the other way would be worse.


How do I deal with asian rice noodles? After boiling and draining the rice vermicelli or pho noodles they always stick to a big lump. How do I prevent this?

You have bascially two options:

Bring water to a boil. Put noodles into the pot and wait until noodles are done. In my experience this methods is quite difficult to handle because you can't be really certain about the cooking time (except you have done this often enough) since overcooking leads pretty fast to mush. I have the impression that thick noodles also tend to be undercooked in the middle while the outside is already too soft.
Unlike italian pasta surface starch is not desired since it causes an unpleasant slimy mouthfeel especially on rice vermicelli. Rinse the noodles thoroughly to remove the starch. The easiest way remove the starch is to dump the noodles into a clean water bath and then agitate the whole batch until the water doesn't get more cloudy. Shake the noodles to remove excess water.
Soak the rice noodles in warm water until the noodles are soft (one hour as a guideline, YMMV). Cold water is okay, you will have to soak them for a longer time. The noodles will not be as soft / chewy as cooked but rather can be bent to a certain extent until they break. When soft, remove the noodles from the water. (Optional: You can store the hydrated noodles in a closed container in a cool place until you need them.)
If the noodles end up in a soup or in cold dishes: Cook them for about 15 seconds (just as a guideline; duration might differ) in boiling water (not broth!). The noodles are done if they don't break if bent (maybe leave the noodles in the water for a few more seconds according to your taste). Don't overcrowd the pot. If you have a small pot (~20cm diameter) cook only one portion per batch. I recommend you to use a blanching colander if you are going to make more than one batch of noodles. Otherwise you will have mushy bits of noodles floating in the water. If you don't use the noodles immediately (like in cold dishes), rinse the noodles thoroughly. Optionally, you can oil the noodles in addition.
If you are going to stir-fry the noodles: Just put the soaked noodles directly into the hot pan and stir. Don't add too less oil (or sauce) or you'll end with a ball of noodles (I least I do, my parents do better).


Preventing Diced Vegetables Added to Simmering Liquid From Becoming Mushy I like adding yams, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and pumpkin, all in 1/2 inch cubes, to soups/beans and other dishes with simmering liquid.

I generally add them 10 minutes before the end, so that they do not overcook. Even then, however, if the hot soup/beans sit off the heat for 20 minutes, the vegetable cubes begin to lose their structure.

Roasting the diced vegetables beforehand helps somewhat. What I would like is to have the structure of the roasted diced vegetables (caramelized harder exterior with cooked softer interior) hold up for as long as possible.

Does anybody have any tips to achieve this?

Once you add the vegetables to the broth, they are going to begin absorbing water and becoming softer and eventually become mushy.

This effect is slowed but not eliminated when the soup is cooled.

The only robust way to prevent it is to only add vegetables to the portion that you are going serve immediately, and then serve the soup promptly when the vegetables are cooked to your liking.


Pan-frying Salmon before baking it I'm trying to prepare a fillet red salmon which comes frozen.

Many times after I bake the salmon, it becomes really dry.

I once heard that you need to pan-fry a meat before cooking it so that the liquids it contains won't "leak" during cooking time.

Will that trick work for salmon?

I once ate a salmon in a restaurant, and it was very juicy. How can I achieve that at home?

I've baked salmon dozens of times and the most common mistake people make with it (even in restaurants!) is baking it for far too long.

It dries out because it continues to cook after you remove it from the oven.  Of course, people bake it until they think it's thoroughly cooked - so by the time it's cool enough to eat, it's completely dried out.  This happens with meat too, but it's a lot more noticeable with salmon and other fish because the baking time is so much shorter.

For a typical fillet (about 1"), you'll want to thaw it completely first, then bake it at 450° F for no more than 10 minutes.  If it's thinner, dial it down to 8 minutes or so.  You can also wrap it in foil and bake it for about 13-15 minutes; I don't do this because I find it unnecessary, but it can help to mitigate some of the drying-out if you're still having problems.

Oh, and don't leave it in the baking dish after you take it out of the oven!  Transfer it immediately to a serving platter (preferably warmed, but not hot).

As long as you don't over-bake salmon, it will not dry out.


Sugar in Indian curries? I've seen that sugar is used to balance out other flavors in a dish. I was just wondering if I could add a little sugar to a spicy curry(chicken curry, for example). Would that take away the authentic flavor? If no, then how much can be safely added before it becomes too sweet?

There is nothing inauthentic about using sugar in an Indian dish, even a savory one.  For example, Gujarati cooks often add raw sugar (jaggery) to daal and curries. Quoth Wikipedia:

"It is common to add a little sugar or jaggery to some of the sabzi/shaak and daal. The sweet flavour of these dishes is believed to neutralize the slightly salty taste of the water."

And here's an example Gujarati potato curry recipe, which includes a tablespoon of sugar.

As for how much to add, that's a matter of your taste and the level of acidity and/or saltiness in the dish.  My Gujarati friends in Boston like stuff rather sweeter than I would personally prefer, so be cautious.


Are there food products that are meant to have an aftertaste? Is "aftertaste" always a bad thing, and are there food products that are supposed to have some (specific) aftertaste?

It likely matter how you qualify 'aftertaste'.

I was watching a documentary on artificial sweeteners, and they specifically mentioned that with sucrose, there's a period of time where you continue to sense it.  (I'm having difficulty finding what they called that variable, and what the time is for sucrose ... I want to say it was either 0.5 seconds or 1 second).  So they don't want the sweetness to disipate immediately, but they don't want to to hang around too long.

For chilies and hot dishes, people might talk about 'attack' vs. 'sustain'.  You can have a spicy dish that's initially powerful, or the ones where you can take a bite and it takes some time for you to get the impact of the heat.

I've used these two together to make deceptive drinks -- you load enough sugar into something that also has significant heat to it, and your mouth considers it to be overly sweet at first ... then after a minute, you start to notice the heat, and you go back for the sweet drink to cool it off, only compounding the problem.  (this was a high school/college trick ... I want to say that it involved grape juice concentrate, Tobasco, and Mt. Dew, with the occassional addition of Tang (mixed so it was just a fluid, not dilted to normal strength).

What we discuss as 'aftertaste' are typically unintended longer-lasting flavors that are covered up by other flavors initially, but continue to persist after the other flavors have disipated.   This is inherently different from flavor changing foods (typically candies), which typically use two different flavor compounds, one of which is encapsulated so that it releases after the other one.

And there are cases where we may want the lingering flavor, but it's assertive from the start -- mint is frequently used in this way.  That might still qualify as an 'aftertaste' though.  (although toothpaste isn't a food product)


My pesto turned solid. Why? Warning: I am a cooking noob. I might overlook something ridiculously simple.

Anyway, I just made my first pesto sauce (do you call this a sauce?). Basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, etc. At the end, I added vegetable oil. All was good and I was proud. Put it on bread and on pasta, and it was very tasty.

However, I stored what I had left in a small jar in the fridge. Only one day later, and it became solid! You can clearly see that the oil had solidified. Why is this? In fact, I poured in too much oil and took some out, and what I took out I put it in the fridge, in a cup (just the oil). This is also one massive block. I am used to oil solidifying, but AFTER you use it to cook. The oil that I used has not been cooked, and the rest of the oil I bought at the store is stored in a cupboard, in its original packaging, and is still liquid.

What went wrong?

Extra question:

Can I somehow still de-solidify this and still eat this?

Most pestos use olive oil, which solidifies at around 6 degrees celsius - just over the temperature of the average fridge. The shop-bought pestos you buy probably adulterate the olive oil with other kinds of oils.

In any case, you'll be able to eat your pesto just by leaving it out at room temperature for a few hours, or by just scooping it out and adding to your hot pasta.


How cooking temperature and oven set up can help prevent cakes from becoming too brown or burnt on top? When cooking cakes (especially lemon cakes for whatever reason; perhaps they're sweeter or have a different type of sugar?), I have trouble with the surface of the cake becoming too brown or burning while waiting for the inside to cook through. I frequently have to leave the cake in substantially longer than what the recipe states, and do my best to remove burnt bits afterwards.

This is probably partly because I often use a deep tin in order to get the right shaped cake for decorating, but I'm interested in techniques to reduce the browning/burning on the surface.

If I reduce the oven temperature, cooking time will take much longer, but that might be ok if the surface doesn't burn. How much would reducing the temperature help with this problem?

Are there other techniques that could slow the cooking of the top surface of the cake, such as shielding from above with tin foil, or increasing the humidity of the oven with a dish of water?

You said that you're using deep pans to get the right shape for decorating. If you're using something deeper than the recipe calls for, you should expect to have trouble. It will take longer to bake through, while the top and bottom overcook, and if you've gone too far, the structure may not hold up as well during baking. You can probably get away with something 25-50% taller than the recipe is meant for, baking longer at a lower temperature, but in general, you should really try to use the correct size pan, and make multiple layers if you want something taller.

Wrong sized pans aside, reducing the temperature is definitely the best first thing to try. In pretty much all types of cooking, burning some parts before cooking others is a sign of too much heat. You should also check the temperature of your oven. Ovens thermostats can easily be significantly off. If you're having this problem with multiple recipes, it's plausible that yours is too hot. Depending on the source of your recipe, it's also possible that whoever wrote it was compensating for a too-cold oven.

Also, make sure that the cake is centered in the oven. The top of the oven is hotter, and too high a rack can definitely cause overbrowning on the top. Of course, if you lower it too much, you may overcook the bottom.

Shielding the top with foil is also very effective. If it's just that this is a particularly sensitive cake, I'd definitely try loosely covering with foil. Protecting the pie crusts is such a common version of this that you can buy pie shields, rings of metal to cover just the outside edge.

I wouldn't try to turn your oven into a steam oven for this; steaming will affect the texture of the surface of the cake.


Adding pasta to soup Is there any way to add pasta to soup without the pasta doubling in size and getting mushy in the fridge later.I've even tried putting uncooked pasta in with the same result.

First cook the soup. When it is ready get the amount you need and cook the pasta in there, then serve. You can add more pasta to the soup you put in the fridge when you reheat it.


Putting raisins (etc) in bread, but avoiding the outside? I make a simple bread dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic, and let it rest overnight.

In the morning, I want to put some chocolate morsels and raisins in the dough, and then bake it.

No problem but:

On this occasion I want none of the raisins (etc) to come through the surface, to the crust, of the bread.

(Think of it as a surprise raisin bread, if you will.)

Are there any tips or accepted techniques for this?

What I will probably do is: just pull the dough ball roughly apart - spread it apart, butterfly it - then spread the raisins over that flat surface; push it together again.  Of course this means there will only be rather a "layer in the middle" of raisins/chocolate.

I guess, one could roll out the dough ball quite flat, spread the raisins. Roll up.  That would distribute them pretty evenly (and leave a non-raisin-layer on the outside) - but - then you'd be messing with the dough, removing all the air from it I guess - right?

I suppose the ultimate solution would be: mix the raisins through completely (probably the night before, before mixing in water).  Separately, make some of the dough with no raisins.  In the morning, "coat" the raisin dough with a kind of thin skin of the non-raisin dough.  That seems wrong though, I don't know. And again you'd be rolling out the "no-raisin" part flat, I guess - no good right?

Again my question - is there any accepted technique for this, any way I don't know about, how it is done, how should I do it? How would you achieve it, if called to? Thanks!

Rolling it up with the stuff inside is not only a reasonable way to do this, it's a really common kind of bread. Try searching for "raisin swirl bread" - usually this means cinnamon-raisin swirl bread, with cinnamon sugar along with the raisins, but you don't have to do that part.

You do take air out while shaping it, but that's normal when you're making bread. You let it rise again after shaping.


Can I finish cooking a pork roast next day after partially cooking it I will be having 17 people for dinner, and I will serve a pork roast. Can I partially cook it, wait until it cools, wrap it and put it the refrigerator and  finish cooking it the next day?

This is an instance where sous vide really works well.
You can pre-cook your pork roast to 140 for 4 to 6 hours in the sous vide the day before.  Chill in an ice bath (still in the bag that you cook it in) to bring it down to safe temperature quickly, and then into the fridge.
the next day you can sear it in a number of different ways (broiler, on the grill, in cast iron, either whole or cut into chops and sear individually), and that should be plenty of heat to re-heat it nicely.


Cooking different meats on George Foreman grill If I cook some chicken breasts on a George Foreman Grill, can I cook another type of meat straight after it? Or do I need to clean the grill inbetween each?

I've been doing the latter since I bought once recently as I didn't want to take any chances, but it is proving a lot of hassle.

You should be OK as long as the grill stays hot.

IT is a bit like if you would pan fry some chicken and after that add a steak to the pan.


Is it possible to gain more body mass from a food than the mass of the food itself? Is there a some sort of food with such energy in it, that eating e.g. 100 grams of it will produce an increment of body mass greater than 100 grams?

Short answer - no.  Due to Conservation of Mass, your body cannot gain more grams of mass than it consumes.

Long answer - maybe.  Eating certain foods could cause you to retain more water, more unprocessed waste in your colon, etc.  However, if you account for all the mass from all sources, then it must always balance out.


How Long Can I Keep Uncooked Sushi Rice? I only prepare sushi rice a few times a year, so it takes me a while to go through even the smallest of bags.  How long can I keep the bag for before it "goes bad"?

Keep it airtight in a cool, dark place and it should remain good infefinitely.  You'll certainly be fine 1-2 years.