Converting a recipe from 6qt Instant Pot to 8qt I have an 8qt Instant Pot. Most of the recipes online are for 6qt Instant Pots. I find that since my 8qt takes a lot longer to come to pressure (about 18 minutes, depending on the amount of liquid inside the pot) than the 6qt ones do, my food often ends up getting overcooked if I follow the instructions exactly.

Is this normal? How should I convert recipes from 6qt to 8qt?

The answer is you may have to experiment.

I believe the problem lies in the fact that more water takes longer to reach temperature, given the same burner arrangement.  This means whatever you have inside the pot is exposed to the lower grade heat for a longer period and by the time you reach full pressure, the food may already be over cooked.  I have not tried this myself but consider using preheated water at the beginning in order to shorten the overall cook time.


What can I use instead of butter for Jamie Oliver's steak recipe? Jamie Oliver had a steak recipe that was fairly simple:

Season (salt/pepper/olive oil)
Dry pan (no oil in the pan) on heat
Fry a minute+ on each side, flip several times
When browned, rub the outside with a clove of garlic, some rosemary, and a bit of butter and keep grilling on the pan
Rest, collect the juices, and use as sauce over the steak.

If I don't want to use the butter (or any dairy product) for the above step, what else can I use in that rubbing step instead of the butter? What exactly does the butter rubbing do,  what effect would there be if I skip that alltogether, and what can I do to preserve the effect?

He mentioned that you can add butter to the resting juices to sweeten them, but didn't explain what rubbing when grilling does.

The butter is there for flavor, mouth feel, and to add some body to the sauce you make. I'd replace the butter with.... nothing at all. Many of the flavor compounds in garlic and rosemary are fat soluble and fat is not exactly in short supply when it comes to steak, so you should be able to run those on directly and still get some flavor. Alternatively you could steep some olive oil with the garlic and rosemary and brush a bit on, but I would just simmer them in the juices for a minute instead and then spoon them on the cooked steak.

I have a few comment's on Jamie's recipe:

Do not use olive oil when frying steak, it has too low a smoke point and may turn bitter. Use vegetable oil (canola/rapeseed, corn, peanut, sunflower, safflower, or blend) instead.
Do not pepper the steak before frying as pepper will burn and turn bitter. Add fresh pepper just after you remove it from the pan to rest. If you want a pepper flavor inside the steak use a marinade. Salting before is fine
The oil is not a seasoning, that's the salt and pepper. The oil's purpose is to help conduct the heat from the pan to the steak until the steak's juices come out
There flip repeatedly method works but it isn't the only way to do it, I prefer to flip once after about 65% of the cooking time has elapsed. Doing a 65-35 rather than a 50-50 flip will make your steak evenly pink in the middle and means you can turn your attention to other things. I also think you get a better sear when using a pan. I use the 1 minute flip over charcoal though as it keeps the steak from getting too crispy


Are there desserts which use whole eggs (not mixing them in)? It is my opinion that all savory dishes can be improved by putting a fried egg on top, and I've yet to find an exception.

However, the idea of doing that to a sweet dish seems totally foul.

Considering that eggs are ingredients in many desserts, like cake batters, curds, and meringues, why would that be? It's not just that they're not sweetened, because you can use, for example, unsweetened cream cheese in both a sweet pastry or a savory one.

Am I wrong in my premise? Are there sweet dishes with eggs that are used without mixing them into the other ingredients?

It's a cake rather than a dessert (always a tricky distinction) and traditionally uses the unbroken yolk rather than the whole egg, at but I offer you the Chinese moon cake. The egg isn't universal; neither is the cake being sweet. You certainly get sweet ones with egg.

Apart from being a (rather poor) example, the Mooncake hints at something else: the sweet/savoury-main course /dessert distinction isn't universal. In fact it has European roots but has spread widely.

Eggs also have small but non-negligible amounts of salt and glutamate, flavours we associate with savoury foods, especially together.


Mayonnaise substitute in cake batter My wife's chicken cake recipe calls for mayonnaise as one of the batter ingredients. In my opinion, mayonnaise is completely unsuitable for high-temperature processing (as in baking), but I was unable to come up with a substitute for it.

So, my question is, what can we put into cake batter instead of mayonnaise?

Update:

I think mayonnaise is unsuitable for baking because it is an emulsion which separates into its ingredients when heated, emulsifying agents used in a commercial mayo are not particularly healthy, and mayonnaise does not taste any good when it is broken into its components.

The components of the batter are: 6 table spoons of flour, 3 eggs, 200gram mayo, 200gram sour cream.

The components of the filling are: chopped prepared chicken meat, chopped sauteed onions, boiled eggs, etc.

Many cake batters call for mayonnaise. It makes for moister cakes. Using mayonnaise instead of its constituent ingredients adds convenience as well as extra emulsifiers. It is true that mayonnaise doesn't handle high heat on its own but it doesn't have to. It is part of a batter that will set.

If you really don't trust the recipe- the mayonnaise can be replaced with egg yolks that have oil whipped into them to form an emulsion. You can add a little vinegar for flavor. :)


Can I use a rice cooker with flavored rice boxes? Can I use a rice cooker to prepare something like Rice-A-Roni's Four Cheese rice?  Or what about the Uncle Ben rice boxes?  If not, is there a way to get something that tastes similar without using the boxes?

It is possible to use a rice cooker to prepare rice from boxes but it is not optimal. These box rices typically call for the mixture to be first browned in butter before adding water and flavoring because it is not all rice. There are bits of pasta in the mixture too. The rice cooker is able to cook it but the result probably will not be as good.

It is very possible to flavor white rice with seasoning. I often like to flavor my rice if I plan on making fried rice or if I am lazy and don't feel like making anything but rice. If you want to imitate a specific flavor, you need to first find out exactly what that flavour is and put that seasoning in the water that cook the rice. Often though there might be some flavors that can't be added until afterwards. Such as the cheese flavored rice you mentioned. Cheese and rice cookers don't mix. You would make the rice then later add a cheese sauce that you made.

Please note that one main difference that might occur is slight difference in moisture content. From the box rice I've made on the stove in the past, I know it is a bit more "wet" than rice made from a rice cooker. In my answer here, I explained how a rice cooker works. Essentially it will continue to cook until all the water has boiled away.


Sauté meat then vegatables, or vegetables then meat? Most Joy of Cooking recipes call for browning of meat, then removing the meat, and sautéing vegetables, until they're soft, though occasionally it's the reverse.

Does it make a difference? If so, what is it? What is the preferred order for a "new" recipe?

Generally, browning meat is done at high heat, with a preheated pan well over 400°F, and will leave a bunch of tasty brown stuff (fond) stuck to the bottom of the pan. Vegetables contain a lot of water, which will dissolve the fond off the bottom of the pan, bringing its flavor in to the dish.

If you did it in the other order, you'd have maybe have some fond from the vegetables (depends on how long you cook them and how hot), which would burn as you brought them pan to temperature to brown meat.


How can I get my cream pie to set? I have made a coconut cream pie and after being in the fridge overnight, it did not set up. Is there anything I can do now to get it to firm up? The coconut flakes are already in it, so I don't think I can remove the filling to bring it to a boil again.

I used 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk and 1 1/2 cups half and half, with 1/3 cup corn starch, 2 eggs and sugar. I cooked it in the microwave, stirring every 40 seconds or so for about 6 minutes total, until there were bubbles on the top of the filling.

Any ideas on how to firm up this pie, so it can actually be cut into pieces?

There are thickening agents you can use without reheating. They won't give you the texture you expect from a starch-thickened pie, but you will be able to cut it. Gelatine is probably your best bet. Others, like xanthan, will make it gooey, but it will still flow a little after being cut.

By the way, having flakes in it is not a problem for cooking it again. If you mean that you put them on top, you can just stir them in for the reheating. Won't look that good, but will be firm.

When making cream pie filling, always do it on the stove and make sure that you really brought it to a boil. Egg yolks contain an enzyme which liquidifies starch. The enzyme is deactivated at above 90°C. If you don't heat a mixture with eggs and starch (and flour) enough, it will turn into a soup after a day.


Improve color of banana jam? One of my favorite uses for overripe bananas is to make a simple jam from them. I combine the bananas with a bit of water in a large pot, adding a splash of molasses, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Cooking it down until thick and caramelized, the resulting jam is surprisingly sweet and much more flavorful than you'd expect.

The problem is that the color. It is, shall we say, a bit too biological. This problem is only made worse if one adds other mild-tasting fruits, like apples or green figs.

It's easy enough to fix this by dramatically changing the taste--by adding berries, say, or lots more molasses. But without actually turning this food into something else, is there a way that I can make it much darker or much lighter without adding artificial chemicals to my jam?

A splash of lemon juice mixed in the banana right off the bat can fix that colour at the beginning, but the molasses will turn it brown afterwards...

So if you want it lighter in colour, you'll need to substitute the molasses... Can you use white sugar and throw in a bit of rum in the end ?

If you must keep the molasses then just go for the darker route... Perhaps let the banana oxidize as much as possible before mixing ?


How can you prevent lettuce from becoming bitter? I've been buying good lettuce recently and have been storing them in the fridge in a water bath. This way the lettuce stays in good shape and I prepare some salads. After about a week, however, the lettuce becomes inedible because of the bitter taste.

Do you know why this happens or any way to prevent the bitterness?

I think the key here is that you've been buying oversized lettuces. Bitterness of lettuce plants is not something under your control. When the lettuce matures (on the plant), it eventually starts flowering (called "bolting") as a way to perpetuate its genes. Once this sets in, the leaves turn bitter due to the production of certain chemicals, and acts as a defense mechanism against insects.

The process of bolting is irreversible and if it has commenced in the plant, it will continue on in the cut lettuce head (perhaps at a diminished rate). Big lettuce heads are invariably more mature than the smaller ones, which is why you experience a higher occurrence of them turning bitter. You could try the other suggestions here, but I cannot say for/against any of them as I haven't heard of any of them being used to control bitterness.

My advice would be to buy small to medium sized lettuces. Young leaves are tender and less likely to turn bitter. One might be tempted to buy the biggest lettuce on the shelf so as to "maximize" the leaves/dollar, but in the end, you have to decide whether the bitterness is really worth it.


How can I stop puddles of water forming on the shelves of my new refrigerator? How can I prevent puddles of water forming on the shelves of my new refrigerator.

Simply saying what MaxW said already: Make sure the fridge doors seal. When freezer doors don't seal you get that frost we all loved as kids but when the fridge door does not seal, you get little puddles forming around/under all your pots and containers. If this is the case, you can use the following suggestion from popularmechanics.com:

"This can be the result of a leaking door gasket. The gasket allows the cold air to constantly seep out, making the refrigerator run overtime and produce extra chill in the freezer. Check the gasket by placing a high-power flashlight or emergency battery-powered light unit in the freezer with the beam pointed at the door. Turn the light off in the kitchen and check around the perimeter of the door. If there is any light leakage, you'll need to replace the gasket, which can be purchased directly from the manufacturer or from large-appliance retailers."


How should I prepare Risotto I've been watching a lot of Hells Kitchen, and one of the signature dishes that Chef Ramsay has the chefs prepare is Risotto.  This seems like a simple enough dish but often times the seasoned chefs on the show get it wrong.  I'd like to try making this dish at home, so what is the technique I should use to ensure a tasty final result?

One of my favorite recipes is Giada De Laurentis' Wild Mushroom with Peas. It's rather simple, but amazingly delicious.

The most common flubs when making a risotto are overcooking or dumping in all the liquid at once. I always use the wooden spoon test to determine when the risotto is finished.

First, stir often!

Periodically drag your spoon down the center of the pan as to part the risotto. If the path the spoon makes closes quickly then it isn't finished yet. If the part stays open, then you've overcooked it. Ideally it slowly oozes back together.

You're looking for two important things in a perfect risotto:

Creamy

The finished risotto should be creamy, not runny, and not gummy. The spoon test takes care of this.

Tender

The rice grains should be tender, not crunchy, and not mushy. You should taste frequently as you approach the end of the cooking time. You want the grains slightly al dente. You should know that you have rice in your mouth and not just a good tasting mystery-paste.


How to make soft popsicles Frozen juice or frozen punch freeze up as a solid block of ice.  I want them to be more like a sorbet or gelato, though still solid enough to hold the shape.

How might I make them softer?  Either aerated, or polycrystalline without having to "do anything" while it's in the freezer?

One thought is to somehow make it more syrupy so it will hold air long enough to stay there while freezing. Gelatin comes to mind, but I wonder if something better is advised?

The main factors are a gelling agent, alcohol, sugar and air/stirring.

Sugars may decrease the freezig point - add enough sugar and your ice remains soft-ish. Unfortunately this can mean your ice gets too sweet. So instead of using plain sugar, add some "inverted sugar": glucose syrup (aka corn syrup), which stays runny and doesn't crystalize.
You could even take it up a notch and use trehalose, which is basically two linked glucose molecules. It is used in ice-cream making to inhibit the formation of ice crystals. It tastes also less sweet than regular sugar, allowing for less sweet ice cream. Find an award-winning sample recipe here (further down). And if you really must have some hard science, a study on the use of trehalose in ice cream.
Alcohol has a low freezing point. But apart from the question whether you want to use it at all, you should note that you need a certain amount of ethanol to have a noticeable effect - high-proof alcohol and yes, you will taste it.
Glycerine (a sugar alcohol) helps keep ice cream soft.
Likewise the addition of gelling agents may inhibit the formation of ice crystals - locust bean gum is often used to replace eggs in custard-based ice cream and agar agar and pectin may serve a simmilar purpose.
And finally you can mechanically avoid / hinder the formation of large ice crystals by churning your juice first and freezing the slush instead of pouring the juice straight in the molds. The ice will still be rather hard, but not as much of a "solid icicle", especially if combined with one of the additives above.


Looking for a Blue Ingredient Blue food is notoriously hard to find, but I'm working on a dish that basically resembles a lighthouse, and I need something blue to act as the water. Mustn't be wet. The dish is sort of breakfasty (egg, bacon, mushroom & so on). Any ideas? I've heard you can make cabbage turn blue, but I don't know how. If I can't get blue I might have to go with green (in the form of some micro-herbs.)

Any suggestions for something that would fit?

Blue potatoes dry enough?  Those could certainly fit with breakfast. (hash browns, home fries, etc)  Blue corn may also work in a corn pancake.


How dangerous is it to bake food with plastic? I just baked a spiral ham for an hour.  There was a little piece of plastic that I was supposed to 'remove before cooking', but I didn't notice it.

After an hour, the ham was baked and the plastic seems to be unburned.  This is possibly because the plastic was under the basting liquid and not exposed to air.  The plastic also does not seem to have melted.  It feels hard to the touch.  The surface is a little slippery and smells like ham.

Is my ham safe to eat?

I posted this question in a hurry (because as you can imagine), there was a lot of anxiety concerning whether it was safe to have dinner or not.  It turns out that this ham is not safe; I will quote the USDA:

The plastic bone guard covering the exposed bone is used to keep the
bone from breaking the outer wrap. If left on the meat during cooking,
a 325 or 350 °F oven temperature may not melt the plastic but still
give off an abnormal chemical odor or taste. Cutting away the meat
around the exposed area will not necessarily solve this potential food
safety problem because the penetration of the chemical into the meat
will be unknown. If meat is cooked in a closed container, the
chemicals may penetrate the entire piece of meat. USDA advises not to
eat the ham; discard it.

Source: Hock Locks and Other Accoutrements (USDA)
Quite a disappointment unfortunately.


Why do you add sugar last when boiling soups? When I read recipes involving boiling a soup/dessert and adding sugar, they often say to add the sugar towards the end of the boiling.  Why is that?  Are there consequences of adding sugar early?

To add onto Walter's answer, adding sugar towards the end for taste when boiling ensures that the sugar dissolves faster so that the results of your addition are more accurate and immediate.

If you added the sugar before boiling, you run the risk of adding too much sugar because you tasted it before all the sugar dissolved and you added more as a result.


Fishhouse Punch: Peach Brandy vs Schnapps The basic recipe for fish-house punch involves cognac, dark rum, peach brandy, sugar, and lemon. I have peach schnapps, which I rather like. However, this blend is one of the few that I find palatable with this much alcohol in it; much like Long Island Iced Tea, it tastes a lot less boozy than it is. If I substitute peach schnapps for peach brandy, will it throw off the balance of the drink? Or possibly add any unwanted flavors?

ETA: When I went to the store, I discovered Paramount brand "Peach-flavored Brandy". The back of the bottle suggests using it in a Fuzzy Naval, which is one of the drinks I usually make with Peach Schnapps. I kind of wonder if it's just got artificial flavors rather than being distilled from peaches? It's a product of Cleveland, which is near where I live, so I don't know how widely available that brand is.

What is peach brandy? True peach brandy is really hard to find (and tends to be really expensive). It's brandy distilled from fermented peaches. (It may be unaged - eau de vie - or it may be aged in barrels like regular grape brandy.) Confusingly I think some producers call their schnapps "brandy" and vice-versa.

Anyway, if you substitute peach schnapps for this, your drink may be too sweet - peach schnapps (in my admittedly rather limited experience) tend to be neutral alcohol with added sugar and peach flavoring. It's up to you, though - try it and see. You may just want to add less sugar if you do this.

(If you can't find real peach brandy, it may be interesting to substitute slivovitz - Eastern European plum brandy, which may be aged or not, or some other palinka. It's usually fairly cheap as well.)


Can most sour fruits be jelled by cooking with sugar? I make jam all the time, using pectin.  But the recipes only list a few dozen common fruits.

Recently, I wanted to make crabapple jam or jelly, and I found a recipe that essentially had me cook the whole fruit in water, juice it, add about an equal amount of sugar to the juice, and cook it to slightly above boiling (220 F).

I have some juiced oregon grape, and I want to make it a jelly, and I've found a page that sounds like it's the same idea as the crabapples: about equal amounts juice and sugar, boil to a jell stage.

So, can I do that with most sour fruits?  I guess the question is essentially, do most sour fruits have enough natural pectin that they will jell without adding pectin?  Is there any danger in experimenting?  Or do I need to stick with normal fruits or at least existing recipes?

Fruits that are high in pectin are not necessarily sour and sour fruits are not necessarily high in pectin. However, pectin is typically found in high concentrations in firm fleshed fruit such as apples and in the skins of citrus. Unripe fruit has even more than the ripe. So- I can see why you would come to that conclusion.

It is easy enough to find charts of pectin levels in various fruits.

As you may notice many of these charts list not only fruits high in pectin but those high in acid. This is because acid is necessary to make pectin gel as it removes a charge on the pectin molecules that prevents them from tangling with each other. Low acid fruits, even if they are high in pectin, need extra acid for this reason.

If you are feeling all scientific about it, you can test pectin levels yourself.

There is no danger in experimenting. At least no danger of illness. You might end up with grainy jam if the pectin is too high or syrup if it is too low but it will all taste great.


What is the difference between "water/drink enhancers" and cordial? I was doing a bit of internet browsing today, and I came across this image (linked rather than embedded because of copyright), which shows a bottle of hand disinfectant along with three bottles labelled as "drink enhancer" or "liquid water enhancer".
This got me wondering: down here in Australia, we call a concentrated liquid that is added to water for flavoring "cordial", and it's quite popular with about 1 in 4 Australians drinking it at least once per month. Is there a significant difference between cordial and these drink enhancers, or is "drink enhancer" or "water enhancer" simply what Americans call cordial? Are there any differences in the food labeling regulations for them between America and Australia?

They wouldn't use the name "cordial" because it has a different meaning in the US.  Over here, "cordial" is some sort of flavored alcohol, usually with a sort of connotation of something that rich people drink after dinner or as something refreshing that some rich people on a southern plantation might drink.  (so it's not only alcoholic, it's classist/elitist, too)
They wouldn't use the term "squash", either, as to most Americans, that's a vegetable or maybe a sport that rich people play.
...
I'm not aware of any specific food labeling requirement, but the term "water enhancer" is fairly well known to Americans who go camping, drink well water, or disaster preppers.  It's used as catch-all term for anything to be added to water to improve its flavor.
So it would include powdered drink mixes such as Tang and Kool-Aid, which is why I would assume they specified that it was a "liquid water enhancer" to distinguish themselves from those other things.
But in the past few years, there have been a few companies selling tiny little squirt bottles of flavorings for bottled water.  (the first one that I remember seeing was Mio)  They're not like liquid drink mix concentrates like what you're describing, as they're typically just a few drops to flavor a bottle (500mL) of water instead of something that's diluted around 1:5, like you would for a flavored heavy syrup.
So basically, not only does 'cordial' not mean the same thing in the US as it does in Australia, but what you're dealing with isn't exactly the same as a 'cordial' from Australia, either.


What is the name of this machine and what is it used for? I am looking to identify the below machine from a video I watched on youtube.

I suspect it is used somehow in the process of making ice cream.

I was looking in the pasteurizing category without any success.

Any idea?

Thank you!!

It looks like it's just a commercial version of the machine we normally call an ice cream maker.

Even some of the home machines have a similar armature structure to hold the motor over the mixing container:

Its function is to stir the mixture as it freezes to aerate it and prevent large ice crystals from forming.


What is the point of a baking rack? I notice when I bake cookies (usually chocolate chip or peanut butter) the recipe often says "place on baking rack to cool". Because I don't have one, I just place them on a plate after removing them from the pan. It doesn't seem to do any harm. What is the point of buying this special piece of equipment?

A cooling rack serves two primary purposes.

First, it allows the cookies (or other baked good) to cool faster by letting air circulate completely around the cookie.

Second, it prevents the steam escaping from the cookies from soaking the bottoms, and other cookies placed on top.


Soon-to-be cultured milk with fresh fruit safe for consumption? Recently my cousin started to make yogurt. She told me that she puts diced, fresh fruit (strawberries, peaches) into the inoculated milk (pasteurized or sterilized, I don't know. 1) and then let this set in the oven at ~50°C for some hours. After this, she puts the yogurt into the fridge. She makes enough yogurt for ten days; on the tenth day she takes the last yogurt portion and makes some new.

At the first thought I couldn't imagine that fresh fruits stay safe for ten days (I wouldn't eat cut fruits that stayed for ten days in the fridge!). But after some pondering I wondered if it's safe after all because the milk and the fruits are going to be cultured and undesired bacteria are going to be eliminated. I think freshly diced fruit only contain bacteria on the surface.

1 I saw a really big jug of milk. She lives in Georgia, US. I don't know what's the common treatment of milk there.

Not only are "friendly" bacteria being cultured, those bacteria make an acidic environment which is hostile to "bad" bacteria.

Myself, I make plain yogurt and mix things into it at the time of eating, but things mixed in from the start essentially become "yogurt-pickled" and should be fine for a reasonable period under refrigeration. A standard part of preparing to culture yogurt is a high-heat treatment (scalding) of the milk, both to kill off unwanted bacteria and to cause structural changes in the milk proteins that are beneficial to forming the yogurt curd.


How do I scoop ice cream into spherical scoops every time? During the coming summer months, I for once want to have a couple of home-made ice cream sundaes with proper spherical scoops of the type you get at an ice saloon or restaurant. The problem is that I can't get my scoops to be anywhere near spherical. I tend to get large curls, sometimes toroids if I'm lucky, flat chunks of ice cream if I'm unlucky, plus the ice cream that remains in the container gets all sorts of crevasses and is harder to scoop the time after. Because I can't get the scoops spherical enough, I tend to eat more ice cream than I should, the toppings are harder to add and the overall eating experience isn't as fun.

I don't know if it's related to the brand of ice cream I buy, the size of the container, the scooping method, the type of spoon or even how I store the ice container in the freezer. What is the trick to getting properly spherical scoops of ice cream?

The first step on the way to “pretty” scoops is the right texture of your material. As you noticed, with ice cream straight out of the freezer, the results are somewhat random, your technique probably involves a lot of hard work and you are basically “prying lose” your servings. If you’d ask your local ice cream shop about the temperature of their product, you’d notice that their display cases are usually set to something between -7 C and -11 C (rarely colder), depending a bit on their recipes. Your home freezer is probably set to at least -18 C, likely lower. At -24 C, your ice “cream” is more likely an ice “brick” - perfectly fine for long-term storage, but a disaster for scooping.

So how do you get to the desired temperature range? Not on the counter, please. The outside melts when the middle is still solid. And you get the “off” or “rubbery” texture when you refreeze molten ice cream. Instead, put the container into your fridge until it’s soft enough, but not thawed. The timing depends on the temperature settings of your fridge, the size of your container and the brand of ice cream - you’ll have to experiment a bit. I’d probably check after twenty to thirty minutes. (Sometimes a manufacturer will add a hint on the carton.) Once the texture is right, you can use your favorite tool to portion the ice cream, for spheres, I like the kind of scoop that you also use to portion cookie dough - the kind where you push a the handle and a little wire-thingy scrapes the bowl of the scoop. If you want to measure, that’s probably the easiest model.

A few remarks on food safety:

For safe storage, you need temperatures below -18 C. The display cases at the ice cream shop are like the cases at a bakery - to keep the product safe for “immediate” consumption. They will not have a batch sitting at that temperature for weeks. If a container isn’t sold after a reasonable time (I would have to research the exact values), it must be discarded.

Temporarily having the ice cream at higher temperatures is acceptable, but try to keep it as short as possible - when you are done with serving your ice cream, put it back in the freezer immediately. Don’t let your ice cream melt and re-freeze, especially repeatedly, parts of it may have been in the “danger zone” (above 4 C) for too long to be still safe.


When a recipe asks for 1 cup of sugar, should I assume powdered or tiny crystals form? When a recipe asks (without clearly specifying) for 1 cup of sugar, should I assume powdered or tiny crystals form?

"Sugar" without any other description refers to granulated sugar. Granulated means crystals somewhat larger than the crystals in caster sugar, which is another commonly used crystal sugar in the UK. In other countries these smaller crystals may also be called superfine sugar or baking sugar. You can generally use granulated or caster/baking/superfine sugar interchangeably, but the volumetric measurement (spoons or cups) will be slightly different since granulated sugar is coarser than caster sugar. You might find this Sugar Conversion Tool helpful.

If the recipe wants you to use the powdered form of sugar, it will specify powdered, confectioners or icing sugar, which are all the same thing.


Why did one pecan pie end up with a dark center after baking while the other pie came out perfect, same batter same cook time? I baked two pecan pies at the same time, used the exact same batter and everything, one pie came out perfect with a clear pecan batter center, the other pie however ended up with a dark colored center and I’m wondering what went wrong? Same recipe, just doubled it and cooked at same time,same length of time, so what happened?

As Ron Beyer alluded to in a comment, two pans on different oven racks can end up cooking very differently.

Remember, the heat comes from particular parts of the oven: for an electric oven generally top and bottom heading elements, and for a gas oven convection from the bottom.

Pans placed close to the bottom of the oven will get extra coming on the bottom and middle of the pan, due to the radiant heat. Pans placed close to the top of an electric oven will likewise get radiant heat from the top. If you have two pans on an electric oven, the top one will additionally shuttle the bottom one from radiant browning on the top.

When cooking on two racks simultaneously, it's a good idea to switch the pans during the cooking process.


Rice gets burnt and watery I am following the recipe of the rice I am making which is:

Add 2 cups of water and heat
Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of butter
Add 1 cup of rice then wait for 18 to 20 minutes and it should be ready to serve.

But the problems with this are:

The rice is always watery
It is flavorless
Some rice gets burnt and makes it really hard to clean the pan

Assuming plain (American) white rice on a stovetop:

(Generally, American rice does not need rinsing for these applications)

From your description, it sounds like you are going for Steamed Rice; for that, here's what you want to do:

Bring your water, salt and butter to a boil, then add your rice. Stir it until it comes back to a boil. As soon as it boils again, turn your heat way down. Keep stirring until the heat is low enough that you feel safe that you can cover the pot without it hard boiling again. Cover and keep on low to medium-low heat or a moderate simmer (preferably without peeking) for 20 minutes (15 minimum). It is the steam that plumps the rice, so don't lift the lid! It may take some tweaking depending upon your specific equipment, but try to be patient. You may find that you like a little less water and a bit more time. When you do peek (hopefully after at least 15-20 minutes have passed) look for the water to be gone and for little holes or "divots" to be formed on the surface of the rice. If you still have water, cover again and keep cooking without lifting the lid for at least 5 more minutes. When it looks done, turn off the heat but still don't stir, you're better off just letting it sit for another 5 minutes - re-covered and with the heat turned off, then stir/fluff it.

If you find that your rice isn't done after 20-25 minutes with the lid on, bring up the heat a bit, but be careful. If your heat is too high, your rice can burn on the bottom. Within reason, if it's just a bit too low, it'll just take longer.

The lid is really key here. Do you have a tight lid for the pan that you are using? If not, we can help you improvise.

A slightly different method using the same ingredients is the Pilaf Method shown here in a great video from the love of my life, Alton Brown. 20 Minute Pilaf See the rice just before he fluffs it with chopsticks? Those are the holes/divots I referred to above in the explanation of the steaming method. In case the link goes bad, here's a description of the video: Bring 3 cups of water to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, in a saucepan with a tight lid, melt and lightly brown 2 Tbs of butter over high heat. Add 2 cups of rice (regular long grain, basmati or jasmine recommended) and saute for a couple of minutes, add 1 tsp salt (Alton uses kosher). When the rice smells "nutty" add the boiling water all at once (careful, it will boil rather violently). Cover and turn heat to low. No peeking, cook on low for 15 minutes. Fluff with chopsticks or a fork. Cover again for 5 minutes, no heat.

Note that Alton's pilaf also requires a tight fitting lid. If your lid isn't tight, try using aluminum foil to get a tighter seal.

Finally: With very small variations, these two methods of cooking rice will work fine for just about any type of rice. Some rice, particularly some rice harvested outside of the US should be thoroughly rinsed first. Check your label if you can or revisit this question if you're not sure if your rice should be rinsed. If you use rinsed rice you may find that you want to use slightly less water for cooking than instructed here.

You're using a 2 to 1 ratio for steaming rice, that's fairly typical but you might like a bit less water, just don't go lower than 1.5 to 1.

Brown rice works fine for these methods too but will take longer and require slightly more water.

The steaming method, particularly if you wait to "fluff" will produce a stickier rice, better for chopsticks :) and better to accompany food that has a sauce you want the rice to soak up. I prefer steamed rice to go with stir-fries, for example.

The pilaf method, particularly with medium to long grained rice will produce more individual grains. Nice with steak or baked chicken, something that isn't sauced.


What's the best way to store lettuce in the refrigerator? What is the best way to store lettuce in the fridge?

Should I store it in an airtight container, or an open bag?
Should I wash and cut it first?
Should it be stored wet, or patted dry?

It depends on what type of lettuce it is -- part of the issue is that if the lettuce is touching plastic, it will rot quicker, so I wrap it in paper towels, then bag it (but not sealed), and keep it in my crisper.

For whole heads of lettuce (iceburg, butter, red leaf, etc), I just wrap the whole thing in dry paper towels, then shove it back into the bag from the grocery store or farmer's market.  I then pull off leaves as I need it, and re-wrap it.  It stores for well over a week this way.

For mescalin mixes, arugula, or other individual leaves, I'll wash them, dry them, then unroll enough paper towels to spread the leaves on, then roll up the whole thing, and bag the roll (again, not sealed), and keep it in my crisper.  I can probably get a week out of it this way.

(all times assume you're not buying from a store where it's been sitting on the shelf too long before you buy it; I get my lettuce when I can from the local farmer's market)

So, to answer the specific questions:

keep the bag open; you don't want moisture to condense inside the bag, as it'll make the lettuce rot faster.
I get better storage time with heads of letuce keeping them whole.  If you're going to be eating it all within 2-3 days, it probably doesn't matter, and for loose lettuce, I find it more convenient to wash it as I re-pack it anyway.
You never want to store lettuce wet ... you might be able to store it completely submerged, but damp will lead to it rotting faster.


Is it possible to make oat milk ice cream? If you think that normal ice cream is made from milk, is it possible to make it with oat milk?

I am not too sure if the lack of lactose in oat milk would restrict the stickiness or formation of the ice cream. Is it possible to make oat milk ice cream, or would it just turn into mush?

Evidently, there are some recipes for frozen confections based on oat milk.

For example, Dia Designs provides "5 vegan ice creams", most of which are based on oat milk.  They read more like sorbet recipes, due to the lack of fat in the mix.

If you were to try to create your own oat milk based frozen dessert recipes, I would suggest modifying a base sorbet recipe, as they are not as dependent on fat as ice cream recipes.  The additional starches in oat milk compared to water should add slightly more body and mouth feel, and make the product more opaque than a traditional sorbet.

If you are not opposed to egg whites, you might also consider using sherbert recipes as your base.

Note:  the lactose in dairy products does not have a huge effect on the chemistry of ice cream (it is a small part of the total sugar in the mix), although it could potentially help inhibit sugar crystal formation somewhat (this is not usually an issue in frozen desserts).  If you want to replace its effect, a small amount of honey, maple syrup, or even corn syrup would be very similar.


Why is my garlic brown and slightly translucent? I have a whole garlic where almost all cloves are slightly brown, a bit translucent and soft. This is a photo of one of the cloves:

The cloves are also a bit sticky when peeled. It reminds me a bit of how pickled garlic looks like:

These are not brown spots, so it doesn't seem bruised. Tastewise the garlic seems less strong than regular, light yellow garlic.

Does anybody know how these cloves ended up like this?

This is a defect known as "waxy breakdown" or "waxy decomposition", and is caused by growing or storing the garlic under too hot conditions.

See http://livegpath.cals.cornell.edu/gallery/garlic/waxy-breakdown-on-garlic/, which also mentions that anaerobic storage conditions are also considered a possible cause or contributing factor by scientists.


Adding Instant Yeast to dry bread mix for later use I am considering selling my bread mixes online to serve customers outside of my bakery's region.

I will be vacuum packing the flour mix and sending them via post but to remove an extra step for our clients, I would like to know if there is any harm in adding the instant yeast amount to the flour mix itself. I don't have experience with such a scenario and am curious to know what the consensus is on this.

Thank you,
Chris

Active dry yeast will lose quality quickly once it is opened.

When you portion the yeast into your flour it will be exposed to oxygen and moisture from the air and flour. Even in vacuuming out the air there will still be some moisture in the flour. Some of the yeast will come out of dormancy and will consume their adjacent food and die.

How much yeast you lose will be variable- probably dependent on how fast you work, how well your vacuum sealer works, the ambient humidity that day, how long and at what temperature the mix is stored before use, etc.

There are plenty of anecdotes of regular people and even pastry chefs leaving yeast at room temperature for a few days with no loss of quality. It is hard to find scientifically observed shelf life numbers because the recommendation is to refrigerate or freeze yeast immediately upon opening. I suspect that it will be hard to find a definitive answer that fits your specific use case.

If you can portion your yeast in an environment free of moisture or air, if your customers will be using your mixes within a few days, or if the mixes will be refrigerated or frozen you should be fine. Otherwise your mixes will sometimes fail to rise.


Le Creuset vs. Lodge Enamel My wife and I both love to cook and I'm looking to buy a nice, 6 qt, enameled dutch oven.

Le Creuset is the first that comes to mind, but I've been doing some research and have since learned that the Lodge Enamel product line often comes up as a close competitor in quality (not aesthetics).

Would you guys recommend purchasing a Lodge enamel dutch oven?

There is a good answer to a similar question, here
What to look for when choosing a dutch oven?
but since I had already written my answer, I'll leave it.

It depends on why you are buying it.  There are several factors that go into picking any Dutch oven.

Weight/thermal mass.  The ability of the oven to retain, and release heat evenly is determined by its thermal  mass, which is why they are made of  cast iron and very heavy.  Cooking   quality for both with be comparable. Both are VERY heavy.  There are other brands that work...there is a Mario Batali Dutch oven that has gotten good reviews, and I even have a Tramontina that I bought in a grocery store that is very well made and works well.

Lid fit.  The lid has to be a good fit.  If it is loose, or warped, when you are doing a braise the liquid will escape and your braise becomes a dehydrate or a burn.  This is where "cheap" brands fail.  However, either of these brands will do you well.

Thickness/evenness of the finish.  This is, in my opinion, more aesthetic and long term care based, but if you are going to buy enameled, make sure you get a decent finish.  There are some that look more like the enamel has been painted on.  This is mostly your call.  The problem with enamel finishes is that you have the chance of cracking or chipping it, and once that's done, there is no cost effective way to fix it.  But the enamel affects the cooking least of all.  I cook most things in my Lodge cast iron (no enamel) dutch oven, and while it affects the color of some dishes, there is the additional iron that I get in my diet...no Geritol ™ for me.

Cost.  You can compare cost, but this will potentially be the biggest variable.  It's why I own the Tramontina.

Status.  This is a non-factor for me, but if you take dishes to your gated community potluck, the Le Creuset has more status.  It is, after all, French.

Both are good brands, both will allow/help you to cook good food.  You have to determine what the cost/status difference is between them, and how important that is.  If both cost the same, I would probably go with the Le Creuset.  Since they rarely do, I have more Lodge than Le Creuset in my kitchen.


Does poking steaks and other meats cause flavor loss? I was barbecuing, during which I was testing my steak for give using the tips of my thongs. But I didn't pierce the meat or jab too hard. A friend said that I'm ruining the steak and that it causes flavor and juice losses. Is this the case?

I've read on the Food Lab that testing meat this way doesn't cause juice loss. But it didn't mention flavor loss. I asked my friend how it alters the flavor and he mentioned that it shifts the juice in the steak, causes it to bruise, and gives it a "dead taste." I looked on here and didn't see a question that addresses this. Also, I looked online and mostly it was about moisture loss in the meat. My instinct is there is nothing wrong by prodding the meat.  I mean butchers smash cube steak with tenderizers. But just in case, am I altering the flavor of my steaks?

This is totally fine. Meat gets poked and prodded all the time, whether to test it, to pick it up with tongs, or sticking a fork in it to cut. Meat just is not that fragile.

Things like smashing with a tenderizer are much more violent and do affect the texture (that's kind of the point), so that's not a great comparison. But this is a really minor thing.


Can the bacon in homemade "Bacon Salt" be made shelf stable? After success making several fancy salts including Sriracha, smoked, and green chili I've decided to try to move in to stranger and tastier territories.  As such I want to make a bacon salt. The commercial products don't use real bacon (or at least the ones I've seen) and all the do-it-yourself recipes claim it not to be shelf stable.

My hope was that cooking the bacon crisp would remove a majority of the moisture, preserving something akin to jerky. Once cooked it would be pulverized and adding have a large amount of kosher salt added to it, many times that than the weight of bacon used. I would hope that these preservation techniques being used two-fold would help make said meat candy shelf-stable.

However I worry that there is risk of some of the greases in the pulverized bacon going rancid. Is there anything I can do short of keeping it in the fridge or heat preserving the entire concoction, or is my plan likely to work?

Remember that the whole reason we cure bacon is to make it shelf stable over time, a process developed before refrigeration was as it is today.  Now we do it more for taste, but the salt and curing process make bacon pretty shelf stable.  If you are cooking the bacon as well, before you put it in the salt, I don't see any reason not to leave the bacon salt on the counter.

I'd try leaving it on the shelf until you noticed any issues.  But I'm willing to live a little more dangerously than some others.  :)


Make homemade seitan taste like commercial There are some wonderful brands of commercial seitan. One that I particularly love it Ray's Wheat Meat, which has the consistency of pulled chicken and a savory, bready flavor. Almost all homemade seitan that I've had or made has an off-note that is completely absent in the best commercial seitans. It's hard to describe this off note--sort of a chemical harshness that arises in the back of the mouth. This note can also be detected in some commercial seitan products, such as Field Roast sausages, although it is much weaker than in the homemade versions.

When I make seitan, I start with just vital wheat gluten and water. I knead them together for several minutes, let it rest for 20-30 minutes, and then simmer in water before preparing in other ways. The seitan looks good and often has a wonderful texture, but I just hate that flavor that looms up. I have tried adding kombu, dulce, soy sauce, nutritional yeast flakes, parmesan--no dice.

As a lower priority, how does one make seitan with the consistency of pulled chicken? Basically, how do I make Ray's Wheat Meat without buying it?

PS: I did see the one other post about "horrible" seitan, but it doesn't really address this flavor issue.

I have never cooked with seitan, but found your question very interesting. The below  excerpt from VeganFuel , includes a letter from the President and Founder of Fresh Tofu, Inc, a distributor of Ray's Seitan:

  We asked if their seitan is made in house, as it is consistently the best seitan we’ve had. We thought we may get some secrets for making our own as tasty. To our surprise, they don’t make it. They get it from Fresh Tofu Inc., who distubutes Ray’s brand seitan to a number of restaurants including Candle Cafe and others. If you’re in NYC, you can find Ray’s at Lifethyme on 6th ave. Anyway, I contacted Fresh Tofu and their Pres/Founder Gary was more than willing to give me some tips on making our seitan more kick-ass. He said it’s all about how much starch you rinse out after it is in dough form- this also means using high gluten flour as oppose to my beloved vital wheat gluten. Here is his email reply for all of us nerds:

  Hi,

  Use a high gluten flour. King Arthur is 1 brand. Mix the flour and water and knead to make a dough. Let rest for 10 minutes, keep it covered in water. Then rinse with luke warm water until it looks stringy and the water is getting clear that rinses out. This is the point that you need to decide how much starch to rinse out, which will effect the texture. Let it rest a bit, then boil in broth stirring so it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pot. When it floats and is cooked through it’s done.
  Learn from your errors and improve the next time.
  Blossom and Candle are very good at cooking with seitan, that’s why it tastes better. Candle has a cookbook that might help.
  I hope this helps.

  Gary


What can be done with bitter carrots? I've got a bunch of two week old carrots (kept in the fridge), peeled, and they tasted bitter (raw).

Is it normal that carrots turn bitter?

Is there a way to prevent it from happening?

Will the taste improve after cooking? (I'll cook and taste anyway)

I've looked at this question, but the peel is said to be bitter, while these are peeled already.

To decrease the bitterness, bring out the sweetness in the carrots by cooking for longer. The best technique I've found to do this with carrots is frying and steaming them at a low temperature.

Make glazed carrots: per 200g of carrot, peel, cut into ~2cm thick diagonal cuts and add 40g butter, a half teaspoon of sugar and season with salt and black pepper. In a large lidded pan over a low heat, spread the carrots out in a single layer, add the lid and cook for 25-35 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally. Push the cooking time as long as you can without letting the carrots become overly soft. This should give deliciously sweet fragrant carrot.

Another thing to keep in mind is that salt is better than sugar to reduce bitterness so add as much as you can without oversalting the carrots.


What are these small long narrow yellow things? In a food market, on the street, I bought a Masala Dosa, and it had some small yellow narrow long things in it that were delicious. I snapped a picture:

Any ideas what they are?

They are fried chickpea noodles called "sev".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sev_(food)

Usually they are added to street food snacks such as bhel puri and pani puri, for example see what a nice look they add to this panipuri
http://food4yourmood.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/pani-puri.jpg

I usually buy them in Indian grocery stores, though I would think it's also possible to dry roast wheat vermicelli as a substitute.


Telling if small pieces of meat are cooked - blind or colour blind chef When I am cooking small pieces of meat (so a meat thermometer is not an appropriate tool - I'm thinking of things like shredded chicken being stir-fried, frying or grilling slices of bacon, or minced beef being browned in a pan) I tell whether it is cooked yet by the change in colour in the meat. Chicken goes pink -> creamy white, bacon goes pink -> a different shade of pink, beef goes reddish pink -> brown, etc.

How does a blind, or colour-blind, chef manage? If going purely by time of cooking you will surely either end up with some pieces undercooked or the whole lot overcooked to compensate for that. Also it depends so much on the exact size of the pieces of meat, in the case of a grill how close the meat is to the heat, etc.

This is not a purely theoretical question - my husband is colour blind and really struggles with this. He cannot see the relevant colour differences at all, and although there are some texture changes on the outside of the meat, that doesn't tell you that the pieces are cooked all the way through.

Texture. Although I can see perfectly, I use texture to tell me if pasta is done, for example. It's obvious for spaghetti but I do it for macaroni too, or any shapes. Just stirring a pot full of boiling water with raw macaroni, then stirring a pot full of boiling water and cooked macaroni, is a very different experience. Stir frying raw meat, partly cooked meat, and cooked meat will also feel different. Grilling meat is definitely a time for everyone to use texture, probably some variant of the press-the-ball-of-your-thumb rule.

To a lesser extent, smell. This is what I rely on to evaluate baked and roasted things, long before I open the oven to look at them or touch them. It won't help you grill a steak though.

FYI, I asked Christine Ha on Twitter, and she replied

  By feeling the texture of the meat… And also not being afraid to taste

Which is as close to "from the horse's mouth" as it seems we will get in this thread.


How can I avoid limp strawberries? When using strawberries to make a preserve (canning process), they become limp and lose colour

Is there a way to avoid this?

Apparently, macerating the strawberries beforehand can help. As well as this, the shorter they are boiled the firmer they will stay [1].

If you wanted, you could create one jam base and add in extra whole strawberries at the end which will be firmer. Or even still, add them towards the end of cooking so they break down a bit but not as much as the rest.

Source:
[1] http://ewainthegarden.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/recipes-for-strawberries.html


Can I bake oatmeal drop cookies in a bar form? I am making oatmeal cookies for a family get together and was wondering, can I make them as a bar cookie like as in chocolate chip, rather than a drop cookie.

Most drop cookies that are made by creaming butter and sugar turn out fairly well as bar cookies.

One thing to think about is the additional baking time - since they are thicker, you may have an underdone center even once the top is golden brown.

You should probably bake them slightly longer than you would normally, and check them fairly frequently. I prefer my cookies chewy (almost like cookie dough) in the middle, so I tend to bake them for less time.


Tomato Products containing Citric Acid I read that tomatoes are often not picked in the optimal ripeness for canning and because of this, citric acid is added to promote further ripening within the can.

I purchase bottled pasta sauce and canned tomato sauce and sometimes have a reaction from too much acid content.

Tomatoes are acidic enough without having to add acid to the product, in my opinion.  Is there any brand of tomato sauce that does not add citric acid?  Is there a brand of pasta sauce that does not include it?

I try to mitigate the acid by grating celery into the sauce and simmering for a while.  Celery is a very alkaline vegetable and is often used in creating gravies.

I am also considering some Italian friends who say our jarred sauces are too spicy.  I think perhaps the extra garlic, etc, is added to cover the acidic taste.

Citric acid in canned goods is just a preservative, nothing to do with "ripening in the can" as far as I know.

As you've noticed, it's plenty common in storebought canned food, but it's especially useful in homemade canned food. It keeps canned vegetables from darkening/browning over time, and can be used to make them acidic enough to avoid worries about botulism and spoilage. (Other things like ascorbic acid can also be used to keep colors bright.)

If it's really a problem, you may be able to find canned tomatoes without it, most likely more expensive ones from brands that want to be able to have the ingredient label just say "tomatoes", perhaps organic tomatoes. You might also just try different brands even if they do contain citric acid; some of them might be more to your tastes.

But the acidity shouldn't be that strong, so it's quite likely that just a little bit of sugar will cover it up, and as a bonus it'll tend to enhance your perception of the tomato flavor too.

As for spiciness of jarred sauces... well, some are spicy, some aren't. It's just about making flavors to suit all tastes. Pick one you like!


How long will corm vegetables last in a refrigerator and should they be wrapped? How long can corm vegetables - celeriac (celery root), turnips, and swedes (rutabagas) - be kept in a refrigerator? And should they be wrapped? I usually buy them wrapped in sealed plastic. If aiming to store them for as long as possible, should I leave it on, replace it with cloth or greaseproof paper, or perhaps store the vegetables unwrapped?

how long is long ?

They are fine for couple of weeks if stored in a cool place with good amount of humidity.

"These are dependent on ideal storage conditions of 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit and 95-percent humidity."


Substituting instant imitation flavored pudding mix and cake mix in Bundt Cake recipe Nothing Bundt Cakes makes delicious dark chocolate and white chocolate with a raspberry center. Thrilled to find copycat recipes online, both call for imitation flavored pudding mixes and cake mixes. Can I use a similar recipe for very rich (with sour cream and butter) dark or white chocolate cake from scratch, adding raspberry sauce swirled in the middle? Reading the ingredients of the instant pudding mix, I could add cornstarch, finely chopped dark or white chocolate chips, vanilla flavoring, and anything else?

Yes, you certainly can start from a similar recipe and adjust from there. I would not try to replicate instant pudding mix, though. If you don't want to use a store-bought pudding mix, I would suggest you replace that with a different filling entirely.

My preference is usually to go with a "scratch" recipe that I already like and adjust from there. For a dark chocolate cake with a white chocolate and raspberry filling, you have a lot of options, really.

Most bundt cake recipes make about 12 cups of batter. I think you want only 1 to 1 1/2 cups of white chocolate batter at the most. If you end up with more than 12c total, you will overflow a standard bundt pan, so you can either reduce the dark chocolate cake recipe or you can plan to make some cup cakes with the extra. :-) You'll want to fill your bundt pan to about 2/3-3/4 of the height of the pan depending on how much you expect the cake to rise. I'd expect a light and fluffy cake recipe to rise a lot, a pound cake to rise less. (if in doubt, 2/3 and/or put the bundt pan on a cookie sheet -- I usually put a cookie sheet under mine anyway to avoid a mess in the oven.)

Some filling options

Raspberry -

If you put jam as a filling directly in a cake or brownies, I find that it can tend to be soggy. I think sauce is going to be even runnier than jam. I'd recommend cooking that down (maybe with some cornstarch) to get it to a thicker consistency before using it as a filling.
Alternatively, take a 1-2 cups of fresh or frozen raspberries and toss them in 1-2 T cornstarch and 1/4 - 1/2 c sugar and cook them on the stove until everything turns into a bubbly, thick sauce. (I don't know how much raspberry you want, but about 1 c berries : 1 T cornstarch : 1/4 c sugar)

You can also add a little bit of extra flour to the white-chocolate part of the filling to counteract some of the extra moisture from the jam/sauce, but if it seems really runny, I think you're going to end up with a soggy cake.

White chocolate -

white-chocolate flavored cream cheese filling (8 oz cream cheese, ~ 1/4 c flour, 1 egg, white chocolate chips or whatever you want to use for white chocolate flavoring -- I'm assuming there's enough sugar in the chips)
about 1 - 1 1/2c of batter from your your favorite white chocolate cake recipe + ~1 Tbs extra flour to counteract extra moisture in the raspberry sauce
play funny games with your favorite dark chocolate cake recipe to reserve out about 1/8th of the ingredients and add your white chocolate flavoring/chips to that portion (and about 1 Tbs extra flour)

When you assemble it, put about 1/2 - 2/3 of the dark batter in, then half the white chocolate batter, then the raspberry, then the rest of the white then the rest of the dark.

This is sort of similar to what I'm picturing:
http://famkitchen.blogspot.com/2015/06/chocolate-amaretto-cake.html


Non-melting processed cheese: what's it made of? I got a Hickory Farms box over the holidays (as a gift), and it included a brick of "smoked cheddar/swiss", a processed cheese that was "naturally" smoked.  Yesterday we decided to use it on baked potatoes, and were startled to find out that it doesn't melt, at all.  Even after 10 minutes in a 325F oven*, it looked pretty much the same as when I first grated it.

Now, I'm used to thinking of processed cheese being super-melty.  Velveeta is the queen of melty cheeses, down to the point of folks  making their own fake Velveeta to have something for cheeseburgers.  And I'm used to high-salt and/or "cooked" cheeses (like paneer) being non-melty, but this was neither of those.

What do manufacturers like Hickory Farms do, or add to, processed cheese that causes it to not melt?  And why?

(* for comparison, real American cheddar melts after 5 minutes in a 325F oven)

I've never found smoked cheeses (including hickory farms' smoked cheddar) to be meltable.  they make really good, flexible slices for sandwiches, or on crackers, but they don't melt well.

Smoked cheese, including hickory farm's brand, is a drier, firmer cheese - and the moisture levels of cheese are really important to the melting properties.  If you really want to try to melt it, you would have to up the moisture level... shred finely and soak for a while and then use gentle heat with plenty of available moisture when trying to melt it.  Same as with any firm, dry cheese.  I've done this sucessfully with smoked cheeses, but I usually dfon't bother.

Processed cheeses usually have quite a bit more moisture added, with butter and cream and milk, to make the texture smooth and flexible and meltable.  This one, whatever moisture might've been added to the original cheese probably at most offset some of the moisture lost while smoking.  I think even "cold" smoking is warm(er than fridge) with moving air to get the smoke distributed - conditions which dry the cheese right out.

And smoking really is a kind of cooking, if you're used to thinking about cooked cheeses being non-melty.  I think that's the rest of why even a pretty soft and flexible smoked cheese doesn't melt well, I think it undergoes (some of?) the same chemical changes that make a once-melted cheese more brittle, more oily, brighter color, squishy and floppy instead of smooth and firm, and in general less happy about remelting.  That can happen just a few degrees above room temp, so it doesn't take much.


For how long can you let dough sit there to rise without yeast? I read that you can make a dough without yeast and have it sit at room temperature for 12 hours and it will rise due to bacteria found in the air.

It didn't rise after 12 hrs, so I was wondering if I could let it sit for another 12 hrs to see if it eventually rises? Would 24 hrs be ok or that's too long?

I am not sure where you read this and it is a reasonable expectation that it would work. This is however a classic example of recipes authored by someone that worked in a certain climate, season, location and other specifics that are not always going to work everywhere else.

As already pointed out by @kettultim, natural yeast count in your environment is not something you can take for granted. It is entirely feasible for a dough to sit around for a couple of weeks, get moldy and not rise even though you had tried the exact recipe before at another time or place.

If you had it working before and you liked what you had, keeping a bit of the fermented dough and nurturing that as a starter for later use is always worthwhile.


Alternative Binding Ingredient for Sugar in Flapjacks? (British style) First, I'm talking about oat bars not pancakes.

The basic recipe for these flapjacks is that you get some oats with a little flour and chopped nuts. Then you melt together butter, sugar and golden syrup. You mix wet with dry and oven bake.

I'd like to reduce the amount of sugar being put in, without making the flapjacks more brittle and crumbly. I intend to try using honey, but does anyone have alternative suggestions? I'm not concerned that they wont be sweet enough because I primarily want a more savoury nut and oat taste.

This might affect the texture too much, but if you're willing to experiment you could try some mashed banana.

I made these banana and oat cookies a while ago, which have the ratio of 1 banana to ~90g of oats. The recipe says to blend the oats, though I didn't bother, and the cookies came out pretty chewy.

The recipe is way too heavy on banana to come out like a flapjack, but you might be able to use a little to offset a reduction in sugar in a proper flapjack recipe. I'm not speaking from experience though, so no promises that it won't be a disaster!


Kimchi not very fermented, did not expand or get juicy I just made some kimchi for the first time. Three heads of Napa cabbage. I put it in glass jars and left lots of room. It has been a day and and a half at room temp. and I still don't think it has expanded very much. It has a little liquid but it is just covering the cabbage and it is not bubbling.

I used all fresh ingredients except the garlic. The garlic was from a jar. It was the minced kind. I pureed an onion and ginger in a blender and added the garlic with those at the same time.

Do you think the preservatives in the store-bought minced garlic could have stopped the fermentation? It was only about three tablespoons of the garlic in a three head of cabbage batch.

Patience. Unless the weather is quite warm, a week is a more typical minimum fermentation time; three weeks if you use a refrigerator method.


container for bulk fermentation/proofing It happens to me quite often that I make small batches of bread/pizza/focaccia dough that need to spend several hours in the fridge or at room temperature in a container with a lid
I've seen that many use containers in which the dough covers already the bottom and, in case of proofing, the dough rises in the vertical direction.
This definitely facilitates drawing volume markings to keep track of the rise. Is there a specific reason why to avoid containers that are too wide? Assuming of course that the container volume is enough to avoid overflowing.

Surface area. If the container is too wide, larger surface of the dough gets into contact with air. Dough can dry out, yeast/sourdough culture can behave differently (during aerobic fermentation the cells multiply, during anaerobic fermentation the yeast cells produce alcohol instead of multiplying).


Best way to preserve choco-chip cookies: food saver? Hi cookie perfectionists!

What is the best way to preserve chocolate chip cookies for one-week? Here's my short-list:

Vacuum-sealed mason jars?
Vacuum-sealed bags? (will deform the cookies)
Any of the above w/ refrigeration?
w/o refrigeration?

What's your experience of the longest you stored a cookie, gave it to someone, and they said it was "really good!"?

First, I have to say that I very rarely have to store cookies for more than a few days...

However, if it must be done, then I find that they keep well for 7-10 days (depending on the recipe) in an airtight container on the counter. I've never tried vacuum sealing the container. I think that that would lead to explosive cookie crumbles when you tried to open it.

If you simply want fresh cookies over a long period of time, the best way in my opinion is to make the dough, roll into balls, and freeze the balls. They will last for 2-3 months in the fridge, and you can bake as many or as few as you like straight from frozen (add an extra minute to the baking time). There will be freshly baked cookies in the amount of time it takes you to make the coffee.


Why are my red potatoes so bitter Is there something in red potatoes (and possibly some others) that is very bitter that only some people can taste? And if so how/can I get rid of it. The reason I think so is I boiled some for potato salad and it was inedible. I figured that it was just that season/batch. So Ive tried it several times again at different times of year and it’s always very bitter. russet potatoes are fine as are reds when roasted. Though some fingerling and blues are also bitter but not nearly to this extent.

Have these potatoes started to sprout? According to this article from Caroline Wright, a lecturer in horticulture, "there can still be a bitter flavour to potatoes that have begun to grow." Exposure to light produces solanine. Solanine is a bitter toxin and even when pared from the potato, can have imparted bitterness throughout the spud.


What are some ways to prepare beet greens? Back in my home country beets are only sold as the roots; in the US they're always sold with the leaves attached to them. I know how to use the roots, but what are some interesting uses for the leaves? Are they edible at all?

It's no accident that, as Ray says, people treat beet greens similar to chard (swiss chard - also known as silverbeet in some regions!). According to On Food and Cooking, they're the same species, Beta vulgaris. Chards are varieties that have been selected for thick, large leaves, subspecies cicla. The same passage also mentions that beets are a distant relative of spinach! Pretty distant, though - same family, different subfamily. Beet root (commonly simply called beets) was on the other hand selected for the root - subspecies vulgaris. (Wikipedia mentions a couple other subspecies, but you're unlikely to have seen them - they're wild, not cultivated.)

As for uses, there's really no end to it - just like there's no end of chard recipes. Unfortunately, since the greens are usually pretty small compared to the beets, it's hard to get a lot of mileage out of them. Since they're generally thinner than chard, they cook down even more than chard does. Sometimes I just quickly saute them and have a snack while I cook the rest of the meal. If you have another dish with greens, you can toss them in there. You can also just cook them separately and toss them back in with your beets, to add a bit of color and texture to that dish.

Finally, the presence of the greens is by no means universal in the US - I've seen plenty of stores selling just the root. I prefer them with the greens, though. Both parts are great, and I enjoy the bit of extra variety in my meals.


Please identify this Italian kettle(?) (click to enlarge)

A few years ago, I got this Christmas present; I have to admit that I've forgotten what it is by now. It came in a box branded 'Chiapella', but that's an Italian salami producer. Not something you'd associate with this, which is clearly meant to hold some kind of liquid. (It could be that the box is from another present and doesn't have anything to do with the 'kettle'.) If I remember correctly, it came with a tin can filled with olive oil.

Here's a close-up of the thing and the instructions on the lid:

(click to enlarge)

Above the tap stands the following:

  SANSONE

  EUROPA MODEL INXO 18/10

  ((2))

  MADE IN ITALY 14.

Per the link @Max provided in the comments: just a container to dispense olive oil... or any other liquid of your choosing.


How to effectively take cream from milk? I tried to take cream from raw (full fat) milk by the common method: leaving the milk at refrigerator overnight, then taking the cream from top. The amount of cream came to the top was low, and after separation, the milk was still fully fat. Then, next day new cream came onto the top, and the milk was still fat.

Is there a practical method (probably similar to industrial approach to skim milk) for full separation of cream from milk?

If you have raw milk and let it sit, the cream will indeed rise to the top. To separate, you can just wait and skim off the cream as you did. However, if you store the raw milk in the refrigerator, it will take longer for the cream to rise. Perhaps that is why you are having difficulties. Alternatively, you can use a spigot jar to drain the "skimmed" milk from the raw milk, leaving the cream behind.

I think you end up with about 1/10th of your raw milk that is cream.


How can vanilla essence and vanilla extract be used interchangeably? This question has answers which explain the difference between vanilla essence and vanilla extract, and which tell you when you may want one over the other - if I am correct in thinking that "vanilla essence" is the same as "vanilla flavouring"?

My question is - in baking where colour is not an issue, how do I substitute one for the other? For example in a recipe that asked for 1tsp of extract, how much essence would I use in it's place?

Imitation vanilla extract is meant to be used in place of the real stuff, and most recipes probably assume you're using the fake stuff anyway, so you would use 1 tsp. You only need to adjust the amount if you're using something like twofold (2x) extract.


Do I need to autolyse quick-breads like scones? In bread making you wait 30 min after mixing water and flour together so that the break protein (i.e., gluten) has time to "get strong" and build fibers.

You get this smooth surface etc. on the bread dough afterwards.

I'm making scones, following Dorie Greenspan's book, and she talks about kneading the fat heavy dough.

It's like one..ugly, unsmooth mess of dough, like mashed potatoes or something.

I'm not sure if bakers need to autolyse before kneading. I didn't do so and kneading did nothing to smooth out that ugly mess.

I just proportioned it and baked it as is. My scones tasted great but the surface isn't smooth and like..mashed potatoes texture that was hardened through baking.

Like..does anyone know if quick breads (I'm assuming they are defined by heavy fats) need a rest period of autolyse before kneading so as to have smooth surface?

I was tempted to just add more flour to dry and smooth out that mess but didn't want to change the proportions of flour/water/fat ratio.

Thanks

Quick breads are not primarily defined by the richness or fat content of the dough, but by the leavening method:
While “regular” bread uses yeast - and has a long resting time, quick breads use baking powder or soda - and are baked more or less immediately. (Although some recipes have some extra resting time.)

While yeast has no problem with raising a dough with a strong gluten network, baking powder can’t do that.  For quick breads, the same rules as for pie crusts and similar short pastry applies: the fat prevents the liquid from reaching the flour and inhibits gluten formation, giving you a light and crumbly texture. “Diligent” kneading would counteract that, leaving you with a dense product.
And yes, this can mean a certain “mashed potato” texture, depending on your recipe, which is perfectly ok. If you insist on a smoother surface, gently roll out the dough instead of flattening it with your fingers and consider a wash: make-up for baked goods ;-)

Making an autolyse step would even aggravate the gluten-density issue - what is an excellent idea for yeasted breads is quite destructive for quick breads.


How to estimate Scoville level of home-made pepper sauce?? I am making a sauce that has:-

3 Ghost peppers,
1 Cherry Bomb pepper,
1 Jalapeño pepper,
1 Habanero pepper,
1 Lady Finger pepper.

It also has Tabasco sauce and Cayenne pepper.

My friends want to know what the Scoville level might be.

This can be a party activity for your friends.  The Scoville test is a dilution test, so you can reproduce it at home at least as far as informing your friends is concerned.

Get a lot of distilled water and a bunch of milk and plain bread.
Create dilutions of the hot sauce by adding 1ml of hot sauce to each of 250ml, 500ml, 1000ml, 2l, 5l, and 10l of distilled water.
Have each of three friends blind taste test the diluted sauce against a glass of plain distilled water, starting with the most diluted.
Cleanse palates between rounds with bread & milk.

The dilution at which the hot sauce's heat cannot be tasted by any of your friends reliably is its approximate Scoville rating.  Yes, it's not quite how the actual Scoville test works in the lab, but even if you don't get a rating out of it, it'll be a fun thing for your pepper-loving friends to do on a Sunday afternoon.


Sesame Oil vs Toasted Sesame Oil I normally purchase sesame oil from an Asian market, but this time I bought it from the grocery store. I primarily use sesame oil for making stir-fried cashew chicken in a wok on the stovetop.

Kadoya Brand
100% Pure Sesame Oil
Ingredients: Sesame Seed Oil

La Tourangelle Toasted Sesame Oil
Ingredients: 100% Pure Sesame Oil

The new bottle (toasted sesame oil) says on the back that it is best for low to medium heat, including stir-frying, baking, dipping, dressings, or drizzled on finished dishes.

So, what is the difference between sesame oil and toasted sesame oil? I do not taste a difference.

I think the Kadoya brand you bought was toasted as well, it just didn't bother to mention it. Everything I've bought from Kadoya has been toasted. They are easy to tell apart. Non-toasted is about the same color as say safflower oil, toasted is rather dark brown. Toasted is used primarily for finishing dishes, as a final flavor. A little goes a long way. Non-toasted is a pretty marginalized product; you see it at health food stores some times. I can't think of any culinary reason to prefer it over the many other choices and it is quite expensive. Maybe some folks have particular health reasons for choosing it.


What exactly is the difference between all these dairy products? I have heard cooks talk about the following products and was wondering what exactly they are and what the difference is between them?

Buttermilk, Creme Fraiche, Clotted cream, whipped cream, double cream, heavy cream, and sour cream?

First, there is something that is not explicitly placed on your list, but is needed to understand the others: cream, also called sweet cream when a mixup with cultured dairy is possible. Used without any further qualifiers, it is made from milk by removing liquid such that there is higher fat percentage left in. How much higher is not known from simply the word "cream". Both milk and cream can be cultured with bacteria to produce fermented types of dairy.

Now to the points in your list, in an order more convenient for explaining:

Heavy cream is cream that contains at least 36% fat.
Double cream is cream that contains at least 48% fat.
Whipped cream is cream that has been physically agitated to turn into a foam.
Sour cream is cream that has been fermented with standard yogurt cultures. In German supermarkets, sour cream is typically made from 10%-fat-cream, but in principle, it can be made with other grades of cream.
Clotted cream is sweet cream that has been heated using a specifc process to change its texture.
Creme fraiche is a cultured product made from cream. It has at least 30% fat and is made with a special strain of mesophilic cultures.
Buttermilk in the modern sense is a cultured product made from milk. It uses yet another specialized culture strain that takes even lower temperatures than creme fraiche cultures.

The original sense of buttermilk was something different - they left out unpasteurized milk to naturally sour, then beat the butter out of it. The resulting fermented whey with pieces of butter floating in were the buttermilk. Nowadays, it is the whole liquid that you can buy (without the fat having been removed as butter) and the cultures are added intentionally to pasteurized milk. But you are unlikely to see that product in the English speaking world, the only reason to remember this sense is if you are working with historical recipes.

To get from definitions to usage: these are all different products with different texture and taste. For each application calling for one of them, any of the the three cases may apply:
- It is impossible to substitute one for the other for technical reasons
- It is technically possible to substitute, but eaters acquainted with the original dish will not recognize it as "properly made" or as the same dish
- The substitution may work without snags

So, in the end, there is not much to be said about the difference in general. As a cook, you just use each of them according to suitability and tradition, as your recipe directs you.


What's the best way to get roasted garlic out of its skin I am quite fond of oven-roasted garlic, but I always spend ages getting the meat out of their skin. In addition my fingers get rather sticky when I follow the method described in the linked recipe, which is to "press on the bottom of a clove to push it out of its paper."

Are there any tips or tricks on how to easily get roasted garlic out of its skin, preferably without making too much of a mess?

Cut the garlic head in half, add a little oil if you like, put halves back together, wrap in foil, roast, unwrap, cool, squeeze roasted garlic out of halves. The idea of cutting in half ensures that most, if not all of the cloves are cut open, making removal of roasted garlic easier. Placing the cloves back together, avoids the potential problem of a crust forming over the cut end, which also may make removal easier (though I've never tested this).  You do need your hands, so one way to avoid stickiness, particularly if you are doing a lot, is to wear rubber gloves.


What makes pineapples cause a burning / itchy feeling in the mouth? Years ago the pineapple pieces I used to cut had something that caused an itchy / burning feeling in the mouth. After I heard that maybe some substances in the rind cause this irritation and I should clean the knife after every cut, the itchy / burning feeling never occurred again ... until today. Today I had a quite ripe pineapple.

What substances cause this feeling? How do I avoid them? If the substance really come from the rind: Is rinsing the pineapple pieces a good way to get rid of this nasty stuff?

Human skin contains oils which aid in blocking out the absorption of chemicals which would harm or irritate the skin. Those oils contain proteins. Pineapple contains a chemical compound called bromelain which has the ability to break down these proteins. This is bad, because it can then act on the skin itself (which is also comprised of protein molecules).

On top of that, pineapple is high in citric acid. The tingling/itching/burning sensation you describe is no doubt the result of both of these things acting upon the skin at the same time. Understandably, eating pineapple with (or after) meat high in oil content (such as pork at a luau) will mitigate against these effects.

Since there's no escaping this problem through the use of cutlery, there must have been some other factor at play to which you didn't make attribution at the time. In other words, some other factor was involved in slowing down or preventing the appearance of the undesired effects, such as the one I mentioned above.

In the old plantation South there's a tradition which involves giving pineapple as a gift to guests who are on the verge of overstaying their welcome. No doubt this is because the remarkable sweetness of pineapple is, quite soon enough, followed by a predictable unpleasantness.

On a side note regarding the acidity of pineapple, find here an entertaining blog entry as to whether pineapple is or isn't a citrus fruit (from which the pictures above and below were obtained).


How can I separate fresh rice noodles that are stuck together? I sometimes buy rice noodles from an Asian grocery, especially since certain sizes (like sheets) are hard to find in dried form, and the finished texture is different.  However, I generally find that unless the rice noodles are very fresh (as in made within 24 hours) the tend to stick together as if glued, and tear instead of separating.

I've tried soaking them both in warm water and in cold water to help separate them, but inevitably end up with a bunch of torn noodle bits instead of the nice spongy rice noodles I wanted.  Given that selling week-old fresh rice noodles is common across Asian groceries, there must be some way to separate them.  What is it?

Update: I'm talking about noodles like this:

I think those are chow fun noodles, cut them to the desired size if not already cut, soak it in cool water for about 7-15 mins then hand unroll them. That how I was taught anyways.

The packaging looks tight too so possibly cut the sides off too, should help it stop from clumping and allow the water to penetrate and separate them.


Making large quantities of tea with bags Say I'm making a litre of tea, for ice tea, would it be better to steep one bag for longer or several bags (five, I guess, given a cup is around 200ml) for the time stated on the box (a few minutes)?

I've read that the longer you steep, the more tannins and caffeine is released into the tea, and so the more bitter it will become. As such, I guess more bags would be preferable, as ice tea is usually sweet; but if one is optimising for caffeine content, longer with additional sweeter might be better. I appreciate this is subjective, but am I on the right track?

(n.b., Lady Grey tea, if it makes a difference.)

Every black tea bag contains around 25-110 mg of caffeine per serving. If you want more caffeine and tannins, of course 5 tea bags would contain more caffeine than a single bag. The reasons are:

When you use a tea bag, caffeine, tannins diffuse out the tea leaves into the water. The longer you leave the tea bag/leaves in the water, the closer to equilibrium you will get. But if one tea bag, there would be limited amount of caffeine, tannins.

Besides, five tea bags would mean caffeine, tannins diffuse in parallel in the hot water. Diffusion rate depends on concentration as well as temperature of water as this paper shows.

The diffusion of these caffeine, tannins will be fastest in the first few minutes, where the concentration gradient between water (no caffeine, tannins) and the tea leaves (full of caffeine, tannins) are the steepest, as well as highest temperature.

While after optimum time, the slower the diffusion of caffeine and tannins into the water, because the concentration of the water(or maybe now tea) and the tea leaves are similar, and lower temperature. ie. the amount of caffeine, tannins that could be diffuse out the teabag is not much after long.

But if you add hot water to the tea bag again, you would find the teabag has flavor because hot temperature and steepest concentration happens again.


What is the best way to store potatoes that were already cut? And prevent them from becoming darker?

I use a vacuum sealer for storing all sorts of food. If that is not an alternative, you can put them in the fridge in a moist plastic bag. Or you can have them in a bowl of water a day or so.


Too much wine used in coq au vin The NYT coq au vin recipe called for 3 1/2 cups red wine and marinate overnight, then reduce to make the sauce.  Husband added an extra 2-3 cups of wine to the marinade. It is now the morning after. Which should I do? Reserve 2 cups only of the marinade to reduce (as probably 1 cup has been absorbed by the chicken?), or take the time simmering all of the wine down.

Marinades are generally surface treatments, especially in thicker cuts.  With the exception of salt (if any in the marinade), I doubt your chicken has absorbed any marinade. So, your issue is the higher quantity of liquid, and flavoring of the wine.  I think you could go either way...remove some, or reduce.  If it were me (so as not to be wasteful), I would just cook as normal, reduce longer, and taste and re-season along the way.


How do I keep meringue from "weeping"? Am I asking too much of meringue to be able to keep a key lime pie in the refrigerator for 24 hours? The meringue ends up very wet at the end of that period. I keep it covered in the fridge.

The easiest way to prevent meringue from weeping is by adding a teaspoon of cornstarch to the recipe, which will absorb the excess moisture that causes it. If you're a bit adventurous, you can also opt to sprinkle some cookie crumbs over your filling so when it weeps, the crumbs will absorb the moisture.


Reason for thickness of pepper\eggplant paste When making pepper or eggplant paste (roasted then blended), the paste is very thick, even gel-like. Why is that? What ingredient in the fruit's cells thickens it so? Or is it a very low water-content?

It's a combination of the fruits fiber makeup as well as how much pectin is the fruit. High pectin fruits will jelly easily which is helping to thicken your paste along with the fibrous part of the fruits.


What is the difference between making a cheesecake with confectioner's sugar vs. normal sugar? I would like to make a cheesecake with confectioner's sugar and though it's been awhile since I've made cheesecake, I believe I used normal sugar before. However, I only have confectioner's sugar on hand at the moment.

While you could use it, it would likely affect the finished product. As a substitute in baking, when the recipe calls for granulated sugar, powdered sugar is not always suitable. And, although it is granulated sugar which has been processed into powder, cornstarch has also been added to prevent clumping.

With sugar, the size of a granule determines how well air incorporates into the batter. The larger the granule, the more air and, since the batter needs that air to help it rise, using powdered sugar will not produce the same results.


is this mold on my kimchi or yeast? I have been fermenting this kimchi for a month now and it has grown this white things above. I've stored it in in my refridgerator and I only opened it now.  Is this poisonous and should I just throw it out or should i just remove the top?
It doesn't smell rotten or have any foul odor.

That looks like mould (mold). Kimchi typically only goes mouldy when the vegetables are not submerged, which looks like is happening here, probably because of your choice of container. Use a deeper container like a jar so that all the solids are submerged in the liquid, and continually pack them down so they do not dry out. Alternatively, use a pickling weight or even just a clean pebble. The mould here looks extensive enough to have contaminated the whole container, so you should not eat any of it and throw it away, unfortunately.


Can I flavor powdered sugar with vanilla beans or citrus zest? I'm asking specifically for macarons (the fussiest cookie in the known universe),

so I wouldn't be interested in trying if it would negatively affect the way the sugar behaves in a macaron recipe, but a subtle flavoring could be pretty cool. I would try just burying the zest (in big easy to remove pieces) or the vanilla bean in the sugar and letting it sit, covered, for a couple of weeks.

I wouldn't mind if it required a bit of a whir in the food processor, as long as the sugar sifted and otherwise acted like it should in the recipe.

Advice? Caveats?

Disclaimer: I never made real macarons, but we have a very similar christmas cookie here in Germany (Swabia). Same ingredients, same method, just unfilled.

Reading your recipe, I can't see where you might run into a problem. What you are potentially adding is a trace amount of liquid and fat. That could affect the stiffening your egg whites if added in the beginning (so if using your recipe flavoring the sugar - which I would usually do - is out).
But when adding together with the almonds, that shouldn't matter at all. Almonds contain so much fat, that a hypothetical drop of essential oil extracted from the lemon zest is virtually unmeassurable and the water content of almonds can be so different from one batch to another that the flavoured sugar wouldn't matter either.

Just make sure that your powdered sugar is dry and lump-free again when using.

Btw.: Rose petals in sugar work great, too (but you'd have to wait a few months to give it a try...).


How to make truffle oil? Is it as easy as taking a few shavings of truffle, and chucking them into glass bottle filled with olive oil, and then sealing it up and waiting a few months?

I'd rather not mess this up, as they are pretty pricey!

Basically, it is that easy.  But it is a costly endeaver.  I have know chefs to make it with a pure olive oil or grape seed oil.  Some heat it to 220 degrees or so but I have meet some that don't.  The ones that didn't made sure to pull the oxygen from the bottle with one of those wine vacuum savers.

I have been told self made truffle oil will lose it truffle flavor due to most the flavor actually coming from an odorant.  I have not personally made any so I can't speak from experience on how long it will hold.

All the above being said. If I had the money to buy some truffle, I am not sure the best use for them would be to make truffle oil.


How long can french buttercream last in the fridge/freezer? French buttercream contains egg yolks that have been cooked via hot liquid sugar water. How long can I safely store this in an airtight container at 0ºC?

According to a recipe from Serious Eats, French buttercream can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks and frozen for up to several months. For the best texture, warm to 72°F and re-whip in a stand mixer before use.
This is slightly at odds with the FDA recommendations suggesting that cooked egg dishes be refrigerated and used within 3-4 days. It is possible that something else in the buttercream inhibits microbial growth, allowing longer storage, but I don't want to speculate. To be conservative, you should follow the FDA guideline or freeze immediately.


Potato parts in the oven Yesterday I asked advice how to prepare nice potato parts. I was recommended to not remove the peel/skin and cut the potato in parts. I was also said to use the oven, instead of a pan and baking/cooking them in olive oil.

I cut up potatoes... I used the oven... I set it to 200 watt. It had to pre-heat for 5 minutes. Then I put in the potato parts for 25 minutes. When I tried to eat them, they were partially raw, and the outside seemed dry out.

The goal was (picture from the internet):

That was bad advice. If you're not par-boiling the potatoes they will need at least 40 minutes, but to be honest you are much better off par-boiling.

Pre-heat the oven as before and place a roasting tin in to pre-heat as well.

Cut the potatoes as before, then place them in a large pan of salted water, bring it to the boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the pan and place it back on the heat for a little while to drive off the moisture in the pan and on the potatoes.

Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and drizzle generously with oil. Season well (you can add spices, smoked paprika is great), mix through, then place in the hot roasting tray and roast for 30-35 minutes.

The boiling process begins to cook and soften the potatoes, and then the dry heat of the oven carries on cooking them while also crisping the outside.


Why does my Italian made gas oven take so long to heat to required temperature. Any tips please I have a Glem Gas Oven that can take over 30 mins to heat to desired temperature.  I was advised to place a pizza stone on the bottom of the oven but it still takes longer than 30 mins to reached desired heat.  Any tips please.

I don't see anything unusual here. Ovens are a big mass of steel and other materials that has to spend some time heating before it is at working temperature. Many ovens turn off as preheated somewhat earlier - see also this question where the answers speak of 15-20 minutes of preheating on average - but this doesn't have to be the correct answer for your case. Maybe you are looking for a higher temperature, maybe your oven is larger, or maybe your oven only has one heater on the bottom as opposed to the two heaters common in electric ovens. Also, I suspect that many ovens, even though they turn their light off as "preheated" after 15 minutes, are not truly as well heated as they should be - if I bake several things back-to-back, the later ones bake quicker and more evenly.

A pizza stone will actually make the preheating slower, because you are adding cold mass that needs to be heated. So don't expect any change there, unless you decide that, by having a pizza stone, you can afford to place the food in the oven before it has reached its desired temperature, hoping that the heating help from the stone will compensate for the too-low-starting temperature.

If this is the case and the oven is working as intended, there is not really anything you can do about it. Baking is a slow method anyway, so you have to just take it as it is. You may consider adding a large-sized toaster oven (one of those with 30-40 cm width and depth of the cooking space) and bake quicker things in it. It will be especially useful if your main oven doesn't have a top heater.

If you think that the oven is designed to preheat quicker, then you have to call customer support or an independent repair service to see where the defect comes from.