How can I determine canning processing times? I know safety is paramount with canning, and best answer is always to find a trusted recipe. But that's obviously not possible for every conceivable food one might want to can. Besides, trusted recipes came from somewhere (and work even though for example exact pH of fruit varies), and there are plenty of companies out there canning all kinds of things. So:

Given pH, jar/bottle size, and hot vs cold pack, can I determine whether boiling water or pressure canning is safe and what processing time is necessary? What if I err on the side of safety and assume pressure canning is required - then can I determine a time?
Is there some sufficiently long processing time of pressure canning that will make anything safe, or at least anything meeting some broad criteria? (The idea being not to have to measure pH.)

In answer to your second part, no. If something is not acidic enough for water canning it seems it doesn't matter how long you process it, it isn't safe. This is the reasoning all the cookbooks I've read provide for adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to each pint of tomatoes.

I would therefore use this strategy:

get things to the right pH for water or pressure canning as a separate first step. (Fruit will generally be ok, tomatoes need lemon juice, pickles will be ok, etc)
check the processing time for pints and quarts of various things (jams, fruit, pickles etc) and look for the pattern: is it consistently 25% more time, or 5 extra minutes? Work out the pattern.
repeat for hot vs cold pack: do you halve the time, or subtract 10 minutes, or what?

Now armed with a hot-pack pints recipe, you can adjust it for cold-pack quarts or vice versa. You should also, in poring through these recipes and charts, have come to understand various categories (fruit, jam, pickles, nonpickled vegetables etc) and be familiar with what times they need. Then faced with a chutney, conserve, or pickle that isn't on anybody's list, you should be able to choose what category it most likely belongs to, and safely pick a time for it.


Do toasted nuts quickly lose flavor? There are many recipes where freshly toasted nuts are called for, and that got me wondering--how far can I toast them in advance without sacrificing flavor?

If not, how quickly do they lose flavor, and what causes the degradation?  Are there any ways to store the nuts to preserve the flavor of freshly toasted?  Would freezing and/or vacuum sealing do the trick?

Toasted nuts keep their flavor pretty well, the way to keep them is the same way you'd buy them at the store, ie a sealed container.

What you get from freshly toasting nuts is more aromatics than flavors. Most of the aromatics go pretty quick so there's no preserving them, it's use 'em or lose 'em. Could you substitute pre-toasted nuts? Sure, it won't be quite the same, but it will be close.


Tomato pasta sauce splits. Why? I use fresh tomato puree to make my pasta sauce, other things in my sauce are olive oil, garlic, some herbs and salt, i don't let it boil but during the simmering & thickening process the sauce always splits. What am I doing wrong?

If by "fresh tomato paste" you mean you're starting with raw tomatoes, that's probably your issue. Most tomatoes you grow in your garden or buy from the store are salad tomatoes - they're not meant for cooking, and will result in a watery sauce like you describe.

You want a "sauce" tomato. Roma tomatoes or almost any plum-shaped tomato work well. There are others, but they're harder to find.


Is it safe to reheat tea with milk? I have leftover tea from last night but it has milk in it. Is it safe to reheat it the next day and drink it? Or should I just bin it?

The official answer from your health department is no, it's not safe. After four hours at room temperature, you have to pitch it.

That standard is a little on the paranoid side. Which is appropriate, since they have to protect people for whom a little salmonella is potentially life-threatening (the infirm, babies, the elderly, etc.) If you're young and healthy, the odds are it will do you no harm whatsoever. Even a glass of milk out overnight is merely going to be sour rather than toxic.

So, it's up to you. I'd say it's a cup of tea and it will taste better if you make a fresh one, even if the risk to your health is small-but-not-zero.


Can I use less sugar for making this bread? I've been following this beginner recipe from Alex, The French Guy Cooking (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycztOGTIX-s&t=326s).

I'll summarize it at the end for easier refernce.

The result was pretty great, tbh, but I'm wondering if I can get away with less or even no sugar without ruining it. From what I understand, sugar is used as a food source, but the flour and butter is a food source too, no?

Any advice is welcome, thank you!

  INGREDIENTS.

  FLOUR : 2 pounds flour : 7 cups : 907 grams (1 cup flour = 128 g) Bread flour is great, AP Flour works especially if
  protein content is higher than 10% LIQUID : Half milk, half water. A
  bit less than 2.5 cups. (1 cup water is 236.59 grams) You can go full
  milk for more comfort, or full water for simplicity, FAT : Life needs
  fat. I am french I going full on butter.  100g of butter. (14.2g per
  tbsp) 7 tbsps ! Oil works as well, or lard, crisco... same 7 tbsps.
  SUGAR : 88g or 7 tbsps of sugar. SALT : 3 tsp of salt = 18g, for a 2%
  salt content dough. Instant yeast : 9g. Active dry, instant yeast,
  don't bother. It'll work about the same. or 3 tsp. ( knowing that 1
  packet is 7g and 2.25 tsp. according to redyeast.com )

  INSTRUCTIONS :

  Big mixing bowl. Tepid Liquid goes first. Then, Yeast, sugar, salt, fat, flour. Mix it till shaggy mess. Cover
  and wait for 1 hour. This is the "Autolyse". Knead the dough for 5
  minutes straight. Pause for 15 minutes. Knead again for 5 minutes.
  Dough should be smooth by now. Add oil in a big bowl, place the dough
  in. Wipe the bowl with it. Cover with cling film. 1st proofing starts.
  Wait till it has doubled in size, usually 2 hours. Sometimes more. You
  could also wait a day or two if it proofs in the fridge. Deflate.
  Divide in half. If you just want to bake one loaf in the end, that's
  the moment to freeze the one of the doughs. Flatten to the width of
  your (oiled) cake pan. As my dough is soft, i use my hands. Roll up.
  Place in, with the seam facing down.  Let it proof again, until
  doubled in size again, then bake it. ( no punching this time ) 200°C -
  400°F for 30 minutes or golden brown on top. Brush the top with
  butter. Let it cool down 30 minutes. Enjoy.

You can make a bread following this recipe, but reducing or omitting the sugar. Your bread will rise just fine, as the yeast can feed on sugars in the flour, as you suggest. The same is true for the butter and milk. Lots of tradititional 'simple' bread recipes use only flour, water, salt and yeast. You might have to slightly change timing and kneading procedure to get a good result.

That said, you will alter the flavour (and probably texture) of the bread. Whether you will like the result as much as the original recipe you can only find out by trying.


Why are there spikes growing out of my ice tray? This is sooo weird. As is my habit, I filled my ice trays with cold tap water and let them settle on the counter for 15 minutes or so. Then I put them in the freezer. A few hours later I opened the freezer and found that the ice had these nail-like projections. The longest was maybe 3 inches long. They weren't touching anything. What the heck happened? Notice the baby dude in the first picture? WTF?

They're often called ice spikes. Ten years ago these things were pretty mysterious, but now Wikipedia even has a video of them growing out of ice cube trays in a freezer.

Basically, the ice surface freezes first, which slightly pressurizes the water underneath. That water breaks through the crust, and continues to flow, and freeze to equalize pressure within the cooling cube. Temperature conditions have to be just right for it to happen, so you don't see them all the time.


Is it possible to make sugar cookies without butter? I don't have any butter and don't have the money to buy some right now, but I really badly want to make a batch of cookies for some family friends who recently had a baby. Please help!

I can't have butter very often for various reasons and so most things I make I have to make a substitution. If you have coconut oil, that's fine though you may need to put it in the fridge before you use it, depending on how hard it is at room temperature. If all you have is oil just use 20% less of it and add that amount of liquid (water, milk...) as that's  the approximate water content of butter. They will not be the same as butter cookies and they will brown faster have a somewhat different texture, but it will work.


How much does potato starch affect a cheese sauce recipe? I'm following this recipe for making cheese sauce:

(text) https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/229731/homemade-nacho-cheese-sauce/
(video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMw4Q1RMD6I

While purchasing the ingredients I noticed something about pre-shredded cheese versus a block (Kraft brands); they are exactly the same via the Ingredients list on the package except the pre-shredded cheese has added an unspecified amount of potato starch.

Will this affect the amount of flour (or other ingredients) required or even make the product not come out as intended?

Hmm I suppose they add starch to keep it from turning back into one block of cheese.

Thing to do is if the sauce looks to thick just add more milk.


How to suppress bad breath after eating garlic or onion How can I suppress bad breath after eating garlic or onion?

Brush and floss your teeth
Scrape your tongue
Chew gum or mints
Chew mint, parsley, basil, fennel, licorice, anise, cardamom, clove, or cinnamon
Gargle with baking soda and salt
Gargle with hydrogen peroxide
Gargle with water and lemon
Gargle with alcohol or mouthwash
Hydrate


How to tell if baked drumsticks are done? I have baked my chicken drumsticks for roughly 40 mins at approximately 420 F. I do not have a meat thermometer, so am looking for another way to determine its doneness. I did some research on this, and found that the juice should run clear; however, when I cut open my chicken, the juice that comes out is red.  Does it sound like my chicken is correctly cooked to a safe internal temperature?

There is a common misperception about redness in chicken and what it means when gauging the doneness of the chicken.

Fully cooked chicken can leak juices that are tinged with red, and fully cooked chicken can have pink meat and/or redness in the joints or bones!

From the USDA:

  The pink color in safely cooked chicken may be due to the hemoglobin in tissues which can form a heat-stable color. Smoking or grilling may also cause this reaction, which occurs more in young birds.

The acidity in the tissues can case a similar effect in the myoglobin.

From an unnamed research assistant at a major chicken processor speaking to Meathead Goldwyn at AmazingRibs.com:

  "When the muscle is high in pH [low in acid] it takes a much higher temperature to denature the myoglobin. The meat may need to be 170 to 180°F before the myoglobin in breasts is denatured sufficiently to see clear juices. The drumstick and thigh have higher levels of myoglobin and they require an even higher internal temperature to denature it.

Red or purple bones and adjacent meat are caused by modern chicken manufacturing that can produce chickens big enough to slaughter at an age much younger than used to be the norm:

  Darkening around bones occurs primarily in young broiler-fryers. Since their bones have not calcified completely, pigment from the bone marrow can seep through the porous bones. Freezing can also contribute to this seepage. When the chicken is cooked, the pigment turns dark. It's perfectly safe to eat chicken meat that turns dark during cooking.

-USDA

Furthermore, chicken that has not reached a safe temperature can have meat that looks done and juices that run clear!

  If the muscle pH is low then the myoglobin is denatured at a lower cooked temperature. This means that one might potentially see clear juices at 150 to 160°F and this is not safe.

-AmazingRibs.com

According to the same source, the PH of the muscle tissue can be affected by the chicken's genetics or pre-slaughter stress. That and the fact the source doesn't want to be named causes unpleasant images to appear in my mind. But I digress...

In my experience, dark meat is best cooked to the point that it has begun to shrink away from the bone; which is way past the point of it having reached a safe temperature. Therefore laxity is better test of doneness than color for dark meat. Another way to describe that is that the joints between the thigh and the body and the thigh and the drumstick move freely.

To be considered safe, chicken must be cooked to or above 165 °F (73.9 °C). Chicken breasts are (IMHO) best right at that temperature. Getting good at hitting that temperature takes some practice.  White meat is much more sensitive than dark meat to overcooking, so testing frequently with an accurate thermometer is really the only way to go until you have the considerable experience necessary to accurately gauge the meat's doneness without the thermometer.

Drumsticks are very unlikely to be undercooked after having been baked at 425°F (218°C) for 40 minutes. Watch for meat that has begun to shrink from the bone. You should be at or beyond that point already, which as I have shown, is a far better indicator of doneness than color. Of course, an accurate thermometer is always your safest bet.


Should a rare steak bleed? I very much like my steaks to ooze blood on the plate - especially fillet or sirloin.  However, I've recently (and only recently) noticed that when visiting restaurants and asking for rare steak, the steak that arrives is dry (or at least a lot dryer that I expect - even though it is rare).

I'm curious as to how this is achieved; my suspicion is that the steak is being "pre-cooked" to rare and then warmed up in a microwave, but I wondered if there was actually a method of cooking steak that would result in that.

You have mentioned in your comments that you don't rest steak. This is why it leaks the red liquid when you cut it. Any good restaurant will rest your steak, hence them being less leaky.

This Serious Eats article explains very well why you should rest steak (and any other meat). Essentially, as the meat cools, the shape of its fibers changes, allowing it to retain the liquid.

7-10 minutes is about the right length of time to rest a steak. Heston Blumenthal recommends resting on a wire rack rather than a plate to prevent one side steaming.


Proper use of Rhubarb What is the proper way to prepare rhubarb as to not poison anyone? What parts of the plant is poisonous? and what general precautions should be done when making food involving rhubarb?

Use only the stalks; the leaves are poisonous (or at least toxic if eating in high quantity)

Cut up the stalks in chunks from the bottom up to the where it becomes green (to keep the result as pink as possible) and cook down with sugar and enjoy in a crumble or a pie (with strawberries).

I've ate raw stalk dipped in sugar when I was a kid.

from http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/poison:

Precautions for rhubarb gardening

Trim leaves from stalk immediately.
Don't use stalks from frost bitten plants.
Wash the stalks well.
Children should be taught to eat only the rhubarb stalks, preferably under supervision


Is it possible to get vegetarian grana padano cheese? My wife is vegetarian and, since meeting her, I've come to realise that all Grana Padano seems to be non-vegetarian. Is this really the case, or are my local supermarkets just not stocking the veggie stuff? Would be a shame for her to miss out on so many things (esp. pesto) just because of this.

Thanks.

You may be able to find vegetarian Grana Padano style cheese, but I don't think you will find the real thing in vegetarian form.

This is because the making of Grana Padano is still a traditional process and true GP cheese is only produced in certain regions of Italy. It in fact has P.D.O. (Protected Designation of Origin) status, which means that only those cheeses produced in certain regions and using certain methods can legally be called Grana Padano. I imagine one of those methods is using animal rennet.

I would be surprised that there isn't some form of substitute available in Italy, as they have the highest proportion of vegetarians in Europe at 10%. I get the feeling, however, that they are perhaps less zealous about it than others if it means giving up good cheese.

The only suggestion I have found as an alternative to GP as something to sprinkle on pasta etc is nutritional yeast powder, which apparently has a similar nutty, creamy taste. Not ideal, but if you make the choice to be veggie you have to take the rough with the smooth!

I see from your profile that you live in the UK; we are lucky in that we have a lot of fantastic small local producers, so it may be worth looking up some local dairies or cheesemakers and seeing if they can offer an alternative.


What can I safely put between my cast iron skillet and induction glass top stove to prevent scratches? I moved into a new flat and it comes with a brand-new induction glass top stove. Unfortunately, it seems like the glass rather easily scratches: There is already a visible scratch in it (likely caused by me, but I have no idea what caused it). This is why I don't want to put my Lodge cast iron skillet (with a rough bottom) directly on it. I've found several pages stating that I can easily prevent scratches by putting something between the cast iron skillet and the glass top, such as paper towels, newspaper or parchment paper, as long as I'm not going for a very high heat sear.

However, that is mostly the purpose of my cast iron skillet: To sear meat at very high temperature.

Has anyone used any of the above objects successfully as a protective layer between cast iron skillet and induction glass top, while searing at very high temperature? Or is some other sort of layer even more preferable?

You could use a thin disc of copper...

Copper has a much higher melting point than does aluminum (1,984ºF or 1,084ºC vs 1,221ºF or 661ºC), is not ferromagnetic, and a thin (.025" or less) sheet should not have a profound effect on the magnetic field induced in the iron skillet.

I have not tried this method, but it is scientifically plausible as well as cost effective at about $25.

The copper surface could be sanded smooth and could be used in a similar way as a heat diffuser. It should get no hotter than the bottom of the cast iron skillet, since the induction 'burner' should not induce any magnetic field in the copper sheet itself. The only heating of the copper would be from conduction or radiation from the cast iron pan.


How to remove moisture from cheese that is stored in a liquid? Certain cheeses, such as halloumi and mozzarella, are often stored in sealed packages that are filled with liquid rather than air (I'm assuming to help to preserve it for longer).

However, this tends to cause a problem when it comes to cooking, as a large amount of excess moisture inevitably leaks out. This sometimes really ruins certain dishes, for example when shallow-fried halloumi becomes almost poached, or when the mozzarella causes a pizza base to become soggy.

The only solutions I've found are to grate the cheese and squeeze out the moisture (which changes the texture) or to wrap the cheese in paper towels and leave it for a while to absorb some of the water (which takes a long time), neither of which are always an option.

Are there any more effective methods for removing the excess liquid from these types of cheeses immediately prior to cooking?

The tool for the job is a cheese press, though for small quantities a tofu press (I have one similar to this) works well. I bought mine for home-made paneer and bought tofu, but have also used it for halloumi and mozarella (home made, not brilliantly successful).

The idea is simple: wrap the cheese in a cheesecloth, place in the press, weight, and wait.  If your cheese doesn't have flat parallel sides the design I've linked above won't work as well; there are more piston-like shapes that keep the top plate of the press horizontal.

You can improvise with two plates, but it's fiddly, and the bottom plate should really have drainage holes.


Can lemon sodas go bad? So, I just opened up a bottle of lemon-flavored soda that had been sitting in my family's garage for a few years, and I noticed that its flavor seemed different than it normally is. I wasn't sure if it was safe to consume or not, so I tipped my glass out into the sink after a couple of sips, and then looked at the bottle and noticed that the color looked a little yellowish, rather than completely transparent like normal. One of my family members tried a small glass of it, noted that it lacked carbonation, and said it probably just tasted strange because it was flat.

The best before date on the bottle was in 2018, and we live in an area where temperatures in the summer can reach 30-40 degrees C, though I'm uncertain exactly how hot the garage gets. It wouldn't have been exposed to direct sunlight, though.

Can bottles of soda go off, either due to chemical changes in the soda, or due to the plastic in the bottle breaking down? It was sealed the entire time, so I don't think that any bacteria or wild yeast would have gotten into it, right?

It’s a regular soda, not diet. Ingredients on its label are “carbonated water, sugar, acidity regulator (330), natural flavour, preservatives (211, 202).”

Acidity regulator E330 is citric acid. I found no indication that it's chemically instable at temperatures < 100°C and a study found it stable over a period of 5 months.

Additive E211 is sodium benzoate that's used to stop bacterial and fungal growth in acidic foods and drinks. A study found that over a period of 90 days 4 - 8% of sodium benzoate degrades. I'm no chemist and don't know what chemicals the result of this degradation are, but they could influence the taste of the soda and loose the ability to stop bacteria growth.

Another study found that in peach puree treated with sodium benzoate, the amount of sucrose (common sugar) decreased and the amount of glucose and fructose increased. Although all 3 are different types of sugars, there is a notable difference in taste.

Additive E202 is potassium sorbate, another food preservative and probably the culprit for the yellow color. Food Reviews International writes:

  However, in solutions and in foods, [potassium sorbate] undergoes autoxidation during storage, forming carbonyls and other compounds. Many factors (e.g., pH, temperature, packaging, water activity, and composition of food) influence its stability. Degradation of sorbic acid is associated with development of browning in foods. Acetaldehyde and /3‐carboxylacrolein have been reported to be the major degradation products of sorbic acid in aqueous solutions. β‐Carboxylacrolein is found to be responsible for sorbate‐induced browning in foods as it reacts with amino acids and proteins to form brown pigments.

Plastic bottles are known to let the carbonation of carbonated water escape over a long time. Carbonation means that carbonic acid is solved in water, which then forms little bubbles of carbon dioxite (CO2). As long as the carbonic acid is still dissolved in the soda, it adds a slightly tart flavor to it, which we are used to. Once most of it evaporated, the overall flavor of the soda changes to that of a stale soda (which it basicly is).

As to the "natural flavor", since it's not named, we cannot know for sure what it was. But there's a good chance that it also degenerated at least partially over time.

So, to answer your question: Yes, lemon sodas can go bad. That's why there is a "best before" date printed on them. As far as I understand the chemistry involved, your soda wasn't poisenous, but it was chemically altered enough to be considered "gone bad".


Substitutions for 11x18 pan? What's called for specifically is an "11- by 18-inch (rimmed) baking pan (hs note: or jellyroll pan)" in this recipe.  I made this once before and it was a hit, but I forgot about not having the correct pan, and I apparently guessed right last time.

Rather than fudge it (couldn't resist) again, should I just tally up the pans I have and approximate 198 inches?

None of the standard pan conversion charts that I could find had that size, but it looks like your recipe will work with an 11 cup volume pan.  If this means your brownies are thicker or thinner than the original recipe, then adjust the cooking time accordingly.  For thicker brownies you may also want to lower the temperature to keep the top from burning while you do the extra cooking.


Is this fish dish actually Greek in origin? In Poland, where I live, a certain fish dish became very popular not so very long ago. It's called "ryba po grecku" which essentially translates to "Greek-style fish". The recipe is not particularly complicated, and I personally find it very tasty, but I was wondering if it is actually something originating from the Greek cuisine, or perhaps somewhere else, and hence I want to ask if you ever came across something similar.

The basic idea is to get some fish filet (most popular choices include hake, pollock and common sole), cut it into middle-sized pieces which you then sprinke with lemon, salt and pepper, roll them in flour and fry on both sides in a pan. In a separate pan, chopped onion is fried until it gets soft, at which point grated carrots (sometimes also parsley, celery, leek) are added, and this is braised (with water) until the vegetables are soft. Some tomato concantrate is mixed in and the mixture is flavored with salt, pepper and allspice to obtain a sort of paste with distinct, soft onion chunks. It is supposed to be quite thick, not liquid. The fried fish pieces are mixed with this paste and put in a fridge (it's said to best let it sit for approx 2 days) and the dish is served cold, like a salad.

I found an article (Polish) that may shed some light onto the origins of this mysterious dish. The first two paragraphs in translation:

"If you were to show the Greeks fried hake or pollock filets, covered with grated carrots, braised until soft with onions and tomato concentrate, asking if they could recognize it as a Greek dish, they'd probably nod their heads in an affirmative manner. At such time it's good to know that this gesture has the opposite meaning in Greece as compared to us.

"Most likely, the original recipe was psari plaki - fish baked in a tray, covered in tomato sauce with vegetables. The vegetables are prepared separately. Onions and garlic are sauteed with olive oil, sometimes with the addition of carrots and celery, perhaps some olives, a spoonful of honey and always - a lot of tomatoes. This is braised briefly with the addition of white wine. The sauce is delicate, fragrant with the wine, herbs and full of vegetable chunks. The fish is gutted, rolled in olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice and prepared for baking by covering it with the vegetable sauce. It should not by any means be fileted, as it is detrimental to the flavour."

So as was to be expected, our national variation is probably at most a bastardized version of a Greek dish. But who cares, it still tastes great. ;) I just made my first batch and it was delicious, I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity. :)


Why does a cold saturated sugar solution melt chocolate? In this YouTube video at 3m22s, a chocolate easter egg melts when a cold saturated sugar solution is poured into it.

Why does a cold sugar solution melt the chocolate? I would totally understand if the solution were warm/hot, but there must be some other factor which causes the chocolate to melt when exposed to a cold sugar solution. What's happening here?

If there is no heat, the chocolate is not melting; something else is going on. The closest thing I could find to an explanation was on this site about how chocolate is made:

  Cacao is a rich source of insoluble but water absorbent fibers (cellulose, primarily) which tends to cause the particles to draw in the water and swell up, further disrupting the texture. The cacao particles then tend to push away the cocoa butter.

Of course, this is in reference to pure cacao, an ingredient in chocolate making, rather than to a finished product like that egg in the video. Still, it points to a mechanism by which the liquid in the sugar solution might interact with the chocolate in the egg that is neither melting nor dissolving the chocolate, but might make it look like the egg was melting or being dissolved.

I also found some discussion of sugar bloom on chocolate that's exposed to most conditions. The problem there is that the moisture is dissolving the sugar out of the chocolate; in your scenario, the sugar solution is already saturated and the change is taking place very rapidly. I would tend to give more weight to the explanation about the cellulose in the cocoa solids.


How can serrated knives be sharpened, without the serration being eroded? This post recommends having serrated knives sharpened by professionals, and not an amateur. I ask about whetstones, steel rod, and pull-through sharpeners.

But wouldn't sharpening efface and remove the serration? Or can the professional recreate the serration? Here's my knife that needs sharpening, where I use these knife terms:

They can't really. The purpose of knives with microserration like in the one shown are as an alternative for people who are looking for knives that won't require upkeep.

Knives with a much wider serration can be sharpened professionally but it can be tricky.


What are multi-stage pastry molds called? Like many amateur pastry chefs I love watching Amaury Guichon.
There is a tool that he and other pastry chefs use very frequently that I'm completely unable to find. One clear example is his famous coconut: https://fb.watch/2IjsP0vpox/
You can see as he makes the core of the coconut he uses a series of spherical molds with different materials to form the center. I don't care particularly much about the spherical piece, but my mind is entranced with the idea of multi-stage molds.
Unfortunately it appears that these devices are impossible to google for or find. What are these progressive molds called? Are these publicly available or something special that Amaury made for himself?

There’s nothing special about the mods, they are just various kinds of spherical molds.
I am quite sure that the different materials has to do with different use cases (some have to be oven proof, others not), but probably more with what manufacturer offered which diameter. If the chef is aiming for a specific layer thickness, they’ll have to find the corresponding sizes, and just go with whatever material they are made of.
Looking at my collection of kitchen tools, I have over time amassed round cookie cutters in different diameters, materials and heights, and will just grab what size I need for the given project. I would assume the same is true for the spherical molds here.
More details, as you insist that I must be mistaken, here a list of similar products (no endorsement or claim that these are the same):
First step (baked center) could be something like this
Various diameter molds (with holes, as you emphasized) for example here in silicone, I am sure there will be other models in other materials.


Tips and advice for cooking a bean recipe in the oven The other week I tried cooking the braised carrots, date and chickpea recipe from Ottolenghi, published on the Guardian that I have put below.

It was delicious and super easy. As someone who doesn't eat much meat I often turn to dried beans to provide a bit of substance to otherwise vegetarian or vegan meals. However, I can't find any other recipes that cook dried beans in a casserole-like dish straight in the oven.

1) Why is this?
2) What tips are there for experimenting with my own recipe?
3) Is there a rule of thumb for converting stove top recipes to oven cooked recipes?

Prep 30 min
Soak Overnight
Cook 2 hr 25 min
Serves 4-6

300g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large green chilli, roughly chopped, seeds and all
15g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
75ml olive oil
1½ tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
4 carrots, peeled and each cut at an angle into 2 or 3 large chunks (450g)
2 bay leaves
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Salt and black pepper
1-2 lemons, zest finely grated, to get 1½ tsp, and juiced, to get 2 tbsp
120g feta, roughly crumbled
1 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and roughly crushed
1-2 tbsp parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Drain the soaked chickpeas and set aside.

Put the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in a food processor, and pulse a few times until very finely chopped but not pureed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the coriander, and pulse a couple of times more, just to mix through.

On a medium-high flame, heat two tablespoons of oil in a large, heavy-based cast-iron pot with a lid. Add the onion mixture and cook for about four minutes, stirring occasionally, then stir in the cumin, cinnamon, dates and tomato paste, and cook for a minute more, or until fragrant. Add the drained chickpeas, carrots, bay leaves, bicarbonate of soda, 1.2 litres water and a good grind of black pepper, and bring to a boil, skimming off any froth that comes to the surface. Cover and bake for two hours, or until the chickpeas are very soft and the sauce has turned thick and rich. Stir in the lemon juice and two teaspoons of salt, then leave to cool for about 10 minutes.

While the chickpeas are cooking, put the feta in a small bowl with the caraway, lemon zest, parsley and remaining three tablespoons of olive oil, and leave to marinade.

To serve, spoon the feta mixture over the chickpeas and serve directly from the cooking pot.

I don't know why you didn't find any recipes for baked beans. They are quite common in many cuisines around the world. If you have grown up in a Western European or a North American country, it is quite likely that in your culture, stovetop dishes are generally more widespread than oven dishes overall, not only with regard to beans - but oven dishes still exist, including ones made with dried beans.
There is not much you need to do to convert a chickpea recipe to a beans recipe. Just give it more time in the oven, and it is likely to turn out quite good.
When talking about beans, there is not much you need to do to convert stovetop to oven recipes. Unlike many other foods, beans are always cooked with wet heat, and they will behave quite similarly in the oven as on stovetop. Since the oven warms up the food slower than stovetop, you will need to increase the cooking time, and it is more important to soak the beans sufficiently (overnight) before cooking them. I can't tell you how much longer you need to bake them, but be prepared to need large multiplicative factors - for example, I have a potato recipe which needs 3 hours in the oven before the potatoes are through, but if I precook the wet ingredients on stovetop and then only put it in the oven to overbake it with the topping, it takes about 20 minutes on stovetop to cook the potatoes. So, if you do a stovetop beans recipe in the oven, just check for doneness every hour or so and monitor the liquid level, adding water or stock if too much has evaporated.

If you don't have the patience to oven cook your beans, or you dislike the thought of wasting too much energy or of letting the oven run overnight, you can make casseroles with parcooked beans, which need much less time in the oven, frequently under one hour.


Why does meat go bad after 1 month sous vide at 55-60C ( 131 - 141F) See this I COOKED a Brisket for a MONTH and this happened! and Can Viewers SAVE a 1-month BRISKET? of a brisket cooked in 55C and 60C for 1 month. It smells very bad! So they proved (twice) that the brisket goes bad, you can read all the comments and there are lots of suggested reasons especially that you must cook at 65C since it is only above 65C that you really kill salmonella and whatever. I don't think so, Modernist cuisine says that salmonella dies at temperatures above 48C.

My question is, what really happens? I.e. what is growing, is it dangerous, and how long does it take to get dangerous in 55C e.g.?
Is it some anaerobic bacteria? It can't be botulism, he would be dead by now, right?

I have done brisket many times at 55C/131F for 3 days, no smell, everything very good. I don't think I will get any better result after longer time so I have not tried (and I don't have a youtube channel to sell crazy ideas :-) ). I do 2 days now and I get nicely rendered fat and a (sorry Americans) very nice texture.

Here we have more examples of 4-5 days, comments say texture was really bad, but nothing about bad smell. link
I don't really see what would be bad for 30 days, but ok after 3-5?

Update
Please read e.g. Douglas Baldwins Practical Guide to Sous Vide, I think he is much more qualified than you and me.
He clearly states e.g.

  You were probably taught that there’s a “danger zone” between 40°F and 140°F (4.4°C and 60°C). These temperatures aren’t quite right: it’s well known that food pathogens can only multiply between 29.7°F (-1.3°C) and 126.1°F (52.3°C), while spoilage bacteria begin multiplying at 23°F (-5°C)

and

  So why were you taught that food pathogens stop multiplying at 40°F (4.4°C) and grow all the way up to 140°F (60°C)? Because it takes days for food pathogens to grow to a dangerous level at 40°F (4.4°C) (FDA, 2011) and it takes many hours for food to be made safe at just above 126.1°F (52.3°C) – compared with only about 12 minutes (for meat) and 35 minutes (for poultry) to be made safe when the coldest part is 140°F (60°C)

and

  Indeed, the food pathogens that can multiply down to 29.7°F (-1.3°C) – Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes – can only multiply about once per day at 40°F (4.4°C) and so you can hold food below 40°F (4.4°C) for five to seven days (FDA, 2011). At 126.1°F (52.3°C), when the common food pathogen Clostridium perfringens stops multiplying, it takes a very long time to reduce the food pathogens we’re worried about – namely the Salmonella species, Listeria monocytogenes, and the pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli – to a safe level; in a 130°F (54.4°C) water bath (the lowest temperature I recommend for cooking sous vide) it’ll take you about 2½ hours to reduce E. coli to a safe level in a 1 inch (25 mm) thick hamburger patty and holding a hamburger patty at 130°F (54.4°C) for 2½ hours is inconceivable with traditional cooking methods – which is why the “danger zone” conceived for traditional cooking methods doesn’t start at 130°F (54.4°C). [Note that Johnson et al. (1983) reported that Bacillus cereus could multiply at 131°F/55°C, but no one else has demonstrated growth at this temperature and so Clostridium perfringens is used instead.]

So what he calls pathogens DIE at 50C and they die even faster at 55 or 60. IF this is true, what is the problem with the 30 days brisket at 60C? That is my question. I don't want to hear about danger zone, I know what it is and that it is exaggerated to be simpler and safer to use. If you don't believe me, that's fine, but then no need to answer.

40-140F is the danger zone of high growth rate for bacteria.  60-120F is the extremely high zone.  55C is only 131F and not even out of the high growth rate area, 60C it at the edge right at 140.

Outside of the high growth area bacteria growth is not zero, it is only much lower and there is not a magic switch that instantly kills all bacteria when you hit 60C.  The safety rules say that at that point you have reduced risk, not zero risk.  Bacterial growth certainly continues simply at a lower rate.  However, a lower rate over longer time still constitutes rot and danger.  The safety provided by reaching a prescribed temp is negated by then trying to stay there for an unreasonable time.  No guides that say to reach that temperature for safety state that all bacteria are killed, only that many are and those that survive will not be reproducing at rates to be a likely danger if you otherwise handle the item appropriately.  Waiting another 30 days is not handling it appropriately.

In addition, there is more to decay of a piece of meat than just microbial action.  You have cell structure breaking down, chemicals being released, etc.  I would fully expect, in fact be shocked, if the brisket in question would not effectively begin the equivalent of digesting itself.  Bad smells and a texture approaching jelly would not be surprising in the least.  A potentially interesting science experiment, but nothing resembling food should come from any such tests.


Tempering untempered chocolate I would like to know how to temper chocolate without seeding it with already tempered chocolate.

Possibly this comes from a misunderstanding for the reason for tempering:
My understanding is that pretty much all shop bought chocolate (at least for cooking) is tempered already and melting it effectively un-tempers it. It is then re-tempered by slowly mixing in part of the original, unmelted chocolate.

What if I have melted the entire bar of chocolate? How would I then temper it?

I've seen in many videos and articles, which describe tempering, that "there are different ways to temper" but they all then go on to describe the "seeding" method. Which seems like cheating to me - or, at least, a chicken-and-egg situation; How does one make tempered chocolate without having tempered chocolate to begin with?!

Tempering chocolate is ensuring melted chocolate has a nice shine and there are a few methods to do that:

add grains of unmelted chocolate and stir (which is the seeding method you're referring to)
let it cool down while stirring
(which is the most labour-intensive method, but the easiest to do if you've never done this before)
which answers all of your questions as now you know what tempering is, how to get out of the chicken-and-egg situation, how to  very first chocolate was ever tempered etc...  :-)

As most chocolate recipes are made by professional Chocolatiers, they don't have time to perform the old tried-and-trusted granny method so they'll tend to use the seeding method...
This is what tempered chocolate should look like:

P.S. If this is the very first time you're making your own chocolates, drop this step entirely: it's just the look and feel that'll change as they will look very professional. (I never temper my chocolate as I only care about the taste and without tempering they'll look like they're "home-made")  ;-)
P.P.S. There is never any chicken-and-egg situation: if you think any of those situations through till the end you'll realise the egg was first because dinosaurs laid eggs long before there were any chickens! :-)


Added too much White Wine Vinegar I have added a good slosh of white wine vinegar to a dish by accident (it was meant to be white wine, not vinegar) and now all I can taste is a nasty vinegary taste.

I don't have any actual white wine so I want it to taste as if it's just without.

Is there anything I can do to save the dish?

It's a savory dish with mainly  bacon, onions, garlic, carrots and Spring Greens and stock

You may be able to save the dish by adding some bitterness and sweetness to counteract the acidity. Spinach, Kale and other bitter vegetables would work, as would bitter herbs like fenugreek. Sweetness could be sugar, honey, any sweetener to be honest.

There's limits to this approach, you may end up with something that is overwhelmingly sour, bitter and sweet at the same time and you have to get rid of it anyway. Sometimes you get something that tastes good with a neutral accompaniment like rice or pasta, you won't know unless you try.


How do I make meringue using a whipped cream charger? What is the method and ingredients for making small hard meringues using a whipped cream charger? How do I combine the ingredients in the charger prior to whipping? Please help - I can't find this anywhere.

Actually, this can be done but it may not be convenient to do if you aren't in a restaurant setting where this can streamline your process. If you take equal parts egg whites and sugar, beat them together, cook at 74C for 30minutes and then transfer them to the siphon and charge with 4 cartridges, dispense to desired shape, and then bake at 150C until set (this will vary depending on size and shape) you should be good to go.

As I said, this is about the same as doing it the old fashioned way, time wise.


Can I rehydrate dried chillies in bulk? I have a bunch of dried chillies (chipotles, poblanos and pasillas). My preferred method for using these is to soak them in hot water for about 20 minutes, then blend them and add the paste to whatever I am cooking. This means I have to clean my blender every time I do this, which I hate.

Can I rehydrate and process these chillies in bulk, then refridgerate or freeze the paste until I need it?

You can refrigerate your paste, however your quality will degrade and it won't last more than a few days in the fridge. When I make pastes I usually blend 4 times what I need and freeze the leftover in chunks, then they last for weeks, even months. You could use an ice cube tray to make measured quantities to use later.


Refrigerated lunchboxes turn soggy When I steam vegetables or boil rice I leave it to cool off for a few hours and then put it into a plastic lunch box and then into the fridge. After a day the vegetables get very soggy with a pool of water at the bottom of the lunch box. The rice turns brittle and tastes like sand.

I don't have time to cook everyday, I try to get as much cooking done as possible on Sundays and store the result in the fridge.

I try to Google things about avoiding moisture or drying vegetables but this gives me unrelated results.

Can anyone give me advice for avoiding these problems?

Thank you very much.

From personal experience, rice doesn't refrigerate well; I tend to buy quick-cook rice that I can just microwave so it's fresh when I need it, but I hear that it freezes better, with less moisture loss. Perhaps the vegetables can be frozen as well? If you spread them out on a baking sheet when you freeze them, they should be easily portionable later, but I don't know which vegetables you're cooking or whether they are hardy enough for the freezer.


How do you quickly prepare tomatoes for pizza? Whether is be homemade pizza or adding topping to the self-rising frozen pizza we love adding meats and veggies.  We often have tomatoes at hand.  I slice them thin and lay them on a paper towel and add them to pizza...  Then 30 mins later I have a pizza with wet tomato puddles on top.  What can I do?

Note:  Is there also a "best" tomato for pizzas and any moisture/tomato seasoning tips?

If I want to top a pizza with tomatoes, I generally only add them in the last two minutes of baking. The texture retains some character and they get warm to hot in that amount of time. Basically I just take the pizza out a minute or two before I expect the pizza to be fully cooked, top the pizza with sliced or chopped tomatoes, and stick it back in briefly.

Alternatively, if you don't mind the tomatoes being lukewarm or colder, you can slice them and add them just after baking is complete and serve. If I have particularly good quality tomatoes, I'll typically skip cooking them.


What is a casserole (vessel)? Maybe it's because I'm German speaking, but I'm utterly confused by the concept of the concept of a Casserole.

When I enter "Kasserolle" in the German Amazon I on the one side get dishes that look like that they could get put into the oven. But on the other side I get pots which have a long grip. In my family we used to call them "milk pots".

Are these milk pots also supposed to be put into the oven? I've never seen anybody put pots like these into the oven, but doesn't the word "casserole" usually imply recipes that require an oven? I am utterly confused by the concept of "casserole".

Why does it seem to imply two different kinds of dishes ("milk pots" and dishes I'd use to make a lasagne)?

This is from a UK perspective.  A casserole dish is generally round or oval, almost always has a lid, and can go in the oven. It may be made of a variety of materials.

The use that earns the name is cooking dishes consisting of ingredients cut up and in a liquid sauce/gravy, without a topping except possibly dumplings. The terms casserole and stew have a lot in common. The dishes may be used for other things as well.

Some can also be used on top of the stove (metal ones, a few special ceramic examples). This is handy for browning ingredients before adding the liquid. There's obvious overlap with a (fairly large) saucepan, but unlike casserole dishes saucepans may have long handles, which might not be suitable for oven use either because of size or material.

A milk pan (not pot) is a small saucepan with a long handle, usually with a lid, and sometimes with a spout. In a set of saucepans it would be the smallest.


What's a pan and what's a pot? In Dutch, we have just one word for pots and pans, which happens to be "pan", so I was surprised to learn about the word "pot". I learned that pans are for frying, which is why they are shallow and pots are for boiling, which is why they are tall and have straight sides. But that doesn't seem entirely correct.  Saucepans seem to have the properties of a pot, but are a pan.

There is a lot of conflicting information on the internet. So what's a pan and what's a pot?

I think the answer to your question lies in the etymology of the words.

Pan is actually coming from Germaic pfanne (in Dutch panne).
Which is from Latin patina (shallow pan, dish) and Greek patane (dish, plate).

On the other hand, pot also has Germanic roots it means vessel (also in Dutch) coming from pottus (drinking cup) for Latin.

So the difference as the etymology of the words put it, pans are shallow (akin to dish, plate) most suitable for shallow frying, and pot is a vessel for boiling, simmering or deep frying.

Note: Like all living things, languages can also evolve and words don't necessarily stay true to their origins. Saucepan should have been called saucepot, but that’s just how languages work; as people coining terms and words don't necessarily put much effort in the history and story of the words.


Does a double walled glass mug really keep the liquid warm? I saw some double walled glass mugs like this one and I am wondering if that really works in keeping the liquid warm.

If not, is it just for the looks and marketing spin?

Is there a vacuum between the two walls? Does it help in keeping the drink hot for longer?

Yes, they work.

The reason they work for keeping liquid warm is because the air pocket slows down the transfer of heat from the liquid to the glass to your hand. Air has a lower thermal conductivity than glass does, which means that it slows down the loss of heat from your drink. (The thermal conductivity of air is 0.024 W/m/°C, while the thermal conductivity of glass is anywhere from 0.96 - 1.3 W/m/°C, depending on the type of glass.) It's the same reason that windows in modern homes are usually double-paned.

The space between the layers of glass are not a vacuum.

That being said, glass double-walled thermoses are popular mostly because they look cool (they give an optical illusion of the liquid being suspended in air). If your primary concern is keeping your beverage warm for as long as possible, it's better to go with a double-walled stainless steel thermos, which will retain heat much longer than a glass one. MargeGunderson is right, too - preheating the thermos, regardless of material, with hot/boiling water for a few minutes before putting your drink in it will be even better than pouring your tea into a room temperature thermos.


Stock Based Pizza Dough Does anyone know what effect, if any, substituting chicken stock for water might have on a pizza dough? I plan on mixing the dough with a stand mixer and then kneading it by hand for around 10 minutes or so. Afterwards, 3 days in the refrigerator to ferment. If it works out I am really curious to see what a fish stock would create, maybe the ultimate anchovy pizza?

I have experimented with both chicken and beef stock (homemade) in bread, as a substitute for water. I would not call the results a 'failure', good loaves of bread did result, but I could not say they were any 'better' (or even different) than if I had not used the stock. The 'expected' flavor did not come through, though I did see a slight discoloration.

There are others who seem to concur with this:
http://101sweetpastry.com/french-bread-boule/
While others still report mixed results: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/17864/use-broth-dough
And still more who will swear by it: https://juditbakes.com/2014/07/25/chicken-stock-bread/

With worst thing that could happen being nothing special, I'll echo the sentiments from that second link:

  I know some people hate to risk even the possibility of wasting food,
  but, face it, the cost of the ingredients for a loaf of bread is
  minimal. And if you enjoy a good experiment, there is never a waste of
  labor involved even if things go wrong.

With that in mind I will say the three day 'ferment' does give me pause for concern. I would personally start with something that offers a faster rise, but that all depends on how much 'risk' your willing to take. If your fridge is hovering at around 34°F (2°C) the risk should be minimal.


Can coconut cream be made from coconut flour? I have never seen or tried coconut cream (nor milk) personally, so I have no idea what should be it, but since I need it as a ingredient in my cocktails, I decided to give it a shot and try to make it.

I read on a website that coconut cream is basically what separates on top of prepared coconut milk. Being unable to get my hands on a coconut, I have tried alternative technique (that did sound plausible to me): to boil coconut flour in a pot with enough water to cover it all, and then to strain it using cheesecloth.

What I got is a liquid that is mostly water, with slight taste of coconut, and it appears that nothing is going to separate on top of that liquid.

Is there something wrong with my alternative technique, or is that coconut flour can't even remotely replace freshly shredded coconut?

Any other thoughts?

Coconut flour is what remains1 when extracting the milk from coconut. So I doubt you can make anything resembling coconut milk (much less coconut cream) from it, unless the manufacturer has done an exceptionally poor job of doing so already!


Camping stove to supplement an electric hob I've got basic electric hobs in my kitchen which do a fine job - but a lot of cookbooks suggest that certain things would be best done on an open flame/gas hob (i.e. anything involving a wok).

My flat isn't piped up for gas and I can't afford the expense of replacing my hob with a better one than it currently has anyway - so I was wondering - would a decent gas camping stove/hob be a suitable and sensible supplement to my electric hobs?

If so, what sort of thing should I look out for on buying one?

Camping stoves are generally not safe for indoor use. They can produce fumes or carbon monoxide that would be fine outdoors, but dangerous indoors. Check the warning labels before buying anything to use inside.

As for the actual cooking, I don't think that you'll get the results that you expect.

My experience includes an MSR Whisperlite International backpacking stove (white gas), and Coleman two-burner stoves in both white gas and propane variants. Anecdotally, the backpacking stove has limited control, while the two-burner stoves don't quite have the oomph of a real gas stove.

The Coleman links that I provided indicate that the white gas stove has burners that put out 7,500 and 6,500 BTU, while the propane stove puts out 10,000 btu on both burners. Using the REI-provided time for boiling water, I calculated that the backpacking stove puts out about 4,500 BTU (and other backpacking stoves indicate similar times, regardless of fuel).

By comparison, my consumer-grade natural gas-powered kitchen stove has two burners that put out 15,500 BTU, one that puts out 9,500, and one (the simmer burner) that puts out 5,000. Viking offers normal burners up to 18,000 BTU, and a wok burner of 27,000.

However, white gas stoves aren't okay indoors. They're fine while they're burning, but lighting them is a bit dramatic, and once you shut them off they'll put out half-burned fumes for several minutes.

Similarly, propane camping stoves usually put off too much carbon monoxide to be safe indoors.


Substitute dried pig's blood for fresh I have some dried pig's blood (fresh is not at all easy to buy in my country), which I wish to use in recipes where fresh blood is called for.
How much dried blood + water should I mix to replace e.g. 1 litre of fresh blood?

Reconstituted dried blood will not have the quite the same texture as fresh blood. If the dish you're making requires blood as a thickener -- particularly if it's supposed to have a thick, gelatinous texture -- dried blood may not work correctly. For other textures, though, dried should be fine. By way of example, nearly all black pudding is made with dried blood, but drisheen (an Irish blood sausage with a more gelatinous consistency, made without oats to thicken) needs fresh blood.

In terms of water content, roughly 4 parts water to 1 part dried blood (by weight, not volume) should be fine.


Should you, and how do you, grease a crockpot? I know that this may be a silly question but I came across a crockpot recipe that asks for the crockpot to be greased before adding the ingredients into the pot. Do you just grease the pot normally? In my case with a bit of olive oil and paper towel. Are you required to grease a crockpot or is it just simpler. I don't want the food to extra greasy.

Personally, I've never made a dish that required greasing of the crockpot - even if it called for it, I've ignored that step and had no problems.  I can only imagine the step is added to ensure nothing sticks - but my crockpot (and all others I've seen) are glazed porcelain or ceramic, and the recipes always include a liquid of some kind, so I don't think that's going to be a problem.

If I were going to grease it, however, I'd do it in the method you described, and use a very light touch.


Are there particular palate cleansers for particular foods? Whilst buying perfume for my wife, the assistant kept offering us a glass of coffee beans to 'cleanse our olfactory palate' in between smelling fragrances.

I had heard of 'palate cleansing' before, but never thought of it in an olfactory way, nor heard of using the smell of coffee beans.

Now there is some mention of palate cleansers on the internet, but I wondered if there was a particular craft of 'palate cleansing' when eating particular foods - or even if particular types of palate cleansers existed for particular types of foods.

My question is: Are there particular palate cleansers for particular foods?

Pickled ginger is the proper palate cleanser to use with sushi, which helps keep flavors from mixing when you're trying several different kinds of rolls. So at least with sushi there's a specific palate cleanser, and I imagine there are others for other types of food.


How do I make vanilla sauce without air bubbles? Yesterday I made vanilla sauce to go with an apple pie. I used about 2 dl milk, 3 egg yolks and some sugar. I whisked it in a double boiler maybe too vigourously, because there were tiny bubbles of air in the finished sauce. It reached to correct consistency and otherwise was completely fine, but I would think vanilla sauce should have a relatively thick, rich consistency without any bubbles in it.

How can I do it better next time? Would heavy cream help? Should I not use a whisk and just stir with a spoon? How big of a risk is it that my sauce will curdle if I don't use a whisk?

You could fold with a heat-safe silicone spatula, that will let you reach the whole surface of the pan so you don't get scorching, without introducing so many bubbles.

Or if you happen to have a vacuum machine, put your sauce in a bag after you make it and vacuum out all of the air. Voila, bubbles gone.


Why would I want to pre-heat a pan before cooking? New to cooking here.
What are some examples where I should wait for the pan to pre-heat, for how long, and why?
Thank you in advance!

That really depends on what you want to make! For example, the Spanish Omelette (potatos, onions, eggs, "potato omelette") needs to be poured in a pan which has had to be preheating for some time until it's quite hot (you can pour a little bit of olive oil, and if you move it and it moves VERY fast, that's usually a sign. Don't overdue it as you can "burn" the oil!). That is so you can "sear" the outside while the inside still remains with the liquids and flavours!
If you want to sear a meat (I asked a question about that a little ago, or in the case of the omelette, cook it on the outside so it can have a shape, and let the omelette be runny on the inside. Here you can see something I made the other day!

Another example in which I use it, if I'm cooking curry or something related with CHICKEN, I'd just toast a bit (in Spanish we call it "to golden the chicken", "dorar el pollo"), which basically is at high heat (PRE-HEATED!!) and with some olive oil, cook it quickly, so the outside is seared, but it still has all the liquids on the inside (still raw in most cases because of this quick cooking), and you can add it later!


Remove residue from bacon grease I use bacon grease for cooking during the week. I have an issue though. I always get residue from the meat when I poor it out of the pan.

How can I filter this out? I can use a spoon for some of it, but it's just not effective to get more than 2/3 of it.

Fat can be filtered through a coffee filter. It's slow, but it works. Make sure the fat stays well above the temperature at which it congeals.

Alternatively, you can "wash" the fat by mixing it well with some boiling water and then letting it cool and separate. The impurities (at least, the particulate matter) should go into the water and be more easily removable.


Preventing chocolate from burning, when its used as the crust of a New York style cheesecake I am using this flour-less chocolate cake recipe as the crust of a New York style cheesecake. Cake recipe
The full recipe is in the youtube description, if you didn't feel like watching it, and the only alteration I am doing is switching out the alcohol with Malibu Rum.

The cheesecake recipe is here Cheesecake Recipe

What I do is bake the cake first, then I pour the cheesecake over that and follow it's baking directions.

The problem I am having is that the chocolate burns in a couple of places at the bottom of the pan. How do I prevent this?

A few things I noticed:

The cooking times/temps are different... You need to somehow account for that. 350 for 15 min and 250 for 60-90 vs 350 for 25-30 min is a pretty big difference it seems. I'm not experienced to know how to modify it...
The chocolate recipe specifies cooking in a water bath. The cheesecake recipe does not. I would definitely cook my cheesecake in a water bath. I have had great luck with the techniques described in The cheesecake episode of Good Eats.
Have you thought abou using a more standard chocolate cookie based crust and making a sauce with the similar chocolate/liquor flavours?


Caffeine content of cold-brewed coffee: higher or lower than hot-brewed? I recently rediscovered the joys of cold-brewing coffee. (One level cup of rough-ground beans, 4-1/2 cups of cold water, steeped overnight and strained, produces a rich coffee concentrate. A shot or three of concentrate in a mug topped with hot water makes a cup of coffee; poured over ice and milk makes a fantastic iced coffee drink.)

The information I've found online is contradictory. One site says this method produces a drink with less caffeine than traditional hot-brewed coffee; another says it actually contains more caffeine.

On the one hand, there's the heat in the traditional method. On the other hand, the beans are in contact with the water for twelve hours in the cold method. It seems as if the caffeine content could be identical? While the beans used will, of course, alter the outcome, does anyone know for certain if cold-brewed coffee has more or less caffeine than hot-brewed?

There's an article from MSNBC which quotes the Toddy company.  The Toddy company makes a device for easy brewing cold brewed coffee.  Apparently, in a side by side test of Toddy cold brewed with Star Buck's hot brewed, the caffeine content was ~30% less in cold brewed than in hot...  I'll go with that.  http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/5728227


Substitue for paneer? Have low fat milk, plain youghurt, cream cheese and butter I have a recipie for Skewered Pumpkin (from India Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant).  Basically it's grated pumpkin, paneer, onion, breadcrumbs and spices moulded into a sausage shape around a skewer and cooked over a grill or in a tandoor.

This calls for 300g of paneer.  I do not have paneer but I do have low fat milk, plain yoghurt, cream cheese and also butter.  Can I substitute the paneer with some combination of these?

Alternatively, will paneer work with if I try to make it from low-fat milk?  Or does it rely on the milk fats?  How much milk would I need to start with to finish with 300g of paneer?

I'm aware of How do you make paneer? so there is no need to repeat answers given there.

No, you can't substitute any of those for paneer. This should be pretty obvious given that you're trying to skewer and grill the paneer. It's a firm cheese that doesn't melt, while any combination of milk, yogurt, cream cheese, and butter will melt, if it's not liquid already. The best substitutes would be other cheeses like halloumi that don't melt, or else tofu. A firm cottage cheese would probably also do okay.

You also can't really use a cheese that melts in something like this. First of all, it just could never be the same texture, and the flavor would be a bit different too. But it could be worse than that. You didn't say exactly how much pumpkin, onion, and breadcrumbs you have in there, but generally, if you put a melting cheese in there, it's at best going to make the whole thing less solid and at worst it'll drip out as you grill it or conceivably even let it fall apart.

But you can indeed make paneer with the low fat milk, though. The texture just won't be quite as good - a little tougher, more dry and maybe even crumbly - since there's less fat and relatively more protein. With whole milk, 2L of milk makes ~350 grams of paneer, though that can of course vary depending on how well you drain/press it. Low fat milk won't have quite as high a yield, but you can probably still just start with 2L. The texture is probably the bigger problem. (And it'll of course be worse if your milk is 1% than if it's 2%.)


How concentrated can I brew iced tea? I infuse the tea in about 4-6 cups of water just off the boil for about 5 minutes.  Then I dilute it down to 1 gallon (usually with some ice to speed chilling) and keep it in the fridge.

I was interested in just making the concentrate and diluting it as I drink just to save space in the fridge and consolidate the brewing time.  How concentrated an infusion can I make without adversely affecting the flavor?

The amount of tea you use won't affect the flavor of tea adversely; the way you brew it will. This also depends on what kind of tea you're making (black, oolong, green, white, herbal). Greater quantities of tannins are released in higher-temperature water, which makes the tea more bitter.

TL;DR: If you follow the instructions for brewing temperature and time, you should be able to more or less add as much tea as you want.

Black teas are brewed with boiling water, typically for 2-3 minutes. Green, white and oolong teas are usually brewed at lower temp (180 F) for 3-4 minutes, and herbal teas at just below boiling for anywhere from 4-8 minutes.

I've found that I can easily more than double the amount of tea leaves I use, brew it at the recommended temperature for the recommended time (most tea packages should have instructions), and store the 2x concentrated tea in my refrigerator. Upton Tea has a great guide to tea for water temps and amounts. They also have instructions for hot and cold brewing iced tea - they recommend double or tripling the leaf quantity when hot brewing, then diluting to taste. (I buy a lot of my teas from here, and their instructions have never steered me wrong.)

If you're looking for even more information about preparation of and descriptions / histories of different types of tea, I recommend the Harney & Sons Guide to Tea.


Is it normal for hot mustard oil to foam strongly when ingredients are added, and why does it? I noticed that my mustard oil (of indian brands, as bought outside india, from specialty grocers carrying indian ingredients) tends to foam/bloom much more than other strongly heated oils when adding dried spices, gram flour and similar ingredients.

Is this an innate behaviour of this oil or a sign of an adulterated oil? If it is innate, what is the scientific reason behind this behaviour?

This is because all the Indian brands I know use the cold press method. In that process, some moisture is left in the oil that makes foam while heating. It's absolutely normal, and it's good that it has no chemicals. Hope this will help.


Too much sugar - HELP I'm making a cinnamon raisin bread.  The recipe calls for 5 3/4 cups of flour and 4 tsp of sugar in the first part.  Later on it calls for 3/4 cups of sugar mixed with cinnamon.  I was working the recipe from my computer screen and somehow missed the first sugar in the ingredients and added the 3/4 cups to the dough. I didn't realize the mistake until it was already proofing.  I did add some extra water to the knead, but not enough.  The dough is barely rising after 2 hours.  What can I expect the results to be?  Thank you in advance for any help.

It will not go well, as I think you already have guessed.

The reason for this is that concentrations of sugar over about 4-5% are inhibitory to yeast growth in bread making. You need the yeast growth to make the bubbles of carbon dioxide that cause the bread to rise.

The only reference I could find for this is from Food and Feed Technology p. 729.

  ...sugar concentrations ~4% produce apparent inhibition...

The book then goes on to say:

  Consequently sweet yeast raised breads (15-20% sugar) contain very high yeast concentrations

Your concentration of sugar is about 13% (0.75/5.75), well above where it needs to be for the bread to rise with regular amounts of yeast.

I suspect that you won't be able to resurrect it by adding extra yeast at this point, it would be over-kneaded and probably won't rise all that well, or will rise and then collapse during baking. Your only sure way is to start again and follow the recipe.


Can I layer Lemon curd and Lemon Mousse? I have a friend who really wants me to make then a cheesecake that has a layer of lemon curd that is then covered in a layer of lemon mousse. I think this sounds great but will the lemon curd curdle my mousse?

There are several recipies on the internet for this though most have the lemon curd on top of the cheesecake.  Mary Berry has a version where she includes the curd directly into the marscapone mixture, so it doesn't seem likely it will curdle.

Putting it onto the biscuit, then adding the cheesecake mixture might cause other problems, either the curd could be pushed out of the sides or moisten the base too much.


Is there some drink like panaché available in the Netherlands? Hi I remember summers around 2006 where we bought  Panaché at our local Lidl and a lot of people liked it. It's a soda drink with a little bit of beer. it looks like this:

Of course there is Shandy and Radler, but I don't find them quite the same.

Yes, Panache is available.

It seems to be similar to Shandy, or "Sneeuwwitje" in Dutch.


Is there ever a reason not to use baking beads when blind baking? Whenever I'm making a recipe that calls for blind baking pastry, they always provide alternatives for ceramic baking beads (such as rice) in case you don't own any. I do own them, so I always use them, assuming that they are the best choice.

Considering that they are specifically designed for blind baking, my question is: are there any disadvantages to using baking beads, or if I own them should I always choose to use them over other things for weighing down the pastry? Are there any alternatives that will give better results?

There is no reason to use something else, except that you either don't have pie weights (another name for ceramic baking beads), or you don't have enough of them.

Most Americans don't have pie weights in the kitchen.  Even those who do, often have a single chain of them, sufficient to cover the bottom of a pie crust but not to fill it.  Certain preparations, such as blind-baking a butter crust, require filling the pie crust to the rim in order to deter slumping, which could require as much as 5 cups of weights.

So if you don't have any, or don't have enough, use rice/beans/spare change.

COUNTERPOINT:  Stella Parks makes a good case why you should use sugar in preference to pie weights in her article on blind-baking.  Do note that using sugar requires you to blind-bake at low temperatures, because at 425 that sugar would turn to caramel.


How to identify a good espresso? During the last week I ordered many different espresso shots at coffee shops around the place where I work - some cheap, some expensive, some chains, some independent stores.

As I heard that it is difficult to make a good espresso, I wasn't surprised that there were major differences in the outcome: While some where really watery and thin, others were pretty oily and thick. Of course, I also enjoyed some more than others.

That takes me to the question: How do I identify a good espresso? Are there any general "guidelines" on how an espresso should taste/smell? How should it be consistency wise?

The standard espresso drink is the double espresso (a double espresso shot).  Although you can get single or triple espressos, if you are comparing quality, the double espresso is the standard.  Regardless of which type of shot you order, if you are comparing quality across different cafes, you should always order the same thing (ie don't order a single at one cafe and a double at another).

Once again for standardization, I would recommend ordering a double at each one.

My explanation of good espresso will be about straight espresso (no milk, no sugar) in an espresso mug/cup.

Here are some characteristics of a quality double shot:

Temperature:

The espresso should be quite hot when served.  If it is only lukewarm or warm right after it is made, then the barista did not heat the cup that it was served in.
It should be to the temperature where it is too hot to drink (for most people).  It should only take a minute or so to cool off.  Perhaps two minutes.

Crema:

There should be a nice layer of crema on top of the espresso (a few millimeters thick, completely covering the espresso).  This comes from the release of carbon dioxide when the espresso is extracted under pressure.
The color should be golden-brown to dark brown for a double shot.
The color will not always be uniform, it will sometimes be slightly lighter where the shot actually poured in the spot on the crema.
The crema should remain for at least three - five minutes if not longer.

Taste:

The espresso should be bitter, but not too bitter (high levels of bitterness are more characteristic of espresso long shots).
It should be rich, but not too rich (again, high levels of richness are more characteristic of espresso ristretto shots).
It should NOT be sour.  If it is sour, it has been sitting for too long before being served or was over-extracted.
It should not taste watery, this is usually a characteristic of under-extraction.

Smell:

Hard to describe for espresso and the aroma will vary a lot.  One thing to avoid is a 'sour' smell, which usually indicates a sour taste, as described above, or that the coffee being used is inherently too acidic.

Consistency:

Espresso is going to be thicker and more viscous than regular drip coffee, but it won't be syrupy.  When you are done your espresso, the drop or two that remain at the bottom of the cup, when dried should leave a distinct brown residue on the bottom of the cup.

Notes, and other things to keep in mind:

You will have to remember that different cafes will use different varieties of beans for making espresso, so this is going to affect the flavor.
Different cafes use different amounts of ground espresso and different amounts of water when preparing their espresso.  The industry standard is 2 oz (about 60 milliliters) for a double shot, but in my cafe we do our double shots to 3 oz.
Most importantly, learning to recognize good espresso is an experienced based endeavor, just like with wine, beer, or food.

On a personal note, I love to do this with cafes as well!  I always judge the quality of a cafes espresso and ability by ordering my favorite drink: a double espresso long.  In fact, I am going to a new cafe to do it today!!

A Lovely Looking Cup of Espresso:


Container for keeping butter/chocolate at 74°F/66°F (23°C/19°C)? Keeping my entire home at 74°F isn’t practical. Is there a device for storing butter and chocolate at a temperature that’s reasonable for use and consumption? Two devices, one to warm in the winter and cool in the summer?

I’m looking for something with a thermostat that maintains temperature fairly precisely for under $200.

One option might be using either a mini-fridge or wine cooler, and the addition of an external temperature controller, which overrides the internal temperature setting. Combined, the cost would be at or under your $200 target. Here's an example of Johnson Controls Digital Thermostat Control Unit (on Amazon)


Does higher quality bacon cook flatter? My friend was remarking that the bacon I buy is low-quality because when it cooks it's all warped and not flat.  I remarked that if he doesn't want bacon, he should keep talking.

Other things being equal, namely the cooking method (if you use one of those fancy presses, could probably make anything flat), does "higher quality" bacon cook flatter?

I believe bacon warps when cooked largely because the different stripes (fat and meat) respond differently to being cooked - the fat doesn't contract as much. So I think that thicker bacon will tend to warp less, because it has more structure and can't curl about as easily, and often higher quality bacon is thicker. But if you got really amazing thinly sliced bacon, I can't imagine it not curling when cooked.

(Disclaimer: It's been a long while since I cooked bacon; I eat little meat and cook less, so I could be wrong.)


How should I keep date palm fruit at my home? My neighbour gave us date palm fruit, its colour is not that black, kind of brown, not as sweet as the date palm fruit I ate before. I'm not sure if it's ripen already, but it's sweet enough, so my family and I just enjoy eating it.

Now I'm confused of where I should keep it. Should I keep it in the fridge? Or should I keep it outside the fridge? Won't ants come to get it if I don't store it in the fridge? I once kept date palm fruit in the fridge, but the fruit became firmer/tougher to bite, I'm not sure if that's better.

Advice? Help? Thanks.

The dates you have are probably brahi, whereas the ones you remember eating before are medjhoul. These are different types of dates, and have slightly different flavour profiles.

As for storage, they should be fine for a few days at room temperature. For anything longer than that, they should be kept in the fridge, particularly if you live somewhere hot/humid.
I also vaguely remember an old Israeli habit of eating yellow dates frozen, or after a few minutes out of the freezer.


What is the best type of machine for making smooth nut butter? I want to make nut butter from soaked cashews or soaked pepitas. I am wondering what type of machine will get the smoothest product?

I am currently using a food processor which is great for cashews but I'm wondering if I can do better.  Other possibilities include a blender, nut butter machine, and some type of grinder (perhaps a wet grinder?).

Any machine that can reduce the nuts to very fine granules should do the job.

Wet grinders given there’s enough liquid/fat content in the nuts should do the best job. However that might not always be the case. Special high powered blenders (such a blendtec) with a purpose designed jar (like a twister jar) would generally provide more reliable results.


Is cooking with hydrogen peroxide an accepted practice? I had some pork (shoulder) I had to use today, suspecting it might be unsafe tomorrow.

So I thought I'd soak it in some hydrogen peroxide, about 2-3% concentration to at least get rid of any surface bacteria.

After about 10 minutes, the pork looked half-cooked and felt extremely pliable. I assume the proteins had denatured like in a ceviche. Stir-frying it quickly to finish it off took less than a minute and it was really tender.

Is cooking with hydrogen peroxide an accepted practice?

The Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety offers the following information and advice:

  Use of Hydrogen Peroxide in Food Processing

  Because of its strong oxidising property, hydrogen peroxide is used as
  a bleaching agent in some foods such as wheat flour, edible oil, egg
  white etc. in countries like the US, Canada, Australia and New
  Zealand.
  It is also allowed to be used as an antimicrobial agent in food, e.g.
  milk, and as a sterilizing agent for food packaging materials.

and

  Safety of Hydrogen Peroxide

  Oral ingestion of 3% hydrogen peroxide solutions (household strength)
  generally does not result in severe toxicity but may result in
  vomiting, mild irritation to mucosa and burns in the mouth, throat,
  oesophagus and stomach. Ingestion of higher concentration, e.g. >10%,
  can result in more dangerous sequelae such as burns to mucus membranes
  and gut mucosa.
  Hydrogen peroxide is unstable and would decompose in contact with food
  and after cooking.

and, finally,

  Advice to the Trade

  If hydrogen peroxide is used in processing food, only food grade
  hydrogen peroxide should be used in processing food.
  The amount of hydrogen peroxide to be used in food processing should
  be limited to the amount sufficient for the purpose.
  Appropriate measures should be taken to remove residual hydrogen
  peroxide from the finished products.

Based on this information, it seems there is some precedent for using hydrogen peroxide in a cooking environment.


Why do we use so much water to cook spaghetti? Every time I cook spaghetti in a regular pot, I get the feeling that I could save litres of water if the pot had been created with spaghetti cooking in mind. This is especially true when I only need 1-2 portions. Cooking smaller pasta is more efficient.

Is there a culinary reason for using so much water? Do professional kitchens use a better method?

A tall thin pot is a hazard as it can be tipped over all too easily

The book says use lots of water to ensure even cooking and to stop the pasta sticking. But regular stirring will solve this problem too

Just use less water in a regular pot and feed the pasta into the boiling water. It takes about 30 seconds for long spaghetti to soften enough for it to fit into a regular pot. It cooks just fine WITHOUT breaking it up if you give it a quick stir after a minute, and then every couple of minutes or so

If you know your stove temperature and spaghetti type, it will only take a couple of goes to work out the least amount of water you can use. I use about 1 l of boiling water for three adult servings of spaghetti in a medium domestic pot. With the lid half on it is cooked to a firm bite point in less than 8 minutes, and the water just covers the spaghetti when finished


Does soap kill germs? This accepted answer about knife cleaning seems to presume that soap sanitizes:

  ...in household use soap is required to sanitize your knife blade.

However, a cursory search seems to undermine the presumption that soap kills germs:

This ask alice post states the following:

  Regular household soap or cleanser does not kill germs — rather, it suspends (or lifts) them off the skin surface, allowing the microscopic critters to be rinsed down the drain.

The wikipedia definition for soap does not seem to suggest that soap, in general, has any germicidal properties.
This white paper on disinfecting in child care does not even consider soap for killing germs other than to clean a surface prior to.
From personal experience, I have encountered numerous liquid soap storage containers that were clearly culturing a colony of one life form or another.

So, does soap really kill germs?

No, soap does not kill germs in general.  It facilitates washing foreign matter, dirt, and so on (which may host pathogens) from the hands.  There are some soaps with antibacterial agents added, but I won't go into whether they are effective, or even a good idea, as this is not the forum for that.

Typical food service sanitation standards (that is, the health codes) require either sanitzing agents or certain heat and time requirements (or both) in dishwashing to ensure proper sanitation.  See this typical regulatory summary from one jurisdiction.

This FDA document may fall into the category of Too Much Information, but the point of hand washing in food service (as important as dishwashing) is to control fecal bacteria.

Even these requirements do not kill all germs, but are intended to get to a reasonable level of cleanliness and safety for the average population for the types of threats typically related to food preparation.

Hospitals and other labs that require all pathogens or microfauna to be killed must use much more stringent measures to sterilize, rather than sanitize.

Edit:  Note that the referenced question about cleaning knives also has temperature standards (the time required is not mentioned in the post, but is important)--that is the real factor that provides sanitation, not the soap.  With the reduced temperature, not that the post talks about the need for "chemical additives" which would be sanitizing agents of one sort or another.

I believe the part of the referenced answer that concludes in the author's opinion that should use soap to sanitize is... well... its not quite correct.  There is more to cleanliness than sanitization (reduction of pathogens).  Its just that soap doesn't help with the sanitization part other than removing foreign matter which may provide a place for the pathogens to grow.

Most home folks will never truly sanitize without the use of a dishwasher as the water from the hot water heater is simply not hot enough, and most homes don't have three compartment sinks where the middle sink is used for a sanitizer dunk.


What is tortilla flour? I've accidentally ordered tortilla flour for my kitchen instead of flour tortillas.

The meal was saved, but I don't know anything about this flour specifically. What type of flour is it closest to? What can it or can it not be used for? Is it a different grind?

Tortilla is basically Mexican bread to make Quesadilla, Enchiladas or tacos. It is a fine ground flour containing either wheat or corn for wheat tortilla and corn tortilla.


Crumbly cookie dough My cookie dough is falling apart. What should i do? I have tried everything! Including more flour, more milk, more everything but its exactly the same!

Usually when cookie dough falls apart, it is because the flour is not sufficiently hydrated, that is to say, it has not absorbed enough water.

There are two factors at play:

The ratio of liquid in the recipe (from eggs, milk, water, juice, coffee, or any other source) to flour (by weight)
The amount of time that the dough has had to rest and absorb the water.

Typically, when you are saying your dough is crumbly, it is going to be a rolling type cookie, like a sugar cookie.  These often benefit very much from a resting period of at least four hours in order to fully hydrate the flour.

Another common cause is measurement.  Flour, especially when measured in a measuring cup, is very easy to mis-measure, and the ratio of flour to liquid is extremely important.  I strongly recommend weighing flour for all baking purposes.  Quality recipes and cookbooks will indicate flour by weight, or tell you how much their standard cup weighs.  If you cannot find this information for a particular recipe, using 4.25 ounces of flour by weight for each cup is a good guess.

What you don't want to do is add flour to the recipe; that will only exacerbate the problem.

See also: What does an overnight chill do to cookie dough, that a 4 hour chill doesn't?


Does soaking almonds have the same effect as blanching and removing the skins when making almond milk? I love almond milk, and it's relatively easy to make, however the recipes I've used all call for removing the skins by blanching before blending with water and straining. However I find the skinning process to be tedious to the point where I no longer make almond milk.

I have seen other recipes call for soaking almonds overnight before blending / straining. Does this serve the same purpose as removing the skins via. blanching -- removing the bitterness associated with the almond skin?

I think that both will do the purpose you are looking for. The soaking is more to bring the nutrients out of the almond before preparing the dish you need them for or in this case the milk. I would try just the soaking once and if you want it more sweet then bitter add the sugar into the water you are soaking it in, this might neutralize the bitterness in the milk when it is ready to drink. Also to neutralize the bitterness try adding vanilla extract or even cinnamon if you would like that.


How can you tell whether bread dough is ready for baking? I've tried to make a special bread for making 'torrijas', the Spanish version of French toast. Very popular during easter, here.

Twice, the bread didn't rise correctly in the oven, even after extended rising. The resulting bread was pretty solid, with unbaked lumps in the center.

The second dough was kept in the fridge for 24h, then risen for about 1h, then formed and risen again before baking...

So, the question is if there is an objective way to determine when a dough is ready to be baked?

PD. I'll start a dwarf bread factory, shortly.

Unbaked lumps probably mean you aren't mixing it enough.  Try starting with a little less flour and knead in more as you go.

Another issue is you may not be kneading it enough.  Next time try using the windowpane test.  You don't have to do this every time, but if you're having trouble with a specific recipe this will help you figure out how the dough should "feel" when its ready by giving you a visual indicator.  I've found that when I have dough rising problems, it's usually because I didn't knead long enough.  This should also help fix your mixing issue.

That being said, there are two good methods to see if dough has risen enough.  One is to let it rise in a marked container (though this doesn't work well for shaped loaves or if you aren't supposed to let it double).  The other is the poke test.  From a Bon Appetit online article:

  To test for doneness, use the finger test: Poke it with 2 fingers; it holds the indentation, it's ready.

Generally I poke it and if it pops right back out, it's not ready.  For sourdough, if it holds its shape for a moment and then slowly starts to expand back, it's perfect.  For other breads, holding the indentation is a good indicator.  This isn't necessarily advisable for delicate doughs.  If you're working with a delicate dough, try the test on one loaf that you don't "need" to be perfect.  You can use this as a relative time measurement for the future.


How to make cake like cookies crispy I have a recipe for fresh fig cookies that is delicious (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/9929/fresh-fig-cookies/).  I added a few extra spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and all spice) and changed the shortening to butter.  My problem is the cookies come out like flat, round cakes instead of crispy cookies.  The picture shown looks like crispy-ish cookies, but I've made them twice and both times they have come out the same way.  Since I've already changed to butter to help them be crispy, can/should I increase the baking soda (or leave out the baking powder)?  Or is there something else I can do to make them crispier?  Or just resign myself to cakey cookies (and make a filling to turn them into whoopee pies)?

In general, to create crispier cookies:

baking soda (if you use this to replace the baking powder, keep in mind it's thought to be 3x as strong, so reduce accordingly. The decrease in acid leads to a longer set temp, which will help your cookie bake to be crispier. If you'd like to even out the decrease in acid, you can always use a little bit of each, or even add in a little lemon juice)
replace the egg (with whole milk to encourage spreading)
make sure the butter you're creaming is at the right temperature (read this post for more info: http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2015/04/27/creaming-butter-sugar/)
bake it for longer at a lower temp with smaller flatter cookies

All of these tips are meant to increase the surface area of the cookie exposed to the heat, in order to dry it out/crisp it up. However, your cookie recipe also has the addition of all the water and stickiness of the fruits, so it is unlikely that you can get it to be completely dry and crispy, like a sugar cookie, for instance.

Tips gathered from many sources and experience, but the best one for cookies found was this one: http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2015/04/27/creaming-butter-sugar/

Good luck on our quest for crispier fig cookies!


Do German or Japanese knives hold their edge longer? I want to buy a chef's knife, but I can't sharpen, and I don't plan to learn it. I will have to send my knives for sharpening, so I obviously prefer this to happen as rarely as possible.

I am leaning towards a Solingen style knife, probably a forged Zwilling. But I read in an answer herethat the Japanese style knives like Global need less frequent sharpening. This surprised me, as I seem to recall reading the opposite somewhere (but don't recall where).

Assumed that I hone the knife after use, which type will need less frequent sharpening?

The reason you're seeing conflicting opinions is because there are a number of factors (including steel composition, grind angle, grind profile, and usage) that contribute to a knife's edge-holding ability.

German/European knives are made of a softer steel than Japenese knives - they need sharpening more often but are easier to sharpen because of the softness.  Since the steel in Japanese harder, it needs to be sharpened less often.

The other factor is the angle of the edge - the German/European angle is flatter than the Japanese knives.  This means the German knives take 'abuse' better on the edge and requires less sharpening because of that.  You can see below that there are two different angles:

As far as which requires sharpening less, I'd say it depends on how general purpose your knife is going to be.  If its going to be going through bone and all sorts of things, the German edge will probably stay a bit better and the softer steel will re-hone better.  If you're mainly cutting veggies, breads, cheeses, and other soft items - the Japanese knife will last longer because the difference of edge doesn't matter as much as the steel here.


Does the definition of "cooking" imply heat? Through comments posted in this question, I'd like to expand the commentary on the definition of cooking.  Specifically, is heat an essential stipulation?

According to the wiki article on cooking:

  Cooking can also occur through chemical reactions without the presence of heat, most notably with ceviche, a traditional South American dish where fish is cooked with the acids in lemon or lime juice.

Another example is cooking with liquid nitrogen.  Am I wrong in calling this cooking?

NOTE: I could not find a duplicate question, but please let me know if you find otherwise.

Neither "yes" nor "no" is a suitable answer to that question.

First, there is no "the definition" of cooking. I am sure you can turn up several formal definitions, and my best guess is that some will require heat and others won't.

Second, and probably more important, humans don't think in definitions. You are asking if a given action belongs to the category "cooking methods". A definition works by ticking off features some element has to have to belong to a category. Real human categories (in everyday thinking, as opposed to formally defined ones in the sciences) depend on the closeness of an element to a prototype element. This closeness is gradual, and there is no demarcation to say where the category ends.

Keeping this in mind, all prototypical forms of cooking clearly involve heat, so the ones which don't involve it have a weaker membership in the "cooking methods" category than those which do. But it is impossible to pronounce whether they fall inside or outside of the category. Different people will answer that question differently, and I suspect that even the same person may give different answers in different contexts.

To make it even more complicated, "apply heat" is not the single thing which makes a food-related action resemble stewing (or whatever you take the prototype cooking method to be). So different things you do to food without heat will have a different grade of belonging to the "cooking" category.

People tend to not be aware of all that, and usually trust their intuition to take one side or the other. So you'll find people on both sides who insist they are right, and can rationalize it with some kind of plausibly sounding argument. Reality is more complicated than that, and if you try to prove one of the sides wrong, you will end up in a flame war going nowhere.