Why do whole chicken recipes advise rinsing the chicken? Possible Duplicate:
  Does meat need to be washed before preparation?

I'm roasting a whole chicken for dinner tonight and the recipe told me to rinse the bird under cold water and pat it dry before doing anything else.

What is the reason for that? Does that improve the flavour or prevent any problems?

The theory is that washing the chicken (or any fowl) removes all of the contaminates from the surface and cavity of the bird (ie salmonella, etc.). People will be in one of two camps - 1. those that have been told to do all of their lives, so they do it, and 2. those who don't because it is really not necessary. You cook your birds to a certain temperature internally for a reason, that is to kill all of that stuff.

Really, the truth of the matter is that there are far higher risks in washing the bird and spreading all of those juices all over your sink (thus contaminating the sink and possibly some work surfaces).

There is no increase in flavour, there is no practical reason to bother. Professionally, it is not done.

However, having said that, the one time I do rinse and pat dry is when I am applying a rub. It ensures that the chicken is dry and I can effectively rub, instead of the rub turning to a paste.


sourdough bread making-without bakers yeast I have the book by Jessie Hawkins, The Vintage Remedies Guide to Bread, in which
she describes the benefits of the ancient method of sourdough bread making.

The bread described in the book needs to rise from 12 to 36 hours, which makes it has a low glycemic index, low gluten, and being much more nutritious, etc.  I have tried several loaves, and they come out good tasting, but way too dense and the crust is very hard.  I suspect it has something to do with the starter, but I'm not sure.

I try to make sure the starter is active before I mix the dough. Some loaves rise quickly and are ready to bake after 12 hours, but more often they take 36 hours.  The top crusts sometimes separates from the loaf.

I use:

Filtered water
No sweetener
1 tbsp of olive oil (13.5 gr)
1 tsp salt (6 gr)
four cups of (bread) flour (500 gr)
⅔ cup of starter.

Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong?

Without seeing the loaves or knowing your exact procedures, it's hard to guess. My money would be on too dry a dough. Could also be inactive starter, too long a bake, not a hot enough bake, not enough rise time/temperature. So I'll just talk about how I make sourdough in the hopes it'll help. These are techniques I've learned from various books (most notably Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice) and experiences.

If I did it right, you can click any of the thumbnails for full size images.

First order of business, of course, is having a nice, active starter. I build my final starter from the barm the day before. Depending on my schedule, I either leave it at room temp all night or feed it earlier in the day and pop it in the fridge. It then comes out to warm up a few hours before I bake. It should show strong signs of life. This starter was made with nothing but flour and water--no grapes, no commercial yeast, no juice.

Then comes mixing and kneading. I like to mix the starter with the water first, allowing the starter to break up and dissolve a bit. This ensures good mixing with the final dough. Then I add the flour and salt, mix to a coarse ball...

...and switch to the dough hook for 5 minutes or so. The dough should be stickier than you think it should be. Turn it out onto a floured surface for 4-5 minutes of final kneading by hand to adjust the flour. It should be smooth and supple, still be a bit tacky, and pass the windowpane test. When you stretch it to form a boule, the outside should be smooth and not tear.

Let it rise 3-4 hours at room temp or slightly warmer (a closed oven with a bowl of hot water works well). Then shape and proof for another 3-4 hours.

I start with a very hot oven. 500-550F for artisan loaves. If using a stone, get it in there 45-60 minutes before baking, that way the stone and oven get a good heat soak. Then when the loaves go in, you want to create steam to allow the bread to rise before the crust hardens. A steam pan is a good idea, and I also spray down the walls of the oven with a squirt bottle. Be careful of squirting the light bulb--it will shatter. Don't ask me how I know. After a few squirts, turn the heat down to your final baking temp. I usually go with 450F.

Don't forget to slash them, too. That helps them expand and prevents blowouts. I had some issues getting these guys onto the stone (not my finest hour), but they were still outstanding. You can see the crumb is open and light, but still gelatinized and chewy. Perfect, in my book.


Are there alternative ways to test fruit preserves for doneness? I've tried twice to make fruit preserves using only the natural pectins in the fruit. The first time with plums where the jam was much to thick, and yesterday orange marmalade which came out tasting great but a bit on the runny side.

In both attempts I tested for doneness by letting a few drops of hot jam fall onto a cold plate and letting it cool before pushing it around with one finger to see if a crinkly skin has formed.

In my hands this test is clearly not fool-proof. Are there alternative techniques for  those of us who have not yet developed an eye for crinkliness?

Have you tried using a candy thermometer and testing the jam when it's at 220°F?

An alternative to the method that you use is to use a spoon and do the 'two drop test'. If you dip a cold metal spoon into your jam mix and then lift it. When the mixture is only just boiling it will drip off and be light. As the mixture continues to heat the drops that fall from the spoon will be heavier  When the two drops form and fall off the spoon it should be ready. I'll be honest though I much prefer the method you use and this is just an alternative.


How to store homemade fresh Mozzarella Cheese What is the key to keeping fresh Mozzarella soft.

It often turns "sticky" in refrigerator storage

I believe that fresh mozzarella should be stored in the whey to keep it moist.


Substitute celery seed for fresh celery in soup How much celery seed do I substitute for a stalk of celery in soup? I haven't tried anything as I don't want to ruin a whole pot of soup.

If it's one stick in a pot serving several people (as it sounds from your question), it's not a major part of the flavour.  The seed also has a different flavour to the sticks and can be quite strong*, so I'd be sparing and use a pinch, crushed.  Serious eats also talks in terms of pinches, though they think it tastes "exactly like celery" or "very similar".

If there's quite a lot in there, the substitution probably isn't a good idea as the differece in flavour will be more apparent and it will also affect the texture.

*The last time I used celery seed it was home-grown which might taste stronger than bought.


How should cooked pork shoulder be stored in the freezer? After searching the site I didn't see this question under the tag freezing or after searching for [freezing] bbq and [barbecue] freezing but I did run across How should I store steaks in the freezer? but my question is in regards to shredded barbecue.  That said, I typically do around 4 bone-in pork shoulders in my smoker but my smoker holds up to 8 shoulders at a time so I am wanting to know how should I freeze the pork?

After some research on the freezing process I have concluded that I should let the meat rest for an hour before shredding but where I fall into an issue is if I should:

Let meat cool down in the fridge for four hours after shredding, bag and vacuum seal, then place into freezer.
After shredding immediately place in vacuum bag and then place in freezer.
Since air is an issue in the vacuum process, let meat rest for an hour hour after shredding, sauce meat to an extent of it only being covered to assist in vacuum removal then freeze so it will be a solid.

So how should the cooked shredded pork shoulder be prepared for freezing?

I don't see a strong reason to wait for the meat to cool completely before vacuum sealing it.  In fact, by waiting, you're likely to let more flavor and moisture escape unless you've already put it in a well-sealed container.

The only reason to wait would be if you were vacuum sealing very large packages, which might take very long to cool down in the center.  But if your packages are a reasonably small size and/or flat enough to cool quickly, it's probably fine to seal early.

I would strongly recommend cooling and chilling before freezing, however.  Please do NOT cool outside of a refrigerator unless you are using an ice bath or something like a cooler as recommended by Sean Hart.  (That is, do NOT just cool on the counter.)  If you can't do that, the refrigerator is fine for cooling thin or flat packages -- just don't put hot food in touch with perishable food inside the fridge, and don't stack packages (you want to maximize air circulation).

It's important to chill before freezing because the rate of freezing is important for preserving the best quality in meat.  If it takes a long time for meat to freeze, larger ice crystals will form during the process, which create a number of problems (more chance for "freezer burn," meat loses more juice and tastes drier when reheated, etc.).  So chill the meat well, and then place in freezer.  Again, try not to stack packages or place them too close together when freezing, since you want them to freeze as quickly as possible.  (Depending on the size of the freezer and how much meat you're freezing, it may also make sense to freeze in batches, since adding too much food at once to a freezer may make it less efficient and less able to freeze quickly.)

As for the last question of whether or not to sauce, I think that's more of a personal preference question.  I could see potential advantages if you remove air more efficiently if you add a little sauce, not only for the sealing process, but in the freezer where having more leftover air in a package tends to encourage "freezer burn" and can create quality issues.  But it really depends on whether the vacuum sealing can work efficiently even without the sauce.


How can I tell whether an egg has been hard-boiled, through the shell? At my workplace, there's a mysterious carton of eggs in the common refrigerator. Nobody I've asked knows whether they're raw or cooked.

Is there a way to tell, without cracking one of the eggs open?

Take an egg from the carton and 'spin' it on the work counter. If it spins, it's cooked, if it does anything else, it's not.


Scientific method to microwave octopus I want to cook about 300 g of parboiled frozen octopus.  I am sorry to say that the parboiled octopus is white, not translucent but good quality, freshly produced.

The octopus therefore needs to be boiled to soften.

If I have a microwave, can I put the 300 g octopus in a glass dish and cook it for two to three hours in a microwave to soften?

Any recipes and formulas to convert the microwave output to percentage setting and time will be appreciated.

If you want to boil something in your microwave, you certainly can. I doubt it'll be as power-efficient as doing it on the stove, but it's possible.

But there's no formula to get you a time and power level. You probably want to heat on maximum power until the water boils, then heat on the lowest power setting which keeps the water boiling until the octopus is done how you want.

On top of that, depending on your microwave, even the lowest power setting may be too high, and cause water to boil away enough that you'll need to replenish it eventually if you're cooking for an extended period.


Is my thawed chicken still good 4 days later in the fridge? I took out Frozen Perdue chicken breast on Sunday afternoon and put them in the fridge to thaw. They are each pre packaged. Today is Thursday are they still good to cook today?

It's impossible to answer this for sure, it depends on how fresh they were when they were frozen and other factors. If they were frozen quickly after you bought them and they were well within their sell by date they are probably still good.

The easiest way to tell is to smell them, your nose is the best detector you have. If they smell bad get rid of them. If they smell okay feel them, if they are super slimy it's not a good sign, although they still may be edible (wash them in cold water first). A bit of sliminess is perfectly normal.


Is there a special reason why dry rubs are meant to work with grilling over other cooking methods? I notice that dry rubs are meant to work best with grilling.

Why is this the case, why can't they work well with something like frying?

Well, if you deep-fried something with a dry rub:

all the oil-soluble flavors would dissolve into the fry oil. You lose your flavor, and also probably greatly shorten the life of the oil. (How long you can use it before it starts smoking and/or imparts a bad flavor).
a lot of the rub would wind up falling off and making mess at the bottom of the pot/fryer. (A fryer with a cold zone at the bottom would probably be OK, but most things you're using at home to fry isn't going to be — will surely start burning on the bottom of the fryer). Compare to how in a smoker or grill, if some falls of, its not really a problem.
BBQ dry rubs are often fairly sugar-heavy, would probably brown way too fast and ultimately it'd either burn or you'd have to pull the food out before it was cooked through.

If instead you mean pan-fry, shallow-fry, etc., then the latter two will still happen.

You can use a dry rub with other cooking techniques: for example, roasting in a moderate to low oven or slow-cooking in a crock pot. (The amount you use, especially in a crock pot, would be different). Ideally, with all these low-and-slow cooking methods, the flavor from the rub has a chance to penetrate; it wouldn't with a fast method like frying.

And even with fast cooking methods, you can do something similar; e.g., salt and pepper on meat before throwing it in the saute pan is sort of a dry rub. And when pan-frying, it's pretty common to put spices in the breading or binder.


Scaling problems with a cake - mousse layer increases more than other layers We've come up with a recipe for a cake that has four different layers (a dough base plus fillings) and is then covered in chocolate mousse. We tested that recipe as a small sample and concluded that the ideal proportion was to have 70 grams of base layers for 80 grams of chocolate mousse, creating a tight cylindric 150 gram cake. So far, so good.

We then proceeded to make a bigger version, with a wider mold, which would weight 1.88 kilograms, so we scaled our recipe and found out that 875 grams of base layers for 1kg of chocolate mousse. But the problem is, the mousse layer becomes so large that it collapses.

Fixing this is fairly obvious: use less mousse. Maybe, since the mousse is less dense than all the other layers, increasing its total weight has a much bigger impact in terms of volume. But how can we define our recipe in terms of volume rather than weight, then?

I feel like we're missing something very obvious here, but if the proportions of the recipe are the same as the small, initial version, why do we get such different results? How can we scale the recipe in order to achieve a consistent amount of mousse, regardless of the size we attempt to make (i.e. what kind of math is required to make a 1kg, 2kg and 3kg cake from one single recipe / set of proportions, considering the form factor stays the same -- still round, same height, just different diameter -- if it's even possible to do so)?

Density = mass / volume, so if you double the mass of mousse, the volume should also double. The only way you can get more than double volume is if the density decreases, which I doubt is happening.

If you're covering the sides and top with mousse, than mass--which is directly related to volume--isn't going to help, you need to think about surface area. For a cylindrical cake frosted on the sides and top, the surface area and volume are

SA = pi d^2 / 4 + pi d h
 V = pi h d^2 / 4

with d the diameter and h the height. You could imagine two cakes of the same mass, one thin and very broad with a very big surface area, the other a bit tall and small around with much smaller surface area. So you'll need to take both height and diameter into account when figuring how much more mousse you need.

Edit

We can simplify a bit. The ratio of new mousse to old mousse in volume or mass should be the same as the ratio of new SA to old SA. Using your edit that the height stays the same:

Ratio = SA_new / SA_old = d_new / d_old * (d_new  + 4h) / (d_old + 4h)

I'm going to assume that your height is pretty big, and that four times the height is maybe getting close to the bigger diameter. Then we could approximate the ratio above (there is some height h such that 4h is between d_old and d_new such that)

Ratio = d_new^2 / d_old^2

So if you're going from an 8-inch diameter to a 12-inch diameter you'd want to make 144 / 64  = 2.25 times the mousse. And, as this is pretty rough, I'd add a little to that to be safe and make 2.5 times the mousse. (And having a little extra mousse doesn't seem like the worst thing in world.) If my guess about the height is wrong, just measure and use the actual formula, you'll get better results! Always make a little more than the you expect to need though, because nothing's worse than having not quite enough.


Is the print on eggs safe for consumption? I notice that many eggs nowadays have print on them that states the expiration date of the egg.  I have only see the print in pink.  Are these print safe for consumption, for example, if I boil an egg with such printing on it along with other food in the same pot, is it safe to eat the food boiled along with it?  I am wondering what's the content of the print, is it just food coloring, which should be safe to eat?

This is an excerpt:

  Regulatory compliance. Inks used for egg coding must comply with
  government regulations governing food marking inks. These broadly state
  that inks printed on food items must be safe for human consumption,
  both when the food item is raw and when it is cooked. Egg coding must
  not weaken the egg shell or penetrate through the shell. Once dry, the ink
  should remain on the egg shell and not contaminate the egg during the
  cooking process.

Now, that is taken from this link which is actually an advertising pamphlet by a company selling their printing service, but it should be true for commercial products. If a small farm is stamping their own, then it might be worth questioning them.

I would expect to see more and more eggs getting the inkjet treatment as more countries are making it a requirement, not just acceptable.  One would assume this is to prevent practices like carton swapping and relabeling of old product.  Myself, the only eggs I have purchased with it on also happened to be in red and it was only logos, not date and tracking info.  They did not do a good job with the fast drying aspect as the logos were smeared on some eggs, but when the eggs were boiled it did not fade or further smear.  There are multiple food safe inks, often meat and meat products are inked thought typically on fat, skins or casings, but candies, baked goods and such are expanding that practice steadily.  I am not sure what type of inks they are using as soy based food grades any I have seen tend to smear and wash off.  I can only hope since these are food agency approved and even required in some places they were reasonably tested.


How can I cook a full chicken with skin on it when my oven is broken? Our oven is broken and we can only use a frying pan. We have started to defrost a full chicken with the skin on it. We are a little new to cooking. How can I still prepare it?

If you are intent on cooking the bird whole (as opposed to butchering it into pieces which you can fry in a pan), then your only option would be to braise the bird in a large pot, preferably a Dutch oven.  There are myriad recipes online; search for "Chicken in a Pot" or "Braised Whole Chicken".  As ElendilTheTall mentioned in the comments above, the only other option to keep the chicken whole would be to use a barbecue/grill.


How to ADD a black patina to a bare aluminum frying cauldre I was born in 1936 and my mother bought a small aluminum ( 6.5 inches in diameter ) cauldre, thus it is my own age, 75 years old. It had a beautifull black patina on the outside and to make a long story short, somebody in my family found it and removed all this patina and painted some ridicolous flowers on it. To do this the patina was removed ( maybe with sandpaper ). Now this item is again in my posesion and I removed the ridicolous flowers and now the small cauldre is shining aluminum color.
I would like to ADD a black patina on it, on the OUTSIDE. All the information there is on the Internet is about seasoning the metal on the inside.
Does somebody know how to do this ?

this is just my guess, but i would think that seasoning on the outside would be the same... like illustrated here at the Black Iron blog: http://blackirondude.blogspot.com/2009/01/easy-cast-iron-skillet-reconditioning.html


How do I turn on an auto ignition stove? I've bought a new stove which is supposed to be auto ignition. If I turn on the gas and turn the knob thing, a flame flickers underneath but the stove doesn't light, I have to use a lighter to light it.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

A couple of things. First, you just bought it, it surely came with a manual, you should check there to make sure you're doing it right.

In general there are a couple of things that come to mind:

You may need to turn the burner to high to get it to ignite.
You may not be waiting long enough. It takes a few seconds (at least on mine).
There may be something wrong with your stove. For example, maybe the burners aren't installed properly. You're seeing the spark, so that part is obviously working. If giving it a few seconds on high doesn't get it to ignite, and the manual provides no help, I'd suggest calling the manufacturer or the dealer, they'd be in the best position to diagnose a defective unit.


Substitution for Suet in Christmas Pudding I'm interested in making a traditional Christmas pudding but I've never seen suet available in the stores around here. Assuming I can't find any, what would be a good substitution?

For Christmas pudding, there really is no substitute. In some recipes it's possible to use finely grated, very hard, unsalted butter, or a vegetable shortening, but the results are just not the same.


Rule of thumb for conventional oven baking vs. grilling kebabs (ground meat & I am trying to cook two different ground meat as a kebab (I already had the preparation done for ground venison and ground lamb Adana kebabs). Most of the recipes I see online assumed grilling over charcoal, but since I am in an apartment in a city, I am trying to bake the kebabs using my conventional oven.
I wanted to see what the corresponding rule of thumb is for cooking time across different types of meat over a charcoal grill vs. a conventional oven:
i.e.,
                  Conventional Oven/Temperature     vs.          Charcoal grill

Time to cook:
Ground lamb
Ground venison
Ground beef
Lamb cubes
Beef Cubes
Chicken
etc.
I'd like to have some type of conversion between the conventional oven times vs. charcoal grill times. If there is a chart on how long to cook between a conventional oven vs. charcoal grill for different types of meat (as well as temperature setting), that would be great.

Rather than normal oven baking, I usually put things under the broiler (grill, whatever your country calls top-only heat), on the highest temperature, with the rack set so the items are 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) from the heating element.  If it's a thick cut of meat, like a bottom round steak (for "london broil"), then you'll want to leave at least 2" (5cm) of space as it will plump up when it cooks
And then just cook until the top is browned to your liking, roll / flip them over, brown again, etc, until it's well browned.
And while this is going on, you'll want to leave the oven door slightly ajar.  This prevents the oven from warming up so much that the heating element shuts off, which means you're no longer getting radiant heat.  And you want to watch it, as things can go from brown to black in only a minute or two.
If they're not sufficiently cooked through at that point, then you can leave them in the middle of a low oven (maybe 300°F / 150°C) until they're cooked to your liking.


What are berry grains? For several years, I ordered items from Finland. Typically, things not common or not found in the US. To my dismay, the place I ordered from went out of business.

I found another Finnish website that carries many of the same items. I was particularly looking for bilberry jam and I saw that the grocery category I wanted was "Jams, Marmalades, & Berry Grains".

There were several different types of berry grains made from different berries and/or fruits. However, there is no real description. Some may have nutritional info, but nothing else. They are definitely fruit products.

I have never heard of berry grains in the US and I have never seen such a product. I have Google searched several times but all I get are results for wheat berries or other things related to grains, nothing about berries or fruit.

Here's a picture of one of the products, Chokeberry Grain. (Sorry, can't translate.)

Any idea what this is or what the US equivalent would be?

The term rouhe in Finnish means "something coarsely ground" [1], [2]. (Google translates it as "groats", but that's a bit too simple.)

Double-checking with the English, German and Italian version of the shop, they always use a version of "grain or granule" in the specific language:  Note that "granello" in Italian, for example, which is about the shape, not a cereal.

As the product sites for the various "rouhe" claim that they use the whole berry, it means whole dried berries (aronia in your case), coarsely ground. The weight and volume data given is "250ml / 85g". I confirmed "dried" (as opposed to compote-style fruit preparations) by weighing a cup of fruit tea: 76 g, but of course a much coarser texture.

Edit:

Another website writes (according to google translate):

  Berry powders and grits, prepared by grinding whole dried berries, without adding or removing anything.

Edit 2:

The manufacturer suggests adding the granules into dairy products or porridge or using them in baked goods.


Turning raw/baking cocoa powder into instant cocoa (Kaba/Nesquik) The question on Dissolving cocoa powder in milk describes the two common workarounds for making chocolate milk with raw cocoa powder. While obviously it works easiest with hot milk, making cocoa slime/mud is a functioning alternative. It's however not very practical, which is why I want to renew this topic. However I'm not settling for anything but achieving something comparable to instant cocoa. So would rather like this question to border on food chemistry or industrial espionage. (Most likely the solution is some food additive though..)

So what's the magic behind Kaba or Nesquik? How do they turn cocoa dust into instant chocolate milk powder?

I've already figured out that ordinary baking cocoa is the weakly de-oiled one. Obviously the oil stipend contributes to the difficulty of mixing it with cold fluids. - So I went out and bought some strongly de-oiled cocoa, which subjectively mixes better already. (But that might be just post-purchase rationalization.) Adding glucose powder also helps both flavour and mixing abilities.

Yet that doesn't solve the issue satisfactory and still requires making a slurry. So there is probably really some food additive necessary. I've also (can't find link) read somewhere about steam (hot water) playing a role in turning cocoa powder into instant granules. But also obviously, I'm looking for something you can do in an ordinary kitchen, and which doesn't involve inventing complex machinery. So, do you have any tips, expert knowledge, links?

The magic emulsifier is probably soy lecithin.

According to Wikipedia:

  It is used commercially in foods requiring a natural emulsifier or lubricant. In the food industry it has multiple uses: In confectionery it reduces viscosity, replaces more expensive ingredients, controls sugar crystallization and the flow properties of chocolate, helps in the homogeneous mixing of ingredients, improves shelf life for some products, and can be used as a coating.

The magic soluble is probably a hydrochloride:

  Converting insoluble amines into hydrochlorides is a common way to make them water- and acid-soluble


Why doesn't deep frying 'wet' the food? If I placed bread crumbs in a pot of oil to deep fry and then take it out, it comes out crispy and not 'wet', although they are drenched in oil initially?

But if I place bread crumbs in boiling water, they just stay soaked?

Firstly I think you're having trouble making a distinguishment between water and oil absorption. Even though placing food in (room temp) oil may at first seem as if it had gotten it 'wet' it's a very different kind of soaked compared to doing the same thing with water, as the two liquids have profoundly different properties.

Oil when heated, however, behaves even more differently. The immense heat of the oil (160-270 ºC, 320-520 ºF depending on the type of oil you are using) actually vaporises moisture (water) contained inside of whatever it may be you are deep frying, which is why food thermally processed in this way is oily but not wet, and can even be dry if overcooked.

The key thing to remember here is that oils, being hydrophobic and lipophilic, are exceptionally different to water and should not and cannot be expected to behave even remotely similarly.


What is a cheap but good cut of beef for grilling? If I grill filet mignon it comes out tender and easy to cut and delicious of course but no matter what other cut of beef I grill it's like eating leather.

I've read about "salting" the meat for about an hour before I grill and wanted to try that but there were so many choices of meat I still had no idea what to get. All I know for sure is the meat should be about an inch thick to try the salting thing.

Any ideas?

I've had great results with flank steak.

Best to marinate it with a mix of salt, sugar/honey,  vinegar/lemon/lime, water/whiskey/tequila/soda, olive oil, spices, and herbs for at least a few hours before grilling. More salt will help tenderize but can't be left too long at too high concentrations (search "brining").

Don't overcook it, of course, that's the quickest way to make it chewy (unless you're going to cook it on low heat for several hours). Then let it rest before eating.

For flank steak, cut it across the grain.  If you look closely the meat has fibers which run parallel to eachother in only one north-south direction.  Cut across this, severing many lines with your slice.  It severs the connective tissues before chewing, doing a lot of the work with the knife rather than your teeth.


What are the nutritional data for water kefir? What are the nutritional data for (strained) water kefir, compared to the starting sugar water?

I would expect there to be less carbohydrates and more vitamins, but haven't the foggiest idea what the actual numbers are.

Bounty: I'm offering a sizable bounty for the best answer.  Taste Five's answer gives good theory for what nutrients will change, but I am really after numbers.  Answers will be ranked from low to high like so:

Lowest: list of nutrients that increase, no idea as to amount
Lists nutrient changes, rough amounts, and cites a source or sources
Sample nutrition data for one batch, with source listed
Formula for conversion of sugar to other nutrients (I.E. each gram of sugar metabolized turns into X, Y, and Z).  Will need a source probably.

I know precise figures will vary from batch to batch with temperature and degree of fermentation; this is understood, and I will accept answers specifying a range of values or just values for one batch or set of kefir grains.

Well, the only thing I can offer as an answer at this point would be to use a hydrometer.  Measure the specific density before and after.  You could then be able to tell how much in sugars you have left.

I can't really think of any good way to tell what bacteria and yeasts will remain in your strained water kefir.  I know there has to be some since it will continue to ferment.  There really should be some sort of rough guideline that can tell you about how high your probiotic count is based on time or the change in specific density.

I asked a yogurt maker at the store (were I work the cooking school) and he said it would be to hard to work out as it depends on how good your cultures are and so on. Each batch could be so different. He said it likely that your talking a probiotic count in millions-billions per cup and you would have to have each batch tested individually. Which yogurt makers don't really do. Yogurt is not kefir but it is similar so it should be close if not more.

As far as other vitamins and nutrients. You should see some B and C vitamins from the folic and acorbate acids. You can increase the folic acid (B vitamins) by fermenting for longer periods of time but then you will also produce more acetic acid (vinegar). You should be able to get more acorbate acid from more sugar and/or fruit but if you add a lot more you may need to add more kefir grain so it doesn't have to ferment to long(and have a risk of acetic acid again). It seems that this would likely produce more ethanol as well so you would have a slightly higher alcohol content (i have seen some people say they have gotten close to 2% alcohol by volume, but I think most recipes give you in the .2-.5% range).

Any other nutrients seem to have to come from the water (like a mineral water), the sugar (raw sugars tend to have more trace minerals), and the dried fruit.

On a side note, aside from the complex carbohydrate in the sugar, kefir is going to need calcium, magnesium, and potassium to continue to thrive. I remember talking to someone a few years ago that said they let there grains ferment/breed in a mixture of eggshells, raisins and some other things I don't remember now and again to get the grains back into tip top shape.  But she also sold the grains so I don't know how needed doing that actually is.

Not sure you will find this to be useful, as I think you might have been looking for something more concrete. And the only DIY test I could find was for vitamin C and it wouldn't even tell you how much, you could just run a comparison before and after and see if it is more. It just seems like there are to many variables involved and not many people seem to do just straight sugar water. Hopefully maybe this will be useful to other people reading the question for at least a starting point on possible adjustments they can make.


Biscuits (cookies) turning out more cake-like than biscuity Yesterday, for the first time ever, I tried baking some biscuits. I found a suitable recipe for some malted milk biscuits (I love malt), and followed it almost exactly; I endeavour to make everything sugar-free (and when I say 'sugar', I mean fructose), so I substituted the sugar with Xylitol. This is the recipe and method I followed:

125g butter
2.5 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup xylitol
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 heaped tbsp malt extract

I mixed the butter (room temp.) & xylitol; then added the egg; then added the flour 1 cup at a time, followed by the salt; then the malt, 1 tbsp at a time. I then chilled it for half an hour, cut into shapes, chilled for another 15 minutes (it was pretty warm), and then put in the oven at 160c (fan) for 15 minutes.

They came out fine, but they had definitely risen (they were rolled out to about 0.5cm and rose in the middle to about 1.5cm) and the texture was more like a stiff cake than a snappy biscuit (they should be more like a stiff, crumbly ginger-snap texture).

I suspected it might have been the self-raising flour, so I did a second batch with plain flour, and although they didn't rise, they still came out just as cake-like.

I've read (at least) three different things that apparently affect the texture of a biscuit:

The temperature is usually hotter and baked faster (180c for 10 minutes, for example);
Adding more sugar (although, since xylitol has a 'cooling' mouthfeel (as well as other effects...) I don't want to simply dump more in);
The creaming method.

I've seen the creaming method mentioned a few times, but never with any specifics or directions, and unfortunately, as a biscuit-baking n00b, I don't know how to fix this issue.

tl;dr my biscuits aren't snappy - how do I fix?

The recipe calls for self-raising flour, which has a raising agent in it which causes the dough to rise in the oven. Risen bakes will be soft, so you'd be better off using plain flour. I'm surprised a recipe for this type of cookie would call for self-raising flour. Most recipes call for the butter and sugar to be creamed, that's simply beating the butter and sugar together until it's light and creamy. I'm not sure if you'd get the same result with xylitol, however you could still cream the butter to get it light and fluffy.


Wok Seasoning Fail(?) I was recently trying to season my wok. I cleaned it, dried it, applied a thin layer of oil and put it in the oven for 1hr at 400°F.
I dont know what I did wrong.

I think what happened here, and I've seen this with a few woks - is too much oil. You can see the pooling issues at the bottom where likely you've got some flakes that might come off.
The seasoning process is best not rushed, and when you apply the oil - if you can detect more than a subtle sheen - that's too much oil. It may take a few attempts to get a good seasoning but using more oil is not the solution. I'd give this a good scrub with maybe some steel wool or a scouring pad and try again but with much less oil. You can also rub the pot (carefully) with a paper towel while it's heating to ensure the very thin coating of oil stays somewhat uniform.
Woks, due to their shape tend to get some oil pooling and if you're wiping down while it comes to temp and polymerization occurs then you should get less pooling.

Editing - Adding from comments, heating the wok upside down is a great idea. To be honest I often do this on the stovetop, inverting the wok over a red hot element - ymmv.


How can I restore and keep a built-in cutting board in good condition? I have somewhat recently bought a house that has a cutting board as a part of the counter. I have had no experience with this and haven't found anything online really.
I know that there are ways to season a wooden cutting board, but I don't know if that applies to this.

There are a few gaps between the boards - can this be fixed with regular wood filler?
Do I just season the counter top as if it was a regular cutting board? If not, how would I go about protecting it?

I wouldn't use that board any further. Some of those gaps where the block laminate is separating go right the way through. I don't see how you could realistically sanitise it, even if the other side looks a bit better.
Not only would I replace it, I'd also seriously consider replacing the counter top. The chipboard is swollen due to repeated wetting & is not going to be anything like hygienic any more. If you do consider only changing the chopping board, at least make sure the chipboard is properly sealed before you replace it, & consider mounting the new board with silicone sealant around the edges.
Perhaps this may not apply world-wide, but in the UK that style of square-edged countertop hasn't been in use for at least 30 years. Pretty much everything since then is bullnose or semi-bullnose (half-round or quarter-round) - meaning there is no separate mica piece on the front edge, it's all made in one continuous, watertight, piece.
In consequence that chipboard could have more than 30 years of contamination in it.


Why doesn't a microwave heat the air around food, in addition to the food itself? I'm reading Harold McGee's "On Food And Cooking", and in the "Microwave Cooking" section he writes:

Since the air in the oven is not heated, microwave ovens can’t brown meat surfaces unless they’re assisted by special packaging or a broiling element. (An exception to this rule is cured meats like bacon, which get so dry when cooked that they can brown.)

My question is: if the radio waves generated by a microwave are passing through air in order to reach the food that is cooked, and since air is made of molecules just like food is, why don't the radio waves affect the air molecules the way they do the food molecules?

With all electromagnetic radiation, including visible light and microwaves, absorption depends on the molecules doing the absorption.  Air is mainly oxygen and nitrogen, and these don't absorb very well at the 2.4GHz frequency used in microwaves, while foods do.  A lot of this is down to the very efficient absorption by water, and almost all foodstuffs contain a fair amount of water.
Note that the air does warm up with heat from the food.  For short cooking times this isn't a big effect, but for things that cook longer it's significant


How to thoroughly bread meat with eggs and flour for frying without the mess When making dishes like Chicken Parmesan, fried zucchini, general tso's, etc, and prepare the breaded item, I first scramble a few eggs then dip the the item from there into either flour or breadcrumbs then straight to the pan.

Flour is the worst, as the egg can get into the flour and create a cement like mixture that's very difficult to clean from your hands. Breadcrumbs aren't as bad mess wise, but can still be an issue when the goal is a clean, even coating all the way around.

So my question is what is the best process to use when preparing fried foods like these in an assembly line-like fashion, without the huge mess and splotchy coating, or are my ingredients themselves to blame?

I personally like to use forks when I'm breading, so that I don't have to keep reaching into the containers.  I use a pair of forks in each containers, which I use to move the food around 'til it's coated, and then lift them to drop into the next container (important -- the forks should not go into the next container ... grab from one end, lower in, but release before the forks touch the stuff in the next one).

You can also use chopsticks or tongs, but I prefer the forks as I can use them to scoop up a bit of flour or breadcrumbs to sprinkle on the bare spots of whatever I'm breading.

Other tips:

Prep all of whatever you're going to be breading first (assuming you're cooking alone, and don't have a helper).  Having to wash up because your hand's all chicken-y really slows you down.1
Never go backwards.  Yes, some people like to go back into the flour, but if you're looking to be mess-free, don't do it.
Shake off items before going into the next container ... you want a minimal coating of everything -- flour won't stick to flour, so shake off the loose flour before going into the egg.  Let the egg wash drip for second or two before going into the crumbs, and shake off the loose crumbs before going into the pan.  This will both create a crust that won't separate from the food as easily, but also prevents that growing cluster of crumbs forming in the third container.2

If you're looking to do some breading with the kids, and the kids are too messy, the crumb and flour can be placed into paper bags, and you drop items in, seal up the bag (fold over + binder clips), and then let the kids shake the bag.  You might also be able to use containers with a tight-fitting lid.  It'll slow you down overall, but it's no worse than the constant 'I want to help' pestering.3

1 You'd note that I said "hand" and not "hands."  I keep a strict rule that whenever possible, I only touch raw chicken with my left hand, so that my knife hand never gets slippery (and so I can grab the phone if need be without washing up).

2 Some people also disagree with this step, as in the case of fried chicken, you don't get those extra crunchy bits on the outside.  There is, however, a solution ... take the fork in the egg wash, and let it drip into the crumbs, then use the crumb fork to coat them, and lift them to the top of the container ... then set the item to be breaded on top of them as it comes out of the egg wash.

3 Before you worry about me suggesting that I have kids and I consider them pests, no, I don't, but I frequently cook at a friend's house and they do, so we have to set up the breading station away from the stove so that they can help (at home, the crumbs would be right next to the hot pan).  Although some people put the crusted objects on a tray or wire rack and let the eggwash dry for a few minutes to reduce crust separation.


If I make a big batch of blueberry buttermilk pancakes and freeze them, how long will they stay fresh for before getting freezer-burnt? I love buttermilk pancakes. Being able to make them on the weekends for breakfast at a later date is just a bonus (like Eggo without the preservatives). I'm just not sure how long they last for in the freezer, as in, if they will ever get freezer-burn like meat does. I store them in individual ziploc bags for easy retrieval.

Its going to depend on the type of packaging and also the freezer.

Lightly wrapped in plastic wrap (or worse, paper) will freezer burn fairly quickly. Vacuum-sealed will last much longer.

A self-defrost freezer with wide temperature swings will burn quicker. A manual defrost chest freezer much slower.

Worst case is probably around a month or less (not really sealed, freezer with wide temperature swings), best case (vacuum sealed in stable temperature chest freezer) over a year.


Strange bacteria-like substances in honey We bought honey from the store today. I just realized there are strange bacteria-like substances inside it. What are they? Is it safe to eat?

From the pictures, it looks like it's just the beginnings of crystallization, so it's perfectly natural and safe. You can reduce the speed of the crystallization by keeping it in a relatively warm place (25C/77F) if possible.

Beyond that, I'd just ignore it for now, but once it spreads through a lot of the honey, you may want to heat it gently to melt the crystals. That's not a permanent fix though. It'll tend to recrystallize some after cooling.

If you haven't seen this before, it could be due to buying different kinds of honey (the more filtered, the slower the crystallization), different storage conditions, or just eating it before it has time to crystallize.


What are these white spots in my bread dough? I'm making hot cross buns following this recipe: https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2020/03/09/vegan-hot-cross-buns/
About an hour into the first rise, I'm seeing these alarmingly mold-like dots in the dough. I didn't see these when I was kneading it.

The only things I might've done abnormally for this recipe were:

My soy milk might've been a touch too hot when I added the yeast. I was afraid it would kill the yeast, but it looks like the dough has risen normally. Not sure if that has something to do with the appearance of these spots.
For the soy milk, I made it using cooked soybeans blended up with water. It was done in a high speed blender and the soy milk appeared quite smooth, but could these be unblended soybean chunks?
I used kosher salt. Perhaps the salt was not fully dissolved by the time I let it rise.

Are there any other possibilities for what these spots could be?

It's impossible to say what it is - but I am quite sure what it isn't. I have never seen or heard of a pathogen (mold or otherwise) which is able to build visible colonies during such a short time at room temperature, especially in the presence of yeast. And your yeast was not dead - the dough rising proves it.
This is almost sure some ingredient not being mixed well. There are a few alternative explanations such as you covering the bowl with a nonpermeable lid and having enough condensation to drop onto the dough surface, or maybe (and we are getting into really weird/rare territory here) the vegan substitutes acting in unusual ways and managing to clump somehow. I would bake and eat - it is one of the exceptions where I can't connect this unusual photo to the "when in doubt, throw it out" rule.


How to defrost frozen food in fridge I've read that allowing frozen food to defrost in the fridge or under running water is generally a good idea (compared to leaving it out on the worktop). I'm aware there are some situations where it's not ideal.

As some foods defrost, they release a liquid. My own research suggests this could be full of bad bacteria etc, and the food can spoil.

In my situation, I have some frozen shellfish. This includes crab claw, squid, cuttlefish and prawns. They are all on 1 dinner plate, in my fridge and I've now considered there are 2 problems, which I can summarise as:

They will soon be sitting in each others water!

I have 2 questions, which are relevant to the title:

As the shellfish will be cooked together, is there are any risk of contamination from the defrosted liquid?
Is my technique (or lack of) of letting them defrost on a plate incorrect? For example, should I be defrosting in a colendar with a bowl underneath?

If this is all kept at refrigerator temperatures, then cooked, your health risk is extremely low.  However, there is a better method, which you suggest.  Place your seafood/shellfish in a colander or strainer. Place that over a container so that the melting liquid can drain off, and so that the product will not be sitting in the liquid.  The same set up can be used for fresh fish, and is common in seafood markets.  With non-frozen, the seafood can be packed with ice to keep it as cold as possible.  Again, with the set-up I describe, the melting ice will be captured below the product.


Can I make bone broth with bones without marrow? I bought some marrow bones from the butcher, roasted them, ate the delicious marrow.  I then decided to make broth out of it.  I've made broth many times with chicken carcasses, but not beef bones from which I have already eaten the marrow out of.  Anyone have experience making broth from beef bones without the marrow?

What you're proposing is similar to 'remouillage' ('rewetting'; sometimes called 'second stock').  It's a stock made from bones that have already been used to make stock.

It may not be quite as flavorful as you'd get from your first stock, but in your case, you haven't made stock with it, so any water-soluble bits that haven't been removed would still be on/in the bones.  And if the bones were roasted, they'll have extra flavor from the browning of the bits of flesh that can remain on the bones.

You'll also still get flavors from any vegetables you might use, so you can make a beef/vegetable stock.  Bonus points if they're also things that might have been trash -- parsley stems, the ends of onions, that sad looking pepper that you found in the back of your fridge, etc.  Growing up, my mom would keep a bag in the freezer of such things, and when she had a carcass, she'd toss it all in the pot and let simmer.**

This second stock can then be used in case where you might not want the full strength stock, but as you found, you can also reduce it to intensify the flavors (but if you do that, go light on the salt)

** She'd also make seafood stock from crab shells (including legs), or shrimp shells, tails and heads; her mother grew up in the Great Depression, and you learn to be frugal.


Where can I find the apron/towel worn by the America's Test Kitchen staff? On America's Test Kitchen, I've seen them wearing a towel around their waist that is somehow attached to an apron.  Is there a name for this?  Or are they just somehow tucking the towel into a standard apron pocket?

This would be a great kitchen convenience--where can I buy an apron like this?  (Preferably only covering below the waist as shown on Becky below.)

The traditional butcher's apron tie is to wrap the strings of the apron around behind one's back, then back to the front to tie.  This provides a convenient place to put a tea towel or rag.

From the photos, this appears to be what the folks in the picture have done (Becky and Chris, IIRC).  When I worked in a deli on Long Island, this is how we tied our aprons.


Should I rest pancake batter? I read somewhere that pancake batter should rest. This confuses me.

On the one hand, mixing the wet ingredients with flour creates gluten. Resting lets the gluten relax, so that I don't get chewy pancakes.

On the other hand, my recipe uses leavening (baking powder). When that reacts with water, it forms bubbles. Letting it rest means those bubbles escape, which means less air in the pancakes (less fluffy).

Should I rest my pancake batter or not? If so, for how long?

Resting pancake batter improves texture. I think the rise is better and the pancakes less chewy.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_powder

  Double-acting baking powders work in two phases; once when cold, and once when hot

When you initially mix the baking powder, you will get bubbles, but this does not mean the baking powder is used up. You still get leavening from heat activation.

The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion suggests resting is about lumps, which you will have because of gentle handling:

  If you have time refrigerate the batter for an hour or so, which allows lumps of flour to slowly dissolve, and makes for a more fluffy flavorful batter.

In Keys for Good Cooking, Harold McGee suggests trying to have things both ways:

  Prepare most unyeasted griddle cake batters an hour or more before cooking, to give the flour time to absorb moisture and produce a velvety texture... Refrigerate for rests longer than 2 hours. Withhold baking soda or powder and/or beaten egg whites and add just before cooking to maximize their leavening power. Whisk powders with a little flour first to help incorporate them evenly.


How to make paneer at home like the packaged ones? whenever I make paneer, it is somewhat sticky on the teeth and doesn't give that 'squeaky' feel.
I use the packaged pasteurized full cream milk.

You probably need a (small) cheese press and a proper cheese cloth. My attempts to improvise using chopping boards never drained well enough giving the effect you describe. It also doesn't brown nicely when you cook it, if it's too wet. When properly pressed it will cut into better pieces.

You also need to press with some force for quite a while. Recipes can be optimistic (or assume better quality equipment than I have).


Put pork in crock pot and accidentally set to warm I put a large pork roast in the crock pot this morning and accidentally set it to warm. I noticed it about 2 hours later and turned it to high. Is it safe to eat or do I need to toss it and buy a new one?

There are a number of related questions regarding crockpots and food safety on this site but I found this informative link that will help explain why you may not want to risk keeping that roast that has been in a safety danger zone (below 165 F) for more than an hour.  The meat becomes a bacteria breeding ground, in essence.

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/safetysanitation/p/slowcooksafe.htm


Can you use both melted and creamed butter for cookies? I've been reading up on cookie science, and read that melted butter makes a denser cookie, and creamed room temp butter makes a cakey cookie. I'm looking to make a cookie thats mostly thin and very crispy on the edges with a little chewiness on the inside. Would mixing butter be a bad idea/does anyone know what the outcome would be if i did a 50/50 melted/creamed butter mix?

The process of mixing butter and sugar is called 'creaming' and the purpose is "Creaming adds air. Air is fluffy." so you are on the right track, but unlikely to get consistency out of just using 'melted butter'. The creaming process is time sensitive, that is, the more you do it, the more 'cake like' your cookies will be. Rather than using melted butter, which will not mix well with your sugar, just cream for a shorter period of time. In this picture you see the results of creaming over time...

  These are from the linked article [above] showing minute-by-minute
  progress of creamed butter, with the egg added in the last stage.

You are probably looking to only reach #3 or #4 to consistently get the results you seek. (Have fun experimenting to get it 'just right')


How long can batter sit before chemical leaveners lose their power? Background: I can not fit 2 - 12 muffin tins in my oven in a manner that will result in 24 nicely baked muffins or cupcakes. I am using everyday muffin or cupcake recipes that use baking powder and or baking soda. Can I leave half the batter on the counter or in the refrigerator for the 20-30 minutes it takes to bake one batch without losing a significant amount of leavening power?

Yep! I make double-batches of mini cupcakes that often take 3-4 rounds in the oven and they all come out pretty much the same. Granted, the minis only bake for about 15 minutes or so and muffins can take longer but I've never had an issue.

As a note, the recipes I use call for either baking powder only or baking powder and baking soda.

Also, I usually make my cupcakes using full-cake batters, not cupcake-specific recipes.

As some other sources go, here's a similar question on The Kitchn and most of the answers seem to agree, there's generally little negative results from leaving the batter out for a short period of time:

  Q: If I make 24 cupcakes from a layer cake recipe and I only have one 12 cupcake pan, can I let the batter sit for 30 minutes while the first 12 bake? Or should I put it in the fridge so the leavener is still active? Or divide the recipe and make it twice? Thanks!

Some selected answers:

rmrez

  It depends on the recipe. Most boxed mixes don't seem to differ, but I've noticed that my scratch-baked cupcakes tend to dome if I let them sit out before baking. Sometimes I do this on purpose if it fits my decorating idea better.

adamwa

  i have two 6 cupcake pans so im in the same boat, i always just leave it out and they seem to cook up fine

TuttiDolci

  I let the batter sit out and I've never had a problem with the rise of the 2nd batch.


Temperature gradients in boiled/baked eggs? In my Science of Cooking class, we were asked to do a lab involving hard-cooked eggs using two forms of convection heat, dry (in the oven at 450 degrees) and wet (boiling water). For both the boiling water and oven, we were told to use three eggs. Take 1 egg out of the water (and oven) after 5 minutes, then again at 10, then again at 15.. shocking each in an ice water bath.

We found that, as a rule, the boiling water was a more efficient way of cooking the egg.

One of the questions in the assignment is: "Compare the temperature gradients you observed in the two methods. Which of the methods produces the most pronounced gradient?"

Can someone please explain this question to me?

Presumably the question is referring to temperature gradients within the egg, i.e. the difference in temperature between the outside and inside. That is actually pretty relevant cooking-wise, because it tells you how the yolk and white will be cooked.

tl;dr I'd expect to see a steeper gradient from boiling than from the convection oven, but the actual results from your lab will let you tell much more confidently.

This depends on how fast the heat transfer is, which is made most obvious by the temperature the shell is held at. You can also see it from total cooking time. If one method takes longer, then it's transferring heat more slowly, and thus you can expect a flatter temperature gradient inside the egg (there's time for the heat to propagate inward), while the faster one will have a steeper gradient (the outside heats much faster than the heat propagates in).

With boiling, there's really only one possibility: the water holds the shell at very close to 100C. You have very efficient heat transfer, the water is well-mixed, and it has a very high heat capacity, so it can easily do this. Hard-boiling eggs generally takes less than ten minutes.

With an oven, it's less clear. Without any convection, the shell will actually remain well below the oven's air temperature for quite a long time, because the air can't transfer heat rapidly enough. This is likely true even with a realistic convection oven: if you put the egg in, wait a minute, and then check the shell temperature, I highly doubt it will be at the oven air temperature. Baking without convection in the 350F ballpark generally takes around half an hour, and I believe convection only reduces that to 20-25 minutes. So I'm pretty sure the oven has less efficient heat transfer, longer cooking time, and flatter gradient, but if you had a powerful, hot enough oven with really good convection, that could flip around.

So overall, it's hard to say for sure just from your description. If you actually did an experiment, though, you can tell from the results. Egg whites are soft but solid at 155F, and totally set at 180F, while egg yolks are firm at 158F and dry/crumbly at 180F. A steeper temperature gradient within the egg means that the yolk will be less cooked compared to the white, while a flatter temperature gradient means that they'll be cooked more similarly.

If you noticed differences in cooking time, or differences in yolk vs white doneness, there you are.

All this said, dry vs wet heat does have other significant effects. Dry heat will dry out the membrane and even some of the white underneath. Given enough time, the white will shrink away from the shell and end up noticeably drier and tougher, and it can even brown. So the differences you notice in the resulting egg may not be only about temperature gradient.


why might the pineapple on the bottom of the pineapple-upside-down-cake float into the batter? I have 2 pineapple upside down cakes.  for one, the pineapple stayed on the bottom and can be seen beautifully when turned out of the pan.  The other the fruit floated up into the batter and cannot be seen when turned out of the pan.
Why?

There are two reasons I can think of to cause this problem. If the batters were not mixed up in one batch one might have been a little too wet and given room for movement. Alternately, if they were baked together in the oven on different shelves the temperatures and the direct heat (top or bottom) could be different for each one.

Good luck on the next batch.


Can I store dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, etc) together? I am planning on making a bunch of gingerbread this year, the recipe I use takes both baking powder and baking soda.  In order to cut down on dishes and time I thought I might mix all of the dry ingredients together in multiple batches and store it in the fridge for a week or two until I have time to actually bake it.

Can anyone tell me if it will cause problems to store baking powder and baking soda (and the rest of the ingredients) mixed together for couple of weeks in the fridge?

As long as they're all dry ingredients, then you should be just fine — after all, that's exactly what a box of packaged cake mix is.

Again, if it's just dry ingredients, I see no need to refrigerate it. I would put it in an airtight container — preferably a glass jar*. Placed in your pantry, it should have a shelf-life of a least a couple of months.

* Glass jars are my preference for storing dry ingredients — they're easy sanitize, and the twist-off cover makes an airtight seal:


Any danger to leaving brown sugar exposed to air? Yesterday I went to check if I had brown sugar for a recipe and found that my bag, which comes with a zip lock, was totally unzipped I am guessing for months.  Any danger here or should it be ok?  I am guessing it's just for convience and to prevent spilling but curious if anyone has any knowledge.

It's "dark" if that matters.

NOTE: I am aware it probably dries it out faster and causes it to become hard but I consider that just a general thing with brown sugar and not a danger=)

Since you wrote that it dried out, I would check for two things:

insects;
mold on the surface - but I consider that unlikely.


Can I use distilled white vinegar instead of white wine vinegar when making my own dressing for gifts? I am making my own flavored vinegar for the first time and most of the recipes call fro white wine vinegar but it's hard to find and expensive. Would white distilled be okay?

The flavors are very different -- white wine vinegar is made from white wine, while white vinegar is made from a distilled spirit.

If you had to substitute white wine vinegar, I'd go with one of the following:

champagne vinegar (made from sparking wine; tends to be more mild than white wine vinegar)
rice vinegar (tends to be more mild / lower acid)
cider vinegar (more acidic, but has some sweeter notes that help balance it out)


Safely making truffle honey Since New Zealand has import restrictions on honey, I'm looking to make some truffle honey from scratch.

I recall reading somewhere that incorrectly making it could cause some horrible toxin buildup (something like botulism or similar, not totally sure which).

Does anyone have any advice on the subject of safely making truffle honey?

Botulism is spot on - not only can botulism spores survive in honey (hence the "no honey for babies under 1 year" rule), the truffles have grown in soil, which is a typical source of Clostridium botulinum spores.

There are well- known reports of botulism caused by garlic in oil and truffles in oil (albeit rarer due to the way smaller total amount of truffles used), honey is in that respect very similar to oil: anaerobic and low-accidic. So although I found no explicitly mentioned case of botulism caused by truffle honey, the general safety rules for preventing botulism should be applied. While honey has certain antibacterial properties, they do not affect botulism spores.

With C. botulinum you have to keep three temperatures in mind:

85°C / 185°F
At this temperature, live cells die.
100°C / 212°F
A few minutes at this temperature destroy the toxins.
121°C / 250°F
A few minutes kills C. botulinum spores.

Now a short evaluation of some recipes I found during a cursory Internet search:

Most recommend adding the shaved or chopped truffles to the honey and heating the mixture in a water bath or similar to 85C for a few minutes (5-15).

Keeping in mind that neither truffles nor honey are substances C. botulinum can feast and grow on in abundance - and hence are not exactly ladden with toxins - and that the truffles neither grew in nor typically were stored in anaerobic conditions, this step will be safe enough for immediate consumption of the truffle honey and short-term storage.

However, this will not kill the C. botulinum spores, which can germinate and grow in your non-sour, anaerobic environement in your honey jar, especially if stored at room temperature. (Storing your honey in a refrigerator will extend the time until you reach a critical mass considerably, but I can't give you a precise formula. One source mentioned one month in a refrigerator for home-made truffle oil prepared by this method, but as I couldn't verify this claim I can not comment on the correctness of this claim.)

If you want to play it really safe, you need to either

lower the ph to below 4.5, (which is not feasible for truffle honey) or
seal the jars and heat the mixture to at least 121 C / 250F for at least three minutes (which is usually not possible in home environement unless you have pressure canning equipment) or
heat the sealed jars to 100C / 212F (boiling water) for at least five minutes and repeat this after a day or two to kill leftover spores that have germinated in the mean time. This is known as Botulinum Cook and is safe even for very susceptible products like meat. This leaves your jars safe for long-term storage at room temperature.

Find a paper on these guidelines and thresholds for example here (issued by the NZ governement).


UK Pork roast: why can't I make crisp crackling? I have lived in Denmark for many years and made port roast many times with crisp crackling - never a problem. Then I moved to UK about 20 years ago, and now I just can't. I first tried buying in the supermarket, then I went to butchers, and I even ordered specific cuts, that are not usually sold in UK; every time the result was semi-dry meat and rubbery skin.
Recently, I tried a piece of pork from a Chinese supermarket: perfect crackling, just like that, and I have tried it several times. The question is, why? Is there something that is done to pork meat only in UK that could explain this?
Edit
To address the comment from Sneftel:
Cooking pork roast has always been very straight-forward - the method that always worked in Denmark (and now with the pork from the Chinese supermarket) is:

take a roasting tray with a griddle, fill the bottom with water.
put meat on top, skin side up.
roast in a conventional oven at 150 - 200 degrees (Celsius) for about an hour, until the skin bubbles up everywhere and is nice and crisp.

When I tried this with British pork from a supermarket, the end result is something about as crisp as my old wellies.

Whilst I do not know about the practices in Denmark that would make the achievement of crispy crackling there, I can comment upon the Chinese and UK angle, and, offer some tips for you to get good crackling with pork in the UK.
There are a couple of characteristic differences with Chinese practice. Their pigs are not as genetically refined for low fat meat as the UK and European ones. The Chinese place great importance to a thicker layer of fat under the skin of their animals and this is a factor that helps make good crackling.
Secondly, they have a much larger proportion of meat sold "loose" rather than plastic wrapped in some remote factory and then distributed through a refrigerate distribution chain. This means that the skin of the pigs is rather drier too than a normal plastic wrapped piece would be. Skin moisture content is a critical factor in achieving good crackling. The Chinese promote belly and shoulder over leg joints as they (rightly) consider them better for flavour and cooking.
To get good crackling using typical UK supermarket plastic-wrapped pork -
Try Shoulder rather than leg - It's usually got more fat  underneath the skin.
A slab of belly pork is even  better although pretty uncommon in UK supermarkets nowadays. Those with butchers onsite (E.g. Morrisons) will sometimes have whole bellies to cut you a piece that you like. If you have a Chinese supermarket in reach of you, they generally have very good butchery counters and you will generally be able to get much fattier (tastier) meat from them.
Look for a good layer of fat under the skin.
Unwrap the meat the day before roasting, scald the skin with lots of boiling water by pouring it over it (not immersing the whole joint), dry it and then score the skin with a very sharp knife about 2/3 the way through the underlying fat. Rub generously with salt (You will wipe off a lot of this before cooking) and put uncovered in the bottom of your fridge skin side up.
The fridge will suck moisture from the skin. 12 to 24 hours is good. Wipe off salt, use a little neutral oil on the skin, season with white pepper and a little sprinkle of mustard powder, rub into the cuts. Crank up the oven to max and start the roast off at this for 20 mins (Open windows if you have it hot enough it'll be smeeching).
Turn down to circa 170/180 deg C for remainder. Use lard for the roasting fat if their isn't lots of fat rendering from the meat. Baste the meat often. Also, remove non-fat liquid from the roasting tin as you go. Using a clear heatproof glass container enables you to see the fat liquid split and to recycle the fat off the top back into the roasting pan.
When meat is resting do  not tightly cover or you will steam the crackling making it soft. If the crackling isn't crisp enough when removed to rest, slice off the crackling in one piece and put it under the grill for 10 minutes on high - watch it though as you don't want to burn the edges too much.


Is this chicken fully cooked or raw? I can never tell whether this color means the chicken needs another 30 seconds or a minute to finish or if it's properly cooked. I don't want to over-fry the chicken so that it doesn't end up dry.
Is the color in the following image properly cooked or not?

Colour is a fairly inaccurate method of determining if a protein is safe to consume. I would recommend getting a thermometer to determine if the chicken has reached a safe internal temperature.


Cutting boards: What are some general tips on purchasing and using a cutting board? I have heard various debates on the merits of wood versus synthetic cutting boards, and their affect on food safety, knife edges, and ease of cleaning and storage.

What are the pros and cons of the following and why?

Wood versus plastic or other materials
Affect on food safety and cleanliness
Cost to purchase
Affect on knife edge and ease of use

Besides the material itself, there are lots of other factors --

Surface : There are smooth plastic cutting boards, and there are rougher ones.  I prefer the rougher ones, as smooth means things are slipping all over the place and its can be dangerous.  Plastic will roughen up with use, but cuts and nicks in plastic boards means more places for germs.  For those thin plastic cutting mats, they're so lightweight that you have to worry about both the food sliding, and the mat itself sliding.

Thickness : Those 'butcher block' wooden boards look great, but I don't like them for two reasons: I'm short, and it raises the surface that I'm cutting at; they're heavier, and I like being able to pick up my cutting board to take to my stove, as my cutting area is near my sink, not my stove.

Size : Large enough to hold the amount of food you tend to prep at one time, and not so overly large that it's a pain to move / clean / etc.  I like about 18" x 24" (45cm x 60cm), but if you're cooking for one in a small apartment, that might be a little large.  (although, one of my apartments was small enough that I used a large board, so I could span the sink, as there was all of maybe 30" (75cm) of counter space.

All this being said -- I use wood for all vegetables, and plastic cutting mats for meats and poultry, just because it saves me time sanitizing everything between cutting.  (although, I typically try to cut all of the vegetables first, then the meat, just to save on cleaning a knife).

Part of the complaint against wood is that it's very hard to get germs out once they get into wood -- but research has shown that if you clean the surface, wood cutting boards are unlikely to transfer germs to other food, and a well-maintained wooden cutting board will self-heal and continues to be safe over time, whereas plastic can't be simply wiped down once it starts developed scratches from use.  To sanitize wood boards, use half a lemon, and coarse salt (I use kosher salt), and use the cut side to scrub the board.  Rinse, let it dry, and give it some food-grade mineral oil every few months, depending on how humid your area is.  If it's looking sad, you can always sand it down, re-sanitize it and re-oil it.


10 liter fermentation crock... water getting sucked inside, advice needed Please assist regarding water added to the moat during a 4 to 5 week ferment, because one cannot simply keep adding water to the moat because if the  crock's vacuum is sucking in the water and you keep adding it will eventually reduce the salinity of the brine water and ruin your kraut!

My 1st batch I followed what i presumed were correct instructions and added water to the moat to keep full. Within 1 week I added 4 cups of water and discovered after lifting the lid for inspection the water was actually being sucked into the crock from the moat as the water level inside was clear up to the top of the crock! Initially I had at least 5 inches from the weight stones up to the top. The pulling of water into the crock fix no one has been able to tell me.

I thought well if it keeps pulling the water in from the moat that is not salted maybe it would be better to add salted water into the moat. Wrong! Because then it grew white mold or yeast floating all over the exposed moat salt water to the air & then since it was a real sucker and always thirsty that same white stuff got sucked into the crock and grew above the weights! So I skimmed off the white floaties best as possible, emptied the moat well and wiped clean & then refilled with clear distilled water & replaced the lid.

I have 2 more weeks to go before it is done and hope all my hard work and efforts & expense is not wasted. None of these issues is presented clearly or what to do to correct and I have searched tons online. I even emailed the store that sold me my 10 liter crock and they had no answers other than to just say "fermenting is an art that you just have to learn"! Wow, they were zero help after the sale.

Now the pros who know these answers and have faced such issues good luck trying to phone them or get the answers we all need because like an internet search you just do not get to THE person with THE knowledge needed after so much frustrations. The crock I bought the inner lip on the crock is the same height as the outer and this may be in part why water was getting sucked inside easier than those whose inner lip is higher? I did not know these things pre-purchase cuz nobody tells you.

I mainly bought my 100 + dollar 10 liter crock due to the convenient handles and the glass weights which are easier to clean & do not get moldy. Here is the one I bought: https://www.stonecreektrading.com/collections/fermenting-crocks-2/products/copy-of-fermenting-crock-10-liter-Egyptian-style-with-stone-weights  If anyone can help this issue of water being sucked into the crock and how to remedy please do so, then my next batch will be less of an issue hopefully.

Is the crock kept in a place where the temperature is steady (such as a cellar/basement) or is it exposed to daily temperature swings? As a a rule the ferment should produce gas to some extent (which would push water out, if anything) but repeated temperature swings would tend to "pump" out when warm, in when colder. When the initial gas production slacks off, that could lead to water pumping in, particularly with a defectively non-tradtional design as you describe (I have looked at fermentation crocks a lot, and so far refused to spend money on them - but I soon grasped that the entire contents of the "moat" should not be able to rise above the inner lip in a "suck" situation, for precisely the reason you have experienced.)

One option would be to go back to a very basic airlock - a sheet of plastic wrap, or a (food grade) plastic bag, that covers the top of the crock, and a large rubber band holding it in place.

Another would be to NOT fill the moat - put just a bit of water in so it seals, but not so much that suck-back would pull it over the inner lip.


Is charcoal or the smoker at fault for low temperature smoking? I recently received a charcoal smoker for my cake day. I attempted to smoke pork ribs, here are the steps I followed.

Cured the smoker with 2 Lbs of charcoal. (6 hours)
Cleaned the smoker.
Prepped 3 Lbs of charcoal in charcoal chimney.
Put water used to soak hickory chips in the water reservoir.
Position ribs on the two racks
Once charcoal was red hot with white ash, transferred it to the charcoal pan.
Smoked for about 5 hours and temperature started dropping.
Added 2 Lbs more of Charcoal Chimney prepped charcoal.
Smoked for 3 more hours.

The problem I experienced is the temperature never went above 180F (82C), at the end of the 8 hours total smoking time, the internal temperature of the ribs sat at 120F (49C).
I ended up finishing them off in an oven set to 360F (182C) for about 25 minutes to raise the meats internal temperature to 145F (62C).

Is the charcoal at fault for the temperature?
I used: Cowboy Brand Hardwood Lump Charcoal

Is the smoker the issue?
I used: Char-Broil Vertical Charcoal Smoker

One note, the smoker smoked from around the door to what I would think might be excessive. Should I look into sealing around the door? This smoker has no smoke stack on it's top.

Ribs turned out great either way, but finishing them in the oven caused fat to drip into the bottom of the oven and now the wife is mad because when we use it, it smokes the house.

It's the smoker. I had one of these, and it is extremely flawed in design. The pan that holds the charcoal does not allow for proper air flow to the fuel. Contrast this with a Weber grill, where you put your fuel on an elevated grate with plenty of air beneath it. This Char Broil instead just has a pan that you put on a shelf. Before long your coals are buried in ash, and barely smoldering. FWIW, if you were to attempt sealing the doors, it would only exacerbate your problem, as the issue is with not enough air, versus too much. I replaced my Char Broil with a Weber Smokey Mountain, but I had considered some hacks to make it better. Your best bet would be to ditch the pan-on-shelf system, and fashion your own charcoal grate that is elevated from the bottom of the smoker. You want something that will both allow air flow to the fuel and allow the ashes to fall away from the fuel. Then you would be able to properly manage temperatures with the air vents.


Tea infused with caffeine I am trying to increase the level of caffeine in everyday tea to 150mg. I am using powder caffeine with L-theane. The powdered caffeine is obviously very bitter how do I mask the taste without adding fruity style flavours
Scott

The average caffeine content of black tea is around 50mg/8oz.  Green tea is much lower in caffiene, around 30mg.  My guess is that you're trying to replace the caffeine kick of coffee, which is more in the 150mg/8oz range you specify.

Further, you can increase the caffeine content of black tea simply by brewing it longer.  Assam tea is particularly high in caffeine.

So my first suggestion is that you just drink three mugs of very strong brewed black tea, rather than adding powdered caffeine.

If that doesn't satisfy you, the time-tested way to reduce bitterness in tea -- as any Englishperson could tell you -- is to add milk or cream.  I see no reason why that wouldn't help cover for the bitterness of powdered caffeine just as well.


Does vinegar have the same function as tartaric acid in a pavlova? My recipe for pavlova roll has 4 egg whites, 1 teaspoon vinegar and 1 teaspoon cornflour in it. Would you suggest adding cream of tartar? If I doubled the mixture how long would I need to bake it?

I would not recommend adding cream of tartar.  Your ratio of 1 teaspoon vinegar to stabilize 4 egg whites is standard.  My personal preference is to use cream of tartar instead of vinegar if it is available to you - I'd recommend 1/4 teaspoon for 4 egg whites.

I assume you have something like 1 cup of sugar going into your meringue as well?

See also:  How much acid to use for stabilizing meringue?

Meringues bake at low temperatures for a long time.  It is difficult to provide any kind of formula to predict how baking time might increase if you double the recipe.  My recommendation would be to pipe-out your primary meringue disk along with a couple smaller test disks of similar thickness - the idea being that you can use the smaller disks to test for doneness without breaking-off a piece of your primary dessert form.  If you're planning to make a wider disk (i.e. not thicker), the baking time shouldn't vary much from what is recommended in your recipe.  Please note that the meringue should not brown - but when you break-apart a test disk, the interior should be neither sticky nor moist - the meringue is done as soon as the moisture from the eggs has baked-off enough for the result to be airy, crisp, and dry.


What is the most efficient way to prepare (very small) fresh oregano leaves? While making my manicotti tonight, I received a painful reminder that the stuffing isn't actually the most tedious part of the process - it's pulling all the tiny leaves off the oregano stems.  It seems as though the oregano I'm able to buy here is not fully grown; it's been like this for as long as I can remember.

Obviously the stems are stiff, and bitter, and generally no good to throw in the mix, at least not with any of the recipes I use.  So I really need to get the leaves off the stems, and with this oregano, it's a painful process.

I've tried obvious routes, like "stripping" the leaves off the stems with my hands or a knife, but it doesn't really work.  The stems are too hardy, and if I strip them hard enough to get the leaves off then I usually end up stripping the stem with it.  And laying the stems flat on a cutting board and trying to chop the leaves off directly is almost impossible; the leaves are so tiny and irregularly distributed that it ends up taking longer than just pulling the things apart with my hands.

Am I missing something obvious?  Is there a way to prepare these oregano leaves that's more fun than watching paint dry?

If you're using it in something long-simmering, like soup or spaghetti sauce, you can tie a bundle together (with cooking twine or unflavored dental floss) stems and all and toss it into the pot. As it cooks, most of the oregano leaves will fall off into the food and even those that don't will impart a lot of flavor into the dish. At the end, just pull out the bundle like you would bay leaves. I've never had trouble with the stems leaching bitter flavor when using this method.


What is the liquid ingredient in a korma? I recently saw a pseudo-recipe for an authentic Lucknow korma on TV. After infusing whole spices in ghee, adding an onion puree, chilli powder and chicken, the cook added a creamy looking mixture of what he said was desiccated coconut, cashew nuts and poppy seeds.

This mixture looked too liquid to be made up of just those ingredients. What would be the liquid base? I am thinking it is either cream, yoghurt or coconut milk, but I don't know, and each of those has a distinct flavour.

Also, in what proportion would the dry ingredients be?

Authenticity is often in question when it comes to curry.

Korma covers a fairly broad range of South/Central Asian curries, their common feature being their creaminess.

The creaminess can come from cream, coconut cream, yoghurt, or ground nuts - or a mixture of these.

In the case of ground nuts, water might be added to add liquidity, although you may be surprised at how much liquid nuts contain. Just think how gloopy peanut butter can be.


Using Italian Bread for French Toast? Would this be weird? The bread says it has garlic but that's the only "Italian" ingredient I see.

French Toast is just French toast because you are soaking it in egg and pan or griddle frying it.

You can use white sandwich bread, Italian loaf, French baquette, wheat bread what ever. I think we evolved to this in the French toast category.

I don't think the garlic would taste good with the sweet syrup. So yeah Weird. Personal taste though. If its not an overwhelming taste of garlic it should be fine.


What counts as "hydration" when figuring Dough Hydration? I'm keen on the idea of baking using "Baker's Math"... but, what ingredients do we count when trying to figure out the hydration level of a dough? Do we count just water/liquid? Or, do we count things like sour cream, butter, milk, eggs?

The term is not really defined that way. In the strict sense, it only has meaning for lean doughs - made of only flour, water, yeast and salt, eventually preferments or later mixins like seeds.

You can extend it to enriched doughs (those that have fat, milk, eggs, tomato juice, etc.) but then it is no longer sharply defined. Calculating the exact content of water (e.g. adding to the calculation 17 g of water for every 100 g of butter) are pretty useless, because the water bound in an emulsion or other kind of colloid doesn't behave the same way as free water when making a dough. So, a dough with 100 g water and 100 g butter will be extremely different from a dough with 117 g of water, and still pretty different from one with 117 g of water and 83 g of oil. So, there is no real formula any more to create an actual percentage.

The concept still stays somewhat useful in this case, but you have to "play it by ear". When you are trying to judge how soft a given enriched dough will be, you can start by calculating all the liquid and fat ingredients as if they were "hydration", which gives you a rough guide to compare it to other doughs, and then you have to make it and gain a tactile understanding of how it actually behaves.


What's the best way to cook very large chicken breast filets? Thanks to coronavirus, a local restaurant supply company is offering home delivery, and I ordered a ten pound bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts. There were eight of them in there...EIGHT! For an average weight of 20 oz each!

I have kids who like their food white. My usual method for BSCBs of a reasonable size is a quick brine and bake, pound them a bit and steam in a covered skillet, or just boil 'em (I know, it's sad). Will these monsters turn out okay if I treat them this way?

Secondarily, if I were going to cook something with actual flavors, what would you recommend?

It really depends on what types of meals you plan to make with them.

If you would typically serve people a whole breast, then I'd cut each one down into more reasonable sizes (slice vaguely across the grain ... I usually start at the more bulbous end and slice diagonally through it so I end up with a chunk that's mostly from the thin end)

For the size you're starting with, you might want to cut each one into 4 to 6 pieces.  If you're planning on pounding them, I might even go with 8 to 10 pieces.

Once they're a more reasonable size, you can then brine and bake them or pound them out, them like you normally would.

As you mention boiling them ... I would recommended poaching them instead.  If you cut them up first, go with my original recommendation of an hour.  If they went in whole, I might give it two hours.  The technique that I mention is more like a slow cooker -- it's more forgiving and doesn't tend to overcook the outside before the middle is done  (although, it can get fall-apart tender, and start breaking up as you try to fish them out with tongs.


how to cook on a low and high oven Our gas range oven gives us only the option to choose high or low and I'm not sure how to use it and the recipes online are hard to do because they specify the exact temperature. To summarize really, I just need some references or recipes which shows how to cook on high and low ovens

In order to know how and what to bake in your oven you need to know what temperatures you get from your low and high settings. There's no standards with ovens that have just a low and high setting, so we can't tell you for sure. The low on an oven may be barely enough to warm something or it could be very hot.

You need to work backwards, measuring what temperatures your oven produces and picking recipes which work in that temperature range. I suggest you buy an oven thermometer and record the temperatures produced by each setting over a couple of hours. Test whether using the burners (if your range has gas burners as well) while the oven is on makes a difference in temperature so you know what to expect if you are using both at the same time.

You might get steady and predictable temperatures, or they may go up and down a lot. If they fluctuate more than 10 degrees then you won't be able to bake anything that requires an exact and constant temperature, but there are still many things you can make. Using covered heavy metal pots like dutch ovens will help smooth out temperature fluctuations.

Here are a few things you can make at different temperature ranges once you know what low and high give you. It's not a full list but should give you an idea:

Below 50C: You can dry foods, keep them warm, and rise bread but not actually cook anything
50 - 120C: there's not that much you can bake at this temperature, although you could do a very slow roast or braise as long as it's above 90C or so. If it's too low, say below 70C it's not hot enough to kill off foodborne illnesses
120-160C: this is a good temperature for slow roasting and braising meats, and roasting vegetables. You can also bake some breads and cakes at the high end of this temperature
160-200C: there's a lot you can do in this range: breads, cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, baking potatoes, roasting tender meats and poultry, and baking fish. Casseroles are very forgiving and would be fine anywhere in this range, even if it's fluctuating
200-230C: this is getting hot, things get crispy quickly at this temperature. Some breads (usually thin rather than loaves) need this temperature, you can bake chicken pieces, meatballs, pizza, and fish. You can crisp up the tops of dishes like crumbles and shepherds pie
Above 230C: Thin pizzas like a really hot oven, you need to be careful what you bake in a very hot oven as it can burn very quickly. You can crisp up the tops of dishes but keep an eye on them  and pull them out before they get charred

I suggest you stick to braised meats, casseroles and other dishes that can tolerate the temperature going up and down until you have some experience with the oven, then expand the types of things you bake once you know what to expect.


Anything wrong with this chicken/can undercooked chicken be white inside? I was trying to fry some chicken without getting the outside to crust and so fried on lower than usual heat. Please see pics of the meat.

I am concerned the chicken may not have cooked properly however as you can see from the pics it is white and when eating they were all white inside.  I know a thermometer is the best way to know however it's too late now and I'm just wondering if it's white does that mean its done or could it still be under cooked?
In other questions, I was trying to cook meat well done without letting a crust develop on the outside.  People here told me this couldn't be done and cooking any meats well done would lead to a crust being formed on the surface of the meat.  In this chicken I coooked, it did all come out white and the surface was soft and easy to eat, it was not crusty or hard.  however in the last pic you can see the texture of the surface is different from the inside.  Would you regrd this as a crusty surface as was referred to others in previous questions or not?
Bearing in mind the surface is not crusty and it was cooked on a low heat, are you able to tell any mistakes/anything else from the pictures? It may be the rice I mixed it with, however unless I am mistake the chicken did feel a bit watery.

Your chicken looks fine. It seems as if you have succeeded in getting the meat done without it drying out, which is always great!

The surface does not look 'crusty' and as you say it's soft and easy to eat, I would say it's a success.


Can I leave uncooked rice sitting in water for an hour or longer before cooking? I'm prepping for a dinner party. And I put uncooked long grain brown rice + oil + water in a pot, as usual. But I'm not cooking it right this minute. The rice is sitting in the pot with the water. Can I leave it as is for an hour or two before cooking? Or will that sog the grains and affect the result?

That's fine. A lot of people actually do that on purpose, it's referred to as "soaking". It will shave a bit off the cooking time and won't negatively affect the rice at all. Give it a stir before you start cooking. You can drain and rinse it too if you want, that will give you very separate, distinct grains. Use about 1/4 less water for cooking if you do it that way, because the rice will have soaked up some water.


How to balance out sourness of lemon juice, specifically in a mayonnaise? I've just made some mayonnaise, and it's turned out fine - texture wise. However, I used too much lemon juice when I made it. What are the possible ways to balance this out, mellowing the 'zing'? It's not terribly overmuch, but it could definately stand for a bit less.

Recipe used:

1 egg yolk
1.5 dl oil
Juice from 1/3 lemon
Salt n pepper

Can I go with some honey, or will this simply make it disgusting? I realize this wouldn't neutralize the sourness, but simply mask it. Any ideas? :)

To balance acidity, add sugar.  It's how most mayonnaise manages to be acidic enough to prevent bacteria growth (pH 4.6 or lower), while still having a balanced and edible flavor.

You might get an edible result with honey, but sugar is more of a neutral flavor, so I would use that first.  Using a jigger of Dijon mustard is not beyond the pale, as well... might help hide the acid, to a lesser extent.


What is macaroni cooked in milk called? Is there a name for the partial dish where you simmer macaroni in milk for 30-60 minutes? It's called stuvade makaroner in Swedish:

Any food simmered in milk is referred to as creamed e.g. creamed corn. So I guess this would be creamed macaroni.


How much does one cup of fresh spinach weigh? How much fresh spinach is in one cup? When I read articles they always say eat "1 cup of spinach", but I don't know how much spinach that is. I am talking about 4x6 cm leaves.

How much spinach is in a cup varies widely based on who is doing the measuring, how well the spinach is trimmed, whether it is chopped, the size of the leaves, whether it is cooked, and if it is cooked, how well it is drained.

That said, the FDA calls 1 cup of raw spinach 30 grams.

If you're looking for the number of leaves in a cup, that can't be answered because some leaves are much bigger than others. To measure a cup, you need a cup, a scale (30 grams would work for raw spinach) or to be willing to guess.

EDIT Now that you've added the size of the leaves, the question is answerable, but I would need leaves that size and a cup in order to answer.


Forgot to turn the crockpot on with pork in it I put 2.5 lbs of salted raw pork shoulder in the crockpot, then added boiling hot liquid to the crockpot. I forgot to turn it on, and noticed an hour later. Then I turned it on. Is the meat still edible, or should I throw it away?

The USDA provides online Food Safety Information describing the risks.  You can also call them with questions.

Generally, two hours in the "danger zone" is OK, but keep in mind that's two hours total including time at the meat packing company, in shipping, at the store, on your way home from the store, during your preparation, and any reheating.