Improve flavor of Sorbet made in Magic Bullet? I'm trying to create a sorbet using a frozen fruit (specifically strawberries) using the magic bullet. The way that I do it is by literally putting a bunch of frozen, ice-hard strawberries into the bullet and pulsing the bullet for a long time giving it breaks so I don't burn out the motor. I end up with what looks like a strawberry sorbet BUT it tastes empty.

Goal: I want to create a strawberry sorbet which tastes good and is healthy (so I'd love to avoid processed sugar). Also, if there's a faster way to do it other than by pulsing the magic bullet forever that would be awesome too!

Current Developments: I've tried adding lemon juice, it made it a bit better but it still had a hollow ice flavour.

Almost any normal sorbet recipe will contain a decent amount of sugar, and strawberries are no exception. I'd guess probably 1/2-2/3 cup per pound of strawberries. Use a substitute if you have an aversion - honey, agave, raw cane sugar, whatever you prefer. (Of course, anything liquid is going to contain some water, and cause a bit of ice, but it's still doable.) A sorbet without any extra sugar, even when frozen normally in an ice cream maker, is going to end up with a very icy texture, which will probably keep you from  experiencing the flavor as much. The sugar helps soften it.

The other common way to soften a sorbet is alcohol. Rosé wine (thank you, David Lebovitz) works quite well in a strawberry sorbet. Vodka can be your go-to liquor for any impromptu sorbet with other fruits, since it'll add alcohol without any flavors that clash. Beyond that, either look for recipes, or look for mixed drinks containing the fruit you're using.

You might also be having problems simply because your strawberries aren't that great. Did you freeze them, or were they storebought? If you bought the strawberries yourself, you'd know they were decent before freezing, while not all storebought frozen fruit is as flavorful.

Finally, it's possible that your frozen strawberries collected some extra water in the form of frost, which then makes your sorbet icier. If there are obvious big chunks you could scrape them off.


Grinding melted latex off a pizza stone? My fiance and I got a pizza stone for christmas, and are still learning how to use it. Tonight we accidentally used a potholder which had silk-screened designs on it, and almost immediately the white silkscreened lettering (I believe it's latex) had melted off on to the pizza stone, so we now have big white splotches that we can't get off (tried steel wool, scrubbing with water, etc. No luck on anything.

I'm considering hitting it with an orbital sander because at this point, I figure it may be ruined if I don't try something more drastic. Has anyone done this, or used something like a dremel to grind chunks off of a pizza stone?

It won't suffer much from having a millimeter or two of material removed in one area, so I'd just go ahead with the Dremel and grind it down to clean stone rather than resorting to chemicals that may or may not work and may or may not impregnate the stone.  There's no substance made short of diamonds that can resist a grinding wheel.  Worst case is you end up with one side that's unusable for anything that requires a smooth surface, but otherwise it should be fine.  It's mainly just a rock, after all.


Untwisting stuck salt shaker Any idea how I can facilitate the untwisting of this stuck salt shaker?  I was thinking an oil filter wrench but that may break it.  Should I try soaking it?

I always submerged mine in warm water and, bare handed, worked the cap until it came free. The water should dissolve the salt with the help of the mechanical action. That was with glass bottoms and metal tops. You should be able to brute force your full metal shaker with no ill effect as the metal will have a much higher shear strength than the salt that is binding it.


Why does oil reduce the effectiveness of Japanese waterstones? I've read in several places that oil should not be used on Japanese waterstones, but none of the sources explain the reasoning behind this. What, if any, damage would using oil cause and would it be reparable?

Japanese style whetstones made of natural material, also known as "waterstones", rely on water to make a paste from the material, and this paste is abrasive and aids in sharpening. Oil is not as effective as water in making this "mud" as the stone material isn't as soluble in oil.

Further, once you have used oil on any type of whetstone, water may no longer be used as a lubricant, as it will be shed by the oil that has soaked into the stone and be ineffective in carrying away the swarf (metal abraded from the blade by sharpening).

Here is a FAQ on natural waterstones from an online retailer.


What are the best suggestions for cutting gloves I've never used a cut proof or cut resistant glove but I think it may come in handy when using a mandolin slicer or prepping a bunch veggies.  Any suggestions on the pros and cons between cut resistant and cut proof gloves?  Any specific products you would suggest?

There's no such thing as "cut proof", so you should still try to be careful. I use a Microplane glove with my mandolin, and it's worked out quite well so far. Cook's Illustrated also recommends this glove.


Taste difference of bottled beer vs. canned beer I think that the taste from a canned beer is different to the taste of the bottled beer. The same I experience for soft drinks. Is my sensory system distorted or do I suffer from an illusion?
Can this be true at all / could this be explained somehow by the used material?

According to the only study we have(PDF of original study) on the topic, it does not make a difference whether beer comes from a bottle or can.  In this study, participants who were shown the bottle or can had a preference for bottles, but participants who were not shown the beer container did not.

Results from the blind taste test – when participants had no knowledge about the beers or where they came from – showed that there were no preferences for bottled or canned beer, one way or another. Nearly 45% of participants rated the canned beer better than the bottled, 41% of participants rated the bottled beer better than the canned, and close to 1.5% said they both tasted the same.

Of necessity, the participants in this study were drinking from a plastic cup.  So it remains possible that you can taste the container directly if you are drinking straight from the bottle or can, with the glass or aluminum touching your lips.


How can I cold smoke without any of the equipment? I need to cold smoke a whole leg of lamb for a few hours. I have a barbecue and plenty of space, but none of the equipment for cold smoking.
What can I do? I'm looking for a quick, simple, one-off solution

There are smoke extract products available, such as Liquid Smoke and others with the type of wood smoke flavor desired being specified. With only a few hours to work with, you may wish to inject the solutin to speed up penetration into the meat. Brine or marinade diluents may be options to explore depending on your desired outcome.

Even so, minimal " equipment " such as the injection syringe and a container with some means of covering for the leg would be helpfull, or at least a foil or other wrapping for the
lamb to keep juice in and atmosphere out.


Can you safely use a cast-iron grill pan as a heat diffuser? We recently got an earthenware tagine. However, being earthenware, it can't be directly exposed to the stove flames. The manual calls for a heat diffuser, but those are apparently impossible to find (there's a store 45 minutes away in another city that might have some).

I know you can use a cast-iron skillet as a heat diffuser in a pinch, but we don't have one large enough. What we do have, however, is a large cast-iron grill pan. I initially thought that the ridges inside it would be a problem, causing uneven heating, and thus dismissed that idea -- but after some searching it looks like the overwhelming majority of heat diffusers actually have ridges, domes, holes, or other surface features that would produce uneven heating anyways!

So...can I safely use a cast-iron grill pan as a heat diffuser? If not, why not? In either case, what's the purpose of the various surface features on heat diffusers that prevent them from uniformly contacting the cookware on top of them?

I see absolutely no reason not to do that. As you say, the very nature of diffusers is that they aren't smooth. Keep in mind that it's not just extreme heat that you want to avoid, but also extreme changes in temperature. So you want to heat the tagine with the implement that you are using as a diffuser.

Also, unglazed earthenware tagines are usually seasoned. Is your tagine glazed? Apparently that process can also be called "healing" and involve garlic, although the term is from a different culture. Is it necessary to "heal" clay pots?


making jam with brown (raw) caster sugar Is it possible to use brown (raw) caster sugar when making jam? I have never tried it before, but like to use unrefined products where I can.

Yes, that's perfectly fine. I've done so myself (using raw cane sugar) because I like the taste, at least for some kinds of fruit.

My health store has different brands, some lighter, some darker. If your store does, too, you might want to consider using the lighter variety - the darker ones sometimes can impart a slight bitterness (just an undertone, really), which can be "too much" for some fruit.


What's a good molasses-based glaze for pork tenderloin? My wife and I cooked a pork tenderloin with a molasses-based glaze/sauce this evening. However, we didn't care for it, not because of the molasses but because the recipe called for ground cumin—turns out, we don't care for cumin.

How could I make something similar without cumin. The original ingredients were:

2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb pork tenderloin

You might try giving it an Asian twist by replacing the cumin with a tablespoon of Chinese Five Spice powder (a mix of star anise, cloves, szechuan peppercorns, fennel and cinnamon), and the salt with a splash or two of soy sauce. I'd also add some freshly grated ginger and crushed garlic. You should then have a tasty, sticky Chinese-style glaze.


Doubling a red velvet cake recipe I have made 4 times the recipe in order to make a half sheet cake. Do I lower the degrees and bake time?

If you're making the same thickness of cake, and it's a relatively thin cake (suggested by the fact that you're using a sheet pan), you typically do not need to change the time and temperature.  So if you've doubled the recipe and doubled the area of the pan, you don't need to make any changes.

A larger area cake will rise more as there won't be as much edge that will set before the rest has risen.

If it's a thicker cake (the batter is more than 1/2" / 1.25 cm deep before baking), you'll want to turn down the temperature and bake for a longer time.  If the batter is an inch or more deep, you may want to consider cooling strips and/or a heating core.


Why did the apple skins turn blue/purple-ish in my apple pancakes the next day? Yesterday for dinner I made apple pancakes. I cut the apple into small pieces (with the skin on) and just put it into my pancakes batter. The skin was dark red. After cooking it, everything was looking fine.
Now the next morning, I took out the pancakes from the fridge (on a plate covered with aluminium foil) and noticed that the apple skin turned blue/purple-ish. The apple flesh still seems normal (white/yellow), so I'm confident it is the skin that was originally dark red.
It seems safe to eat, smell and taste are completely fine. I mean it's only been 1 single night after all.
So why did this happen?
I've never heard of this. I've baked apple cake before (with skin) and it never turned blue-ish even after days.
The recipe I used includes flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, oat-almond milk, molten butter and 1 big apple.
After closer inspection it does look more grey-ish with dark purple-ish around the edges.
Unfortunately I can't provide images as the pancakes are long gone.
Oh and as someone has mentioned, the pancake interior around the apple piece was coloured purple-ish. As if some of the color of the apple skin "leaked out".

I feel fairly confident that what you see is anthocyanins (naturally present in apple skin) reacting with some leavening in your pancakes.
Here's a link that explains in more details, but I'll summarize: https://extension.psu.edu/fruit-color-promoting-red-color-development-in-apple
Anthocyanins are a natural pH indicator present in many fruits and vegetables. Red cabbage and blueberries are common examples. Elderberries and black sweet rice, and even many flowers also contain these compounds.
And they turn red in the presence of acid like vinegar, buttermilk, or fruit juice, and blue in the presence of a base like baking soda or baking powder.
So when you bake or cook with certain fruits that contain anthocyanins, you might be surprised that your blueberry muffins came out green, or that your "purple" rice is hot pink. This is because anthocyanins are water soluble, so they'll disperse throughout what you're cooking easily, and visually indicate the pH. You may even notice a blue shadow in the pancake around or under the apple skins.
But if this is the case you are a-okay. Judging by the contents of the recipe, it only contains a base for leavening, but no acid for it to react with. So it makes perfect sense that your apples, the only acidic component, would react and turn blue. If you want to get more rise, include some buttermilk or lemon juice next time. When it reacts with your leavening you'll get more floof, and your apples will stay red (or pink at least.)


Substituting sugar with a liquid stevia concentrate in a cake I have a cake recipe that consists of a dry part, a liquid oil part and eggs. Around half of the dry part consists of sugar. I would like to replace that sugar with liquid stevia concentrate at a very small fraction of the original sugar. If I do that though, then around half of the dry ingredients would be removed from the recipe.

How would I adjust such a recipe? Would I reduce the eggs and liquid oil part proportionally to how much of the dry part has been removed? Anything else that I would need to take into consideration? For example, since the sugar is not soluble in the liquid part, I'm thinking it must also bring certain physical properties to the cake.

I noticed that if I replace the sugar with an erythritol / xylitol blend, then the end result is very similar to the sugar product, so maybe there's a similar bulking agent I could use instead of the sugar? Polyols add sweetness as well, so they wouldn't work in conjunction with the stevia concentrate, it would ideally have to be something neutral.

Use dextrin.

On the theory that dextrin (insoluble fiber) is molecularly similar to sucrose, I made chocolate chip cookies and substituted dextrin 1:1 for all the sugar, sweetening the dough with erythritol (and regular chocolate chips).  I used the CVS brand dextrin which is sold with fiber supplements like Metamucil.  A brand name for dextrin is Benefiber.  It is very much a bulking agent exactly as you request.  It has no flavor.

The dough was the right consistency and the end product was more the consistency of shortbread than a toll house cookie, but they were good.  No GI issues either.


Why did my Sourdough starter stopped rising? Ok so I started my starter (no pun intended) a few days ago. I got a recipe that said I should keep it at room temp and feed it once a day with 1/2 cup of any flour (I used whole wheat) and 1/4 cup of water. I live in a place over the sea level, near a mountain and it was a pretty warm weather when I started.

So this is what I did:

Day 1: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup of water, got a thick consistency. Leave it on top of the fridge.
Day 2: I see some bubbles on the bottom, get rid of half the mix and feed.
Day 3: I see a few bubbles on the top, a lot of bubbles on the bottom and it rise a considerable amount. I get rid of half, feed and keep on with my day.
Day 4: It did not rise or have as much bubbles as before. The weather changed a bit, not as hot but still warm. Still got rid of half and feed.
Day 5: No change whatsoever, still some bubbles on the bottom but nothing on the top nor it rise. The weather changed, today it's cold and raining.

Everyday it got a vinegary smell which I read is supposed to happen.

I feel like my dough predicted the weather haha. Anyway, what should I do now? Do I keep on feeding it? How long until I know that it didn't work and should start a new one?

My mom had a sour dough mixture active for years and years kept in the frig. and used on a strict weekly schedule. It would be new to me to leave it out of the frig.. Finicky perhaps until you get the feel for it. Makes good coffee cake and pancakes also.


Are mung beans grown in Japan or North America? My grandparents in Toronto need green mung beans to make Chinese green bean soup dessert (another recipe). But they've found only ones from China. They prefer to buy locally, and  are too frightened by China's countless food safety incidents to buy foods from China.

I don't know any sources in Canada, but you can buy mung beans grown in Oregon or California fairly easily.


Spices storage conditions I have seen in a lot of places that spices and dried herbs need to be kept in an airtight container.

I have several container that are virtually airtight, but they have couple small holes that if filled with liquid and put upside down it would drip slowly.

Is there any harm in storing spices in this condition?
Is it safe to store spices like that?

Can this very small amount of air be detrimental?

The flavor and aroma of spices deteriorates over time, particularly when exposed to air and light.  How much time? ...hard to say...but buying whole spices and grinding them yourself when needed lengthens shelf life...as does storing them in airtight containers and in a dark, cool place.  Health and safety is not a concern here.  Flavor and aroma is. We are talking shelf life in terms of months, not years.  So, your containers (clearly not airtight) will be fine, but the quicker you cycle through your spice inventory, the better.


What kind of rice should I use to make Persian/Indian/Middle Eastern rice-based desserts? I am trying to learn how to make Persian shole zard and Indian firni (phirni). Some recipes mention jasmine rice as a main ingredient, while others just say "white rice". To my knowledge jasmine rice is popularly consumed in South East Asia, so I wonder if using it in Persian/Middle Eastern/Indian desserts will lead to authenticity.

What kind of rice should be used for authentic rice pudding sweets in those countries? Basmati for firni?

(Disclaimer, since I don't read/speak Farsi, I only looked at English references)

Authenticity is in the eye of the Beholder.

Iranian and Indians cooks probably use whatever rice is available in their local store; and some will use the same rice variety that their mother and grandmother used without knowing the reason.

You can look at this which talks a little bit about rice in Iran, so does the wikipedia page about Iranian cuisine.

For example, the Domsiah is related to Basmati rice.

That being said,

Most recipes for shole zard, as you say, just say white rice, or either Jasmine or Basmati rice; I've also seen recipes with short grain rice; so pretty much use what you have on hand.

For firni, most recipes call for Basmati rice which looks to be most common in India.


Is eating road kill a health-hazard? I read this recent news story about a Kentucky Chinese restaurant dragging road kill into their restaurant and the town became skittish and shut the restaurant down.

Is eating road-killed venison a health hazard? What is the difference between a bow/gun-shot deer and and a road-killed deer, in terms of health concerns?

Can a road-killed deer be converted into quality acceptable by health depts by some form of inspection? Or, does restaurant quality venison have to come from deer farms?

Animals that are killed, independent on the method, have to be examined by a veterinarian and a sample should be tested. When the test comes back clean, the animal can be butchered and eaten.

However, a restaurant kitchen is not an abattoir and there's a high risk of cross-contamination. Think about the fur, the dust, the lice or other insects on the carcass. This means a restaurant should not butcher animals. Period.

If you take a road-kill home, take a sample (the tongue) to the local vet.


What is meant by "place 4 inches apart on cookie tray"? Does this mean place some cookie dough every 4 inches (i.e. 4 inches center-to-center), or have a 4 inch gap between each cookie?

It means to have a 4 inch gap between each cookie. Of course, if you use less dough per cookie, you can put them a bit closer together.

Normally, if you put cookie dough on the tray, the surface of the cookie won't be very big (perhaps an inch). So it would not make a very big difference if you would've placed the cookies 4 inches apart center-to-center. Just be careful during the first batch. If you see you have a lot of space between the finished cookies, you can put the dough closer together for the next batch (if you use the same amount of dough per cookie).


Fresh mussels, or are they? I bought and cooked these mussels today. I'd like to know if there is anything wrong with the left hand mussel. Is the color, size an indicator for freshness? I'm guessing it was 'captured' (OK, collected) longer ago than the one on the right.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a batch that came out like the one on the right.

Captured longer ago or not, should not make a difference. When you buy mussels, they are still alive. You can check this by trying to open one. Normally, this isn't an easy task. (Sometimes, their shells can open/close when opening the package in which they came in.)

The left hand mussel doesn't look tasty, but there really is nothing wrong with it. It's just a smaller size mussel. If you buy bigger mussels (e.g. Jumbo), you shouldn't have many of those in it.

As for the colour: a lot of people think this is a matter of sex. Males are white, females are orange. However, this isn't true. The difference in colour is a genetic one, it's the quantity of pigment a specific mussel has. The difference in colour doesn't make a difference in taste or texture.

Shortly: that mussel on the left hand side is okay to eat.


How to add pistachios in a white chocolate mudcake I am planning to make a white chocolate mud cake with pistachios, white chocolate chips and dark chocolate chips. I know that there are several methods to prevent the chocolate chips sinking to the bottom. But do I have to take any precautions with the pistachios too? Should I dust them with flour or what things should I keep in mind to add pistachios to my cake? I would also like the pistachios to be a good size so that people can bite into them and taste them in the cake.

Dust all three inclusions (the chips and nuts) and then place half of the plain batter (that has no inclusions added) in the pan(s), add the inclusions to the remaining batter and mix lightly. Pour that batter evenly over the batter already in the pan(s) and bake. Don't cut the pistachios in more than half or they will be too small.


Substitution for idealmjöl I recently moved to the US from Sweden, and one thing I sorely miss is idealmjöl. It is a very fine flour that is primarily used to thicken sauces. It has the property that you can just sprinkle it over your sauce and it will dissolve and thicken it (with a little bit of whisking), without making the sauce lumpy. I haven't seen anything obvious in my grocery store that will do the same thing. Is there anything similar here in the States?

The closest thing you are likely to find is a product called Wondra flour.  Like idealmjöl, it is a pre-gelated wheat flour, but unlike idealmjöl it also includes some malted barley flour.

One post on this forum implies they may be interchangeable.


Why don't oyster crackers contain oysters? I perused the ingredients list of a bag of oyster crackers and to my surprise they don't contain any oyster ingredients at all.

Since then I have looked at a multitude of different variety of oyster characters and they all share the same characteristic: the lack of oysters.

Why don't oyster crackers contain oysters? Why even use the word oyster?

Given that oyster crackers as we know them were first created in the northeastern United States, I think the most likely hypothesis is that they were intended to be served with oyster stews and clam chowder, which are traditional regional cuisines that would have been quite popular around the same time.  Their size and shape make them easy to add to soups, and that's how they're often served today.


Changing Sous Vide water How often do you need to change the water in your Sous Vide machine? Given food never touches the water I don't think I need to change it every time, but it does seem like I should change it once in awhile. Any rules of thumb?

The water frequently sits in the danger zone for bacterial growth, and even though it is a sealed bag, fats can migrate through the plastic (not considering contamination to the outside of the bag either from cross contamination or from juices drawn out during vacuuming/sealing).

I would suggest changing the water if:

is looks dirty/cloudy
it smells like anything other than water

Additionally from the PloyScience site:

  Occasionally or when a cooking pouch may have leaked, simply replace the water with a vinegar/water solution and run unit at 160°F for 25 minutes to remove any residuals or lime.

So you can probably throw a little vinegar into the water to up the pH and make it more hostile to bacteria (though it will smell up the house when you use it).


Is raw honey safe to consume? I recently purchased a jar of Very Raw Honey from my local market. I purchased it because it was on sale, but eventually I looked up whether it was safe or not to eat and came across articles such as this and this one. The label on the jar says its 100% unfiltered. Also, I don't know if the articles means truly raw (as in straight from the honey comb) and whether or not the jar of honey I purchased is the same as raw honey that comes straight from the honey comb.

Is it safe to consume? Is the Madhava honey the same stuff that I would get straight from a honey comb?

Upate: So from the post, honey is safe to eat, which I was aware of, but what about raw honey (at least raw honey purchased in stores)? It's still unclear to me.

If the honey has always had a water content below ~18% and is continuously stored in a sealed container (for instance a glass jar), it is perfectly safe to eat as long as you are over 1 year old. In fact, pasteurized honey is inferior in quality. The pollen and spores will remain in there either way, even if they're dead and can only be removed by (expensive) filtering. So if you got an allergy to that, don't eat honey. But they (pollen, yeasts) are not generally harmful. Botulism is not a concern unless you take medication that reduces the amount of acid your stomach produces.

Acid inhibits the growth in the stomach, your (good) bacteria in the gut (after the acid has been neutralized) will then continue to protect you. Since infants don't have sufficient/stable composition of bacteria yet, they are in (higher) danger of getting botulism. But even then, they rarely get infected. No point in taking the risk, tho.

Honey is hygroscopic, meaning it will draw moisture from it's surroundings (hence the sealed container). This effectively prevents pathogens to grow, preserving the honey as long as the water content of the honey remains at or below 18%.

In fact, here in germany, honey may not be subjected to temperatures higher than 40°C, it may contain no additives at all and the only thing you can do to it is filter the pollen out. We still don't have waves of botulism from honey here. In fact, I have never once heard of one.


Difference in cookie texture if we use melted vs softened butter I would like to know the difference in the final result if we use softened butter or melted butter in an ordinary cookie recipe.

A few days ago i baked chocolate chips cookies i waited for the butter to get the room temperature and then i smoothed the butter with the mixer (...) and at the end i put the cookie dough in the frighe. I just wondered what if i melt the butter so i will not have to wait for the butter to get soft, anyway i will put the cookie dough in the frighe later. But what will change? Some recipes demand for butter in room temperature softened and to turn sugar and butter mixture into a fluffy outcome. Some other recipes demand to melt the butter and sugar in low heat.

What is the logic behind what each recipe demands? And why?

There are many factors in play such as the type of sugars, amount of eggs or other sources of hydration, amount and type of leavening and so forth, but as an overall generalization:

Melting the butter will lead to chewier cookies
Creaming colder/room temperature butter with sugar will lead to cookies with a higher, more cake like texture.
Refrigerating the dough before baking will help inhibit spread because the butter is colder, and takes longer to melt.  It is also gives time for the liquid in the recipe to hydrate the flour.   See What does an overnight chill do to cookie dough, that a 4 hour chill doesn't?

See the transcript of Alton Brown's Three Chips for Sister Marsha episode for a good treatment of chocolate chip cookies and their variations.


Can I make white chocolate brownies based on a normal brownie recipe? I've been trying to make white chocolate brownies by taking a normal brownie recipe and replacing dark chocolate with white chocolate. It doesn't work, though - the butter seems to split, and the consistency gets totally wrong. I'm just trying to make a white chocolate cake that's fudgy and dense like a brownie. What am I doing wrong?

As you noticed, white chocolate doesn't have the same fat or solid makeup as regular chocolate, and in baking that will make a huge difference. The proportions of starch/binder (flour) to fat (butter & chocolate) to protein (eggs) are what make the difference between cake, brownie, fudge and everything in between.

White chocolate tends to melt faster than regular chocolate, so the baking time will be shorter, and there'll probably need to be extra flour & butter to make up the difference.

Go ahead and google for a basic recipe & then you should be able to make most of the same add-ins (nuts, extracts/flavorings) as any regular brownie recipe.

I would warn you to stay away from the "marble brownie" recipes though - they're really popular, but these are not two batters that play well with each other.

EDIT: Regular chocolate varies broadly in its fat makeup - different countries have diff regulations on what types of (natural) fats and (artificial) emulsifiers can be added to chocolate and chocolate-derived products. White chocolate has the same ingredient list as milk chocolate (w/o the cocoa solids), but again, the proportions and allowed/disallowed additives may be different. So you have to mind your brands/country-of-origin, as well as the "family" of chocolate.

Hershey's (US): http://www.thehersheycompany.com/nutrition-and-wellness/chocolate-101/types-of-chocolate.aspx

EU standards: http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_packaging/l21122b_en.htm (If someone can find a more consumer-friendly explanation of EU chocolate labeling, that would be great.)


Is cooking with olive oil bad or toxic? I've heard that cooking with olive oil is bad for you and can be toxic.  Is this true?  If so, to what extent?

I see no warning on the container of my olive oil that states that it would be bad to cook with olive oil.

I think this is a problem with all oils. When something burns, it produces smoke. Smoke is generally indicative of something that isn't particularly good for us if inhaled. Same holds for oils. It seems that all oils will begin to produce toxins once they hit their smoke point. However, before that, they are completely fine. So pick an oil that will handle the temperature you're using by checking the smoke point.

There's also a difference between producing toxins and toxic. Does burning oil produce toxins? Yes. Will that actually make you sick? I don't know. But my inclination is that it's unlikely to cause you harm under "normal" usage or else we'd be hearing about people actually getting sick from burning their oil rather than just getting scare stories on the news about free radicals.

And to get very sciency (stop reading immediately if your eyes glaze over, I think that's a sign of toxicity), from biology online:

  Researchers investigated processes of
  oxidative degradation - notably that
  caused at 70°C with ventilation - of a
  broad group of oils with very
  wide-ranging compositions. Another
  degradation process studied was that
  which is caused by microwave action
  that does not heat greater than a
  temperature of 190°C.

  In both processes deterioration of the
  oils takes place. In the first type of
  process (70°C with ventilation)
  hydroperoxides are first produced and
  subsequently aldehydes. In the second
  kind of process (microwave) it is
  basically aldehydes produced. It has
  to be pointed out that both the
  oxidative conditions and the
  composition of the oil determined the
  velocity of the degradation and both
  the nature and concentration of the
  compounds produced.

  These studies have shown, for the
  first time, that degradation of lipids
  in foods can produce toxic oxygenated
  aldehydes. These compounds, well-known
  in medical studies for their geno- and
  cytotoxic activity, considered as
  markers of oxidative stress in cells
  as well as being causal agents of
  degenerative illnesses, had not
  previously been detected in
  foodstuffs.

  Researchers have shown that some oils
  produce these toxic substances in
  greater quantities and at a greater
  rate. Virgin olive oil was, amongst
  all the oils studied, that which took
  longer to produce this type of
  compounds and produced a lower
  concentration of them.


Is it practical to boil drinking water in a pressure cooker? At my home and relative's homes I've never seen anyone using a pressure cooker to boil water (to make it safe for drinking). They just take an ordinary steel vessel, fill it with tap water, add some salt and jeera seeds, cover the vessel top partially with a lid and let the water reach boiling point.

I just realized that it might be far more efficient to boil water in a pressure cooker until the first whistle sounds, since it's a closed environment that would lose less energy to the environment. It may boil the water faster (less cooking gas consumption), boil it to a higher temperature (greater variety of bacteria dead) and perhaps lose less water to evaporation. Is this practical or are there downsides to this technique because of which people dont use it?

Overall it will make little if any difference.

The pressure cooker won't reach 100&degC; noticeably quicker than a normal pan with a close fitting lid, and the pressure cooker is made of thicker metal which will take more energy to heat. Simply closing the lid would help quite a bit.

If you want to hold it at a boil the sealed lid of a pressure cooker would help, except you can't really monitor the temperature. Waiting until it whistles will mean it has been boiling for long enough to produce enough pressure for a whistle, but that's still a measure of pressure, not time.

There are a few species killed by the temperatures achieved in a pressure cooker, and not at 100&degC; but my understanding is that these aren't the pathogens that tend to contaminate drinking water.

As you're flavouring the water as well, you may have to adapt the quantities of seeds if you use a pressure cooker, because the flavour will extract faster.


Pasta maker: Spaghetti sticking after rolling Love to check out the threads on the board, now finally decided to make an account in the hope some of you could help me out.

Recently started and dough-making is going quite well now. In the below images I prepared as follows:

Using Grano Duro 1 egg/100g and some water
Kneed, work, the dough for about 5 minutes.
Let it sit, airtight, on counter for 30 minutes
Use a pin to roll it out to a thickness of 1 cm before starting to use the pastamaker's rollers

My problem is that the spaghetti is sticking together after emerging from the rollers. I'm able to pull apart some of it, but barely 1/3rd. The rest might as well be parpadelle... I'm in doubt on whether my methods are at play, or the pasta maker itself. With cooking, it's usually the latter I think :)

Pic 1: 'rough' sheet after rolling at medium thickness. I trim the edges after so that it's a nice square.

Pic 2: I feed it through the pasta machine. The spaghetti is coming out but with a 'fleece' in between. It's not easy to pull apart manually, it destroys the spaghetti strings.

Pic3: The alignment of the rollers in my pasta maker. At least I don't see them being misaligned too much, are they?

What have I tried so far:
- Different thinknesses of the sheet when I push them through the spaghetti rollers
- Adding olive oil, adding more water rather than egg
- Letting the dough sheets dry on counter for 30 min, and once for 3 hours (which was clearly too long)

Love to hear if you have advice!

I make a lot of pasta; I can tell by looking that your dough is just too moist to cut. Take the water out and just incorporate the egg in the dough more slowly, allow it to become a 'shaggy mess' while you mix it - don't add more moisture, just keep kneading, it'll hydrate evenly and turn into a well-behaved ball. I'm guessing you got to the 'mess' part and added more liquid, that was probably your mistake.

I'd also cut spaghetti on the #5 setting on your pasta machine (it looks like you did #4, but that could just be due to the dough looking 'sticky' and a little thicker than you rolled it).

Don't give up! If you want a reference for a 'semi-foolproof' dough, I put mine on Github so it could be useful. While mine is based on fine 00 milled standard flour, it would work equally well for durum with a little adjusting, and It describes the kneading and working in (way more) detail than would be appropriate to post.

Also, consider starting with simple 00 (double-awt) milled flour, or even AP flour so you get a feel for the dough, then tougher flours like durum / wheat / etc. Just get quality flour.


What is "Less Sodium Soy Sauce"? I have here a bottle of Kikkoman "Less Sodium Soy Sauce".  According to the label, it contains 37% less sodium than regular soy sauce (575 mg per 15 ml serving, versus 920 mg).  How is this stuff made, and how will it compare to regular soy sauce in flavor?

An optimist would hope that it's made just like regular soy sauce, but less salt is added, so that it would still have the same soy/umami flavor but be less salty.

A pessimist would suspect that they just take 1 part regular soy sauce and dilute with 0.58 parts of water.

What is the truth?

These questions are related, but don't answer my question:

What are the differences between types of soy sauce?
Less salty sauce based on soy

Well, this is what Kikkoman has to say about it:

  Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce is brewed exactly the same way as all-purpose Kikkoman Soy Sauce. However, after the fermentation process is completed, approximately 40% of the salt is removed. Although there is less sodium in Less Sodium Soy Sauce, all the flavor and quality characteristics remain because it is aged before extracting the salt. However, to maintain this full flavor, we recommend using it during the latter stage of cooking in braising sauces, soups and stews, vegetables or stir-frys.

Huffington Post claims otherwise:

  Another category of soy sauce is low-sodium, which is made with extra chemicals. Cooking instructor and author of "The Chinese Takeout Cookbook" Diana Kuan recommends diluting regular soy sauce if you want less sodium instead of buying the low-sodium stuff.

The ingredient list on my Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce includes lactic acid, which is not on the ingredient list of Kikkoman Original Soy Sauce, but as it is a by-product of fermentation, I'm not sure that it means anything.


Making Pâté à bombe without sugar thermometer The recipe says that the sugar syrup must reach 120C, but I have no sugar thermometer. Can it be done without a thermometer?

  Dissolve the sugar in a medium saucepan with 120ml boiling water. When clear, bring to the boil and place a sugar thermometer in the pan.
  Meanwhile, whisk the yolks with an electric mixer until creamy. When the sugar syrup reaches 120C, remove from the heat at once. Keep the mixer beaters running, drizzle the syrup onto the yolks and beat, on full speed, for 3-5 mins until you have a firm yellow foam. Remove and cool, whisking occasionally. Divide into 3 portions.

120°C is what's known as the firm ball stage of caramelisation, because when you drop some of the caramel into cold water, you should then be able to make a firm but still pliable ball with it. You can use this to determine the approximate temperature. This page lists all the stages so you can determine how far along you are.


What is the Chinese celery and cabbage appetizer called and how is it made? My favorite Chinese restaurant for 30 years closed a few months ago. Back many years ago they had an appetizer that they served when you were seated that was excellent.

It was very simple, only fresh, crispy celery and cabbage. It usually came in a small bowl or in a small plate with a very small amount of clear liquid. Occasionally you might see a red pepper flake. It had a light, mostly savory flavor with just the slightest hint of sweetness and a little heat.

I'm usually pretty good at duplicating flavors but I have tried to nail this many times over the years but can't quite get there. There are no strong or identifying flavors I can grab onto. And it had no sweet, sour, or vinegar taste like pickled veggies have.

I asked many times for the recipe and each time I was told that it was not made at the restaurant but delivered by their distributor. I was never able to find out if it was a freshly prepared food or if it came in a jar or can.

Does anyone have any idea what this is called or how to make it? Or is it something that can be purchased? Any help or ideas would be very much appreciated.

For those interested I googled images of the dishes Cindy mentioned and tried to match the description.

This is what I found: First Celery, Second Baby Cabbage.


How do I remove boar taint (from a wooden handle)? So, I made the mistake of using my beautiful cleaver (that has a wooden handle) to cleave some particularly pungent pigs’ trotters, and for the next year, no matter how many times I’ve washed it with detergent, I can still smell the boar taint on my wooden handle. It’s soaked in.

I’ve tried looking for ways to remove boar taint, but nobody seems to have any good ideas on how to remove it from pork meat, let alone wood …

Any help is appreciated!

This is speculative, but too long for a comment.

One option you have for dealing with tools is that you can heat them hotter than food. You could try putting the cleaver in the oven for quite long periods, first fairly cool then hotter. Bare wood will generally darken but not char at typical oven temperatures, and I assume it's not vanished or otherwise coated as the flavour has soaked in (coatings may burn). Too hot and you risk losing the temper of the blade - if you know the exact steel you may be able to set an upper limit, otherwise you could stick to no more than about 120--150 C for caution.

You can also try soaking in alcohol as at least one of the relevant compounds is soluble in alcohol, and that won't damage the wood. I'd use flambé alcohol or surgical spirit/rubbing alcohol.

Wood treatments (such as linseed oil) don't generally soak in very far - so sanding the handle to remove the surface might work (possibly followed by refinishing). If the handle is riveted you might have to file down the rivets as well (sandpaper would be ok on brass rivets but not steel).

If the knife is so precious that you don't want to try any of these options, or if the wood gets damaged, you could see if you could get a new handle fitted.

In order, I'd go for heat first, then sand the surface bit not so much as to cause any rivets to stand out, then soak in alcohol.


cooking beef roast on a spit I will be having a graduation party for my twin daughters in june and i want to cook some large beef roasts on the spit. Although i have cooked plenty of beef briskets, prime rib, and sirloin roasts, I have never cooked for 150 people, except for a few pig roasts.

What I'm trying to find out is 1) what would be the best cut of beef and 2) what type of wood and/or charcoal should I use. My biggest concern is the meat drying out. And if possible maybe you can give me a few cooking tips.

Let's look at your options...

Brisket - the gold standard of BBQ beef.  Becomes very tender when cooked low and slow.  An inexpensive cut of meat (if you know the right places)  Cons: Very small window between undercooked (to tenderness) and dried out.  Only fat is in the fat cap, meaning that you lose lots of rendered drippings every time the meat is turned.  Not very spit-friendly.

Rib Roast - Good marbling throughout.  Not much connective tissue to break down in the meat.  Cooks relatively quickly, even at lower temps.  Delicious.  Cons: If you have to cook to a more "done" temperature depending on your audience, the meat could become tough and dry.

Eye of Round - Cheap. Fits on a rotisserie stake perfectly. Cooks evenly throughout. Cons: even a good round roast has a more dry, tough texture.

Chuck - Tender and flavorful. Very forgiving. Excellent for low/slow cooking. Lots of marbling throughout the meat to keep it moist during cooking. Cons: Falls apart when cooked properly, meaning it would be difficult to keep it on a spit. Best served as pulled beef, which may not be what you're seeking.

Sirloin - Juicy, full of beefy flavor. Lean. Cons: it is easy to turn out a piece of sirloin that is like shoe leather.

Tenderloin - Tender, and tasty. Forgives cooking beyond medium if done properly. Cons: Very expensive.

Beef back ribs - Tender, good fat content. Good for slow cooking. Cons: can be difficult to serve/eat.

I don't really know what I'd pick here.  I'd almost certainly eliminate brisket, eye of round, and sirloin, for various reasons, if I'm sticking to spit-cooking.  I'd be on the fence with chuck -- you'd have to come up with some kind of cage-type mechanism to keep the chuck roast(s) together.  So I'd lean toward rib roasts or tenderloins.  Both are pricey, but they are worth it.  Only problem is, if you have people who insist upon medium-well or greater meat, you'll have to figure out what to do.  Maybe cook to medium and sear off chunks for the people who want theirs more cooked?

Another intriguing option might be beef back ribs.  I saw an episode of Primal Grill with Steven Raichlen where he made giant beef ribs on an open fire, Argentinian style.  He put the ribs on big stakes and pounded them into the ground next to the fire, turning them around every so often.

As far as wood goes, I'd suggest oak and/or hickory.  Personally, I like those with beef.  Perhaps the best strategy would be to build a fire with charcoal, just some regular briquettes (no Match Light!!!).  Then continuously feed some wood logs to the fire during the cooking process.  The smoke flavor you impart will not be as profound as it would be in a smoker, but that may be appropriate to your audience.

I'd suggest getting small cuts of each of the meats, put them all on the same spit, and give it a test in your backyard.  Whatever you don't like, toss it into some stew or chili.  Through trial and error, you can get your fire method right, and get some good meat in the process.  Win-win!


How to avoid avocado in sushi rolls from darkening? We are making some avocado rolls and want to put them in the fridge for eating tomorrow. We will of course wrap them very well but how to avoid the avocado turning black or darkening?

You can try dipping it into acidulated water (water with acid added, either lemon juice or vinegar, or even a powdered vitamin c tablet).  This should delay the browning, but I am not sure it will last long enough to hold the rolls overnight.

You will have the additional problem that the nori will begin to soften overnight.

See also:  What's the best way to keep sushi fresh for the following day?


I was going to try a recipe for Ceviche - are there any fish varieties not recommended? Ceviche is basically using just lemon juice to "cook" the fish, so I was wondering if there are any fish varieties that wouldn't be recommended using this method?

In general, you want to avoid "oily" fish, because it will tend to go rancid rather than curing properly.  By oily fish I'm referring to sardines, mackerel, bluefish, and similar "fishy" fish.  Farmed salmon is also generally a bad idea because it's so fatty; in general, you would only make salmon ceviche if you had a specific recipe for it.  Farmed trout and true sole also don't work very well, as they're too delicate and tend to fall apart into a fish mush while marinating.  Finally, cartiligenous fish, such as shark, skates, and chilean sea bass will be horribly gristly and difficult to chew as ceviche -- and you shouldn't be eating them anyway, they're endangered!

Pretty much, you're looking for a lean mild-flavored white-fleshed fish: tilapia, flounder, rockfish, cod, John Dory, mahi-mahi, and similar fish will work in any "generic" ceviche recipe.   There are specific recipes for tuna, swordfish, shrimp, squid and octopus which are also excellent, but only if your recipe calls for it.


Can I reprocess jars of salsa that didn't seal I made salsa last night and this morning all jars didn't seal.
Can I just put new lids on them and put them back in hot water bath?

Per Joe, the answer about jam jars that didn't seal applies to you as well.

Given that the salsa has now sat out all night unrefrigerated, it would not be safe to re-do the canning process.  If you had checked them immediately, you could probably have used new lids, cleaned the rims of the jars, and hot-water-bathed them again.  But not after 8-12 hours at room temperature.  If they have very high acidity (PH less than 4.0) they might be fine, but why take a chance?

Instead, I suggest putting those jars in the fridge and eating them yourself within the next few days, checking them for bubbles that indicate that the salsa is going off.


What does "stir to cover" mean? I don't really understand what the phrase "stir to cover and warm" means. Can someone shed some light?

You cut off a little too much of the phrase; it's "add sauce and stir to cover and warm." You're stirring to cover the other ingredients with the sauce, and to warm the sauce.


What is a good way to cook a pork tenderloin without searing? I realise there are a couple of similar questions hereabouts, but this is a specific case.

I currently have sitting in the fridge a pork tenderloin (fillet) coated in a paste rub of ancho and chipotle chillis, garlic, cumin and oil. With an 'unrubbed' tenderloin I'd normally sear each side in a hot pan and roast for 25 minutes or so at about 180C/350F (my wife refuses to eat slightly pink pork).

However, what with the garlic and spices on this particular pork, I want to avoid searing and thus very likely burning them. So, am I better off just roasting for longer at 180/350 or should I crank up the heat to say 200-220/390-430 and keeping it at 25 mins? Or perhaps an initial blast then lower the temp and cover with foil?

Think "Beef Wellington" and substitute the pork tenderloin. Roll the tenderloin in puff pastry and bake. See Alton Brown's Pork Wellington recipe for some ideas. Obviously you already have a rub on, but AB's recipe's cooking instructions should still apply.


How can I test if a dehydrator is getting to the proper temperature? I'm trying to sell an Aroma 5 tray dehydrator and want to make sure it's working correctly. What temperature should it be getting to and how do I test for it?

The manual for the Aroma 5-tray dehydrator says that the drying temperature is about 150°F (65°C). So all you need to do is find a thermometer that you can fit inside it, turn it on, wait 5-10 minutes for it to heat up, and check the temperature.

You could also simply test it by drying a quick test batch of something; if it gets nicely dehydrated in roughly the expected amount of time, the temperature was probably fine.


How can I unstick lollies stuck in a jar, welded by heat? I left some humbugs in a jar in the sun on a kitchen shelf. They melted a bit and are now stuck in the jar. How do I get them out?

You could try freezing them, if you want to remove them from the jar cleanly. However, it's possible all humbugs will stick together.

You could also try heating it (microwave shortly, or put it in the sun again), and remove bits while they are still warm. I would put the jar afterwards in the dishwasher to remove residuals.

However, I'm afraid both methods won't be able to have the individual humbugs out.


How to make sorbet have a snowy texture? I have a plastic ice-cream machine (two quarts).

I water, sugar and lemon juice, cool it until it just starts freezing, and then put it into the ice-cream maker for an hour.

As a result, it comes out with ice clumps and if I put it in the freezer, it comes out hard.

One time, I made it actually come out with a "snowy" texture, and that can be placed in a freezer without hardening it. However, I don't remember what I did special then.

What should I do to get my sorbet snowy?

A variety of factors can change the texture of a sorbet:

The amount of sugar or other large quantity solutes (less dissolved solids, harder texture).

The rate of freezing (slower freezing, larger crystals).

The use of any "stabilizers" (guar/xanthan gum, gelatin, etc.). These interfere with the formation of large crystals. I believe the stabilizer I use is xanthan and guar gums, cold-soluble gelatin, and glucose but I can't remember the ratios I used.

I have started to use liquid nitrogen to freeze my ice cream and sorbet in my standard kitchen mixer. Once I did that I noticed that the texture was much finer, likely due to the stabilizer and the rapid freezing.

Related question: Creating a creamy sorbet


Can you freeze or can buttermilk syrup? I like to make buttermilk syrup in bulk to have on hand. I am wondering if I can can(preserve) it, and if I would need to process it. Or if I should just freeze it.  It has buttermilk, butter, sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and baking soda in it.

There is no science-based way to safely can dairy based products at home.

From Clemson.edu

  Despite what is found on the internet, there are no science-based methods for home canning of cheeses, milk, butter or other dairy products. Clemson Extension and the National Center for Home Food Preservation do not recommend any process for canning these products.

Just don't do it, it's not worth the risk.

Freezing on the other hand, would preserve it safely.


What special knowledge or skills about coffee do baristas have? What special knowledge, training or qualifications do baristas receive that make them more expert on coffee than any other front line food service worker or interested home coffee consumer?  I don't mean simply operating the machine, but the why's and science that contribute to better coffee.  How do they get this knowledge?  Is there an industry standard certification or qualification that demonstrates them?

Bottom line:   I would like to know how the knowledge base of baristas is deeper than simply operating the machine, if in fact it is.

What you're asking is no different than: what special knowledge or certification/license do bakers have other than operating the oven? Many people know how to work the oven, but can they bake an artisan loaf? Do they even know the different kinds of bread?

The same answer applies to baristas.  Some chains like *bucks have their own training program. Specialty shops chase baristas like the Neapolitan pizza parlors chase pizzaioli.

The special skill? Besides the latte art which seems more of a North American thing, it is very difficult to pull a great espresso shot and choose good beans. I personally have been pulling shots on a pro machine daily for 7-years and still take my hat off when I meet a good barista. What you get from one of those Nesspresso or other superautomatics is the equivalent to microwave dinner lasagna vs Mario Batali's.


What are the 3 vents / weights on this Chinese pressure canner? I bought a pressure canner of Amazon, unfortunately the manual is entirely in Chinese.

It doesn't look like the two types of pressure canners I have learned about, which are "weighted gauge" and "dial gauge".

It has 3...things on the lid and I am not exactly sure how to operate it. Is this basically dial gauge pressure canner? What are the 3 things? Vents?

The product was fairly expensive and looks well build and judging by the temperature gauge it can reach very high pressures, so I assume, that it can be used for canning, but I am not sure how to find information on it.

It looks like this:

Top:

Top from the side:

From the top:

From the bottom:

Close Up of one of the holes:

Part of the manual:

Full manual: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Tw3X3beWptUEGTLG6

Edit:

After scanning part of the manual with an OCR scanner and using google translate I learned the following: The middle valve is a safety valve. The  right one is for manual release. The left one with the pins sticking out is an automatic release, possibly adjustable.

Which valve is which?
See labels below:

When to use the auto valve?
According to user manual Page 6, Section 5.7, you are supposed to move the handle on the auto valve at least twice a week to make sure it doesn't get stuck. Other than that, just leave it alone and let it do its thing. It will automatically maintain your pressure and temperature. I guess the auto valve is a calibrated device and they don't want you to touch it too often which would wear out the spring, so they give you the manual valve for routine pressure release.
Additionally, if you see pressure rises to 0.175MPa but no steam comes out of the auto valve, then it's considered a malfunction and you should have the auto valve checked and repaired(5.6, Page 6).

When to use the manual valve?
Page 4, Section 4.3 and 4.4 says you are supposed to bend the tube down and slide it into the slot on the pot. And you should let the manual valve open until 1 minute after steam comes out of it, to purge the air. This is why you can not use the auto valve for this job: it doesn't have the tube so can not efficiently purge air from the bottom of the pot.
Page 5, Section 4.7 recommends you don't open the manual valve until 2 minutes after pressure fully drops to avoid shooting hot water out of it. Also, rapid change in pressure and temperature can cause damage to the contents in the pot. However, if you don't want to wait, you can release the pressure immediately after cutting the power, just be careful(4.6, Page 5).

When to use the safety valve?
The manual didn't mention anything except you should have it checked every 6 months. So just leave it alone and hope you never have to activate it.

(This thing is actually a medical sterilizer. As is any electric medical devices the user manual actually includes a full EMC test standards(GB/T 17626) and results).


Can various fats be used as a strict substitute for pastry dough? If you take the three main  types of fats used for puff pastry. Lard, butter and margarine, can they be used interchangeable or is there caveats between the three? I found a nice recipe for puff pastry that uses butter but I want to use marge for a vegan option.

Apart from flavour, the two main issues you might encounter when substituting margarine for butter are:

Different fat content. There are margarines explicitly produced and marketed as low-fat options. For baking, you do not want these. As butter usually/always (depending on your location) has a fat content of 80%, you want to substitute an ingredient with a similar makeup.
Different kinds of fat. Margarine is made with vegetable oils, which contain less saturated fats than butter does. As a rule, saturated fats are more solid than unsaturated fats at the same temperature, which might lead to more 'melting' when substituting margarine for butter. However, margarine contains stabilisers making it more or less behave like butter; it is hard to predict how these will behave when baking, though.

You will probably be fine substituting full-fat margarine for butter, but if you want to err on the side of caution, my advice would be to look for a recipe that uses margarine.


Can sufficiently finely-ground matzo meal substitute for flour in leavened bread? In the context of a question about whether or not bread made from matzo meal would be kosher for Passover, I've come to wonder if such a bread would be practical.

If matzo meal is sufficiently finely-ground (so as to match the grain of actual flour, rather than the breadcrumb consistency you get by putting matzo into a food processor), could it be substituted for flour in a bread recipe?  What would be the differences between bread made with "matzo flour" and real flour?

First, I'd ask - why would anyone want to make bread from matzo meal even if it was the consistency of flour? Bread has leavening (yeast) so even using matzo meal, it wouldn't be fit for Passover where no leavening is allowed.

But if you're simply curious to know if it's possible using, the answer is no. Matzo is cooked so the heat-treated gluten in it wouldn't be able to stretch and maintain the structure needed in bread. If you tried, you'd have bubbly dough that tries to rise due to carbon dioxide given off by yeast but unable to maintain structure. You wouldn't even be able to shape it without it falling apart unless very wet. Baking would likely make the entire thing collapse.

  The baking performance of gluten declined progressively on heating and most of its functionality was destroyed by 75°C.

  ...data indicate that there are heat-induced alterations in gluten proteins at temperatures above 55°C, which appear to be involved in the loss of functionality (baking performance) on heating.

The effect of heat on wheat gluten and the involvement of sulphydryl-disulphide interchange reactions from the Journal of Cereal Science.

On the other hand, it might be possible to make a quick bread if you used baking powder instead. Quick breads don't rely on gluten for structure.


Why is my Spanish rice chewy? I tried making some Spanish rice the other day and it's turned out really chewy. I can't figure out if I used too little chicken broth or not enough.

It came out really starchy I think - very clumpy, feels like it's sticking to my teeth when I eat it. Basically, not very pleasant!

Here's the recipe I used:
- medium grained rice from Albertson's - bag said 1 3/4 cups of water for each cup of rice. I used two cups of rice and so put in 3 1/2 cups of broth.
- 1 16oz can of diced tomatoes - I drained most of the juice out before I put them in
- 1 sm can of diced chilies - again, I drained out most of the liquid
- some salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder, garlic powder

I fried up some chopped onion and peppers in a small amount of olive oil before adding the rice and broth and other ingredients. Then let the whole thing simmer for about 20 minutes - or until there was no liquid left.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Ross

I don't know that type of rice, but it sounds like it ran out of liquid before it was done. Some types of rice can be done in about 10m, some take over half an hour. My tricks for risotto like dishes are:

wash the rice to remove loose starch
taste regularly so you can intervene as needed,
avoid stirring as much as you can (you can stir a few times to avoid burning),
fry the rice with the onions before adding water,
add liquid in small batches until it's done.

Try it with a few small batches to get the hang of it. It could very well be the wrong type of rice, so you may want to try other brands.


How can I make my tea stronger? I know it sounds like an obvious question.

At work, my colleague has a drip-filter machine he uses to brew his tea. He puts about two table spoons for an eight cup pot.

This makes nice strong tea.

I use a glass infuser teapot, which I put two teaspoons in for about a mug of tea.

This has the advantage of being easy to clean up, and convienient. However, it's not nearly as strong as the drip tea.

How can I make my tea stronger? Do I simply need to put more tea in?

Nb. I'm talking about for black tea.

For green tea, I'm putting in 1.5 teaspoons, and adding a little cold water first, and that comes out fine.

You cannot make it stronger with this style of pot. You are limited by Nernst's law: the amount of solute extracted from the leaf into the tea does not depend only on the amount of tea leaves, but also on the current concentration of solute in the liquid surrounding the leaves.

If you make tea using loose leaves in a teapot, they float everywhere, with sufficient distance between leaves. Several processes in the teapot (convection, diffusion, etc.) let the solutes move around easier, and you get an even, weak, concentration throughout the teapot, so the layer of tea surrounding each leaf has low concentration and works against the leaf from all sides, extracting lots of stuff. If you make it using a drip style method, the leaves are packed together, but the water moving through them doing the extracting is fresh and has no solute in it at all, so it is able to extract a lot.

But with your style of teapot, the water is of course able to get into the infuser through the tiny slits, but once this has happened, there is very little exchange between the infuser and the rest of the teapot. The slits create a bottleneck, and you end up with an area of highly concentrated tea in the infuser and an area of low concentrated tea outside, with little communication between the two. The concentrated tea in the infuser can't extract the tea well.

You could always increase the amount of tea or the time you infuse, but both methods have their drawbacks.

Bottom line: you have to decide between well extracted tea or conveniently extracted tea. The same methods which make teapots easy to clean (concentrating the tea leaves in a small area without too much communication with the rest of the pot) reduce the extraction quality and strength.


Why would different types of pots/pans (made from different metal) give a different taste to food? There's many types of pots and pans: from copper to stainless steel. I own several different types at home. I have been using them, and I've noticed a slightly different tastes each one give on the same food. I want to understand the reason why different pot and pan would give a different taste to food. Understanding this also might help me use the correct pot/pan for specific recipes.

I don't know if this is a topic that people are even going to agree with me on.

Is it because each pot/pan has different heat distribution? Or does the pot/pan impart something to the food depending on which metal it is?

Some metal react differently with some food, mostly with acidic ingredients like tomatoes.

Stainless steel and ceramic are non-reactive and should not impart different flavor to the food.

Aluminium, "regular" steel, iron(cast-iron), copper are known to be reactive and will react to ingredients and will change some of the flavors.

I mostly used stainless steel pans and pots (and stainless-steel lined aluminium pans) and don't have issues with "flavoring".

(from http://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-explaining-reacti-73723 )


Best way to reheat pizza Whats the best way to reheat leftover pizza? We usually use Boboli Crust with our own toppings, or sometimes we have frozen pizza.

@Cos is right, a pizza stone is great - so is a pizza screen in the oven.

If I don't want to heat up the oven (big oven, little piece of pizza aways seems like a waste), then a cast iron pan over medium heat on the stove with a lid does pretty well.


Making "french fries" out of Cassava/Yuca root I'm surprised this question isn't already on here, maybe I missed it...

To start, had my first taste of yucca cooked as a sort of alternative french fry at a Bolivian restaurant, and it was delicious. Reminded me of a tastier, sweeter french fry.
So inspired by this, I bought some myself and attempted to replicate it, but utterly failed.

What is the best way to replicate the recipe? After watching a video on youtube of how to prepare it, I deep fried it in oil, but it overcooked much too quickly.

UPDATE:

I tried out the selected answer's recipe yesterday, and it worked fantastic. I did a few things differently though, mainly due to time constraints. Full recipe:

Cut off brown skin.
Slice into steak fry slices
Boil for 10mn (I would suggest less, some thinner slices became too soft)
Place in freezer (I only had time for 20-30 mn, but I'd go with the full hr as suggested by the selected answer if you have the time)
Heat Peanut oil (Med-High) in deep cooking pot (can get messy) and cook until brown.
Sprinkle with salt

Note: The answered recipe suggests frying until golden/golden brown, but I found a darker fry to be much tastier!

This is how my mom prepares it (she's from Brazil, so it might be a tad different):

Cut off all the dark brown skin
Wash it and put it into a pot of water and bring to a boil
Boil for about 10 minutes (it should still be slightly firm, but not hard)
Cut it up into french-fry sized pieces
Put the slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for about an hour
Heat oil, fry them for about 10 minutes (until golden brown)
Sprinkle with salt

Steps 1-5 can be done ahead of time and you just pull out what you need from the freezer to fry. I have not personally made these, but I ate hers a lot and they were fantastic!


Pot making popping noises I am heating up peanut oil in a cheap aluminum pot from Walmart.  Every minute or so, there is a faint popping noise coming from the pot.

I think this is due to uneven heating, so I am trying to heat the oil as slowly as possible. It is currently around 110 degrees celsius.

My questions are:

Will the pot break? (I know you cannot answer with certainty, but I would appreciate an experienced person's response)
Does heating more slowly actually reduce the risk (if any) of breaking the pot?
The recipe says to go all the way to 175 celsius.  Does that seem foolish or risky for a novice deep-frier to attempt?

For me, the popping is most often from water.  It could be in your oil, under the pan, between the pan and a handle, etc.  In some pans there could even be more than one layer to the pan and moisture could have gotten between the layers.  In this case, I would tend to replace the pan.  Thin pans, especially those of aluminum, present another source though, they warp while heating.  For things like boiling, this is not a big deal, but such a pan I would not use for heating oil.  If a pan warps with hot oil there is a real potential for splashing or splattering which could result in burn or a fire.  Oil applications such as deep frying I stick to heavy pans only


Christmas turkey help (mostly organization) We are receiving the family at my parent's house for Christmas lunch at around 2pm; GF and I are doing all of the cooking.

The turkey is fresh about 12lb.

I think it should take about 4 hours and some resting time.

We will have stuffing on the side.

I was thinking of 3 scenarios.

Completely cook the turkey the day before, slice it and re-heat on the day. my fear is that it will be dry and over cooked after re-heating.
start cooking the turkey at my home early on Christmas, and just bring it to my parent's home (15 mins by car) and finish it up there (for the last hour+resting)
Prepare the turkey the day before and bring it uncooked at my parent's place the day before so they can put it in the oven in the morning.

I will push the #2 plan with my GF.

Any other suggestions ?

Thanks.

You asked for any other options.

I bet you could cook it all the way and safely rest it in a cooler (acting as a warmer).

Finishing in another kitchen is a hassle.  This leaves the oven open for other stuff.


Reducing sauce or gravy always forms a skin Apologies if I've phrased this wrongly.  I don't try to do this very often: that is, boil a sauce to evaporate the liquid (I understand this to be known as 'reducing the sauce'); however, when I do, I frequently end up with a skin forming on top of the sauce.

I have two questions related to this: this first is, is this expected / normal, or am I doing something wrong?  The second: assuming I'm not, should I try to scrap the skin off, or just stir it back in?

As an aside, is there a guideline time for this (for example, 5 minutes per 10ml)?  I usually leave it for too long, or get bored early and end up making a standard sauce using flour and butter.

Not an expert at this, but I suspect the skin that forms on top is just the upper layers that gets slightly drier from being exposed to open air. By not being submerged like the rest of the sauce, fluids on top evaporate at a different ratio causing a more solid "skin" to form on top.

It can also happen on casseroles or sauce heavy dishes that go in the oven, and is probably an important part of gratin technique.

I don't think there is anything wrong with it other than potentially being unsightly. If you find it inaesthetic or unpleasant you can remove it at the expense of wasting a portion of the sauce.

You can however mix it back in without issues, or prevent its formation by stirring gently or from time to time so that the top layer never forms.

Math experts here can probably give you a more informed answer, but setting a ratio of evaporation per unit of time is hard because it depends on a lot of different factors, like the type of sauce, chemical composition, the total volume being cooked, area of exposure to air (wider or narrower recipient, lid/open air etc.), temperature/flame intensity, among others.


I recently tried to make sourdough with my starter, it didn't rise. Why is there still a crumb? I started and cared for my first sourdough starter for 6 days, had a decently active starter. It would rise noticeably, maybe 1.3x after feeding.

I made a basic sourdough recipe using my starter. It's obvious that my starter wasn't up to the task based on the picture below. My current hypothesis is that the tap water in Seattle has to much chlorine. I have since restarted with filtered water.

Anyways, I'm wondering why, despite being unleavened, there is still a crumb in the "bread"?

Is it because there was some, but more than zero, fermentation? If so, why didn't the yeast multiply and leaven the whole loaf?

Looking at that picture you did definitely get a rise, in fact you got some big air holes. I would be happy to get that crumb, and I have baked plenty of bread. From the shape of it I suspect that what happened is that it simply spread out on you, rather than going up, which is common with dough that has a high hydration level like yours seems to be.

Bread dough is a bit like water in that it will flow the path of least resistance, if you simply plop a dough down without restricting it or shaping it you'll get a spread. Shaping will help depending on the result you are looking for, but I would recommend you use a shaping basket, also known as a proofing basket when you do your final rise.


Are there any differences that need to be accounted for when changing a hamburger from grilled to griddled? I have a friend that is about to open a food truck and he has asked me to use my burger recipe.  I have spent a long time perfecting it, but I have always made it with thick patties meant for the grill and not for the griddle, which is all he will have inside the truck.  Since the best griddled burgers are the smashed patty type, I want to adapt my recipe to work well with this new cooking method.  Am I going to need to play with my seasoning/spicing ratio?

Does your burger recipe rely on the center of the burger being medium rare?  If so, you may have a problem with the spice ratio because your cooking technique will produce different types of doneness on the grill vs. the griddle.

With the grill you get a higher quantity of crispy burny bits (the Maillard reaction) than you will on a griddle (temperature generally in the high 300s F, as opposed to much higher grill heat).  With the grill at home you can go for a rare to medium rare center. with a lunch truck, you had best go for medium well for safety's sake (and possible legalities).

The easiest way to know how your recipe will work under griddle conditions is to test it.  Make up your burger, pat it thin and cook it all the way through in a medium heat fry pan (not my favorite way to have a burger, but classic griddle approach).  If all is well, you're done.  If not, well, you've already perfected it once, you'll need to decide what changes need to be made.

But I'm betting that perfection will carry through to the griddle burger just fine.


Where to buy football/quenelle/shell-like scoop/mold/mould [food presentation]? Some places serve rice in a football/quenelle/shell-like shaped scoop/mold/mould for food presentation. It's consistent at many teriyaki places so I suspect it's something you can purchase.

I've searched for the following terms: football, shell, prolate spheroid, oval, quenelle, in conjunction with scoop, mold/mould but haven't had any luck.

(Click images for larger view)

The closest I've found is a "Deep Boat Petit Four Mould", but the bottom is flat instead of a dome.

Edit: This is used to mold sticky rice, ideally they would have the 'shell like' ridges running longitudinally/lengthwise). All of these teriyaki pictures are from the Seattle area.

Update (2016-06-19): Found the mold in use in Japan. It's commonly used in omurice.

 (From this video)

There is a technique called quenelling where you form this shape using two spoons. It appears to be usually used for ice cream and other items of similar consistency but I don't see why it wouldn't work for steamed rice (although those would have to be large spoons).


choosing a saucepan material for creams and caramels I quite enjoy baking and i'm considering moving to making my own creams and caramels (and other sugar based work).  Currently I have a bunch of old scratched up teflon pots that probably should be binned.

For sugar based work, you generally have to work with high temperatures, so my teflon based pans are possibly unsuited for this.  Is stainless steel the defacto material for this kind of work or should i be looking at anything else... perhaps the new ceramic coated non teflon based nonstick pans?

Unlined copper is sometimes used for serious sugar work, but it is very expensive and requires maintenance.

For general home use where you want to get more than one use from the pan, a good multi-ply stainless pan is probably the best choice in terms of utility and easy of maintenance.

You do not want ceramic coatings which can craze at high temperatures, nor teflon which can off-gas high temperatures, and which wears off over time.

For sugar work, non-stick is essentially not an issue at all:  short of completely burning your confection, the worst case for clean up is that you put water in the pan and bring it to a boil until the sticking candy dissolves.


How to make my meringues less sticky? I've come a long way making meringues, beginning with brown all-around gooey mounds years ago and reaching stiff, tall and white pretties almost every time nowadays, but there is one thing I cannot master.

My meringues are always sticky on the outside. Not very sticky like before baking, but they stick to fingers and to each other (if I let them sit for an hour in a bowl). When I used to buy meringues, they were always kind of rough on the outside and mine have something like a smooth skin.

My current receipe goes like this: beat the whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, add powdered sugar and a bit of potato flour, beat 5-10 minutes more, form meringues on a baking tray, bake at 70-100 deg C (160-210F) for at least 2 hours (more on a humid day), cool and immediately close in boxes to prevent soaking in humidity.

Maybe I should sprinkle them with more sugar just before baking? Grandma just gave me 12 whites (she has some funny superstitions about healthy and non-healthy foods), so I can experiment tomorrow, but I don't have any ideas.

If the meringues are coming out of the oven sticky, you might lower the temperature slightly and extend the drying time (to avoid browning)--they should feel quite dry and very light coming out of the oven.

Sugar is hydrophilic--if the air is humid, any condensation--even when you cannot see it--on the meringues will dissolve the sugar, and then they will start to feel sticky, and the downward spiral will begin.

According to all my searching, it is best to make them on a low humidity day.  Of course, where I live in the summer, we pretty much don't get those.

If you are having trouble with them in storage, you might try to buy some desiccant packets, and put them in the container.  Most desiccant is not food safe, so it should not touch the meringue.  Amazon has lots of options.


How do you drain Velveeta Rotini & Cheese with Broccoli, without losing the rehydrated Broccoli? Rotini & Cheese is a variation on Kraft's shells and cheese.  It's actually kind of like an upgrade because you get small pieces of dehydrated broccoli in addition to the mac and cheese.  Halfway through the cooking process you add the broccoli to the simmering pasta so that it can rehydrate.

The only problem is that whenever I strain the pasta from the water I lose half of the rehydrated broccoli.

Does anyone know a way to keep from losing the broccoli without wasting a ton of time?

One option is to line your strainer with cheesecloth, which will keep just about anything from getting through.  Since you're only putting pasta, water, and broccoli through it, uou can rinse and re-use the cheesecloth so it's cost effective.

I buy my cheesecloth in bulk at fabric stores, as it's significantly cheaper there than any food-related store I've ever been to.


Can yeast leaven cornmeal? Can yeast leaven cornmeal? If not, why? The lack of gluten?

Most bread recipes that have cornmeal usually use a combination of cornmeal and wheat flour.  I have made pizza crusts with cornmeal leavened with yeast, but they are about 1/3 to 1/2 cornmeal.  Any more than that and they have a texture more like polenta or grits than bread.  Short answer, yes, if you mix the cornmeal with wheat flour.


Macronutrients and cooking temperature of beans? For other foods, the cooking temperature seems to make a difference to which macronutrients are extracted, and subsequently, to the taste of the final product. For instance, the temperature is strictly controlled in home beer brews to maximise the extraction of sugars, and low-temperature processes are used to extract protein from peas commercially.

If I vary the cooking temperature when boiling soaked beans, how might it affect the macronutrient profile of the beans? For example, will a long, milder cooking process with lower temperature water extract a different amount of starches or proteins from the beans compared to a rapid boil?

Or, alternatively, what would happen if, instead of simply soaking the beans for a couple of days beforehand I kept them in warm (say, 60c) water for a while before cooking (instead of soaking at room temperature)

This is going to be a bit of a Zen answer (as usual for me).

I would venture that it doesn't matter. Normally, when you're making a bean stew or a chili bean casserole, you won't be discarding the liquid anyway. When you're eating the final dish, it doesn't matter to you if the protein is in the bean or the liquid, as you're eating them both.

It has, however, been my experience with white beans and chickpeas, that if you cook them more slowly, the water gets gloopier (higher viscosity), which means that proteins have moved from bean to water.


What kind of tray or tray coating to use for pretzels? I've been making traditional German pretzels with a lye bath, but the pretzels tend to bake onto the baking sheets. I've tried a few different kinds of trays, all with less that perfect results.

Non-stick coatings actually stick to the bottom of my pretzels and
get pulled off the trays.
Some pans without coatings react visibly with the lye solution, i.e.
bubbling. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which metal this pan was made
of. On the other hand, the pretzels stick less.
Wax paper sticks to the degree that I have to cut it off.

I would like to find a solution that prevents my pretzels from sticking and me from ingesting any Teflon, metal, or paper.

You need a Silpat! I recommend a half sheet size Silpat and a Stainless Steel Half-Sheet Pan.

A Silpat is a silicone mat. It's the most non-stick way to bake anything, and they're quite durable. Buy a couple of mats and you can just swap them out when baking multiple batches.

According to folks at The Fresh Loaf the silicone shouldn't react at all with the lye.

Aluminum reacts badly with lye, so be sure that nothing you use with the lye contains aluminum.


Can kvass be made without bread? While searching for kvass recipes some of them mentioned that kvass can be made with rye flour or malt and since I can't find 100% rye breads where I live making them just for kvass would be too expensive.My question is - can kvass be made without bread and if it can't then can bread mush be reused to make more kvass (or use kvass to make more of it) instead of baking another bread?Also in a country near mine one company makes this drink and on the label it says that main ingredients are wheat and rye malt.

Kvass can be made without bread, e.g. "beet kvass" can be gotten going with minced raw beet root (fill jar between 1/4 and 1/3 full), a 3% saline solution (or thereabouts?), and a dollop of sourdough starter. I believe other starters (e.g. from milk products) can also be used, but I haven't dabbled with those. Mine bubbles for two to possibly three days, though mold may be a problem, so you'll want to monitor for that, figure out a reasonable upper limit, and strain and consume or find a refrigerator somewhere to stash the kvass in.

Fresh ginger root also makes for a nice addition, or spices to taste, or carrots...


Unsure why foam sauce doesn't hold I experimented for with xanthan gum for the first time tonight. I made a sauce which was about half roasted peppers, half savory stuff (lamb stock, beef broth, balsamic vinegar and a bit of chili powder). I added about 0.9% of xanthan gum, strained through a fine sieve and poured in an iSi whipper with 2 shots of nitrous oxide.

I served it at 50°C, the sauce was nice and so was the foam, but it took only a couple of seconds until the foam melted and it became a sauce with big gas bubbles in it. I somehow expected the foam to hold.

Anything I missed?

I suspect your first problem is using the iSi whipper.  It does create foams, particularly whipped cream, but both Khymos and Texturas advise using an immersion blender or electric eggbeaters in a broad vessel (so there is room for the bubbles to pile up without interfering with your making more).  Besides, xanthan is shear-thinning, meaning that it is viscous only while at rest, becoming fluid when stirred or sprayed.

The second possible problem: while xanthan is used in some air recipes and is used to stabilize whipped cream and mousses, I find it is more effective as a thickener than a foaming agent.  Next time you make a foam, try using lecithin.  Lecithin is mainly used as an emulsifier, but it also dramatically alters surface tension, making bubbles more stable.  Very little lecithin is needed to keep foams stable, though the exact amount will depend on the proportion of oil and water.  For a fat-free sauce like the one you describe, I would suggest trying 0.5% lecithin by weight (i.e., for 200g liquid, use 1g lecithin).

If you really want to use the xanthan, you can try adding methyl cellulose to it.  I saw a recipe for an eggwhite-free "marshmallow foam" that called for 1.5g xanthan, 1.5g methyl cellulose, and 250ml water, plus vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar.


Kneading before or after rising? I've found a pita bread recipe (that turned out well) that indicates to knead after rising the dough (for about 3 hours).

What's the difference between kneading before or after rising?

It's even better to kead before and after rising?

Up to a point, the more you can knead your dough the finer the texture of the bread.  It is theoretically possible to knead to the point where the gluten structure falls apart.  I've read that while it is unlikely when kneading by hand, it is easy to do with a machine mixer (it's never happened to me).  However, the pita bread I've eaten wasn't anything like regular bread in hole structure so I don't see the benefit of extra kneading (both before and after).
A problem with kneading after a rise is that most of the gas formed is pressed out, and if there isn't enough food (sugar) left for the yeast, the final rise won't be good.  Again, for pita bread this doesn't seem like an issue.  Maybe the pita bread flat structure is actually helped by kneading a lot of the gas out after rising.


Why potatoes need to be boiled in order to make alcohol? I have read a couple of recipes and descriptions of what needs to be done in order to produce alcoholic beverages such as vodka and rum. I was surprised to learn that basically all the sources use boiled potatoes, not raw, peeled potatoes mashed in a blender.

I think that the act of boiling is ruining the organoleptic properties of the potato and lowering the quality of the finished product. Why are you suppose to boil the potatoes?

Vodka by definition is a flavorless distilled alcohol, retaining any of the organoleptic properties of the grain or potato could be considered as ruining the end product.

Potatoes are a good source of starch, but brewers yeast has a limited ability to break down starch into usable fuel; its preferred fuel sources are relatively simple sugars like mono and disaccharides.  In order to efficiently convert the starch in potatoes to sugar the potatoes must first be boiled so that the starches gelate.  Once gelated, the potatoes are then Mashed-in with malted barley or wheat at a temperature around 150˚F so that the diastatic enzymes can break those starches into the sugars that yeast likes to eat.  These same steps are used when making vodka from non-malted grains such as corn (maize).

Boiling the potatoes also helps reduce the number of surface microbes that could end up influencing the final product.  Bacteria and wild yeast strains can lead to moldy, grassy, sour, and other unpleasant flavors that may necessitate multiple distillations to remove.

Making a mash of raw, peeled potato would likely yield something closer to a sourdough starter with a mix a naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria producing a small amount of alcohol along with acetic and lactic acids, as well as other compounds.


Microwave method of tempering chocolate - can it be done too fast? I used the microwave method to temper chocolate. The first time I took it very slow and did it on a low power level. The result was a very shiny chocolate with a good crack.

The second time I did it faster and on a higher power level because I was impatient. The result was not as shiny.

Is the speed and power level the reason why the first batch was better?

To answer the question as it stands, yes, you can overheat your chocolate and burn it, and that would be my concern if it was not as shiny as soon as you took it out and stirred it up. Usually you can tell because it will start to get a burned taste, but not always.

If it just wasn't shiny once it re-solidified, that's a pretty sure sign that your chocolate lost its temper. You can melt chocolate in a microwave without un-tempering it, and you can also re-temper it pretty easily. I learned how to do that by watching a How to Cook That video from Ann Reorden's website.

Basically, you don't want to heat the chocolate so much that it loses its temper in the first place. So when you heated the chocolate very slowly and gently, you didn't temper the chocolate, you just prevented it from losing its temper.

I usually get my chocolate too hot, though, like you did on your second try. When that happens, I find it easiest to throw another chunk of the same melting chocolate into the hot stuff and stir that around really well until the temperature is back in the proper range. Then remove what's left of the unmelted piece and use your tempered chocolate. This is one of the techniques explained in that video.

The temperature at which your chocolate loses its temper varies depending on the type of chocolate you use. Off the top of my head, for dark chocolate, you want to make sure it's only heated to 85-90 degrees throughout. For milk chocolate, the temperature range is even lower, and white chocolate is lower still.

So it's not a matter of heating too quickly, but of over-heating. And as long as you don't burn your chocolate, you can actually fix it pretty easily if you have a thermometer.


How come my dishwasher leaves grime on dishes? There is this wierd coating on almost all of my dishes after having washed them in the dish water. I am using an automatic detergent (powder), highest how water setting.

More details:

Only some dishes get this coating. It seems like they are more dirty coming out than going in. The coating is like... white/clear. I can use a sponge, soap and warm water to remove it. Overall it feels like none of my dishes are being cleaned at all and I am just washing everything by hand now. This seems to have gotten worse and worse.

This is (most likely) a hard water issue. There are trace levels of minerals (calcium) in the water and when it dries the minerals are left behind. This leaves a white film that is not dangerous but is unsightly.

There are commercial products that will help with this. 'Jet Dry' is the most common of these and I have found that it works quite well. There are competitive brands out there which report to do the same.

You may also need to "clean your dishwasher" (sounds odd, I know). Again I point you towards a commercially available product, CLR. Basically you put some CLR in your empty dishwasher and run it. The exact instructions are on the bottle.

(This is not a paid endorsement of either Jet Dry or CLR)


How to cook chicken legs more evenly? I have had a look at lots of recipes for yoghurt and spice based marinated chicken legs. They are almost all similar with little variations. I skin, slit and marinate the chicken overnight and cook it in a fan forced oven at 180 degrees and turn and baste with the marinade every 15-20 minutes.

The problem that I am facing is that the chicken legs take more than an hour to cook and even then there is a little bit on the inside that looks uncooked. If I cook it any longer, the outside is very dry.

I had a look at How long and at what temperature do the various parts of a chicken need to be cooked?, but it doesn't help.

Can someone provide any usefull tips?

I think opening the oven door every 15-20 minutes is causing the oven to loose a lot of heat very frequently, therefore the process becomes even more prolonged. Try these steps:

1) Make minimum of 3 slits diagonally.

2) Cover the chickens with foil in the first 15-20 minutes of its cooking time to creat and retain steam inside the meat and then uncover and continue with your process.

3) Baste less frequently to maintain the oven heat.


Cooking guide for individual ingredients (not full recipes)? I'm on the hunt for a cooking resource (website, app, or book) that focuses on individual ingredients, rather than full recipes. Something where I can just type in / look up the thing I have (filet of salmon, beets, whatever) and get instructions on different cooking methods for that food. For example, right now I have some brussels sprouts and I would like instructions on how to roast them (prep steps, how long, what temperature, seasoning tips), but I don't need or want a recipe for a full meal (e.g. a chicken entree with brussels sprouts on the side). Googling kind of works but the results are hit and miss — I thought there might be a more vetted resource out there. I am happy to pay for this. Any ideas?

Older cook books were based on this principle.
I have my old school cookbook and my mother has the one she bought when she was just married.
Likely you can pick one up second hand, if you prefer paper over internet. These are all rather thick books and the entries for the different items will be rather short.
You will have to allow for a change in taste. The book my mother has cooks all veggies till they are soft, online sources will mostly keep quite a bit of bite to them. Depending on how things changed in your area, there might also be changes about preparing meat. Or a lot of the things now for sale may not be in.
I use mine mostly to work out how long the different parts of the meal take, so they are all done at the same time.
A very traditional, UK, book is mrs Beeton's.
Contains everything they could put their hands on back then, but it is quite a while ago.