Meals to cook using a whole chicken I recently started buying locally-grown chickens. When it comes to buying chicken this way, it seems my only option is to buy a whole chicken.

Right now I only know one way to cook a whole chicken, and that's roasting the entire thing in the oven. This is perfectly fine but I'd like a little variety.

Can anyone offer any suggestions? I don't need every meal to include the entire chicken, of course, but if I cook something that only uses breasts, for example, I'm going to need some complementary recipes for the rest of the bird.

If you use only the breasts, you can use the rest to make a broth/stock hybrid using meat and bones.  You can also roast the rest of the bird and shred the meat to save up to put in soups, pot pies, chicken salad, or with a one-pot pasta meal.

Besides a standard roast, try butterflying (otherwise known as spatchcocking) your chicken.  I do this regularly.  The result is, in my opinion, much more flavorful than roasting the regular way.

Cooks Illustrated has many recipes that use chicken thighs.  You may want to investigate those.  You can also simply look into googling recipes for the different parts of the bird.

Finally, remember to freeze your bones and, when you get a quantity of them, make stock.  It will be far tastier than store-bought stock and you can control what goes into it.


What is the following cooking utensil used for? I am interested in knowing what the top pot is used for. I have a similar pot with holes at the bottom. I used this one to steam vegetables while I come something on the bottom pot. This makes sense, however the pot on the picture has no holes so I don't know how it would be used. The boiling water will not be able to pass into the top pot. What is this used for?

If this is not a good question to ask please help me make it better.

It's a double boiler. You use it when you need to use 'soft' heat.

If you need to melt chocolate, or if you are making a hollandaise, or something that can easily scorch using direct heat, you use this pot.  It has a much more forgiving heat, the heat is generated from steam from the water that boils in the bottom pot.


Is it possible to Pickle meat at room temperature? My gf wanted to make a pickled pork for dinner. According to the recipe, she prepared the brine (consisting of 3l of waters, 3 tablespoons of salt, pepper, garlic, allspice, bay leaves). The recipe called for placing the raw pork in "cool place" after placing it in brine.

After concluding that the kitchen is "cool enough" the meat spent the whole night on the kitchen countertop. Upon checking the sources today I found that pickling is best done in the fridge. The kitchen temperature now is about 20 deg. C (68 deg. F).

Is the meat safe to eat or should I break the sad news to my gf?

EDIT: This question differs from a very general one posted here. I am not asking for a general case of meat left out of fridge but whether meat pickling is safe in room temperature.

Nevertheless, If anyone wonders, we've decided to throw the meat away. Yet, I am now curious whether pickling in room temperature can be safe.

Pickling meat and fish was done for millennia before the advent of refrigeration.
Pickling and smoking or drying/curing were the only reliable ways to preserve meat before freezing and canning were invented relatively recently.

The problem is that the term "pickling" is a bit ambiguous. It is a generic term that is used to describe preserving with salt. It can refer to curing or lactic acid fermentation depending on the salt concentration.

When meat or fish is pickled it is packed in salt or in a concentrated brine. The salt inhibits harmful bacteria. In very high concentrations the meat will be "cured" and be dry. In lower concentrations lactobacilli will still grow. The bacteria produce lactic acid which finishes the preserving of the meat.

Neither method requires refrigeration, of course, but modern home recipes generally call for refrigeration anyway to remove risk. Modern recipes sometimes also reduce the salt to a more gentle level which then does require refrigeration. Corned beef and ham are the canonical salt-cured meat recipes in the US.

It is rare to see home recipes that allow meat to ferment. I think we've lost the taste for it in most contexts. Fermenting meat is still often done commercially where the variables can be controlled better. Pepperoni and various Norwegian fish products are examples.

As a rule of thumb, only use food preservation recipes from trusted, modern sources. It is not uncommon to see antique recipes that are unnecessarily risky.

If you are interested in the history, chemistry, and politics of salt-cured meat, the book "Salt" by Mark Kurlansky is amazing.

As Stephie noted in her comment, you were right to throw away your meat. Your recipe did not seem to use enough salt to ensure prevention of harmful bacteria growth. Pickling brines generally call for enough salt that an egg floats.


Does yeast use the salt in the ferment? During the rising process, does the yeast consume and break down any of the salt in the dough, or is the amount you put in at the start the amount you get in your final loafs? (just spotted some recipes I've been usijg have up to 10g of salt per loaf going in!! :s )

Yeast does not eat or use salt.  Salt inhibits or retards the growth of yeast and too much salt can severely impact its ability to leaven or even kill it. ( all though modern commercial yeast is more resilient than naturally cultivated yeasts like in sourdough's )

Salt has an effect on gluten, it does not aid in gluten formation but it does ad strength to the gluten after it is developed thereby allow the dough to hold more of the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast.

Yeast feeds on carbohydrates and sugars to produce carbon dioxide.

We use salt to enhance flavor.

wikipedia page on yeast

king Arthur page on salt


Can wine gone bad be bad for you? Unfortunately, wine will eventually go bad. The time this takes can vary from a few years to many decades, but most wines eventually will get there; and things can always be sped up by improper storage. The result of this is mostly associated with loss of good taste and / or development of bad taste.

My question is if that's all, or if wine can also develop properties that can be bad for your health (apart from the health risks already associated with normal wine)? E.g. is it possible that wine gone bad can give you food poisoning or similar?

Wine will eventually turn into vinegar.  So, other than having a really icky taste by itself (unless you like drinking vinegar :)), it isn't bad for your health and you can cook with it.


Should beef be cooked before adding to the pot for Stroganoff? I'm following a recipe for Beef Stroganoff in a slow cooker.  The recipe does not say whether I should cook the stewing beef at all before adding it to the slow cooker.

I tend to thoroughly brown meat for things like chili or adding it to stir-fry, but should I be doing this for stroganoff*?  Or should I add it to the slow cooker raw?

*The question of 'how much browning' is mostly answered here, though if Stroganoff is different enough from stew to make a difference, please answer as such.

The recipe does not indicate that the beef should be browned before cooking and there is no need to. Per the instructions, all ingredients except the cream cheese go into the slow cooker together at the start. If it was intended for you to brown the beef first, that instruction would have been included.

The long, slow cooking should ensure that the meat will be tender and flavorful. Additionally, as in the picture of the dish, the beef cubes for stroganoff are on the small side. That should be additional insurance that your beef will be tender.


How to prevent a vinegar taste when poaching eggs (using vinegared water) How does one remove the vinegar taste from eggs that are poached in water with vinegar added? Would rinsing the eggs in a sugar solution help?

I assume you mean eggs that have been poached in water with vinegar added?

I usually add vinegar to my poaching water when making poached eggs. However, I rarely taste the vinegar. I would suggest

Use less vinegar. I use no more than a tablespoon for a shallow frying pan's worth of water
Use a milder vinegar like white wine vinegar, or even lemon juice
Use really fresh eggs if you can, in which case you don't even need vinegar

Lots of people use a saucepan full of water to poach eggs. I used to, but always with inconsistent results. Usually the egg white would just disintegrate and form a foam.

Now I use a small, shallow frying pan. This means the egg white has less opportunity to disintegrate, and also means I need to use less vinegar to help the white set.

If rather than poaching you mean pickling, there's little you can do to remove the vinegar taste, as the vinegar will have penetrated the egg thoroughly.


Water boiled away during canning - now what? I am canning in pint jars (larger than I usually do) and at the end of canning I discovered that the water had boiled down to about an inch below the tops of the jars. I'm adding water back and reprocessing, but is that ok? On the flip side, is it even necessary?

Yes, reprocessing is okay, and it's probably a good idea. Steam doesn't necessarily transfer heat as well as boiling water, so if you end up with too little water, the odds of unsafe results increase. To get the safety out of the process, you have to have followed all the steps, and that includes keeping the water level high enough.

The most obvious way things could fail is simply by not getting good seals. But you also didn't heat the contents well enough, and that's part of the processing too.


Could you make sauerkraut with spinach? I'm just wondering if you can ferment spinach in a similar way you can ferment cabbage leaves? Would this have appealing results at all?

Something I've never tried, however, my immediate thought is the comparison of cooked cabbage to cooked spinach.

I imagine nothing more than a jar full of green-black slime.

I'd love to hear what happens if you try, though ;)


Is there a way to revive an old potato? I was making mashed potatoes the other day and one of the potatoes I had was a little old. It was not as firm, and was slightly wrinkled than the potatoes I'd just bought. I didn't use it at all.

Is there a way to revive an old potato? For instance, with celery, I sometimes stick it in a cup of water for re-crisping.

Cut out any green parts then remove the skin. If you can see any remaining green parts after the skin is removed then cut them out too. What you'll have at this point will likely look and feel like any other peeled potato except with bits cut out. If it still feels soft or looks unusual throw it out, otherwise its fine. Just a normal potato whose skin had gone a bit wrinkly and soft.


Using other liquid than water when making stock I got to thinking... I usually hear chefs (particularly Alton Brown as of late, since I am watching Good Eats) say that water is neutral and should only be used as a last resort, serving only to dilute without adding anything to the mix (when it comes to sauces and the like).

I made a stock once, that came out a little boring, so I was thinking. What if I use a lager, or even a light ale instead? (light as in not dark, not calorie-free). I'd possibly need to degas it first to get rid of the CO2, but I think it sounds kind of delicious...

Has anyone tried this before, or can anyone think of any reason not to? Would the flavor be weird, what about other liquids? Is it commonly done?

There's no particular reason you couldn't prepare a stock with something other than water, but it's the equivalent of buying a ream of heavy pink paper, rather than plain white photocopy paper.  If that's the effect you really want, great.  The thing is, stock is meant to be as boring as plain white photocopy paper -- it is a foundation for other things, versatile and effective, subtly enhancing without overwhelming the dish.  For your beer idea, for example, I would cook down a couple bottles and add some stock to it.  That way, the rest of my batch of stock would be useful for other recipes that don't use beer.

Note that stock may be boring but shouldn't be flavorless; stock still should taste good.  If your stock was flavorless, try upping the amount of meat, veggies, and herbs compared to bones.  Also, bear in mind that stock should not contain salt (you will likely reduce the stock at some point).  The lack of salt, however, will deaden the flavor.  When you are ready to use the stock, be sure to add a pinch of salt.


Does anyone pre-juice their fruit juice for sale? I would like to know if there are stores out there that that pre-juice their fruit juices on the eve of sale, perhaps for 24-hours only since juicing. Have they been successful? What are the methods and protocols they might be using in in-house juicing/packaging/storing?

There are.  There was a story on a local station about JRINK when they hit some anniversary a year or so ago.  (It might've also been about the owners ... being successful female, minority millenials)
They're doing some sort of 'single page app' thing on their website, so I can't link straight to their about page  or FAQ, but it confirms that they're juicing & bottling.  (so people can do the 'grab and go' thing) :

Why We're Different
...

Locally made every night, we delivery [sic] straight to your door and our stores daily.

...

How long will JRINKs last?
Because they are raw and cold-pressed, JRINKs will last up to 5 days if refrigerated and unopened.  Nut milks are ~3 days due to the fatty acid component, leading to higher rates of oxidization.  If you drink more than 2 a day, we suggest waiting at least 2-3 hours between each JRINK.  Once opened, please consume within the next 3 hours.  All our juices are date labeled upon producing and we ask that you JRINK responsibly (i.e. keep them cold!).

I have no idea what their process is, nor what the quality is ... I just know that it exists, and their model seems to be successful for the market they're in.


Fluffy texture in a Spanish tortilla I made a Spanish tortilla over the weekend and it reminded me that I don't get the right egg texture I'm after when cooking this. The results are tasty, but the tortilla is 'spongy'. From a restaurant I expect 'fluffy', where the egg has a smooth omelette-like texture.

The recipe (a Jamie Oliver one) is: fry off onion and diced potato in a large pan over a medium heat, when browned add some spices and crack in 8 eggs. When the sides of the tortilla start to come away pop under a hot grill until set.

What will help get the texture I'm after?

If you want it fluffy, you'll need air. The easiest way to accomplish this is to crack the eggs in a bowl, whip them (with a whisk or a fork) for a couple of minutes. If you have a homogeneous-ish substance, add them to the onions and potatoes in your pan.


How do you know when a baked potato is done? When baking a baked potato in the oven how do you know when it's perfectly done?

Squeezing it doesn't seem to be that accurate for me.  And using a fork seems pretty arbitrary.  Any better ways?

If you want to go all engineer on your unsuspecting spuds, take their temperature with an instant read thermometer. According to several online sources I found, the ideal internal temp for your 'tater is 210F (99°C).


How to use cast-iron teacup? I love my cast-iron teapots; however, for Christmas, I received a set of teacups to match my latest acquisition. Do I pre-warm them like I do the pot? Or is the intent for it to leech some heat out when poured so it's drinkable faster? They appear to be traditional Chinese-style: small and without handles. They also appear to be enameled on the inside, to match the pot.

Also, is there anything I should know about the care and keeping of them above and beyond the usual cast-iron advice (no soap, dry well, et cetera)?

I've never found cast-iron teacups to be practical to actually use.  Not only do you not want to warm them before pouring the tea in, after you pour it in the cups will be to hot to drink out of.  One has to wait for the tea to cool to lukewarm before it's safe to touch one's lips to the cup.

As far as cleaning them goes, you can use soap and hand-wash, just don't put them in the dishwasher.


Which is better to sauté with, stainless steel or Teflon? Lots of times in recipes, they'll specify using a stainless steel pan, but I find the non-stick aspect of Teflon to be an advantage. Is stainless steel really better, and if so ,What about it makes it a better choice?

Also, you can get uncoated steel a lot hotter than you can get teflon (which will break down -- it's basically plastic). So you can sear meats at a much higher temperature than you can cook them on teflon. For some things it doesn't matter, like sweating vegetables, but anything where you want to get some real heat involved to develop browned flavors, you're better off without the teflon.

A good compromise is well-seasoned cast iron, which you can heat incredibly hot, and stuff doesn't really stick to it much. Those pans are cheap, too, and last forever.

On the other hand, if you're cooking eggs, you definitely want the teflon, or cleaning the pan will be very frustrating!


How can I avoid from turning mushrooms brown while freezing it? When you freeze mushrooms they will turn brown.  You can't keep them for long time in the fridge though. On the other hand I can't buy it everyday! I love mushrooms in anything and I want to have some always ready to cook. Any suggestions? Is the only way to buy it everyday? I don't like canned mushrooms or similar preservation methods.

One suggestion is to buy dried mushrooms and rehydrate them when you need them.

As for freezing, as you probably know if you freeze them and thaw directly without any intervention you will probably get brown, mushy mushrooms.  There are a few ways to avoid this.

If you blanch the mushrooms first in some boiling water, then put them in an ice bath, that should stop the enzymes that cause the browning and also help with the texture some.  This method should also retain the most flavor of any of the preservation methods.

As a side note, I highly recommend going from freezer to cooking directly without thawing - this should reduce the amount of mushiness you will get.

I find that slicing and sauteing the mushrooms first in some oil or butter, then freezing them, works great for most uses, since sauteed is how I usually prefer my mushrooms anyway.  I just take them out of the freezer and throw them directly into the meal.

In my house the most common method is as I first mentioned, we buy dried portabellos etc and just rehydrate them into our meals.  However blanching and then freezing is often better for texture and taste, it just takes a little more time.

There are some great mushroom preservation methods available on this site.


Fruit salad with tomatoes In a recent trip to my local supermarket with the intention of purchasing items for a fruit salad, I picked up some oranges, bananas, lemons, grapefruit, and a few other select fruits. This got me thinking, what's stopping me from including tomatoes, since they are in fact a fruit? Are they just considered in practice to also be a vegetable, similar to wave-particle duality in that a photon exhibits properties of a wave and a particle?

If I were to make a fruit salad including tomatoes, what considerations should I use when determining how to go about it?  Would it make sense to use the fruit ingredients I listed, and if so why or why not?  Are there other fruits that particularly complement the flavors of tomatoes or are complimented by them?

I have eaten a salad that included watermelon, tomatoes, feta and black olives. I thought it was... ok, not earth shattering. Also I made this Cherry/Tomato bite, which is in that genre, and certainly was interesting from a taste perspective. There are no rules, you can do whatever you like, you just have to determine if it will taste good. Personally I don't think I'd like tomatoes in a "standard" fruit salad.


How to determine that a particular product is Organic? So what is enough to find on a product (label or else) that makes it truly organic (regulated by USDA). Is "organic" itself means this and it is restricted to put this word on any product that is not organic?

The USDA does regulate a notion of "organic" in the US. Here's their full page on organic, and one specifically on regulations. Many of the links there are quite relevant. The best one for you is probably the labeling for consumers page, though many others would be informative for you as well. The Organic Labeling and Marketing Fact Sheet contains more details about labeling restrictions. Those pages all have tons of links, depending on what exactly you're looking for.

In terms of labeling, as described in the linked page on labeling, yes, the USDA regulates the usage of the USDA organic seal:

  Look at the label. If you see the USDA organic seal, the product is certified organic and has 95 percent or more organic content. For multi-ingredient products such as bread or soup, if the label claims that it is made with specified organic ingredients, you can be confident that those specific ingredients have been certified organic.

Unfortunately many other people do have their own notions of what organic means, and if you see the term used without the seal, then you can't really tell what standards it was held to.


What is Molecular Gastronomy? There is a lot of material on TV, magazines and on the web recently about molecular gastronomy. Techniques like sous-vide and spherification seem to be popular. But what makes a cooking style "molecular gastronomy" and not "regular cooking"?

Is there a list of techiques or ingredients are a hallmark of molecular gastronomy?

Or maybe it's a philosophical distinction.

Regardless, how do I know if I'm serving "modernist cuisine"?

First of all, the term "molecular gastronomy" is almost universally derided by those who practice it and "Modernist cuisine" seems to have become the accepted nomenclature. The book Modernist Cuisine has what I regard as an excellent introduction to the movement and drawing the analogy with other Modernist movements in other artforms. The Modernist movement was about rejecting the lineage of everything that had come before and re-examining basic questions such  as "what is perception". Similarly, we can trace a direct lineage from Escoffier to Nouvelle Cuisine and Modernist cuisine seeks to break that lineage.

The best way I've come up with to describe the Modernist philosophy is "the use of technology to gain direct, precise control over temperature, humidity, pressure and texture".

When you're poaching fish in a simmering stock, you want to bring the fish up to 45C by putting it in 80C stock that's heated by a 600C flame. You control point in this scenario is the knob of the stove which is the second derivative of the temperature of this fish. What's more, your feedback loop is entirely perceptual and based on human sensing and control. Modernist cuisine starts with the goal of bringing a fish up to 45C and determines the optimal way of accomplishing that goal which is sous vide. With Sous Vide, you are directly controlling the temperature of the fish and you're doing it precisely because you replace humans with automated feedback loops.

Another example might be reducing a sauce. In this case, you manipulate the vapor pressure of the liquid through the indirect application of heat. What you really want is to drive water off but you end up causing many inadvertent changes as well. With Modernist cuisine, you use a rotovap to control pressure directly and vacuum evaporate liquids without heating.

Same with using a roux or cornstarch to thicken a gravy. Instead of indirectly controlling the texture of a sauce by picking from one of the dozen common, natural thickeners, Modernist cuisine starts from asking exactly what textural qualities you want from a sauce and then figuring out the right combination of starches, hydrocolloids and proteins that accomplish that task.

Modernist cuisine may seem complicated on the surface because so much of it is new and unfamiliar but I find it actually to be radically more simple than traditional cooking once you understand this ethos. Rather than a hodgepodge of tradition built up over millennia, Modernist cooking is simply about starting first from your desired goals of flavor, temperature, pressure & texture and then figuring out the appropriate use of technology to accomplish that goal.


Where to buy food chemicals So I want to experiment with making a food product, and I'm wondering where I acquire the chemical ingredients? Things like vitamin chemicals and caffeine. Thanks.

A quick Google search turns up a couple of companies. I didn't look for locations since you didn't specify yours or whether you're open to international shipping options.

This one looks like it deals in rather large quantities, some as low as one kilogram, others as much as a ton. Seems like a larger investment than you might be prepared for; you'd probably want to be reasonably sure of what you're doing. On the other hand, plenty of room for experimentation if it's in your budget.
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/food-grade-chemicals.html

This one is obviously UK by its domain extension; it has a variety of food-grade chemicals
http://www.reagent.co.uk/sodium-metabisulphite-food-grade

Disclaimer: I know nothing at all about the quality, reputation, etc. of any of these; never met anyone who works in the field. My only connection and contribution here is a bit of Google-fu.

You might also check with your local pharmacies and health food stores; even if they don't sell in large enough quantities for a stop-and-shop situation they may be willing to special order for you, and possibly even negotiate a better price than retail.

And since this isn't exactly a regular part of a pharmacy's business model/revenue source, they may even point you toward their suppliers for a direct connection.


Why is my lemon curd metallic? How should I fix it? I used this recipe and followed it to the letter. I used organic/unsprayed lemons (and was careful not to zest the pith) and free-range eggs. I did a quick Google search, but the only cause I could find was using a reactive saucepan, which couldn't be the case because both the whisk, the strainer, the bowls, and the pan were nonreactive, stainless steel. Yet the lemon curd ended up with a metallic aftertaste, that got stronger as it chilled.

Why was my lemon curd metallic, and is there any way to fix it? How?

    3 large eggs, or 1 large egg plus 3 large egg yolks
    Zest of 1 medium lemon
    1/2 cup strained fresh lemon juice (from about 3 medium lemons)
    1/2 cup sugar
    6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks

  Set the strainer over a medium bowl.
  Whisk the eggs (or egg and yolks) in a small nonreactive saucepan to blend. Whisk in the lemon zest, juice, and sugar. Add the butter. Whisk over medium heat, reaching into the corners and scraping the sides and bottom of the pan, until the butter is melted and the mixture is thickened and beginning to simmer around the edges, then continue to whisk for about 10 seconds longer.
  Remove from the heat and scrape into the strainer, pressing gently on the solids. Scrape any lemon curd clinging to the underside of the strainer into the bowl.
  Refrigerate until chilled before using. Lemon curd keeps in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

EDIT: I made a new batch, using 1 part lemon juice to 1 part sugar plus the zest from the lemons, and the same amount of butter. I omitted the egg yolks and used cornstarch instead. The lemon curd came out perfect, so it must have been the yolks. Why?

From your Edit, it looks like you have narrowed the problem down to the egg yolks.

Did anyone else taste your original batch of lemon curd? If you still have original batch, you may have a close friend or relative see if they can taste difference.  For years (side effect of medication) I would perceive either "off or metallic taste" which my husband or anyone else could not taste.  Pregnant women will also experience metallic taste (dysgeusia):

  https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/symptoms-and-solutions/metallic-taste.aspx

Off taste from yolks are usually associated with "old eggs."  It is usually described as tasting like sulphur.

What chickens eat also affect the taste of the eggs:

  https://grist.org/urban-agriculture/2011-11-1-peebottle-farms-what-to-feed-your-chickens/
  archived at: http://archive.is/WccwR

  http://homesteadingguide.com/115/news/best-tasting-eggs-what-to-feed-your-chickens/
  archived at: http://archive.is/rt2RF

  The following post has made me shy away from any "natural feeds" which
  contain kelp:
  http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=64661   archived
  at: http://archive.is/EUac3


How much gluten will set off somebody's celiac disease? I have a house guest incoming that has celiacs and I know that it means they can't eat gluten. But does that mean that I need to yank everything that has wheat out of my kitchen for the duration? I need to know if this something that gets set off just by looking at wheat or if it's tolerable in small quantities.

I am celiac. Ideally you should clean your entire kitchen, clean out your silverware and utensil drawers and wash all utensils in the dishwasher. Wipe all surfaces and sinks with bleach wipes. Scrub all pots and pans, to remove gluten films then wash in dishwasher.
give all dishes to be used a run through the dishwasher.

Off limit items are seasoned pans (cast iron, or porcelain), earthenware, pasta pots, strainers, toasters, cooking stones, wood spoons or utensils, cutting boards, blenders and crockpots.

To avoid contamination use fresh mayonnaise, mustard, peanut butter jars, etc.
Do not use any ingredients such as sugar that may have been contaminated with flour from use while baking.

Because you are not familiar with ingredients that contain gluten, use only pure ingredients if you are cooking for your celiac guest.

Avoid spice blends.

Also see: Unsafe Gluten-Free Food List (Unsafe Ingredients)


Raw Ham Roast...How to smoke I was given a frozen ham roast from a friend who bought a hog.  I have a smoker and was wondering how to smoke a raw ham roast...

Smoking a ham roast is no different than smoking a turkey or whole pork tenderloin...low and slow using the wood chips you like.....you might look at the manual that came with your smoker or cruise the internet for flavoring ideas.   How long does it take to smoke a raw ham? It should take about 15 to 20 minutes per pound to fully cook a raw ham. We like to cook the ham until it reaches 160 degrees F (which should take anywhere from 3 to 5 hours) before wrapping it in foil and cooking it for another hour or two until it reaches 190 degrees


How do you convert a cake recipe to make brownies? I'm wondering how to convert a cake recipe to make brownies. My intention is to use this recipe for Mexican Chocolate Cake With Mascarpone Frosting. The cake part calls for the following ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla

How can I convert that into a brownie recipe?

I'm thinking more oil/butter and less water would work, but I'm not sure of the ratios. I imagine I'd probably also cook brownies for a shorter amount of time.

What determines a cake's fluffiness and a brownie's dense chocolatey awesomeness? Is there a general formula you can follow for converting cake to brownies? (Since this question is about conversion, I suppose it could also apply to a boxed cake mix in case I'm too lazy to go to the store.)

Brownies are typically dense and less fluffy compared to cake.  What you want to do is to make the cake recipe more dense to make it more like brownies. Here are a few factors that would effect density/fluffyness.

Number of eggs: Adding more eggs will make the cake more dense
Preparation of eggs:  Beating the eggs will cause the cake to be more fluffy since you are introducing more air into the mixture. You should stir them lightly with a fork (not beat/whisk them) until just liquefied, to avoid a fluffy cakelike texture.
Addition of baking powder.  Most cake recipes call for baking powder while many brownie recipes do not.

I suggest reviewing some brownie recipes and the comments to get a feel for a good starting point for the cake recipe modifications.


Crystals on bottle of sweet alcohol We've been given an old bottle of alcohol, an amaretto.

At the top of the bottle, where the lid and bottle rim meet, a few crystals have formed. I'm guessing it's the sugars but am not sure.

Some one has mentioned they think the crystals forming means you should throw the bottle (and contents) away as it's not safe, but I can find no proof of this online.

Does the forming of the crystals indicate the drink is no longer safe?

You are right that the crystals are from sugar in the drink crystallising.

However, this happens very easily with liqueurs, or anything with a high sugar content, through normal use (liquid gets onto the rim, it starts to dry out and the dissolved sugar starts to crystallise on the surface).

It is not a sign that the drink is no longer safe. You can simply wipe the crystals off.


Edible lollipop sticks for a complicated birthday cake I'm baking a cake for my sister. Though the cake will be simple. I decided to make chocolate cupcake lollipops. The cupcakes will read out her traits like nice, awesome etc. I need some advice on how to make edible sticks which will be connecting the base cake and the cupcakes.

I want them to be edible because long story short she always wondered why is there the point of the stick if its not eatable when she was young.

I also want to know how to prevent the cupcakes from sagging down and dropping on the base cake.

The brainstorming in the comments has provided numerous examples:

Candy cigarettes

These are likely the most realistic sticks you will find, as they're usually completely white, but fairly soft so use care when attaching the muffin to the top:

Pocky / Mikado

These are chocolate covered biscuit sticks, they're much more sturdy but not the right colour:

There is also a Cookies & Cream flavoured Pocky, marketed as Pocky Panda, which is white and the closest resemblance they make. This may require being purchased from the internet though as I'd never heard of them before:

Rolled Chocolate Wafer Biscuits

These are simply tubes of wafer biscuits, typically filled with chocolate, such as DeBeukelaer Pirouline and Pepperidge Farm Pirouette:

Stick Candy and Rock

Quite simply sticks made out of candy, I suspect Rock will be less common outside the United Kingdom, but Stick Candy should be simple to find.

Rock is a hard candy tube up to an inch thick which could support a table, nevermind a cupcake:

Stick Candy is basically un-bent candy canes and less thick than rock, though very similar:


How do I determine the amount of water I need to use with my eletric rice cooker I just realized that I don't know if I should add more or less water next time. What sort of signs would indicate that I should add less water and what signs would indicate that I am using too little water right now?

Rice cookers usually use the "absorption method", in which by the end of the cooking, all of the water has been absorbed into the rice.

If, by the time the rice is the texture you want, there is still liquid in the pan, then you used too much water. But it's OK; just pour the excess away and leave it a couple of minutes for the rest to absorb/evaporate.

If there is no liquid left, but the rice is not as soft as you would like, then you did not add enough water. Sprinkle with boiling water and allow to cook for longer.

With the absorption method, rice is pretty foolproof: twice as much water as rice -- by volume, and one teaspoon of salt per cup of rice. The packet will tell you how long your rice should take.

Things that can go wrong when using the absorption method in an ordinary pan:

burning due to having the heat too high when there's not much liquid left. Once the water is boiling, you only need the tiniest amount of heat.
burning due to cooking for too long - don't forget to check when the time's up!
loss of water as steam - due to cooking without a lid, and boiling too vigorously. Turn the heat right down, leave the lid on, don't peek until towards the end of the cooking time.


What is this Asian dish made with boiled vegetables? Does anyone know which is the dish where we have a pot/pan of boiling vegetables/meat in the center and people sit around it with their noodles and soup bowls and keep picking things from it and eating?

I think you mean a hot-pot stew (huǒ guō). There are many styles, Wikipedia has a fairly good article about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pot


What is a good substitute for oyster sauce (for someone with a shellfish allergy)? I've recently developed a shellfish allergy, and I'm not sure what the best substitute for oyster sauce would be. I've read that the flavor of it is not really easily substitutable.

What is the best way to substitute the flavor without inducing an allergic reaction?

The most widely-accepted substitute seems to be various sauces made from mushrooms. I don't want to say "mushroom sauce" because most products don't have that exact name. For example:

Here you have "Vegetarian Mushroom Flavored Stir-Fry Sauce" on the left, and "Premium Shitake Mushroom Flavored Soy Sauce" on the right. I'm actually not familiar with the one in the middle and not sure what the whole label says - it might be the same as the first.

If you go to a specialty Asian food store, you might actually find a product called "vegetarian oyster sauce", which is pretty much the same thing.

Failing that, you can always substitute soy sauce, or hoisin sauce if you want a less watery texture. They won't be exactly the same, but it's the same general idea (dark, fermented, salty sauce rich in glutamates).

"Fish sauce" will be very close to oyster sauce in taste, but may still contain shellfish, so be careful.


Fixing a dry cake batter I made a chocolate cake batter last night to test for my sons birthday cake. I made a batch of cupcakes with it to test it and it came out dry. Now I’m not sure if it’s from over baking or something in the batter. Can I add anything to the left over batter at this point to save it?

Most commercial bakeries pour simple syrup into their cakes and cupcakes after baking. To make a simple syrup mix water and sugar in equal parts by volume and heat on the stove, stirring until dissolved. The simple syrup should keep for about a month if you have any left over.


What's the difference between a burrito and a tortilla? I was in a Mexican restaurant with some co-workers recently and noticed that many of them ordered a "burrito." What's the difference between this and a tortilla? I thought that's what they were called.

Depending on where you are, the word tortilla can mean a few different things.  In Mexico it refers to a flatbread made of either wheat or corn and a few other ingredients.  These flatbreads tend to come in standard sizes in the United States at least, one of which might be labeled the "burrito" size.

A burrito is one use for a tortilla.  A burrito consists of a wheat flour tortilla wrapped around a filling.  Often the filling might include beans, cooked meat, rice, and perhaps vegetables.


Small black spot on sourdough starter I haven't fed my sourdough in about a month so I was going to feed it and I saw a black spot on the dough. I scooped it out and fed the sourdough.I'm worried if this could possibly be black mold and if so is it still safe to eat because i did get rid of the black spot and whatever i use it for will be cooked, or is it just completely contaminated.

Molds themselves are usually killed by heat treatment, but the toxins they've produced are not. Depending on the water content, it's probable that there's residual mycelium and toxins in the starter even after removing the spot.

I'd say throw away and start over if you do suspect that it was a black mold.


How can I recreate the flavour of instant ramen without the salt? I am looking to make my own instant ramen soup - nothing complicated, but there must be a way to duplicate the instant variety without all the salt. I've played with combinations of dried onions + no - salt chicken bouillon, but without much success. The key is something that can be kept in an office drawer for some time - I can already make homemade soup from the scratch.

The Japanese use a stock called Dashi for the base of many soups, sauces and dishes including the famous miso soup. Dashi is made like tea by seeping several different varieties of dried ingredients such as dried bonito flakes, dried baby sardines, dried kelp and dried shitaki mushrooms in varies combinations.

What you can do is boil water and use a teabag to seep the ingredients for a while then just remove the teabag. It requires quite a bit of bonito flakes to get any flavor. Rather than using Ramen noodles you might opt to use cellophane rice noodles or mung bean noodles instead. Finish with a dash of soy sauce, sambal or saracha. All these ingriedents can be ordered online, found at an Asian market or Whole Foods. You might also find several other types of mushrooms (watch out for sand), fish and vegetables that have been dried which will rehydrate nicely in the soup.


How can I determine fat content in beef? I'm looking to determine with as much accuracy as possible (without buying specialized equipment) the fat percentage of ground beef.  Is anyone aware of a method that will get me reasonably close?

I found some ideas over here but I'm not confident that any of them are terribly accurate (save the one with the calorimeter.)
http://ask.metafilter.com/152910/A-way-to-test-the-fat-content-of-minceground-beef-at-home

Weigh the ground meat before starting to determine its total weight.
Render as much fat as possible in the ground meat by boiling or simmering.
Use a fat separator to separate off the fat
Allow the fat to dry (or dry it by gently bringing to >100°C/212°F, beware splattering).
Weigh the amount of fat rendered.

Fat percentage is 100 × (fat weight) ÷ (total weight).

Alternative method: Ask farmer which primal cut the meat is ground from. Look up answer in table. :-P


Should lemongrass be edible or just a flavoring? In my limited experience with lemongrass (which I buy fresh-ish in plastic bags from the fridge of my local asian supermarket - not frozen or dried or anything), it's hard and impossible to chew, no matter how long you cook it for. I usually smash it, split it down the middle and add it to soups or other dishes with a lot of liquid, then take it out at the end like a bay-leaf.

However, I've recently seen recipes in which finely chopped lemongrass is put straight in a stir-fry or a sauce, which just seems like a good way to end up picking bits out of your mouth to me. Is there a problem with the lemongrass I'm buying? Is it that only the green is hard and inedible? Or am I cooking it wrong?

If you actually chop it finely, you should be okay. Specifically, you should cut it into thin disks against the grain first, so that you're cutting the fibers into short enough lengths not to bother you. Depending on how tough your lemongrass is, you may have to remove some outer layers to do this.

At that point, it may already be possible to chew, but further chopping should make sure of it. If the pieces are small enough, there isn't really anything to chew, and it's not too likely to stick in your mouth given that it's mixed in with plenty of other stuff in the dish.

That said, there's some variation in the toughness, and it does take a reasonably sharp knife to do this if the lemongrass is on the tough side, to the point that it might not be possible. So if you have issues chopping it finely (or too little of the stalk is tender enough to do so), falling back to your usual approach of infusing it into things is the way to go.


Does natto really need to be fermented at body temperature? I want to make natto, and recipes say that it should be fermented at ~38°C/100°F. My oven doesn't have a bread proving or defrost setting, and previous experiments with just the oven light on haven't reached that temperature. I keep my sourdough starter and kombucha at room temperature (~21°C/67°F) and it works well / I like the result. Will that work for natto?

From my research, the problem with fermenting nattō at lower temperatures is that it doesn’t inhibit the growth of other bacteria which can either inhibit the growth of the target bacteria, bactilis subtilis, or potentially introduce and incubate pathogenic bacteria which can harm your health. Natto bacteria are very comfortable with high temperatures and you should aim for between 38 and 42 degrees for a full 20 hours.

Try looking at Natto Dad - he has a blog and YouTube videos which were very helpful to me. My second batch of nattō is currently fermenting.


How long should I keep a cut onion? Since I only cook for one or two, I will tend to buy an onion and only use part of it, and then keep the rest in the fridge. Sometimes it will be a while before I use the rest. Is there any guidance on when I should finally just throw it out? What are the signs to look for? What degradations should I expect to trade off against constantly throwing out half an onion (decreased flavor, increased bitterness)?

When I use fresh onions, we store the unused parts for up to a week in our fridge in either a ziploc or a sealable rubbermaid-style container.  For particularly pungent onions they go in the crisper drawer to keep the smell from being too strong in the rest of the fridge, but usually they're just on one of the shelves.  Stilltasty says 2-3 days but my personal experience says otherwise.

Generally in our house, they don't last long enough for the flavor to degrade too much, but they will get a little dried and the smell will get stronger over time.  After a week, they shouldn't be bad in the sense that you'll get sick - but you'll want to use them in a meal where the onion is the star, as the aroma will take over the dish.

Another option that I'm a big fan of is to dice or strip the leftovers (or, a 5 lb bag at once!) and freeze them on a cookie sheet (instead of in a bag, where they'll turn into a giant clump).  Once fully frozen, dump them into a plastic freezer bag, and store in the freezer for easy access to a handful at a time.  For most applications, you can defrost them right in the pan/pot/casserole as you cook, so they're very handy and accessible.  We do the same with peppers in our house for convenience.


Confusion regarding garlic powder in fat in pan I left a pan from cooking chicken with garlic powder in the fridge for a week. There are lumps of chicken fat that I assume have garlic powder in them. Is this like garlic butter or garlic in oil and is it safe to put the fat in the compost or touch it? I'm not going to eat it but still worried about botulism going in the sink or going in the compost.

Is that it's a week in the fridge and not more mean it's safe and/or that it's garlic powder and not fresh garlic? (I've read both four days and seven days are the limits to storing garlic in oil in the fridge). Does cooking it change things? (350 degrees F for 45 minutes). I ate the last piece of chicken at five days old and am fine but scared of the fat. I've looked at several questions similar to this but still a bit confused. I don't know if this is nothing or not. The pan is currently in the freezer. Thanks!

dry garlic in oil --> botulism risk?

How long is garlic butter safe, and why is it not a botulism risk like garlic in oil?

This site suggests that when commercial garlic powder is made it is heated to a temperature of 150 to 160 degrees Celsius, before it is then dehydrated and ground.  C. Botulinum spores are killed by heating to at least 120 degrees Celcius, and holding for at least 30 minutes. It would seem to me that commercial producers of garlic powder would certainly want to take care of this potential hazard.  If you were using commercially made garlic powder, the chances that any C. Botulinum spores were present when you started are pretty slim.

Of course, if you made your own garlic powder, the risk is higher.  Also, keep in mind refrigeration, does not eliminate risk, but slows the growth of bacteria dramatically.


How many cups of batter does a cake mix make? I admit it, I'm lazy, I use cake mix 9/10 times I bake a cake.

There seems to be a standard size (because Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, and our local brand all make the same size cake, same number of cupcakes, etc.).  How many cups of raw batter is this?

I'm trying to figure out what I need for a nonstandard-size pan I have.

A 9" round pan that is 1 1/2" deep takes 6 cups of batter, while one that is 2" deep takes 8.  That's for totally full to the brim.  This source says about the amount of batter from a box:

An average 2-layer cake mix yields 4 to 5 1/2 cups of batter.

and should have a bunch of helpful guides to using batter for non-standard pans.


Kimchi juice to aid lactic fermentation of half-sour pickles I have made half-sour pickles successfully with the recipe in the first post of this chow.com thread, although only when the heel of bread is added to promote fermentation.

While I don't always have a heel of stale rye spare to add to the pickling mixture, I often have kimchi in the kitchen. Both kinds of pickles are produced through lactic acid fermentation, so can I use a small amount of kimchi juice -- not enough to flavour the pickling mixture -- to promote the right kind of fermentation, or are the microorganisms responsible for the flavour of each different?

Short answer is "yes".

Sour pickles don't get sour because of yeast. Pickles get sour due to lactic acid produced by bacteria, the same way kimchi works. Propably you could even add a bit of real home-made yoghurt to boost the bacteria. The bacteria needed are already present on the cucumbers (even after you wash them, but you shouldn't srcub them too much!), and addition of bread heel, kimchi juice or youghurt will just boost their growth.

As a seasoned Polish sour-pickles maker, I can assure you that you don't need the bread or kimchi juice at all. The pickles will get nicely sour without it, but they will just take a few days more. In summer I prepare sour pickles with the bread, in order to have them ready really fast and always on hand, but for my winter jars I never use the bread. If I put the heel in a jar that's supposed to wait till winter, the cucumbers will overferment, might get soft and generally will be good only for cucumber soup.

My other comments on the receipe: using iodised salt is fine, as long as you don't exceed half of all salt used (the other half must be pickling/kosher salt). It is not just the brine that keeps them from spoiling - it's mostly the lactic acid. The "pickled water" is sour enough to prevent fungi growth, and it is extremely rich in vitamin C and is a great cure for hangover ;)


Is it bad to boil milk? In another question, I asked about pasteurization of raw milk at home. I got some interesting comments (of course, I further searched on the internet) that some people prefer not to pasteurize raw milk to keep its original flavor and nutrition properties. Pasteurization (whether industrial or at home) at 63 - 72 C will cause a significant loss of vitamins, useful ingredients and generally nutrition values of milk.

Not only for the sake of pasteurization, but also we boil milk for preparing hot drinks. Of course, the boiling point is not necessary, and we let it to cool down a little bit.

Is it really bad to let milk boil? Does it significantly reduce the nutrition values?

Significant loss of nutrients during pasteurization is simply a myth.

According to the National Council Against Health Fraud, the loss of nutrients when pasteurizing milk is very small.  Most nutrients are unaffected.  There is approximately a 10-20% loss of vitamin C, 10% loss of thiamin, and 0-10% loss of vitamin B12.

See the linked article to get their detailed references.

They also mention:

  The Family Cow

  People who remember "the good old days" when many Americans had a
  family cow, often ask why they did not get sick from drinking raw
  milk. The answer seems to lie in the fact that people exposed to the
  same cow, or cows, on a regular basis develop a conferred immunity to
  the microflora of their specific animals. It is when raw milk is
  marketed to the general public who has not been regularly exposed to a
  specific animal, or small number of animals, that infections occur.
  Further, the people primarily at risk for serious infections or death
  are those with undeveloped immune systems, such as babies, or adults
  with disorders that have compromised their immune systems. Healthy
  young people and adults who are infected are likely to believe that
  they have had a bout of "stomach flu."

While boiling milk at home may be somewhat different in its actual outcome, I would suggest that the health benefits of mitigating the risk of food borne illness vastly and completely out weigh any potential loss of nutrients.


Mixing condensed and evaporated milk for fudge? Before anybody says this is a duplicate, I'm not asking about the difference between the two milks; I already know that. What I'm looking for is a way to lessen the sugar content of sweetened condensed milk without changing the texture of the final product too much.

Nestle makes a 50% less sugar version of sweetened condensed milk, but that isn't available within 50 miles of my home, so I'm trying to find a different solution

If I use half sweetened condensed milk and half evaporated milk, will I end up with lower-sugar sweetened condensed milk or will I end up with a watery, useless product that can't become fudge?

This is the label information from the reduced sugar sweetened condensed milk made by Nestlé:

That suggests to me that there is more to creating a lower sugar sweetened condensed milk than simply reducing the sugar. I have made sweetened condensed milk from evaporated milk (goat's milk actually), and I found the experience a bit more advanced than simply slowly stirring simmering milk, and the sugar seemed very crucial to the operation. Cajeta with powdered goat's milk? Or evaporated? (Experiment Results)

For comparison sake I looked at the ingredient list for regular Nestlé sweetened condensed milk (La Lechera). The ingredients of that product are milk and sugar.

I won't go so far as to say that it can't be done as you hope, nor will I say that the fudge wouldn't be tasty, but I have serious doubts.


Using Greek farina (cake flour) instead of yeast for making bread whilst combined with general puproce flour I have some leftover general-puproce flour and some farina, because are leftover materials and I wanna use them both (in order to get rid of them, but not throw them away) I thought on making bread by combining both of them.

Usually farina is used on making cakes, cookies etc etc and while is used, instead of general-puproce flour, yeast in not used because it has the tedency to expand by itself.

So in my case that I want to cook them, by combining them to both to my bread mixture, should I avoid using yeast or baking powder?

edit 1

By farina I mean a self-expanding flour used in cakes. Because of misunderstadning that "farina" word brings here is an image of it as sold in Greece and seen in Greek Supermarkets.

As you've clarified that farina is self-raising flour, you can use it in quick breads (soda breads). You can probably find a recipe that uses just this flour with no other leavening agents.

The plain flour would need something to make it rise. This should either be yeast or the chemical leaveners in the other flour, however if you just mix the two you won't have enough for much rise. So either add baking powder for a quick bread, add yeast for a traditional bread, or use it to make flatbread.


What are the consequences of not rinsing hermetic lentils prior to use? There are these hermetic boiled green lentils that I've been eating for a decade. They are great in salads, etc.

The text on these boxes is in Scandinavian languages. It basically says, among other things, that they are ready to eat, boiled green lentils, and that they should be rinsed with water before use.

That means one should drain the liquid they are immersed in and rinse with clean water.

For all these years, I never read the text on the box, and consequently never rinsed them. I just drained most of the liquid and used them as they were.

What would be the potential consequences of not rinsing them?

The only consequence is that you will eat the liquid in which they were. They will taste different with it. Also, if you cook them, they may be more prone to sticking, because of starch and other stuff sticking to the surface. This is not an issue in salads, though.

You probably already know the consequences anyway, since you have been eating them that way already.


Can any liquid food be beaten into a mousse? Hervé This discovered that one can make chocolate mousse with chocolate and water only.
This recipe is shown in this MasterChef video, and also detailed here.
Essentially, one melts chocolate with water, then whisks it over an ice bath to incorporate air bubbles, and after a while the mousse is formed.

Is this property unique to chocolate? Would this be possible, with, say, a strawberry purée?

Chocolate is a solid at room temperature, strawberry puree is not, so I strongly doubt that the strawberry would result in a foam.
The reason chocolate would form a solid foam is that it is largely composed of a two substances - sugar and fat. Together with the air these can form a solid of fats (similar to whipped cream) with microscopic sugar crystals helping keep it in place.
The only thing a strawberry puree would have that might reach similar consistency is the sugars. If you were to heat to a high enough heat that the sugars polymerize crystallise (like in candy), and whisk, you might get a structure like a mousse, but it would be crunchy.


Why are multiple infusions of tea better than one large one I have found that most sites recommend brewing a large number of small batches of tea, with multiple infusions of the same leaves, instead of brewing a large container using the same tea leaves. They point out that the desirable flavors diffuse first, so multiple infusions lets you taste them without the tanins taking over.

Why is it that multiple infusions changes the curve?  I would expect that, on a second infusion, the tea leaves would pick up where they left off, so the combination of two infusions would be the same as doing one infusion for longer.  Why is this not the case?

the combination of two infusions would be the same as doing one infusion for longer

That's not how it works. The leaves are full of different chemicals that are locked away in cells and their organelles, behind several membranes, and they have different solubility. So there are multiple effects which make many infusions different than one big infusion.

Nernst's law. When you extract something, the concentration gradient plays a role. When the tea outside the leaf saturates, chemicals stop exiting the leaf.
The one that you mentioned, about tanins. They don't "pick up where they left". To use an analogy, imagine having a piece of ice. It is big enough that you have to keep it 10 minutes at room temperature before it starts melting. Now, if you keep it out for 3 minutes, then put it for some time back in the freezer, then take it out again, it will again need 10 minutes to melt. (This is not to say tanins melt the way ice does, just to remind you that there are plenty of processes which don't somehow continue after being interrupted).
You actually do have other flavors coming out which you wouldn't get with the new infusion. Opposite to tanins, there are some chemicals which start being amenable to extraction the first time they come in contact with the hot water, but won't extract much at the beginning. Staying wet while waiting for the next extraction prepares them to get out in larger amounts.
An effect similar to the last one happens to the cell walls that prevent chemicals from getting extracted. They soften with the time they spend warm and wet - which, in the sum with multiple infusions, is larger than the length a single "large" infusion would take.
Different taste in the different infusions. Since a different proportion of each type of chemical comes out in each successive infusion, people get to enjoy different flavor profiles. A single long infusion would have the same taste throughout.


Where to get active Milk kefir grains I am from Austin,Tx.I am looking for Milk kefir grains to make fresh kefir at my home.But I coudln't find Kefir grains in whole foods.I dont know how to reach to individuals who can share.Any advice??

Sorry, I didn't see this until just now. I don't know why it didn't notify me.

Kefir grains are a life symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. They have to be fed and I imagine it is a niche market. Kind of like sourdough starter in that regard. I'm not surprised you didn't find them in a store.

People who have grains regularly have extras to dispose of and I have found they are usually eager to share and get other people hooked.

The last time I found grains it was on a forum dedicated to that purpose. I picked them up in a different state as I was passing through. Unfortunately this was about 10 years ago.

A quick Google search for kefir grains sharing sources turns up many resources. I will second ecnerwal that Craigslist is a good place to start. Freecycle is a good candidate.
I ran across this page that refers to a Facebook group.
http://www.yummykefir.com/get-milk-water-kefir-grains

I'll be surprised if you don't easily find grains in Austin. For better or worse kefir has kind of become a hipster probiotic thing.


Any time / temperature recommendation for a short braise of a tender piece of meat? I have a recipe for braised lamb shanks that I'd like to convert to use lamb loin chops instead. The original recipe calls for the shanks to be browned and then braised in a 350° oven for 2 - 2½ hours. Since the loin chops are a lot more tender than the shanks, I'd rather not cook them to death.

So, leaving aside the question of how to get good flavor development and consistency in the braising liquid (which I think I can work around), is there a good braising method for tender cuts of meat?  In particular, should I still use the oven or stick to the stove top? And what temperature and duration should I be shooting for? Thanks!

Generically speaking meat that is appropriate for a braise is tougher and has connective tissue that can be turned to gelatin by the long slow cooking process.  As you've noted, meat that is tender can be "cooked to death" using that same method, so I would, generally, recommend against using a braise.

However, a stove top braise can go quickly without ruining the meat, if you keep it short and treat the braising liquid as more of a sauce than anything else.  I would suggest that you brown each side of your lamb chops, then add all your other ingredients.  Depending on the amount of liquid your original recipe calls for, you might want to cut back.  I wouldn't want more than 1/2 cup or so of liquid.  "Braise" covered on the top of the stove for 1/2 hour, never going past a simmer.  Pull out the chops and cover, while you reduce the braising liquid to make it more sauce-like, then spoon onto the chops.

Note that you won't have the long time to meld flavors, and if there are big chunks of garlic or onions, they won't be a sweet as in the longer braise.  But you should get a serviceable dish.


Can I substitute vegetable oil for olive oil? I have vegetable oil but my recipe calls for olive oil. Will it make a difference to use the vegetable oil? Also, what would the conversion be? I'm trying to make a homemade pizza crust without yeast and this oil situation has me stumped.

You can substitute vegetable oil for olive oil, that is no problem. You won't have the flavor that olive oil brings to the party, but in the case of more refined (not extra virgin) olive oils, it really won't make much difference. Just use however much oil the recipe calls for. It'll be fine.


What's the egg for in this no-bake fridge cake and can I leave it out? I remember making these as a kid, they were quick and easy to make. I'd like to make some now, but there's an uncooked egg in the recipe and I'm pregnant.

I don't really understand what the egg is for here if it's unbaked. Is it just to bind everything together? Can I leave it out or substitute something else?

I have googled for other recipes and they all contain raw egg.

Link: http://freerecipehub.blogspot.co.za/2011/03/chocolate-fridge-cake.html

Recipe:

  250g margarine
  1 egg 2 tblsp milk
  2 tblsp cocoa
  1 tsp vanilla essence
  500g icing sugar
  1 packet marie biscuits

  Method Melt the margarine. Beat the egg, milk, cocoa, vanilla, icing
  sugar with the melted margarine together. Break up the marie biscuits
  and place in a greased dish then pour over chocolate mix. Leave to set
  in fridge.

The egg (the egg yolk actually) acts as an emulsifier which allows you to get a smooth blend of the margarine and the milk. Without it, the margarine would float on top during the cooling period. (The proteins in the egg might also help in trapping some air bubbles.)

More technical, what's actually acting as the emulsifier is the lecithin in the egg yolk. But I have no idea if it's possible to replace the egg with e.g. soy lecithin (and perhaps some extra milk and margarine)


Are there food safety issues at a teppan restaurant? My family & I recently went out to a teppanyaki restaurant. The food was great and we had no issues with food poisoning, but it got me wondering about their food safety.

The chef cooked everything (seafood, vegetables, fried rice, and chicken) on a large griddle. During the cooking, the chef pull a knife out of a holder on his belt, and chopped the various ingredients in place, on the griddle. He did this numerous times, including with the chicken he was grilling. It seems like he chopped partially cooked chicken (still very pink - looked mostly raw to me) and then used the same knife to chop other ingredients. How is that not a food safety concern?

To be fair, we have eaten at the same restaurant many times, it has passed inspection by the county environmental health office (and the certificate was posted, as required).

How can a chef use a knife to cut (mostly) raw chicken on a hot griddle, then turn around and use the same knife to cut other ingredients, without contaminating them?

Food safety is primarily related to the environments that bacteria live in, thrive in, and are killed in. Temperature and time at that temperature will determine if a bacteria is able to survive. For example, if chicken, or other food items that come in contact with raw chicken, reach an internal temperature of 162F or greater, all salmonella is instantly killed.

In the situation you mentioned, and as Jefromi mentioned in their comment, the rest of the food in question is being cooked on high heat so it will reach a high internal temperature as well to kill the bacteria, eliminating the food safety concern.

Another factor would be velocity. The (cold) food gets cooked immediately after getting cross-contaminated by the dirty knife. This means that potentially harmful bacteria do not have time to multiply.

The USDA has a nice document on the time/temperature required to kill certain bacteria and safely eat poultry products.

TIME-TEMPERATURE TABLES FOR COOKING READY-TO-EAT
POULTRY PRODUCTS


Topside chunks still tough after 2 hours cooking? I've made a Massaman curry with Topside beef. I've cooked the curry for 2 hours now, the meat breaks up when pushed with a spoon but feels very tough and firm and not soft and falling apart like I hoped.
Any idea whats' wrong and if I can fix it somehow?
More details:

I seared the chunks prior to adding them to the curry.
The curry has been cooked on low-to-medium heat for 2 hours
The meat was slightly still frozen when seared (still easy to cut with a knife just a bit icy)
I've cut the meat into chunks of about 2 inches x 2 inches x 1 inches
The meat was advertised as lean top side

Topside is a good cut of beef for slowly braising, which is what you're doing here. I assume you're following a recipe that calls for 2 hours of cooking? Many recipes for braised meat dishes tend to understate the amount of time it needs to be cooked to become tender (just like how they will tell you you can caramelise onions in 20 minutes). 2 hours is a very short time for this kind of dish. I tend to cook braised beef for anywhere between 4 and 6 hours to get it tender enough to fall apart. It takes time for the chemical reactions that you're after to take place. Give it at least another two hours, and it will be much better.


Preparing breaded pork chops Is it OK to bread the chops and put them in the frig for a few hours  before frying, or will that just make the breading soggy?

Probably not, it will yield a thick dense crust. You can prepare everything ahead of time, keep it in the fridge separate and then bread everything at the last minute. Since there is only a couple of bowls it will clean up quickly. If you marinate the pork chops put them on a wire rack uncovered in the fridge for  a couple of hours before you bread them. If you absolutely need to bread them ahead of time have some bread crumbs or panko and roll them again right before you fry.


How to prepare vegetables for a sandwich that can last for several days in a fridge? I'm not much of a cook but neither am I a complete stranger to the kitchen. I like to prepare sandwiches to take with me to work in a box. Since I do it often, I like to make them more "interesting" than just plain bread-meat-cheese. So far however I've only come up with the idea of putting in various off-the-shelf sauces/dressings/whathaveyou that I can buy in the supermarket.

Whenever I buy and eat pre-made sandwiches, they taste a lot better than what I make myself. I've tried to figure out why this is and I think it's because they contain vegetables. I like vegetables in a sandwich - cucumbers, lettuce, tomato, avocado, bell peppers, etc.

The problem with adding them myself is that it just takes too much time to do. I usually make the sandwiches in a hurry in the morning, so I have about 5-10 minutes to do it. Washing-peeling-slicing-storing - that just takes too much time. Sometimes I add pickles, but most of the time I consider even that too big of a hassle.

So I was thinking - if I could pre-slice the vegetables and store them for several days (ideally - up to 5 days), that would do it. I'd just have to grab them from a box and throw them on the sandwich. I'm afraid however that sliced vegetables won't keep so long, even in the fridge. I haven't tried it though.

Are there any tricks out there that could help me? Some way to make sure they last longer, or perhaps are much quicker to prepare in the mornings? We can skip tomatoes, I think a sandwich with tomatoes in it would be a mess after several hours in a box anyway.

Or perhaps other ideas to quickly give a sandwich an interesting taste? (Subjective, I know, but I'm not picky and will try different things)

There’s a third option between storing the vegetables for a week and cutting them in the morning:

Cut just the amount you need for one morning the evening before. Storing overnight is not a safety issue (assuming basic principles like storing in the fridge are followed), and you still can “slap them on” as requested.

Another thought:
You describe cutting in the morning as too time-consuming, but my favorite tool in this context is a small cheapo vegetable slicer (like this one). I hold it right over the sandwich, shave a few slices of cucumber or similar right on it and am done. Thirty seconds, tops, including a quick rinse.

If you are interested in other toppings, I suggest you take a second look at the leftovers from yesterday’s dinner: Leafy greens like lettuce (sans dressing!) keep well for a few days and some roasted vegetables are also interesting: Either they are already spiced or a dash of lemon or mild vinegar plus an overnight stint in the fridge gives you a perfect sandwich vegetable - not unlike antipasti. Slice them right when you are packing them up, of course, for a grab-and-go sandwich preparation.


Can I pause halfway through coking boneless shoulder? My other half put the shoulder in the oven to cook so that when I got home I could finish it, but my food delivery hasn't come. Can I pause the cooking and go get the stuff that I need and then carry on cooking as normal? Bearing in mind that it will take me 45 minutes to come back from a shop.

Not exactly.

In your situation, as you're just trying to slow things down and not halt it entirely, you can turn the heat down as low as it'll go on your oven, and then when you get back, turn it back to the desired temperature.

It'll throw off the cooking time enough that you'll want to use a thermometer to check for done-ness.  (and it might finish in the time that the oven was set to low).


What is the rate of loss of vitamin C in fresh vegetables? If I keep fresh vegetables in the fridge, how quickly is vitamin C lost? What is the rate of loss in percent per day, or any other relevant measure?

To put it simply, it's lost exceedingly rapidly. Can we scientifically measure the exact amount of the reduced form of vitamin C in produce over time? Yes, we can. Have there been studies and papers published that have done this? Yes, there have been. Are these results relevant? Yes and no.

These results allow us to draw certain conclusions about the loss* of vitamin C after produce has been harvested. We know that plant cells are constantly biosynthesising vitamin C (through a chain of biochemical reactions involving glucose) and at the same time using it in oxidative processes. By harvesting crops we're taking away a part of this natural oxidative loop and plant cells begin oxidative changes leading up to oxidative stress. The results of these studies confirm the theoretical knowledge we posses about oxidative cell cycles but there is no deterministic way we can deduce or even estimate with high precision the exact percentage of vitamin C that gets used up in the processes we observed. The loss rate is too specific to individual crops and the conditions in which it was harvested and since preserved. You could try to extrapolate the results of such studies (as the one linked below) to the produce you keep in your fridge but you would most assuredly get highly varying results.

*Please note that vitamin C is not lost, it is just transformed into a different form (oxidative form) during the oxidative processes that take place inside plant cells.

What we know for sure is that by reducing the temperature we slow down the oxidative processes that change the plant cell's biostructure, molecules and function. We can take cold inhibition to an extreme by deep freezing produce which virtually stops these deteriorating processes.

This answer has already run a bit longer than I originally planned but I thought giving you some background to the biochemical processes that take place might be useful. Lastly I'd like to give you a practical example of exactly how vitamin C oxidation (even visually) deteriorates produce.

Half an apple, where the left side has been artificially treated with vitamin C:

Relevant links: (1)


When to add eggs in brioche? I'm working on a brioche recipe and have added my eggs after autolyse. I think the dough struggled to develop its gluten, though it eventually got there after a very long kneading time.

Should I develop the gluten first (maybe to window pane), then add the eggs? Or maybe I should add the eggs last, like I do with my fats (e.g. butter)?

I know sugar inhibits gluten development, so I add that after I've developed enough gluten. Maybe I need to add the eggs with the sugar?

I combine wet ingredients first (milk with eggs) and then sugar, yeast and butter. Then whisk everything. After that, I add the flour and salt on top and mix by hand. I then let it rest for 30 mins before kneading so the flour absorbs all the wet ingredients. I hope this helps.


Can I cook hamburgers in the microwave oven? What would be the main differences between frying hamburgers and cooking them in the microwave oven?

I'm stuck in a hostel with only a microwave oven and a water cooker.

In short, kind of, but only with the proper accessories/equipment.  You'll never match a grill or griddle but you can get surprisingly close.

As was mentioned in other answers, what you're going to lose most is the sear.

I was given a Corningware Microwave Browning Dish a while back and found that it actually works pretty well when you're stuck with only a microwave.  They were apparently popular when microwaves were new and exciting, but people didn't know how to use them well and they faded into oblivion.  I've seen them on sale on eBay so you might be able to find a good price there if you're going to be stuck in the hostel for a while.

The basic idea is, there's a special kind of microwave-safe metal inside the base of the casserole.  You heat this with nothing on it for 3 minutes to get it nice and hot.  When you drop the patty on, it immediately sizzles.  You use the microwave function to heat the inside, while the hot surface sears the outside.  Although you're likely not going to get a perfect burger, you do get a real nice Maillard reaction on the outside of both sides (assuming you flip halfway) and if you play with the cooking time and power (to reduce that rubbery texture from overcooking), you can get something that's (in my opinion) a good 75%-quality burger compared to a griddle or grill.  I actually burned pork chops on it once, that's how hot the surface gets.

As a bonus, similar to a nice Boos block, there is a gutter around the outside and the plate is slightly concave, so the juices run off into the reservoir and the burger won't sit in fat during the cooking.

After reading the other answers (ElendilTheTall's specifically), I would think if you combined the steaming method to cook the burgers, with the microwave browning dish to sear, you could probably get a really good result.  If the burgers were fully cooked via steaming you could probably heat the dish and sear the burgers without even turning the microwave on (except to heat the casserole initially).

I believe Alton Brown did an episode where he talked about a specific type of brick that you can find at most hardware stores which is microwave-safe for the same searing purpose, but I can't find that info right now.


How can I score wet bread dough more easily? I've noticed that it is dramatically easier to score firm bread dough than wet bread dough. But, sometimes it's good to work with a wet dough for other reasons. Any tips on how to score wet bread dough without squashing/ripping/mutilating?

A very sharp blade with minimum drag.

The traditional tool is called a lame- basically just a curved classic razor blade on a handle. If you make a lot of bread you might consider buying this unitasker. (link to google images of lames)

You can use a kitchen knife if yours are very sharp but I've had the best results with a straight razor blade. I've read of people using serrated blades but they always mutilated my bread.

A little bit of non stick spray will do wonders at keeping the blade from binding up in the dough.

The rest is technique. Make each score in a single cut if possible. Instructions often say to make "deliberate slashes". Plan out where you want the cut then slash confidently. Multiple slashes or slow or halting cuts will do more damage to the loaf.


Popcorn with truffle oil/salt I bought (and ate) popcorn made with truffle oil and truffle salt.  I noticed one kernel had a small, moldy spot on it and I tossed it aside and continued eating because the rest of the popcorn looked fine.  As I was eating I did notice two other kernels with the same, small, dark green spots but finished the bag anyway! Now I'm worried that I ate something that is going to make me seriously ill - spores or...????  I don't know what I was thinking!!!!  Should I have thrown the bag out?  Really worried.

Most molds are harmless, especially if you heated it properly which you should have had done when you popped the kernels. Don't worry and relax first of all. If you do feel sick or if it would put you at ease then go see a medical professional and explain what happened. But overall you should be fine.

P.S. Oils like truffle oil lose their scent, aroma and overall taste when heated too high so most things like truffle popcorn go to waste; just get truffle oil and add it to popped popcorn. Be sure to see that the oil is mainly truffle. (most truffle oils have lots of additives.)

If you meant pre-popped...
Again, most molds are fine and it's good that you threw away any odd bits.


Is it possible to make a marshmallow that isn't sweet? I've got in mind to make a savory play on s'mores, using morel mushroom paste where you would expect chocolate. The graham cracker replacement should be no problem. But I'm stuck on the marshmallow. If you google savory marshmallow, you basically find a bunch of standard sweet marshmallow recipes that have had some savory things added to them. I want to make one that isn't sweet at all, or only barely so, but with a recognizable marshmallow texture. Any ideas on how to approach this? I'm not asking for the recipe, just a sense of what set of ingredients and techniques  have a prayer of reproducing that texture with minimal sweetness. Bonus points if it can be done using some other hydrocolloid instead of gelatin, since ultimately I need to make it vegetarian.

What about using mochi, an Asian pounded rice paste? It's a similar—though not identical—texture, it's available in sweet and savory forms, and it's held together by the starch in rice rather than anything gelatin, so it's vegetarian. You can get plain unflavored mochi at many Asian food stores; it may take some looking, as it's more often sold sweet and filled with bean paste in the US. I've had it in savory Korean dishes and I believe it's used in savory Korean dishes as well.


Correct way to join two halves of sponge cake? When you join two halves of sponge cake (as in this photo) which way round are you supposed to do it? The instructions I've used seem to assume what comes out of your two cake tins are two fairly even, level cakes.

In my case I always get quite domed results.

Am I supposed to

a) squish the top one down on top of the bottom and disguise the poor join with filling

OR

b) turn the bottom one over, for a good join, but a wobbly cake, but sort of works if you firm the bottom one down

OR

c) cheat and slice off the dome of the bottom cake

I've actually done some cake decorating (non-professional, but I did take a few classes), and I'll go with an option you didn't give:

Only bake one cake and split it in half (reduce the temperature of the oven, longer time, and if necessary, use cooling strips).You'll likely need taller pans for this -- you'll want light colored aluminum, 3" high for most general purposes.  (dark pans absorb heat too quickly, so the sides set before it's risen properly).  Level the cake (trim the domed-ness of the cake off), and stack the cake upside down, so you have the nice cake-pan edge on the top layer.

If the cake is too far domed, trimed it down some and save the removed bit.  Stack the cakes (again, upside down), crumb coat it, and take the removed cake, crumble it up into some icing, and then pipe that as a sort of filler around the bottom of the cake. to make up the gap.

If you're going to be filling the cake with something like a pudding or custard, stack the first layer like your answer C, pipe a ring of icing around the edge to hold it in, fill the custard in, then stack what had originally been the bottom of the cake (again, upsde down).  But make sure to make it thick enough in consistency, and thin enough in height -- I had an incident once where it formed a slip-plane, and the cake started ejecting the top layer off of slices.

To level the cake, you have two options -- they make special devices for doing it, which is basically a wire cutter on adjustable legs, that you can pull through the cake at a fixed height.  (also works for splitting the cake so you can then fill and stack it), but if you have a good long knife, a fairly steady hand, and a turn-table, you can:

put the cake on the turn table.
holding the knife steady, spin the cake and move the knife slowly in towards the center.

I find that a plastic cutting mat works pretty well to help get in there and take the layers of cake off after you've split them.

If you're going to be stacking cakes very tall, you'll want to use a pound cake recipe, or augment a boxed cake mix -- add in a box of instant pudding to firm up the resultant cake.


What property makes a liquid soapy/bubbly? Is there a scientific or food industry term for what makes a water solution behave like a detergent, and perhaps an associated unit of measure?

For example, the pH of a solution measures its acidity; is there a similar term for "soapiness"?

Since I could see this being a cooking/food science question if you really wanted to play with this property of liquids in drinks, perhaps a quick answer is in order. This really would be quite well-suited to the physics stackexchange, though - this is a concept that's quite describable by physics.

To follow up on Sobachatina's comment, the property you're in fact looking for is surface tension (which is reduced by surfactants like detergent). If you want to compare liquids, be they water, water+detergent, milk (water+stuff), or even alcohol or oil, you just want to compare their surface tensions.

Surface tension is in fact a measurable quantity, with dimensions of force per length. There are a couple of equivalent definitions:

when increasing the area of the surface by a small amount, the amount of work (energy) required per area increase; or
when the surface is bounded by a line (imagine a bubble film and string), the amount of force on that line per length.

You should note that surface tension depends on the fluids on both sides of the surface. Most commonly we talk about surface tension of an arbitrary liquid against air, but surface tension against glass, plastic, or metal is commonly visible in your vessels and utensils, and surface tension between various fluids is of course visible when you try something like mixing oil and water.

As for actual examples, Wikipedia has a short data table with surface tensions of various fluids against air. Among them are a few potentially relevant for cooking: acetic acid + water (though stronger than normal vinegar), ethanol + water, a very concentrated sucrose solution, and water. Note that the addition of alcohol or acetic acid substantially reduces surface tension of water!

If anyone can follow up with more data on surface tension of liquids commonly seen in cooking, I'd be very interested!

It's also possible to measure surface tension at home, though I've never done it, and I'm not sure how accurate you could get.


Is it safe to store unopened metal cans in the refrigerator? A co-worker and I are having a disagreement on whether or not it's okay to put unopened cans of pizza sauce in a refrigerator. I say it's not, because the acidity in the tomatoes in the can will make someone extremely ill. He thinks as long as it is not opened, it will be fine. Who is correct?

There's nothing wrong with storing unopened metal cans in the refrigerator. But it's pointless in terms of food safety - the whole point of canning is to make the food safe to store at room temperature. Don't waste the fridge space unless you're actually trying to chill the contents of the cans.

Now, if the cans are open, sure, that's a problem. You should transfer the food to a sealed container for storage, whether it came from a can or a pot or anywhere else.

But none of this has anything to do with acidity. Acidity doesn't make you sick, and in fact, it can help keep bacteria from growing and keep food safer. That's why a lot of canned goods have a bit of acid added, and why we pickle foods.


Why is no juice left after cooking lamb or beef joint in a pan? When I have cooked a leg of lamb or a beef joint I end up with no juice in the pan. I end up using a stock cube. What am I doing wrong? I put salt pepper and oil on it before searing in a frying pan then put it in the oven.

The way you describe it, you seem to be doing it quite right.

So, let's have a look at where juces in a pan come from and where they might go:

Any juice in the pan comes either from the meat or from added liquids (like wine).
You actually don't want your meat to loose it's water - that's what we call dry meat ;-) A small amount is fine, if you lose nothing, you a) obviously used good quality and b) did everything right with the searing.
If your meat exudes liquid during roasting but afterwards nothing is left, it has evaporated. That ist especially likely when using a convection oven.

If you want gravy you could either

Add some liquid like broth, wine, port or even water (whatever goes with your type of meat and your personal preferences), spices (peppercorns, clove, bay leaf, allspice...) and a mirepoix when roasting your meat. Place the seared meat either in the liquid or on a rack above it to catch any drippings (which might not be much). Scraps from your meat / bones could go in, too.
Make it separately (even beforehand!) from bones and veggies.


Why do chefs traditionally wear a high white hat? The stereotypical chef beloved of TV, cartoons, and elsewhere is always pictured wearing a high white hat.

A hat I can understand. But why so high?

Reaching back to my time in culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI:

The style of hat originated in the Greek orthodox monastaries during the middle ages where chefs (often taking refuge with other educated members of society) would distinguish themselves from the monks by wearing a white hat (monks wearing black).  The early chef hats were slightly elevated but not as tall as they eventually became.

Marie Antoine Careme (commonly called "Chef of Kings and King of Chefs") is credited as the father of classical french cuisine for the development of mother sauces and standard garniture and classification of terminology used in kitchens.  He's also credited with much of the organization and division of labor in kitchens still used today.  To designate role and stature in the kitchen he had his cooks wear hats of various height.  His being the tallest designated him as the Head or Executive Chef.

Traditionally it is said that the now traditional pleats indicate the number of ways that the chef wearing the hat can prepare an egg (of course this predates the disposable paper hats we now use).  100 pleats is considered to be the "ultimate" number to be desired.  However as a chef with 25 years experience in commercial kitchens, I'd be hard pressed to name 100 ways (without including eggs as an ingredient in recipes) to prepare an egg.


What makes small tea leaves better than big tea leaves? According to wikipedia, the smaller the leaf (especially the buds) the more valuable it is.

  Tea leaves of different sizes just after plucking. Small leaves are
  more valuable than big ones.

From what I gather, the biggest quality pickings are the buds. Also, tea quality grading takes into account how many leaves were plucked alongside the young leaves.

  Pekoe tea grades are classified into various qualities, each
  determined by how many of the adjacent young leaves (two, one, or
  none) were picked along with the leaf buds. Top-quality pekoe grades
  consist of only the leaf buds, which are picked using the balls of the
  fingertips.

Why does the number of leaves that were picked alongside the bud matter?

Also, it seems like the lower the leaves, the lower the quality. Maybe it's about sun exposure, or is it simply age?

Before I answer this question, the focus on small leaves and young buds is mainly relevant for green and white teas.

This category of teas are very lightly processed and are therefore very 'raw'. Using very large leaves would result in a more bitter brew. Therefore small tips and buds are the best and result in more delicate brews.

The smaller leaves are also picked in early Spring. As the temperatures are low, they grow slower and are thus richer in flavor.

These Spring buds have less supply, while there's less demand. As you can imagine, that results in higher prices.


Cast iron skillet iron leakage I want to buy a cast iron skillet but I'm very wary of health hazards. I will use it every day to cook meat, eggs and other regular food. Is there any evidence that this usage of a cast iron will leak iron into my food to the degree that it becomes a health-hazard? I am a young, healthy male and I work out regularly if it has any significance.

The amount of iron that you need is going to depend on your age, sex, and health.

NIH: Iron Fact Sheet
WebMD: Iron: What you Need to Know
Having indicated that you work out, you may need more than you think, but you are wise to be concerned about having too much. A typical adult male only needs 8mg. How much iron is leeched into the food your cooking depends on what you are cooking -- and how old your pan is. Acidic foods like tomatoes and (for some reason) applesauce seem to demonstrate this more than other foods. But I disagree with nutritionovereasy.com's indication that food cooked in the pan will aquire a metalic taste (see link below). I've never had that happen.
Do You Absorb More Iron Cooking in a Cast Iron Pan?
Cast Iron Pans can Increase Your Iron Intake
Learning how to handle Cast Iron is a worthwhile endeavor. You can start a dish stovetop and slide it right into the oven. Some of my favorite recipes use the same skillet I've been cooking with for more than 3 decades. Here's one more link to get you off to a good start: America's Test Kitchen: Cook It In Cast Iron.


Whole eggs versus folding in egg whites I have a cake recipe that calls for egg yolks and separately folding in egg whites. What would be the difference in eliminating folding in the whipped egg whites and just using the whole egg? Would it work if I want a "sturdier" cake? That was my thinking but I wasn't certain of the outcome.

I think, as mentioned above, it really depends on how the rest of the recipe goes. If the only source of air youre getting in the cake is from whipping the egg whites then foregoing that may result in very dense cake. However, if there is a step for example that asks you to whisk butter and sugar together until light and fluffy then I think it should be fine to skip it but either way skipping would result in a denser cake.


How does the addition of Chicory affect coffee? Chicory is a common additive in Indian Coffee. A quick search in wikipedia reveals that it is usually 20-30% in coffee powder.
Can coffee be made solely out of chicory? Does the chicory root contain caffeine or just the flavor profile of coffee?

Roasted chicory root (which is what you are adding to coffee) contains no caffeine.

What chicory does is add a nice, roasted flavor to coffee, which is desireable either for cultural reasons, or to offset the bitter flavor of over-roasted low-grade coffee beans.  Originally, it was also added because it was much, much cheaper than coffee.  That's not true anymore, even in India as far as I know.

Proper New Orleans or Vietnamese coffee also contains a lot of chicory.


How to interpret the date on these eggs? My organic eggs have a date of June 24 on them; today is June 28. Can I still cook them?  (I am not used to purchasing organic eggs.)

Check again, the date should be 'sell by' rather than 'eat by'. If you're in the US, you should have at least a couple weeks to eat them after the sell by date.


When should I pick elderberries? Having made lots of elderflower cordial from the bumper crop of elderflowers in the hedgerows near my home in June, I can now see that we are also in for a bumper crop of elderberries.

How can tell when they are ready to pick?  When I was small, my family made jam with them.  Any other ideas?

From Greenfootsteps' "Elderberry Recipes for a Healthy Winter Edinburgh":

  Pick elderberries when they are fully ripe in early autumn. The bunches should be starting to droop downwards with the weight of the fruit. Use a fork or your fingers to gently prise the fruit away from the stalks. This can be a bit fiddly but you don't have to be too perfect with it - a few bits of stalk will not matter.


How to store a 5 gallon bucket of pickle slices? A family member just gave us a 5 gallon bucket of kosher hamburger dill slices (for frying).  I moved the shelves and shifted everything around, and found room for it. The shelves are tempered glass, so I placed it on the bottom shelf, above the vegetable drawers. If the shelf doesn't break, then this will work, for now. The bucket says to keep refrigerated. Any ideas on other options for how to store it?

I'd transfer to pint mason jars and store in the refrigerator -- at least until I figured out what to do next.


Roasting sirloin which has already been cut into slices I was intending to cook roast beef with a joint of sirloin, but unfortunately my wife has returned from the supermarket with the sirloin already cut into slices (it wasn't her fault, and I don't know why the butcher sliced the meat). My question is: would it still be possible to roast the sirloin as if it were one joint or should I try a different cooking method?

You could try tying it up into the original shape, but the trouble is that you've got cut surfaces which have been exposed to bacteria, and which will not reach a high enough temperature to kill them  unless you're going to cook it to death, so I wouldn't recommend this. It seems you've actually got sirloin steaks, so why not just cook them as such?