How do choose apple type in store? It's hard for me to decide what apple I want to buy from all the different choices in a store. I can look at the colour, the size and maybe carefully feel if it's hard or soft, but that's it.

This page (archive) gives quite some information about apple types, but it's difficult to search (for example a Google search for "sour site:orangepippin.com/apples" results in nothing useful) and it's more about apple identification than about apple choice.

How can I find out how sweet/sour an apple is, how hard/soft, how durable it is, maybe even how much of which vitamin is in it, just by conducting non-destructive tests on apples in a store? A website that's easier to search would also be acceptable, although that wouldn't work if I'm offline.

Tl;dr: If you know what kind of apple you're looking at, you don't need to test the apple.

I don't think you can tell any of those things about an unidentified apple without destroying it somehow.  You can tell how hard/soft it is by pressing firmly, but this will leave a dent in the apple, so that may or may not count as destroyed for you.

However, if you know what variety of apple you're looking at, you can know these types of things without even touching the apple, as each variety has its own characteristics regarding sweetness, crispness, juiciness, and other qualities.  For instance, Honeycrisp apples are typically very sweet and crisp (as the name implies) and are excellent for eating out of hand.  You can find more information about different varieties of apples here.  Grocery stores (at least in the USA) typically label their apples by variety.  If you shop at a farmers market and the varieties aren't labeled, the farmer/seller can usually tell you (if he can't, I probably wouldn't buy from him anyways, but that's just me).

As far as durability goes, that is largely dependent on how you store your apples.  Refrigerated apples last longest, as they do not continue to ripen in the cooler temperatures of the fridge.  They will if left on the counter, though, leading to mushy, rotting apples in just a week or two.  (I have successfully kept apples in my refrigerator for several months, though those were fresh-from-the-orchard apples, so your results may vary.)

Nutritional content varies by variety as well, though I was only able to find a single source focusing on vitamin C.  However, as vitamin C and potassium the main nutrients in apples, that may be sufficient as far as varietal differences go.  You can find some more general nutritional information for apples here.

Choose the apple you like to eat! we cannot tell you to like one type because it is more or less sweet or more or less acidic ..

You cannot choose an apple only on its physical appearance; you have to eat it.

Apples of the same kind will usually have the same characteristics, but might be different if they come from different orchards.

The only thing you need to look at is what you intend to do with the apples.

Are you eating them fresh and raw? are you cooking them for pies or purée or sauce ?

Some variety are best for pies because they hold their "shape" (do not get mushy) some others are better in salads because they do not turn brown (oxydize).


How to make garlic oil in a safe way...tomorrow I am planning on making some garlic oil for a friend of mine as a birthday present. Her birthday is tomorrow, so this question is a bit urgent.

I've read a few of the posts that indicate that botulism is a real risk when doing this.

Is there a way to make garlic oil without the risks?

A couple thoughts:

make the oil, then remove the garlic
use vinegar to prep the garlic (but how, and with what kind of vinegar? How does this affect the taste?)
heat up the garlic and oil to above 250 degrees, then place in a sanitized vessel.

Any solutions? Having garlic oil on hand is quite useful.

According to research conducted at the University of Idaho and published in 2014 in the journal Food Protection Trends, there are now consumer guidelines to process garlic (and certain herbs) safely through acidification before adding to oil.

I would read the first link thoroughly to understand the necessary process.  To ensure safety, follow the steps precisely.  (The second link provides the original scientific paper with detailed data and testing protocols.)

To summarize the procedure:

Peel and chop garlic so that pieces are no more than 1/4" long in any dimension.  (Whole cloves or larger pieces are NOT acceptable, since the acid needs to penetrate fully.)
Make a 3% solution of citric acid by combining 1 level Tablespoon of granular citric acid with 2 cups of water.  (Note that other acids, lemon juice, vinegars, etc. have NOT been verified and tested for safe home use in this step.)
Combine chopped garlic with a 3% solution of citric acid in a ratio of 1 part garlic to 3 parts citric acid by weight.  This is about 2/3 cup of chopped garlic, if you use the amount of acid in step (2).
Let garlic soak in the acid for 24 hours.  (This is a minimum to ensure safety; a longer soak may be used, but it could degrade the flavor.)
Drain the acidified garlic well.  Combine the acidified garlic with oil, and infuse.  A ratio of 1 part garlic to 10 parts oil by weight is recommended, but the ratio can be varied from this to achieve appropriate flavor.
While the procedure recommends removing the garlic once appropriate flavor has been achieved (generally in 1 to 10 days), there is no food safety risk if the garlic is kept in the oil for longer.

As for storage, they write: "Refrigeration of these infused oils is recommended for quality, but not required for safety."  And later:

  While oils infused with flavors from acidified garlic, basil, oregano,
  and rosemary can be safely stored at room temperature, oil flavor
  quality is maintained for a longer period of time with refrigerator or
  freezer storage.  It is also best to protect infused oils from light
  by storing them in dark-colored bottles.  Make sure the bottles are
  clean and food grade.  All vegetable oils retain quality better at
  cold temperatures and when protected from light.

The scientific paper also notes that the taste and quality of the infused oil produced using this home method was not less than infused commercial oil:

  Since panelists were not able to distinguish olive oil infused with
  garlic that was acidified with citric acid from the same olive oil
  infused with commercially acidified garlic (acidified with phosphoric
  acid), the acceptability of citric acid for use in consumer
  acidification of garlic and herbs for the production of infused oils
  was verified.

Note that acidification is the essential step here and is the only method tested for home use so far to ensure safety for longer storage.  The paper specifically notes that there are no approved procedures for pressure canning garlic in oil at home, and non-acidified garlic in oil mixtures must be refrigerated (and used within 2 to 4 days) or frozen.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Food preservation is not to be taken lightly, particularly in situations that are known risks for botulism. People who are familiar with home canning recipes already know that one should only use approved recipes and procedures that have been thoroughly tested; this procedure is no exception. Botulism risks are generally low, but the consequences of deviating can be severe.

If you are not willing to go through this detailed procedure (or another one approved by a reputable food safety and preservation organization), be sure to store any garlic-infused oils in the refrigerator and use within 2-4 days or freeze.

Unless you cook with surgically cleaned equipment (pans, utensils, and containers), with masks, gloves, and in a germ free room (Good Luck on that) bacteria and germs are everywhere.  The fact that our bodies deal with it every second of every day is what builds up internal antibodies in our bodies to fight the next onslaught.  Get Real for your own sake.  Learn how to macerate your garlic oil.  Very easy and safe.  Not to mention incredibly cheaper.  PS.  DON'T forget to WASH your hands!!!


How can I store chopped onions in the fridge without the smell? I am cooking for a large group and am trying to do as much as I can in advance.  One thing I would love to do in advance is chop several onions.  I have done this before with a single onion; I stored the chopped onion in a plastic storage container (sealed with the lid) in the fridge.  About 6 hours later, the smell of onions was very strong both in the fridge and on everything that was in the fridge.  I can't imagine it with 4-6 onions!

What can I do to avoid the smell, not ruin everything in my fridge, but still be able to do the preparation 6-8 hours in advance?

I regularly store chopped onion in my refrigerator (or at least halves & quarters).

I either use tight-sealing plastic containers or zip-top bags. You may want to double-bag in zip-tops to be sure to avoid a smell.

One problem you may be having is onion-ness getting on the outside of the container. Be sure the outside is all clean and dry - no point in having a nicely sealed packet of onion when the outside can get all stinky anyway.

You're using onions for flavor and not as a garnish, so just use dehydrated onions instead.  The one exception is onions in salsa, when you need the soft crunch and the explosion of onion flavor mixing in with the other fresh veggies. (That's why homemade salsa ALWAYS beats store-bought.)

In my Los Angeles restaurant I've always used powdered onion, garlic, cumin, etc. whenever possible.


Can I slow cook a 3.25 beef roast for 4 hours on high, refridgerate in the crock pot overnight and then cook on low again in the morning for 4 hours? Can I slow cook a 3.25 beef roast (not browned) with vegetables for 4 hours on high, refrigerate in the crock pot overnight, and then cook on low again in the morning for 4 hours?

I am new to cooking at all!

Bonnie

That would almost certainly violate a specific food safety rule. In normal use, a slow cooker barely stays within the safety parameters of the "time in the danger zone" rule, that says that food should not stay between 40F (4.5C) and 140F (60C) any longer than two hours cumulative. That means that preparation time, heating time, and cooling time all add up. That refers to the actual temperature of the food, not the surroundings.  In some cases you can go to four hours, but only if the food is eaten immediately, so that really doesn't apply here.

Whether that is overly conservative for you, only you can decide. Certainly many cooks would do exactly what you propose, without worrying about it all. It would violate safety rules for commercial kitchens in the US.

See the information here: How long can cooked food be safely stored at room/warm temperature?.

I'd say yes. I recently cooked a ~3lb roast and the recipe called for 8 hours on low. I accidentally left it on high and ~4 hours in it was probably 95% done.

So do it. It'll be delicious!


Should rice be washed with hot water or cold water? For both long-grain (Jasmine) and short-grain rice I typically rinse the rice with cold water to remove some of the starch and to clean the rice a bit.  What temperature (hot/warm/cold) should I use to wash the rice, and why does it matter?

Thanks!

It is usually recommended that basmati and jasmine not be rinsed because they are not overly starchy and the taste is better unrinsed. American style short grain rice and japanese rice is usually rinsed to provide a cleaner flavor, but this can also wash away some of the vitamin fortification. Do not rinse risotto rice, since the starchiness is important to the dish.

When you do rinse rice, the purpose is to clean it and reduce the starch, but not to cook it, so cold water is probably best, but it likely does not matter much.

In the end, rinsing or not is not terribly noticeable, and mostly comes down to taste. You will definitely see both sides argued well. To me, this usually means either way is fine.

I always rinse mine after cooking with boiling hot water. I never rinse if having with cream and sugar for desert. Many restaurants and even many Iron Chefs agree; washing rice in HOT water then frying it with whatever is the way it should be done.


What is the difference between Microwave, Microwave Oven, and Oven? Some sites say that a "microwave" is only for heating or re-heating cooked food. Whereas, in "microwave ovens", you can microwave and bake. Is that true?

If it is, then why I can cook main course dishes (chicken, rice), soups, etc. in my microwave oven? I even have a recipe book with 100+ recipes using a microwave oven.

So, can someone please clear up this fog? What's the difference between Microwave and Oven and Microwave Oven?

First off, the terminology issue.

  So, can someone please clear up this fog? What's the difference between Microwave and Oven and Microwave Oven?

"Microwave" is just short for "microwave oven". Both terms mean the same thing: an appliance that uses microwave radiation to heat food. Cooking food in this way is called "microwaving". An oven, on the other hand, has a heating element which heats the air inside, which then heats the food. Cooking food in this way is generally called "baking", though there are a lot of other things (e.g. roasting) you can also reasonably do in an oven.

So if all you have is a microwave, then all you can do is microwave (not bake). And if you have an oven, then you can bake (but of course you can't microwave).

There also exist combinations, which are capable of both microwaving and baking, i.e. they have a microwave emitter and a heating element. However, remember that in the US - and thus on much of the internet - something talking about a "microwave oven" likely does not mean this combination, but simply microwave heating. Names like "convection microwave oven with grill", "combination microwave/oven" do refer to these combinations, though. I've also seen "speed oven". You may sometimes have seen people referring to these combination microwave/ovens as a "microwave oven" (I think this may be common in Indian English), but that's really just imprecise language.

  Some sites say that a "microwave" is only for heating or re-heating cooked food. Whereas, in "microwave ovens", you can microwave and bake. Is that true?

It sounds like in this statement, "microwave oven" is careless language, referring to a combination microwave and oven. (It doesn't make any sense at all otherwise; the two things are the same thing, so of course you can do the same things in them.)

So the question is really, what can you do in a microwave vs an oven, or a combination microwave/oven?

It's true that microwaves are mainly used for reheating cooked food, and it's true that they can't actually bake. However, they can do a lot more than reheat food; there are a lot of kinds of cooking besides baking. For example, microwaves are great at simmering/boiling and steaming, and it doesn't matter if the food was cooked already or not. The recipes you're talking about are probably mostly in those kinds of categories, but if you're interested, How do I know if a food or recipe can be made in a microwave oven? discusses in a bit more detail what works in microwaves.

The big things that you can do with ovens but not microwaves are the things that actually need the steady dry heat of baking. You can't bake bread or cookies or roast a chicken in a microwave. Microwaves hold in a lot of steam and don't get terribly hot, so you can't generally get things to brown or crisp up. They also don't really hold a temperature like you need for baking, they just pump more and more heat into the food.

for clarity, a microwave oven is different from a microwave. Please be aware that a microwave oven can bake as much as you can with an oven. The fact is a microwave oven is a microwave convention which is a higher grade to a microwave. And in such, you can make brownies, cup cakes, pizza, bread, e.t.c in a microwave oven.


Does storing meat in plastic alter how long it takes to go off? I was recently told quite emphatically that "Storing meat in plastic makes it spoil faster"

I suspect that this is an old wives tale, but haven't been able to find anything that either proves or disproves the statement.

I was told that it's true whether it's plastic from packaging(say, plastic bags for sliced ham, a chicken in cling-film...anything.) or if the meat is being stored in Tupperware.

Assume that the meat is stored in a fridge.

It wasn't suggested that it was caused by anything leaching from the plastic, like BPA.

If this is either true or false, I would really like to know why?

Many thanks!

Bonus Question:
If it's not true, are there some reasons why someone might think that it is?
Built up smell? Different moisture level?

The question is 'plastic vs. what else?'

I admit I've never done side-by side tests to prove it, but from my observations, when the deli I went to switched from butcher paper to zip-top plastic bags, sliced lunchmeats wouldn't last in the fridge as long.  They'd start getting slimy around two weeks.**

I've noticed the same thing (although longer time frames) with firm and hard cheeses, and my solution for those has been to wrap the cheese in a paper towel, then put it back in the plastic bag.

I suspect that the issue is moisture buildup (you open the packet, let in cold air, it condenses in the freezer, etc.), and if this is the case, then other non-porous materials (glass, metal), would be equally bad for storage, especially as you can't then squeeze them to remove the air.  The butcher paper always stays at roughtly the size of the item being wrapped.

... but still, even if we did experiments, to say it's always bad, we'd have to also test raw meats, ground and whole (and for moisture, many stores put those little diaper pads in the containers), tightly vs. loosely wrapped, and a few other variables.

** Some health person is going to complain 'but you're not supposed to keep meat in the fridge for 2 weeks ... this was well preserved items like sweet bologna)

There is no reason to believe that meat spoils more quickly in plastic than it does in any other type of container, given proper sanitation.

There is no reasonable way to prove a negative--for example, you cannot prove that there is no such thing as unicorns.   Sighting a unicorn would demonstrate that they do exist, but failure to site one may only mean that they hide quite well.

I am not aware of a credible study that shows plastic containers shorten shelf life for meat, but this is not evidence one can point at.  Perhaps it is just hiding.


Benefits of vinaigrette vs. pouring oil and vinegar separately on salad? I was reading Essentials of classic Italian cooking by Marcella Hazan where I noticed she first pours a lot of olive oil to "protect the salad" from the vinegar as it prevents the acid from doing its "cooking". So, that is one unproven benefit I know of.

I am also interested in taste differences. If it tastes about the same I would much rather not spend all that time making a vinaigrette. The consistency of the liquid would obviously be different - does that give a different mouthfeel perhaps?

Any experienced salad makers here with some insights?

A vinaigrette is not a stable emulsion so it will eventually separate- however it will stay together long enough for the salad to be immediately served and eaten.
I find that pouring the oil and acid separately creates a salad with a mouthful of olive oil coating the leaves and pool of vinegar at the bottom of the plate.

It's true that the oil in a vinaigrette will eventually wilt the salad but that is why it should be added at the last minute or even after the salads have been portioned.

I suspect that dressing salad has partly evolved as a mechanism to sterilize the salad. Oil may suffocate bacteria, but I would have to suspect that the acid in vinegar might be the most effective disinfectant... which might be an argument for using vinegar first. The oil may also serve to protect the stomach from the vinegar.


Why is there cow cheese but no pig cheese? I have always wondered what there is no cheese made from other milks other than cow, goat or sheep. Are they not suitable for humans? Do they taste bad? Is it even possible to make dairy products with them?

There are several main reasons, historically:

Cows, sheep and goats have udders, and can be milked by hand into a bucket. Pigs (or cats, or humans for that matter) have nipples, where you need to suck the milk out. Consider that most of the cheese in the world was invented before machinery was able to create a vacuum, this means that the only option would have been to suck milk from the pig and spit it into the bucket.
For making cheese, the fat/protein ratio in the milk is important. It changes, obviously, from species to species, which is why there aren't many hard yellow cheeses made of goat's milk.

Lastly, I have actually had camel's milk ice-cream, which goes to show that it's just a cultural thing mostly.

cheese or butter can not be made from pig camel horse milk its just not possible it will not turn in to cheese only cow sheep and goat milk can be made into cheese


Can food be boiled "extra fast/hard" in water? Once water is boiling you can either leave the heat on quite high, or turn it down a bit so that it just keeps boiling. Apart from extra water vaporating, does this have any effect on the taste of food you're boiling (meat, vegetables, eggs, etc.)?

With just common sense we could get to the following reasoning:

The liquid water is max 100°C (right?), beyond that it should vaporize (right?)
Water vapor could be hotter than 100°C (but how much, in normal cooking conditions?)
When boiling water, the vapor originates at the bottom of the pan
So technically the foot could be "hit" by this vapor, thus being heated above 100°C

Even if the above reasoning is correct, the questions would still be: would it matter how much you heat boiling water beyond 100°C? Can you significantly change the taste of boiled food by "boiling it really hard" or "boiling it slowly"?

The most obvious thing is nothing to do with heat/temperature. The rapid boil agitates the food a lot, to the point that if the food is soft, it can pretty much tear it apart. You probably don't really want disintegrated food, but smaller pieces do cook faster, so I suppose you can look at this as a rapid boil cooking faster from a certain perspective. It certainly cooks differently.

The other big thing is that rapidly boiling water will recover faster when you add food to it. It's not because the water itself is hotter, but the pot is, and the stove is too if it's electric. So you want a rapid boil to start, even if you don't need it later.

As for heat/temperature, there are differences between a full rolling boil and a slow boil, but not really what you're suggesting.

At a rolling boil, the water is mixing well enough that effectively it's all at 100°C. At a slow boil, it's really only boiling at the bottom, with a few little bubbles floating up from there, so most of the water is actually a bit below 100°C.

This difference is bigger than any effect from steam coming into contact with food; the heat capacity of water is substantially greater than that of steam, the steam isn't under pressure so it won't be above 100°C, and the food will be in contact with water more of the time than steam anyway.

Of course, if all you're doing is boiling water with a relatively small bit of food in it, it doesn't make a huge difference if the water's a little below boiling. But if you've got a lot of food and not that much water, like in a stew, the difference can become way more pronounced. Convection becomes inefficient, so at a simmer or a low boil the heat doesn't propagate from the bottom to the top very efficiently. That lets the temperature at the top be significantly lower, and so things will cook more slowly. Covering the pot does mostly mitigate this, if it's an option.

Finally, the bottom of the pan is substantially hotter than the water, and if you've turned the stove up higher to make it boil faster, it'll be even hotter, so food that comes into contact with it will cook (or more likely, scorch) faster. That's not directly due to the faster boil, of course, just the heat being transferred from the stove to the pot, but they go hand-in-hand.

So yes, things do sometimes cook faster at a rolling boil (what you call "boiling it really hard") than at a slow boil, but it's not because of steam coming into contact with the food, and once it's truly boiling, adding even more heat doesn't really change anything in terms of heat.

For pure components the boiling temperature is determined by the pressure and thermodynamic vapor - liquid equilibrium  properties of the pure component.  Once water reaches boiling, continuing to apply the same amount of heat will not raise the temperature of the water.  It will vaporize more water, i.e., convert water (liquid) to water (vapor).  But the temperature will not increase.

The food bumping against the wall of the cooking vessel doesn't much matter.  In chemical engineering terms the food doesn't "touch" the wall of the vessel but touches a thin layer of the fluid ... a temperature gradient exists across this think layer from the pot/metal temperature to the bulk temperature of the cooking fluid.

It is true that heat transfer will be less efficient (you will waste energy) if the amount of heat applied transferred is too high once you start boiling ... that is because you are in the film boiling regime as opposed to the nucleation regime in which boiling occurs from individual "nucleation sites" on the surface of the vessel .. in film boiling the layer next to the vessel is all vapor which has much poorer convective heat transfer characteristics at the surface than liquid.

Therefore if the pot is already boiling you can turn it down the heat until the boiling rate is just steady not rolling and the food will cook in the same amount of time (at temperature = boiling point of water at atmospheric pressure (around 100C = 212F) but waste less energy in the form of vaporized water going out the range hood exhaust.


How to keep thick puréed sauces from separating into solids and liquids? Today I was making a version of spaghetti alla puttanesca and while the result of the dish itself was delicious the sauce didn't seem like a sauce; it was rather disjointed or unconnected. It seems like there are two separate components: solid "stuff" and watery liquid, unlike the sauces you'd buy already made.

For this particular sauce I used olive oil, garlic, capers, anchovies, parsley, olives and a can of tomato puree; but I've experienced this with many other sauces I tried to make, specially with tomato based ones but not limited to those.

So how do I get the ingredients to somehow link or bind, so that the liquid and solids don't separate? Does cooking time influence that?

SAJ14SAJ has mentioned starch, but I wouldn't add any additional -- I'd just finish the pasta in the sauce.

Pull your pasta a minute or two early, let drain but do not rinse it, and add it to your sauce.  The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce, absorbing some of the liquid.  It will also release some of its starch into the liquid, helping to bind it.

If you can, reserve some of the pasta water to thin back out the sauce in case thickens too far.  (A pyrex measuring cup works well for this, as you can just dip it into the hot water before you drain your pasta)

I use filler like corn or tapiaco starch for chili type sauces.

For gravy sauces, I find using mashed potatoes as filler effective too.

Maybe, I should try using sweet potatoes and/or yam too. I did once try mixing cottage cheese after the gravy was done. Which, I recall, was a disaster, both structurally and flavour-wise. O, maybe you could try apple-sauce?

I also find boiling egg plant/brinjal till the brinjal melts into the sauce helpful in holding the sauce/gravy together. I notice that many Indian gravies (aka curries) have mashed channa (chick pea gravy), melted brinjal and mashed potatoes as the "holding medium". Instead of pouring the sauce onto a naan/roti, I pour it onto my pasta.

But then, wouldn't people disdain me for contaminating an Italian concoction with Indian characteristics?

Chick pea gravies (aka hummus) basted with olive oil and garlic are also a very Mediterranean characteristic, which also seems to be a favourite component in both Arab and Israeli casual eating establishments. I don't know, but I think you have to add the vegetable sauce to the basted hummus rather than the other way round, to retain the characteristics of the hummus in a controllable manner - it's my hypothesis, because I've not seen any Israeli/Arab small-establishment chef/vendor (where they cook in front of you) dunking their medal-worthy hummus into vegetable sauce. But since none of them are looking, I am sure you could do it the other way round.

When I say basting, I recall they actually fry it on a pan/hot table-plate rather than basting in an oven.

I find solely using melted brinjal very helpful as a holding medium and does not alter the flavour of a gravy noticeably, except to contribute more towards its being a vegetable-based sauce. First, you need to acquire some familiarity with melting brinjals/egg plants into a gravy thro trial and error.

Oh BTW, that week-old precooked pot of cheap pasta (I bought 95ct a pack from Walmart) in the fridge, you could boil some with your sauce till the stale pasta melts into the sauce. Functions well as a binding agent - flavoour-wise, I don't know.


Stainless Steel Pan -- gray bottom. Why? Just started using a stainless steel pan. First thing I cooked in it was bacon followed by some fried rice. Stuff stuck to it, but a quick soak and it all came off. However, once I cleaned and dried it there is a kind of gray discoloration on the bottom of the pan. It essentially disappears if it gets wet, but when I dry it, it comes back. First -- is this normal? If not, is there a way to fix it?

First, this is what it looks like dry:

Second, this is what it looks like wet:

It's an All-Clad 4 quart stainless steel saute pan.

bikeboy definitely has it right, but just to be a little more specific:

What you're seeing is scale, also referred to as fouling and several other terms.  In all probability, it is specifically limescale that you're seeing, and it's very common in hot water taps, kettles, and on air-dried cookware.

If you have hard water (or even if you don't) it will tend to contain small amounts of dissolved calcium bicarbonate, which is completely harmless by the way, but when you boil the water it breaks down into calcium carbonate, which is still harmless but has low solubility in water and precipitates out into solid salts at lower temperatures.

This can also get mixed up with other salts you use in cooking to create more scale.

As you've noticed, soap and detergent do not remove the scale.  Nor would you expect them to; those things are intended for the extraction of oils and grease (and sometimes killing bacteria), and the above salts are even less soluble in oil than they are in water.

Acids such as vinegar or Barkeeper's Friend work because the acidity helps to dissolve those salts.

Bottom line, the mineral build-up is normal and harmless (to both you and your cookware).

If you want to prevent the build-up in the future:

Try not to use more heat than necessary in your cooking (high heats speed up the mineral breakdown).  Simmer, don't boil.
Always thoroughly dry your stainless steel cookware instead of letting it air-dry.  You'll wipe off the salts instead of letting them bond to the metal.
Rinse with a dilute vinegar solution after washing.

If you need to clean the build-up, use Barkeeper's Friend (which is what All Clad recommends using) or a boil some concentrated vinegar as bikeboy says.  Don't just use any old stainless steel cleaner, as not all of them are safe for cookware.

Just clean stainless with stainless (3M stainless scrubbing pad)

White cloudy areas on bottom of new stainless steel skiillet…


Does hard-boiling eggs in broth impact flavor? I think the question says it all. I was looking at Marinated Soft Boiled Egg recipes for ramen and while trying them out I found it annoying to have a pot of boiling water for the eggs as well as a pot of simmering broth for the soup.

So would cooking CIFA Grade A Eggs in the broth impact the resulting flavor? I know eggs are slightly porous so I'm guessing some broth would get inside the egg. I'm also wondering (not too worried about it though) if it's a good idea to eat the broth afterwards since it might've absorbed the chemicals used to clean the eggshell ).

It does impact them, crockpot cooking in chicken broth. The lady that owns the hotel that I visit when I’m on business makes them all the time. Off the chain!


Replacements for baking soda in a cake Sometimes I wish to bake a cake, but the country where I am in doesn't have baking soda. I have tried using actual soda, but this has limited success and the cake tends to just rise and then fall.

I've already read this question on substitutions for baking soda, but that's for pancakes and the main problem seems to be that the pancakes would taste funny. For a cake, where there's a lot more ingredients, I'm hoping that other substitutions would be possible which would not otherwise be possible in a pancake (would the cake also taste like metal by tripling the baking powder?).

Thanks for any help!

Every substitution is probably going to require other alterations.  Baking soda's effects extend beyond leavening: it generally reacts with acidic ingredients (making the batter less sour) and also provides sodium ions which can affect flavor.  If the substitute doesn't react with acid as strongly, you may need to decrease acid ingredients or substitute neutral ingredients to obtain the same flavor (e.g., milk instead of buttermilk or yogurt, regular cream instead of sour cream).  If the substitute doesn't have sodium, sometimes adding a bit of salt may be necessary.

As for the leavening action itself, any substitute will introduce its own issues in adapting.  Unless you're experienced with this sort of thing (or like to "experiment" and possibly have cakes that fail in various ways), I would generally recommend finding a cake recipe that has leavening agents you actually have on hand, rather than trying a substitute.

There are really only two common substitutions that often won't affect texture or flavor in major ways:

(1) Potassium bicarbonate - can usually be substituted 1:1 for baking soda, but is generally tougher to find than baking soda.  (Look sometimes for it at drugstores; baking soda itself can often be found as "sodium bicarbonate" or some other name in other countries at drugstores too.)  Without the sodium ions, you may need to add a bit of salt, roughly 1/4 or 1/3 of the amount of baking soda will be sufficient for flavor.

(2) Baking powder - also often harder to find in other countries than baking soda.  Also, other countries may have other formulations than what is found in the U.S.  For standard U.S. baking powder, you'd generally use 2-4 times the amount of baking soda in the recipe.  The reason for this inexact ratio is a trade-off in flavor vs. reactivity.  If you want the same reactivity with acidic ingredients, you'd need 3-4 times more baking powder, but this often results in a "baking powder flavor," sometimes described as "metallic."  But if you decrease the amount to avoid this flavor -- maybe twice as much as baking soda -- you won't react with as much acid, so you probably would want to reduce the amount of acidic ingredients in the batter.  For baking powder outside the U.S., you'd need to look up the exact formulas/mixtures used and perhaps make further alterations.

(I'm not going to go into the less common chemical alternatives -- like baker's ammonia -- which are even less common for baking today.  And I'm not even going to bother with possibilities like homemade potash from wood ashes, which theoretically can provide some leavening.  If you're in a country where you're that desperate for chemical leaveners, I'd doubt you'd have access to basic baking materials.)

Unfortunately, as mentioned, these two options are generally less common to find exact equivalents than baking soda.  So, we move onto less reliable options that will require further recipe modification.

(3) Egg whites as leavening - separate eggs and beat whites separately, generally to soft or medium peaks.  Usually, fold into batter at the last moment (generally in stages, first mixing in a portion of the egg whites more thoroughly to lighten, then gently folding in the remainder) and bake immediately.  This will only work by itself with relatively light cakes that don't have a lot of heavy ingredients.  Adding a small amount of sugar toward the end of beating may have a stablizing effect and prevent early collapse of a cake.  Cream of tartar or a very small amount of other acids like lemon juice or vinegar can also prevent overbeating.

(Note that even if eggs are not separated, beating whole eggs or yolks until light colored will add in small amounts of air.)

(4) Creaming method - ignore recipe instructions and begin by creaming butter and sugar together until fluffy, often requiring at least 10 minutes of steady beating with a mixer for maximum results.  (By hand, this generally would be done for an hour or more traditionally.)  This will trap air bubbles that will ultimately leaven the batter (the traditional method for pound cakes).  This works better than egg whites alone for heavier batters (e.g., with more flour and/or butter), but it still will result in a denser cake than one with baking soda.  Generally, continue after creaming butter and sugar by adding eggs one at a time while mixing vigorously, then fold in other ingredients more gently toward the end.  (If the recipe calls for a liquid sugar, like molasses or honey or whatever, substitute with dry sugar for more creaming action.)

(5) Yeast - there are entire questions here devoted to the problems of converting a chemically leavened cake into a yeast-leavened one.  Yeast is probably the only way to actually get the same volume without baking soda or other chemical leaveners, but it will usually change the cake texture significantly.  Basically, yeast cakes tend to be tougher and more bread-like, while chemically leavened cakes tend to go for a softer crumb.  You can't quite get such a soft crumb with yeast, since the rising time will create more gluten connections, but you can sometimes get something that's like a "quick-bread" cake.  (My experience with baking yeast cakes is that they're really a different genre.  But if you're up for experimentation, it might be able to work passable for converting some types of cakes.)

(6) Carbonated liquids - these are more commonly used along with baking soda which will react with their acidity.  But substituting a carbonated liquid of some sort (carbonated water, soda, beer) that would complement the ingredients of the recipe could assist in a small amount of leavening action.  Again, these should be added quickly at the very end just before baking.  I doubt that these could result in adequate leavening alone in most cases, but they perhaps could assist sometimes (along with creaming, beating egg whites, etc.).  As noted in the question, the bubbles here tend to be short-lived, so carbonation works best for cakes that bake rather quickly.

Lastly, it should be noted at aerating all ingredients can potentially help a bit -- whether that's just fluffing or sifting flour before mixing, whipping butter, beating whatever parts of eggs, etc.  Whether these are at all effective will really depend on the details of the recipe and the order of steps taken, but they generally won't hurt.

The simple fact is that many modern cake recipes depend on chemical leavening to produce adequate lightness.  Be prepared for a denser result even with these options, or find a recipe designed to be baked without leavening.

To replace baking soda, you can use four times the soda's measurement of baking powder. There are other alternatives, such as Natron if you live in Europe or have access to a European marketplace, but they tend to get complicated as acidic ingredients become involved.

New Health Guide has a specific page here dedicated to this question. with not only substitution amounts worked out, but classifications as to when it is best to use one substitute over another. This includes substituting other ingredients for baking soda. So far, they have never steered me wrong.


4 tablespoons of butter is how many tablespoons of coconut oil I am making macaroni and I need 4 tablespoons of butter, but I don't have any butter. I am going to use coconut oil as a substitute but do I use the same amount of oil as butter? Or should I use something else as a substitute?

In almost all contexts, you can substitute these items on equal amounts, by weight or volume, and be well within the tolerance of the recipe.

This is true for almost all baked goods, for example.

If you want to be absolutely accurate, butter is only about 80% fat, and 20% water (this is an approximation), so you would use 4/5 the amount of coconut oil as butter.

Coconut oil is very similar to butter in fat content so I would stick to a 1:1 conversion ratio.


what happens when you whisk sugar with oil? So far I have tired four different carrot cakes recipes, everything ended up too oily (The oil drips from the cake when pressed). I was wondering and found all of these recipes calls for "whisking sugar with oil until the sugar dissolves" as the very first step. I am sure, I am missing some basics here, since I don't know what is the consistency needed.

Can anyone shed light on what happens when you whisk sugar with oil? Like creaming sugar and butter to incorporate air into the mixture. What is the concept behind it? How the consistency should look?

I am using 135g white caster sugar and 100ml sunflower oil, if this information is of any help.

Oil doesn't really dissolve sugar.  The main purpose for the mixing is that in many recipe techniques, especially the muffin method, sugar is treated as a wet ingredient.  By premixing the wet ingredients, and premixing the dry ingredients, when the two are combined, you require much less additional mixing to get a homogeneous total batter.

Creaming sugar into butter or shortening helps leavening because the sharp edges of the sugar crystals cut air into the solid fat medium, essentially creating a foam.  This then serves as seed air bubbles for the chemical leavening to expand.  This effect cannot occur with liquid oils.

Many carrot cakes are pretty dense and oily, although I don't think they should drip when pressed.  You might have something else going on in your recipes or technique.

i make carrot cake.  My recipe does not call for whisking the sugar and oil together.  It says to beat together.
try that , it might make a difference.


Why do you need to heat the pan before heating the olive oil? In the Netflix documentary Salt Fat Acid Heat, Samin Nosrat says this when she is making sofrito and she is about to put olive oil into the pan:

  This is one of those important things that I think home cooks always
  forget, is how important it is to pre-heat the pan. You have to heat
  the pan before you heat the oil.

Why do you need to heat the pan before putting the oil in?

TL;DR: heating the pan before the oil has no useful effects in most cases.

While this is a duplicate of another question, I'm going to answer it again because that question's accepted answer provides zero evidence or citations to back itself up.  Which is important, because the accepted answer is wrong.

The popular myth is "Cold oil in hot pan and food won't stick".  Like most such cooking myths, this one is nonsense; as Kitchen Myths points out:

  What you really want is “hot pan, hot oil” and that’s what you are actually getting because the cold oil heats up almost instantly when added to the hot pan. You’ll get the same results if you heat the oil along with the pan rather than adding the oil at the last minute. In fact some cooks prefer this technique because the appearance of the oil in the pan can give you some indication of when the pan has reached the proper temperature.

Serious Eats says the same thing:

  The thing is, only raw proteins will form this bond. Heat causes proteins to fold in on themselves, or even to break down and form all new compounds. Once in their folded or rearranged form, they no longer stick. So the goal is to get the meat to cook before it even comes into contact with the metal by heating oil hot enough that it can cook the meat in the time it takes for it to pass from the air, through the film of oil, and into the pan.

So, you want a hot pan with hot oil.  Most of the time, this means that you want to preheat the oil with the pan, not add oil to a preheated pan, although the latter doesn't do any harm.  It just doesn't provide any benefit.

You'll notice I said most of the time, though.  There are times when you do want to preheat the cooking vessel before adding fat, and both of those times have to do with needing to heat the metal hotter than the smoke point of the oil you are using.

If you are cooking with a wok, getting proper "wok hei" (searing) requires heating the wok above the smoke point of vegetable oil, dry, a technique called "long yao" (video, skip to 3:22).  Classic cast-iron steak cooking uses a similar technique, heating the pan to 250 °C/500 °F before adding the oil or meat.
When cooking with butter as your fat (or a few other low-temperature oils like unrefined coconut oil), the burning point of the fat is sometimes a lower temperature than you want to cook at.  If so, the only way to get the pan hot enough is to preheat at dry plan, add the butter or fat, and then quickly add the food before the butter burns.

Neither of these cases has anything to do with preventing sticking, though. They are both about not burning the cooking fat.  And the first technique only makes sense if you are using cast iron or carbon steel; it can damage other types of cookware.

You might ask: doesn't this apply to cooking sofrito, though?  And the answer is no.  Filtered olive oil has a smoke point of 210 °C, which is plenty hot enough for the very wet ingredients in a sofrito, which will drag the real pan temperature down to 105 °C or so in a few seconds anyway. Further, a sofrito is made up entirely of non-starchy vegetables and aromatics, which means that sticking isn't a serious concern.

So, myth busted!

The major reason I can think of for adding oil to a pan after it is hot is safety: if you are heating a pan of oil and then forget it could start a pan fire. If you add the oil only when you are ready to cook you don't have that risk.

I often add the oil when I first heat the pan because I can watch the oil and I can tell when it's hot by looking at it, but then sometimes I heat the pan dry and use the back of my hand to test for heat. Either method works just fine.


What's the best way to clean a salad spinner? We had taco salads last night for dinner.  Cleaning the little bits of shredded lettuce out of the salad spinner seemed to take forever.  Despite scrubbing and lots of rinsing, little bits of lettuce were still clinging to the inner bowl (in between the slits in the bowl).  I finally resorted to picking out the lettuce bits by hand in order to be sure I got them all.  Is there an easy way to clean this thing?

We could try washing the lettuce first, then shredding, but what about the pre-packaged lettuce that's already shredded?  I'd heard you're still supposed to wash that too.

I've never done this, but what about filling the bowl with water, lowering the spinning basket into it so the lettuce shreds lift off, then dumping it out?

Just use a simple piece of cotton, a tea towel or slightly larger, hold the four corners in one hand with the lettuce in the middle, go outside and enjoy the fresh air for a while as you spin it around

Give the cloth a quick flick and toss into washing basket

Much better for you and no stupid plastic thing cluttering your cupboards


How is mustard made? I'd like to make mustard soon. What's the basic process to start with?

Mustard is one of those simple condiments to make, and is fun to experiment with. At it's most basic mustard is two ingredients:

Mustard Seed
Liquid

There are endless variations from there.

Mustard seed comes in white, yellow, brown and black variations. I suggest buying whole and grinding them yourself using either a mortar & pestle or coffee/spice grinder. (Don't use a coffee grinder that you use for grinding coffee! You'll end up with mustard flavored coffee).

Liquids can be water, vinegar, wine, or even beer. Using vinegar/wine will help it last longer than water or beer would.

Once you've fine ground (of course there are coarse ground varieties too) your mustard simply mix it with the liquid until it is the desired consistency.

Additional ingredients can be added to taste. Honey, turmeric (gives yellow mustard its color), sugar, etc. are all possibilities.

Update: I forgot to mention that mustard needs time for the flavors to mix. This can take anywhere from a few hours to weeks. A fresher mustard tends to be hotter, but an aged mustard can often taste "better" with a slight loss of that initial heat. Refrigerated mustard will keep it's heat longer. Also note, mustard made with water should definitely be refrigerated and consumed quicker than others.

I haven't made mustard yet there are tons of recipes to do this. For example at food.com here they have lots of recipes listed.

The first recipe returned on the site combines all the required ingredients, lets it sit in the fridge overnight then mixes it in the blender.

Good luck!


What are the differences between gumbo, jambalaya, and etoufee? From what I can tell it has something to do with the type of roux and vegetables used and maybe whether it should be considered more of a soup or a main course.

Are these hard and fast definitions or more a matter of interpretation? Does whether it is more Cajun vs Creole influenced make a difference?

Gumbo is a stew/soup, etouffee involves a roux to make it more of a sauce served over rice as a vehicle, and jambalaya is a one-pot meal with rice as an integral part of the dish--sort of like a cajun paella. All three tend to have shellfish where as gumbo and jambalaya tend to also have sausage (etouffee usually doesn't have sausage that I've seen).

Shellfish are usually in all three but chicken and spicy sausage are frequently the alternative protein and make a great dish. The sausage is an important component and is normally a cajun or creole sausage that has been smoked. Any smoked, spicy sausage will work. There are few hard and fast rules in Creole and Cajun cuisine...IMHO.


Can adequate heating transform spoiled food into safe food? Suppose I have some food that became unsafe or contaminated by any means besides explicitly adding dangerous substances.  It could be past the expiration date, or handled unsafely by leaving at room temperature too long, etc.  Another possibility to consider is botulism from damaged cans.

Would it be possible to resurrect food from these situations, making it safe, by sufficiently heating it?

That'd depend on the exact microbes involved in making it unsafe (or, since you probably don't know, the short answer is "no").

There are basically two ways microbial growth makes food unsafe: either by the presence of the microbes themselves, or by toxins the microbes create. Sufficiently heating the food will kill enough microbes, so those ones will be taken care of. Unfortunately, some of the toxins are heat stable, and it just isn't possible to heat the food to a high enough temperature to destroy these toxins without turning the food to charcoal.

The FDA's Bad Bug Book gives details about specific pathogens and their heat-stable and heat-labile toxins.

It really depends on the toxin, but honestly, since you probably will not be able to know that in advance, don't bother, just throw it out.


What is the best way to open a tightly fitted lid of a jar? Help! I need to get a jar of pasta sauce open but can't seem to budge it. I've tried using a dishtowel, and running it under hot water, but the lid is still stuck. What else can I do to open this jar?

Go around the edges, tapping the rim with the handle of a butter knife (leaving little dents). That should allow you to twist it off.

If you want to open a jar keep it in boiling hot water as glass is poor conductor of heat it will contract and the lid will expand and your jar would be opened


How to thaw a bottle of beer that got frozen accidentally without exploding the bottle Recently I had occasion to put @Kevin Selker 's answer to the test in terms of rapidly chilling beer. However, we uncovered a problem the next morning where people had taken beer and thrown it in the freezer only to forget about it.

I will flip this question around now, what is the best way (is it possible) to take beer from your freezer and safely thaw it for drinking? Is it actually worth drinking if you freeze it solid, then thaw it then chill it again? will the glass be compromised? anyway, i guess this is some regular event at my parents and i would like for this to stop happening.

[as an aside: we wrapped up the two bottles in towels and put them in the basement (which was relatively cool. we came back awhile later and the one bottle had exploded, the other on had a crack around the neck. we had to throw both out. so either this method is fail, or needed augmented.]

I've had the same experience as you, with beer and other liquids frozen in glass bottles.  Whenever I try to rapidly thaw them, it seems the structure of the glass is compromised in some way and it either explodes or cracks - this even has happened to me when trying to slow thaw, like you did.

Beer bottles, and especially cans, can explode in the freezer and will make an ungodly mess.  Beer bottles exploding in the freezer are rare, but I've heard anecdotal stories from people I trust who said it has happened to them, perhaps with improper bottling and not enough room for expansion in the neck.

Since a few bad experiences with forgetting things in the freezer (I had an aluminum can of Hawaiian Punch literally explode all over the freezer one night, that was a MESS) I now only use the salted ice bath method!

I have tasted beer that was frozen and thawed without any glass shards in it, specifically a can of beer that partially exploded (I guess I didn't learn my lesson from the Hawaiian Punch that quickly).  It had enough left frozen in the bottom of the can that I figured I should thaw what was left, and give it a taste.  It wasn't bad, but it tasted a little...flatter than normal, I guess?  It just wasn't as full flavored as I expected.  Definitely a noticeable difference to me.

Use a plastic bag... It's good for thawing and slow freezing. Just keep your bottles in the bag.


Can I substitute condensed milk for evaporated milk in icing? My icing recipe for German chocolate cake pecan icing calls for evaporated milk, but I only have condensed milk. Can I use the condensed milk instead?

If so, do I need to make any adjustments to it?

Yes you can.

If you have unsweetened condensed milk, that is another name for evaporated milk and they are interchangeable.

If you have sweetened condensed milk, you can use one 14 oz can to replace one cup of evaporated milk and one cup of granulated sugar.

Yes, you can. Condensed milk and evaporated milk have the same consistency (almost) simply because both of them are made by the same process of evaporating 60% of the water content but the similarity ends there. Because sweet condensed milk contains added sugar you can substitute condensed milk with evaporated milk by adding some sugar in it.


Why do the inserts in pasta pots not go all the way to the bottom? I love using a pasta pot/steamer where there is an inner "colander" pot so that you can pull all the pasta out easily.

BUT... in all of the ones I've seen, the inner colander doesn't go all the way to the bottom. There is a gap of about 1.5 to 2", plus the 1/4 space of the bottom of colander itself.

The means I have to boil a LOT more water. That takes more time, uses more water and energy.

It seems like a gap of just 1/2" or so would be sufficient to "insulate" the bottom of the pasta from the hot bottom of the pan. (And I've boiled pasta for years without a colander inside (so zero gap) fine).

You might have given the answer in your question.  If the device is to be used as a steamer as well, then there has to be enough room at the bottom of the pot for steaming.  How much is enough?  There are two things to consider:

The bottom section should hold enough liquid that there won't be concerns about boiling the pot dry for anything you might want to steam.  Longer steam items might include mussels, lobster, or tamales.
There should be some 'air margin' for foods like tamales or broccoli, so that the boil splatter doesn't render the food soggy.

Based on FuzzyChef's comment, it sounds like there are tools that suit your needs better.  Perhaps it's time to put your steamer on Craigslist? :)

Try putting the insert in after cooking the pasta, and then pour out the water while holding the insert in place. The insert holds the pasta at the bottom of the pot. I haven't tested this with every size or amount of pasta.. but it works so well I have to assume this is the correct method... and boiling more water than needed because of a short insert would be very aggravating!


How to make my scrambled eggs more yellow? I make a very simple scrambled eggs combining two eggs with a knife of cream cheese.

Sometimes I've had this and it has been a warm yellow colour. Other times it has been a pale white colour.

My question is: How to make my scrambled eggs more yellow?

Ah, we consumers and our expectations:
Egg yolks are yellow.

But in reality, yolks come in a range from pale yellow to deep orange. The colour is determined by the food (wheat makes lighter yolks than corn, for example) and can be influenced by feeding  "colourants" for a darker hue. Some regions allow even artificial dyes, but a pinch of paprika will do nicely. Apparently the "expected" or "preferred" yolk colour is also a cultural thing, I found a source claiming that European customers want more orange hues while US customers expect deep yellow.

Organic and free-range eggs typically have a greater variation than those from large agro-industrial production.

So if your scrambled eggs are sometimes lighter, sometimes darker, either accept it as "natural" or check the colour of your yolks when you crack the eggs and for pale yolks add a colourant like a small pinch of

turmeric (what makes curry powder yellow) or
paprika (for more orange eggs).

If you use only a very small amount, it won't influence the taste or only very slightly so. Stir the spice in, then proceed as usual.

The fresher the egg, the more orange the yolk.  As the egg ages, the whites get milky and the yolk a pale yellow.  Buy farm fresh eggs at a farmers market if possible.  We have our own chickens so we only cook with fresh eggs.
Perfect scrambled eggs:
Whisk eggs together, add a pinch of salt per egg.  Put scrambled eggs in a cold pan, put heat on medium and whisk/stir eggs in pan the entire cooking time start to finish.  As the eggs begin to set, turn heat to lowest setting and continue to stir.  I raise the pan off the heat if eggs seem to setting to fast.  It should take about 10 min to cook the eggs.  Add nothing else and serve.  You will be shocked how creamy the eggs taste.  The pan is tough to clean but worth it!


Adding melted butter to cold milk in baking I've seen a lot of recipes, particularly for things like quick breads, that call for combining melted butter with milk and eggs before mixing with dry ingredients.

Of course, if the milk and eggs are cool the melted butter will immediately solidify. Is there a technique for this that recipe writers are assuming I know? Or is it just intended that there be little droplets of solid butter suspended in the batter or dough?

Melting the butter and mixing it with milk or other liquid ingredients is almost always done as part of the muffin method, where a muffin, cake or quick bread batter is formed by mixing dry ingredients together, wet ingredients together, and then quickly combining the two.

In practice, the butter is not going to mix with the milk.  It is going to mostly float on top, and stay liquid.   You will have sufficient time to combine the wet and dry mixes, and create the batter.

Putting them together just makes it easier to form the final batter.  It would work just as well if you made a dry mix, then added the remaining liquid ingredients (usually milk, eggs, and maybe some flavoring), and then the melted butter.  When you stir the dry and wet mixes together, the butter is going to become fairly uniformly mixed into the batter.

Note that many quick breads are made with oil, which is treated the exact same way, even though melting is not an issue.  The only reason to use butter is because the flavor is desired for whatever item is being made.

IMHO butter acts as a spacing agent. Maybe I'm not using the right term but essentially butter is the reason your baked good is nice and fluffy. It goes away in the baking process.

You want the butter globules in your dough. Here's why:

When the dough is heated in the oven, the butter evaporates or gets absorbed and leaves behind little air holes in the bread.

A great example is croissants which requires an obscene amount of butter but comes out super flakey and holey.

  It turns into stream which assists in leavening.

Source: http://www.completelydelicious.com/2012/02/ingredient-spotlight-how-fats-are-used-in-baking.html

Personally, for a healthier alternative I usually substitute 1:1 apple sauce because it provides a similar result, though slightly denser baked bread/muffin/spongey thing.  With apple sauce you can also reduce the amount of added sugar plus the result will not taste "apple-y".

This was already discussed in better detail here:

Why can applesauce be used in place of oil?


Will store bought chicken eggs hatch? I'm a bit scared to try it, because I'm not sure what would be worse--cracking open a rotten egg, or having to figure out what to do with a chick.

So how about it?  If I leave chicken eggs out, will they eventually hatch if kept at the right temperature?

EDIT - Sorry for the confusion.  I was referring to store bought eggs only.

If you're getting your eggs from a supermarket, they won't hatch. This is the case with eggs you get for eating from almost any source.

Hens lay eggs even if they haven't been, umm, mating with a male. Any egg laid in those circumstances will never hatch because it's unfertilized, and that's the standard practice for any commercial egg operation.

Now if you have a free ranging hen and a rooster too, and they're not kept apart, then yeah, you could get a fertilized egg. And that egg needs to be kept properly warm to hatch.

Only properly fertilized eggs will hatch.
Bought in eggs also would  not.


How to correctly use a whisk? I've tried many times to whip some cream or egg whites with a simple whisk, but I feel tired after about a minute of whipping, and I do not obtain good results also after whipping for sometime. I suspect that I'm doing it wrong.

Is there a correct way to use a whisk? How to avoid so much fatigue? About the quantity of the food to whip?

Use a larger bowl than you'd think (or less starting product); you want your product to be able to move around. Hold the bowl on an angle so your whisk can shear through the liquid as much as possible. Other than that, you want to go in a fast circular motion, dipping in and out of the liquid in order to incorporate air.

Only way to avoid the fatigue is practice. You should see one of our prep cooks! She used to be patissier for a very rustic chef--no electric mixers in that kitchen. I've seen her whisk meringue by hand and then move on to making aioli without blinking. Girl's got pipes I tell you.

I belive you also want to move more at the wrist than at the elbow.


To which internal temperature should I cook beef for rare/medium/well done? I am going to cook a beef roast: To which internal temperature should I cook it for rare/medium/well done?

|  Rare         |  120 °F to 125 °F  |  49 °C to 52 °C   |  center is bright red  |
|  Medium Rare  |  130 °F to 135 °F  |  54 °C to 57 °C   |  center is very pink   |
|  Medium       |  140 °F to 145 °F  |  60 °C to 63 °C   |  center is light pink  |
|  Medium Well  |  150 °F to 155 °F  |  66 °C to 68 °C   |  not pink              |
|  Well Done    |  160 °F and above  |  71 °C and above  |  brown throughout      |

For some different values see http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/eating-nutrition/safety-salubrite/cook-temperatures-cuisson-eng.php

/
.


Pork butt roast: slicing temp vs pulling temp At internal temp of 170F,  will the pork butt slices be very tender and moist or should one continue to higher temp closer to pulled of 195F to achieve?

It really isn't that simple.  It turns out this question is like "how long does it take to drive 100 miles?"  Well, part of the answer is dependent on how fast the car goes!

The pork will be fully cooked, and almost certainly palatable to your taste (in terms of doneness which is always well done at these temperatures), if it reaches 165 - 170 F in any case.

The key question is how long has it been at temperatures that convert collagen to gelatin?  Collagen converts to gelatin at a temperature dependent rate, faster at warmer temperatures (within limits).   It is not an instantaneous process.

The key difference between the slicable roast and the pullable roast is the relative amount of converted gelatin.  That is the 100 miles you want to go... having enough converted to be sumptuous and delicious.

Unfortunately, that is a tricky question to answer, since the conversion reaction starts (at a glacially slow pacing) as low as 140 F if you are willing to wait literally days, and proceeds relatively rapidly at 200 F, with varying speeds in between.  This is the speed of the car.

On the other hand, the internal temperature of the roast cannot really exceed the external temperature, since heat moves to the center from outside (I know, it sounds trivial, and it is).  But the key thing is, the outside is cooled by the evaporation of water (technically the term is enthalpy of vaporization is, but that sounds complicated):  it takes a relatively large amount of energy to convert liquid water at 100 C to steam at 100 C.

Because of this, every time a water molecule evaporates from the surface of the roast, it actually cools the roast compared to the instant before.   Overall, the temperature of the outside cannot climb substantially above a certain level until it is fairly dry (and your bark is formed).   This implies the center cannot get too hot until then either.

However, the entire time the surface temperature of your meat is stalled as it dries out (and more water migrates from the center, to certain extent), the inside is hot and collagen to gelatin conversion is ongoing.

Saying your roast is done at 170 F or pullable at 190 F (a common recommendation) is an over simplification of a complicated, non-linear process.  Sometimes it is better to just recognize when you reach your destination.

The final target temperature required to allow sufficient conversion time is dependent on the size of the roast, the temperature of the oven or barbecue, the rate at which the temperature rises in the specific roast, and so on.  This is very hard to predict.

Fortunately, pork butts and other cuts used for this type of cooking are remarkably forgiving.

So as much as it pains me to say this, in this case, put aside the thermometer, guestimate based on time, and learn to test your meat by poking at it (literally, the tenderness is the goal and the test) until you have enough experience to just know.

If you take the roast out early, and find some is not pullablle, you can always wrap the un-pullable part in foil (to inhibit additional moisture loss), and stick it right back in.  Or just slice that part!

Even the failures will be delicious.

See also:

Huffington Post article on The Stall
What makes a moist steak (or roast)? (The answer is more general...)

Actually it's very simple. Slice between 170-180, and pull at 203-207. 203 is the magic fat rendering temp.


Ways to bar-b-que and smoke Kangaroo Kangaroo is an unusual meat for most of the world. From reputation, it's quite hard to cook right as it tends to dry out:

  Kangaroo meat is very low in fat, usually less than 2%. This is lower than most other red meats. This makes Kangaroo very healthy but also means it must be cooked carefully. Kangaroo is also very high in protein and iron. Fat contains a lot of moisture, hence meats like beef which is very high in fat can be cooked to very well done. However because kangaroo has virtually no fat it can easily dry out during cooking. Because of this it's important to follow a few simple steps to retain the moisture in the meat.

In light of this, what smoking and BBQ techniques are appropriate for kangaroo?

I have neither cooked nor eaten kangaroo, but I think the information that it is very lean should be sufficient to answer this question. Smoking is a low and slow technique that is used to make tough cuts of meat tender. This works by using a low temperature to break down the tough connective tissues which makes the end result both tender and moist. This would not work with a lean cut of meat like a filet. You'd just end up with a tough piece of meat. So unless you really go after the toughest bits of the 'roo, I'd advise against smoking.

As ESultanik says in a comment, to attack the lean parts of the animal, treat it like any other piece of non-fatty meat (filet / tenderloin for example). Use a very hot grill and shoot for an internal temperature of rare to medium-rare depending on preference. The exact technique for cooking is up to you. I tend to do a two level fire for searing and then finishing, but the exact method depends on the type of grill, thickness of the cut, etc. If you would like some smoke flavor, you can throw some wood chips on while cooking like this and see what you get. The short time and frequency with which you tend the meat / open the grill may make this completely ineffective, but it's worth trying to see if you get some smoke flavor, if that's what you really want.

Only time I barbecued roo was simple chunks (a la kebab), no preparation, rub or marinade.  Was with similar chunks of beef and lamb.  Was the best of the three.  Just cooked them until they looked OK, then took them off.
Tried roo prosciutto last weekend, nothing special, wouldn't buy it, though the piece I tried was too small for proper assessment.
I built a hot/cold smoker last winter, when I get free from work I plan to try smoking roo, probably brining then cold smoking.  I'll just use whatever steaks I can get from the supermarket rather than picking up roadkill.


Milk alternative in pancake batter What could I use in place of milk in pancake batter?  Would rice milk or soya milk work?  What about in scotch pancakes?

Soy milk works great in pancakes. My basic recipe for pancakes is about a cup of flour, about a cup of soy milk, a tablespoon or two of sugar and veg oil, and a few teaspoons of baking powder. Works great, makes nice, fluffy pancakes. (I know, not a "recipe" so much as list of ingredients with approximate proportions, but that's how I tend to cook, experimenting and learning from experience as I go...)

Edit: I don't know about scotch pancakes; I've never made them, but upon looking up a couple recipes, I don't see why it wouldn't... Soy milk behaves much like milk in these kinds of recipes, the only difference being that soya adds a bit of binding that dairy milk doesn't (and perhaps a smidge of a taste difference?)

Edit2: Haha, ok, so my "pancakes" are much more like your "scotch pancakes" -- there is such a wide spectrum of "pancakes", from crepe-y types to big, fluffy types... So then, yes, I'd say soya'd certainly work fine for scotch pancakes; for your "pancakes", I still suspect it'd be alright. With crepes mainly you just need liquid (hence the mixing with water in your posted recipe) -- the milk is mainly for some added flavour; I'd conjure that soya would work just fine.


Repeatedly softening ice cream in the microwave My wife is in the habit of making ice cream easier to serve up by defrosting it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to soften it.  After serving, the ice cream goes back in the freezer until the next time.

I estimate that a 2 litre tub of ice cream may well be microwaved and then re-frozen 6-8 times.

Is it safe to do this? Is it safer, or less safe, than just letting the ice cream defrost at room temperature for half an hour?

It's perfectly safe to do this, it's not great for the ice cream's consistency to keep warming it and cooling it as you'll start to get big ice crystals. I'd suggest you get a metal ice cream scoop and put it in hot water instead.

If you have to thaw it to use it I'd leave it on the counter for 10 minutes instead of nuking it so you get an even thaw, using the microwave tends to melt one spot and leave another solid.

Heating ice cream in the microwave, is severely bad for you and others using that particular ice cream. The dairy, and raw egg particles absorb the microwave heat and cause heat spots to form inside of the ice cream. The heat YOU use for the microwave, is also unnatural heat, and can cause pancreatic cancer. I am a scientist that studies heat sources and how they react on such things, and I suggest to NOT heat up Ice cream or any dairy product in the microwave for your own safety. Thank you.


What is the correct internal temperature for rabbit meat? I have never cooked rabbit before, and my charts don't include rabbit. Are there food safety considerations speaking for thorough heating, as with chicken, or is it acceptable to cook it medium rare? Also, what temperature corresponds with the different grades of doneness? I intend to roast half a small rabbit in the oven; the meat doesn't look suited for collagen-based cooking, the animal is probably too young.

In the food safety section of Modernist Cuisine (1-138) it says that all wild rabbit must be cooked through:

  Wild rabbit must be cooked well done to kill any tularemia bacteria; for rare or medium cooked rabbit dishes, chefs can substitute farm-raised rabbits that have been kept segregated from their wild relatives by trustworthy breeders.

The section on meat (3-96) recommends bringing rabbit loin to an internal temperature of 59C (138F) and going by the section I've just quoted this is obviously only for farmed meat. The recommendation for the legs is to cook sous vide for 1 hour @ 66C (151F) which again obviously refers to farmed because that's definitely not long enough to tenderise wild rabbit meat.

I would really recommend cooking the leg meat and loin separately as I find that the loin dries out long before the legs are cooked through. The legs are much nicer braised too.

You always treat rabbit like chicken ;) temps are same. cook well. internal temp 165 . 2pounders are best for pan frying. Stew ..braising... baking..roasting.. all great ways to make rabbit :)


What can I substitute for butter in a custard-based pie? This weekend I made a great buttermilk pie.  Creamed butter/sugar add eggs / flour flavoring buttermilk and bake.

I want to reduce the calories.  Is there a substitute that I can use with this custard like pie?

The recipe uses 1 stick of butter to 1 3/4 cups sugar

This is the complete recipe
Buttermilk Pie

1 3/4 C. sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 C.) room temp.
3 large eggs
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3 T. all purpose flour
1 C. buttermilk
1 9" pie shell, unbaked

Cream together the sugar and butter till well blended. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until the mixture is nice and smooth. Add in the vanilla, salt and flour. Beat in the buttermilk until well combined. Fill the pie shell with the buttermilk mixture, just to the top of the shell. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes – Let rest before serving

Butter in this type pie is there to add "richness". It is possible to leave it out entirely and save about 800 calories, but it may not satisfy your definition of a good dessert. If you reduced the amount to 1/2 a stick (1/4 cup), you would reduce the total calories by about 400 and still have a very nice pie.

I would not recommend replacing the butter with a reduced calorie margarine or spread, as they contain water and other stuff that will not improve the pie.

Olive oil usually works the same way as what butter is supposed to do during baking. It definitely has lower calories.


Why most chocolate bars have trans fat? Most chocolate bars have trans fat, usually less than 1g per 100g of chocolate. Even dark chocolate and even expensive brands such as Lindt. Where is this trans fat coming from?

Short answer: I'd look at the ingredient list.  If any sort of partially hydrogenated oil or random fats appear, they are the likely source.  If not, I'd look to see if the chocolate contains cow's milk or butter (sometimes labeled "milkfat" or "butter oil" on chocolate ingredients), since that may also be a small source of trans fat.  Almost all oils/fats, even cocoa butter, will contain trace amounts of trans fat.  Processing can affect amounts of trans fat too, since heating fats will cause large fat chains in molecules to move and sometimes convert to trans versions.

More details:

There are trace amounts of trans fat found in most oils.  Labeling laws tend to make this issue confusing, as in the U.S. where FDA regulations allow nutritional labeling to state "0 grams" when the amount per serving is less than 0.5 grams.  (In fact, that link implies that manufacturers are actually required to state "0g" when the amount is less than 0.5 grams per serving, presumably rather than saying "0.1g" or whatever.  I don't know if that's true.)

A decade or more ago, many foods (including chocolate) often contained significant amounts of partially hydrogenated oils (often as high as 50% trans fats by weight).  Many US manufacturers have since dropped the usage of hydrogenated oils or lowered the amounts so that the serving size ends up under the 0.5g threshold for reporting.

Chocolate may still sometimes contain partially hydrogenated oils, which may be the source for trans fat in some brands.  However, when you're talking about amounts like 1g or less per 100g of chocolate, there are plenty of other possible sources.  For example, cow's milk contains small but not insignificant amounts of trans fats, as does butter (about 5% trans fat).  This is true of all milk and meat from ruminants.  You may not know it from many labels, because the serving size may fall below the reporting threshold, but it is there.

Moreover, it's important to note than "trans fat" is a very general chemical category.  While the majority of added trans fats in processed foods are regarded as problematic, there are natural trans fats (such as those found in milk) which do not have the same effects on humans.  One notable example is conjugated linoleic acid, naturally found in ruminant milk (in both cis and trans fat forms), which some claim actually has beneficial effects.

So when you see a trace amount of trans fat showing up from milk or butter as an ingredient, it may not have the same stigma as the "partially hydrogenated" types of trans fats.  I would assume this may be one reason behind the FDA's rule about trans fat labeling: putting tiny amounts of trans fat would show all of these random trans fats (some of which are thought to be harmful, some perhaps even beneficial) in all sorts of foods. The "bad" trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils were the main target of the regulation.  (Some countries only require labeling for trans fats which come from "artificial" or "industrial processed" ingredients.)

Again, the chemical composition of most oils/fats have some trace amounts of trans fats.  (See the table in this pamphlet from a chocolate manufacturer.)  Even cocoa butter has some tiny amount like 0.1g of trans fat per 100g.  That's unlikely to be significant source of trans fat in a chocolate bar, but if you're measuring tiny amounts (as asked in the question), it's a possible contributor to a fraction of a gram amount in a large chocolate bar.

To make chocolate the traditional way, you cook fats and water together. That can only result in transfats.


Is making guacamole a way to "save" almost-gone avocadoes? We had some avocadoes which went bad. My stepmom said that, had we made them into guacamole the night before, they would have been edible today. Is this correct?

First, you have to distinguish between food safety issues and other ways of food "going bad". The likely thing is that your avocadoes were safe to eat (= not full of pathogenous bacteria) on the day you threw them out.

However, people cannot tell when food is full of bacteria, and tend to throw it out when it is too changed from its original state. Or they dislike the taste and texture of the changed state. This is common with fruit and vegetables. They are still alive after being picked, their metabolism goes on, but many of the necessary nutrients and water aren't delivered by the roots and stems any longer. So they change their color, taste and texture, and become mushy, wilted, or black,or change in other ways which people dislike, so they proclaim the produce "spoiled" and throw it away.

If this is what happened to the avocadoes, there is a good chance that making it into guacamole would have let you enjoy the avocadoes a day later. A pureed avocado doesn't metabolize the way a whole avocado does, and the changed pH and other ion concentration (salt) changes the chemical reactions going on in the cells. It is now no longer a living fruit, but prepared food. The pH and cold storage also inhibit mold from growing, which can happen on ripe fruit held at room temperature.

This is something specific to avocadoes and guacamole and not a generic statement about mixing random ingredients, you cannot make such generalizations in principle.

With regards to fruits and vegetables, simply put, the longer you you don't peel it/separate it from its husk/seed it, it will go bad at a faster rate.

For example, if you have an orange getting past ripe, it may sour within a day or two.  Take the same orange, peel it, put it in a ziplock and put it in the fridge.  It will last for another week.


What characteristics should a bread peel have? A peel is the utensil used to transfer loaves into the oven:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peel_(tool)">Image source: Wikipedia

I've done a couple of them using some wood boards I had on hand. I made them for a home electric oven. But now I'm planning to make one from scratch for a wood fired oven.

What characteristics should one look for a peel?

Specifically:

What characteristics will have different materials: plywood, block of wood, metal, ...

If they are made of plywood, what kind of glue should be used to join the boards?
What kind of wood? Which metal?

Should they be flat? Wedge shaped (like the one in the picture)?
If they have a detachable handle, what system would be faster to change? Less prone to loosen?
How to choose the length of the handle? The material?
Any differences between a home oven one and one for a professional/large oven?

Note: I originally wrote the question thinking in making a peel, but actually it should be interpreted as how should a peel be, independently of how you manage to get it (make it, buy one, ...).

I know this question has been asked a long time ago, but as I have been shoving around 1000 loaves of breads in 2014 alone (we bake for charity), all in a traditional wood-fired oven like in the picture, I couldn't resist... The following points are geared towards wood-fired ovens, but are valid for most sizes, from the 8-loaves home versions to larger sizes. "My" oven can handle 100 pounds of dough / 50 loaves per session.

The Handle:

Must be long enough to reach all the way in and be still long enough to get a good grip with two hands. You need leverage. So aim for [door to back corner] + at least 2 feet/60cm. This influences the place for your oven: You need at least as much space behind you, so that you can move freely. (Often overlooked in home environements...)
Must be heat-proof, but non-conductive. This rules out metal, because even with gloves you'd be scorching your hands. Wood is a good choice. Use hardwood, round or rounded, make sure there are no splinters(!) (but use gloves, just to be sure). When placing multiple loaves, you will want to work fast in order to have roughly the same baking time for all of them and to loose as little heat as possible through the oven door. So basically you will be rather sliding the handle along your hands than using a hand-over-hand motion. Catching a spliter this way will hurt like h**l - check the handle regularly, e.g. after each baking session. This answers the question of detaching the peel part: your handle will be the longest part and should be in one piece. So a removable peel doesn't change this much. If you want to fix it with some kind of nuts and bolts construction, do it horizontally, making sure nothing sticks out at the bottom and no cavity gets filled with ash, preventing disassembly.

The Peel

Choose a size that fits your baking habits: Estimate the usual loaf size(s), determine the required peel size from there: I'd add at least 2 in / 5 cm to the largest meassurement and use tis to determine the diameter or side length of the square /see later). Same goes for pizza: The entire pizza must fit on the peel. For cakes, the tin or sheet should provide enough stability, and you might choose to simply place it at the front of the oven and then use the peel to gently push it in place (more on this later). But don't overdo it: The larger the peel, the more unwieldy. Do not include French Bread / Baguette in this calculation, get a special sword-shaped peel for them.
Use warp-free material. This may be metal (but some do warp, I'm no expert, ask a professinal before building your own), but wood is fine. It will not burn or scorch if handeled properly. Stay clear from plywood, its likely to warp, splinter and if too thin can't hold a larger loaf well. Also, there's the question of glue: food grade, yes, but appropriate at high heat? I'd by wary... Most peels I have worked with are solid wood, but composed of three equally wide strips, glued together (no idea on the glue used), running in the same direction as the handle. I strongly suppose this is to reduce warping, at least that's what my carpenter suggested.
Shape is somewhat a matter of choice. If you are making mostly pizza, a round peel is good. Square peels can be impractical if you want to reach the back corners of the oven. My preferred peel is basically square(ish), with heavily rounded corners, the radius of the corners is probably 2in / 5cm. I can easily reach all corners of the oven without "catching" on the corners of the peel. (Sorry if this sounds muddled...)
You do want a thin(ish) front edge, though, to slide easily under the bread / pizza / baking tin when removing them from the oven. For metal peels, this feature is obviously  "included", for wooden peels, you can either just taper the front edge - like a knife - or taper the entire peel - the "wedge-shape" mentioned in the question. The latter would be my coice, because it allows the front edge to always/automatically be the lowest point without having to lift the handle much. You do not need a razor-sharp edge, somewhere around 2-5 mm is thin enough. You may get some wear over time as the stone of the oven sands the tip down. If the edge gets to "serrated" (after a few years), just sand it down a bit.
There is one aspect of shape that is easily overlooked, though: The back side of the peel where it meets the handle. If you have a sharpish corner here, it can be used to pull a baking tin towards you, either from the side or from the top. Just "hook" the peel to the tin and pull gently. This is especially handy if you need to manouever multiple tins around because a back one is done before the front one. You can try to slide the peel underneath, but this can be tricky if a filling hasn't set yet or you are bumping the tin into something else.
Maintenance: Neither type of peel should require maintenance. Brushing or wiping off excess ash and flour should be enough. Be generous with the dusting flour and you should "never" get stuck-on dough on the peel. If you do spill something, just wipe it off and let dry. No seasoning required or recommended.

In my home oven, I just use a plastic cutting board like this:

Mine have a larger hole in the handle, so I can easily pick one up wearing an oven mitt. I put cornmeal on the cutting board then put the loaf on it to rise, and slide it onto the preheated pizza stone really easily.

Advantages: they're lightweight, easy to clean, and I have about 8 of them already.

Disadvantages: no long handle, which would be more important if you were trying to put bread further into a hotter oven. For me it's not an issue, and if I ever feel that it is, I wear an oven mitt.


Is it safe to eat veggies that were chopped on bloody cutting board and then cooked? I made steak last night, and my girlfriend just chopped up some broccoli on the cutting board I used to prepare the meat, without washing it. She plans to cook the broccoli in the oven, which she said will cook off any bacteria that would have been transferred from the cutting board, but I'm really worried about cross contamination since it was 80 something degrees today and that cutting board had a fair amount of dried blood on it...

Should I eat the veggies tonight? I always err on the side of caution and think I'd rather mildly offend her by not eating that part of the meal than risk getting sick.

Your girlfriend is right (lucky you). As long as food is going to be cooked thoroughly after coming into contact with the blood on the cutting board there is no risk as the heat of the oven will kill off any microbes that can cause foodborne illness.

The concern would be cross contamination of food that will not be cooked, for instance salads, breads, etc. This is why good professional kitchens are strict about washing boards after being used - in a busy kitchen it would be easy for mistakes to be made. In a home kitchen when there's good communication or just one person cooking you have much less chance of that happening. However, it would be all too easy to forget and crunch down on a piece of raw broccoli or for a small child to get exposed by raiding the uncooked vegetables, which is why it's good practice to wash boards after cutting meat even in a home kitchen.

Without getting too technical, you did the right thing by not eating it. There are many factors that dictate wether a harmful pathogen got enough time, temperature, and moisture to grow on that cutting board to get to the veggies and make you sick. I'm trained on food safety, and for example in a restaurant that's a BiG no-no, and you are suppose to wash and sanitize the cutting board, tools and surface, when switching tasks, and specially between any raw peotein and vegetables. However, my family back home would totally do something like tgat, and probably not get sick, it all depends of how strong your gut is. I wouldn't feed those veggies to anyone myself


Is it possible to make yogurt and cheese from spoiled milk? I get raw milk and to somehow pasteurize it, I boil it. The milk strongly curdled showing that it is spoiled and rotten (definitely, not suitable for drinking). Is it totally bad milk and I should throw it away? or it still can be used for making yogurt and cheese?

Even if it is possible, it is a very, very bad idea as you don't know what cultures or pathogens are in the already spoiled milk.

Fermented dairy products should only be made from fresh milk in good condition—and in most cases, that milk should be pasteurized while fresh absolutely as soon as possible from the source cows.

It is a good idea to utilize sour milk for buttermilk production. If its acidity is too high, it can be reduced by adding pasteurized chilled water after the curd has formed.