How to make alfredo creamier longer? I make a simple alfredo sauce that is absolutely delicious.

It´s as easy as melting butter in a pan (about 2 or 3 tablespoons), adding a glass of 18% cream, and then shredding parmesan into it.

The problem is that after 10 minutes, while the food is on the plate and being consumed, the cheese hardens and sticks to the pasta I poured it on. How do I make it maintain that smooth, silky consistency? Is it possible? Could it just be a matter or adding more cream and /or butter?

I hope some of you with more scientific cooking knowledge can help me with this.

This is almost certainly due to cooling. Serving on heated plates will buy you some time. If (at home) you use microwave plate warmers you can place them under the plates after you've used them and the residual heat will keep the plates hot. You need to strike a balance as you don't want it to cook too much after serving.

Cream thickens on cooking (unlike butter which solidifies as it cools). So cooking the sauce for a shorter time might help as well. In fact the recipe I've got for this cautions against overcooking the cream (without saying why).

You don't say how much parmesan you add in proportion to the other ingredients, but you may be onto something with reducing it. Unfortunately this will reduce the flavour, and it's not like you can replace it with a much tastier cheese.

The other thing that's commonly done is adding a little pasta water to the sauce. If you're stirring it together, this can simply be a matter of not draining the pasta too much (this also depends on the shape). If you're spooning it over the top, taking a little of the starchy water just before you drain the pasta, and adding it to the sauce, could be worth a try. Again I don't know your exact quantities (like how big your glass is) but anyway it's a matter for experimenting. A tablespoon or two might be a good place to start. You probably need to put it in slowly while stirring.

Why not make the standard bechamel sauce? Pretty much as easy, add flour to the butter cook a minute, (at this point, I like a little garlic - saute a minute) then cream/milk, stir, then cheeses.  As it cools it thickens, the degree depends on how much liquid was added. Put in a little bacon and you have added carbonara to your skills.


Is eating olive pits a problem? I have been eating fresh and brined olives for years. I like the olives with the pits and usually consume the whole pit without removing it. It was recently pointed out to me that this is not a healthy practice, and even though I have been doing this for some time, I began to wonder whether it is 1)abnormal to eat the whole olive, pit and all, and 2) will the pits have a long term adverse effect? I have never met anyone who ate olive pits, and I find the with-pit olives to be the best, so I thought I would ask. Note that I do not grind up and chew the pits, as I am sure that my teeth would not like that!

I'd avoid this practice.

  The olive pit husk is very hard and should not be eaten, however, as it is indigestible and might injure the intestinal wall if sharp edges are present.  Also, do not chew the husk, as it is so hard it could break a tooth. Swallowing the husk is also a bad idea, as it has sharp ends that could be dangerous.  It is also quite indigestible and will come out just as it went in. (source)

Apparently US and Bulgarian research proved that olive stones melt in the digestive tract before reaching the intestines. I just received the information from a friend who is a medical researcher and I will also start eating them.


Can You Blowtorch A Pig Skin to Make it Crispy? I like to try this recipe here.

http://panlasangpinoy.com/2014/01/11/crispy-oven-broiled-liempo/

Liempo means Pork Belly in our country. Anyway, my oven is a simple gas oven with no broiler option. It doesn't have a heat on top or slot at the bottom. I can't make the pig skin cripy with that oven and I don't have a broiler also.

Is it possible to use a blowtorch to make the crispy skin? Any alternatives?

I quite often use a bottom heated gas oven at work for my slow cooked pork joints as we can't afford to have our main ovens on such a low heat all day. Never once have we had an issue getting crispy skin.
Using a blow torch you will probably find the skin blackens on top and the underside still being chewy-er than out of date beef jerky...

If you're meat is burning on the bottom due to the high bottom heat required for crispy skin, make sure you lay your meat on chopped vegetables and a little water or wine. Use the veg for gravy after cooking :-)

If you really really can't get the skin to crisp up. Heat some veg oil in a pan till it's smoking and then carefully pour it over the skin. If you do this after the vegetables and juices have been removed you'll be able to repeat the procedure a few times until your skin is puffed up.

Another way would be to remove the skin after cooking the meat and return it to the oven, skin side down, while the meat rests.

Finally, again once the meat is cooked and resting. Remove the skin and deep fry it for instant "pork scratching" style crackling.

Good luck.

If you a gas grill to cook your pig? After it is done and you have remove the meat from the Skin. You can cut the skin in to manageable sections and place them in the oven with skin side up and place the oven on broil. That will crisp you skin every time.


A thinner béarnaise? I've been using Julia Child's béarnaise recipe---2 tbl reduction, 3 egg
yolks, 4 oz clarified butter---, which produces a very thick sauce.  Is
this just how it's supposed to be, or is there a non-heretic way of
making it thinner?

The thickness is coming from the ratio of oil to water. Like mayonnaise, bearnaise is an oil-in-water emulsion, and will get thinner the more water is in it. (Consider the relative thickness of moist sand and mud; the butter in the bearnaise is like the sand.) Adding a bit of hot water will work well to thin it, but do so a bit at a time, stirring well afterwards, as a little bit of water will go a long way.

Every sauce is different in viscosity. To test the 'perfect' viscosity, the classic test for it is to see if it coats the back of a spoon smoothly and evenly. To solve your problem, I will suggest that you thin it with water or stock; and don`t use butter or oil.


Does meat need to be washed before preparation? I don't even remember where I have learned that, but I've always thought it common knowledge: Before a piece of meat gets seasoned, or malleted for tenderizing (sorry, don't know the English word for that), or marinated, or thrown into the pan, or ground, it should be first washed under the faucet, and then patted dry. When I think of it, it also makes sense to me, because the bacteria are always on the meat surface, never inside. So I don't think it is a vestige of the time one got bloodied cuts from the village butcher, but that it applies to the modern meat pieces sold on absorbent pads too.

And then I read this question, which presumes patting (but doesn't mention washing). Most of the answers and comments seem to indicate that patting isn't always considered necessary, and there is no mention of washing the meat or of the dripping water from the washing. In fact, the answers and comments wouldn't make much sense if one assumes that the meat has been just washed.

So is washing compulsory, is it optional but a good idea, is it plain useless, or does it even have disadvantages for the meat?

It's neither necessary nor a particularly good idea; it does little to remove bacteria from the surface of the meat (which you're about to cook, remember) and runs the risk of spraying/dripping bacteria all over the kitchen.

The FSIS has an article on it here:

  Washing raw poultry, beef, pork, lamb, or veal before cooking it is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces.

The only exception would be something like vac-packed, wet-aged meat where you need to remove the salt, but that's a matter of preference.

I have never washed a piece of meat in my life and I'm still here!

Sorry, there is no way I would NOT wash chicken before.  We have been washing chicken since the beginning of time and all of a sudden chicken juice is spreading everywhere.  If you are careful, it is fine.  I have been doing this all of my married life and none of us have EVER been sick from cross contamination.


How to get rids of flies and ants after you put cooked meals on the table? From my understanding, I tried using vinegar and draw a loop around my meals to prevent attracting the ants. As to prevent the flies, I use another plate to cover my meals. This can be a hard time for cleaning because of the need to clean the plates (that is used to cover the meals) and also the table with the vinegar.

Are there better ways?

Another option for covering plates to keep flies away is a mesh net: here's one example I found by using Google to search for flycover food. This won't come into contact with the food, unlike the plate you currently use or the newspaper @AnishaKaul suggests.

Hi i understand your problem,if u wanna to get rids of flies and ants , then first u need to go to market and buy a good spray for killing of flies and aunts, when these all flies and aunts dies then serve wash your hands and flour where all these dies , then serve meal, vinegar not help u more, i think spray is best option.


Why didn't my mustard sauce emulsify? I was making mustard croutons. I whisked together 2 parts warm melted butter, 2 parts olive oil, 1 part Dijon mustard, 1 part brown mustard (with whole seeds), 1 part sherry vinegar and table salt.

Since I had so much mustard I didn't think it would be necessary to do anything gradually (mustard being a great emulsifier), so I just dumped it all together and started whisking. Is that likely to have been the problem? Could it have been the warmth of the butter (not quite hot)?

Is there such a thing as too much emulsifier? The sauce never did emulsify by whisking, it just stubbornly stayed completely separated, albeit with ever smaller droplets of mustard/vinegar.

It probably wouldn't have mattered much since I was just planning to toss bread chunks in it anyway, to bake for croutons, but it bugged me so I whipped out the food processor. After processing the sauce looked emulsified, but it separated within perhaps 2 minutes. The croutons turned out great anyway, but for future reference I'd still like to know why I never did achieve an emulsion. I've made mayonnaise pretty much the same way, and it always turns out. What gives?

You really need to add the oil slowly at first, especially if whisking. You are trying to disperse the fat into tiny droplets suspended in the water phase (the water from the butter and the vinegar). You can't whisk fast or hard enough, especially by hand, to break up 3.7 parts fat in 1.3 parts water when all the fat is trying to combine into a single mass floating on the water, no matter how much mustard you have.

I would have whisked the mustard into the vinegar, then slowly added the butter, then the oil.

I suspect the culprit is the sherry vinegar. Water friendly liquids like alcohol can never form an emulsion with water because of their ability to freely mix.


How to clean stains from inside of vacuum flask? I use my vacuum flask to bring my lunch to work. I've been doing this almost every day for half an year or so. Now there are some sediments or stains in the bottom of the flask  although I wash the flask almost always immediately after it's emptied.

How can I get rid of the stain and smell inside the flask? I even used steel wool on a stick but could't make it clean 100% and I don't want to scratch it too much inside. Because I use it for food I am not sure if bleach is a good choice to go for.

Update

I have original Thermos made of stainless steel interior and exterior. Something like that one http://www.thermos.com/products/vacuum-insulated-10-oz-food-jar.aspx

Note that I am located in Austaralia so no cleaning products are available to me.

I have found that a tablespoon of Oxy Clean followed by boiling water will remove even the harshest stains inside a vacuum bottle. Fill it to the brim (it will bubble and overflow, so do it in a sink), let it sit for a bit, then rinse very very well, and you will be amazed, I promise. I do this periodically to remove the coffee stains inside our steel thermos flask. [Edited for typos]

Thermoclean (available in the UK) is meant specifically for cleaning vacuum flasks.


Dutch vegetable cordon-bleu I am looking for the name of a dish that I used to eat a few years ago in The Hague, Netherlands. It looked like a cordon-bleu stuffed with chopped vegetables (carrots, onions, fennel, and maybe millet) for what I remember. The outer part was kind of a fried breaded crust.

It was served as the main course at the vegetarian desk of the cafeteria, and now I blame myself for not paying attention to its name.

Does someone have a clue of the name of that dish ?

EDIT : As requested, here are some precisions about the shape. It was half-oval shaped : one side was straight and the other side was rounded (like on this picture)

The Dutch make a few dishes similar to what you describe.  (note: I'm assuming that your 'like a cordon-bleu' doesn't mean it's breaded stuffed chicken, as you mentioned it was vegetarian)

If they're smaller (one or two bites), they'd be bitterballen.  They're normally meat-filled, but they can be filled with vegetables, too.

If they were larger, they'd be kroketten

update: to clarify, I am not Dutch, and moved from the Netherlands 30 years ago.  As a non-native Dutch speaker, I had (possibly incorrectly) assumed that 'kroketten' was a class of food / style of preparation.  From Marc Luxen's answer and Cerberus's comments, I'm going to assume that the term is similar to American 'burger'.  If someone ordered a 'burger' and you gave them a veggie burger, it'd not be what they expected.  (and similarly, we have 'cheeseburger', 'veggieburger' and other compound words that are more specific)

(and there hadn't been complaints about people answering in comments, I wouldn't have made this an answer ... as I had to make an assumption about what made it 'cordon bleu'-like.  I assumed something stuffed, then breaded & fried, possibly with cheese or other dairy).

... and I'm making this community wiki so that any native Dutch person can correct it, as I don't know how to undo it being marked as correct.

You had a nasischijf. It is the Indonesian nasi goreng dish (rice with veggies and spices) in a crust, deep fried. You usually get it in snackbars or from a snackbar-wall. You eat it with sambal, Indonesian chilli-paste. Here are the Google image search results for "nasischijf".


How should I interpret this expiry date? I have a just opened plastic 4L container of cranberry juice that I bought several months ago. The expiry date on the container is 14 DE 15. I don't know if that should be interpreted as 14 Dec 2015, or 15 Dec 2014.

In general I have this problem with many expiry dates and am curious if there is any kind of standard.

According to this government website from Canada, the date on your product should be read as 15th of December of 2014.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/information-for-consumers/fact-sheets/date-labelling/eng/1332357469487/1332357545633

I have plum juice from Korea dated 2015.07.26 -- I also have Sour Cherry Juice from Slovenia dated AUG / 2015 --  Another juice from Italy says 25-JUN-2017 --   my Mango and Pineapple Juice were confusing because their dates were 12141214 (really no dates but I needed it and they were small single serving cans and in the end the smoothies I made with pulp and also yogurt tasted more like cans, lesson learned, I won't buy canned juices from abroad) -- Apple Juice from the US is dated 012516 -- and lastly my Concord Grape Juice and White Cherry Juice from the same US company is dated 15DEC16.  This is what I have in my pantry now and had before.  Good Luck  (PS I believe if it is US Welches or Italian Torani it is Dec 14 2015 and my Slovenian juice has the date then the year.  A very good way to find out is to go back to the place where you bought it from and ask them or call the company you bought it from or even email them or google.


The difference between beet sugar and cane sugar My initial guess was that refined sugar has to be the same no matter its provenance, but now I wonder if cane sugar has a different ratio of sucrose/glucose/fructose than beet sugar.  Is there any reason why packages of refined sugar advertise 100% cane sugar?

White beet sugar and white cane sugar are virtually identical in composition, but there may be very small differences (~0.05%) which some cooks find affects caramelization. Reportedly, cane sugar will caramelize better than beet sugar in many cases.

The bigger difference is when you look at brown sugars. In beet sugar, molasses is added after refining to make the brown sugar, as the molasses that comes from beet sugar is not fit for human consumption. Cane sugar is simply a less-refined product where the molasses has been left in the product. So when baking with beet brown sugar, often the molasses hasn't fully penetrated the sugar granules and "rubs off".

I have noticed that some jelly won't set when made with beet sugar.


Why do different pasta shapes taste different? I've noticed that even when I buy two different pasta shapes of the same brand (and so presumably the exact same recipe), they still taste subtly different, to the point that I consistently prefer the tastes of certain shapes of pasta. Is there any basis for this, or am I experiencing some form of synesthesia?

Different forms of pasta are going to have different surface-to-mass ratios, which will affect how the pasta cooks; the cross-section may affect how much starch gets rubbed off as the pasta boils.  (I can only assume that more's going to stay in a spiral or a tube than will on something that can rub up against other pasta)

But I'm going to assume that you're not eating the pasta plain ... and the different shapes will hold sauce differently, and that can be quite significant.

The other thing that Tom Gullen mentioned is variation in cooking -- I personally avoid capellini (aka angel hair), because I've had it overcooked so many times ... overcooked pasta is disgusting, in my opinion.

Pasta tastes the same and is the same no matter what shape it is. As someone stated above it can depend on how thick the pasta is and how long you cook it.


Is there a tradition where eating something sweet before something savory is the norm? I have a preference for eating sweets before a main savoury. Are there any cooking traditions where this is the norm? Secondly, why has the tradition of having a main savoury followed by sweets arisen? Why not the other way around?

Its pretty common in indian culture to eat sweets before eating savory stuff,

Note (jefromi) I've edited this to fix the English as best I can, guessing at the meaning of some parts. A few bits I couldn't really tell what was meant, and just left intact - those are marked with a ⁺.

Sweets were (a long time ago) very expensive, as sugar was. People never finished their meals with sweets, unless they were very rich or it was a an important holiday to celebrate with a special and expensive food.

Normal people ate sweets (if they were lucky) on Sunday. Otherwise, at Christmas, Easter and a few other anniversaries. On other "normal" days "normal people" ate soups seasoned, if it at all, with lard and a few other herbal ingredients. "Normal people" ate meat once a week, mostly chicken, and found the protein, mostly in legumes and cereals.

So I do not think the practice of eating sweets (not even across the entire western world) could have become a tradition. I think if anything, that an average life of a poor person has led to favoring poor food, and other hearty foods rich but unhealthy⁺. As if to say: "First we fill the belly, then later there will be little room for the sweets."

Finally, in India they cannot eat meat (at least the common people). That refer back with sweets is completely understandable.⁺

If we start with poor food, then when time for sweets comes, we are not so hungry, and have little room space for an expensive food.

If they may not, such as in India, eat meat, then maybe they prefer start from any few they have.⁺

I don't know other examples, and don't see any examples besides India, that have historical reasons.⁺

Historical reasons become tradition.

We had honey from before roman times.

"Only after the Crusades did it begin to rival honey as a sweetener in Europe.... The Spanish began cultivating sugarcane in the West Indies in 1506 (and in Cuba in 1523). The Portuguese first cultivated sugarcane in Brazil in 1532. ...Regardless of which century table sugar production was discovered, it was a luxury in much of the world until the 18th century. ... In the 18th century, the demand for table sugar boomed in Europe, and by the 19th century it had become a human necessity... Beginning in the late 18th century, the production of sugar became increasingly mechanized....During the same century, Europeans began experimenting with sugar production from other crops... However, the beet-sugar industry really took off during the Napoleonic Wars".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucrose


How do you properly drain the grease after browning ground beef? Whenever I try to drain the grease from the pan after I have browned ground beef, I always end up spilling a little here and there. I usually just take a spoon and "spoon out" the grease into a bowl.

Another technique my mother use to use, but only a few times, was to take a baster and remove the grease that way. But, the downside to this is that the grease is extremely hot and the rubber part of the baster would get really hot.

Is there an easier or better way to do this?

I have always found a glass bowl and a metal colander works best. I pour it in the sink to handle any splashes that occur.

I tilt the pan over the sink, press the hamburger up with the spoon, let the grease drain to the bottom of the pan, then keep flicking the grease out of the pan with the spoon into the sink. No extra dishes to dirty.


How can I keep chopped fruit fresh for 2-3 hours? I need to cut up a large amount of fruit for use in a pavlova dessert tomorrow night - although the same question would no doubt apply to a fruit salad or other fresh fruit item.

Anyway, I won't have time to do this between dinner and dessert, so I'll need to prepare the fruit a few hours in advance, and I'd like to keep it looking and tasting super-fresh.

What can I do to preserve the appearance, texture, and flavour of the fruit for as long as possible after it's been cut up?

The fruits in question are apples, kiwis, and possibly a few bananas.  I'd also be interested in knowing how to preserve strawberries, raspberries, and similar items.

I'd especially appreciate a complete breakdown of the process, i.e. is the freshness after a few hours going to be affected by how it's cut, storage vessels, air flow, temperatures, etc.?

I've preserved cut fruit for at least 6 hours before using just lemon juice. Lemon juice inhibits the oxidation of the fruit which prevents browning as well of a loss of crispness.

One lemon should be enough juice for a 1.5 quart bowl of cut fruit. Simply squeeze it over the fruit and toss gently to prevent bruising.

Since you'll be working with apples, kiwis, and bananas I think your best bet will be to keep them separate. The lemon juice will benefit both the apples and bananas, but might only be marginally effective if unnecessary for kiwi -- since kiwi brings plenty of its own citric acid to the table.

The fruit should be stored in the refrigerator to additionally inhibit oxidation. In my experience covering it with plastic wrap with a few holes poked in it works great. Aluminum foil should be fine as well. I find that the covering is primarily to protect your fruit from picking up other odors from within your fridge, and the holes permit the fruit to "breathe" releasing the buildup of ethylene gas that will occur if it is completely sealed.

If lemon juice is undesired you can use other citrus juices including: lime juice, orange juice, and pineapple juice. Obviously they will all bring their own flavors. If this flavoring is altogether undesired, then you should consider getting a commercial product called Fruit-Fresh. It's basically a powdered citric-acid, and kosher to boot.


Crispy Lembas Bread Recipe I've been taking a crack at a few variations of the Elven Lembas bread recipe from Lord of the Rings, because I'm a nerd and like to make random things. A common recipe I see linked in various blogs is this: http://www.geekychef.com/2008/12/elven-lembas-bread.html

I've modified the recipe a little bit (ie: swapped out macadamia nuts for almonds, and I ground up about 50 raisins and added them in too. Also, I used coconut oil in place of melted butter, and added a banana instead of the kumquats). So, the final recipe would be:

3 eggs
1 c. honey
1 banana
3 oz. chopped almonds
¼ c. melted coconut oil
2 ¼ c. whole wheat flour
½ tsp. salt
½ c. chopped raisins

I don't have access to a pizelle iron or a krumcake iron, so I tried baking these in the over. I ended up having to use more like 3½ cups of flour instead of the 2¼ the recipe calls for, just so it didn't have the consistency of runny semi-cooked eggs. The taste is good, but even after baking at 350 degrees (F) for 20 minutes, it comes out as a semi-soft, heavy lump and tasty doughy/undercooked inside. It also gives me some cramps, so I'm attributing that (hopefully correctly) to it being undercooked.

In the movie, these treats looked very solid in shape, kind of like a lemon bar (very flat top and bottom and clear-cut edges), and they looked flaky and crispy when eaten, kind of like a really thick cracker.

Are there any suggestions on preparation or the recipe in general that would allow me to have these more thoroughly cooked AND have a crispy texture rather than a heavy doughy one? I'm currently making them 4"x4"½x" in size each.

EDIT

I've since revisited the recipe, and now have something closer to what I wanted. It's not dry like a cracker or thick cookie, but it tastes good, texture is palatable, and after calculating the nutrition profile by hand (fat, vitamin, fibre, protein, etc), I'm quite please with the result. The modified ingredient list is now:

3 eggs
1 cup honey
1 banana
1 puréed mandarin orange (thoroughly washed, seedless, entire orange plus skin and pith included)
1 cup chopped almonds (ground to small pieces, almost a flour)
¼ c. melted coconut oil
1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
2 cups corn meal
½ tsp. salt
½ c. chopped raisins
2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast in ½ cup of warm water, let to dissolve for five minutes

The whole thing basically gets a trip in the food processor, except the flour, which is added after in a separate bowl. I bought some small 3" x 6" individual cake pans. I scoop a ½" thick layer into a pre-buttered/greased pan, and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes at 350 deg. F. The texture is roughly like that of a very heavy banana bread, and tastes good, just off sweet. The only thing I might modify is the amount of coconut oil.

I don't remember what the Lembas are supposed to be like in the original text, but whatever Tolkien intended them to be, the recipe is not for a bread-like item in the sense modern US Americans understand it. It is more comparable to waffles.

This is why it got wrong when you tried to treat it like bread. It is a batter, not a dough. The slow indirect heat of an oven is wrong for it, and it is not supposed to be able to hold its shape as a loaf. If you don't have a pizzelle iron, use a waffle iron for making them. If you don't have a waffle iron either, use a griddle or a hot pan and form and bake the lembas like pancakes, turning them during the process to get both sides baked.

Although I am saying "pancake" here, it refers to the cooking process, not to the final texture. If the chef who made the recipe knew what he was doing, the result can be crispy and flaky, similar to a dried tortilla. It will indeed be calorie-dense and durable, just like the fictional lemba.

As I don't think Tolkien gives anything closely usable as a culinary recipe, I guess that the chef just baked anything with these two qualities and called it "lemba". You can probably take any other kind of durable bread and use it as your recipe if you don't like this one. Knaeckebrod is probably a good starting point, considering that it has similar properties, and it is probably appropriate, seeing how much Tolkien was influenced by Nordic mythology.

If it does refer to a communion wafer, most unleavened breads (including any matzoh) would work, and there are a lot of very simple unleavened bread recipes.  These are to be served quite white, however, and do not meet Tolkien's description of brown on the outside and creamy white on the inside, which makes it somewhat problematic.


Non-stick spray substitute What would be good substitutes for non-stick spray? I've heard butter or vegetable oil. Would something like Crisco work?

Non-stick spray is mostly canola oil plus some water and an emulsifier. So canola oil would work well as would most vegetable oils.

To get an application closer to non-stick spray you can pour some on a paper towel and rub it on your cooking surface. You can also buy misters that are made especially for this purpose.

Crisco is mostly soy bean oil and palm oil. It will technically work well, but personally I find the flavor of palm oil to be a little stronger and not as appetizing as other vegetable oils.


How to dry homemade pork sausages with proper humidity and temperature? I am new to this and am attempting to dry some pork sausages. I was told to add a quarter pound of salt for every ten pounds of pork meat, which I did (I used ordinary table salt). I have the sausages hanging in my storage cellar which now stands at 9° C and 48% humidity.

What temperature and humidity do I actually need?  Is there a "magic number" to get the best results?  And how can I add more humidity if needed?

I'm assuming you're wanting to make classic dried sausage such as the salamis and saucisson of Italy and France.

Common salt is certainly the key to the drying process and a quarter pound per 10 pounds of meat is a pretty commonly used ratio, but you must also use a curing salt which helps protect against some of the truly nasty food poisoning bugs such as Clostridium botulinum. This just loves the warm, oxygen-free centre of a curing sausage and produces the botulinum toxin which kills around 5% of people who contract the illness.

Sodium nitrite (often called pink salt) or sodium nitrate (Insta Cure #2 - which converts to nitrite over time in the sausage and the nitrite then does the actual curing) are two commonly available salts.

One-half ounce per 10 pounds of meat in addition to the regular salt is a commonly-used ratio. Don't use more and be sure to keep it away from kids and your regular salt - in quantity it is very dangerous.

Something else I always use in dried sausage (but not hams or bacon) is a live starter culture such as LS-25 or one of the various stains sold as Bactoferm. Added to your mix at  two ounces per 10 pounds of meat with say three ounces of dextrose sugar and they will feed on the sugar and excrete lactic acid (just like the bacteria that you add to milk to make yogurt). This lowers the pH of the sausage which makes it even harder for dangerous bacteria to grow. It also produces that delicious acid tang to fermented sausage. If you use this, you hang the sausage in a really moist warm place for the first 24 hours to give the bacteria you added a head start (I have a tall old box with a lightbulb in the bottom).

As far as temperature and humidity goes, 60F and 70 percent humidity are ideal. Humidity below 60 percent can dry out the casing and meat surface too fast which can then harden and prevent the centre from drying (which will then just rot). You could try hanging the sausage above a bowl of water to increase the general humidity in the room.

Your sausage is ready when it has lost at least 30 percent of its original weight. Dry white mould on the casing is good, fuzzy black and green is bad. If you see a little you can rub it off with a cloth dipped in strong brine. Any sign that it is more than just on the surface and you'll have to bin the sausage and start again.

So to recap. Chill your 10 pounds of meat and mince it to your taste. (at least 20% fat gives good texture and flavour). Dissolve the LS25 in a little water and then add it, a quarter pound of salt, a half ounce of Insta Cure #2, up to a couple of ounces of spice of your choice (ground chilli and paprika for chorizo or fennel for something more Italian) a half ounce of finally chopped garlic, a glass of red wine and mix it really well. Then stuff into soaked casings, pricking out any air bubbles with a pin. Hang in a warm place for a day to get the good bacteria you added going, and then hang them in a cool, dampish place until the sausages have lost at least 30% of their weight.

I hope I haven't put you off - it's really as simple as baking a cake and homemade dried sausage is a tremendous thing of joy and beauty - but you really must get the ratios of salt and curing salt right.

If you want to be safe and make fabulous cured sausage I can absolutely recommend Cooking by Hand by Paul Bertolli and Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn which are both available in the US and Europe from Amazon.

But please don't eat your current batch. Throwing it away won't hurt like paralysis that starts with the face and slowly descends to the rest of the body, bringing death by respiratory failure...

You can buy these de-hydrator machines, or put it in the oven at 50 degrees Celsius for 8/12 hours.

Good luck


Do different fat contents (skim, 2%, whole, etc) affect rate or intensity of milk spoilage? Does milk with different fat contents (skim, 2%, whole, etc.) spoil at different rates?

And when spoilage does occur, are milks with higher fat content more sour than those with less?

Are there smell differences?

No, there is no reason they should.

Bacteria feed on carbohydrates, not on fats. (This is why oil doesn't spoil outside of the fridge - it is pure fat). So it is the amount of milk sugar which is important for the bacteria, and it is the same regardless of the fat content. Also, the spoiled milk is not more or less sour at the end.

The other important factors are initial bacteria count and storage temperature. You can't do anything about the bacteria count, and can't know what it is. The storage temperature is, of course, your fridge temperature, which should be in the small range of 0-4°C.

The other factor is the type of pasteurization. Traditional pasteurization makes a milk with a shelf life of 7 days, ESL gives it a shelf life of 21 days, and UHT milk can last for months, uncooled. Once opened, each of these types spoils within 3-4 days. And then, normally pasteurized milk goes really sour, partly even separating into curdles and whey. ESL and UHT milks get slightly more bitter, but not much, and they stay liquid and don't change their odour or colour. Unless you pay lots of attention to the taste, you can't tell when ESL milk is spoiled. But this happens the same way no matter the fat content.

the more the fat content the more the milk spoils


Why is carrot juice so sweet? Certain brands of carrot juice taste sweeter than any raw carrot I've ever eaten, yet are made only with carrots, with no added sweeteners. Are carrots sold in supermarkets just not ripe enough?

If you juice your own carrots you would see how sweet carrots actually are.

When you juice a carrot, you are extracting the liquid portion (which contains the majority of the sugars) from the cellulose. Since the cellulose is somewhat flavorless — it tastes pretty much like paper pulp — you are essentially creating "concentrated carrot" flavor, which is why it tastes so much sweeter than when you eat it whole.

You can also roast a carrot and see how sweet it is. Roasting drives off a lot of the water and breaks down the fiber. Try it; you'll see just how sweet a carrot actually is.

Also, the carrot is one of the only vegetables that contains that much sugar. Most vegetables consist of around 2 grams of sugar per 100g, while carrot is at 5 grams.


Why don't my cookies flatten? I have baked Betty Crocker's Giant Honey and Oat Cookies three or four times now, and every time, my cookies do not spread out, I just get thick cookies. Is there something I am doing wrong? As far as I can tell, I am following the recipe exactly. Does it have something to do with my oven? With my technique?

From looking at that recipe, those cookies look like they are designed to not spread out.  Why do I say that?  There is a lot of structure in the beginning - the egg whites and butter are beaten together with the sugar and honey for a strong structure made by a hybrid of the creaming method (beating butter with sugar) and the foaming method (beating eggs with sugar) used in cake baking.  There are no egg yolks, and the fat content isn't that high.  Fat helps cookies spread.  So I'd say your cookies are quite possibly doing what they are intended to do.

What you want to do is learn how the various components of your cookie affect its texture - the amount of fat (butter and eggs), the amount of sugar, the method you use to create it, and the temperature all affect your cookies.  You can learn a lot about cookie texture through the questions and answers on this site.

This answer links to a Good Eats episode that talks about three different kinds of chocolate chip cookies, including a soft and thick one.
The question that sparked the above answer has two answers referencing a Cooks Illustrated recipe, their Thick and Chewy cookie.  To get a thick and chewy cookie they melt the butter, add an extra egg yolk, and up the sugar.  A softer, cakier cookie is made by using the creaming method (creaming about 70 degree F butter and sugar).
This answer points you to Michael Ruhlmann's book Ratio, which in the ratio for cookies discusses the varying effects of sugar and fat on your cookies
This question talks about what makes cookies hold their shape versus spread.  One answer suggests the book Bakewise for a comprehensive discussion of gluten content, fat, etc. and how they work in making baked goods.
This answer about how to make cookies without creaming them describes cookies made with melted butter as "pancake cookies" that spread everywhere

As a note, remember that there is also a difference between the temperature your butter is when you make the cookies (especially if you are trying the creaming method versus using melted butter) and the temperature it is at when you cook them.

If the cookies don't rise, i'm not sure how to fix it but if they taste fine just flatten them yourself. Make sure the center is baking fine not just the outside before you do this. They may get a bit cracked or have weird fingerprints, depending on the consistency of the dough, but you can frost them of just drop a few chocolate chips on top when they're still hot to cover it.


What is this plant? Is it edible? I bought a bunch of cilantro today. Some of these leaves were mixed in with the cilantro. What are they? Are they edible?

Don't consume unknown plants for safety reasons, not even ones identified by a random stranger on the internet!
It is very difficult to identify plants based just on leaves alone, generally for a certain identification you need stems, flowers and/or seeds to be absolutely certain
Having said that:
These look very much like young Mallow leaves (Malva from the Malvaceae), which is a genus of widespread plants found in temperate to tropical areas. Many species are considered weeds and are common in disturbed soils in urban areas.
The things that make me think it is mallow are the kidney-shaped leaves, with indented teeth and a dark spot where the petiole meets the blade
Most of the species of Mallow are edible, with a pleasant sweet taste to them. Some of the species are common garden flowers - usually a pretty pink or sometimes white.

It depends on what type of cilantro you bought. If you bought confetti cilantro, the leaves would look much more thin, and have a touch of lime taste to it. If you did buy confetti cilantro, I’d recommend throwing out the odd leaves, because they wouldn’t mistake a plant that different. If you bought leaf cilantro, which looks very similar to the one in the picture, try smelling it to make sure it smells like cilantro.


How to store brown sugar without it becoming hard? I put a clothes pin on my opened bags of brown sugar and keep them in a dark pantry at room temperature.  Since I don't use it very often, it becomes hardened.  My work-around is to use a grater to grate it but it would be useful to avoid the problem in the first place.

How should I store it to prevent hardening? Do I put it in the freezer? If so, does it need to come to room temperature before using it?

Storing brown sugar in a tightly sealed container (such as tupperware, rubbermaid, etc.) is the best method.

Once it dries out however it can be re-moisturized by placing a piece of apple or bread with it inside a tightly sealed container.  After a day or two the brown sugar will soften and the bread will dry up or the apple will shrivel.

This is due to the hygroscopic nature(ability to absorb moisture from the surrounding atmosphere)of brown sugar.

You'll see "brown sugar keepers" in gourmet and cookware shops that are round decorative unglazed ceramic or terra cotta disks.  The concept is to soak them in water for an hour or two and then dry and place in the brown sugar.  Save your money and use a piece of bread or apple when the brown sugar is drying up.

You can also soften it for immediate use by microwaving for a little bit.  This should only be used for immediate use because after the sugar cools it will have lost more moisture (due to the fact that microwaves are heating the moisture in food).

A great way to make your brown sugar stay nice and moist is to cut a piece of bread and put it in your brown sugar bin. What happens is the brown sugar will soak up the moisture after time and your brown sugar will last a lot longer! just make sure that you are changing your bread every so often.


Detergent Contamination of Processed Foods Today I bought a Jack Links beef jerky from a vending machine, and when I bit into it I got a distinct taste of something acrid and soapy. As far as I could tell the packaging was not damaged and the jerky was not rotten or spoiled. I have also had this experience once before with a package of fruit snacks, Welch's brand I believe, and when one of the pieces had a spot of something blue on it, and had the same horrible soapy taste, but only on the one piece.

My question is, are processed foods sometimes contaminated with cleaning products used to clean equipment in factories? And if so how often does this sort of thing happen?

I have already tried doing a bit of research on Google and have not found much other than a few scientific papers relating to bacterial contamination, but not contamination of cleaning products.

Food processing plants have strict regulation to comply with, which means washing the equipment often. Most places wash the machines with detergent at the end of the shift or batch.

It may be quite possible for the detergent to get stuck in places or not rinsed perfectly and next batch of food picking it up.  Their main goal is to not get caught with bacterial infections.  Seems that you were the unlucky buyer of the first pieces of jerky coming out after a wash.

I'm not aware of published statistics for soap in food, and it is also less of a liability for them even though soap can be carcinogenic.  This kind of stuff is not rare by any means.  You decide if an anonymous base wage factory worker is where you'd like to place your trust when it comes to food you eat.

All the time. Hand sanitizer on fast food sandwiches especially. Just opened Gorton's new Parmesan crusted frozen cod and couldn't even stay in the room the filets smelled so much like soap - strong detergent. Even the outer sleeve box I had to throw in other room it was so off gassing.


Is a partially frozen chicken safe if not immediately cooked at the proper temperature? I put a partially frozen (inside) chicken in my convection oven, set it to what I thought was 400ºF (200ºC) and left the room with a timer on. An hour later it was discovered the temperature was only 150-200ºF (65-93ºC). It was in the convection oven an hour! I quickly set the correct temperature and finished cooking it. I just don't know if the hour it spent in the convection oven on the lower temperature did something with bacteria. I cooked it to an internal temperature of 180ºF (80ºC) degrees. Is it safe to eat this chicken?

Assuming you thawed the chicken (to the extent that you did) in the refrigerator, and further assuming that it took less than an hour to reach a safe internal temperature, I would say you are fine. An internal temperature of 180ºF (80ºC) is safe by quite a margin.

The USDA recommends that home cooks do not keep food within the "Danger Zone" of 40-140ºF (4-60ºC) for more than 2 hours. This includes preparation and cooking time. If you thawed the bird on the kitchen counter, or if your chicken accompanied you on a long journey from the supermarket in an unfrozen state, you'll have to factor that time in.

As @Jefromi's comment on another answer notes, simply reaching a high enough internal temperature is not a guarantee of safety since some microbes produce toxins that are heat-stable.

No, do not eat food that has slowly passed through the danger zone.

In my food handler classes I learned that any food that quickly moves from HOT --> Cold is safe, and visa versa.  However, it is un-safe to eat food that has slowly moved through the temperature zones.

IMO eat at your own risk.

edit for corrections


Why use milk in scrambled eggs? I've seen many recipes for scrambled eggs with and without milk / cream / half and half

So what does the milk do?  The only difference I can see is color - without the milk the eggs are a brighter yellow.

What am I missing?

Well, it makes the eggs go further for one...

But it also produces softer, creamier results. You're moving toward something like a custard or quiche. If you like your eggs very stiff, this is probably a bad idea.

I add about a quarter cup of 3.25% ( homo ) milk to 3 XL eggs; put them in a hot pan, on medium, with some melted butter, about 1 tsp. in it. Soon as they start to bubble, I begin stirring "slowly", with a spatula. Once they are about 3/4 done, I put a glass lid on them, so I can watch them because I don't want all the liquid to evaporate out of them. Then, after they have firmed up, I remove the lid, break them all up and serve them hot cause I like my food very hot. They still have some tasty juice left that I can dip my toast in. The milk keeps them soft and fluffy, even though I put my salt, pepper,hot sauce and green onion ( or chives ) in during the mix. I find that putting the salt on after they are cooked, gives them a tart metallic taste; but for those that may prefer, the spices can be added after. Well that's my 2c worth.


How to create kebabs that taste Greek I'm planning to do a Barbeque at the end of the month and I'd like to serve a variety of different 'Greek' style kebabs. I'm not looking for recipies, but what is the essence of creating grilled / barbeque food that tastes Greek. Whenever I have kebabs in Greece or in a Greek restaurant they taste different to kebabs I have had elsewhere but it's really difficult to tell what the difference is. One issue I think that might be important is the particualr mix of aromatic herbs such as Greek Basil. Does anyone else have any ideas what I can do?

The primary flavors of Greek meats are lemon, oregano, and olive oil. Typically either (or both) thyme and mint are present as well. I'd start with the following base for a marinade:

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice (2-ish lemons)
2 Tbsp oregano
1.5 tsp thyme
1.5 tsp mint

I'd also suggest adding some garlic and onion to this. Maybe 1/2 an onion and 4 cloves of garlic. Adding a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of red wine could add some depth as well (I'm assuming lamb or steak, use white for pork or chicken).

A good soak in this overnight, perhaps with some tweaks, should equate to Greek kebabs.

Other herbs & spices common in Greek cuisine include: marjoram, paprika (sweet & hot), and pepper. You can also find, in small quantities:  cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, anise, coriander, fennel, and allspice.

Real Greeks do use a lot of white wine vinegar so this may add to the taste.


Adding pasta to soup Is there any way to add pasta to soup without the pasta doubling in size and getting mushy in the fridge later.I've even tried putting uncooked pasta in with the same result.

First cook the soup. When it is ready get the amount you need and cook the pasta in there, then serve. You can add more pasta to the soup you put in the fridge when you reheat it.

I just recently cooked pasta before putting in the soup, but did not chill. It ballooned up like crazy and had to add more beef broth to compensate. I think chilling the pasta will def work! Thanks for the thought process.


Can I use citric acid instead of lemon juice when canning? I am making wine jelly and have run out of lemons. I have some citric acid in the pantry. Can I use the citric acid instead? The jelly calls for half a cup of lemon juice. If I can use it, how much citric acid would I use?

Yes, you can.  In fact, many canning and jarring recipes specifically call for citric acid.

Presumably you are using citric acid in its dried, crystalline form.  In that case, a solution of around 4% citric acid (e.g. 4gm in 100ml of water) should be around the same strength as lemon juice.

I just read you can add 3g citric acid/l or kg to make jam or marmalade.


Is 440° F too hot for an oven temperature? I recently purchased a pre made casserole and the instructions stated that it should be placed in a 440* oven for 55 minutes. This seems like a very hot cooking temperature to me - am I mistaken?
Thanks.

Assuming the packaging means 440°F, no, that's not that insane. Casseroles are heavy, with a lot of liquid, so it takes a lot of heat to heat them up, especially if this is a frozen premade casserole. It is on the high side, so you might want to make sure it's not browning too much on the top (cover with foil to shield if necessary) or burning on the bottom. You can always reduce the heat partway through if you have to; it'll just take longer.

Broil Temps are up to 550F.  If you have a Self Cleaning oven, the temps can go to 850F for that function.  Any temp that exceeds 600F must have an automatic door lock to prevent you from opening the door and being burned.

Hop that helps.


Is there a different fruit very similar to oranges? I recently purchased a fruit, which is very similar to an orange but slightly different in taste, size and color. The fruit I purchased is about 3 inches in diameter, and has a reddish orange peel and a rich sweet citrus taste. Its internal structure is exactly like that of an orange. Is there is any such variety of oranges? Or it is an entirely different fruit? One of my friend also told me that it wasn't an orange, but wasn't able to recall the fruit's name.

I went to market again but could not find it. I don't know its name. What it is called? I wasn't able to find it on fruits stores on the Internet. If anybody knows what it is then please let me know. Its rich taste is unforgettable. I would love to know what fruit it is. It's neither grapefruit nor blood oranges.

There are hundreds of varieties of citrus fruits, in a great variety of colors, sizes (and very occasionally, even different shapes).  There is really no fundamental difference between the various citrus fruits--they all cross breed and hybridize extremely readily.

It is possible if you post a photo that someone might recognize the cultivar, but other than that all that can really be said is that you have a citrus fruit.

It's called Malta as far as I can understand from the description you gave.


What's the best way to cook fall-off-the-bone baby-back ribs What's the best way to cook fall-off-the-bone baby-back ribs?

I rarely ever recommend boiling the heck out of meat.  You are washing away all of the flavor.  Remember water is a solvent and remove everything from the meat if it is left to boil long enough.  For the most tender ribs I would recommend a braise.  The slow, low, moist cooking of a braise is perfect for breaking down connective tissue in the ribs without drying them out or washing away natural flavor.  Even in smokers I haven't had great luck with baby back ribs as they have a tendency to dry out.

Here is a easy to follow braise for ribs by Alton Brown video, 1, 2.  It's a decent place to start and work on your preferred methods from there.

Please avoid boiling your meats, you will be so happy with other methods, even if they do take a bit longer.

What I do is peel of the skin, then boil in a mix of 75% Pepsi / 25% water until almost cooked.  Let rest for a couple of minutes and smother them in sauce and under the grill they go.

Awesome every time!


Can clarified butter be used for beurre noir? The first recipe of "The Nero Wolfe Cook Book" by Rex Stout is for Eggs au beurre noir. For the black butter sauce he gives the following instructions:

  "In a skillet melt [...] four
  tablespoons of butter over a medium
  heat. When white waxy particles have settled to the bottom, pour the clear liquid off into a bowl.
  Return the clarified butter to the pan and continue to cook until it has turned a deep golden brown..."

Now I have tried this recipe with unsalted butter, with salted butter, using a low heat, a medium heat, enough heat to create a fire hazard. I also tried different methods of clarification, all to no avail. The "deep golden brown" is only achievable, as far as I can tell, with unclarified butter. Indeed it appears to be the toasted butter solids that produce the golden brown.

I would have given up on this recipe altogether if it wasn't corroborated by other sources. It makes me wonder if, for example, American butter differs substantially from European butter. Does anyone know if black butter sauce can be made with clarified butter?

@Chris:  Does the recipe from the Nero Wolfe cookbook say anything about dumping the milky/watery portion out of the pan before returning the butter to it to brown?

Clarified butter WILL NOT brown, that is the purpose for clarifying it.  The milk solids are what brown.  The portion that usually goes to the bottom will be the whey and the milk solids initially tend to form the "scum" on the top.  To me it sounds like he's trying to suggest that you should pour the butter & solids off, dump out any whey, and then return the butter to the pan so you can heat it to the point of a dark brown without it splattering (which is caused by the water in the whey).  4 tablespoons of butter isn't going to have much whey in the first place so just cook the whole butter to the beurre noir point.

I don't think that "browning" involves milk solids....

Browning is the caramelizing of the sugars in meat.

So I think this is possible to be done with clarified butter.

I "brown" meats usually with olive oil, which also does not have any milk solids.


How does the meat in Weisswurst get so white? I have looked for the answer online, but no luck so far.

Does the ice "burn" the meat and it gets white?

How does it work?

The real question should be "what makes sausages pink" - but more later.

All meat turns greyish-white or brown when cooked. This is due to the myoglobin, which makes raw meat look pink or red, being not heat stable. When cooked it denaturates to metmyoglobin, which is grey-brown.

For pinkish sausages, curing salts are used. They contain sodium nitrite, which transforms the myoglobin to a more stable form nitrosomyoglobin, that becomes Nitrosomyochromogen when heated - and is red.

For Weisswurst, simple table salt is used in a sausage mixture that contains light coloured meats (veal, sometimes pork), fat and water, hence the whiteish-grey colour. Curing salts have a preserving effect that simple table salt does not have. Traditionally, Weisswurst was therefore supposed to eaten before noon. Modern refrigerators have made this former necessity obsolete, yet the custom remains.

White sausages such as these contain milk powder to enhance the white color


What is the easiest way to shred chicken? Usually I will just cook it and then tear it to pieces using two forks, but this is still pretty time consuming.  Are there any secret ways to easily do this?

Once it's cooled down some, I switch to using my hands ... expecially as it helps to find any bones, globs of fat, etc.  I find it goes much faster, particularly if you're dealing with anything other than boneless breast meat.

... but it shreds easiest while it's still warm, so if I'm doing a fair bit, I'll break a bit apart using forks, let that cool, break some more apart with a fork, then shread the first bit before it cools too much, repeat.  (so basically, I have one set broken down somewhat to cool faster while I'm shreding an already-cooled off bit).

update as justkt mentioned, the cooking method matters -- roasting and other high heat methods are going to cook the outside faster than the inside.  I typically poach my chicken if I'm going to be shreding it -- bring water to a boil, add chicken, bring back to a boil, turn to low, then leave for an hour or two ... the low temp gets it all nice and tender, while the boiling kills surface bacteria.

Boil the chicken and then shred it with two forks.


How to thin Ranch dressing? I found a recipe online for Ranch dressing that uses mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk. The ratio of these ingredients are to my like (tastes good enough). However, I'd like the dressing to be a bit thinner (more liquidy). How would I go about achieving this? Add milk, cream, water, or something else?

Anything, including a 'neutral' flavor, is going to change the flavor, even if all it does is reduce the 'intensity'. So what you need to find is what is an 'acceptable' change.

With this in mind I suggest your best 'first choice' would be to warm your dressing slightly. Place the container or mixing bowl into a warm water bath. You are not trying to 'cook' or make it 'hot' just warm enough to thin it out without actually changing the flavor profile.

If that doesn't work for you then you might consider adding something to the mix.

The most likely thing you can do is alter the existing ratio to favor the 'thinner' ingredients. More Buttermilk, less mayo or sour cream.
Your second 'best' option would be to seek an thinning agent that does not distort the existing flavor profile 'too much'. Best candidate would probably be heavy cream or soft butter.
If neither of those options produces an acceptable result you might look for a different thinner such as an oil (olive, soy, canola) or another dairy (milk, low-fat or whole)

I add sun-dried vinegrette salad dressing.  Its a great combo.  50/50.  I would never use either on their own, but together its fantastic.


licking spoon and putting back in the food Recently had some guest at my house - while I was in another room one of the guest was sampling the food repeatedly and put the spoon from mouth back in the food.  Is this a health concern?  Does the food spoil faster?

Safety-wise: If the food is heated at least to 180° F/ 80°C, I'd like to cite Jefromi

  But if you're just cooking for yourself I personally wouldn't really
  worry about it, because in general you'll be cooking the food at a
  safe temperature, not just above the danger zone (140F/60C) but
  something safe for all meat (180F/80C) so whatever bacteria you put in
  with your spoon is just going to get killed. We routinely put
  potentially contaminated things like raw meat into our food while
  cooking, and let the heat take care of it; whatever you might be
  carrying isn't any more dangerous.

and logophobe

  Double-dipping isn't a big concern unless
  you're ill [...]
  You're probably introducing your friends and family to just as much
  contamination in the form of dust and such simply by having them in
  your home.

Quality-wise, as Stephie already pointed out: Liquids thickened with starch will liquidify if these come in contact with saliva (the enzyme amylase in particular). It breaks down starch to sugar.

Yes I would say there is a problem with sampling food and then putting the spoon back in the food. The food would now be contaminated with any bacteria this person was carrying around in their mouth. Not to mention the germ factor. As to spoiling faster I don't think that would make a difference. Maybe you should talk to your guest about doing this.


Why don't some Italian tomato sauces and pastes use citric acid? I bought tomato paste that came from Italy that just contains tomatoes and no citric acid. Another jar of tomato passata also only contained tomatoes. Are Italian tomatoes more acidic or is there a reason that they don't seem to use citric acid? I would be more comfortable knowing the ph is at the right level for food safety reasons but perhaps it is?

Citric acid is added when the PH of the overall product is too high. Most of the time a product with pure tomatoes doesn't need any help with PH as the tomatoes should be acidic enough, when you see citric acid added you will usually see water added as well in some form. Water is added to bulk up the product and make it cheaper, some companies add tomato juice instead of water as it looks better on the labeling , but at the end of the day tomato juice is just flavored water. Water increases the overall PH level, so you have to bring it back up.

When you don't see citric acid in a can of tomatoes or a tomato product it's usually a sign that they are really good quality.

The citric acid in your tomato cans is insurance to cover the cost cutting and arguably lower standards without getting customers sick.

I'm american, but have traveled. Factory conditions in North America are not the same as in Europe. They are dirtier and more "cost efficient". Therefore american companies will take extra measures to ensure safety that traditional European methods and practices naturally provide.

For example, US eggs are laid in (relatively) filthy and overcrowded cages, so they get feces and food bits all over them right away. These eggs must be washed, which removes the natural mucus layer that protects the egg. This means US eggs need refrigerated, while European ones do not. Technically, the US eggs are "cleaner", but the back story is telling.

American tomato puree likely has fruit from the ground, over-ripe fruit, fruit where rotten sections are (hopefully) removed, etc. They then use chemicals and physical processes (microwave, UV, pasteurization, etc) to make sure these potentially dangerous supplies don't result in sickness. Taste suffers, but the costs can be lower.


What are the acceptable methods to thaw food items? What are the proper ways to thaw foods?   Are there any advantages or disadvantages to them?

There are four methods for thawing frozen foods which are recognized as safe:

In a refrigerator
In the microwave
Under cool running water
As part of the cooking process

These four methods all meet the criteria that they minimize the amount of time the food spends in the danger zone (40-140 F, 4-60 C) where bacteria can grow.

The pros and cons of the following often-recommended methods are also reviewed:

Leaving food on the counter overnight
Thawing in a bowl (or sink) of water
On a metal pan or with a "miracle thaw" device

In the refrigerator

Thawing food in the refrigerator is slow; it can take a day to thaw several pounds (a kilogram or two), and even more time for larger foods like a whole frozen turkey.

The advantage is that the refrigerator is at a safe temperature, and bacterial growth is already inhibited, so there is little risk.

This is probably the preferred method for many foods, if you have the time.

In the microwave

Thawing in the microwave is fast, but it has several disadvantages:

It requires a lot of attention, turning or rotating the food to get even coverage from the microwaves; for items like ground beef, you might even need to scrape off the thawed portions and continue defrosting the frozen portion.
It is easy to accidently go to far and start cooking the food, especially if it has an odd shape or small pointier parts sticking out (like wings on a chicken).

For this reason, microwave thawing is best done only for foods like soup or stew, where you can stir them and if one part boils a small amount while another part is frozen, no harm is done.

Under cool running water

This one is most surprising, but it is true:  the fastest way to thaw food safely is under cool running water (at or below 70 F / 21 C), like the cold water from your tap.

The reason is that that water has an extremely high capacity for carrying heat, and the forced convection from running water ensures that it transfers heat from the food item as rapidly as possible.  In the Good Eats episode What's Up Duck, Alton Brown thawed several frozen ice duck sculptures by various methods.   The one under cool running water was almost completely melted, even when the one in the oven at 200 F was still fairly recognizably bird shaped.

It is important that the water be running, to ensure strong convection.  You can do this by setting the food in the sink under a very small stream of water.

If the food should not get wet, you can put it in a zip-type bag or similar to keep it dry.  Try to remove as much air as possible, to get the best contact between the water and the food (through the bag).

This is the best method for forced, rapid thawing (at least when microwaving is not appropriate or inconvenient), but it is probably less convenient that the refrigerator method.   You also have to monitor the food, and remove it when it is thawed, or it will come to the ambient temperature of the water, which is probably in the danger zone.

As part of the cooking process

Some foods can be cooked starting from the frozen state, thawing and then cooking in one operation.

Among the ones most suitable for this are are smaller or thinner items, such as:

Cookie dough lumps
Hamburgers
Chicken parts
Pizza
Stew meat
Frozen, chopped vegetables
Frozen stock (at least in smaller quantities)

Bad idea: on the Counter overnight

This is a bad idea, especially for meats and other highly perishable items.   You have no control over the temperature the surface of the food will reach, and it may begin to spoil at the surface before the center is thawed.

Bad idea: In a bowl (or sink) of cold water

Again, a bad idea.  Without the convection, the thawing speed is reduced.  There is also no source of newer, cooler water, so the temperature of the water itself will rise.

Some parts of the food may reach dangerous temperatures before it is fully thawed.  Also, if you don't check the food frequently, the temperature can get into dangerous territories, facilitating spoilage.

Risky: On a cast iron, stainless steel or other metal pan, or a "miracle thaw" device

This method is most often used with thin foods like steaks or frozen hamburgers.

Physics are with you, as the specific heat capacity and conductivity of the metal are very high (higher even than water).  The large surface area of the metal acts like a radiator or heat sink in reverse, conducting heat away from the food more rapidly than air alone would.

This method is not approved by health codes for commercial use, and carries some risks.  You need to monitor the food closely, and cook it or move it into the refrigerator as soon as it is thawed.  Failure to do so will allow the food to spoil, and the conductivity of your metal will become your enemy, more quickly bringing the food to ambient temperature.

While this method is not officially sanctioned, you may choose to assess its risks for yourself.

See also:

USDA Food Safety Fact Sheet
How do I know if food left at room temperature is still safe to eat?

After managing restaurants, where chicken was a staple, frozen chicken does very well, under a small stream of running water, thawing safely.  If you thaw in refrigerator,  put your chicken on bottom shelf, avoids cross contamination with other items


Best way to remove seeds when making jam and still have it called jam When making jams and/or preserves using berries, sometimes you want the jam to be seedless (especially when using raspberries or blackberries).  I know often times people use a food mill or strain the fruit through a fine mess sieve, but would you get the same effect using a masticating juicer?  Or would that take too much of the fruit to still be considered jam?

Basically I'm asking if I use my masticating juicer to get the juice and pulp from blackberries or raspberries and can them, would it be considered seedless jam or is it now jelly?  And if it is now jelly, how using a masticating juicer makes it jelly when straining through a sieve still allows it to be jam?

I use a cheesecloth.  you can get the seeds out of the berries

I think that the best way to remove seeds when you prepare berries jelly is to use a sieve. But be aware that metallic sieves can alter the acidity of berries, so use a nylon sieve... for more info:
http://italianscookitbetter.com/tip/the-right-sieve


Why does canned mango pulp have no vitamin A? Mango contains plenty of vitamin A (http://www.thefruitpages.com/chartmango.shtml). I have some frozen mango which confirms this on the bag. However, a can of mango pulp says that it has 0% of the daily recommended amount. Why is that?

The vitamin loss is due primarily to the puree'ing. The viramin A in mangoes comes from beta-carotene, and beta-carotene breaks down easily due to oxidation. On a similar note, I've seen recommendations that carrots (another good source of beta-carotene) not be chopped into small pieces before canning to preserve their vitamin content.

Lots of vitamins are also destroyed by the heat of canning, but beta-carotene is not as susceptible to this problem because it is fat soluble.

Just analysed for vitamin A in mango puree.
There is none or rather it is lower than my LOQ of 27 ug/100 ml.
This is despite the retinol colour on the puree during extraction.


What can I do with a lot of sage? We have this sage plant and it's grown into gigantic monster which is consuming my herb patch.

I'm going to attack it with gusto and will have lots of sage to do something with. Last year we made a sage jelly but this year i want to do something else.

What are my options?

One of the most popular things I've seen sage used for is tea.  You just dry the leaves, steep as you would regular tea leaves (personally I like it with ginger root if I have some handy), and then maybe a little honey or lemon.  Sage is anti-bacterial, which is a nice bonus.

Meat-wise, I like to use sage with pork chops, either as part of a marinade or just chopped and rubbed onto the pork and then grilled.  Sage also goes great with chicken.  Roll the sage in your hands to release the oils, then either chop very finely or mash with a mortar and pestle.  Mix with a little salt and rub onto chicken breasts, and sautee in oil or butter (or grill it).

Veggie-wise, I think it pairs very well with sliced, sauteed carrots.  It goes very well with potatoes, try sweating some onion in a pan with a little oil or butter, adding some potato slices, and right before they're ready add fresh chopped sage.  It's also a great ingredient in stuffing, dried or fresh.

I had sage-laced cornbread once, it was pretty delicious.  Wasn't there for the making of, so not sure if there was any special preparation needed, but the end result was nice.  In fact, a friend of mine a while back who was a baker loved using sage in various breads, but baking is one of my weak spots so I can't really give you any specifics other than "this combination works, check Google for recipes" :)

At one point, I heard someone refer to what they called "sage fritters", which were basically sage dredged in seasoned flour and egg, then quickly fried in oil.  I did a quick search to find the source, and didn't see it, but did come across a very interesting idea: Sage and Apple Fritters (these are much more of a true fritter than what I first mentioned).

If you get tired of it while it's fresh and you're running around like a lunatic trying to find uses for it, there's always freezing.  I freeze or dry any large quantities of herbs at the end of the summer, there are a few methods available.  You can reference this question, I feel like there's a better one about specifically freezing herbs on this site but I can't find it right now.  The short of it is, some people have good luck freezing whole leaves as they are, some people prefer to chop them or put them in the food processor with some oil or stock, and freeze into cubes.  Both methods have advantages and disadvantages.

Alton Brown has a great method for drying described in this episode (text transcript).  Essentially, you layer an air filter (like you'd use in your central air unit) with an herb.  Place another filter on top, layer it again.  Continue as much as you want, then strap them all to a box fan.  Instead of weeks to months, you should have dried herbs in a couple days, max.  You can watch the video here, skip to about 2:30 in.   Bonus: the same episode describes his method of freezing herbs, that's about 1:00 in on the same link.

Speaking of Alton Brown, he recommends herb vinegar - you'll find how he makes it on the (text transcript) link in this paragraph.

There are also a TON of medicinal uses and has been used for thousands of years for various remedies.  Since this is a cooking site I'm hesitant to list them all (there are a lot), but you can read more about the most popular ones here, here and here.

This is non-culinary, but you can use it to "smudge", which is often tied to cleansing rites, but can also be considered just a simple incense/potpourri.  I had a hippie friend once whose house always smelled like smoldering sage.  More details can be found here.

Can you tell I grow sage and generally have an abundance at the end of the season?

Ground powdered sage leaves are good for colouring homemade soap.


Is there a difference between tepid water and lukewarm water? Is there a difference between tepid water and lukewarm water? Are the terms interchangeable?

Teped water in COOKING is in fact 30-40 degrees Celsius, 86 to 90 degrees Farenhight.


How long can a bread dough containing eggs wait before going to the oven? I am waiting until the bread has grown enough. Naturally, outside fridge. However, the dough contains a cracked egg among other ingredients. Will it become unsafe to eat?

I suppose the oven will kill any organism that may start to multiply in the dough.

The USDA recommends that raw eggs should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. They also recommend that any recipe including raw eggs should be cooked within 24 hours.
However, the USDA always errs on the side of safety - they also recommend (in the same section of the website) that eggs should be cooked until both the white and yolk are firm, which is not necessary to kill bacteria.
Keeping in line with the USDA's recommendations, you should let the dough rise for a maximum of two hours at room temperature, then move it into the fridge until it doubles in size (or until it rises appropriately).

It should be fine, your main concern would be milk based products in the dough. The U.S. Department of Agriculture advises against consuming milk products that have been left out at room temperature. If the dough was left overnight in the refrigerator set to 4C (40F) or below, this is not a concern.

With a refrigerated dough that has been left overnight, the flavor and texture will be similar to the original recipe. If the dough has been left on the counter, it will develop a slightly sour taste. The texture of the bread will become thicker and may not rise as much during the second rise or the final baking. If it is left overnight during the second proof, it will also be a different shape than expected, as over-proofing makes bubbles expand beyond normal and then collapse when they are baked.


Moving cast iron from fridge to stove I made a really big one-pot meal in a cast iron (enameled) dutch oven and I'm fairly lazy. So I take all the leftovers once cooled, slap the lid on, and put it in the fridge.

The next day, it's time to reheat the food. Again, being lazy (and not owning a microwave), I want to just put the entire dutch oven right onto the stove and crank on the gas.

Is there any danger in damaging the dutch oven (cracking of the iron or enamel) by putting very cold iron onto the burner?

According to Le Creuset's care and usage instructions for their enamel coated cast iron cookware, sudden drastic temperature changes may result in cracking.  Other anecdotal remarka on various cooking websites also agree that cracking can occur from sudden tempurature changes.

Le Creuset website

I cook in cast iron. Chicken, beef, pork, fish, or anything. As long as it cooks through, I throw the whole (cooled/covered) pan in the fridge. Some stuff will  taste irony/rusty. You'll know what you do and do not like. If it was cooked it won't poison you. So stop worrying. Throw it back on the stove, heat it up, and eat those delicious leftovers like God intended. Tho an inexperienced cast iron user should be careful as rust can form in the pan and may be a heath risk


Cooking ham in an oven with oven cleaner If a ham was cooked for 20 mins in an oven before realising that there was a layer of oven cleaner in the oven, is the meat safe to eat?

I'm not sure what kind of cleaner you used, but either way, the heat changes the molecular structure of the cleaner used and 'gases' it, allowing it to permeate into your food.  It is a shame, but throw it away.

first off, what type of oven cleaner?  If you are using a natural cleaning remedy such as baking soda, then yes, if using a commercial caustic soda based product I would say no.  This is besides the fact that the ham will taste of cleaning product.  Imagine using flavored 'chips' on your BBQ, that is in effect what you are doing with your oven cleaner.  By stating that baking soda is natural I appear to have caused offense, no baking soda is not natural, however it is far less harmful than caustic soda, I have yet to find a recipe that calls for caustic soda (save olives from the tree - but that is off topic).  There really is only one short answer here and that is, throw the Ham away, thoroughly clean your oven, turn the oven on afterwards to ensure that any traces of cleaner are burnt off, then start again...


What does vanilla extract add to a recipe? I have been cooking for a while and have noticed small amount of Vanilla extract needed in cakes, cookies, muffins, even a smoothie recipe.  Often times I forget the Vanilla or don't have any.  What am I losing in general in a recipe without any Vanilla Extract?

Then in this recipe 1 cup yogurt, 1 banana, 4-6 cups milk, 1 peach, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract what does the Vanilla add or subtract?

Vanilla extract adds the flavour of vanilla! Not as nice as using a real vanilla bean, but significantly cheaper and much easier to get hold of.

Vanilla bean would be expensive, but so incredibly good. Vanilla extract is massively produced, it isn't as concentrated as real bean. They add other ingredients to stretch the vanilla flavor.

But the bottom line is, vanilla enhances flavor.


Does whiskey go bad by freezing? This question does not have to do with home brewing but I figured someone here would be able to answer.

Does scotch whiskey go bad if kept in standard home freezers for a few days?
Does it also matter that the air-tight seal has been broken? In other words for opened bottles.

It does seem to bubble very slightly when poured out but tastes fine. Just wondering if there is a big 'don't do that' attached to this.

Putting strong spirits in the freezer should not harm them. The solubility of air gases increases at low temperature, which is why you see bubbles as it warms up.

Drinks with a lower alcohol content will be affected in the freezer. There is potential to freeze water out of anything with an alcohol content of 28% or lower. Many people use the freezer to increase the alcohol content of their home brew in UK, by freezing water out of it - the alcohol stays in the liquid portion.

Yes, It goes bad. I stored my entire stock of liquor outside during an Ohio winter for about a week, just took the cap off my previously unopended bottle of Jack Daniels and soon as I took a shot it had a terrible spoiled taste, and i mean I have old no. 7 tatooed on my arm but I just cant drink anymore of it(and sadly its the big 1.75 ltr)


New cast iron skillet came out rusty after seasoning After looking them up for a long time, I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a cast iron skillet.
After it arrived, I cleaned it in hot soapy water and scoured it, to remove the wax coating, as per the instructions. I wiped it dry, then popped it in the oven quickly to fully dry it.
After this, I took sunflower oil, and coated the entire skillet. I then let it sit in the oven for an hour, at 200ºC. When I took it out, the coating was uneven (I now know I put too much oil), and was reddish-brown!

I think I managed to get it rusty within the first day of owning it (pictures below)!

How do I resolve this, and ensure it does not happen again?

That looks a lot more like cooked oil than rust on the inside. Either way, probably not rust, and definitely not enough rust to cause concern. Scrub it off.

When I season my cast iron, I just do it on the stove. I heat the pan until it's smoking, and carefully add a little oil and swirl it around. Let it cool, wipe it out. Then, use it. When you do use it, clean it gently. Avoid using soap, just use water and a spatula or something. It's a good idea to heat it on the stove top to dry it well after cleaning. Over time you get a good thing going.

But either way, rust with cast iron is no cause for concern. Even if it was completely covered in rust, you can brush it out and re-season.

Here is a el-cheap-o Cast Iron 10" pan I got at the PX, way back when I was active duty. I recently polished inside the pan with power tools, until I got a mirror finish, ( bare cast iron) . I then seasoned it 5 times using "Flax Seed Oil" in the Oven @ 430 degrees for 1 hour for each seasoning. That shiny coat you is isn't oil, but a finish that rivals that of teflon ! This pan is "Bullet Proof" ! Mine has the pinta of old world copper !


Why add pasta water to pasta sauce? I've noticed that many Italian chefs add to their pasta sauces some of the water they used to cook their pasta.  What is the purpose of this?

I believe the primary reason is that the pasta water is already hot. When you need to thin your sauce on short notice, you add hot pasta water and it will not cool down your sauce. Secondary benefits are:

The pasta water has nice salinity, so you're not diluting the salinity level of the sauce. This assumes you salted your pasta water. You did, right?
There is some starch in the pasta water. However, since the pasta water has already achieved a high temperature, any thickening benefit would already be achieved. If your pasta water is anything like any I've ever seen, it's just about as runny as any other water. So this benefit is probably negligible. Perhaps it has more of an effect once the pasta water added to the sauce has reduced.

Everyone seems off base on this. The simple reason to add water is to cut down the acidy taste. My mother (Sicilian) always used 2 cans of puree and 2 cans of paste. She added 2 - 3 cans of water and the sauce never tasted acidy at all.


What can I use to replace beet sugar syrup for cookies? I'm making cookies that call for beet sugar syrup but I don't think it's available in my country. What can I use in substitute for it?

My first reaction was to think that beet sugar syrup was just simple syrup, since beet sugar is just regular sugar, but I looked around and discovered that I was wrong.

The reviewers on Amazon likened the flavor to that of raisins, and suggest molasses, AKA treacle (not blackstrap molasses, use a lighter variety), as the best substitute. If the molasses flavor seems a bit strong, try mixing it with a bit of corn syrup, preferably dark corn syrup.

How much do you need? I dont know if this is suitable, but you could try it.

You try macerating your own beet syrup.

A simple macerating recipe:

Combine 2 cups of 1/4 inch diced beets to 3/4 cup of cane sugar, and 3 tbsp of fresh lemon juice. Fold it over until everything is wet, let it stand in its own juices for a minimum of 2 hours. Strain off the syrup. I think you might get a half cup of syrup.

You'll have to experiment because I haven't done this with hard root veg before, just softer fruits, but it might be your trick and also a way to get down to even more from scratch if that's your thing.

EDIT: Adding some more here.

I just learned how they make beet syrup, and I am modifying it for the kitchen here based on my other hands-on experiences extracting juices from hard fruit (sp. apples).

1) Boil the beet (white beets produce the most sugar but also impart the least flavor)

2) grind the beet (you can use a meat grinder, or a modified sinkerator ala home cider grinding, or dice, bag and pulverize with a mallet.

3) add beet pulp to heavy cheese cloth, put "cheese" between two pieces of hardwood plywood planking, and use 3 or 4 C clamps to squeeze the juice out.

4) don't forget to catch the juice :)

5) reduce the juice down by simmering until it's the thickness and consistency you are looking for.

Yeah yeah, I know this is a lot of work. As you guys get to know me though, I like to from scratch as much as I can. It can also be a fun project for someone to learn how something is made and to make it once or twice then return to using a shelf product.

Anyway, don't down vote me for that. If you need a thing that's hard to get, sometimes the only way to get it is to make it yourself.


Flank steak came out chewy this time. What's to blame? I have stir fried flank steak about 5 times now, but this time it came out really chewy.  Is this because I may have cooked it longer than usually?  Or is it the meat or some other factor?

Here is the procedure I followed:

Cut it across the fibers (perpendicular) into 1/4" wide slices.
Marinated the pieces for about 10 minutes in a little soy, wine, and aromatics.
Cooked on really high heat for 1 minutes, stir fried for another 2 minutes.
Took it out. Put it back in and stir fried for another 1-2 minutes.

Perhaps it's because you used grass-fed instead of corn-fed beef. Grass-fed beef tends to be more chewy and flank steaks aren't exactly the most tender of cuts when stir-fried.

It also seems that the slices may have been in the pan/wok a tad too long, especially when they aren't particularly thick.

You could try using a fruit-based marinade that includes pineapples or papayas. They're known to have enzymes which break down meat fibres exceptionally well. I've found that they're far more effective than purely acidic marinades when applied to meats.

You bought a bad cut of flank steak. They used to be tender and flavorful and my experience is in the past year or so the toughness and lack of flavor in flank steaks has gotten to the point where I won't even buy it anymore. I have switched to flat iron steaks for what you describe. Much more tender and flavorful.

And people, you really can't overcook a flank steak to where it becomes tough and chewy. It has to start out that way...


Is it contaminating the spice to touch it after touching raw meat? When I cook raw meat, especially chicken strips, I have it spread out on the chopping board with a few bags and containers of spice to the side. I don't actually use too many shakers for spice. Since my fingers can only hold so much spice at once, I often go back to the bag and grab some more and rub it on the meat. But this is after my fingers have touched the meat. Does this contaminate the spice in the bag or container?

Also, chefs on TV shows frequently make it that way, does this mean it is a safe practice?

The bowl (and the salt/pepper) is contaminated if you touch it after touching raw chicken or any other unsafe food.

In fact, this is precisely why cooks and TV chefs mix it up in a little bowl first. They don't want to contaminate the entire container or even a perfectly good salt/pepper shaker.

They don't reuse the bowl afterward, they throw out any leftovers and toss the dish in the dishwasher. It's a convenient and safe way to season raw meat.

A high salt environment kills EVERYTHING that lives. including bacteria and germs.


How to what is left behind when I have Removed the Melted Aluminum Foil from the Oven bottom I used Twizttid' protocol successfully (BELOW)
BUT...

You’ll need some Plasticine, Drano, water, GLOVES!!, a lot of paper towels and wood skewers and GOOD VENTILATION.

Start the ventilation and open a window or door.

Put on your gloves.

Use the Plasticine to create a dam about .25″-.5″ high around the area in the oven you’re looking to remove the aluminum from. The areas you’re working in should be about 2.5″ in diameter.

Pour some of the Drano into the dam and add enough water to touch all the sides of the dam. If the chemical reaction hasn’t started (should be almost instant), keep adding the Drano bit by bit until it does. The dam contents will start to boil and ammonia fumes and a little hydrogen gas will form, hence the need for some good ventilation!!

Once the reaction is done, poke around with the wood skewer to see if the oven bottom is clear. If you’re satisfied with the results, add some some vinegar to help neutralize the solution a bit, then use the wood skewer to remove the Plasticine dam to a dish to be rinsed off ASAP.

Use paper towels to wipe up the mess on the bottom of the oven. See your results! The area of the oven bottom you treated should be free of aluminum and just be discolored instead. Not from the Drano, but from where the Teflon bonded.

Repeat the process until the oven bottom is clean.

To get a ‘feel’ for the chemical reaction and what to expect, experiment first! Take a square of aluminum foil, go to the backyard with the foil shaped into a little bowl, place it on a dish or pan, add some Drano crystals to it then add a little water. Step back from the dish and try not to breath the fumes! The dish will be hot!!

It took me about six hours to clean the bottom of my oven when this happened to me.

AND HERE IS THE BUT...
There is a mark that is identical to the aluminium shape left after the aluminium has gone. It is raised to touch and a dull black colour (looks silver in the image because of the camera flash). I do not know what it is composed of but I want to remove it. Does anybody know how? (P.s. This is a new oven and I'm not going to scrape it off even if it will come - not my oven).

Reading through the comments following that procedure you cited, the original author of that article suggested an application of naval jelly (from the paint department at your local hardware store) as the solution that actually worked. Naval jelly is pink goop containing phosphoric acid that is used to remove rust from iron or steel, leaving a clean surface.

Essentially, you spread aluminum jelly over the aluminum, smear it around every few hours, leave it overnight, wipe clean and repeat process until the residue is gone. It takes days, but it is gentle with no fumes. The solution was was verified by several users in that conversation. You can read about the process starting here:

 BK says: Back in November, I searched for a way to fix our new oven …

Bonus solution: The original article also claims that the entire bottom plate can be replaced usually for less than US$30.00. Contact your manufacturer for a replacement part and guidance on installing it.

That is still aluminum, evidenced because it's still raised some. It's dark because it is somewhat anodized. You'll have to keep trying UNTIL the process stops causing a reaction each repeated step.

This is a lesson I had to learn, never use aluminum foil to catch drips. Use a cookie sheet instead.


How to enhance sweetness of a baked chocolate brownie? I am not sure if it is even possible or not. I baked a almond and walnut chocolate brownie. While I was preparing the mixture I added extra cocoa powder, I though it will give the brownie a perfect chocolate color. This resulted in bit bitter brownie. The brownie is perfectly baked. I have never ever baked some thing so perfect and consistent like this brownie. Can I some how enhance  sweetness of this brownie?

You could always frost the brownies, or you could also sprinkle powdered sugar with a sieve over the top to add a little extra sweetness.

If it were me, I would dump the idea that these were eat-alone brownies, and see what else could be done with them.  That bitter chocolate makes me think of Mexico.  How about this:  Oaxacan turtle sundaes, with vanilla ice cream, your brownies, caramel sauce, and ancho-dusted pecans (ancho is a dark red pepper with a fair amount of heat. Ground ancho can be found many places with a decent spice selection or Mexican grocery).  For extra points, sub cajeta (caramelized goats milk) for the caramel sauce


Does 100% rye sourdough bread always have a sticky crumb? How do I make it stick to the knife less? Every time I make a 100% rye sourdough, it sticks to the knife when I cut it even after letting it sit for a day before cutting. Is this normal? I have tried to vary the hydration ratio a bit, but it still behaves the same way. Is there some "additive" to make it less sticky? Is it a must to add wheat for that?

The sourdough starter I maintain is simple: 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of water.

I dissolve malt syrup, molasses, salt, and spices in a warm .5-1 cup of water. Then I add starter, 4 cups of flour, mix it and transfer right away into loaf pan. AFAIK there is no need to fold 100% rye bread and it raises fast. I bake it at 350˚F for slightly over an hour. I sometimes use Nu Wave infrared oven (40 min), but the very bottom is not quite crispy.

The final bread looks and tastes good. But that stickiness on the knife and rolled "crumbs" are driving me crazy. Is there something I can do to minimize it?

I heard that an over-proofed starter can help lower pH; helping pentosans keep bread structure and making them absorb less water. I tried making the bread with a well proofed starter, but it made no difference. Do I have not enough starter for that amount of flour? Shall I move some flour there to prevent pH from raising much?

Here is the pic to get an idea. It is not the best one to show the issue. The bread is almost a week old and the issue is not as acute. For 1 day old bread, it sticks incredibly.

One cause of gumminess in 100% rye breads is excessive starch degradation related to amylase enzyme actions.  Amylase action is slowed down by increasing acidity.  You can increase the acidity by adding a small amount of lemon juice or cream of tartar to your dough as described here.

In his books "Whole Grain Breads" and "Crust and Crumb", Peter Reinhart comments that you can use ascorbic acid (1/8 tsp / 125 mg per loaf) to increase acidity and inhibit both amylase and protease activity.

Since rye bread doesn't have significant gluten for structure, but instead relies completely on starches and pentosans, it is imperative to let the loaf cool completely before cutting it so that the starches crystallize and the gums solidify.


Can I successfully freeze raw cabbage? How long will an half of raw cabbage last in the freezer? Had leftover after making stuffed cabbage rolls, will be making corned beef & cabbage for St. Paddy's Day. Will it make it?

You can freeze raw cabbage and keep it for months, however it's not good for the texture as freezing damages the structure. You're better off keeping it in the fridge or just using it. It may make it to St. Patrick's day in the fridge but it will lose some flavor, I'd suggest using it and buying more then.

Freezing cabbage only makes it limp & wet, because the cells contain water, and you know what happens when water freezes...it expands, and would burst the cells in the cabbage, creating watery & limp cabbage when thawed. My Mom used to freeze tomatoes... run them under warm water & the skin would rub right off, once the tomato was all thawed, She would "core" it & serve cold like diced tomatoes out of a can with salt & pepper & no lost flavor!


How much is "a ladleful"? I have a recipe that asks for "a ladleful" of something. The recipe book usually uses imperial weights and volumes, that I can convert to my metric units that I hold so dear.

As I understand it, a ladleful is the volume necessary to fill a ladle - but how much is it? A ladle can take on various sizes, so I guess it wouldn't make much sense to not normalize it in any way (like, a cup is eight ounces).

EDIT:
As suggested in the comments, I want to mention it is "a ladleful of sourdough starter" that I should add to 2 pounds 7 ounces / 1.1 kg of rye flour and 2.5 cups of water. I'd normally go with about 500g of starter, but that seems like a big ladle to me.

Every sourdough starter has different characteristics, a ladleful of one will give a different result from the same amount of another. The recipe is right in that there's no way to say what result you are going to get, so why be exact.

The point I would make is that you want repeatibility, and the capability to adjust your amounts over time to suit your taste. So whatever you use to get it out (ladle, spoon, measuring cup, hand) I would weigh and record how much starter you use, you can add more or less and see how you get. As long as you keep using the same starter you can adjust to your taste.