Stainless steel vs ceramic Enamel microwave ovens I want to buy a convection microwave oven. I plan to buy either from LG or from samsung .Almost all LG products have stainless steel cavity and Samsung comes with ceramic enamel cavity. What is the difference between stainless steel vs ceramic enamel in terms of:

Durability
Ease of cleaning

none
none

Both are durable and easy to clean, the factors I would look at instead are power, features, and user experience. Use a testing service like consumer reports in the US or Which? in the UK as a buying guide, they generally provide good information.

i have both LG & SAMSUNG in my hotel , but i felt that stainless steel cavity would be good due to following reasons:-

1) better reflection of electromagnetic waves
2) faster heating
3) no leakage of electromagnetic waves ,that prevents the hazards on our body.
4) lower consumption of electricity than that of ceramic cavity , coz it needs more time to heat up.
5) I would prefer LG microwave due to its excellent customer service than Samsung.


3 day old steak turning brown from the inside out I have a 10oz. steak I cut 3 days ago. It was stored on peach paper, which is oxygenated. It is beginning to brown from the inside out. The exterior is fine, no slime, no odour. But when cooked, it looked medium well at 120*F. It also tasted dry. I get that age would make it dry. I`m just wondering why it is browning on the inside. Any ideas what would cause this?

I've heard that some stores will actually use some type of food safe bleach to extend the life of their meat products. It is possible that the meat you purchased was treated in this manner which would not have an affect on the inside of the steak. This would make the inside age quicker than the outside.  Just a thought.


Do all modern electric stoves have "binary" heating elements? I've noticed that the burners of some or all of the newish-style electric stoves which have a flat top have a peculiar property.  They do not seem to be capable of running at a constant low temperature, instead periodically coming on high for brief-to-longer periods of time.  These stoves were not, as I understand it, discount priced.  They are not induction stoves, but seem to have an element embedded in the material which forms that part of the stove top.

Is this an across-the-board trend in new stoves?  Is it difficult to find electric stoves which work the "old way", supplying a constant temperature?  Is there an advantage to the way these newer stoves work?  It would seem to be difficult or impossible to cook a range of dishes on such appliances.

The burners on essentially all electric stoves are binary in that they are either fully on, or fully off.  It would be more expensive and less energy efficient to use electronics that continuously vary the current flow through an electric element, and this would make no significant difference in temperature behavior at the cooking surface.  Instead, electric stoves use a bimetallic switch which is a relatively simple way to have an on-off pattern with variable on/off times.  To create constant heat, all electric stoves use materials that are bad conductors of heat between the electric element and the cookware surface to buffer the huge temperature swings at the element and produce very steady heat at the cooking surface.

The difference you are seeing between electric coil heating elements and glass-ceramic cooktops is that in the electric coils there is an inner heating element, then a thick ceramic layer, followed by an outer layer of metal.  The element itself is heated in a binary manner, but all you can observe is the heat after the buffering of the ceramic layer has made up for the large fluctuations at the element (i.e. the outer metal glowing fairly constantly once it's heated).  In a glass-ceramic cooktop, since the buffer layer (the glass-ceramic surface) is translucent, you are seeing the actual element glow (often this is an infrared lamp instead of a resistive wire) so you are viewing the non-buffered heating pattern.  If you had a clear coil, you'd see the same heating on/off patterns in a coil stove as you do in glass-ceramic.

Consequently, if you measure the surface temperature of a glass ceramic cooktop, you should see a fairly constant temperature.

With reference to the first statement that electric heating elements used to hold a constant temperature compared to today's, clearly visible, on, off cycle of heat. Older manfgr's use to make controls with rheostats that allowed the user to adjust the flow of electricity thereby controlling the amount of electricity used to generate heat in the element. Compared to today's (cheap) method of cutting out the rheostat and through historical experimentation, the control uses "timed" on, off to generate different temperatures.
It is possible to make an electrical element that uses simple on, off at the control knob and still maintain constant temperature in the element, but manfgr's seem to not have engineers smart enough to make them.


Is there any danger to letting food cook in a slow cooker for a very long time? I've recently started using a slow cooker and I was thinking about recipes that could be cooked for days.  My main concern is if there are any side effects for leaving food cooking for days that would make this plan unfeasible (dangerous to try).  Since it is at cooking temperature, there wouldn't be any reason to worry about bacteria growing on the food.  Liquid would be lost over time, which could result in burning if left unchecked, but if I add more every morning/night as needed, that too wouldn't be a problem.  All I can see is that most recipes wouldn't end up tasting as well, but undesirable isn't equal to dangerous.

There just seems to be something absurd with the notion of leaving food cooking for 5 days or even 2 weeks without there being any dangers, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what they would be.

It's safe. All that matters for safety is that the food stays out of the danger zone (above 140F).

But it sounds like a pretty reliable way to overcook things. Perhaps that's why it sounds absurd to you? Slow cookers tend to be somewhere between simmer and light boil (probably at least 180F), and there's very little that won't be fully cooked after half a day at those temperatures. If you cook for days, you'll start turning beans and vegetables to mush, and may manage to make meat tough from overcooking. So at best it's pointless, and at worst it's going to mess up your food.

Pork needs to be cooked throughout. It needs to be above 72°c for most bacteria to die. As long as you have increased the heat and let it alow cook above that head for a bit you will be fine. Remember that these heats are just guide lines but if you are serving it to other people then it is probably best to adhere to them.


How long does fresh salmon last in the freezer? I bought salmon 2 weeks ago, and left it in my freezer. Is it still safe to consume it? what about consuming it raw?

Yes, as long as food goes, 2 weeks in the freezer is not that long (assuming it was always in the freezer). So feel free to defrost it and enjoy your salmon.


Is there such a thing as "food grade CO2"? I'm thinking about building a setup to make my own carbonated water. Should I be concerned that I'll be filling up my CO2 tank at Dick's Sporting Goods?

According to The Brewing Network, industrial and food grade CO2 generally come from the same plants:

  The slight difference between industrial-grade CO2 and food-grade CO2 is the type of tests that are done to qualify CO2 as beverage or beer gas-grade compared to industrial-grade. Currently, the FDA's requirement for food-grade CO2 a 99.90% purity rating. The other .09% is made up of impurities such as hydrocarbons or nitrogen. Industrial grade CO2 is 99% pure CO2, also containing impurities such as hydrocarbons or nitrogen.

However, the nature of those impurities extremely important.  They go on to suggest:

  One impurity that all homebrewers should be aware of is benzene. Benzene is a no-no for homebrewers. If the CO2 that you are purchasing has high benzene levels, it will leave you and fellow drinkers with terrible headaches. When I say high levels, we are not talking about much. Benzene is usually an impurity that is referred to in PPB. The benzene level should be around 20 PPB.

They suggest you ask for a profile of the impurities, although I suspect that Dick's will be unable to comply.   You will have to assess your own tolerance for risk, but you may better off seeking a more appropriate local vendor.

And a year later, the definitive answer:
There is a difference, but not one you need to care about. CO2 is used when packaging red meat and other foodstuff to prevent the color to turn gray. Oxygen caused this change. Food grade CO2 therefore is specified with very little oxygen. Industrial CO2 is not guaranteed to have very little oxygen. Oxygen is of no concern in any other food application.


Is it possible to destroy the seasoning on cast-iron by getting the pan too hot? Yesterday I thoroughly cleaned my cast iron pan, reseasoned it four times for 30 minutes at 450 with liquid canola oil. The seasoning looked really good, and I had a great sheen across the entire bottom and sides of the pan.

I cooked bacon this morning, then cleaned by scouring with a sponge. I dried with a paper towel, buffed some more canola oil on with a new paper towel, and turned my stove on high. After 15 minutes, the iron was up to 700F-800F. I turned it off, let it cool down and it looks like the seasoning has been stripped from where the pan was hottest, pictured below.

Is there a temperature at which the seasoning is destroyed? If so, what is it? If that's not what caused my problem, what did?

As Jolene linked to in comments, one can certainly burn off cast iron seasoning at a high enough temperature.  The exact temperature where it will begin to disintegrate depends on exactly what the seasoning layer is like (composition of oils etc. used to treat it, thickness and number of layers, how thoroughly the oils may have been polymerized, etc.).

Depending on the exact seasoning layer composition and thickness, you'll see a number of different possible scenarios -- the layer could effectively "evaporate off" mostly through smoke, it could flake and degrade, and/or it could turn into a layer of powdery ash (sort of like what one sees after a self-cleaning oven cycle).

There's a lot of kitchen "lore" surrounding cast iron seasoning, even on websites that claim to be based on "science."  Everybody has their favorite seasoning methods and materials.  So, I'm really not certain of all the chemical details here.  But my personal experience is that a "young" seasoning that is rarely or never heated very hot is more likely to "smoke off."  A very old seasoning that is quite thick will often leave ash residue (and will require a higher temperature to strip down to bare iron).

No matter how good your seasoning is, though, it will be destroyed by heat long before you get close to damaging the actual iron structure of the pan.  There's an old traditional method of stripping seasoning off a cast iron pan that involves throwing the pan into a hot campfire.  So this is a very old practice.

In short : Yes.

More fully, it depends on the oil used. It depends not just on the smoke point of the oil or its fat content, but:

  The oil used by artists and woodturners is linseed oil. The food-grade
  equivalent is called flaxseed oil. This oil is ideal for seasoning
  cast iron for the same reason it’s an ideal base for oil paint and
  wood finishes. It’s a “drying oil”, which means it can transform into
  a hard, tough film. This doesn’t happen through “drying” in the sense
  of losing moisture through evaporation. The term is actually a
  misnomer. The transformation is through a chemical process called
  “polymerization”.

The full explanation is at:
http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

This was tested in the labs at cooks illustrated (https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5820-the-ultimate-way-to-season-cast-iron), so I put it in the category of highly reliable.

An aside: I have also gotten good results with grapeseed oil, when I didn't have flaxseed oil.


Sourdough in Bread Maker? Are there any bread machines that would allow making a sourdough rye bread?
If not, could a bread maker simplify the process of making a sourdough loaf?

There are three courses of action for producing sourdough with a bread machine:

Use the bread machine just for mixing dough, then rise and bake it separately.  This will produce the best result, defined as the best texture and strongest sourdough flavor.  In this case, you get to monitor the progress of the sourdough as it is rising, which gives you better control over the results.   With this course, make sure to  start preheating your oven early, because it has to be fully ready when the dough is.  It's heartbreaking to watch helplessly as beautiful sourdough loaves collapse while your oven preheats.  Also, you can throw a handful of icecubes into the oven a minute or two before the bread, to get steam, which gives maximum oven spring and a softer crust. This helps prevent the common problem of dense sourdough.
Do a "cheater" sourdough that incorporates both yeast and sourdough starter.  This is the most hands-off approach, but it won't yield as strong a sourdough flavor results as option one.  Basically, you take a standard bread recipe that uses a poolish preferment, and you replace the poolish with equivalent-hydration sourdough starter, but retain the yeast.  So, you're getting leavening primarily from the yeast, but flavor from the sourdough.  Up to half the flour can come from the starter.  You can gradually reduce the yeast amounts and increase rise time until it's approaching a true sourdough. See recipe below!
Do true sourdough with a bread machine that allows you to program VERY long rise/proofing times.  This is the worst option, because sourdough rise times vary greatly, even with the same starter.  The leavening power of starters also varies from almost as fast as instant yeast, to over 12 hours for a full rise.  I think you'll have a hard time finding a bread maker that can be programmed for the longest times, and because you're relying on a fixed timer, the dough will inevitably be either under-risen or collapsing.   Sourdough can go from under-risen to over-risen and collapsing in as little as 30 minutes.

Cheater Sourdough Recipe derived from Pain Sur Poolish:

Ingredients:

425g/15 oz sourdough starter, fed the night before with equal volumes all purpose flour and water (or about 6.7 oz flour per 8 oz water)
227g/8 oz bread ("Strong") flour
227g/8 oz all purpose flour
200 g/7 oz warm water
1 tsp instant yeast (SAF Red Label)
2 tsp salt
Optional: 1 tsp diastatic malt powder
Optional: 1/4 cup dry milk powder

Procedure:

Mix together dry ingredients, then mix in wet ingredients until incorporated.
Knead about 8-10 minutes on stand mixer speed 2, or until the dough is soft and stretchy. It should be a little wet, but not too much.
Rise dough for ~45 min-1.5 hours, or until doubled.  If using a bread machine, rise an extra 30 minutes or so, and skip to step 9.
If using oven: start preheating to 500F/260C with a pizza stone in the lower rack
Divide dough in half, and shape into two loaves, making sure not to handle too much as this will remove gas.
If using oven: coat an inverted aluminum 1/2 sheet pan with pan spray and corn meal, then transfer loaves to pan.  Cover with plastic wrap with the bottom coated in pan spray.
Proof bread 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it stops rising and a finger leaves a dent in the loaf.
If using oven: throw a handful of ice cubes into the oven to generate steam, then slash the loaves and load into oven.
In oven: Bake @ 500F/260C for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 435F/225C and bake for a further 15 minutes.  In bread machine: bake at about 375F/190C for about 30 minutes.  If not using diastatic malt, crust may still be somewhat pale.

This recipe (with slight modifications) is now my standard bread, which I bake frequently.  I'm still tweaking the exact time to bake at the reduced temperature; if the top is browning excessively but the interior is underdone, it may help to flip the loves over for the last few minutes of cooking.

My bread maker makes sourdough bread just fine. I made some tonight.


What makes the Pillsbury canned biscuits puff up? What is it in canned biscuits that makes them puff up immediately upon opening the can yet stops them from raising further? What kind of food voodoo is at work here? Please explain the food science behind this and what additives cause this effect in the "food".

It could be achieved with almost any leavening, but I suspect it's baking soda or baking powder, and not yeast.

You'd just need to package it before the reaction is completed, and let it finish in the container.  This would create additional gas, which would pressurize the can.

As for why it doesn't continue to rise, it's because they can control how much leavening goes in, so they'll have a known amount of gas created.  Once that gas gets to one atmospheric pressure (roughly, depending on how close to sea level you are), it'll expand appropriately.

It's effectively the same sort of process that happens with fizzy drinks -- when you open the bottle or can, you allow the interior pressure to equalize with the surrounding, which causes the bubbles to escape.  The difference in that case is that the bubbles are dissolved in the liquid, and so may need some agitation or nucleation sites to escape.  But there's still a fixed amount of bubbling that could happen.

My guess is that they are packaged in a vacuum which removes any air and other gasses. Upon opening, air rushes in and the dough pops out. Just like a sponge will when sealed in a vacuum.


Is it possible to do sous vide cooking in a crock pot? I'd never heard of sous vide before coming to this site, but all the posts about it here have made me want to try it.  I've seen the beer cooler method, which I also want to try, but, for a smaller scale test, is it possible to do it in a crock pot?  What would the differences in cooking times and techniques be?

Yes you can.  Some of the best sous-vide I've had has been in a crock-pot.

You'll need a crock-pot with a manual (analogue) dial. What you do is set the dial to maximum and use a PID controller (found ~$20 on ebay).

Take a look at this article about hacking your slow cooker:

http://www.cookingforgeeks.com/blog/posts/diy-sous-vide/

Update:

Sous-vide by definition requires control of the temperature (Beer Cooler does not control, but holds well).  However, you can still do this without extra logic.  All you need is a good thermometer and time:

Fill your crock-pot to 70% with room temperature water, set your Crock-Pot to the lowest setting, and leave it for 2-3 hours.  Thermo-dynamics laws dictate that you will reach an equilibrium with time.  If you're bored you can keep a log of the temperature change over time and stop when you notice it doesn't change much any more (it'll be helpful for next cooking session).

Measure the water temperature and check against where you need to be (125, 140, etc).  Adjust the dial and throw more time at it until the crock-pot reaches equilibrium again.  Repeat until you have reached and sustained your desired temperature.  Make sure your crock-pot is not near an open window with draft to mess with the crock-pot (i.e. keep the room temperature steady).

Weigh your food and put it in the rock-pot.  Take out the same amount of water from the existing water in the crock-pot so that the total weight of the crock-pot is the same.

This isn't hard if you use the metric system.  Each Millilitre of water weighs 1 gram.  So for 1lb, take out 454ml or essentially two cups.

Now you can use the same timing and temperature rules as everyone else.

PS: For the 'ballistic' method, I.E. the beer cooler, you can measure the temperature loss over time of water in the cooler to land you perfectly where you want to be. Chef Kenji says a 'couple of degrees higher'.  But you can predict the drop over your cooking time as well as the initial temperature.  And roughly speaking: Mass Of Food x Food Temperature + Mass of Water * Water Temperature = Total Mass * Final Water bath temperature.

Sous vide is a technique created by professional chefs that had the idea to re-purpose an immersion circulator traditionally used in laboratories where incredibly precise temperature are required. The same temperature requirement of precision is needed in the kitchen when cooking sous vide.

Using a cooler would work, but only as an insulated vessel to hold the water. However, the water bath or vessel, is not the issue - you could use a plastic bin (as many chefs do). The problem is reaching and maintaining a very precise temperature throughout the water bath, for the total duration of cooking time. Hence, making the crock pot idea not really viable for cooking sous vide.

This is not to mention, of course, the whole "sous vide" (under vacuum) thing...it is also very important to create a full vacuum in a perfectly sealed vacuum bag.
If you are interested, the best value professional equipment I know is at: www.vacuum-packer.com


What uses are there for basil flowers? I have tons of basil in my herb spiral.

However, this stuff is precious, and I always feel bad when I throw away the basil flowers when I make pesto sauce.

Is there a way to use the basil flowers when cooking?

If you pinch off the basil flowers as they start to grow, the plant will produce more leaves. (Yes, this is a horticultural answer, but it will help you make more yummy dishes with the leaves.)

Honestly, I use them as a sign that it's time to toss the basil plant.


Is it possible to make Sour Cream at home? I use Sour Cream in several recipes, is there a way to make it from scratch?

Sour cream is just cultured cream. You want to take fresh cream and then add the correct culture, then let it sit.

One way is to add a small amount of cultured buttermilk (with live cultures) to the cream. Put the mixture in a clean container and leave it in a warm place. In a day or two the cultures will have turned the cream "sour." and it's ready to use. At this point, you can use your fresh sour cream to start other sour creams as well.

The best way I prefer is just take some properly hung curd and add some double cream to it and ur done....


What is the difference between roasting, baking, and broasting? For example, when making a turkey for Thanksgiving, I generally place it in the oven (covered in foil or a turkey bag), and cook it for many hours at the recommended heat setting.

I can crock-pot a "roast" cut of meat for many hours, or put it in the oven (again covered) for several hours at a low temperature.

How is that different from "baking", other than when baking the top is generally not covered?

Traditionally roasting used radiant heat to cook meat. This would have taken place over an open flame, typically on a rotating spit. In modern times this method is now called Rotisserie. Modern roasting refers to dry heat cooking that takes place in an oven, the food is cooked by convection. Until the late 19th century this method was referred to as baking.

Baking is essentially the same as roasting in modern times. Baking most often refers specifically to the cooking of "baked goods" (breads, pastries, etc.). However, the terms baking and roasting are often used interchangeably (baked chicken, roast chicken). There doesn't seem to be a hard and fast rule here as to which term is used. For example, you roast asparagus, turkey, chicken, but bake lasagna, casseroles, and also chicken.

Braising uses a combination of moist and dry heat to cook the food. This is what occurs in a crock pot, or in dutch oven/stock pot in the oven. Your meat will be cooked in an ample amount of seasoned liquid such as wine and/or stock.

Broasting I had never heard of before. According to Wikipedia it's a trademarked method of pressurized deep frying. I doubt this is what you were referring to.

Simply roasting is shallow frying and broasting is deep frying


Cast iron moisture on inside top Why does my top of my cast iron oval roaster pan have rust areas when I use it to bake things in the oven. It looks to be very well seasoned but the moisture collects on the inside of the top and there are many areas that are rusty looking. It also smells funny. I am wondering if it is because there is too much oil layered on it in correctly.

I ended up using a glass top on another cast iron chicken pot to prevent the moisture from dropping that into my recipe.

This happened to my Cast Iron when I left it in the oven. If it has the slightest hint of moisture, it will rust, even if it is seasoned. You don't ever want a cast iron or Wok to be left sitting around with moisture on it.

Scour your cast iron with a bristle-brush to remove the rust. Use hot water. Wipe it dry with paper towels. Keep washing until the paper towels aren't showing any brown-orange from the rust.

The next part is crucial!

Take a dry paper towel. Put a small amount of oil in the pan. Coat the entire surface of the cast iron with oil. This layer of oil will prevent any further rust from forming

After cleaning cast iron, NO SOAP EVER., wipe dry with paper towel that has a small amount of vegetable oil ( I wouldn't use any oil other than vegetable or sunflower oil), place in oven at about 200'F for about 10 minutes and then shut oven off, cool,  then store in a dry area.
DO NOT OIL OUTSIDE  BOTTOM OF CAST IRON COOKWARE or it may cause severe smoking or fire next time you use it on stove top.
If condensation on lid while baking is a problem, try leaving lid a bit askew so it will vent or leave off entirely depending on recipe.


Why would I prefer carbon steel (rust prone) kitchen knife? I've seen this question and obviously carbon steel (not stainless) knives look quite bad without extra care (picture from the linked to question)

Now my question is - why face the trouble? Why would I prefer a carbon steel kitchen knife over a stainless steel one?

Carbon steel is more malleable and less brittle than stainless steel.   This means that it is easier to hone on a knife steel, to maintain an extremely sharp edge.

Some folks feel that the benefit of that sharp edge–for example, in easily slicing tomatoes, and other very fast prep tasks–is worth the compromise of more persnickety maintenance.

Unless you're considering going into Sushi preparation where a razor sharp edge to your knife is required I'd stick to the easy to maintain stainless steel knives.

Carbon steel knives are primarily intended (but not exclusively) for sushi preparation. The Japanese are fanatical about sushi hence the whole carbon steel knife industry surrounding it.

No surprise that the majority of the best carbon steel knives originate from Japan.

Stick with stainless steel which is fine for all kitchen uses apart form sushi preparation.


Does salt interfere with the yeast in the dough swelling process? I was told by a friend that, when making pizza dough, I should add the salt at a later stage than the yeast, because it might disturbe the yeast from doing its thing...

I apologize for not having anymore concrete information, I just wanted to check this...

Salt in high concentrations can kill yeast yes. So can sugar, though salt is so much better at it. You see both are hygroscopic, meaning that they suck water out of stuff. This induces osmotic stress to the yeast cells leading eventually to cell breakdown (aka death).

On lower concentrations salt will throttle the yeast fermentation producing a richer and more uniform crumb.

Adding the salt early or later in the process will have a big effect on your dough, but that won't be because of the way it messes up with the yeast. Salt is supposed to coagulate gluten proteins, in a sense it "stiffens" the dough. On various situations this should happen late in the process (e.g. see the "Delayed salt method" used for sourdoughs).

For pizza dough I'd add the salt early.

9:15 am:  I thought I would add my yeast to the liquid prior to mixing in the flour, etc.  I added the olive oil, agave, and 2 t.SALT to the 3 cups warm water not knowing that the salt might prove to kill the yeast.  I had a feeling though, so I checked.  Sure enough I obviously goofed big time.  Well my dough is hopefully rising now, so we'll see. 9:32 am ... well, it's rising, but maybe a little slower than usual.  Hopefully another 15 minutes or so will tell the tale.  9:50 am:  It has doubled and is now baking and looks beautiful!  Guess I lucked out!  Maybe the ratio of salt to water was mild enough so as not to kill the yeast.


Metal cutlery food pairing Given the recent research on the taste of metals in cutlery (flatware) and their potential food pairings, is there any food unsuitable for stainless steel, or is this the universal make do metal?

Has anyone tried metal/food pairings for specific dishes?

We do use the heirloom silverware for delicate desserts, but that's about it!

Some references:

Institute of Making - Sensoaesthetic Properties of Materials

Fine Dining Lovers - Cutlery food science

I only have experience with metal and non-metal cutlery/food combination. I'm aware this isn't really what you've been asking, but still find it worthwhile to share.

From my personal experience there is a tasting difference between metal (I only know stainless steel) and non-metal (in my example nacre) with eggs. The difference comes from the "mouth-feel" of the spoon. I tried this with the same egg and the spoons both rested at the same place (to compensate temperature differences).

I experienced the metal spoon as cold (even though it was at room temperature), kind of "hiding the eggs flavor", while the nacre spoon was not only warmer, it felt kind of as if it wasn't there or at least much less prominent, offering a fuller flavor of the egg.

Based on everything I've ever read, stainless steel should be non-reactive with anything you'd encounter in a kitchen. There are specific warnings about copper and aluminum, and semi-nutty warnings about plastics and cast iron in some situations, but I've never read anything remotely reputable denigrating stainless steel.


How to economically make home-made sushi? How does one go about purchasing sushi-grade fish without breaking the bank? I know that sushi chefs & restaurants usually buy in bulk. Is there any way to do this individually in a way that is at all economically feasible?

Sushi does not require fish, sushi is the style of rice preparation (rice, salt, a little rice vinegar, occasionally some kombu). So long as you have the correct preparation of rice, you technically have some form of sushi (you could just throw it in a bowl with some additions on top and have a type of sushi called chirashizushi).

Second, there is no such thing as sushi grade fish - sushi grade literally means the fish has been frozen for over 24 hours to kill any parasites present. Otherwise, just about any clean fish can be used (as always, fresher is better).

As for sushi making, you can use any number of ingredients to make it, you don't specifically need fish. In fact, if you are trying to throw a sushi party or are just hungry for some rolls, this may be a better way to go since you can use what is on hand. Here are some ideas:

Canned eel
a fried egg
a filet of salmon (again, freeze it for 24 hours and then thaw)
Carrot
sweet potato
cucumber
avocado
imitation crab or crab
shrimp
tilapia
lox
cream cheese
squid

When you make it yourself you open up to lots of possibilities and chances to experiment. Since you are looking to do this on an individual level, play around a bit. If you have your heart set on using fish, talk to a good seafood counter and get small portions of fish. If it is 100% fresh, kill clean and store for 24-36 hours in a freezer, then thaw and use. Don't buy in to "sushi grade" fish because it is pure marketing.

If you do not have a good source of fresh (and I mean seriously fresh) fish, then go for frozen, or something like smoked salmon, which goes especially well with avocado or red pepper.  Go for red pepper in a jar, then life really is a breeze.


How do I neutralize a strong garlic flavor? I recently made some pesto from scratch and my end result, while delicious, was overpowered by a strong garlic flavor, and not entirely in a good way. I'm talking about that sharp, spicy flavor that garlic sometimes imparts.

I would have added more basil if I had it on hand, but I used all of my stash in the first go-round.

What else could I add to lessen the flavor?  Is there a general purpose ingredient for this situation?

For the next time you make it, a common way to take out the "bite" of raw garlic is to roast it first. Chop off the top of the unpeeled head, drizzle in olive oil, sprinkle some salt, wrap in tin foil and pop in the oven. More details and pictures covered here and here.

A quick search for roasted garlic pesto came up with a bunch of recipes as well. I've used this trick with numerous recipes when I want lots of garlic, but want to take out the bite (from salsas, to guacamole, to just a straight garlic spread for bread).

I realized I did not have enough salt so added French sea salt.  This was for green bean casserole I made from scratch without a recipe. Used a garlic infused broth in the cream sauce and was too much garlic. Wow. So with the salt, I think it is tempered. But will see tomorrow on holiday if it marinates well and is fine. If not, I may try a teaspoon of balsamic or coconut vinegar, a hint at a time and hope that helps.  Thanks for the advice on this, gave ideas.


Sticky, messy sourdough: overfermented, or ambient factors? I've made the same sourdough bread a dozen times before, with small variations in parameters:

360g white flour
240g whole wheat flour
390g water

That's a 65% dough with 60% white and 40% whole wheat flour. I've been using the sponge method wherein the night before baking, I'm mixing half the flour (300g) with the water and 60g stiff (100%) sourdough starter.
The next morning I mix in the rest of the flour, 2% salt, and knead by hand.
This has worked well throughout March-May, but the last two times I attempted it I'm having trouble with dough that is sticky, stretchy, and a nightmare to handle.
Last time I ventured for 70% hydration and 1:1 white to whole wheat flour and it got very messy and I abandoned it.
Now, when I'm sticking to my tried recipe, I'm still having the same issue:

No matter how much extra flour I incorporate, the dough will not become more manageable... it seems it's ready to swallow an entire pack!
Do you think it could be:

the sponge, which was left at room temp. for about 10hrs, is overfermented? (I don't have a picture, but it looked normal, bubbles like a tapioca pudding, no signs of hooch)
the ambient humidity has messed up the recipe in a major way?
a combination of both?

It's warmer (25C) and wetter (55-65%) here this rainy June as opposed to ~22C / 40%.
If the sponge is overfermented, does halving the starter help in any meaningful way? Or should I give it less time?
If the flour has been soaking up water in the pantry, how much water should you add to get a predictable result? Do I just weigh a pack of flour and work out how much extra water it holds?
As for The Blob, do I continue to incorporate flour into it and hope it starts holding shape, or does an overfermented sponge preclude me from getting a decent loaf?
Update
I've been using the same brand of white and whole wheat flours throughout. Nothing substantial about the technique has changed. I knead the bread by hand 10-15 mins through a series of smear-scrape-twist motions, as shown below in the River Cottage Bread Handbook:

65% hydration with 60-40% flour mix was my safe space, and the dough just doesn't seem to come together as of late.

This is a bit unusual, but from your picture, I think your long rise at a high temperature (25C) has indeed overfermented your sponge. It's not so much that the yeast is used up: in fact it might still be active. The problem is that the gluten that developed in the first few hours has been broken down in the long fermentation. Hence the lack of structure. You can't fix this by adding any small amount of flour.
Instead you could use this dough as preferment. Then you will need to add plenty more flour and water (maybe matching the amounts already used) and knead again, or use a no-knead rise (but not 10 hours) to develop gluten.
A method for finding the moisture content of flour that's practical in a home kitchen is suggested here: https://bakerpedia.com/processes/moisture-in-flour/.

It is very normal with high hydration doughs for it to be very sticky. This is why bakers use the ‘stretch and fold method’ instead of kneading (kneading is used for dryer doughs). Try adding the flour and water together and leaving it for at least an hour covered. This is called Autolyse and will help with the structure. Then add the salt and starter. Mix it all in with your hands and leave for 30 mins covered with cling film/plastic wrap. Now every thirty minutes for a Total of 2-3 hours do the stretch and fold method (google the method). Make sure you do the method in the mixing bowl and DO NOT take the dough out of the bowl. Once the stretch and folds are complete, the dough should end up sticking less and then you can leave it for another 2-3 hours to finish the bulk ferment. TOP TIP: water your hands when doing the stretch and folds and when dealing with the dough. The water will stop the sticking. Don’t add flour to try and dry it up. I hope this helps!!!


Do household ovens ventilate heat to the outdoors? If I run my oven in the summer at 400F(~200°C) for an hour or two, this produces a great amount of heat.

Is this energy vented outdoors once the oven is turned off, or does it simply dissipate from inside the oven to the inside of my home? I suspect it is the latter since I've never seen ventilation going outdoors from an oven, but I'm wondering if this might be the case for other ovens/homes.

Running an oven in the summer while using air conditioning to counteract the heat seems like an extreme use of energy.

I've never seen one that vents to outside, and I've used kitchens in several countries.

In many places we need to heat our houses for quite a few months each year, and the waste heat from cooking is very welcome. I try to avoid using my oven in summer, choosing other things to eat instead.

Note that modern ovens are designed to be well sealed and well insulated, but many have a fan to cool the space in which the oven is installed; that's the source of warm air into the room with the door shut.

You can minimise the heat produced (i.e. the electricity used by both the oven and the air conditioning) by opening the door as little as possible, and by only preheating if you really need to. A well-insulated oven can be turned off a few minutes early for many dishes as it will retain enough heat to carry on cooking. In other words - cook as efficiently as possible.  The benefit of this is greater if you're using air conditioning.

No ovens are designed to ventilate outside. I actually tried making mini oven with vent connected to window but it not only failed to contain heat but also heated my room anyways.


How can you achieve the glazed top in a mille-feuille? A mille-feuille (or tompouce) is a pastry, consisting of layers of puff pastry with pastry cream in-between (see this if you don't know it).

If you buy it in a pastry store, I find that the glazed top is unique for this pastry. Recipes online tell me that it's confectioner sugar and egg whites, but I think it's something else. It's solid, yet soft. You can see your tooth print in it. It's white and sweet. I can't exactly explain how it differs from regular egg white/sugar icing, but in my opinion it does.

Does anybody have a clue what I'm talking about? Do you know what's in it? Or is it just a basic egg white/sugar icing, and is my mind playing tricks on me?

The dessert discribed is not truley a "Tom Pouce", that is a different pastry.  What is discribed in the question is a "Napoleon" dessert pastry.  The Mille Feuille or Puff Pastry is topped with an icing called "Fondant".  Fondant in it's simplest (shortcut) form is made by mixed powdered sugar and water until the desired thickness is reached.  Some time in the open air will harden it a little further beacause of the water drying out.  Fondant made correctly is by making a simple syrup (water and sugar cooked together), cooking it to the "soft ball" stage or temperature of simple syrup, then dispursing it onto a marble slab (to cool it quickly) and with 2 baker knives (one in each hand) fold and kneed the sugar until it frosts from transluscent color to the frosty and shyny white color.  This is an old skill which has been taken over by machines.  Fontdant is now purchased from larger makers in 5 gal. buckets for a cost of appr. $25.00.

Yes, I recognize it. That type of glaze is made with just water and powdered sugar.


What to do with Pickled Figs I have a jar of pickled figs bought for me as a present, and would like to make good use of them. Any ideas??

I think the two most likely things to do with this are to serve it as an accompaniment to a cheese plate (preferably with a triple cream / brie type cheese or an intense blue cheese), or in a dish with a gamey meat.

Iread that they can be used in a casserole. I have some Spanish ones preserved in vinegar.They did not go down well as an apero / cheese accompaniment so I'm stuck with them. Would like some ideas.


Is there a difference between a slow cooker and a crock pot? What is the difference between a crock pot and slow cooker? Both terms seem to be used for the same thing.  Is this correct?  Are they the same?  Or is there some key difference between them?

Crock-Pot is a brand name.  Slow cooker is the generic term.

It's like Kleenex & tissue or for the Brits, Hoover & vacuum.

All crock-pots are slow cookers (in the USA), but all slow cookers are not crock-pots. For instance, I inherited a slow cooker from my mother that is essentially a non-stick casserole with a lid that sits on a separate warming unit not unlike an electric griddle. It's pretty useless for cooking, but a decent service unit.

EDIT: Obviously, it is marketed as a slow cooker. Equally obviously, it's not a crock-pot. Down-votes without explanation are very annoying. http://www.target.com/p/west-bend-oblong-slow-cooker-with-tote/-/A-10646883?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=|10646883&CPNG=Appliances&kpid=10646883&LID=PA&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=10646883&gclid=CIXhr9TbhroCFYk9QgodURQAUg

THIS is a crock-pot: http://www.target.com/p/crock-pot-stainless-steel-slow-cooker-5-qt/-/A-10963122?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=|10963122&CPNG=Appliances&kpid=10963122&LID=PA&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=10963122&gclid=CI_Ln_CUh7oCFQeCQgoddgIAoQ


Why does making instant coffee in the microwave taste burnt? First off, I did see this question about reheating the coffee in a microwave oven, but the answer merely suggested that stale coffee tastes bad irrespective of the microwave.

I make instant coffee a lot, and whenever I use the stove to boil my milk and add coffee, it turns out fine. But if I am lazy and use the microwave to boil the milk and then mix the coffee, more often than not, the coffee tastes burnt. So burnt that I've had to throw it away.

This isn't specific to one particular brand of instant coffee, I have tried 3 brands.

I've noticed that it seems less burnt if I put it in the microwave for lesser time, but I like my coffee piping hot in the morning and it doesn't turn out well.

So what is it about microwaving instant coffee that makes it taste so revoltingly burnt and what can I do to avoid it?

EDIT: I do microwave the milk in short bursts so as to avoid burning the milk. And also, if I just microwave the milk for the same amount of time, the milk doesn't taste burnt.

It could be that the milk is getting so hot that it burns the coffee granules when you add them. Liquids can boil in the microwave without bubbling, because the inside surface of ceramics are often so smooth as to have few nucleation points. Try leaving the milk to cool for a minute before adding the coffee.

Milk does not get burnt when microwaved, if the milk is still very fluid. Impossible to get burnt.

It is the coffee beans that can be possibly burnt by microwave.

Food gets heated or cooked by the micro-wave radiation inducing resonant vibration in the molecules of materials. When molecules vibrate they get hot.

The most susceptible radicals in molecules of our food are the -OH radicals.

Water being H2O, i.e. H-O-H, is almost the target of microwave inventor/manufacturers to induce that vibration.

However, oils also have that significant -OH radical. Oils have a significantly higher boiling point than water. Some oils can sustain up to 450 deg F without their -OH radicals breaking down. Hence, microwave oven manufacturers caution you against deep-frying in a microwave oven. You could possibly cause a fire.

There are other radicals that are also susceptible to being vibrated by microwave. For example polymer bonds in melamine-ware.

Coffee beans have oils. Imagine subjecting your coffee beans to 450 deg F. And if the -OH bonds do break down, the oil is burnt. If not the high temperature would be roasting the kernel material.

Even if you placed the beans into the milk to microwave it, the water in the milk will be unable to permeate the beans as deep as the microwave could. Therefore, you could be roasting the internals of the beans at high temperatures without being able to be cooled down by the surrounding water.

Not being a coffee connoisseur, I request that you explore soaking the coffee beans in hot milk or water for a couple of hours to soften the kernel of the bean and allow water to permeate into the bean before microwaving the beans with the milk. Alternative, microwaving the beans+milk at 10% power until the beans softens enough to absorb water.


Turkey frying oil temperature issues Thanksgiving and Christmas of last year I tried my hand at frying a turkey.

Everything was fine but I could never seem to get the peanut oil up to 350℉ (175℃).

I followed Alton Brown's Recipe but just couldn't reach 350℉. The best i did was 275℉ to 300℉ (135℃ to 150℃) which meant I left the turkey in a little longer and burned it a little too much.

Any advice?

If you are saying you cannot get the oil hot enough during pre-heating:

You may need a bigger burner than the one you are using. Most resources I've seen suggest over 100k BTU
There may be something physically wrong with your setup (i.e., the vessel should be closer to the flame)
The ambient temperature at the time of cooking was simply too cold for the burner to keep up (see problem 1).

If you are using a purpose-built commercial turkey fryer, I suggest consulting the book or contacting the company. If you built the rig yourself, I suggest more fire! (and lots of safety precautions)

Now... if you are talking about a temperature drop after you dunk the bird, realize that is totally normal.

Alton Brown suggests a preheat temperature of 250 degrees. He suggests raising the temp to 350 after the bird is in the bath but adds the following advice:

  "Closely monitor the oil temperature: it's will start to climb above 350 as moisture cooks out of the turkey; reduce the gas flow accordingly..." (Ref ep. 163 transcript in his book Good Eats 2, page 413)

You may need to use a smaller turkey to achieve the internal temperature you want without burning the outside. I'd look for something in the ballpark of 10 pounds. If you are cooking for a crowd, it's best to go with multiple birds instead of going bigger.

Be mindful of carry-over cooking:

  Even after it’s been removed from a heat source, food continues to cook. Its internal temperature can rise anywhere from 5 to 20 degrees. The larger the food, the more carryover or residual cooking you’ll have.
  http://www.cookingclarified.com/2011/01/carryover-cooking/

You are actually on the right track.
Put the bird in at 250 and the oil will get hotter but never reach 350.
Alton got this one wrong.
Start timing when the turkey starts vigorously frying and roiling bubbles.
3-3.5 minutes per pound and take it out and temp it.  It may be up to 165 white/ 200 dark but will still be moist and tender.

You will even be happier if you inject the breast with broth or stock but not a whole lot of fancy spices.


Scotch oats to substitute Fine Oats in Rum Balls I have a recipe for Rum Balls that calls for "Fine Oats." I couldn't find anything at bulk barn so I ended up with "Scotch Oats" after talking to a rep. I've never eaten oats before so I'm not sure if I can eat these particular oats raw and if I should blend it to make it more powder-like (if that's what fine oats are).

You should be able to figure out pretty easily if you can eat your Scotch oats raw - just put some in your mouth.  Is it hard as a rock, or soft enough to comfortably chew?

Anyway, Scotch oats, which may or may not be the same thing as Scottish oats (depending on the producer) are typically fairly roughly milled uncooked oat groats. If you got yours from Bulk Barn, it may look like this:

I had not heard of fine oats before - probably because they're typically marketed more as a nutritional supplement than a cooking ingredient.

According to The Protein Works,

  Fine Oats are a low Glycaemic Index (GI) carbohydrate that are considered ideal for providing a slow sustained release of energy for an athletes...fine oats are easily added to protein shakes...many sports nutritionists use them in various recipes such as nutritious homemade bars or cakes.

Two things in that description make me think that Scotch oats won't be a perfect substitute.  First, Scotch oats could probably not be added to a protein shake without being cooked first. Second, I don't believe oats are typically considered to have a low Glycemic Index value.  The Mayo clinic lists them as a "Medium GI" food: Glycemic index diet: What's behind the claims

I don't know if something is done to fine oats to change their nutritional properties, or if this is just a disagreement about Glycemic Index labeling.

If you're not concerned about the Glycemic Index value of your rum balls (and it seems hard to imagine low GI rum balls), this doesn't matter.  The only important thing is whether the texture of the Scotch oats be suitable. My sense is that they will be too firm to chew without cooking. Some rum ball recipes call for brief cooking, which may be enough to soften the Scotch oats. But if yours is a recipe that involves no cooking, and if you have the means, you may want to grind those oats more finely.

The only difference between the names of oats as far as I know is how much theyre processed from the same origional form. And by processed, i mean how small they are squashed/cut to change the length of cook time. Quick oats are basically blended steel cut oats.


Is there a way to keep chilled cookie dough from flattening while cutting it? Whether using a serrated or straight knife, this seems to be a problem. I end up reshaping them by hand on the cookie sheet so they are round instead of oval.

Is there a way to slice the dough to prevent this flattening?

PS: I should clarify that the chilled dough is in a roll shape.

Use a length of plain dental floss instead of a knife to slice: Wrap the floss around the roll, cross the ends of the floss over each other, and then pull the ends down and out to the sides to slice through the log.

Perhaps not totally what you asked, but a cookie scoop / small ice cream scoop works great to create uniform balls of dough which cook down into nice round cookies.


Why would a portable barbecue warn against using pots on the grill? My wife just bought a Coleman Road Trip portable propane barbecue, which we plan to use for camp cooking/grilling.

I was thinking of using it as a camp stove as well - to heat water, make coffee, etc.  However the grills have a warning not to place pots on the grill.

Is the concern just scratching the non-stick coating?  I know they sell another set of grills for it, but I'd rather not have to tote two sets.

Personal experience: I have used pots and pans on this and similar grills with no problems.  My guess would be, if it says not to use them, it's probably as you said - for the non-stick coating.  There is a specific grill grate you can buy for the larger models, and perhaps you're not going to get the most efficient heat transfer by putting it directly on the attached - but that doesn't mean it won't work at all.  Personally, I'd rather have something slightly less efficient than have to carry two grills.

Not sure which model you have (since you said the portable, I assume this red table-top), but the LX can handle pots and pans according to this site: "Grill lid detaches to make room for large pots or pans." As far as I can tell, they're essentially the same grill as far as how they function, just different sizes and features.

Just to be safe, I would probably fire it up in your yard before the trip and try cooking something that you would cook on the trip, like a pot of coffee or a can of beans.  That way you won't have any surprises when you're deep in the woods and don't have a backup!

If you aren't comfortable using it after your test, or for any reason, there are other solutions available that are pretty easy to carry.  You can get a propane burner, they're very small and light and easy to pack.  There are some that sit directly on top of the propane bottle, but I don't recommend them - they are very easy to tip, especially if you have children at the campsite.

Unrelated to your specific question, but related to camping, I always recommend taking a small cast iron pot or dutch oven of some kind on any camping trip.  In a jam (let's say you run out of propane), you can use that on any fire that you build, even directly on the wood/coals/whatever, and a pot is more versatile than a pan because it can be used for things you said, such as boiling water and making coffee as well as your typical browning, etc.

The grill will melt if you put a pot or pan on top. The pot/pan often retains heat and then heats up the grill to a temperature above what it can support. You see a lot of people complain about grills that melt all of the sudden - it is because they put a pot/pan on top.


What was Indian food like before the arrival of the chili pepper from the Americas? One of the things associated with Indian cuisine is heat from chili peppers. Yet, chili peppers can only have been introduced to Asia from their Central and South American homeland after the Spanish conquests of the 1500s.

What was Indian food like before this time? Did heat come from elsewhere or were Indian people eating bland, boring food? Or have I got my food history completely back to front?

Hardly - pepper was exported from India before chillis were introduced. Some linguistic subgroups still use it in preference to chillis, and certain dishes use it in preference to (or in addition to) chillies.

Ginger's also native (or at least an early import) to India (and while not always used in 'traditional' cooking), I do believe that garlic and ginger were as well.

Many other spices - one of the cinnamon varieties, cardamom and quite a few other spices were native.

While fairly well known, chillis aren't essential to cooking.

Oddly enough, the 'source' I used to try to reverse engineer what are 'native' and what aren't is the traditional funeral anniversary or 'thevasam' menu. While essentially vegetarian, it would use mostly native produce and spices. You can find an example here, though specifics tend to differ with cultural groups or even families

Sorry but the "prevailing theory of Portuguese and Columbus" carting chillie all the way to India and asia BUT (BUT) not eating it themselves seems odd to say the least.WHY else is chillie not used extensively in Portugal or Spanish cuisine??? I think Chillies left South America long before for Asia via a Pacific route taken by Asian traders, Polynesian traders and popularised before 1000 AD.
Hottest Chillies are in North east India Bhoot Jalokia. Korean, Padang, Andhra, Szechuan food is Chillie Hot  but Columbus' spain and  Portugal are not chillie hot. Hungarian food is chillie hot too - was it left over by the Khans - i e Ghengis Khan ??


What is this double-serrated knife good for? I was recently given an unused knife from an elderly relative who downsized her home. It is stainless steel with a sort of "double serrated" edge.

Out of curiosity I gave it a try and it more "shredded" than cut my meat and almost destroyed my plastic cutting board. It is also a pain in the proverbial to clean because food particles cling to the tiny spikes and it catches on the cloth and towel.

I don't really need it - my kitchen is fully equipped for my needs - but before I delegate it to "garden duty" (makes a good impromptu saw), I'm asking for your input:
Am I missing something here? Does it have a special use or advantage I just don't see?

You are not missing anything, that is a cheap serrated "no sharpening" knife from a set. The only possible advantage to it would be when cutting soft tomatoes, where having a bit of serration helps. For that I use a bread knife anyway, so I'd say you have no use for that knife at all in the kitchen.

You have a wonderful knife there. It is a bread knife. It is only used on the hard crusts of artisan breads. It will cut easily cut through with a clean cut and then it cuts the softer inside cleanly. Just use a sawing motion with hardly any downward pressure. You will be amazed.


How do Chinese restaurants tenderize their meat? I eat at a lot of Chinese restaurants now and also while growing up. I often wondered how is it that the chicken, pork, and beef in dishes are always so tender. I can never replicate it when I cook.
What do the Chinese chefs use to tenderize their meat?

One technique, but not the only, is velveting. Here the meat is tenderized in an egg-white/cornstarch mixture for 20+ minutes, then cooked briefly (a minute) in oil or simmering water with a small amount of oil prior to using in stir fries.

I've never velveted in straight oil but water/oil definitely gives the chicken that smoothness that Chinese Restaurants obtain and the shorter stir fry cooking time makes it much more tender.

Super thin slicing (you'll need to cut the meat semi-frozen to get such thin slices), plus cutting across the grain also lead to tenderness.

Probably they heat it a little bit and keep it warm instead of storing in a cold place like ice rooms.


How to bake bread and desserts without an oven? Preface: I already read Is it possible to bake a cake without an oven? and Baking pizza without an oven.

The package of many prearranged, UNcooked frozen flour products presuppose the use of an electric or microwave oven. However, how can these desserts be cooked without them?
I have available an electric stovetop, pans, and also a rice cooker.

I exemplify frozen flour products with the following: ACE Bakery Frozen Bake Your Own™ Baguettes, Flatbreads, Focaccia   and Waitrose Frozen Cheesecakers, Pies, Tarts.

From your list of 'electric stovetop, pots, and rice cooker' I would suggest constructing a double boiler by placing one pot inside another where the inner pot has a lid and the outer pot has a measure of water sufficient to support the inner pot (a steel bowl would be preferable, but you didn't mention that). Using a low heat (just enough to bring the water to a boil). Place your product inside and be prepared to wait. The double boiler will closely resemble oven like convection to evenly (albeit slowly) heat your food. It should brown well and you minimize the risk of burning. If you are making something like a small pizza, you should definitely add a small bit of oil/butter to the bottom of the inner pan.

Do you have access to a 'slow cooker' (crock pot)? These can be used to create a variety of 'baked' goods (breads, pizza, cakes...) But I am guessing not (because you didn't list it...) However, you do mention a 'rice cooker' which is not that different (depending on the brand/style) and I would be inclined to experiment with that.

Fairly simple:

Assuming using a standard round cake pan

Take a large pot that can fit a cake pan; and put on stove with lid; heat for about 5 mins on low/med.
Insert a wire rack or some other flameproof device that will hold your cake or baking pan up at least 1 inch from bottom.
Insert cake pan and cover; cook about 40 mins; until knife comes out clean


Does nutritional yeast expire or go bad? I have a tub of nutritional yeast with a "best by" date of February 2012 (at the time of this posting, it's about a month past that). Is it still good to use? It still looks and smells the same as it always has.

In general, what is the shelf life of nutritional yeast?

Does nutritional yeast ever expire or otherwise go bad? Or just lose nutritional value?

Your question: is it good to use. My answer: yes.

You say it smells and looks normal. That's an important clue.
We are talking about a dry product. No moist means no growth, no toxins...
Best before date. Wikipedia:

  Most shelf life dates are used as guidelines based on normal and expected handling and exposure to temperature. Use prior to the expiration date does not necessarily guarantee the safety of a food or drug, while a product is not always dangerous nor ineffective after the expiration date

The shelf life of yeast is approximately two years. The yeast will become inactive after that time.
Reference: http://www.redstaryeast.com/lessons-yeast-baking/yeast-shelf-life-storage


How do I reduce the acidity of homemade honey lemon juice? I usually use 1 lemon together with 2 spoon of honey and 500 ml of water. I note that as I increase the water content, the juice does not taste as good but I would like to reduce the acidity of my lemon. So, are there other ingredients that I can add such that the taste of my homemade honey lemon juice will not be affected?

You can neutralize the acidity of your drink by adding a half teaspoon of baking soda, but don't do this. Apart from fizzing up like a volcano, your lemon drink, or what is left of it, will taste pretty awful.

What you want to do is reduce the perceived acidity. This can be done simply by adding more honey. I suggest adding a teaspoon at a time until it tastes about right. I like about double the amount of honey you specified if we're talking teaspoons.

Lemon juce is very alkaline by it's self, when you add any sweetner you are changing it to acid, pink salt is good in lemon drink.


What caused my electric deep fryer to overcook violently? Last week, I was preparing dinner for my family. I didn't have much time, so I bought some frozen potato-balls to deep fry. Everything went well, I fried 2 or 3 batches without any problems, and also when I loaded the 4th batch nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

However, when the 4th batch was at it's third minute (cooking time was 4-5 minutes) the fryer suddenly started making a lot of noise. A lot more than normal. When I went to have a look, the oil was boiling very violently. I immediately pulled out the basket, expecting the boiling to stop, but only a second later I dropped the basket to pull out the plug ASAP, because I was afraid it would get worse.

I screamed at everyone to move away from the kitchen, because I didn't want anyone to get splashed with 200°C oil. Only a few seconds later, it turned out that we dodged a bullet there, because that's when the explosions started. Loud pop and bang sounds came from the fryer, and the oil shot upwards, all over the countertop. It continued doing so for over 15 minutes. Sometimes it would stop for 20-30 seconds, but then new "explosions" would follow. This continued for at least 15 minutes, but I only felt safe taking everything away 30 minutes later, because there was still an unusual noise coming from the fryer.

So... my question is: What caused this?
I know adding water to hot oil is a recipe for disaster, because the water gets trapped under the (lighter) oil, preventing it from evaporating.
Also, this 4th batch were the last pieces of the bag, so it's certainly possible that there were still clumps of ice attached to some of the potato-balls.

However... My issue with this explanation is: why did it bake without any sign of trouble for more than 3 minutes? I'd think that if you were to drop a small clump of ice in 200°C oil, it would get to boiling temperature in less than a few seconds?

Knowing the cause of the accident is important to me, because I want to know if it is safe to use the device again. Because for all that I know, it also might have been a faulty thermocouple? Maybe it didn't give the right feedback to the heating circuit, causing the oil to overheat?

Anyone care to give some insight?

Thanks in advance!

As you cooked by batches the last one add brought much more water than usual because

it was the last portion of the pack and usually ice pieces are coming down as well
the frozen balls kept condensing water on them for all time you fried the first batches.

Except if meantime you have discovered a malfunction of the fryer so that the T goes so high at the heating element to cause the oil to start fuming.

Literally the same thing just happened to me, I cooked handmade chips wich had not been frozen before cooking. The batches were cooked twice once at 150 degrees c and then a second time at 180 degrees c. Only after I had finished cooking the last batch for the second time and I had switched the fryer off it started to boil violently and continued even after I had removed the heating element from the oil. It didnt last as long but the were pops and bangs wich didnt splash only because i had put the lid back on to contain it. I think the explosions may have come from the steel suddenly expanding under the temperature wich must have exceeded the limit.


How much Saffron to use? I'm a bit confused with how much saffron to use in a paella recipe. I've seen numerous recipes that state to use 1gram. However I have a 1gram jar and that seems like a lot of saffron to me. I've spotted some recipes that say to use 1/2 a teaspoon and they state that this is about equal to 1gram. But my jar of saffron is a lot more than 1/2 a teaspoon.

I agree with the others that 1 gram is way too much saffron.  Unless you're making one of those huge outdoor pans of paella which feeds 20 people.

Exact quantities depend on how much paella you're making, and the freshness of the saffron involved.  I tend to use a hefty pinch, which would be around 12-20 threads, for a paella for 6 (2-3 liters).  I'll adjust that downwards for very fresh saffron, and upwards for old stale saffron.  You can tell how fresh your saffron is by (a) smelling it, and (b) soaking it in a small amount of warm water.  Fresh saffron will smell strongly floral/spicy, and will turn the water bright yellow very quickly.

I like saffron a lot though, and also tend to err on the side of more rather than less.

As a person who is in the business for Saffron, and who loves cooking ., i would say it depends on the quantity. generally 3 to 4 strands should suffice.


How much oil is necessary to fry/cook eggs? Say I want to cook sunny-side up or scrambled eggs, I would ask help from my family, but I wanna try it on my own.
I have a non-stick pan which as of now kinda sticks and it's what we usually use when cooking something, apart from our wok, which is less stickier. What I would want to do first is heating up the pan, adding the oil, then inserting the egg. Cook for a while then serve it on a plate.
Under what circumstances should I use oil for cooking eggs, and how much?

Technically, an egg is not "fried" unless there is at least some oil involved.  So even though you could cook an egg in a very well-seasoned cast iron pan with no oil, it wouldn't technically be a fried egg.
The primary reason you use oil, though, is to keep the eggs from sticking.  So in a pan like yours -- a worn-out nonstick pan that's not really nonstick -- you're going to need oil, and probably a fair amount.
The exact amount is going to vary according to three factors:

How large your pan is
How many eggs you are making
How "sticky" the pan is

So if that nonstick pan is only 6"/15cm, just a tiny bit scratched, and you're making two eggs, you can use just 2 tsp of oil.  But if you're cooking 8-10 eggs in a 14"/35cm nonstick pan that's completely scratched up, then you'd need more like 4oz/100ml of oil.
Which brings us to the other reason to use oil: flavor and texture. Some ways of making fried eggs use even more oil.  For example, the standard Thai fried egg is cooked in a pool of oil 1/2"/1cm deep or more, in order to get lacy, crispy whites.

The heat matters as much, if not more, than the oil, unless you're basically shallow frying (like, enough oil to not cover the egg, but still get halfway up it or so).  Get the heat right, and only a bare touch of oil will be enough (or maybe, none at all).  Get it wrong, and even a fair amount will still see you sticking.
What's really important is that it's hot enough before putting the egg in.  Oil will help you here, because it will transfer the heat a bit better than the pan itself will.  Make sure that the pan is preheated (meaning, as hot as you want to cook the egg on), and that the oil is also preheated (so, on the pan for at least 15 or so seconds before the egg is).
Also make sure you're using the right level of heat; if you have a laser thermometer or an electric griddle/induction range, this is easiest. Aim for something like 325°F/165°C.  Much higher and your oil might burn, much lower and you'll end up sticking.
Ultimately I use just a tiny bit of oil - a faint spray from an oil mister - and don't usually stick when I cook my eggs, on a non-teflon nonstick pan (so, a pan that isn't quite as non-stick as the teflon ones).
One other note: you can season non-stick pans just like you season cast iron!  Put a thin coat of oil on them, then heat them up until the oil is quite hot (some smoking is okay, but it will discolor the pan if it's not a dark color pan). If you're using Teflon pans (PTFE), be careful not to heat the pan beyond the safe temperature your manufacturer recommends, but the hotter the better for this up to that point.  Let it go for a while, at least a minute or so.  Then turn it off, and let it cool completely.  Finally, wipe it out with a towel (but no soap/water).  This page for example goes over this.  You can do this to an older pan and regain much of the nonstick ability, as long as not too much has actually flaked off!


Is my microwave damaged if I can smell the food inside it? I think I can smell the food inside my microwave. Is that bad?

I figured it's not necessarily unsafe, since you only need a cage to block the microwaves from escaping, but I'm not familiar with the precise architecture of a microwave oven.

Microwave doors don't have an airtight seal; the window between the electronics and the cooking compartment is also not airtight, and the electronics are cooled by a fan. It would be surprising if some cooking smells didn't escape. In practice, every microwave I've ever had allows me to smell the cooking, from the very cheapest to some rather fancy ones with grill and convection.

This means that being able to smell the food cooking says nothing about the safety of the microwave, and you have no need to worry (unless there are other indications such as damage)

A microwave does have a sealed door, and there are no fans blowing air out of the microwave. The cooling fan(s) are not connected in any way to the chamber where you cook food. Usually there are simply some venting holes above the door, usually not visible except from above, so you may not be able to see them if it is mounted high up. As other comments have said, this is necessary to keep pressure from building in the microwave.

These vents let any food smells out rather well.


Create hot "sauce" from capsaicin extract There are a lot of hot sauces like "Blairs Mega Death" with more than 500.000 scoville heat units. However, they do have some odd taste, which I don't really like.

So I'm thinking of creating a sauce from capsaicin or nonivamide extract. These are pure chemicals with 16.000.000 and 9.200.000 SHU respectively and would be perfect candidates for creating tasteless but very hot sauces. I already have nonivamide at home. Capsaicin is something I could get easily over the internet.

Since you really can't just put them on your food, you have to dissolve or mix it with either a liquid or another powder. I don't think I can use a powder because that would never create a homogeneous mixture. So I'm thinking of a liquid.

Facts:

Capsaicin is soluble in alcohol, ether, benzene, slightly soluble in CS2, HCl, petroleum

Nonivamide is soluble in methanol

...

So, obviously these are all non-edibles, except for alcohol. But I don't really like the idea of consuming alcohol to every meal. It just doesn't sound very healthy. Does anyone have an idea of how to create a hot but tasteless "sauce" or powder from pure capsaicin / nonivamide?

There's no point in getting pure capsaicin and diluting it yourself when you can buy capsaicin in just about any strength you want with all the work done for you. If you want something truly, painfully hot then get capsaicin 1 mil and then measure it into your dishes with an eye dropper. Be real careful with it, use gloves and don't sniff it, even at 1M it can still seriously hurt you.

I second @Jolenealaska's warning that pure capsaicin is dangerous. In fact, you should not try to get the pure stuff even if it is available, get something somewhat diluted as it is safer and easier to work with. Pure capsaicin is used in industrial applications, you need to work in tiny quantities, requiring special equipment. It can also put you in the hospital, so just don't do it. As cool as it sounds "I made this sauce using pure capsaicin!", the reality is somewhat different.

The only reason I can think of to buy pure capsaicin is to create a hotter hot sauce than what is available https://www.amazon.com/Mad-Dog-357-Plutonium-Scoville/dp/B00IIUEOEW
Assuming that you have read how hot pure cap is 16 million and before you buy this most sites require you to acknowledge this. I reconfused why people are trying to tell people that pure capsaicin is hotter than what he wants without knowing how hot he actually wants it.
Now to answer the question capsaicin will dissolve in oils, fats, and alcohols. Pure capsaicin equals 16 million if you are trying to make something less than that use a dropper.


Why do chefs finish with olive oil? I watch cooking shows often. I see chefs finish a dish with olive oil.

Why do chef's finish their dish with olive oil? What is the reasoning for this?

Is it purely a presentation or is it just taste? I know olive oil isn't the most pleasant thing to eat by itself.

For an astringent/bitter twist to the flavour, for a scent, and the visual gloss effect **

Mediterranean people have been doing this for centuries

For best effect they are probably using a first cold press oil (Extra-virgin) from young olive trees (less than 50 years old). It is often quite green in colour and has a pungent and astringent odour

These are often only available from boutique olive farmers, in expensive small quantities e.g. Rangihoua Estate or Azzuro Groves. Expect prices around NZ$50 to NZ$100 per litre

It is sort of similar in concept to squeezing a fresh lemon over a dish

It's a bit over fashionable at the moment, but in some dishes it really works

**  the three s's - sap(or), scent, shine

Another thing to keep in mind is that everybody "knows" that olive oil is super healthy and good for you. Therefore if you want to make your dish glisten, might as well use olive oil.

After all, the Mediterranean Diet uses a lot of olive oil and those people don't get heart disease, right? In reality, the answer isn't as simple as that of course, but it certainly won't hurt you and may indeed have some benefits, especially if it is used instead of seed oils.


What's the best way to tell that pasta is done (when boiling)? I've tried a number of different ways to tell when spaghetti, capellini and other pasta types are done, but I'm curious if there are more specific rules of thumb.  With regular spaghetti, I've tried biting-in-half to see if it's still white in the middle, throwing it against the fridge (which seems more amusing than useful), etc., but are there better and more reliable ways?

Also, how much does pasta 'cook' once you take it out of the water?  So if you want an al dente pasta, do you take it off slightly before done?  If so, how much?

Since al dente means "to the tooth", I always taste it and see :)

To my way of thinking, texture and cooked-ness are two different things. The heat cooks the flour which makes up the pasta, but the time in the water allows the water to be absorbed and soften it. A dry noodle soaked overnight in a cup of water might attain an edible texture, but wouldn't actually be cooked.

Taking pasta out of the water stops the texture from changing, except that too long sitting out and it can get dry again on the outside. Too long in the heat and it would overcook. Lucky that water boils at a pretty constant temperature (for your location/altitude), so once you get the timing right for a particular type of noodle, results are very repeatable.

I only remove pasta before it's done (par boil) when you're adding it to a casserole.

What? Nobody mentions the tried-and-true "Throw it at the wall" test? In a nutshell, take a noodle out of the pot, and sling it at the wall. If it sticks, it's cooked.

Absolutely works. Probably a bit more sanitary to just taste it though.


What non-alcoholic liquid can I use to store Ginger, both cooked and raw? I've read that storing Ginger in wine vinegar or vodka preserves it. Is there something non-alcoholic that will do the same thing?

Vinegar is non-alcoholic, and my suggestion would be a brine of some sort, essentially pickling it. Alternatively you could just dry it out.

I should also add - Ginger is a root, and can generally be kept fresh in a cool dark place (ie. a root cellar) for some time.

Sugar syrup would probably work as well if the sugar solution is fully saturated plus some extra sugar to compensate for any water pulled out of the ginger.


How can I get homemade yoghurt to thicken properly? Pretty much always when I make yoghurt myself, the homemade version comes out much thinner, much more liquid, than the store-bought yoghurt that is used to produce my yoghurt. How can I make it thicker? Should I increase/decrease the temperature? Add other ingredients (I just heat milk, add yoghurt, stir it, and then put it away in a closed container for 10 hours or so)?

Any general ideas on how to make yoghurt thicker?

Edit

Current Procedure:

I take the milk from the fridge and I start heating this directly.
Right from the start, I also add the yoghurt, straight from the fridge as well.
I'll continuously (slowly) stir the milk
Once it reaches about 40 degrees Centigrade I'll take it off (but perhaps my rustic measure with the temperature is off)
I then put the lid on the pan I used to heat the milk, wrap this in blankets, and put it away overnight.
Next morning, yoghurt is ready - but quite liquid.

There are many myths surrounding yogurt making:

UHT milk is bad. This is simply not true. I have made yogurt with whole fat UHT milk for years and it comes out nice and thick. In fact for the past several months I have been using a high quality whole milk powder that makes a lovely, thick yogurt.
Store bought yogurt will always be thicker because of additives. Also not true. My yogurt is as thick as a high fat sour cream and contains no added milk powder, gelatine, etc.
You need many hours of 'fermentation' to make yogurt. Again I don't agree. My yogurt sets in 3-4 hours, after which it goes in the fridge to cool and finish the culturing process.
The milk must be exactly x temperature when you add the starter. This is only somewhat true. As long as the milk is at or below 45°C it is fine. If you can stand the temperature, so can the bacteria—ie, if you can hold a finger in it for ~10 sec, it's ok. That said, too low and you're losing some effects of the protein denature explained below.
Everything must be sterilized. This is only somewhat true. Clean everything carefully, of course, but you are adding a starter with billions of cultivated bacteria into an ideal environment for it to grow. It will easily dominate other bacteria that happen to get in—and they will, since there are bacteria in the air all around us, so even post-sterilization there will be plenty of foreign stuff entering the yogurt. That said, an over-long incubation will give other bacteria a chance to express themselves, so best to avoid that.
Don't move, touch, or cause the yogurt to shake in any way during incubation or it will fail. I used to believe this myself but it's really not that sensitive. Obviously less agitation is better, but it will not fail even with fairly substantial movement during the incubation. Drinking yogurt is shaken quite violently during incubation in order to keep it liquid and even then it's still quite viscous.

The keys to making good thick yogurt are:

Protein. The milk becomes solid because of a protein in the milk, and for that to happen, the protein must first be heated to above 70°C. I heat it to 75-80°C for just a few minutes and it still turns out very thick. A milk with high quality protein will make a great yogurt.
Incubation temperature. If you want to make good yogurt in 3-4 hours (beyond which it will not get thicker, only more sour), it must be incubated at a steady 40-45°C. A lower temperature will also produce yogurt, but you are in a race with other bacteria, so the quicker it's done the better. Buy a 75-cent indoor thermometer and start looking for ways to create the right temperature environment.
Time between generations. Try to bake a new batch every 4-5 days. After a week in the fridge the bacteria are starting to suffer and will not be as strong and active when introduced into the next batch. A short generation cycle will let you go on making yogurt with the same culture for dozens of generations.
Sugar quantity. This is my own personal guess based on bread making, etc. A little sugar will boost the bacteria, but too much will slow it down. I use 2 tbsp per litre of milk and it works very well. Tart with a hint of sweet. Up to double this amount should be fine but more could affect it. Like I say I'm guessing here but it seems to make sense.

Two final notes.

The "water" that separates out of the yogurt is whey protein—generally seen as a very healthy thing to eat. A firm yogurt will let you pour it or spoon it off if you don't like it, but there's no reason not to just scoop it out with the rest or stir it back in.
Fat content is important, but the milk protein is what will make or break the yogurt. I have made a very thick yogurt with skim milk powder or skim milk with added skim milk powder. Soy milk, which has quite a bit less fat than whole milk, makes a very solid yogurt. It's all about solids. Of course a >3.x% whole fat milk will produce a tastier yogurt, because milk fat is oh so tasty!

Further reading from an industry source:
http://www.dairyconsultant.co.uk/si-yoghurt.php
Additional tips:
http://www.facebook.com/diyhelpers

If you want thick yogurt, get the right yogurt pot.  The secret is in the container.  All the yogurt making cultures only make yogurt in a 100% natural clay pot.  not glazed ceramic ones.  The water in the yogurt gets slowly evaporated through the micro pores in the pot and voila you get the thickest and silkiest yogurt that you can ever get... without the use of any artificial thickeners...


Why do dumplings float when they are ready? Most dumpling recipes—including those discussed on this site—claim that the dumplings will be ready when they float to the surface.  I have two interrelated questions:

Does this rule ever fail?  For example, might there be certain recipes or conditions (e.g., altitude) where one should allow the dumplings to cook further after they have floated?  Conversely, are there certain recipes/conditions where one should remove the dumplings before they float?
If this is a relatively universal rule, what is the science behind it?

I will quote here the bible of cooking science, Harold McGees "On Food and Cooking":

  "Dumpling doughs are minimally kneaded to maximize tenderness, and benefit from the inclusion of tiny air pockets, which provide lightness. [...] This  tendency to rise with cooking is due to the expansion of the
  dough's air pockets, which fill with vaporized water as the dumpling
  interior approaches the boiling point and make the dough less dense
  than the surrounding water."

Following this, your dumpling must be a proper dumpling - dough that was only minimally kneaded, while altitude does not matter.

Why does this coincidence with being ready?

  [...] the starch granules absorb water molecules, and swell and soften as
  the water molecules intrude and separate the starch molecules from
  each other. This granule softening [...] takes place in a temperature
  range that depends on the seed and the starch, but is in the region of
  140-160°F/60-70°C. The tightly ordered clusters of amylose molecules
  require higher temperatures, more water, and more cooking time to be
  pulled and kept apart than do the looser clusters of amylopectin
  molecules.

So, altogether, the starch molecules do not absorb much more water as they are done, so the remaining water can vaporize and fill the air pockets, which makes the dumpling float then. Or, in other words, a floating dumpling is actually overcooked and so guaranteed to be ready (if the preconditions are met).

Does this rule ever fail?

Yes. Your dough needs to have sufficient air pockets for floating. Your dough needs to be made out of starch that is willing to absorb water. A dough made out of waxy potatoes has a fair chance to not float in time. This does match with German recipes for potato dumplings using waxy potatoes, that warn about the dumplings falling apart due to overcooking, if there is too much water in the pot (as it takes too much time for the dumpling to rise).

It's not universal, it is simply a function of how much water is lost during cooking. Even when boiling, meat looses internal water as it cooks.

Not everything is ready when it floats, some things will never float, some will pop to the surface way too early to be considered done.

It is just coincidence your recipe is done when it floats, but for those recipes that reliably do something when it's done is a great visual indicator that it is likely done.


New crockpot cook times rule? Apparently many people really do not like the "newer" and "hotter" crock pots. With the temperature being hotter, many people are reporting their food being burnt.

Thing is because most of the recipes are for the old style crock pots.

Is there a good rule of thumb when it comes to cooking with the newer and hotter crock pots? I bought an oval 6.5 quart (6 l) crock pot but I'm half scared to use it because I don't want it to get burnt.

There's no right answer to this, every brand is different. Plus, you are assuming that you will have this problem when you don't know if the pot you bought is hotter than normal. In any case as long as you have enough liquid in it and use a low setting you shouldn't have to worry about anything burning.

My advice is to try a standard slow-cooker recipe and see how you do. If it cooks too fast then try bigger chunks.

Not true. Try leaving pasta in for an extended period of time. It comes out practically nonexistent. So not all recipes can be left unattended.


How to get the flavors to meld when I add fruit and sugar to plain yogurt? I've recently taken a liking to greek yogurt. So far, I've been buying the Chobani low-fat and non-fat yogurts, which all have flavoring added. I've recently bought a container of plain greek yogurt, and I was surprised at how bitter and flavorless it tasted in comparison.

So, my question is, how can I "manually" flavor and/or sweeten plain greek yogurt? This is for someone who doesn't cook much, so instead of saying "add banana", how would I do that? Puree it? Mash with a fork? I assume simply sticking a banana in the yogurt and calling it a day isn't the right approach. Thanks!

EDIT: To provide some more detail, in my head, there's a difference between "fruit-flavored yogurt" and "yogurt with a piece of fruit in it". This question is an attempt to figure out how to achieve the former and not the latter.

Regarding flavoring, I'm specifically interested in the following fruit: banana, strawberry, pineapple. I'm not sure how different the process would be to incorporate the different fruits in, but that's what I'm looking for.

To sweeten it, add your favorite sweetener: sugar, honey, agave... whatever you prefer. This is important, because sweetness will help bring out the flavor of the fruit.

General advice:

If you have a fruit you want in your yogurt, pick the form (chunks, pureed, mashed, juice) that you want and mix it in. The Chobani yogurts appear have a variety of these forms, always along with some sugar. If you want banana flavor, sure, mash up a banana and mix it in. Or if you want chunks of fruit, chop it up. Assuming the fruit is soft enough, for this purpose, mashing with a fork  is probably a good substitute for pureeing; you'll get some small chunks and some juice.

In response to the updates:

if you want actually fruit-flavored yogurt, then you need juice and/or puree. If you don't have any other tools, mash it as best as you can. If you have a small food processor or blender that will work with small enough quantities (or are making big batches), blend things up and stir them in. Juice and puree will disperse quite well through the yogurt.

Bananas mash easily, especially ripe ones, so just do that with a fork. Strawberries aren't as soft, but you should get enough juice to flavor with if you mash them. Pineapple is tougher. If it's juicy enough, you can probably get some juice out by mashing it; otherwise you might be better off with a food processor or blender. (If it's from a can, you can use the liquid from the can, too - that might also have sugar in it.) Depending on how thorough you are, you may want to use the juice and discard the fibrous parts that are left over.

I use Sweet'N Low, 12 packs to 1qt strained greek style yogurt. I also add LorAnn or Flavor Apprentice food flavorings and Wilton cake decorating colors. Then I add well-drained canned or frozen fruit.

Here is a winner: Mandarin blossom yogurt! 1qt well drained yogurt, 12 packs sweet&low, 8 drops LorAnn citrus blossom flavor, 6 drops Flavor Apprentice honeysuckle flavor, 1/8 tsp wilton yellow color and a small amount of Wilton red color. Use a whisk and mix well but try to leave it kind of "tight". Add 1 well drained 15oz can of mandarin orange segments. Fold in and chill for several hours.


Why does cheese sometimes slide off my pizza and how can I prevent it? I eat pizza constantly and have noticed that one of the most annoying pizza properties is cheese sliding. You take a bite and all the cheese is dragged off and often swings down and burns your chin with hot tomato sauce.

I have noticed this effect with home-made, frozen and delivery pizzas and the effect is not always consistent. Sometimes my frozen pizza has sticky cheese and sometimes it slides off despite being the same product prepared in what would appear to be the same way. The same can be true for delivery pizzas where even two identical pizzas ordered together may not act the same way.

What causes the dreaded cheese slide and what measures can be taken to prevent it?

Let it cool a bit.  Then eat. Added bonus: You don't sear the roof of your mouth.

I stumbled across this question which seems to be dated but there's a very simple fix sauce, toppings then cheese works every time


Ways to Store Carrots for more days I recently brought a whole 2KG bag of carrots. They seemed fine the day I brought, but eventually, the skin of the carrot evolved to a black layer. However, when I peeled them off, the carrot looks perfectly fine. Is it good to continue using these carrots ? Are there any precautions that I have to take to store them ?

Please find the reference images.

This is how most of the carrots now look :

After peeling the carrots that are black :

I have worked in the CPG industry for almost 30 years. A few years back I had the privilege of representing one of the largest produce brands in the US. I learned quite a bit about produce storage and what speeds up the deterioration rate.

One thing I noticed in your picture is that there appeared to be moisture (condensation) inside of the bag of carrots. It is certainly okay to leave them in the bag they were purchased in, but you want to be absolutely sure that there is no moisture in the bag. Moisture can be a real devil when it comes to mold and mildew or other fungus.

Another very important thing that affects the length of time produce will remain good is air circulation. You have to have really good air circulation around produce. Bagged salads, slaws, etc. will go bad quicker (even if they are unopened) if they are stored so that they don't have proper air circulation around them. In the case of the carrots, I would recommend opening one end of the bag so that they can get air.

Overall, I would rceommend that produce be stored in the produce crisper in your refrigerator. Crispers are designed to maintain an appropriate temperature and level of humidity that will help produce stay fresh longer.

If your refrigerator does not have a crisper, I would get a plastic rectangular container and place it on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator to use as a make shift crisper. If possible, cut one inch holes generously in the lid to allow for air flow. If you don't have a way to do this, leave the lid off.

Regarding using the carrots, I would be reluctant without knowing with certainty what the black is and probably would not use them.

My gut is telling me not to peel them and stick in the ground, and they will not only last forever, but grow small carrots.


Maintaining sizzler plate i purchased sizzler plate last month. I am using it once or twice in a week. However it is getting lots of rust on it. within 5 minutes of washing plate, it turns back to rust one. I am using lemon juice for a while and it does the trick.

But i am looking for some permanent solution for this.

Thanks for stopping by....!!!

It is actually quite simple. After you have cleaned it, simply coat it lightly with vegetable oil. You can rub it on with your fingertips or a paper towel.

Dry it in the oven for a little while after washing and before oiling, as it will rust if not completely dry. The oil is good to prevent rust.


Why the pizza is able to "recover" so quickly? Assuming that you ever saw someone making a pizza out of a dough, you probably noticed that usually they push with quite some energy the dough down and use the other part of their energy to enlarge the disc .
Even after all this stress applied to the dough, most pizza are really soft, airy and fluffy inside: why is that and what makes this happen ?

I would like to replicate this with my own recipe because this behaviour is really useful, especially if I can just let the dough rise, make the disc just before putting it in the oven and get a nice soft result .

The only thing I can't replicate for sure is an oven capable of expressing 1,100° F and more, mine is about 400° F tops; based on my experiments something like a teaspoon of honey or fructose in general helps to get some more fluff, but not too much elasticity or structure .

Yeast action is only one factor in getting a rise when baking. Yeast metabolizes sugars and produces CO2 bubbles which puff up your dough, and also help with gluten development to make your dough stretchy. However, when you bake your dough much of the lift you get is from the expansion of water turning into steam - this is what makes pizza dough puff up a bit when baked and gives you that texture.

Water is also important in gluten development when your dough is proofing, without enough water you won't get an elastic dough with good crumb. My thinking is that your dough is too dry, so add more water to your dough. Stick to the amounts of flour and water in a trusted recipe and knead with oil instead of flour. After kneading your dough should be fairly loose and just a bit sticky, and you should be able to stretch it quite a bit without breaking.

Regarding oven temperatures you don't need the fires of hades to make a good pizza - the most important things for a good pizza is a good base, sauce, and quality ingredients. Crank your oven up as high as it will go and use a pizza stone (make sure to heat it up for at least 30 minutes) and you'll get a good result.

~~

The molecules (arrangement of atoms) which comprise pizza dough are polymeric in affinity.

You've probably heard of polymer chains, usually in association with petrochemicals. But foods too can possess this property.

Polymers invariably are long structures because their individual molecules like to come together in relatively straight lines, sort of like what happens to a handful of neodymium magnets tossed into close proximity.

Accordingly, such structures resist bending, much less folding over into loops. If forced into such states they will always and immediately commence to resume their preferred state, to wit a roughly linear one (in the Euclidian sense).

The mere act of manipulating pizza dough is unable to overcome this property. The application of heat however suffices to do so, at least to some noteworthy extent, because it has the power to break some of the nuclear forces which bind the molecules together ...thus turning them into slightly different kinds of molecules.

Much more delicious ones. Toss it up to experience, lol.

~~