How long will grease (from bacon or roast) keep in the fridge? I kept all of the bacon grease from making bacon this weekend, and now I have a jar of solidified grease in the fridge. How long can I use this to impart bacony goodness to my fried vegetables before it goes bad?

What is the shelf life of the fat drippings from bacon, roast and other meats?

Depends on how many solids and how much water you have in it. If you've rendered, filtered, and refined it, it should last a few weeks easy.

Note: my mother maintained it never EVER went bad, refrigerated or not. Lot of old time southern cooks will say the same, but they all go through it fast.

I kept some non-filtered grease having used a large electric griddle - from a big project requiring 6# of bacon.  Some went in the freezer.  After about 5 months the tub in the in the FRIDGE, in a tight sealing quality tupperware thingie, ...I took it out yesterday and in fact it IS growing a couple green spots about the size of a dime.  So it can go rancid for sure.

I'm in the medical field and the "strain the grease thru cheesecloth or paper towel using a sieve" makes a lot of sense!  I had not thought about this till now.

The itty bitty chunks of FAT and especially the tiny bits of MEAT are still having some metabolic activity to the very end, and the high prolonged temps cease living cellular activity.  Then, as meat does everywhere in nature as it tries to dissolve and liquify in the final stages of cellular breakdown, it releases things that are conducive to bacterial growth.  Unless you burn something to carbon, it still has cellular breakdown activity and potential for another cell to use that media for growth.  With that, I would recommend warming your oil for higher viscosity so it passes through the paper towels or cheesecloth more easily.  Be patient.  High quality paper towels might be too restrictive.  Let it sit and drip - and the filtered oil should be usable and safe a good bit longer than unfiltered.

Now the oils.  These are saturated and unsaturated oil "acids".  (Polly Unsaturated Fatty ACIDS or PUFA on the label of cooking oil.)  Tis a mild acid, but molecular acid never-the-less.  Thus when properly strained with care, and stored in a quality container with an excellent seal to limit fresh O2 exposure which oxidizes, it could very well remain viable for a heck of a long time in a cold fridge.  On THAT, my Southern brothers and sisters are probably correct!  The South may rise again!!!   :)


What can you do with an infrared thermometer? Infrared thermometers have plummeted in price in recent years, and are now inexpensive gadgets for the home cook, not to mention the pros.

What are the primary uses of an infrared thermometer in the kitchen?

Infrared thermometers work very well when measuring the temperature of hot oil. For deep frying it's not a big deal, as standard probe thermometers work fine. But for shallow frying or sauteeing, the IR thermometer does an excellent job at providing the temperature of the oil. (Note that IR thermometers are not accurate when measuring the temperature of a dry steel pan, as the shininess makes the pan look much cooler than it is. IR thermometers work fine on dry cast iron pans, though!)

IR thermometers work rather poorly when measuring the temperature of hot water, however! Rather than measuring the temperature of the water surface, which is usually similar to the mass of the water due to convection, it measures the average temperature of the water vapor coming off the surface! In my experience, boiling water measures about 200 F with an IR thermometer.

To anyone thinking temperature guns are a mere luxury item, they are no more an extravagance than a blender or a food processor. Users are able to cook with confidence knowing that friends and family won’t become ill, refrigerators and freezers are operating at their optimum and foods are cooked perfectly every time. That they have many other uses in and around the family home is just an added benefit. Infrared thermometers are an affordable tool in their own right, but can actually save you money and they will eventually pay for themselves many times over. They may not actually prepare and cook the food for you, but they do take all the guesswork out of the cooking process and will give you more time doing other important things, like eating and breathing.

For more information, see my blog post on infrared thermometers.


What can be done to thin chocolate for dipping? I have been dipping chocolates for many years. I recently tried a new brand of chocolate that has a fantasic flavor, but it is thicker than I'd like when melted. I know adding cocoa butter will help, but I don't have any on hand. Is there anything else I can use that will leave me with a hard (as opposed to ganache-like) chocolate coating?

Most fats work (this is why cocoa butter works) most people recommend Crisco but a small amount of low flavoured oil (or flavoured for that matter) is fine.

I like ganache so personally extra thick double cream does it for me.

Either way it's easier to add more later than take out! Start with a little bit.

I tried vegetable oil and it worked for me. So you can use vegetable oil and see if it works for you too.


Training on molecular gastronomy and sous vide I am looking for suggestions on opportunities for learning techniques directly from a skilled professional, preferably in a classroom setting.

I have been dabbling in molecular gastronomy/precision cooking techniques in my home for a couple years.  I have relied on the Khymos online reference, videos from Texturas, and a few cookbooks.  Fun as this has been, I feel I am at the point where I want to have an interactive session with someone skilled in the art, but as I cannot commit to a full-time culinary education, I need to find a recreational-level course.  I would be willing to travel for a well-crafted session.  Does anyone have any recommendations or ideas?

I'm not sure if you've encountered this in your research but it looks like it might be full of good information.

I would personally buy this book and fully consume it, but I personally learn better that way.

José Andrés Puerta has an M.G. restaurant in your area (minibar) that appears to be more experiential.  You could probably get a few good questions in during courses.

My name is James Chen and I am the new Business Development Manager for CREA Academy. I am contacting you to follow up on your expressed interest in taking a sous-vide training class with a sous-vide professional. Dr. Bruno Goussault teaches sous-vide courses for renowned chefs around the globe, including Joel Robuchon, Thomas Keller, Heston Blumenthal as well as the majority of the Michelin's three-star chefs in Europe.

We have recently opened up a class to take place January 31st-February 2nd, 2012 in the Washington, DC area. The cost per person is $2,400.00 for the 3-day training and the application form can be sent to you upon request.

During the training you will learn the origin and evolution of sous-vide; the why-and-how it made its way into the kitchens of the world’s top Chefs. You will learn the reason for which there is a right temperature to cook each different product and how to put it into practice using your own recipes. You will learn to master the times and temperatures to control the color, tenderness and flavor of your product. Part of the training is devoted to learning about the right equipment: How to select, calibrate, utilize and maintain them. There is no single way to cook sous-vide and because scientists love experimenting as much as Chefs, most of the time is dedicated to hands-on training. Under the direction of our Chief Scientist, you can experiment and taste to discover the many possibilities sous-vide has to offer. Over the three days you will see these techniques as they are applied to meat, poultry, fish, seafood, vegetables, fruits, sauces, herbs and aromatics. Lastly, the focuses will be on microbiology, bacteria, good food safety and shelf-life in order to achieve the best quality and the safest products. The class is mix of lecture & hands on activities which leads to a very informative and fulfilling experience.

Regarding the HACCP Plan, also necessary for the Health Department, we provide a 2-day service. The first day is about training your team to use, maintain and update a HACCP plan, particularly regarding the sous vide technique. The second day is about building your HACCP plan for your recipes made sous vide, with the Chef, Sous Chef and persons who will be involved in the sous-vide process in your kitchen. The total cost is $5,000 for HACCP Plan plus travel expenses and 2-night hotel lodging.  Our specialty is the sous-vide technology, we do not provide the HACCP Plan without a three-day sous-vide training. If you are interested in getting the training & HACCP plan we can look at a package for better pricing. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any additional questions.  I look forward to hearing from you soon!

You can find more information online at  www.cuisinesolutions.com or contact me directly at
jchen@cuisinesolutions.com.


How to prevent my marshmallows from melting in my hot cocoa? Whenever I make a hot cocoa, adding powdered cocoa in a hot water (not boiling), and add my marshmallows in it, the marshmallows just melts until they are completely gone. I really want to feel the mushy marshmallows melt in my mouth, not in my cocoa.

How can I prevent my marshmallows from melting in my cocoa?

Marshmallows will dissolve ("melt") in your hot cocoa for the same reason that they "melt" in your mouth: both provide heat and moisture. If you could somehow treat the marshmallows so that they didn't dissolve in the cocoa you wouldn't get the desired effect in your mouth either. It comes down to a matter of timing: how can you keep the marshmallows intact until you drink the cocoa?

I can think of three options:

Drink the cocoa more quickly.
Use larger marshmallows.
Add more marshmallows as necessary.

It's not clear from your question exactly what kind of marshmallows you're referring to. I suspect that you're talking about the crunchily dehydrated "micro-mini" marshmallows that come in a packet of hot cocoa mix. Call me a snob, but those things hardly qualify as a "marshmallow" at all; you should perhaps be happy that they dissolve, or else sift them out of the mix and throw them away! If you like them, though, you'll be happy to know that you can buy more: Amazon carries 12 oz. bags of dehydrated micro-mini marshmallows, and adding a spoonful to your cup when you're ready to drink should solve the problem.

If you feel like an upgrading your brew, pick up a bag of mini marshmallows and add a handful of those. Minis should be large enough to last for quite a while, and since they're not dehydrated they'll be somewhat sturdier in the cup. Marshmallows come in a number of sizes... if the minis don't last long enough for you, go with a few standard sized (approximately 1 inch) marshmallows. I've seen jumbo marshmallows in the store lately, but you'll probably need a larger cup if you want to have any room left for the cocoa. Try one of these lovelies.

Boil the chocolate powder. No, microwave it, because boiling would cause the bottom to burn. Microwave the chocolate powder in water and then stir it to get a thick paste. After cooling, keep it refrigerated.

Whenever you feel like having a cuppa, scoop a few spoons into your cup and mix in warm water. Throw in your marshmallows. You could even mix the chocolate into your cuppa-cino, and then the marshmallows = marsh-mellowed mocha-cino.


Can I make a hot mayonnaise? I would like to serve a hot garlic mayonnaise (not spicy) ? Is it possible to do that and how ?

Edit : I do not want to make a Hollandaise sauce but a real hot mayonnaise. I had seen that served on the top of a steam fish filet.

You are basically talking about a Hollandaise sauce, which is similar to mayonnaise in that it is an emulsion of egg yolk and fat. The main difference is that in mayonnaise the fat is oil, whereas in Hollandaise it is butter. The main flavours in mayonnaise come from an acid (lemon juice or vinegar) and mustard - Hollandaise likewise uses lemon juice, and mustard can be easily added.

Recipes abound for Hollandaise, so you will have no problem finding one on Google.

So I got the recipe which is done by a master chef from The culinary academy of cuisine.

Do a standard mayonnaise with raw egg yolk :

Add a teaspoon of mustard and beat with the whip
Add a mix of olive oil (50%) and soya oil (50%) so you have a basic mayonnaise

Crush a garlic add it to your mayonnaise with a dash of saffron (now you have a garlic/saffron mayonnaise)
Reserve at room temperature
In a pan, put two spoons of water. Put the heat on the pan. When arriving before boiling, reduce the gas and add the mayonnaise slowly in the pan with the water while beating it.
If you get the perfect temperature, emulsion will come. If it's too cold or too hot, the mayonnaise will break in through. Eggs and oil will separate.

  So mastering the temperature is very important. Unfortunately, this
  kind of sauce has to be done every time you serve a fish. But it's
  very unusual sauce but when you succeed and you master it, you're a
  good cook.

I also found a recipe from a chef of El Bulli  here but there he uses a siphon which is a different approach and easier.


How to cook beef shank so that it is fall-off-the-bone tender? I bought several one-inch beef shank cross-sections from the local supermarket.
It looks like concentric circles, with a inner circle of bone and an innermost circle of marrow.
I put the shanks in a pot, covered it with water, and braised it for 12 hours at 200 F in the oven.
At the end, the collagen had converted into gelatin, but the meat seemed quite tough and chewy.

Is it possible for beef shanks to be super tender?
If so, how do you cook them that way?

If your beef shank is chewy, it's undercooked. Period. Whatever the amount of time is, even if it seems like a lot to you, it's not enough. Overcooking will cause meat cuts with a lot of connective tissue (like shank) to dry, and even fall apart because it is too tender. But it will not still be chewy.

I'm a lazy old bachelor, so here's how I do it:

1) set the oven to 250°
2) put the shank in the freezer for 45 minutes
3) get the friend and wine and music and flowers ready
4) put a T butter in the 7" skillet (on high gas flame)
5) when it's all melted, toss in that cold shank
6) sear it up like a cauterized wound (sides and edges)
7) throw on whatever is on hand that makes sense (garlic, onion, mushrooms [I prefer oriental…say maitake], celery, overripe tomatoes, etc. [you get the idea])
8) olive oil and maybe a little sweetwater or stock
9) cover it with one of those old enamel skillet tops
10) put it in the oven for a long conversation, maybe some dancing, you know…after at least a couple of hours, test it to see if it's ready, but don't be in a hurry. More dancing is always appropriate.
11) make a salad
12) pour the wine, drink a few glasses
13) share a bite to see if it's really ready…
sooner or later it will be perfect


Why does my chicken go dry when I boil it? This may seem a silly question, but it has always stricken me as odd that chicken should dry out when I boil it in water. Intuitively it just seems weird, but thinking about this a bit while cooking just now, it also makes little sense to me from a basic physics point of view. I googled this first of course, but I can't seem to find an answer as to why this could be.

Assuming I don't put any salt in the water in which I boil it, the concentration gradient caused by ions and other molecules in the meat should cause the water to diffuse/osmose into the chicken. Furthermore any minor temperature gradient should also be pushing water into the chicken. The most plausible explanation I came up with is that the chicken is over-saturated with water to begin with -either naturally or introduced during processing of the meat- and boiling it then somehow reduces the capacity of the tissue to retain the liquid.

I may be wrong but I'll give it a shot.

When you heat chicken (or any other muscle for that matter) it tenses up. As it tenses up it is essentially squeezing juices out, because all the fibres are closer together.  Just think what happens when you slice a rare steak without letting it rest, there will be blood everywhere.

In general I believe boiling anything is bad practice. A slow simmer maximum is required to retain all the desired qualities. Hence the saying "low and slow" which I take quite literally band apply to just about everything culinary wise. From cooking stew to proving bread, the longer the better.

Edit:

I wrote that then went in the shower and remembered pasta & potatoes, so maybe low and slow unless it's a starchy carbohydrate. Or if you are searing, but often a blazing hot seat is accompanied by a nice rest.

Boiling causes the liquid in the chicken, most meats really, to expand and seep out of the meat. The juices are then lost due to evaporation (the juices cooking away). If you want chicken to be moist, let it come to nearly room temperature before cooking and cook it quickly. This is more easily done with warmer meats as cold meat is tougher to cook than warm meat.

Just be careful to not allow bacteria to grow on the meat (see numerous food safety posts of "Danger zone" temperatures). There are guidelines on line regarding time meat can be safely set outside of the refrigerator before cooking.


Non-plastic cutting board that can be cleaned in a dishwasher We currently have the following dilemma:

My wife does not want us to use plastic cutting boards because of the potential negative health effects of ingesting microplastics.
I really really do not want to wash cutting boards by hand. Yes, I'm aware that there is no alternative for sharp metal knifes and non-stick coated pans, but I don't want to add another item to that list of annoying exceptions.

We tried standard wooden cutting boards, but they tend to bulge and crack after a few rounds in the dishwasher.
Is there some alternative cutting board material that we could use which satisfies both requirements as stated above? Are there maybe special types of wood that are more "dishwasher compatible"?

There are 2 non-plastic cutting board options that I'm aware of that are dishwasher safe and aren't damaging to knives like glass boards.
First, there are the rubber cutting boards popular with commercial kitchens, sold under brand names like Sani-TUFF. While some sources (e.g. KaTom Restaurant Supply) claim these have to be hand washed, they are popular in commercial kitchens because they can handle the heat of the commercial sanitizing dishwashers without warping or melting, and they don't pick up scratches as easily as plastic. They are also generally anti-microbial, I assume because they are non-porous. Although these are usually synthetic rubber, they are much harder than plastic cutting boards -- though not too hard on your knives -- and the likelihood of you consuming any part of them inadvertently should be pretty small.
Next, there are wood fiber composite cutting boards. The brand I know best of these is the Epicurean label. They are made from various specific materials, but the Epicurean label is made from a paper composite called Richlite. Assuming it's the blend discussed on the Richlite page, it is 65% recycled paper and 35% phenolic resin. While that is a synthetic polymer, it's much harder than your typical cutting board and is unlikely to melt (up to 350°F) or react with anything it's likely to come into contact with in your kitchen. These boards are also quite dense, so again, the likelihood of you consuming any of it unintentionally is exceedingly low.
Both of these products are also "workable", meaning you could cut them to custom sizes or shapes and sand them if they ever get scratched up enough to need it.
For what it's worth, environmental sources of microplastics are a much stronger vector than anything in your kitchen, and many of these are practically unavoidable. However, if you are concerned about plastic from cutting boards, both of the above options are far more durable and less likely to introduce plastic into your food but are more convenient than wood in terms of cleaning. Of course, I encourage you to research these on your own and use your best judgment.

I'd try imbibing the wood with platinum cured silicone, which is an elastomer a bit like plastic, but it's used for implants. The most dense wood makes sense for water resistance.
The silicone would go deep into the wood and make it completely water proof, and then you can use some kind of chemistry buffism to wash away the silicone at the surface, resulting ina cutting board which is wood in the top millimeter and waterproof inside.


A proper way to cook Mi Goreng noodles? I've purchased a 30 pack box of these delicious noodles and I'd like advice on how to cook them properly. From past experiences, I've either used too much water which made them soggy and very soft which doesn't retain the Thai flavor. So any advice would be nice (how much water to use, drain the water out afterwards, cook for how long, temperature etc). Help?

@ElendilTheTall's answer would probably make some pretty badass Mi Goreng, but the whole point of packet Mi Goreng is to be a 2 minute meal in the least work possible.

The way I make Mi Goreng is to cook the noodles in a small pot until they're just cooked (a little firmer than you prefer to eat them).
Quickly drain them, throw them back in the same pot and add all the seasonings except the fried onion.
Put the pot back on the hot briefly (or just use the residual heat from the element) and stir the noodles all around. Basically stir frying them within the pot.
Tip them out into a bowl and add the fried onion sachet (or just eat from the pot).

This always works pretty well for me, I get a result that isn't too far in consistency from the real thing.

PS. Mi Goreng are Indonesian, not Thai :)

Its 3 minutes and you use no water (except for cooking the noodles) mix spices first except the dried onion then drain mix sprinkle serve :-)


Using a Convection oven. Do I use the same temperature as a Fan oven? I am using a Convection oven. Do I set the temperature the same as a fan oven?
(Eg instructions only mention 190c Fan or 200c Electric for 25-30minutes)
Unable to find a basic temperature conversion chart. Just Electric/Fan!

The temperature of the food raises faster in case of the oven with a fan, so you have to set a higher temperature in a conventional oven than a fan (Convection) oven.
It is not possible to have any conversion chart as between them, because how fast the temperature of food raises depends on the food itself. So, some experienced has to be gained while using conventional(without fan) oven keeping in mind the first point I mentioned- "In most of the cases, temperature you have to set this time will be higher than an oven with a fan".


What edible solution can I cover bread in to make it waterproof? My partner and I are working an entrepreneurial project for school, and we decided to make a sort of edible water bottle.

We decided we would make it out of bread, which we would cover in some solution and leave to dry to make it hard and waterproof.

We considered using honey, but it would be too sticky, sweet, and expensive.

Is there any good solution that will make this bread waterproof and hard easily? Something that is cheap and not bad-tasting?

also, if you think this question should be posted on a different stackexchange site, please tell me.

Thanks.

Carnuba Wax. It's edible and waterproof. In my childhood they used to sell a candy bottle made of Carnuba Wax with colored sugar water in it. You'd bite the top off, drink the sugar water and chew on the wax until you got tired.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/foodchemistryfaqs/f/carnauba-wax.htm


How to add alkaline to a drink? I've recently become fascinated by the use of butterfly pea blossoms to add colour to alcoholic drinks. (Yes, I've been watching How To Drink on Youtube). It acts as a natural pH indicator--add lemon juice to blossom-infused gin, and it'll go from purplish-blue to pink.

The thing is, for Reasons I want to do the reverse! I'd like to make a slightly acidic beverage, then elevate the pH, so it turns purple in the glass.

I'm familiar with using e.g. bicarb to elevate pH in savoury cooking--for caramelizing onions, that sort of thing. But I'm concerned about the flavour effects on an alcoholic drink. Are there any edible ways to elevate pH that are flavourless, or would be easily masked by a cocktail?

If there aren't, would an Alka-Seltzer tab provide the right pH reaction? I'm not a chemistry person at all so I'm not sure if the acid-base reaction would provide colour change as well as the bubbles.

ETA: TLDR what I want to do is dye a spirit with butterfly pea blossom, add acid to turn it pink, then at the moment of service add (ideally flavourless) ____________ to turn it purple/blue again.

Thanks in advance, all!

I had a look at the actual scientific paper describing the use of this substance as a pH indicator and a few other blogs, this is the overall advice:

1 - Please make sure that the FINAL pH of the solution is NOT basic-ish. This will not sit well in your customer's stomachs if they consume a full dose of a cocktail (120-150mL) with a final pH of more than 7.5. As I mentioned in the comments, there is a reason why you don't ingest toothpaste. Basic substances also leave a very unpleasant mouthfeel - it is a mix between a very tannin-ish feel and corrosive irritation.

2 - Do NOT add Alka-setzer. One person tried to do that and it ended-up being a gray-white shade, very unappealing for food and/or drinks

3 - There is not enough documentation on the REVERSIBILITY of this process (not all pH indicators are reversible), so you're going to need to experiment with it

4 - Aim for a final pH level of  5-6, this is where the blue color is at its optimal level. I suggest using CaOH (pickling lime / limewater) because that's easy to handle and nearly flavorless. Note that this is used in a lot of clarification processes, so you need to choose mixers that are low in protein so you don't get nasty precipitation when you add your limewater.

Reference:

The Butterfly Pea Flower as a pH Indicator

Maybe it will be a good idea to decrece the pH of the drink by usig Dry Ice, in contact with the liquid it will release a bunch of CO2.
CO2 allows pH adjustment, neutralizes carbonates, scale precursors, without hard decreasing alkalinity and promotes pH stability, the pH should be around 6.5. The best of all it is flavorless.


Are rare burgers safe? On a recent trip to France, I had a burger that was still pink in the middle. I know this is incredibly common in France (and it was delicious!) - but, as I understand it, it would never be allowed in the UK.

I'm aware that common wisdom is that mince needs to be cooked all the way through as any exposed surface area can harbour dangerous bacteria (so almost all of it, in the case of mince/burgers). Do the French take any special precautions when preparing food in this way? Is eating this particularly risky?

Applying USDA standards (which may or may not be the 'same' as elsewhere, but (IMHO) serve as a reasonable standard for "Safe") Hamburger must be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F [71°C] in order to be 'Guaranteed Safe', which is typically defined as 'well done'.

On the other hand hamburger may be perfectly safe at medium rare to rare (120°F - 49°C) depending on how the beef was raised and processed. Actual cases of serious food borne illness from even raw meat are fairly rare (or should I say uncommon? ;) ). As far as I can tell the French are doing nothing 'special' to neither decrease nor increase the risks involved.

Many restaurants (in the US) will specify on their menu some thing like:

  All burgers cooked med-well unless otherwise requested

A variety of circumstances from acid levels in the meat to the application of dyes may cause meat to appear 'pink' but be perfectly safe, ground beef may also appear to be brown, but may not be safe at all. Pink is not necessarily a good standard.

Since you are unlikely to get an 'accurate reading' carrying your own food thermometer with you where ever you may go (if your food sits on the counter for a while before getting served the temp by the time it gets to you will be less), the best test to apply in a restaurant is 'cooked' vs. 'raw'

A quick Google search "Hamburger Rare vs. Raw" will display a myriad of images from which you may discern what you are comfortable with.

  By 'serious' food borne illness I am referring to things which might
  require a doctors care or put your life in jeopardy. While lower-grade
  illness maybe 'unpleasant' they are not necessarily 'unsafe'

  "As far as I can tell" denotes the inability to prove a negative.
  Having looked through the Anses website, particularly their
  section on 'nutrivigilence' and 'animal nutrition and welfare' looking
  for any exceptional methods (radiation treatment, quarantines,
  chemical therapies etc) that might have the goal (even if not the
  effect) of making the beef supply more safe...I found nothing to cause
  me to believe that they are actually doing anything exceptional (over
  and above US or EU standards)

Here in Canada sounds a lot like the UK: We cook our hamburger until well done, all the way through. Most restaurants are also held to that standard for food safety reasons.

However, in the United States you can get medium or even rare burgers much more frequently.

This is because of the food safety guidelines in the country. Not just for the people cooking the meat, but for the factories producing the meat. If guidelines are stricter on the production of ground beef then the risk of cooking to medium is reduced as well.

There are restaurants in Canada that grind their own beef, and are therefore able to serve it however they wish. Or serve beef tartare which is raw, and do so safely.

So, in order to make it a safe option either the food regulations in France or the restaurants practices themselves make them feel safe serving it.


Is eating cookie dough without egg safe? I enjoy eating raw cookie dough. As long as the dough doesn't have egg in it, is it safe to eat?

According the the current advice from the FDA, you should not eat raw dough, even if does not contain eggs. Apparently raw flour may contain E. coli.

  People often understand the dangers of eating raw dough due to the
  presence of raw eggs and the associated risk with Salmonella. However,
  consumers should be aware that there are additional risks associated
  with the consumption of raw dough, such as particularly harmful
  strains of E. coli in a product like flour.

  “Flour is derived from a grain that comes directly from the field and
  typically is not treated to kill bacteria,” says Leslie Smoot, Ph.D.,
  a senior advisor in FDA’s Office of Food Safety and a specialist in
  the microbiological safety of processed foods. So if an animal heeds
  the call of nature in the field, bacteria from the animal waste could
  contaminate the grain, which is then harvested and milled into flour.

  Common “kill steps” applied during food preparation and/or processing
  (so-called because they kill bacteria that cause infections) include
  boiling, baking, roasting, microwaving, and frying. But with raw
  dough, no kill step has been used.

https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm508450.htm

No, if there is no eggs, you can eat it, as long as it has NO EGGS whatsoever. You're safe to eat as much as you want, just make sure it does NOT HAVE EGGS. (and don't eat TO much, you might get a little sick :P)


Can I take a glass baking dish from the fridge and put it in a hot oven? I have a glass baking dish my husband put together a meatloaf in it last night and put it in the fridge. Can I put it right in the hot oven? I think no so I have had it sitting on the kitchen table most of the dish is warmer but the bottom is still a little cold not as cold as it was but cold. I'm scared to put it in there. I have no idea who it's made by.

It would depend on the type of glass.

If the oven is say 300 F then starting from 40 F (fridge) versus 70 F (room) is not a big difference.

If the glass is oven safe then that 30 F difference should not cause failure.

70 F to 375 F is a bigger difference than 40 F to 300 F.

How about placing your meatloaf in a 'bain marie' - another larger dish, containing warm water? That way, your glass dish can gently adjust to a warmer temperature. I would let it sit til the glass dish no longer feels cold, (change the water to warm again, a few times if necessary - til your glass dish is slightly warmed) then why not put the whole thing in the oven, like that, bain marie and all? I think this will protect your dish quite well. Good luck!


Why do some powders clump in hot water? Why do some powders like flour or matcha green tea causes lumps in hot water while other powders like sugar or cocoa or wheat grass (triticum aestivum) readily dissolve? Wheat grass powder is green and easily dissolves in cold water.

Cocoa: http://imgur.com/ncmN1ki.jpg

Water is a great solvent for polar molecules. Sugar, table salt, and other small polar molecules are water soluble. When you put them into water, you get a sugar resp. salt solution.

Other molecules are not soluble in water. Most organic molecules with a carbohydrate tail are insoluble (unless they have a strongly polar active group, like the shorter alcohols). Starch and cellulose are not water soluble. Most plant matter is made mainly from starch and cellulose. (The exception are fruits, which can have more fructose than starch, but still lots of cellulose).

When you put non-soluble powder into water, you are not making a solution. You are making a colloid known as sol (solids dispersed in a liquid). If you wet salt, the water will dissolve the first layer, and the second layer will be exposed. If you wet a random non-soluble powder, the water will have to wash away the first layer before it reaches the second layer, so it is hard to make the suspension without vigorous stirring.

There are some special molecules which absorb water and swell. Starch, some proteins (gelatin) and some polysaccharides (xanthan gum) are common such molecules in the kitchen. When you wet them, the water gets absorbed by the first layer. This changes the viscosity of the layer, making it thick and clingy. This forms a clump. In the core are the dry layers of powder. They are held together by a bubble of the water-swelled substance. Outside of this bubble is the water. It can't wash away the bubble, because it is so viscous, it doesn't flow into the water. And the bubble protects the core of the clump from contact with water. This happens with starchy powders like flour, or also real cocoa powder. Tea powder is mostly dried cellulose, so it is also hard to dissolve.

You mention cocoa as easily solved in water. In fact, cocoa is very hard to dissolve, so I think you are speaking of a cocoa flavored drink. A cocoa flavored drink is a mixture of dextrose, cocoa powder, and other things (but mostly dextrose). In such a mixed powder, the water dissolves the soluble molecules (the dextrose), and the insoluble particles (the cocoa powder) which were suspended in the dextrose are now suspended in the water. No neighbouring cocoa particles to cling to. So, no clumps, but an instantly homogenous drink.

Usually because there's a thickener / simple starch present in it.


What is the optimal temperature for making coffee, specifically in an AeroPress? I use an Aerobie AeroPress to make lattes. The instructions recommend a water temperature of 175° F to be used in making the concentrated coffee. Since I am making a latte I also heat milk and froth it. The instructions do not specify a temperature for the milk so I assumed 175° F as well. 175° F I have found is too hot for the end product. When I put it in my coffee mug for the day, it is too hot to drink for about 1.5hours after creation.

Can I lower the temperature of the water or should I lower the temperature of the milk or neither to still get good taste and end product?

When making espresso with a machine, normally the ideal temp is around 200F. So I would most definitely not use cooler water.

175F is very hot for steaming milk--for me that would be way over-steamed and scalded. Most of the resources I've found say to steam to 150-160F.

I've actually found that even when the thermometer says 150F, it's over-cooked for my tastes. What I do now is go by feel. I steam in a stainless pitcher and keep my fingertips on the sides. When it's too hot for me to hold for more than a second or so, I stop.

The instructions for the Aeropress state the temperature which you quote, but this is based on taste tests, rather than requirements of the process. I would therefore recommend trying different temperatures (perhaps just tasting the pure 'espresso') and seeing which you prefer.

However, if you are topping it up with steamed milk, as has been said above, you may want to lower the temperature of this first. This will have a much bigger effect on the final temperature of your drink than the temperature of the 'espresso'.

[Thanks for the clarification, Digeridrew; I have removed the comparison to espresso machines]


Heating Margarine in Pan = loss of calories? Does heating up margarine in a pan makes it lose calories since more than half of it evaporates? Ex: using 1/4 of margarine and heating it up with onions. Will the dish still have 210 cals from margarine or will that number be lower?

No, because what is evaporating is water.

Depends on what temperature you bring it to. When doing something like this, the fat will boil and calories will be lost. I have actually boiled it away by mistake (and bad consequences for the onions involved).


Best Practices for Cooking with Psyllium Husk? A couple months ago, I went on a diet primarily consisting of Nutraloaf (with Tabasco or other flavor-adding sauces) for meals, and sunflower seeds for occasional snacking. Three weeks in, I started experiencing some digestive problems and a general malaise, and my doctor referred me to a nutritionist. Long story short, my diet was seriously lacking in fiber.

I've found psyllium husk fiber to be far superior to traditional options, and have since been consuming it as a daily supplement. What I'd like to do, however, is integrate it into my cooking. There is a serious dearth of psyllium husk-based recipes on the Internet, which leads me to query the experts here.

How should I go about modifying my recipes to use psyllium husk? Also, should I worry about heating psyllium husk, and possibly changes its digestive qualities?

I'm guessing that you should be able to simply add it wherever you would add some sort of grain or flour. The wikipedia article mentions:

  Other uses include gluten-free baking, where ground psyllium seed husks bind moisture and help make the bread less crumbly.

If you add some to your Nutraloaf, if it's enough to have an effect, it'll help it bind together and absorb some moisture. You might have to add some more liquid to cancel that out, if you find that the result ends up too dry, but otherwise it should be fine. Cooking isn't going to destroy the fiber.

I'd also note that you don't necessarily have to go all-out on the fiber: there's plenty in other grains, too, like oats. You might decide that you simply like it better with a different fiber - justkt suggested a few in the comments; thanks! And I know you're not exactly looking for variety here, but I might as well suggest it. You really could get a little bit of variety for minimal effort, say by adding in a different canned or frozen vegetable each time you make it, or by varying the source of fiber.

I love adding ground psyillium to my coffee.  1 or 2 teaspoons to a full cup.  It is much much better than those crappy fake orange flavored sugared fiber laxatives I tried to take before discovering psyillium.  (My Coffee Recipe:  every morning I make my coffee and instead of milk and creamers, I add psyllium, 1/8 cup coconut milk instead of milk or soy, and cocoa powder  and when I want a little sweetness, I use Truvia or Stevia, NOT sugar or other sweeteners).

I have transformed my diet to a mostly primal/paleo diet, so am actually getting quite a bit of fiber, but I have a lower back injury and one of the side effects is continual problems with constipation.  Adding Psyllium has helped that a lot - though I should say that for normal people without special circumstances (i.e. if I did not have this back injury) - if a person is eating sufficient amounts of vegetables (6 to 8 servings a day) and some fruit every day (my goal is weight loss, so picky about fruit I eat, and quantities - choosing berries, tomatoes, avocados, and the fruits highest in nutrition/benefits).

Here is a paleo bread recipe I found that I have been experimenting with/changed a bit - by adding psyllium to

Bread
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/8 cup of ground psyllium
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
5 eggs
1/4 cup of water (this one you might have to play with a little
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Place almond flour, coconut flour, flax, psyllium, salt and baking soda in a bowl and blend together (if you have a food processor, pulse)
Mix (or Pulse) in eggs, water, oil, honey and vinegar
Pour batter into a greased small greased (coconut oil is good) bread pan
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes
Cool and serve


Is kangaroo meat safe to eat raw such as kangaroo tartare? I know that kangaroo meat is usually cooked rare because it's so low in fat.

I also know that certain meats are not safe unless well cooked, such as chicken and pork.

But what about kangaroo? For me it's the most delicious red meat so if I like steak tartare I know I should like kangaroo tartare, but how could I make sure that I'm doing it the safest way possible, if there is a safe way?

It seems the meat is not farmed at all but entirely "harvested" in the wild
http://www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/meat-wool-dairy/ilg/industries/kangaroos.
So it should be treated as a game meat rather than a farmed one - i.e. best to cook it.

Here's advice from the Department of Primary Industries saying you should never feed raw kangaroo to your dog, so I'd err on the side of caution
http://new.dpi.vic.gov.au/pets/pests-and-diseases/health-care

I know this is a really old post, however id like to add something to the conversation.
6 days ago I went to a fancy restaurant and ate Kangaroo meat, it was quite raw, as you would eat if it was raw beef.
From the night i ate this kanagaroo onwards (6 days later) i have had constant severe stomach pain. Ive been to the doctors twice, blood tests came up ok and have just had more testing to look for parasites. I havent got the results yet, but im 99% sure it is a parasite problem, and it all started a few hours after i ate the raw Kangaroo. I also hadnt eaten any suspect food at all in the 48 hours leading up to the Kangaroo meat, so i can easily say it wasnt anything else i had eaten.
Ill be happy to post back here when the test results arrive.
I always thought it was safe to eat reasonably raw, but my opinion has now changed. I wouldnt eat unless cooked all the way through from now onwards.


How can I clean dark non-stick pots (e.g. Calphalon)? We have Calphalon non-stick cookware and it seems, after 5 years, not to want to get clean.  Even the best scrubbing leaves kind of a hazy look on them.  Additionally, the exterior of our most used pan is darkly stained, kind of like a well-seasoned cast iron pan.  Is that okay, or do I need to clean it better too?

I'm gonna assume you're talking about pans with a hard anodized exterior and non-stick interior...

The anodized exterior will pick up stains over time, and you probably shouldn't worry too much about trying to get them back to factory condition. That said, you can find some tips on How should I clean anodised cookware? - I use baking soda and elbow grease for routine jobs, and occasionally resort to Ajax (scouring powder) for touch-up around the handle.

The non-stick interior is probably just wearing out. AFAIK, some Calphalon non-stick pans have a texture to them that is supposed to improve browning, but over time even smooth non-stick surfaces develop pits and scratches that create opportunity for residue to hold on to. I use a bit of baking soda and a bit of salt to scrub these clean, but once something gets stuck on to the point where serious scouring is necessary to remove it you'll just have to give up (since that would take the non-stick coating with it). Non-stick pans - even well-made ones - do tend wear out faster than ordinary pans, and there's no getting around that.

I recently purchased the Calphalon premiere space saving hard anodized non-stick cookware set.  Sorry to say, it is going back!  While nice to cook in, and a great space saver - the shape of the handle and more importantly the front handle, name plate, whatever is impossible to clean,  It is 3D, textured, scalloped and collects residue in every spot.  After one week it looked very bad. I scrubbed with a toothbrush and could not get into every crevice.  The bottoms also stain easily.  Going back to my good stainless steel, and medium priced (disposable) non-stick pans.


How do I seal ice cream containers? I want to make ice cream, put them into pint containers (or, hopefully of any custom size in the future) and have the containers be sealed with a film like Häagen-Dazs does.

A machine would be ok. Manual would be fine too. I just want to know where to get the equipment and/or some instructions. Thank you.

Go to sunbeltpackaging.com and look under "options for lids".  It's a company I found on the internet while looking for "how do I seal ice cream containers with plastic film".  There are many choices there.


Is there any way to sous-vide without a machine I live in an apartment and have limited space to store kitchen gadgets. I don't really like the idea of having a machine that is dedicated to one specific task.

I particularly want to get into using sous-vide as a cooking technique, but I don't really want to buy a machine specifically for this task.

Is there any way to get a similar cooking method? I know that there probably isn't a way to get the exact temperatures like you get with a sous-vide machine, but I'm looking for some kind of alternative.

I have succeeded using this beer cooler method described by Serious Eats.

If you want to get a feel for sous-vide cooking, you could try following a recipe developed by Andreas Viestad, a cookbook author and food science writer for the Washington Post.  His idea is to create a flavorful broth and then place a piece of cod in the hot broth and let it cook off the stove burner.  As the water cools, it cooks the fish. The full article is no longer available (I still have a copy), but the recipe may be found online.

I have adapted the recipe to work with frozen white fish.  Thin fillets work better and having a scale helps a lot.  I do everything Viestad does, but I measure the water carefully.  If you have f grams of frozen fish to cook, then use w grams of water, where w is given by:

  w = 3.5 f

or if you use ounces for the weight and cups to measure the water

  w = 0.42 f

Bring the broth to a boil, then take off the stove, dump in the frozen fish, cover, and wait 20 minutes or until the water temperature is 60°C. Not quite sous-vide, but close.


Is it ok to use plastic containers to bake in an electric oven? Can I use a microwave safe plastic container to bake in an electric oven?

Here is a list of common plastics found in kitchen containers. You will find this information on the bottom of the container, in a triangle with a number inside.

While some plastics used in microwavable applications appear to have a high melting point, PET for instance melts at 510ºF, please remember that the material will soften, weaken and otherwise degrade long before actually melting into liquid. Other plastics labeled microwave safe, like HDPE, melts at a mere 265ºF! While microwave safe plastics may have a relatively high short term temperature resistance, sustained temperature tolerance, as in leaving it in an oven for baking, is much lower.

Silicone bakeware, by contrast, has a melting point of 935ºF, but is only rated for use at sustained temperatures no greater than 675ºF. Above that point, and the material will soften, warp and degrade. Thermoplastics have a much lower melting point, and it can be expected that their sustained temperature resistance is likewise much lower, to the point where using them as bakeware is unadvisable.

No.  No matter what kind of plastic you are using, don't use it for oven use.  It will melt from the inside or it might melt completely.
For safer use, don't use plastic 'cause your oven might catch on fire.


Should I clean all of my cooking utensils after being exposed to mothballs (naphthalene) for over a week? While I was away on vacation my roommate put mothballs in the kitchen cabinets where the pots and pans and cutlery are stored. I have removed them and thrown them out ( not sure if I was overreacting or not). Should I wash the utensils that were in the cabinets or should it be fine?

I doubt that there's enough naphthalene deposited on the cutlery to give you severe poisoning, although it may taste bad. Based on the rat/mouse lethal doses, you would need to ingest ~50 gr of the stuff to die from it (of course, you would experience adverse effects at much smaller amounts). It seems like chronic exposure to naphthalene is where you really start getting problems - so definitely don't mothball cutlery as a regular thing in the future! Nevertheless, it is a harmful chemical so I would wash them just to be sure.

Naphthalene is an organic compound and has very poor solubility in water (32 mg/l at room temperature) so regular washing might not remove it effectively. Meanwhile, alcohol can dissolve 11.3 g/l (1000 times more!) and acetic acid (vinegar) can do 13.1 g/l. Granted, soap is supposed to solubilize things, and since you would wash with soap and not just water, solubility shouldn't be as big a problem in reality, but it's worth taking care to ensure it actually gets removed. So my needlessly complicated procedure that I would suggest to you is:

Thoroughly wash with vinegar, as warm as possible (use rubber gloves)
Thoroughly wash with soapy water, as warm as possible. Remember to also wash the gloves and your sink to remove residue on them.
Thoroughly wipe with alcohol. I think ideally you want close to 100% (if you have Everclear that would be about perfect), but in a pinch rubbing alcohol (typically 60-70%) would do or even a strong spirit like vodka. After wiping the alcohol off, leave to dry as alcohol will quickly evaporate.

At the end, ventilate the room, wait an hour or so, and see if you smell any of it from sink/cutlery. Hopefully the answer is no and you'll be good to go. This method is probably overkill and will REALLY get the naphthalene out, but it would only take a few minutes (excluding the drying and checking for smell) and you don't have to worry afterwards.

For cutlery, I don't think it's worth throwing them out for something like this. Naphthalene is pretty volatile, so even leaving them in a warm, well-ventilated place for a few days without the above washing would probably get rid of most of it as the napthalene evaporates (technically, sublimates) and dissipates in the air. With pans, I'm not so sure. My guess that there's no difference and the pans can be used after cleaning just like cutlery, but then since you heat those, small amounts of it conceivably might react with the teflon or itself and make something nasty. I would throw away if it's a very cheap pan, if not just wash with vinegar, soap and alcohol as I say above and you should be fine.

From a personal stand point; anytime i expose any untinsils used to eat or prepare a meal i sanitize them. I was them and then i will boil just to make sure that all contaminants are gone. Especially if you are caring for a family or elderly it is important because they are more susceptible to allergene than anyone due to the weaker immune system.


What are the pros/cons of serving the salad dish before/after the main dish? I have noticed that most people in the US serve the salad course before the main dinner course. However, my Italian relatives and my boyfriend's Italian relatives serve the salad course after the main dinner course. (I am assuming it is an Italian or European difference.)

What are the benefits to serving the salad dish either before or after the main course. Does it aid in digestion? Palate cleansing?

For a fairly typical thread on this, see:  http://www.thekitchn.com/cultural-differences-salad-bef-65008

The so-called reasons I see listed here are consistent with what I found in several different internet discussions of the issue, none of which are scientificially or academically credible:

Restaurants serve salad first because it is easiest to get out on the table
At home, eat the entrees first while they are hot
Eat salad last so that the roughage helps digestion
Eat salad last so that the stomach acids are not diluted for the entree

Note that the last two are kind of non-sensical.  They sound great as folk science, but in the course of a single meal, it will all end up together in the stomach, as the digestive process is not so fast that the courses end up moving through the system in sequence like cars in a railroad train in sequence over the track.

Then again, some like to serve it with the main part of the meal.

I am sure this is just a matter of cultural expectation.

It all depends on you!! I know that if I eat salad after my meal i tend to get bloated and gassy, however if i eat it before a meal i feel more energetic and satiafied afterwards


what is the reason for adding tomato paste when making a brown stock? I'm studying for an apprenticeship test and I know one of the questions is about why you add tomato paste to brown stock.  I have been taught that it's for depth of flavour and colour.  However, the choices on the test are separated into a) flavour, b) colour, C) acidity d) to speed up cooking process (?!)  I'm curious if anyone knows the actual ONE reason we add tomato paste to the bones?

It's odd that they force you to choose one, as many things in cooking have multiple reasons, e.g. browning meat adds flavour and colour to a stew. Are you sure the question isn't one of those 'tick all that apply' ones?

In this case, the tomato paste adds flavour, colour, and the acid helps break down the connective tissue in the bones, which helps the stock to jellify.

The reason is for color, as it helps make a brown stock browner.


Does a double walled glass mug really keep the liquid warm? I saw some double walled glass mugs like this one and I am wondering if that really works in keeping the liquid warm.

If not, is it just for the looks and marketing spin?

Is there a vacuum between the two walls? Does it help in keeping the drink hot for longer?

Yes, they work.

The reason they work for keeping liquid warm is because the air pocket slows down the transfer of heat from the liquid to the glass to your hand. Air has a lower thermal conductivity than glass does, which means that it slows down the loss of heat from your drink. (The thermal conductivity of air is 0.024 W/m/°C, while the thermal conductivity of glass is anywhere from 0.96 - 1.3 W/m/°C, depending on the type of glass.) It's the same reason that windows in modern homes are usually double-paned.

The space between the layers of glass are not a vacuum.

That being said, glass double-walled thermoses are popular mostly because they look cool (they give an optical illusion of the liquid being suspended in air). If your primary concern is keeping your beverage warm for as long as possible, it's better to go with a double-walled stainless steel thermos, which will retain heat much longer than a glass one. MargeGunderson is right, too - preheating the thermos, regardless of material, with hot/boiling water for a few minutes before putting your drink in it will be even better than pouring your tea into a room temperature thermos.

yes it does because the is no particles in the vacuum in between the glass.


How to stop a sponge cake (chiffon cake) from deflating/sinking? Beating of the whites is perfected.

When folding in the cake mixture and the egg whites is there a specific technique?

I place in about 1/3, fold, 1/3, fold, and the rest using a spatula, and turn the bowl to get it folded evenly.

Do I leave the cake to cool in the oven with the door open ajar? And for how long?

Or is there a specific way to cook it, e.g. high temp then low temp?

Many sponge cake forms are made with removable bottoms and tabs that stick up on the sides.

The purpose of the removable bottom is obvious, run a knife around the side and push the cake out. However, the tabs allow for a marvoulous technique when cooling your sponge cake.

When your cake is done cooking and ready to let cool, you invert it without running your knife around the edge.  The tabs keep the pan above the table/rack and allow for the air to circulate.  Gravity helps to maintain the height of the cake because the cake is still stuck to the bottom and sides of the pan.  As it cools, the little stretching action from gravity gives you a higher/fluffier product.

It doesn't completely solve your shrinkage issue but it helps out allot.

You are using a bundt or tube pan, yes? A chiffon cake will need the extra support in provides, and after taking it out of the oven it should be inverted until completely cool. A bottle can make a good cooling rack, just put the hole of the pan around the neck and put it somewhere it won't be knocked over. Cooling in the oven is good too.


How do I pick a watermelon at the supermarket? Lately, every watermelon I bring home form the organic section of the supermarket has not been sweet.  Among the small, seedless varieties, I try to pick the densest. How do I know if it is ripe?  Can I ripen them at home?  Should I keep them in the fridge?

I don't believe there is a fool-proof way to determine 'ripeness' without taking a slice out of it. The best you can do is look for certain signs:

Ripe melons have a hollow sound when you tap or slap the outside
Look for the patch where the melon would have been on the ground (called the field spot). If it's a yellow colour its probably ripe, if it's white, it's probably not.
It should feel relatively heavy when lifted
Weird areas on the skin aren't necessarily bad. insects may have tried to start eating the fruit because it is ripe, but have only marred the surface.

Unfortunately, melons don't continue to ripen once picked, unlike fruits such as apples, bananas etc. which contain ethylene. As a tip don't store melons with these kinds of fruit, they may well go 'soggy'.

Extra: NYtimes video on picking the right watermelon.

In some stores they have cut melons, check the cut ones out. During sales they will cut them often. Looking at them will help you make your choice.


How much time does it take to boil salmon? Most recipes for salmon soup say that you cook it in just 5-10 minutes. If that were beef or pork, I would boil it for hours. Then why do they say such a short period of time will work with fish?

I have no access to fish that is safe to eat raw so I have to properly cook it through. Will salmon really get cooked safely in just 10 minutes?

It just has to get to 145F for safety, and in boiling water that happens really fast. 5-10 minutes is totally believable. On top of that, fish is really unpleasant when overcooked, so you really want the minimum possible cooking. (For that reason, boiling is not usually a great way to cook fish - you tend to overcook it easily, especially the outside.) Note that this is the conservative, safe temperature, intended to be good even for people with weaker immune systems. Many people prefer it cooked to a lower temperature.

When you cook beef or pork for hours, it's presumably because it's a tough cut with lots of connective tissue to break down so that it's tender enough to eat. For cuts that are pleasant to eat as soon as they're cooked through, there's no reason to cook longer. You wouldn't cook a steak or pork chop for hours, and that's if anything even more true for fish.

If you cook boil salmon you need 10-15 minutes. You can to add some spice nd dish'll be perfect. I took recipe how long to cook salmon here
//club.cooking/articles/how-long-to-cook-salmon/


How would I go about home smoking a ham joint? I love the flavour of smoked meats, such as ham, and have wondered if it would be achievable to to do some smoking in a domestic environment? Would I need to hot-smoke, or cold-smoke? what would the smallest practical amount to attempt?

Always hot smoke pork. Unless you know what you're doing. In which case you'd know that.

Look at this for ideas on how to make a cheap home smoker that will work for you.

In general, you need:

a heat source (hot plate works well)
container for wood chips/sawdust (skillet works and helps modulate and spread heat)
housing (any kind of box thing: cardboard, wood, ceramic, an existing grill... it just needs to seal and maintain a bit of heat)
a rack for the food to be smoked (or you could use rope and hang food as in smoke houses)
thermometer (poke it into the top or the side to keep an eye on things)

Put it all together, put the sawdust into the skillet, turn it on, and adjust for desired temperature. I'd recommend 200-250 for pork.

You may also want to put a second hotplate in with boiling water, or splash a bit of water in the smoke pan on occasion to keep the inside moist when smoking for long periods.

Before smoking anything, brine it and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for a day. This allows the surface protein to dry, and this helps to develop the smoke flavor.


How to tenderize large squid? My whole life I've been buying small squid (maybe 4-6" long bodies without the head and tentacles), which are very mildly chewy and tender.  All it takes is sautee them in a little OO and they are good to eat, IOW, no additional tenderizing is needed.

Yesterday I got some large squid, about 1 lb each before cleaning, probably 10"+ long without the head, probably 5-6 times as much meat as the little ones I usually get.  I remember trying to cook that before and they came out very tough and with a bit of unpleasant odor.

Is there a way to marinate and tenderize large squid and to somehow neutralize the odor?

Papaya is a known tenderizer for octopus, squid, and other meats. Another option is papaya enzyme tablets found in the supplement section of drugstore. Either can be added to the recipe while marinating or cooking. The tablets have the advantage of imparting no flavor. I can't judge the amount without a recipe, but pretty hard to go wrong. Also squid and octopus must be flash grilled or cooked for a long time. Anything in between results in tough meat.

"I use buttermilk (enzymes in the milk) to tenderize: squid, boneless skinless chicken breast, and boneless pork loin chops. I soak for a couple hours or so and it gets rid of all the "fishy" flavor. The lactic acid in buttermilk dissolves proteins in the same way monosodium glutimate (MSG) does. It makes the meat break down without the rotting process. I soak my steaks and roasts for 8-12 hours and my gamey tasting meats like some fish and venison for up to 24 hours. Just rinse off and cook.


Can I cook in this stainless steel balti dish? I recently purchased what I believed to be a balti dish. It turned out, it was just a serving dish.

It is described as

  A Quality Stainless Steel Balti Dish 15cm in diameter. Balti dishes are perfect for serving your Indian food & Curry Dishes the traditional Restaurant way. Two handles on either side for easy handling.

Are there any obvious/common dangers cooking with this on a gas hob? Or is the risk more that the material won't take the heat and could break (spilling the food)?

I would say that is too thin to use on a hob. There isn't an Indian restaurant in the country that uses them to actually cook in: they cook in a proper pan and then dump it in a dish like this to serve.

Yeah it's fine, that's a balti dish and you can cook in it.


When boiling potatoes, should I put them in with the cold water or in to the hot? I've heard both. What's the correct way to boil a potato? Why?

Cold, it gives the inside more time to come up to the same temperature with the outside, for more even cooking.

I tried cold water with purple spuds just now. They came out creamy and yum and easy to mash.


How do I make spicy mayonnaise like Japanese restaurants use for sushi? I've tried mixing mayonnaise and hot sauce together and it didn't taste right at all. Any Suggestions?

Japanese spicy mayo is made with Kewpie mayo and Shichimi tōgarashi. You really just mix them to taste.

How about blending the mayo with wasabi powder? It will be different than the hot pepper heat but you'll taste it!


Bread baking: dough has little holes after first rise I'm making a half white flour, half whole wheat flour bread, with garlic, olive oil and dried herbs. After kneading it for about 20 min I left it to rise even though it wasn't as springy as I'd like. It was also a bit sticky, but was afraid to make it too dry since I'm using high gluten flour and whole wheat which both need more water. After the first rise it still didn't feel springy enough, and I gave it another knead and let it rise again for 15 min. After this, and when shaping the bread, I noticed there are little holes in the dough as seen in the pictures. For some reason the gluten didn't fully form to which I attribute the little holes and tears to, but I can't think what to do different. Any ideas?

What kind of whole wheat flour are you using? An organic supermarket near me offers a mill to use on-site, and I once bought a package of wheat and milled it there, to see how bread tastes with unoxidized flour.

The roughly milled bran teared my gluten badly, and I had much difficulty getting the dough to perform well. The bread didn't rise well either.

Your dough looks rather irregular to me, and I believe to see tiny beige dots which may be bran. Adding all those spices doesn't help, neither does working with high gluten flour when you are using whole wheat. The whole thing looks like too much and too tight gluten to me, that gets torn by the bran and pulls together, leaving holes.

Also, home bakers tend to use too much yeast, and I suspect that getting the air pockets expand too quickly or even too much (overrising) increases the problem. Standard recipes start at 2% yeast (2 g fresh or 0.7 g instant per 100 g flour) but artisan breads use less, to allow for longer rising times.

So my advice would be:

use finely milled whole wheat flour (not home milled)
try also getting your spices finer milled - if you are doing it in a coffee grinder, use a Turkish grind
use AP flour instead of high gluten flour
use more AP and less whole flour
work your dough with frequent breaks, so the gluten can relax a bit
use the proper amount of yeast.

I believe that Lack of gluten development is the problem here. Whole wheat flour has less gluten then white flour. When using formulas that have a significant amount of  WW flour you need to augment the amount of gluten by either using a high gluten flour or adding a gluten additive.

As for the suggestion of changing to AP Flour, AP flour is not going to suffice for increasing the gluten level much,(replacing high gluten flour with AP flour is reducing the gluten available to develop ).
AP flour is not bread flour and has a lower gluten content. Since you did use high gluten flour it seems the the dough was not kneaded sufficiently to develop the gluten or the ratio of WW flour was so high that the high gluten flour did not contribute enough gluten content.

Autolyse will help ( make sure to not add the salt until after the autolyse period. Soaking the dried herbs in your water first will reduce their sharpness.

The gluten has to be developed sufficiently in the kneading stage, nothing can fix a lack of gluten dev in the proofing stage. Learn to do a window pane test with you dough as you knead.

Are you using a mixer or kneading by hand? My mixer will over heat a dough if i mix it until i have gluten dev, i always finish my knead by hand. Heat will impare or kill the yeast. Use cold water. There is a formula to account for friction factor ( the amount of heat produced by you mixer in the mixing processes ) but if you are careful and finish by hand it is not necessary and kneading by hand is better way to understand when the gluten is properly developed.

You said you used a high gluten flour, do you mean a bread flour with high gluten content or a flour that is specifically labeled high gluten? The higher the ratio of WW flour the W flour is will make it more difficult to get proper gluten dev. Sometime gluten additives are used in WW breads.

I would say that 50/50 mix of WW flour to a true high gluten flour should allow you to get a good gluten dev, if your white is truly a high gluten flour and the WW flour is not to coarse.

i would not change anything in the formula just yet ( make changes one variable at a time so you know what effect each change has ) and try another batch but hand knead the dough until you get the proper gluten dev  you can see and feel with a window pane test. If you still are having problems the reduce the WW flour or use a gluten additive.


Do foil packets on a charcoal grill get any flavor from the smoke? I am planning on cooking steaks and vegetables in sealed foil packets on my charcoal grill and I just realized that foil can make a pretty good seal around the food. Will I be unable to get any of the smoky flavor from the charcoal if I cook using this method? Is there a way to get the flavor by poking small holes on the top of the foil, or will this defeat the purpose of the sealed packet by letting too much moisture out?

No, not really exposure is sort of the key in any method of light, and/or heavy, and/or cold, and/or hot, and/or direct, and/or indirect smoking or smoking in general. This holds true for charcoal grilling as well.

A lot of people smoke brisket covered in foil and it gets the smoke flavor but it is is also smoked for several hours.


Does a pan used for cooking scrambled eggs multiple times a day need to be washed with soap every time? I have some very tight diet restrictions right now due to a medical issue.  As a result I need to eat scrambled eggs three times a day.  Here's my question:  if I rinse the pan thoroughly each time do I really need to wash it with soap and water after every meal?  Can I just wash it every night?  (The problem is this hurts my neck, which is another medical issue I have.)

Bacteria have several requirements to grow — water, food/nutrients, oxygen/lack of oxygen (some bacteria), temperature, and pH. The acceptable range of conditions varies, but if you deprive them of one of their requirements, they don't grow. We use all of those in food — but for your question, three are involved:

Temperature. When the pan is hot, nothing can grow. Once it cools off below ≈130°F/55°C, that changes. Until you get down to 40°F/4°C, you're in the "danger zone" where bacterial growth is possible and relatively quick.
Food/nutrient availability. When you wash clean the pan, you're removing the nutrients, so the bacteria can't grow. You propose not to do this, so this control method isn't available.
Water. Without available water, nothing can grow. This is why you want your pans to dry out after washing (even things like aluminum or ceramic, which won't rust). If there are nutrients left (perfect washing is hard), without water, nothing can grow.

So... I think as long as you make sure the pan is dry then you're fine. Wipe it out with a paper towel, you don't want any egg-gunk left (that'd be hard to get all the water out of). If there is any doubt, turn back on the burner after wiping it — heat will drive off any moisture. Just make sure not to let it get hot enough to damage the pan. (Be especially careful if its Teflon or similar).

If paranoid (which, depending on your health condition, may be justified), once the pan cools to near room temperature, put it in the fridge. You'll then have two factors redundantly protecting you from bacterial growth.

It is desirable every time after cooking to thoroughly rinse the pan with a special fat-relieving preparation.when the fat temperature reaches 100 degrees It begins to oxidize strongly and should not be used a second time.in this case fat is converted into protoplasmic poison.never cook for the second time in the same fat.about the pains in your back I would advise you the following:the container in which it is cooked is still warm - put a fat remover.when fat is hot or hot dissolves much easier and thus removing it is easy. this will greatly ease your movements and therefore the pain in the neck


Super tiny bugs in store bought raspberries For a while now, I've been seeing incredibly tiny bugs in store bought raspberries. They survive refrigeration and I can rinse them off (I think, can't be sure due to their size). They are really really small so I can't take a picture. They look like a little dot and do not fly.

I'm a bit concerned if they may be damaging to health. Does anyone know what they are and is rinsing the raspberries enough?

Its probably pretty natural for there to be tiny little bugs in the fruit. One thing you can do is soak them in a bath of cold water, lemon juice and maybe a splash of white vinegar, but not too much as you don't want them to take on that vinegar taste. You can spray them down with baking soda and lemon mixed with water as well. This will help draw the bugs out.

Those bugs you see occur in berries of all sorts. They're the larvae of fruit flies. Although they are not harmful, you can soak them in salt water if you want to rid of them.


Fish and cheese: An unbreakable rule? I always wondered about this seemingly static rule:

  Never add cheese (especially, but not limited to parmigiano reggiano) to a dish with fish.

Italians would never, ever add parmigiano reggiano to a pasta with fish. But they have many other fixed views on food (e.g. sweet and savoury is a no-no, which is allowed at least in Austria and Japan).

I obliged until now, but I wonder where this rule comes from. To be honest, I would never add cheese to frutti di mare, but I'm open to trying other combinations. Is there some evidence that the two ingredients don't mix well? I hear there are some exceptions: Tuna with parmigiano reggiano is okay, but I only tried that as a salad and it was good. Also, I once saw a recipe of fish with mascarpone.

  Did you ever have a professional cook serving you fish with cheese?

Please, I'm not interested in your personal opinion, but I'm trying to understand the rule and the exceptions.

EDIT:

Status update: Thanks for the brainstorming so far. I'm collecting the intermediate results:

Most importantly: It seems to be a regional thing (w/ Italy at its heart)
@Walter, @TFD and @Joe all agree on tuna as the prime counter example.
However, they disagree on the reason: We have @TFD's opinion, that tuna is strong and thus is not outplayed by strong cheese and @Walter's italo-centric opinion, that tuna is a particularly 'unfishy' fish.
@Carmi mentions umami as one/the possible reason.
@Todd has entered the discussion and disputes the highest voted answer: The umami claim by @Carmi. I'm delighted, because I'm still cautions about umami.
If you provide further examples, please include a detailed descriptions and a reason why you think the particular combination is a "allowed".

I would be extremely interested in opinions that favour the motion/rule. Is there anybody willing to take a stance and (maybe even) explain the origin?

And what about seafood with cheese? Is it unthinkable?

Disagree with the umami analysis from @Carmi, even if it was a good attempt.  You have some basic facts wrong though.

Cooked tomato sauce is high in umami, and is often combined with mushrooms, however, a sauce with mushrooms would not take parmigiano (also extremely high in umami)
Mozarella is high in umami, like most fresh young cheeses.  So is tuna.
Caesar salad has both anchovies and parmigiano (both high in umami).

But you are sort of on the right track.  Baked fish in Italy is not strong in flavor. It's delicate and calls for the following: fresh lemon.  That's it. Maybe some fresh parsley.  Usually cooked with no herbs and served with no sauce.  The fish should be extremely fresh and appreciated for it's delicate flavor.  Something like parmigiano would easily overpower the taste of the fresh fish and by putting it on fish you are telling the cook "this is fish gone bad and I need to cover the taste with something". Or if it was served that way, maybe better to avoid it because what is the cook trying to hide?  While there I never encountered a fish dish served with cheese.

Being a curious foodie and having lived in Italy for 5 years, I can also add the following:

There are a LOT of rules that might seem strange to an outsider. No cappuccino after 10am.  You don't mix salty and sweet in the same dish, or even during the same course.  Beer with pizza, not wine. You would never drink coffee before or during desert, it's served after.
While I was there I did a lot of thinking about the basis of some of these rules and concluded it's usually either 1) health, 2) taste, or 3) regional cultural rules.
I asked the fish and cheese question a few times.  The answer was always "That's gross, you just don't put cheese on fish".  My guess is this one falls under 2 and 3.

The health angle from @Walter I think has a lot of validity in general.  Italians often complain of their liver hurting after eating especially 'heavy' meals. Heavy meaning something very specific in Italian: difficult to digest.  So a fresh salad with too much raw garlic could be considered heavy because garlic sometimes causes indigestion.  A huge chunk of parmigiano is not considered heavy because parmigiano is very digestable.  My guess is some of the rules come out of the particulars of the Italian digestive system.  Much like you will not find many Asians joining me when I chug my glass of milk.

As a pro chef, fresh seafood is one of the most delicate, subtle and wonderful flavors we can eat.
To combine that with a hormonal, fermented barnyard animals discharge is heresy of the highest order.
Now i’m not talking about smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel which I really like.

I’m talking about pristine fresh fish unprocessed and simply prepared.

Kinda makes sense doesn’t it?


Is it safe for me to eat a salmon/tuna packet that's been in the car all summer? Apparently I've had various salmon/tuna packets in the my car for months, likely being heated near 100° F, off and on.

Other info:

Still before the confusing 'BEST IF USED BY' date of August 2018.
Sealed in an aluminum lined packet.

I'm torn between it being sealed and the obvious summer month temperature changes.

Are these things safe to eat in this context?

The standard processing for this type of "flexible can" or "retort pouch" packaging is a certain amount of time at 250F or so to completely sterilize the contents. There's nothing alive in there to cause spoilage, or the process would not work at all.

As such, I find the comment stream remarkably uninformed - will 130F damage the package? If so, it would never have made it out of the factory...and the widespread precursor to the civilian application of this package (as mentioned in a more informed comment) is the MRE, and you can bet those go through some roasty-toasty temperatures in desert war zones.

If the packages are sealed, they are still sterile. Nothing that happened in your car is anywhere near the temperatures that were used to sterilize the contents in the first place.

My answer to your question regarding the salmon and tuna in packets that have been left in the car in hot temperatures DO NOT EAT IT!!! Think about it, we cook in aluminum pots, the pots get hot and cooks the food in that aluminum pot.  At 100 degrees, that's hot!!!  I live in a hot climate and take a bag with ice packs just to take my foods to my home, it only takes me 20 minutes to get home and I paranoid about spoilage.  Didn't want to give a professional, chemically derived answer just an answer to keep you safe.


What is this fungus/lichen in my Garam Masala? (“Trifle”/truffle?) I just bought a lovely bag of Garam Masala, and was all ready to grind some when I got home!  But when I opened it, I found something I didn’t recognise — at first I thought something had gone mouldy, but there’s enough of this in there that whatever it is, I presume it’s supposed to be in there.

It looks to me like a fungus or lichen of some sort.  The list of ingredients includes “trifle” — could that be a mis-spelling for some Indian species of truffle, perhaps?

It seems to be an edible lichen.  It looks very like one described online as (black) stone flower in English and dagad phool in Hindi, which seems to be a not uncommon ingredient in various spice mixes; e.g. on the left in this photo from an Indian food blog:

[Edit: photo removed as I’ve just realised the author of that blog specifically requests not redistributing their content.  It’s a nice photo + site, though, if you follow the link!]

Having found these names, it’s now not hard to find a lot of websites mentioning it, especially in blogs/forum threads; but I can’t find any site in English that gives much detailed information.  Even its purpose in the mix is a bit unclear: some blog commenters describe it as having a unique earthy, mushroom-y flavour; others, as being similar to star anise; Wikipedia even seems to suggest it might just be a bulking agent.  (I don’t get any particular scent off it, at least not dry.)

So I think this is probably the right identification; and I’m reassured that it’s not something wrong with the mix; but I’m still quite intrigued, and would love to hear more about this ingredient from someone who knows it better!


How can I cook 1/2 a cup of rice? Almost every time I make rice, I make it for just me and my partner. We've found that the right amount for us is 1/2 a cup (125mL, a regular cup not a rice cooker cup) of uncooked basmati rice. I make it in the microwave, with 1 cup of cold water, uncovered, 10 min on high and 5 min rest, but it's never as good as when I make a whole cup. I've tried varying the cook and rest times, but it only seems to get worse (dryer).

What other ways could I cook such a small amount of rice?

When you microwave on full power you are likely boiling off all the water before it can be absorbed by the rice. When you cook rice on a stove a common method is to bring it to a boil and then turn it down to low, cooking it until the rice is done. I prefer this method as I like the texture you get and once it's cooked you can eat it straight away without any extra process. I would suggest you mimic this method with your microwave by starting on high until it boils and then turning the power way down until it is cooked. On the stove this method requires you cover the pot, not a practical option in the microwave so you need to add some water to make up for the moisture loss.

Another way to cook rice on the stove is to add much more water than you need to cook the rice and boil it until the rice is done, then drain the rice while discarding the extra water. You could also try this method in the microwave very easily. The drawbacks to using this in the microwave is that if it boils over you will end up with a puddle of water on the bottom you have to clean up, and you still have to drain it.

So my advice for dorm room rice is the first method, you just need to experiment with water levels and power settings.

I just put any rice in a long microwave plastic dish.
I then put whatever seasoning I perfer on the rice.
I add about 2 tablespoons of butter or cooking oil.
I cover rice with water.
I also cover microwave dish leaving a small gap and place in microwave for 20-25 minutes.

At 20-25 minute mark take top off fluff/mixed rice top to bottom and cook with lid off for a few more minutes.

I let rice set for a few minutes before serving my doggy and I.

I Hate to be in the kitchen so i usually cook an entire or 3/4 filled small bag of rice with this method.
You can add onions etc. in rice to cook along.

I used to use a rice cooker it was damaged and out of necessity I experimented cooking rice in the microwave.
Some of my absolute best rice has been cooked in the microwave.
I find the key to fantastic rice in the microwave is the oil and making sure to fluff rice when just about done.

EnJoY!


What causes a tomato sauce to have a bitterness and getting rid of it? My tomato sauce is coming out great, lots of flavor, especially after I was able to reduce it following the tips here

However, it is still slightly bitter.
What causes a tomato sauce to have a (in my case, slight) bitterness and how do you get rid of it?

Is there an anti-bitter technique that is commonly used.

A few things can cause tomato sauces to become bitter:

Overcooked spices.  Both basil and oregano can become bitter with long simmers.  Add them near the end of the process.
Under-ripe tomatos.  Store bought tomatoes are often picked green and ripened in the store.  These tomatoes make less sweet sauces (which may be contributing).
Cooking in an aluminium pan.  Aluminium reacts with the acid in the tomatoes and adds an off-putting flavour.
Seeds/skin in the sauce. Both seeds and skins can be bitter.

You can improve a bitter sauce by adding a small amount of baking soda (or salt), and something sweet (but not too much).

For being more precise:

Tomatos are acid! This is the characteristic of tomatos. And this is also the reason of tomato success.
Thanks to this quality tomato makes edible all other acidless food.
Acidity produces a strong salivation that makes easiest the first approach with food you eat, clean palate and give the wish to eat again at once.
But also acidity makes bite fairly bound in mouth up to bottom.

In fact before tomato, acidity was taken from citrus and fruits.

Of course acidity makes food bitter. This is the only reason of bitterness of tomato sauce.

There are two main ways we use in Italy to remove that bitterness:

a pinch of sugar in the sauce while
cooking it. This is the main and
traditional one!
a pinch  of bicarbonate of soda.

The garlic and also triturated carrot are other ways but alter the sauce. I don't advice those for genuine tomato sauce.

I hope you have a better understanding of bitterness and I could help you validating what Bruce said about how to remove it.

The Italian cooker ;)


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

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

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

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

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

I am trying to determine the same. The problem with rendering out the fat is; Some fat stays behind with the meat if you are just browning the meat for use.I I am curious because sometimes I buy meat and a lot more fat is rendered out than what I usually experience. Normally, If I use a 90/10 and brown the meat very little comes out. I may even need to use a little bit to facilitate the browning. If I use a 80/20 grind, there is some fat that would need to be removed before proceeding with the recipe. This experience tell me that 10% of the weight of the meat is fat that does not render out, so if you get a 10% rendering, your fat content would be 10% (which stays with the meat) plus the 10% that is rendered out. The example I gave would be an 80/20 ground beef.
If the processor adds water to the beef (via ice chips), my method would yield a lower percentage of fat that it is in reality. For example, your meat composition  is actually 70% meat, 15%fat and 15% ice chips (added water). When you render it, the added water is not counted, so yu are left with the meat and fat. off leaving meat and fat. Doing the math, what was sold as 15% fat is in reality over 21% fat. Barely allowed to be called ground beef.


Do chefs use customer feedback to improve dishes? I understand that chefs can gauge the quality of a dish by monitoring its popularity. However, suppose a chef wants to improve an existing recipe, how might he/she do that?

Will the chef rely on customer feedback? Suppose a customer says he likes the steak but thinks the sauce can be improved. How can a chef use that information?

Clarification - I want to understand if and how chefs might use customer feedback to improve dishes.

Suppose a chef surveys 100 customers. 60 of them say that the steak sauce need some improvement. Will the chef investigate further to improve his recipe? If so, how would he do it?

Also, suppose that the same 60 customers say that they prefer the steak sauce in another restaurant, will the chef go to the another restaurant to investigate?

I'm not senior enough to leave comment, so thanks to everyone that tries to help!

I'm only a semi-pro chef, but let's have a go at answering your question.

There are some people who have an actual impact when they provide feedback on one of my dishes. These are people I have cooked for more often and whose tastes are familiar to me. They will often function as a "test panel" when I want to try out a dish I'm considering for the menu of a commercial event I'm planning.

Should this test panel think my sauce needs more seasoning or more acidity, this would certainly cause me to adjust the recipe and/or process.

On the other hand, feedback from an individual guest whose tastes are unknown to me is pretty much meaningless. How would I be able to tell whether their likes and dislikes are anywhere near an average opinion? There those who will nearly always reach for the salt shaker when served a dish, even if to the average taste it is well seasoned.

So this hypothetical individual customer that features in your question seems pretty unlikely to cause a chef to change his recipe, unless of course the same feedback has been given before and a pattern emerges. In that case an individual customer can of course tip the scales in favor of a change.

By chef, I assume you say the cook, in any situation, including at home host feeding guests, as well as chefs making rounds after a restaurant meal.

The only time a chef will use customer feedback to improve a recipe is when a benefit is at stake, trying to compensate for a loss, or improve for a potential gain. There is a minimum to learn about proper way of cooking things, but when wandering about taste beyond that point, sky is the limit, who do you want to come and eat your food?

A chef will adjust his recipe to whatever taste, including awful, as long as it would bring more guests or more money. Sad :-(

E.G. I've had long discussions with chefs on top of Las Vegas tower restaurant about some great food not offered because of customers rejecting the concepts, not yet knowing what the ingredients would be. Tough start.


How do you french trim a lamb shank? I could only find a couple of written tutorials and they weren't very good.  Can anyone explain it to me or provide a good tutorial?

Check this link clearly explained the chef style frenching.


Should brussel sprouts ever taste like chemicals? So I got a bunch of what I thought were locally grown organic brussel sprouts from the local coop the other day.  They came in an unlabeled zip lock bag, which usually means small local farm.  I cooked them with some butter and oregano. I under cooked them a little bit, but I usually prefer them that way.  When I ate them, I began to notice that they had a mild chemical taste.  It burned in my nose and the back of my mouth a little bit.  It was a sensation very similar to the one caused by ammonia or bleach fumes.  I hadn't washed them as thoroughly as I perhaps should have (there were black spots on them I hadn't noticed before, but the cooking brought them out).

Do brussel sprouts naturally have some ammonia, or something similar I might have been tasting (and why don't I remember tasting it when I've eaten them in the past)?  Did I just down some lovely pesticides and herbicides?  Could those black spots have been a fungus that was producing something unpleasant?

Brussels sprouts are in the brassica family, so you can get that family of strong cabbagey/spicey/sulfurous flavors and aromas. You probably know what that tastes like though, so I'm assuming it wasn't that. I've seen those black spots plenty of times, and I generally trim them, but I don't think they would be likely to give off a strong aroma. Once I had a situation like this where a vegetable tasted of kerosene, which I assumed was a cross-contamination and dumped it. That's what I would recommend if this ever occurs again. If in doubt, throw it out.

This would be easier to answer if you could be more specific about what you mean by "chemically."

The taste would come from the growth process, it all depends on the levels of chemicals within the sprouts; depending on where they're grown and under what conditions, they will taste slightly different. Albeit that doesn't discount any manufacturing process contributing to the taste, but I highly doubt it. My take is just the level of sulphur compounds within the sprouts - there's no need to panic, sulphur compounds are what give the sprouts their distinctive taste and smell in the first place, so they're completely healthy.

I don't think this is from plastic bags, zip-loc or otherwise; those contribute nothing to the taste.


Is sticky pepperoni a sign of spoilage? My child ate some pepperoni that was sticky, but didn't smell or taste bad, and was before the expiration date. Is that a sign that it might've spoiled early, or was it likely still safe?

Pepperoni has quite a bit of fat in it, and it's going to break down over time as it ages in the fridge (just like the meat that went into it). That can result in a sort of tacky feeling to it. You get this in things like beef summer sausage, too. It's always rather dry by the time it spoils, which takes quite a while.

Sticking an uncovered sausage in the back of the ref for a day or so is something many folks do to bring out the spices it contains a bit more prior to cooking. It also tends to come out a little tacky, depending on fat and preservative content. I do this with store-bought Italian sausage to get the fennel and anise a bit more pronounced.

If it doesn't smell acrid or rancid, and feels like pepperoni despite being a little tacky, it's probably fine. When preserved meats go bad a few parts of it start to have an acrid sort of odor, quickly followed by the rest. It's harder to spot initially in chorizo and similar, but bad pepperoni really gives itself away pretty quickly.

Also, taste a small piece. If it's rather sour, you probably don't want to use it.

Source: Me always being given the job of cleaning out and rotating stuff in the walk-in in at a place I used to work that made a lot of pizza.

The stickiness was, regrettably, probably sodium nitrite or a similar preservative. When applied in amounts that don't result in liquid "run-off," it tends to be sticky. I always rinse it off with cold water for aesthetic purposes, but no real precautions are needed.


Ceramic Cooktop (non induction) getting damaged after use We just moved into a brand new unit(just constructed) and it has a Ceramic cook top. We have only been there 2-3 weeks, and cooked maybe < 10 times.

After a few of our cooking sessions, I am seeing some white coloration around the edge of the cooking circle. It appears to be below the surface, I cant feel anything different around that area. It was below my cookware and I dont think anything splashed on it.

It might be due to the following cases

We used oversized cookware which was actually sitting on the raised edge of the stove and perhaps not actually touching the glass surface.
On a different occasion we used a different situation we used a vessal with a smaller base than the smaller circle, and thus possibly the edges of the circle got overheated or something..

We are very new to ceramic cook tops, mostly experienced with gas, minimal experience with induction. I notice some places suggesting that the cookware base is recommended to be >= size of the circle, is this the cause of our problem?

Is there a way to rectify or is this permanent??

Update: These stains are disappearing/Moving with regular use, I would guess just a new stove phenomenon.

It looks suspiciously like water that's been burned off at the edge of an overboiled pot.

On ceramic tops you get two kinds of stain. You get grease/food burned on, and that'll turn black like the inside of your toaster over, and you get the white mineral stains which comes from water drying around the edges.

The center usually stays clean because it gets super hot and will burn most anything away, but the edges don't get as hot as easily.

The way I clean them and it's considered rather unorthodox is to turn the burner on while the stovetop is bare. Let the edges get hotter than they would if a pan were keeping them cool, and much of this will burn away. After you see no further progress, turn off the stove and let it cool a little, but still above booling point of water, then use the green face of a scotch brite sponge to scrub any residue left over.

You can also try lye, but I am not a big fan of lye cleaners.

The ceramic of a hob is very hard. When we fitted one of came with a scraper - a mounted razor blade. This is excellent for getting any surface muck off. You can buy "glass scrapers" which are the same and not expensive. There shouldn't be any chance below the surface.