I use Minute-Rice to clean mine (any instant-rice will do - it's partially cooked, so it's softer than raw rice and does a better job cleaning).  I just run a bunch of rice through until it's coming out clean, then run some old beans through before using it for coffee.

Here's a Youtube video on it.  I'm sure there are tons more.  Check out the CoffeeGeek or Home-Barista forums for more information than you ever wanted.


Baking soda as a substitute for baking powder

Baking powder contains baking soda, plus acidic ingredient(s).

If you have cream of tartar, you can make baking powder directly:

2 parts cream of tartar
1 part baking soda
1 part corn starch

Without cream of tartar, you can substitute baking soda for baking powder as long as you have an acid in your recipe, like buttermilk. If your recipe does not contain an acid, you should add one or the baking soda will remain inert. Based on the above proportions, you should be able to substitute 1/2 tsp baking soda + acid for 2 tsp baking powder.

For pancakes specifically, if you rest your batter, you should fold in the baking soda at the end so you do not lose all the leavening action.


For several years, I've been putting canola in a plastic squeeze spray bottle and using that.
I do not recommend 'vegatable' oil, which in the USA is usually 100% soy oil and I have found that it gums up and can leave a difficult to clean residue

Yes, my system can apply too much and do so unevenly too. just use a paper towel to wipe off ecess and even out.

Far cheaper with canola priced at about $5 per US gallon versus 8 oz of generic aerosol spray at $1.99


What to look for in a hand mixer for occasional bread dough kneading?

That particular style of handmixer you've been using is not really used in the pro or semi-pro (this is why rumtscho says there is nothing).  The main reason is the torque gets translated into wrecking your wrist.  Dough has a very high viscosity and it is a non-newtonian fluid which can make mixing with a handheld machine a frustration chanllenge.

Simply put, a hand mixer is just not the right tool for making dough.

To make dough, you're better off with a stand mixer (like a kitchenaid artisan or pro).  For larger batches you'd need a bigger mixer (planetary or spiral) like a Hobart.   They  get bigger from there (met a baker in Pittsburgh that worked with a mixer-motor made by Harley Davidson).

Most pros use the vertical type handheld mixers (they look like immersion blenders)

They're referred to as hand-held mixers, power mixers, immersion blenders, or in some kitchens "boat motor".  But they are not made for making dough.  They will do the blend and mix cream part and are almost indestructible with mostly stainless steel parts. Your local restaurant supply dealer should have the category. Some brands are: Thunderbird , Robot Coupe, and Dynamic.

That is to strictly answer your question regarding new model, more robust, less plastic, semi-professional part.

However, if that's overkill for the once every two weeks, and a stand-mixer is not in the cards, I'd recommend the 9-speed Kitchenaid:

These have two important features for dough making:

Mixing Load Sensor should prevent those runaway mix speeds and help protect the motor from burning.
The shape of the dough hook is not a corkscrew.  This seems quite clever. They have mixed the spiral direction of the hooks to reduce the corkscrew-effect and the dough-shoot-effect you might have experienced.

Finally, if you are going to be using this kind of tool, try to pay attention to your biomechanics.  Operating them with off-angles of your wrist and elbow could place undue pressure on the joints.  If you find that you're fighting with the machine, stop and kneed by hand the rest of the way.  The strech and fold technique is quick and easy as illustrated by Richard Bertinet in this video.


What can you do with pork fat?

Cook the bits over med-low heat to render out the fat. You can strain the rendered fat and use it as lard- make biscuits or pastry. Or you can get crafty and make soap or candles- but these are not within the scope of this site.

I had some Kazakhi friends in Russia who made a dish called "Плов" (Plov).
http://www.say7.info/cook/recipe/118-Plov.html
They would render pork fat this way and continue until the fatty bits were well fried. They would then scoop out the fried bits (and eat them) then fry onion and then carrot in the fat. Add some pork and fry until browned. Then add rice and water and a head of garlic on top, cover until the rice is done. Delicious.


Should I thaw cherries for a sour cream cherry pie?

Thaw and drain them.

If you use fruit as a main ingredient like for a [your choice of fruit]pie, using frozen cherries will cause two things to happen:

They will significantly increase your baking time, because you need extra oven heat to thaw them. This may cause your crust and cream mixture to dry out or overbake.
They will exude a lot if liquid which can

throw the filling-to-binder (eggs, starch) ratio, causing problems with the pie setting or the filling falling apart and
cause soggy spots both in the cream filling and the crust. And mushy crust in a pie is pretty yuck.

Note that there are cases where using frozen fruit is fine, but that's typically recipes like blueberry muffins, where you add just a comparatively small amount mixed into a batter and local slightly damper spots aren't much of a problem.


Crème brûlée is supposed to be served cold, with a hard, crisp caramel layer on top. So that requires cooling after baking. The baking is needed to set the crème, it might just be a bit firmer after cooling. To ge the hard caramel, you need to add the sugar on top and then torch for a short time, just before serving.

You can't have the caramel formed during baking, or refrigirate after torching, as the caramel would absorb water from the crème and turn liquid (or at least get very sticky).


Drawback of Kullenschliff (Granton) knives

The biggest downside I can think of was touched on in the top answer to the question Catija:

  In fact, the thickness of the blade tends to have more of an effect than the voids in most cases.

Specifically, in order to have room to add those air pockets without them just being holes, the blade has to be thicker. This is a potential downside in a couple ways:

If you're cutting something big and sturdy, the knife can get wedged in more easily. Winter squash might be the best example. When you're halfway through, the squash is squeezing together on the knife, so it'll be harder to force a thick blade the rest of the way through than a thin one.
If you're cutting something delicate, you'll mess it up more. For example, crumbly or flaky desserts tend to fall apart more when a thick knife blade is forced through them than a thin one.

Of course, thicker blades are also usually heavier (probably still are even with the removed bits), which also has pros and cons. Nothing's ever simple!


What can I use in place of sherry in a recipe with king prawns, garlic and paprika?

Do you have any other alcohol (cooking or otherwise) in the house? A dry white wine could work. I usually have rice wine (Japanese, Chinese) or Sake around as I do a lot of Asian cooking, that would easily work too.


There is no way of knowing. The importance of cooking for food safety comes down to log reduction of pathogens.* Without accurately knowing the exact temperature that the meat reached and for how long it was held there, you can't known if it cooked long enough to be safe.

Additionally, you can't count on color, texture, or juices to indicate how cooked a piece of meat is - acidity, age of the meat, etc can play a large role in the appearance of meat. Typically, yes, white meat with clear juices is cooked... but not always.

*: In case the source goes down some day - table of 6.5 and 7 log reduction times for salmonella, at given temperatures. Low end is 130F/54.4C 121 minute for 7 log reduction. High end is 158F/71.1C 0 seconds for 7 log reduction. That is, you will reduce the count of salmonella to 1/10 millionth at the given cook time and temperature. This is why we tell people to cook pork and chicken to 165F - it instantly kills any salmonella in the meat. Salmonella is a very heat tolerant microbe, so if we've performed a 7 log reduction on it, we've done an even larger reduction on other harmful microbes. All of this information is super useful if you ever decide to sous vide meat.


What are the differences between fresh beans and dried ones?

There is a difference in texture. Dried beans tend to be slightly more grainy. This is based on my experience cooking fresh borlotti beans and comparing them with dried ones. The skin on fresh ones seemed more tender and they kept their shape better. However this was a very direct and critical comparison with both beans next to each other. I imagine it would be harder to draw these conclusions if you don't have the beans cooked next to each other.

There is also a nutritional difference; dried goods lose most of their water soluble vitamins. These include vitamins B-complex and C. Although neither vitamin is present in great numbers in beans.


Add baking powder to the mixture, if needed, as it will cause them to puff up and lighten when cooked. Adding a little cream may also help.

I have a Gulab Jamun recipe from "Dance of Spices" by Laxmi Hiremath, pg 412, which lists the following for the dough:

0.5 cup (120 mL) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups (around 470 mL) powdered nonfat dry milk
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
1 cup (236 mL) heavy whipping cream (probably listed as "double cream" where you live, see question on cream types)
about 1 TBSP water (15 mL)

The dry ingredients are mixed, then the cream is gradually mixed in, and the water is added to make a smooth, pliable dough.


Bone-in fried chicken pieces not cooking through

Props for butchering your own chickens; this is an important kitchen technique, and yields lots of nice scraps for stock. It can also save a good chunk of money at the grocery store. You should be able to get cooked-through meat and perfectly cooked crust through frying alone, for both white and dark meat. This is a matter of chicken size, oil temperature, and cooking time.
Your trouble cooking the meat through suggests that you are using a chicken that is too large. A frying chicken should be between 2.5 to 4.5 pounds [1-2kg]. A larger bird, like a 5 to 7 pound [2.2-3kg] roaster, will take much longer to cook through, and is not generally appropriate for frying. If you are stuck with a larger chicken, save it for another cooking method.
Once you get the right bird, a thermometer plays two import roles in this process. First, it lets you check the temperature of the oil. Since the oil cools when you add food, you may need to adjust the flame to maintain the desired temperature. Second, a thermometer is the best way to gauge doneness of chicken: dark meat should read 165°F [75℃] at the thickest part.
This recipe from Bon Appetit instructs you to heat the oil to 350°F [180℃] and, after adding the chicken, maintain it at 300–325°F [150-160℃]. At this temperature range, they are getting good results in about 12 minutes. Hopefully this time and temperature work for you.
If not, you can resort to baking at 350°F [180℃] until the chicken comes to temp; 10 minutes tops. Make sure to put the chicken on a wire rack inside a baking sheet: this stops oil from pooling under the chicken and makes sure it stays crisp on all sides.
These instructions take a further step for maximal crispiness: they fry for 10 minutes at 300°F [150℃], bake for 5-10 minutes, cool in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, and re-fry at 400°F [200℃] for 5 minutes. This is a lot of steps, but if it solves your problem it might be worth it!


How can I efficiently make single-serve porridge?

You can cook a single serve of porridge in the microwave very easily

Place oats and water or milk (or water and milk powder) into a microwave safe serving bowl, and cook on high for about 3 minutes. Stir and let stand for a couple of minutes, and it should be just like "mums"


What is the thickening power of different types of roux?

My understanding is that the ratio shifts from 10:1 (liquid to roux) for a pale roux, up to about 5:1 for a nutty brown roux, with a somewhat linear relationship between the two extremes. A dark brown roux has very little thickening power, mostly they are used for flavor more than actual work-a-day thickening.

The problem may not so much in the roux ratios, but in other ingredient variations. For instance, if you are using a traditional 3:2 flour:fat roux, and your fat is butter, make sure you are using clarified butter, or that you are allowing most of the water to cook out of the butter before adding the flour - excess water in the roux will break down some of the starches and reduce the thickening strength.

Finally, there will be some variation no matter what - you can always make a little extra roux in a second pan to integrate if necessary.


Let the dough warm back up. You put it in the fridge to firm up and develop glutens between folding in more butter, but once you are done, you make your croissants right then and there or if refrigerating your pastry dough, you need to bring it back up to workable temp.

I use a cooling rack for this, well I use it for anything I need to cool or thaw, it helps prevent the heat or cold from being stored in the surface its sitting on and lets more air move around it which speeds up cooling and thawing.


Why would different types of pots/pans (made from different metal) give a different taste to food?

Some metal react differently with some food, mostly with acidic ingredients like tomatoes.

Stainless steel and ceramic are non-reactive and should not impart different flavor to the food.

Aluminium, "regular" steel, iron(cast-iron), copper are known to be reactive and will react to ingredients and will change some of the flavors.

I mostly used stainless steel pans and pots (and stainless-steel lined aluminium pans) and don't have issues with "flavoring".

(from http://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-explaining-reacti-73723 )


What juicer is best for leafy greens and vegetables (like carrots)?

Hydraulic press juices such as the Norwalk first grind the produce into a pulp, then press the juice out of the pulp. The theory is that malic acid in green apple pulp can release more vitamins and minerals from the other vegetables and fruit. The hydraulic press action squeezes more juice out than other types of juicers. But you're looking at $2500 for a Norwalk.

Macerating juicers would be next, up around the $400+ mark. Gear crushing action, leafy vegetables no problem. Not as much juice extraction as the hydraulic press machines.

Then would come auger style juicers, they easily handle leafy vegetables and wheatgrass, but give a little less juice than the macerating juicers.

Finally the cheapest powered juicers, the centrifugal juicers. I've had trouble using them for leafy greens as there are not solid enough to be forced chopping blades. Usually more solid vegetables are required to follow them to force them through.

Here's a paragraph from the popular Breville centrifugal juicer seen in the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead:

  "If you are juicing herbs, sprouts or leafy green
  vegetables either wrap then together to form a
  bundle or juice them in the middle of a combination
  of ingredients to obtain the best extraction.

  If juicing herbs or leafy green vegetables on their own, the juice
  yield will be low due to the nature of centrifugal juicing, it is
  advised to juice them as with a combination of other fruit and
  vegetables"

Carrots are fine in all the juicers.


How to cook very large Brussels sprouts?

Steaming is my favorite way to cook them, keeps the flavor in. I'd halve the really big ones and leave it at that, there's no need to get over-complicated with it. Some will be a bit more done but that's ok.

If you really want to jazz them up do a quick fry with them with a bit of butter, oil and slivered almonds and pine nuts. Yummy!


Does the temperature increase the longer the food is on the stovetop?

In your oven, or any cooking method which has a thermostat marked with temperatures, the heat source is designed to turn on and off as needed to keep your food [somewhat] constant at close to that selected temperature.

On the stovetop, with say the burner on medium heat, the heat source just keeps putting heat into your food at a steady rate until you turn off, or adjust, the burner. However the temperature of your food doesn't just keep increasing forever, because when you cook on top of the stove in a pot, you usually have some water in there with your food.  When that water gets up to its boiling temperature, it can't get any hotter. It starts sucking up heat to become steam & starts boiling away. At that temperature, the water will take any heat that your burner puts out and use it to turn into steam & leave the food. So your pot stays at that temp, about 100 degrees C. until all the water is finished converting to steam, and the contents of your pot are dry, and free to begin increasing in temperature beyond that boiling point. Pretty soon after that the food starts to scorch and burn.

So to answer your question, yes the temperature levels off at the boiling point of water, but not because your stove guarantees it, it's because the water surrounding your food guarantees it. After your water boils away, the temperature of your pot is free to increase until it matches the temperature of your burner, at least on the bottom.


Another option is to make an enriched bread with a lot of egg yolks in it.

Challah comes to mind but there are also regular sandwich breads that use the same technique. They have more fat and are therefore more tender and richly flavored than leaner sandwich breads.

They tend to be a pale yellow rather than a bright yellow you'd get from a dye.


The jets can be unscrewed, using a properly sized wrench, and cleaned with an appropriately sized cleaner. Once clean they can screwed back in.
They are typically made from brass and are soft. Using the wrong wrench can round off the hex head. More importantly the orifice in the jet can be unintentionally enlarged or damaged easily. Inserting anything from the outside will push debris into the fuel system and while it may clear the hole it leaves the debris inside. It is better to remove them for cleaning. If damaged they are easily replaceable. Before doing anything check the documentation for your stove. The installation or maintenance instructions may include directions for replacing the jets.
I use an oxy-acetylene torch tip cleaner on my stove jets if they are clogged. My tip cleaner provides sizes 6 to 26 one of which fits my jets.
To clean them I select the largest cleaner which easily fits into the orifice. It is inserted and gently run in and out to clean the orifice. Rather than being smooth the cleaners have very small ridges on their sides that help to remove debris. If not used carefully they can act like a file and enlarge the size of the orifice in the jet. Keep the cleaner aligned with the orifice vice at an angle. It needs to go straight in and out. The cleaners can also be bent when inserting. Hold them close to the insertion point when clearing the jet. If it seems too hard try a smaller size cleaner.
I do not turn off my gas supply, just insure the burner is off and stays that way until you are done.


All due respect, it's a myth.  You don't need to add liquid slowly.  Perhaps there used to be a reason (maybe years ago rice was processed differently), but at this point you're pretty much wasting your time constantly stirring.
Many cooking publication/blog has a "no stir" risotto.  You can check out Serious Eats - which has a great breakdown of why risotto can be cooked w/out stirring every minute, and Cook's Illustrated - though CI doesn't have any of their usual "science" notes.
Yes, people call the "no stir" a half way risotto, or say that the technique is what makes it risotto.  But it's only backed up by tradition and hand-waving, "The starch is on the outside, so the grains need to rub each other." Of course the grains need to rub each other, and you probably still sear your meat to "keep the juices in" too.


How can I stop the cooking in my chicken and noodle soup?

rfusca already gave very good suggestions for the literal question from the title. However, you can also address your problem the other way round.

First, cook the soup until your noodles are al dente (but will become just right while cooling at a normal speed). Take the big pot of soup off the heat.

Second, take a small pot, and fill it with just one portion of soup per eater. Put it on the heat, and cook until the noodles are done. (Alternatively, put the single portions into porcelain bowls and microwave until the noodles are ready - it spares you washing an additional pot, but I wouldn't nuke a good soup for no reason).

Third, eat your cooked soup portions and let the big pot of soup slowly cool on its own.

Fourth, freeze the soup from the big pot. Finis.

Note that from a food safety point of view, you are better off with flash cooling the soup. But what I outlined here is probably much simple and hassle-free. Plus, 2-3 liters of soup minus a portion or two should spend less than the magical 4 hours in the danger zone while cooling. If you are doing this with a very big pot of soup and feeding lots of people, you should probably prefer a rapid cooling.


How do I use fridge's super cooling properly?

The manual states:

  The use of this function is recommended when placing a very high
  quantity of food in the refrigerator and freezer compartments. Using
  Fast Cool function it is possible to increase the cooling capacity in
  the refrigerator and freezer compartments. Note: Fast Cooling function
  should be also switched ON before placing fresh food to be frozen in
  the freezer compartment, in order to maximize the freezing capacity.

These functions usually turn off after about 3 hours or when the set temperature is reached again. As the recommendation is to turn it on before stocking, it's safe to assume that it's a simple time-based "heavy duty" mode. As there is only one button for the fridge and the freezer, it has only one cooling circuit. So you turn it on when stocking the fridge or the freezer and so one compartment is "fast cooled" in vain.

The purpose is not to further lower the temperature, this is merely a side effect. It would be kinda silly to lower the temperature and then open the door, let room temperature in while stocking and let all the cooling effort dissipate. I would give it ten minutes for the cooling circuit to prepare and then start the stocking.


They should last a long while if properly stored in an airtight container in a dry place.


Can someone please give an explanation of different egg preparations?

Fried Eggs:

Sunny Side Up -- Not flipped, unbroken yolk. The top of the egg is just barely set.

Basted -- Sunny Side Up, hot fat spooned over until the white surrounding the yolk is opaque.

Over Easy / lite -- Flipped,  whites  fully cooked, unbroken yolk, yolk runny.

Over medium -- flipped, whites fully cooked, unbroken yolk, yolk creamy (not completely runny).

Over Medium Well -- Flipped, unbroken yolk, yolk cooked to have a firm but wet-appearing center.

Over Hard -- Flipped, broken, fully-cooked yolk.

Over Well -- Flipped, intact, fully-cooked yolk.

Broken / Lightly Scrambled -- Broken in pan and gently stirred while cooking - yolk and whites should not be mixed entirely.

Scrambled Eggs -- Made in many different ways. Generally the eggs are mixed in a bowl before being put into the pan, and often stirred while cooking. Some recipes add fat to the eggs in the form of milk, cream, butter, or oil. A distinction can be made between Wet/Loose or Dry, which refers to the degree of doneness.

Omelettes:

Filled Omelette -- Eggs mixed before cooking, possibly with added fat as in Scrambled Eggs. Cooked in fat in a saute pan; when set but the interior still wet, previously-cooked fillings (cheese, onions, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes...) are added, and the eggs folded over into a half-moon shape.

Spanish Omelette / Western Omelette -- Same as filled, but the egg mixture is poured over the fillings in a hot pan and cooked, thus incorporating the fillings into the egg.

Fluffy Omelette -- Whites and yolks beaten separately. Yolks are gently folded into the whites without breaking the structure of the whites. Optional toppings are added. Cooked slowly in a pan, or baked (an electric frying pan with a lid works well for this preparation).

French Omelette -- Cooked soft & creamy with no color on the egg. Omelette is folded 1/3 in the pan, knocked to the edge so it can be rolled out onto the plate. It ends up being folded into thirds and is very creamy and soft.

Boiled:

Cooked in shell in water for a timed period. Some people will refer to degree of doneness by cooking time, i.e., a "3-minute egg" is soft-boiled with some runny white around the yolk. Some recipes call for eggs to be added to boiling water, others to be started in cold water. In the cold-water start, the pot may be left on the heat or removed when the water reaches a boil. The eggs may be shocked in ice water when removed.

Soft -- Yolk runny, potentially with slight unset white around the yolk.

Medium -- White completely set, yolk firm but with a dark, wet appearance.

Hard -- Yolk completely set and pale yellow.

Poached:

Egg cooked, out of shell, in water, stock, or other liquid --  excluding fats or oils -- at a temperature in the range of 160-180˚F (70-82˚C). There are possible degrees of doneness, however the typical poached egg has a runny but warm and thickened yolk and fully-set white.

Coddled:

An egg that has been very lightly cooked (poached eggs are sometimes considered coddled). This can either be accomplished with an egg coddler or cooking an egg in its shell with water that is slightly below boiling point.

Shirred:

An egg cooked in an oven at the low-mid 300's˚F (~160˚C), contained in a ramekin, until the whites are just set and the yolk is runny but thickened. Often butter or another fat is placed on top before cooking.

Steamed:

Very similar to shirred eggs, but the ramekin is covered with some aluminum foil and put in a steamer for 7-15 minutes.

In a basket:
Eggs fried in a hole made in a slice of bread


Perhaps a thick ganache might meet your demands. It wouldn't be as sticky as caramel though. But take a look at this question. It mentions adding some honey and butter to the standard ingredients, cream and chocolate.

If you have questions on how to make ganache, watch this video or one of the many others available on the internet. Simply said, heat up heavy cream and pour it over chopped bittersweet chocolate. Stir till all the chocolate is melted and you have a nice, smooth consistency. For your purpose, use at maximum the same amount of cream as chocolate. Add some more chocolate if it's too runny. But know that the ganache will become harder/thicker when cooled.


No.

The chemical action of capsaicin (the compound that triggers the burning sensation) is an effect on chemical receptors in your taste buds. It's perceived to a degree as temperature but it's entirely independent, so making your mouth colder wouldn't help.

The only way cold would minimize a spice burn is if you made your tongue/mouth cold enough to freeze, numb, and damage your taste buds, which would be a really bad idea.

Ice won't really help relieve the burn after you start feeling the spice either, because capsaicin isn't water-soluble. Here are some better suggestions for relief.


How is this lasagna pasta supposed to be cooked?

Barilla say their lasagne is no-cook (not all lasagne is), so I can only assume they expect you to make your béchamel with 900ml milk, then use a jar of their bolognese sauce in the alternate layers. It's a tad lacking in precision, for sure.
Personally, i'd just search a no-cook lasagne recipe online, as the liquid balance is pretty important for lasagne - too much & it's like soup & slime, too little & it's a brick.
I just checked Barilla sites & recipes around the world, most Barilla is no pre-cook - it also says that on your box - only their wavy lasagne is pre-cook.


Any knife that has a symetrical blade profile should be ambidexterous in use. Santoku and chef knives typically come with a symmetrical profile1, so you should be able to get a decent choice, whichever of the types you finally choose. Whether you chose a V-shaped or double-bevel, a hollow cut or a convex blade is ultimately up to you, your intended uses and your honing skills. Some knifes feature an asymmetrical edge, but as these are often intended for special uses and for left- or righthanded use (depending on the orientation of the sides), a good manufacturer should point this out.

If in doubt, either ask your sales person or simply look closely at the blade. Another option is laying the blade flat on the table  (or on a wooden block, if the hilt gets in the way) and pressing along the cutting edge. The angle of the sharp edge will "lift" the spine. If it behaves the same way on both sides, you should be fine, whichever is your dominant hand.

And a big thanks to a ESultanik below who reminded me:
Knife handles are not necessarily designed ambidexterously, even if the blade is. In fact, I suggest "trying on" every knife you are willing to spend more than a few dollars on - it should feel safe and comfortable and fit your hand size and grip well. A handle that doesn't fit your hand is uncomfortable at best, dangerous at worst.

1 This forum discusses various styles, including pictures.


Can tomato sauce with cooked pork in it be eaten after sitting out in pot and a/c overnight?

It is not possible that your A/C is set to 75°C. That's significantly hotter than the hottest outdoor temperature ever recorded on earth (54C or 129F). Yes, food held at 75 degrees centigrade is out of the danger zone. If, however, the A/C is really set to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (which is a normal room temperature), the food will not be safe, unless it is extremely acidic (compare ketchup). While salt can be a preservative (compare kimchi and salty pickles), excess water inhibits that effect.


In the South Pacific it's breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I could have Fijian Kokoda for every meal for a week, yuuuum!

Pacific style is with lime and coconut, it is still very acidic and fatty so not to everyone's taste

Could be specific fish types? But I have never had a problem

Once you add the lime juice to the fish it will keep longer without refrigeration

In Peru I suspect education is still lacking in food hygiene etc, so it may be a good move! (based on commentary from friends and relatives in Peru). Peru also has very traditions based cultures


Separating egg yolks the night before beating meringue

Yes, that's fine - if you take a few precautions.

Once you have opened your eggs, you are exposing the contents to the air. So need to protect the eggs from drying out: A matching small jar or plastic container is a good choice for the yolks. For whites, you can even put them in your mixing bowl and cover tightly, which saves on cleanup.

You need not worry that your whites won't whip properly, many macaron bakers even recommend "aging" the whites, i.e. storing them for a day or so in the fridge. (But there is also a wild debate on whether this is really necessary.)

For food safety reasons, storing your separated eggs in the fridge is a must. And please remember that while you can certainly separate the eggs the night before, longer storage will affect the quality negatively, less so for the whites, but please use the yolks as soon as possible.


Can I safely serve raw beef roasts that were left out to thaw for several hours?

No, you can not safely eat it.  See answers to "Can I safely cook a steak that was left out raw for 7 hours".

Thawing at room temperature in air allows the surface to reach and maintain an unsafe temperature for some time, even as the interior remains quite frozen.

The appropriate ways to thaw the roasts are to do it in the fridge, or fully immersed in a bowl of COLD water with a trickle of cold water running over it.  Thawing in water is the faster approach, and often takes under 30 minutes.  It is safe to use this method for thawing requiring for up to 2 hours, but if considerable preparation is required, an hour is a better rule of thumb.

These are the approaches endorsed by cooking schools and health boards.


Does using flaked salt make a difference when using it in cooking?

Salt (Sodium chloride) is salt. As a topping, flakes are commonly used purely for presentation purposes only. The taste is the same, but gets more intense as the salt particles get finer, so use less if the salt is in powder form

As an ingredient, use any form you are happy with, and is economical to use. Once salt is dissolved into water it will be identical to any other form of salt

For health reasons, finely powdered salt is preferable as much less is required to impart a salty taste


How does "BHT added to packaging material" actually work?

BHA, BHT and/or TBHQ aren't added to the packaging to keep the cereal from spoiling. It's actually added to keep the box from spoiling.

As you stated, BHA and BHT slows down the oxidization of fats and oils. It keeps them from going rancid. And while some of this preservative will migrate into the cereal, many cereals don't actually have any fats or oils. The grains that go into cereal, be it corn, wheat, or oats, contain a small amount of fat and protein in the germ, or the tiny little center of the kernel. During production, though, the grain is degerminated, precisely because the fats in the germ spoil so quickly. Whole grain cereal, though, still has its germ. This is great nutritionally, since most of the vitamins and protein are in the germ, but then, so is the fat. And fat goes bad. So some of the BHA and BHT in the plastic bag is meant to migrate into the food. This is a bit of a semantic dodge for marketing purposes- it's not in the food, but it will be soon.

A lot of non- whole grain cereal is completely fat free though, but will still be packed in a box with BHA, BHT, and/or TBHQ. So where is the fat coming from?

During the 90s, most companies transitioned from brand new white cardboard to recycled brown cardboard. And just as importantly, they transitioned from petroleum based inks to soy based ink. Now, soy based ink is great for the environment because it biodegrades in the trash, but therein lies the problem. The soybean oil in the ink biodegrades. It goes rancid. The colorful graphics printed on the box will eventually taste and smell a bit off. Not only that, but the recycled paper is going to already contain some rancid ink from the newspaper and boxes that it was made of.

Now, the plastic bags that cereal are packed in are very, very, close to being air- and liquid- tight, but they are not perfect. In the course of sitting on the shelf, they will absorb odors and tastes from the outside world. This includes the smells and tastes of rancid box ink. In order to guard against this, manufacturers add preservatives like BHA/BHT to the box ink. Because the food is also absorbing some of those preservatives in the box, legally, box preservatives are also listed as a food ingredient.

Our societal push to recycle paper and save trees has some odd implications for food packaging.

Ink now has to have preservatives if it is going to be close to food. The plastic bags inside the box also have to be thicker because the boxes that our food are stored in already contains some rotten ink. And finally, we now eat more preservatives in our cereal, because the cereal absorbs some of the box.


Busy time of year for us chefs so not really got time to do any research. Personally I don't think quality will be noticeable between big or small. Best way for freezing is always to vacuum to avoid freezer burn.

If you wrap it up tight with a good few layers of cling film you should get a near vacuum result (as close as you will get without it)

The best way of clingfilm-ing something like fillet steak is the sausage method (sorry I don't know the technical term if there even is one)

Lay 5 layers of cling film flat on work surface.
Lay fillet towards the front.
Pull cling film tight over the top and then roll fillet till all the way over so all the cling film is now rolled round it.
Grab both ends and start rolling on surface so that you are tightening up those two 'handles' until you can't do it any tighter. Then tie the 'handles' in knots.
Pierce one whole through the cling film allowing all the trapped air to get out then wrap in a few more layers of cling film.

Hope that all made sense hard without pictures. Its far from ideal but I can't see any better way for you.


Can one use butter to replace cream or milk in drinks?

No, it won't help you at all. Butter won't mix with any drink short of vla*. You will end up with a cup of coffee with a puddle of greasy melted butter swimming on top, or a chunk of butter if you are using iced coffee.

I've read questions on here that there is limited success mixing buttermilk and butter to get cream

The only question I have seen here which claims successful mixing uses milk (not buttermilk) and butter, emulsified with a vintage hand-operated device. If you had the device, there would still be two big problems left:

it is made for milk + butter, not water + butter
having the emulsion be stable under heating is quite a requirement - after all, even real cream separates in coffee if it has been standing around several days (if yours doesn't, it probably has added carrageenan).

And if you find out that it works nevertheless - are you really prepared to search for that kind of device on second-hand markets, have it take up space in your kitchen cabinets, and then, just when you are frustrated because your morning coffee is brewed but you have no cream, spend half an hour cranking?
If I were you, I would store a few sachets of powdered non-dairy creamer.
* I am now expecting a number of comments listing drinks which will mix with butter after all. My hunch is that none of them will be the kind of drink to which people add milk after serving.


What green tea has the highest caffeine content?

I have no idea about what the absolute strongest teas are, but all three of the things you mentioned appear to have caffeine and antioxidant ratings here: Gyokuro Imperial Green Tea Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls Green Tea Matcha Japanese Green Tea

I suppose that establishes a rough ordering - matcha is strong, the imperial green is next, and the pearls are last. But I'd take it all with big spoonful of salt; there's tons of variation even within a specific variety, and you can get lots of different kinds of matcha, lots of kinds of tea made into pearls, and so on.


My fudge is getting thick when I start to stir in marshmallows, chocolate chips and nuts

Most likely you need to turn up the temperature a little before adding the new ingredients. All those ingredients are about room temperature, and there are a fairly large quantity of them compared to the mixture in the pan. This means that they cool down the mixture considerably when added. The cooling means that the temperature is not sufficient to melt marshmallows any more, and the fudge begins to set (thicken). Increasing the temperature slightly will help the marshmallows still melt.


What is a good fish for cooking crumbed / battered?

When I fancy fish and chips I tend to use either cod or haddock and create a rich beer batter. Serve that with some home-made chips and you're set.

If I want something lighter, but still with a crust, I'd tend to go for mackerel. If that's not available, I'd be looking for seabass or snapper.


How to deal with strong, sizable spices?

Simple: spit them out.
You're not supposed to eat whole cardamom pods or cloves, any more than you'd eat whole cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, or slices of dried galangal.  Each diner is expected to spit them out, or pick them out of their food, and set them aside on their plate.
Whole coriander seed, cumin seed, and other small spices are meant to be eaten, but these aren't as intensely flavored.


Is it recommended to rinse the teapot with boiling water before putting the tea leaves in?

The main reason you put boiling water in the teapot before making tea is to heat up the teapot. You dump out the now cooler water and then add your teabags and more boiling water, and the teapot will now be warm and not leech out the temperature from within it. This results in tastier tea, but is totally not necessary if you didn't make enough hot water, or don't want to spend the time doing so.


Given that this was a restaurant, it's possible that your pork was cooked sous-vide (vacuum packed and placed in a low temperature water bath for an extended time, and then quick-seared).  Cooking pork chops at precisely 140F for a couple of hours can create the effect you describe, but that requires specialized equipment.  There are ways that you can replicate the effect without a dedicated sous vide machine and vacuum sealer (google for "ghetto sous vide"), but those are frankly a bit sketchy for anyone but dedicated hobbyists (Upside possibility: perfect pork chops, tenderloins, and steaks.  Downside risk: Death from botulism or salmonella).

Boiling pork chops absolutely will result in horrible, horrible food.  Baking pork chops will end up with okay-but-not-particularly-tender-or-interesting food.

Were I in your shoes, I would pan fry them, but try to do so for less time than you usually do.  If you're in North America, you don't have to worry about trichonosis, so it is no longer required to cook pork as long as the previous generation had to.  Medium-rare pan-fried pork chops can turn out tender, juicy, and flavorful, without any health risks.


How much black garlic to substitute for regular garlic in a slow-cooker?

Black garlic is not a substitute for regular garlic, you add black garlic to get a different result. I would never say use 2 cloves of black garlic for every 1 regular or any other ratio because the changes are so fundamental that they really are totally different ingredients.

The question is how much black garlic flavor you want, and only you can answer that. I'd suggest that you taste it when it's close to being done and if you want more add more then.


Food safety of China-imported kitchen utensils

"100% something" can mean "nothing else was intentionally added", while the material might still be contaminated, eg by using raw materials (or auxiliary chemicals that are not considered part of the product) that were neither of food grade purity nor processed to ensure they are. It can also be a rounded up value - 99.6% silicone, 0.4% of Satan's earwax. Actually, it HAS to be since 100% silicone does not come in various fancy colours unless a pigment or dye - which is not made of any silicone - is added.

"Black list" systems like recall systems will only list things known unsafe. Iit is very unlikely that everything else that is not on the list has been comprehensively tested and found known safe. Also, OEM manufacturers and raw material suppliers can change without the brand/order number of the product changing.

What can help is researching (unfortunately, tiresome work) whether any reputable local supplier OEMs the exact same item - an (eg) European importer has some interest in not being in the focus of a product recall, so there is a chance they will have commissioned laboratory tests or taken other steps to make such problems unlikely, or their product might have even been the subject of a published safety test (eg in test magazines). This would speak for the quality of the manufacturer.


There is a difference between resting and proofing.

Resting allows flour to absorb water and lets the gluten that was formed during kneading to relax. Both of these make it possible to work with the dough.

Proofing is letting yeast produce CO2 to raise the dough.

Yeast doughs do both in the rest period after they are kneaded. Unyeasted, glutinous, doughs only have to rest so they can relax and be worked with.

In a tortilla recipe, if you are rolling the tortillas out by hand you will find it much easier to do if the dough has rested. If you are using a press it won't make much of a difference. If they are corn tortillas and don't contain gluten then there is no point to resting at all.


How do I stop fresh fish from falling apart while cooking?

Something like this is useful:

Photo source

There are a lot of variations on the same theme (including oval strainers)


do I need to adjust the cooking time for a pound cake baked in two separate bundt pans instead of one regular tube pan?

If I understand your question, each cake has 1/2 of the batter. If that's the case, each cake is smaller, so it will bake faster. You will need to reduce the baking time, but it's difficult to tell by how much, especially without knowing how deep the layer of batter is in your pans compared to the one used by the author of the recipe. Usually the bake time for half a cake will be more than half the original bake time. My guess is your final bake time will be between 45 minutes and 1 hour. The way to approach this is to bake for about half the bake time, then check on the cake occasionally until it's done. Your initial checks will be infrequent, but increase the frequency as the cake gets closer to done.
I would bake for 30 minutes, then sneak a peek and see how they look. If the cakes still look soft/gooey/liquid in the middle, wait 10 minutes and check on them again. Keep baking until the cakes no longer look raw. Then take one out and stick a cake tester, thin knife or kebab skewer in the middle. Pull the tester out - if it comes out with liquid batter or partially cooked batter (that looks like a thick goo or paste), the cake isn't done yet. Wait 5 minutes and test again. Repeat until the tester comes out "clean" - that is, with no batter on it, but maybe some crumbs and a sheen of oil.
Since bundt pans have ridges that make some sections of the cake thicker than others, try to test in a thick section, because those will be the last to finish cooking.
Tips:

Try not to open the oven any more often than necessary, because you lose a fair amount of heat every time, which will slow down the baking.
When you move the pans, try not to knock them around, because this can knock air out of any liquid portions of the batter, which will make the cake sink in the middle.
With two cakes baking at the same time, they may bake unevenly. The first time you check on them, swap their positions. That will even them out, so they don't get over-done on one side and under-done on the other.
Pound cakes usually develop a crack in the middle of the top - try to sneak the tester in through the crack so the hole it makes is hidden by the crack.


I think the problem is your cream, but not your fault if your recipe didn't mention it anymore. For a Bavarian cream, you normally whip cream and put it in the mixture in the end, to make it more light and also less liquid.

In that case, I think your amount of gelatin would be enough, since you'd only have a good 250 ml of liquid (but not all gelatin sheets are as large as others etc.).

I can't say if you let it boil long enough or not. The "back of a wooden spoon test" doesn't work for me. I normally let it cook till I see it has thickened a bit.


Is it safe to eat cooked chicken that has been out for 4 hours?

This would be a scenario like several reputable food safety standards (eg australian) describe as "safe for immediate consumption", others would consider it unsafe. Let all these statements stand, and decide.

To minimize freshness loss and risk: If not leaving home with the pan hot, refrigerate instantly after cooking, probably using cold water around the container, and refrigerate to as cold a temperature as you can manage. In summer weather, ice packs or other cold things kept with the packaging are prudent to use.

Referring to http://foodsafety.asn.au/topic/temperature-danger-zone/ , considering Australia a country having sound scientific basis for their recommendations.


What causes butter to "hiss" in the frying pan until I shake it?

The hissing and bubbles are due to the butter's water content turning into vapor. It stops when there's no more water and only fat/milk solids remain on the pan. When you shake the pan you help release the last few water/vapor droplets into the atmosphere, thus speeding the process.


Just because beets grow big does not mean they can't be good to eat, if mine ever grew that big I'd celebrate! One beet can feed your entire family at that size.

Try roasting one of them until you can stick a prong into it easily, then remove it and let it cool. The skin will just pull off, they you can cut it and try it. If it tastes like a beet should then treat it like any beet. If it is a bit bland then you can still use them, you just may need to add extra flavors.


But there is some stains left... do I need to clean this or is this normal and leave it ?

As long as the "stain" is hard and dry rather than gummy or sticky, it's probably fine. As commenters have noted, it looks like polymerized oil. You probably cooked your steak at very high heat with some oil in the pan. If you didn't use oil, the stain might just be from some of the fat that rendered out of your well-marbled ribeye. Either way, some of the fat/oil polymerized on the bottom of the pan due to the high heat. This is exactly what you'd do on purpose if you were to season the pan yourself -- coat it in a (very!) thin layer of oil and then stick the pan in a hot oven for a few hours.

As you keep using your pan, it'll acquire a lot of those stains, and it'll eventually be black all over. That's completely normal — it's what a cast iron pan should look like, and the black seasoning is a good non-stick surface.


It's possible that you put a too-thick layer of oil on (e.g., if you dumped oil on it instead of wiping it on with a paper towel or similar). Or that you used a oil that doesn't work well; soy works and it's cheap.

But more likely, it just hasn't cured fully—and the fix is simple, bake it longer and/or hotter. The exact time/temperature needed depends on the oil you use. And how much smoking you're willing to tolerate. [Hotter is quicker, but smokes more, up until you get too hot and just burn the seasoning off like an oven cleaning cycle.]

Note typically you put on more than one layer of seasoning.

PS: If it came coated in wax, etc. to prevent rust during shipping, I hope you removed that first. Bare iron is metallic gray.


i usually use half of a previously-opened pistachio shell! use the tip of it as a bit of lever: slip it into the opening of the one you're working on, and rotate it, and it will open it as easy as pie. the downside is that you will be able to eat many, many more pistachios this way. i usually end up with a mouth raw from all the salt, haha.


Regarding the oil film, this is called 'tea scum' and it's completely safe.

The filter gets clogged because the tea particles are small and fill up the spaces in the filter. Then it gets in touch with water and expand. At this point, the filer will get clogged.

There's generally no reason to use a coffee filter as the tea bag itself functions as a filter.


How to prepare shirataki noodles to more closely resemble classic pasta?

After a bunch of Googling and reading I found that there are several ways to improve the noodles:

Rinse and drain them very, very well
Boil them for an extended amount of time to reduce the crunch
Dry them out in a pan (they'll shrivel a bit) before adding them to recipes where they either remain crunchy (in dryer dishes) or absorb sauce and flavor (saucier dishes)

Here are some my sources:

Shrimp Scampi
List with many recipes
Various suggestions


I'm not sure the altitude is a concern when cooking Swiss steak. You're essentially doing most of the cooking when you sear it on the stove top. You finish the cooking by raising the internal temperature gradually in a Crock Pot. The reason for using a Crock Pot as opposed to the oven is because the lower temperature setting slows down the rate at which the internal temperature of the meat increases and allows time for flavors to fuse and develop in the meat, and to some extent tenderize it a little.

If tenderizing the meat is the concern, the longer you cook it, the more tender it becomes. But longer cooking does not necessarily imply better tasting, as the flavors can become too pronounced and the meat itself can dry out. But this is in extreme cases and any negative effect to the taste will be negligible if it happens to be cooked an hour or even two hours longer than necessary to bring up the internal temperature to USDA recommended temperature of 160F.

If you have a recipe that gives you a specific amount of time to cook the meat but does not mention adjustments for higher altitudes, a fail-safe method would be to cook for time x 1.5. So if the recipe says to cook it for 2 hours, cook it for 3 hours. If you're in a hurry, just sear it on the stove for a few minutes each side to lock in the moisture and flavor and then throw it in the oven with some vegetables in a pot, cover it, and let cook for 20 more minutes for every pound of meat at 400F and bon appetit!


Is ground upper turkey thighs the same as regular ground turkey?

What really matters is the fat content.  I suspect that being all thigh meat, it's similar to regular ground turkey, which is 85% lean.  Ground turkey breast (or "extra lean" ground turkey) is 99% lean.  I've also seen mixtures in the store of light and dark ground meat that clocked in at 93% lean to split the difference.  Jennie-O, a large national producer of turkey, makes all three varieties (http://www.jennieo.com/products/collection/65-Ground-Turkey).  You can check your nutritional information against theirs to see where your ground thighs fall on the spectrum.

Just check the fat content and use it in a recipe that works with that fat content.  In fact, it's probably ideal for something like a turkey burger which definitely needs the fat in my opinion. ;)


I have no doubt in my mind that this is a serious case of "lost in translation". Where it states to place in the freezer for 24 hours I genuinely believe it means the fridge. Never have I heard of freezing meat as a preparation method for cooking joints. Especially if the intended cooking time is only 2 1/2 hours, it'll still be raw in the middle.


I've lived (and eaten my way around) South East Asia for nearly the last fifteen years, and I think I know the effect that you're describing. Feel free to let me know if I'm off.

If what you're talking about is a slow and gentle burn that sort of creeps up, intensifies, and then mellows back down gradually (which is what I think you're talking about) then what you're experiencing is very likely an emulsion of a few types of peppers in a fat with a little acid, salt, and something sweet (sweet brewed soy, or even molasses).

A common street food is chicken gizzard over hot coals that's been marinated using the above method featuring bird's eye, serrano, calamansi (green, with zest) rendered fat (duck or pork) and something sweet. There are as many varieties of that as there are street vendors cooking up all of that goodness. I'm pretty certain it's the fat that causes the burn to linger longer on your palate.

Emulsification also helps maintain the pungency of chili in more basic (cream / curry) types of sauces in which it would otherwise mellow very quickly.

My experience is mostly in The Philippines, but I've been all over, and I don't suspect that it's done too differently in other places. This will definitely get you the sneaky kind of sauce you want, you just have to experiment with the types and ratios of chili.  With sweetness and an acid, something like chipotle is going to introduce itself before habanero, and then take the stage again once the habanero has finished wrecking your mouth.

What remains is some experimentation that might ... err .. hurt a little :) But what you'll eventually end up with are a few really tasty pastes that you can add to any other sauce in order to get the desired effect. Also, don't feel bad about just using combinations of ready made chili sauces (sriracha, piri piri, etc) - this can save you a lot of work and give you a more refined taste. The sky and your budget for buying them are the limit.


How to choose a premium dual fuel range (Viking, Wolf, Aga, and the like...)

My wife and I are currently doing our kitchen, and have done some shopping specifically in this area. We think we are currently leaning towards a gas cooktop, and then a separate wall oven, for cost and design reasons.

But as we originally planned to do a 36" dual-fuel, and did most of our shopping to date around this, here's a few thoughts/things we learned. Our most important feature was the stove top, so most of these thoughts are about that. We're still not finalized, so I'm also curious what answers others post.

We talked to multiple sales people from multiple local and nationwide stores. There were sales people that told us that Viking & Wolf were comparable. There were sales people that told us that Viking is overrated, not comparable in quality, and even that Viking was the preferred brand. Essentially, we got conflicting reports to where Viking sits. There was no discrepancy however on the quality of Wolf. They all seemed to agree that at that price point Wolf is top (or very near to) in quality, durability and performance.
For the stove top Wolf and a few others have a double stacked burner. This means that you can do a extremely low simmer (melt chocolate on a paper plate), on the same burner you do max it out to stir-fry. There was one brand (dacor I believe) where the smaller burner was hidden behind a cast plate. This seems to me to negate the fast response of a gas stove, but that might be just my perception.
In addition to the double-stacked burners, different brands varied greatly on the versatility of the 5 available burners. 1 15K BTU+ burner, 1 simmer burner, etc... vs. 5 that are generally more versatile. That might not be a problem, you can move pots around as you are cooking, but I'd prefer to minimize the amount of moving I have to do by getting more versatile burners (like the Wolf burners mentioned previously) if I'm at that price point.


Can boiling a soup too low result in less flavor?

I'd say that recipe really is going to depend on how much flavour is in your ingredients.

Nothing really has much time to 'cook' so the end result is going to be very 'summery' ie not far off 'just heated'.

You can't sweat down onions & garlic in 6 minutes, but what you can do is just knock the raw edge off them.
Everything else gets about the same treatment, & should come out almost al dente & tasting really fresh.

The massive hit of basil & parsley at the end ought to make it zing off the plate!

If it doesn't… then I'd look at your ingredient supplier.

Supermarkets are great at selling you things that look fantastic, perfect in every way - except they can really lack flavour.
One of my pet hates is supermarket parsley [& coriander/cilantro] It can often be nothing more than 'green', with very low flavour. Supermarket tomatoes, eggplant & zucchini can be very similar.


You can make them ahead of time, you can partially fry them after dipping them in the batter and frying them until they are a light golden color (enough the batter wont stick to each other). As you complete them, put them in the freezer and when ready just pop them in the hot oil (defrosted of course.) This will not only let you get them ready to go ahead of time but will also shave off time in between serving each corn dog. As with anything before serving to a large group though, test it ahead of time to make sure nothing funky happens.

Also, what kind of fryer do you have, it may very well be the culprit here if you are not using a restaurant quality one. If you aren't, there are a couple of decent options. Let me know what you are using, and I will get back to you on what you can do instead.


To cook a sauce for a long time, particularly without a lid, concentrates the flavor of the sauce as the water evaporates. That's also called reduction. Yes, sauces that are cooked that way need to be stirred frequently to avoid allowing them to stick to the bottom of the pan. Sticking is bad enough, but it leads to burning, which is worse.

In meat sauces (sauces that include meat), long cooking can also contribute to tenderness of the meat and allow the meat flavor to permeate the sauce as the long cooking breaks down the collagen in the meat.


Orange juice preservation by chemical presevatives

According to this, the FDA (food&drug administration) allow up to 0.1% per weight.
"Concentration as a food preservative is limited by the FDA in the U.S. to 0.1% by weight"
So, m maximum of 0.1% per weight of the weight of your 200ml of orange juice.
Let's say 200ml of juice is at least 200g (more or less equivalent to water), you'd need to add at most 0.2g of Sodium Benzoate.


Cooking thawed fish when it says cook from frozen?

Yes it is safe.
You might have to adjust the cooking timing that is suggested though.


Which protein sources have the lower carbon footprint

The lowest - actually, negative carbon footprint will be plant proteins - like legumes: beans, soy, lentil. (organically grown plants, produced without artificial fertilizer or heavy farming machinery break down more of CO2 than processing them afterwards creates.) To reduce it further you might pick up gardening and grow your own, organically - even the organic farming market has a bit of carbon footprint (cars bringing the foods, maintenance of the market, all the industry behind bureaucracy required, etc) but if you use simple hand tools, and grow a small plot by your house, the carbon footprint will be firmly in the negatives.

You may want to look at the source of your soy though. The fields are often replacing large swaths of the amazon forest. That would be heavily counter-productive. Other legumes don't require that sort of climate, so they have a lower impact on the environment.

The "leftovers" protein sources as you put it are actually a good choice too. They have a pretty large carbon footprint, but the problem is that this carbon footprint will exist whether you buy (provide demand, so incentive for production) or not - they will "happen" as byproduct of the main production regardless of demand, and the CO2 will be produced regardless of whether they are going to be sold, or just discarded (or redirected to animal feeder.)


Loin or tenderloin is a very lean cut of meat and should not be cooked in a slow cooker.

Slow cookers are better suited to cuts of meat with high amounts of connective tissue, like pork shoulder or chuck roast, that turns into gelatin as it cooks for a long time.

IMHO, tenderloin should be grilled or broiled just until the center is 145° or so. Then rested and sliced.

Good luck!


Is there a difference in taste between female and male beef?

Per this link from MSU;

  heifer carcasses had slightly more marbling than steer carcasses, but
  USDA quality grade was not significantly different.

So not enough of a quality / taste difference to bother with...

  live heifers averaged $149.80 and steers averaged $149.70 per
  hundredweight

Apparently, heifers (female) are more expensive than steers (castrated male)... by 10 cents per hundred weight.


What is the best way to cook chicken if I plan on microwaving it a few days later?

Under such tight restrictions, one step that might help is brining. This would apply to chicken breasts, pork loin, or pretty much any other lean meat; darker cuts such as chicken thighs will benefit less, but there's no reason you can't brine those if you want to.

You can find a quick primer about how and why this works here; in short, brining denatures some of the proteins that "squeeze" moisture out of the meat as it cooks, which reduces moisture loss in the finished product. You don't really need anything other than salt, water, and time, though many recipes will call for additional flavoring agents.

Make sure that you don't overcook to begin with. If you can, get a thermometer and measure the meat's internal temperature. Here is a decent guide to the recommended temperatures for various types of meat; remember that you want to cook to slightly below these temperatures to allow for carryover.

From personal experience I would advise you to vary your technique and try to cook different variations on the same basic food; this guards against boredom, and makes it easier to stick to a regimen of weekly meal prep. Instead of broiling, cook your chicken on the stove, then make a basic pan sauce to serve over it, which will add moisture and flavor. If chicken thighs are on sale, get some and braise them instead (you don't need to bother with brining if you do this). This takes some time to cook, but it's very easy, and they'll reheat well for days.


Juice Concentrate Manufacturing and Process?

Unfortunately, the simple answer you are looking for does not exist.  There are books written about this subject, for example, the Handbook of Fruits and Fruit Processing or Processing Fruits: Science & Technology.  Where I live, there are entire academic programs dedicated to commercial food processing, and fruit processing is no small part of that.

It's a little like asking how a car is made.  There are different classes, different engines, different companies, different features... there's no single answer.  Likewise, if you're processing fruit juice, there are different classifications (juice, nectar, or "drink"), different fruits with different properties, seasonal variations, pulp or no pulp, different degrees of sweetening and concentration and the incorporation of other additives, and so on.  It's a veritable jungle of proprietary processes, patents, and trade secrets.

Let's take oranges and citruses as an example.  A little digging around on Google Books through the Handbook indicates that they have to go through all of these processes:

Washing.  Food processing plants don't just rinse the fruits in a little water like you or I would juicing an orange at home; they need to wash them with detergent and scrubbers to prevent any contamination.  Of course, it goes without saying that this is only possible with the thick insulating peels of citrus fruits.
Extraction.  In order to concentrate the juice, they have to get it out of the fruit first.  There all sorts of machines and patents dedicated to maximizing the yield from every single piece of fruit.  Of course in some cases they also have to de-seed, or preserve the pulp, or both.
Blending accounts for seasonal changes in the appearance and flavour of seasonal fruits.  Many if not most plants will retain and freeze some amount of juice or concentrate from earlier seasons and mix it with late-season or off-season juices to get more consistent output.
De-oiling.  Yes, citrus peels have oil.  From what I understand, removing it involves either a centrifuge or a hermetic separator (also common in dairy products).
De-aeration removes oxygen (air), which improves both the total output and the shelf life.  Notice how homemade orange juice is often kind of frothy and bubbly but store-bought juice isn't?  That's why.
Pasteurization is a whole area of study in and of itself, and needless to say almost every commercial food needs to be pasteurized before going out the door.  This can do all sorts of interesting things to the flavour and nutrition of the juice - some good, some bad, depending entirely on the method of pasteurization.
Debittering seems to be done in several different ways, and understand that this is not sweetening.  It refers to the actual removal of bitter compounds (such as limonin) via various chemical, physical, and even biological processes.
Acid Reduction requires the pulp to be separated first and (sometimes) re-incorporated later, so that the pure juice can be treated to remove some of the citric acid.  Again, this is not the addition of a buffer, it is the removal of the acid ions.
Cloud stabilization I can barely even understand myself, except to say that the opaqueness (or "cloudiness") of orange juice is due to specific kinds of particles and that the process of stabilizing them prevents the juice from turning clear and usually seems to involve pectin (a naturally-occurring gelling agent found in many fruits).  I guess consumers would think they were getting ripped off if their orange juice was clear.
Evaporators do exactly what the name implies, evaporate water out of the juice, which is where the concentration actually comes from.  Again, industrial evaporators are far more complex than the basic principle of simply applying heat, and I'm not going to try to get into that here.
Essence recovery deals with the part that's actually evaporated, which is more than just pure water.  Processing plants have ways to separate at least some of the characteristic orange aroma from the water vapour and later re-incorporate it back into the concentrate.
Finally the concentrate has to go through freezing and storage and you can rest assured that they don't just throw it in a freezer.  The book above makes reference to a "slush freezer" which is similar in principle to the ones you see at the 7-11 but obviously much larger.

Every single one of these steps varies from producer to producer, plant to plant, juice to juice.  Sometimes steps can be omitted, sometimes new ones are added.  To know exactly what a particular company does with a particular concentrate, you'd have to ask them or visit their plant.

The one assumption you have made - that concentrate contains preservatives - is actually wrong.  In fact, kind of the whole point of concentration (aside from making it easier to trade in high volumes) is that it doesn't need preservatives like fresh juice does.  Many if not most "from concentrate" drinks will even say "no preservatives" on the label.

If I were to try to sum this up as best I can into a bite-size answer, it would probably be this:

Very little is actually added to juice concentrate.  The concentration process is mostly about the removal of undesirable substances.


Typically veggies are onions, carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, shallots, etc. Throw in some peppercorns, also, and a Bouquet garni. You can add most other veggies, too, and mushrooms, but avoid adding things that give a strong (bad) flavour after cooked for a long time (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc.).


Topping bread with poppy seeds or sesame seeds

You should sprinkle them onto the dough before baking. They shouldn't burn, but they will toast and release some tasty oils. You don't need to soak them either.

Using a wash depends on the wetness of your dough. If it's fairly wet, you'll probably be fine. If it's a drier, more stable dough, use a simple egg wash, which will help the seeds stick and give a nice glossy finish to the top of your loaf.


When to prefer yogurt, cream, and coconut milk in an Indian vegetarian dish to make it creamy?

Rule of thumb, dairy in the north and coconut in southern recipes. ie korma wouldn't have coconut

Indian yogurt is made with whole milk. As with western recipes, balancing the fat for good mouth-feel is important: yogurt can be a good choice when a larger quantity of liquid is called for. Cream works great when a finishing splash smooths out flavors without watering down

Acidity is also important. Does the dish need a tangy component or a softening of acids?
A dish could use both: yogurt marinade then a bit of cream to finish.

For richness and a hint of sweetness along with a wonderful aroma, coconut can't be beat but will be a discernable flavor in most curries. Many restaurants are making use of coconut where it is less than traditional with good results.


This doesn't particularly answer the question, but the use of roe seems to fade in and out of fashion every so often. I remember 10 years ago (and back in the UK) scallops were always served with the roe, and cooked with them. Now it I haven't seen a roe anywhere near the scallops. Certainly, the more sea-food and authentic the restaurant, the more likely you are to find the roe still attached, in my experience.

Personally, I would just leave them together, and cook them still attached. The flavour is a nice contrast to the white, and it can pretty up the plate.

Doesn't directly answer your question though, I'm afraid.


It is likely to be quite over-baked, probably quite dry and unpleasant on the outside.  It may also develop an unpleasant scorched flavor, especially on the outside.

It will not be unsafe, however.


Raw leeks are quite strong and will mellow if cooked, so get it up to temperature for awhile and see where you get. I suspect that will get you much of the way there. If not, some mild acidity will help, adding a squeeze of lemon juice may do it for you.


How to replicate golden brown color of McDonalds chicken nuggets?

It is not "food color" in the conventional sense. McDonald's techniques are based on something the 'home cook' can rarely achieve, consistency. Their friers are designed to maintain exactly the same temperature (375F, if I recall correctly). The typical home frier drops 20-30F as soon as food is added, the McMachines have the kind of heating elements that don't do that. The coating is milled and applied to create a consistent coating and they are cooked for EXACTLY the right amount of time, every time. It is interesting to actually sit and listen to what is going on in McKitchen, military drill teams lack the precision that McD's instills into their burger flippers.


What are the advantages of "bathed" bread?

What you are looking at here is an old, almost forgotten method of proofing yeast dough for cold conditions. I have an old cook book1 from ca. 1930, when rooms could be cold in winter. I'd say it's "granny's version of proofing in the fridge".

My book says to leave out about 1/4 of the flour, all sugar and, if used, the spices. It does not, however, say to use cheese cloth. The firm ball of dough is simply placed in a sink or bowl full of cold water, where it sticks to the bottom in the beginning. It should peel off, turn upside down & rise to the surface within an hour (or longer, if little yeast was used). Then, it's taken out, first the sugar, then the flour are kneaded in, and finished according to the original recipe.

I have tried it once out of curiosity, but that was probably 20 years ago & I was way less experienced than today. I do not recall any major differences with the finished product (sweet bread, in my case).

(1) It's in German, "Luise Haarer; Kochen und Backen nach Grundrezepten".


Can I use Cream of Tartar in a Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe to make them crisp?

Cream of tartar is an acid. The main purpose in a recipe I believe is to work with baking soda to make carbon dioxide to make the dough rise. Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and various acidic reagents (including cream of tartar) so that some of the reactions are delayed (heat activated) and the gas is not released all at once. If you put baking powder in water, you will see it fizz up somewhat, but once that has died down and if you heat it you should see more fizzing up. The ratio of baking soda to cream of tartar can be calculated fairly easily, and the same can be done if you include baking powder additionally.

The crunch comes from caramelization of sugars which begins at a little above 350F/180C (not to be confused with Maillard browning which begins at a much lower temperature). Now, I have not done any research on this to date and I can only share with you my educated guess. I think if anything, cream of tartar may actually inhibit the crunch as carameliaztion is promoted by alkaline conditions and baking soda is mildly alkaline.

One thing perhaps worth experimenting is to brush the dough with a baking soda solution just before baking. You will need to watch them because you also run the risk of the cookies going brown too quickly before the inside is cooked or they get too dark/burnt. You can also use a solution of sugar and baking soda instead of just baking soda for this "glaze". As for concentrations, you will need to play with that.


How to prevent shami kabab from breaking at the time of frying them?

In these types of recipes, you have two approaches to hold the minced meat together.

If you’re not using eggs, or using less than what standard recipe calls; you should use a bit more.
Overworking the minced meat with salt creates a thicker texture, it’s not desirable in many kabab/kofte applications; however it will denature the proteins so they will bind... Essentially the same chemical principle with the egg whites.


Probably someone has done this. Why not?
On the other hand, you don't want a thick marzipan layer, because the material is expensive and has a strong taste, so it is more naturally to use the cream as the bulk filling and have a thin cover on top. This makes the cake more stable, too. If the cream serves as the frosting, it has to thicker.

Normally in a cake one often has the harder layer outside and the soft stuff inside.

As an inspiration, here is something that has marzipan on top of a jelly layer

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


At least in the US, there are two types of grits: (a) dried ground corn, and (b) hominy grits.  The latter is nixtamalized.

I can't find any historical references to using nixtamalized corn in Italian cuisine.  I would be interested to learn of any uses from any Italians who are on this site.

I did find much more recent evidence of using nixtamalized corn for polenta, here, for example.

Corn, typically in the form of polenta is common, especially in northrn Italian cuisine.  Reference to this does appear in relation to the history of nixtamalization.  It seems that while corn was brought from "the new world" back to Europe, the nixtamalization process was not.  Given the fact that it was inexpensive and plentiful, large quantities of corn (usually in the form of polenta) were consumed as a main dietary staple.  This corn was not nixtamalized, and given the lack of other dietary nutrients in 19th century Italy, resulted in a serious skin disease that the Italians named pellagra.  This disease is a result of a lack of niacin, which the nixtamalization process allows us to access.


Making Fudge or Candy While it is Raining or Snowing

It's not an old wives tale; it's actually true to a point. I can't say it better than Exploratorium, Science of Cooking

Can weather affect candy making?
Oddly enough, it can. Cooking candy syrup to the desired temperature means achieving a certain ratio of sugar to moisture in the candy. On a humid day, once the candy has cooled to the point where it is no longer evaporating moisture into the air, it can actually start reabsorbing moisture from the air. This can make the resulting candy softer than it is supposed to be.
That’s why dry days are recommended for candy making, although the effects of humidity can be somewhat counterbalanced by cooking the candy to the upper end of the appropriate temperature stage.
Cool weather is also recommended for candy making, because—generally—the faster candy cools, the less chance it has to form unwanted crystals.
At The Fudge House on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, they like to make fudge on cool days for another reason: According to owner and candy maker Tom Lowe, people eat more fudge when it’s cooler.

Huge commercial operations are in humidity controlled buildings, but you can get home dehumidifiers too. Perhaps one in the kitchen could help.


How do I save curry with too much cumin?

If you have a dry seasoning taste it's possible that the spice simply wan't cooked enough. If you added a load of cumin (or other dry spice ) at the very end then it may not have had enough exposure to heat. If this is the case then simply cooking it for 10-15 minutes may improve it somewhat.

One thing that has worked for me before in similar cases is adding some yogurt or a dab of cream and cooking it for a bit. I think it may be that the fats in them help the cumin to release their essential oils, or it could be that the flavors of the milk have some sort of interaction. The reason it has worked is unknown to me.

Beyond that there's nothing you can do that I know of. A bit of cooking work yogurt is probably worth your time and effort to save it, but any more than that is likely a waste of your time and money.


What kind of cookie breaks easily into multiple pieces when dropped?

See if you can find a cookie that is both thin and crisp -- the thinner the better. Minor damage will be more destructive on a thin cookie, while on a thicker one it would just cause some crumbing.

A tuile came immediately to mind as one that gets relatively fragile once it cools. They come in wafers or rolled into cigars. (Pepperidge Farm sells a version, Pirouette, that are filled with chocolate -- but filling might buffer the cookie too much.)
A pizzele can also be pretty breakable, but when I've seen them in commercial packaging they are a softer version.
A fortune cookie might be too robust to break on a six foot drop, depending on the angle of impact.

If you decide to make your own, do the opposite of advice to prevent crumbly cookies: use a "softer" flour (cake flour rather than all-purpose, which has less protein), use too much flour, use not enough fat, overbake, and use a dark cookie sheet. These cookies aren't likely to taste quite as good, though, so if your secondary goal is a tasty treat it might not work out!


what makes red tomato sauce turn orange in colour?

Update:

It's been a few years but there now is a definite answer to this question.

@PegDat is correct.  The Tomatoes Oxidize when they are exposed to air and turn orange.

This was proved using an experiment with vacuum blender  blending tomatoes with air and with most of the air pumped out.

When you reduce the air in the blender chamber, the tomatoes remain bright red.


How can I make a foam without an immersion blender?

A vita mix should work pretty well; maybe you could carefully drag a spatula in the top of the vortex (nowhere near the blade!) to introduce more air. A whisk will be pretty slow going. And then there is a whole other category of foams made in a whipped cream canister. Here is a link to get you started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9lJMGImGKE


Do food courts with multiple restaurants share food? e.g. is there a common shipping and storage area?

Can you imagine McDonald's sharing space with Burger King, or KFC?

I wouldn't even be sure they'd be allowed to even if they wanted. Each establishment would need its own compliance & hygiene certificate, which would be confounded if they shared space. Whose responsibility is each shared fridge in such circumstances? Who handles correct stock rotation? What happens if a KFC employee accidentally takes a bag of McDonald's fries?


How can vanilla essence and vanilla extract be used interchangeably?

Imitation vanilla extract is meant to be used in place of the real stuff, and most recipes probably assume you're using the fake stuff anyway, so you would use 1 tsp. You only need to adjust the amount if you're using something like twofold (2x) extract.


How to make microwaved condensed milk caramel sauce properly?

Put Sweetened Condensed Milk into a microwave safe bowl and whisk it thoroughly until its smooth and the thicker stickiness from the bottom of the can that has settled is evenly distributed again.
Place in microwave at 50% power for 2 minutes then take it out and stir thoroughly. Do NOT use full power!  If you do it will burn, and it will look similar to what you mentioned was happening to yours - it turns into a brown dry solid.
Put back in microwave (50% power again) for 1 minute increments, stirring in between each additional minute until it has reached the level of darkness you are looking for.

Hope this is what you are asking for.


How to adjust for humidity when making rice?

Dry rice will have more or less water content dependant on the ambient humidity. If you want to test how much you have to account for this, take some rice during a humid day, weight, dry in a 200F oven for a few hours and then weigh again.


I'd say stuffing, but if it doesn't taste good, then your stuffing won't taste good. Bread pudding? Blech. Bread crumbs? Maybe. Croutons? I don't know, probably not.

Just write it off to experience, and see if the birds fancy it.


Can I use casserole steak instead of braising beef for this Chinese Beef Casserole recipe?

For the recipe you are using, any flavorful cut of meat that is up for long cooking should work okay. Had to look up casserole steak as that is not something I've ever seen in the US, at least not by that name.
From a  Jamie Oliver forum  , please see the following:

Braising steak is often used in a casserole. Mostly nowadays "Chuck" steak is sold for braising steak and is often used in "Casseroles". This is a cut of beef from the "forequarter" of beef and is the shoulder piece of the beast. It contains a fair bit of fat which is normally rendered down and incorporated into the dish. Sometimes the "Blade or LMC (leg of mutton cut)" is also sold as braising joint of beef......which is on the other side of the blade bone to the Chuck steak but is very lean and somewhat void of flavour.
Stewing steak is nowadays mostly "shin of beef"....which is what is says...shin. This can be from the forequarter or the hindquarter of the beast. It differs quite a lot from braising steak as it contains a lot of sinnue and membrane which separates the individual muscles within the cut. All these sinues render down in cooking to give a gelatinous addition which a good stew requires. You are more likely to see the hindquarter shin for sale as stewing beef as the fore-shin is usually taken for sausagemeat or burgers etc....along with the neck (clod) and skirt which we don't really see anymore.

The terminology may or may not be exact, depending on where you are located, but again, any cut that will stand up to long cooking should work.


Flames should not come out of the vents inside the oven. This should not be happening. It could indicate an incorrect or faulty regulator, or ventilation problems. In addition to fire, you may also be at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Your oven is not safe to use. Don't use it until you can get it fixed. Since you just bought it, contact the manufacturer/reseller/installer. Hopefully those are all the same entity, in which case there will be no way they can shift the blame onto each other. Expect whoever made the mistake to leap at the opportunity fix the problem, and feel extremely lucky that they aren't being sued by your next-of-kin. (That's not to say that they actually will do that; just that you should expect it of them, and communicate that you expect it of them.) If you had it installed by an unqualified handyman, find someone more qualified to inspect and repair it.
If you installed this yourself, and/or are planning to fix it yourself, DIY Stackexchange would be a good place to look for advice.
This issue can happen if a natural gas stove is converted for use with propane, the oven wasn't adjusted to compensate for the change.

Note: AMtwo, Sneftel, mroll and Joe pretty much answered the question in the comments section, so I just summarized their comments here.


What is a thorough way to clean my dish rack?

Bleach is your best bet.  Scrub it with a long-handled scrub brush and either liquid bleach or Ajax and water.  Let it soak a bit before rinsing it out.  Since it's stainless steel, the bleach won't do it any harm and will kill off any organics growing on it.

In my experience, the pink stuff is a mold, not flouride.


Is pork for bo ssam made entirely without oil?

YUM! I lived in Seoul for a year, Bo Ssam is one of the best things I've ever tasted. You're using pork shoulder (butt) right? If so, no oil is necessary. There is plenty of fat in the pork.


How to clean settled oil fumes from cabinets?

If it's safe for the cabinet surfaces, Bar Keepers Friend or some similar product (the active ingredient is oxalic acid) is pretty good at dealing with gummy polymerized oil mess. I would not try this on finished wood or painted surfaces, but if you happen to have a metal vent hood above the stove it's fine, or if you're dealing with the hidden unfinished underside of the cabinets.

Failing that, the stronger the soap the better. Soapy water may not do much, but if you squirt a good amount of dish soap into a moist sponge, you may start making progress.

See also Gummy residue from baking spray/oil - this is essentially the same thing as those dark spots you get from stray oil when baking, but generally in larger quantities and possibly a more liquid or at least softer form.


Can I bake oatmeal drop cookies in a bar form?

Most drop cookies that are made by creaming butter and sugar turn out fairly well as bar cookies.

One thing to think about is the additional baking time - since they are thicker, you may have an underdone center even once the top is golden brown.

You should probably bake them slightly longer than you would normally, and check them fairly frequently. I prefer my cookies chewy (almost like cookie dough) in the middle, so I tend to bake them for less time.


what causes the bacteria growth (is it caused by the water/moisture level) ?

Each of these foods on their own are preserved by having too little moisture for bacteria or molds to live in. So in your specific case, it was likely the water which made it hospitable for them again, yes.

If you have a food which supports bacterial growth, you cannot make it safe by simple sterilization. The sterilization is not always sufficient, and you need laboratory tests of your recipe to confirm that it can work with sterilization (usually only OK for some combination of sufficient acidity and sufficient processing temperature, like water bath canning). And it is no longer shelf-stable after opening. So I wouldn't suggest going down that road. Sterilization of the jar doesn't matter.

You can try making any gianduja recipe that doesn't call for water-containing ingredients (butter or cream or water). There is no need to pick one with cocoa powder or milk powder. Or if you are very intent on using the powder, melt the sugar as for caramel (waterless method) but stop as early as possible, before you have gotten much caramel flavor. Add the powders to the caramel and mix thoroughly. Adding the shortening at the same time can make it easier.

The problem with this approach is that you can have difficulty making it spreadable, since the water thins it. But maybe it will work with enough shortening added.

As for botulism, I have not heard of gianduja being a botulism risk, but homemade variants usually require refrigeration, so you may want to research that separately.


In the US, commercial jerky is inspected by the Food Safety and Inspection Service help ensure safety.  See the FSIS Compliance Guideline for Meat
and Poultry Jerky Produced by Small
and Very Small Establishments  for detailed information on commercial jerky preparation methods, which must include a "lethality" step based on heat, acidity, or other means to ensure pathogens are killed.  They may also use more sophisticated methods to ensure proper drying.

Googling "jerky safety" will yield a wealth of University Extension results based on FDA research, providing specific recipes for safely creating jerky at home.

Traditional methods (soaking in brine, then drying) are not sufficient to kill all pathogens (not just parasites).  The FDA now recommends the the "hot pickle cure" method as the most effective way of creating safe jerky.

See for example the recipe published via Cornell.  In summary:

Treat the meat carefully prior to jerking, using proper refrigeration and so on.
Prepare a brine of the proper strength, and bring it to a boil.
Dip the jerky pieces into the boiling brine long enough for them to turn grey.
Dry in a temperature controlled dehydrator, checking for sufficient drying (the meat should crack when bent).


Difference between Potato Pancake and Hash Browns?

Potato pancakes are held together, usually with egg, sometimes flour as well. Hash Browns are usually just the potato, maybe onion and seasonings.


Use a nagura flattening stone to remove as much material as required.


Is there a multipurpose cooking appliance that can be used to make natto?

A programmable pressure cooker only works for natto if it has a natto specific setting. Then it doesn't turn on the pressure, or heat up to high temperatures, but keeps the needed temperature range over the specified time.

If you want to buy a pressure cooker, look for a model which has a natto setting - consult the user manual if you need to, since I don't think it is listed very prominently on feature comparisons. It can be hidden as part of some other function, I think mine lists it as a subset of the yogurt making function, and then the button which usually chooses between high and low pressure in the standard programm chooses between a yogurt (43C) and natto (35C) setting.

Getting a programmable pressure cooker is a good choice in principle, since it is indeed a useful tool. While all the things it does (except some niche functions like that natto) are also doable on stovetop, it does these things with more convenience and less energy expenditure than the stovetop. So, if you pick a model with a natto function, it should hit your other criteria of usefulness too.

If you prefer the DIY solution, you don't have to solder your own temperature controller. There are inexpensive thermostats with sufficient precision for home use. I switched my yogurt making from the Instant Pot (the programmable pressure cooker mentioned) to a ITC-308 controlling a cheap water boiling stick in a gastronorm tub, with an aquarium pump for added circulation. The combination is somewhat cheaper than a prepackaged noname sous vide stick, and gives you more flexibility in the temperature range, also you could even use it somewhere else around the house if needed. I think the accuracy might be slightly lower than that of a good quality sous vide apparatus, but it is sufficient for the sous vide preparations I have tried so far, and will certainly do for a traditional process such as natto.


How to brownies from a box/mix with a flaky top?

To get a shiny, flaky, crackly, light-colored crust on the top of your brownies, there are two effective changes you can make:

Beat the brownie batter for longer after adding the eggs.  Doing this increases the crust, which is actually meringue.  This is what you should try with your box mix, since the sugar is already included in  box.

Use white sugar (granulated sugar) with a from-scratch brownie recipe.  Brown sugar and corn syrup contain more moisture than white sugar, which will reduce the shiny crackly crust.


Can the duration of the whistle determine if food inside a pressure cooker is cooked

The short answer to that question is no. The whistling sound is just a signal to reduce the heat.

Here's an excerpt from the Hawkins Pressure Cooker Operating Guide:

  After the pressure regulator is placed on the steam vent, there is at first a very low hissing sound of steam from the pressure regulator. Then steam emission increases to full force and the pressure regulator lifts with a whistling sound. The cooker is now at full operating pressure. This is the point at which to reduce heat and start timing the recipe.

So, the timing or frequency of whistles is a function of how hot the pressure cooker is at any given time, and most importantly, a warning to turn down your stove, so that a catastrophe does not ensue.

As the Hawkins manual explains, start timing your recipe once the cooker has reached operating pressure. The actual timing of course, will vary, depending on the particular food you're cooking.


Does abalone have any unique nutritional value that justifies its lofty prices?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: People eat abalone because of its taste, texture, and potential for gourmet preparation.  Nutritional value isn't under consideration.


The recipe in the video appears to cook the squid entirely, then mix it into the rest of the dish, then continue to cook the entire dish. (I suspect the recipe's creator has different expectations regarding the final texture of cooked squid)

Overcooked squid will be tough or rubbery whenever over cooked, whether too hot, too long, or both (which will happen in a pressure cooker, unless cooked so long that it breaks down.)

Sous vide is ideal for precisely cooking proteins, squid included. Most recipes call for around 60c for 1-2 hours.

Pan frying is also effective, as it gives much more visibility and chance to stop cooking at the right time. Many squid recipes call for 2-3 minutes saute.

In any case, cook the squid to preferred doneness in parallel to preparing the masala, then remove both from heat and combine. The intention should be to stop applying additional heat to the squid once it is cooked.


Marron glacé / Candied chestnuts breaking up. How to avoid this?

This is a guess, but I'm assuming the sugar concentration in the syrup that you're using is way too high.  After a few days, the water evaporates off and the sugar is left in a crystalline form inside the chestnuts.

This makes them very brittle at which point you see the breaking.

If this is the case, I can recommend two things:

Reduce the rate at which the sugar in your confections crystallizes; left in the open air, you're going to lose moisture which is part of the problem.
Increase the water ratio.  I'd start with a simple syrup (1 part water to 1 part sugar) and move up and down from there.  Of course, your going to sacrifice some sweetness as a result, and you don't want too much water, as you'll end up making the chestnuts too soft.  You'll have to adjust the balance to your tastes/tolerances.


Is white rice bleached before being processed?

No. It is not general practice to add bleach to rice. The brown rice bran is removed through mechanical processes. As to whether he should continue to indulge this worry...I'd be more concerned about [insert common American male problem here] before ammonia in rice. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3138007/ This review has many free references in it.  Should you want further peer-review reading, I can provide it.