Why do my macarons come out looking weird?

Ah, macarons. If it's not one thing, it's another. Uneven pied usually indicate that the oven was too hot. You should use an oven thermometer to determine the exact temperature of your oven, because oven dials themselves straight up lie. I once had an oven that was always 20C over the temperature on the dial.

If you get a thermometer (or have one) and this still happens, try positioning the tray at different heights in the oven.

Unfortunately, making macarons is a process of trial, error and experience, getting to know your oven and the texture of the batter. Good luck.


Are there any special techniques for tempering dark chocolates with different cacao percentages?

You're first melting it all and mixing it together, right? You can just compute the cacao contents of the resulting mixture. For that you'll need to weigh the three batches. Say the 54% batch is 200g, the 63% batch is 150g and the 86% batch is 100g. Then you have a total of 54% * 200g + 63% * 150g + 86% * 100g = 108g + 94.5g + 86g = 288.5g of cacao out of a total mass of 200g + 150g + 100g = 450g. So the resulting cacao percentage is 288.5 / 450 = 64%. Now just treat the mixture as you would 64% cacao chocolate (since that's what it is).


Why does my homemade hemp milk smell like sulfur?

HempNut Cookbook, by Richard Rose & Brigitte Mars, 2004 Green Press Initiative, page 21:
"Shelled hempseed also is high in minerals such as ... sulfur, ...: ... Sulfur helps the body resist bacterial invasion and protects it against toxic substances."


How to improve the texture of frozen yogurt?

First, you shouldn't have the expectations that your ice cream (or frozen yogurt, or whatever) will turn out to be like storebought. You can get to a "better than now" state, but not to a "out of the heart brand tub" state.

For your ideas, some are off the mark, some are worth trying. 1) a hydrocolloid is generally good in ice cream, since it binds water and prevents it from making large crystals (helps with "icy"). Pectin is an unusual choice though, guar gum works better. But you can start with pectin and then graduate if not happy. 2) don't reduce the alcohol, it will get icier. 3) for the purposes of setting, golden syrup is sugar. You can add more if you want, substitution won't help. 4) frozen yogurts are not custards, cooked yogurt is not tasty. 5) yes, reducing the available water can make it less icy, so do strain.

When you add the emulsifier, you will have done about as much as you can at home to get rid of the crystals, seeing that you are also already adding both salt and alcohol. So, not much more that can be done in that department, except of course proper churning.

And here we are coming to the crux of your problem - you are not churning properly. The "blend, then reblend" method is a substitute that never works as good as an ice cream machine. Also, you are mentioning a "stick mixer" - so you most likely don't have a powerful blender which can turn a block of water ice into snow, just a standard model. You probably have zero overrun, so of course it is melting right away.

The solution is to buy an ice cream machine. Make sure to read test reports, there are some disappointing models on the market. A standard frozen-bowl style will already be an improvement, although it will still have some melty tendency. If you want gelateria-style ice cream and have the space and the money, you'll have to invest in a compressor machine. I doubt that you can ever get supermarket-style at home, unless you get into serious equipment and recipe modding.


bacteria forming in reheating of baked potatoes

Because potatoes are grown in the soil, they are a natural source of Clostridium botulinum. C. botulinum could grow in a cooked, foil wrapped baked potato that is not maintained at proper temperature because the combination of cooking and foil wrap create an anaerobic condition. C. botulinum requires an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment in which to grow.
Bottom line: wash your potatoes, don't use foil, cool properly, reheat properly and you'll be fine.


Professional charcutier here. We usually only make beef sausage from grass fed beef, which means our ground beef is very lean. Depending on the recipe, we have various tricks for improving the texture:

We add beef fat if available to add richness, or even pork fat if we
don't have enough beef fat.
For a 5lb batch of ground beef for hamburgers, we'll add an egg or two and that
will give it some cohesion.
As thatdude says, cooked rice is a good way to give your sausage some
starchiness, as in boudin.
You could try mixing your sausage with heavy cream in addition to
adding eggs (as is done with traditional bratwurst)
Add about half a cup of milk powder for every 5 pounds of sausage.

Any one of the above should accomplish what you're seeking. You can even combine some methods. In our bratwurst, we add milk powder, eggs, and heavy cream. Experiment and see where your texture is after that!


Unroasted coffee beans in the pantry, several years old: roast, toss, or other use?

After that long, the beans are almost certainly stale. While it's true that aged coffee is a thing, four to ten years is very long time to age coffee and the opinions on aged coffee seem to be mixed at best. I say toss 'em, although you could compost them or even use them for arts and crafts, I wouldn't recommend them for human consumption. It's doubtful that anyone would be harmed, seeing as caffeine is a natural pesticide and that would keep any 'ick' from developing, it probably wouldn't be a very enjoyable cup of coffee.


How exactly are you feeding the starter? Are you just adding new flour and water or are you discarding?

What I do (based on recipes I've seen) is discard 2/3 of the starter and add 1/3 of each new flour and water. So if I have 100g of starter, when I feed it, I discard 67g of it and add 33g of each flour and water.

The reason for this is that it gives the starter a lot more "food". If you start with 50g and add 50g, you've added 100% and then have 100g. If you then add 50g more, you're only adding 50% and have 150g. If you add 50g again, you've only added 33% and have 200g. Because you're adding progressively smaller amounts of food, you will get progressively less activity.

Instead if you discard 1/3 and add 2/3, you'll add 200%, and if you do it again, you'll add another 200%, etc. After a few days of this you should have a very active starter.

This does require discarding some of the starter which is why I keep it relatively small. I use 75g of starter for a loaf of bread, so with 100g I have enough for loaf and then enough to re-make the starter.

The discard can be used in other recipes such as pancakes, banana bread, etc. It is 50/50 flour and water so easy to substitute into other recipes.

Aside from that, you will get more activity at a warmer temperature.  Room temp is usually about 65-70F but the yeast is more active at 85-90F.  But don't go much higher than this or you can make the yeast so active it will produce alcohol or kill it completely.  You can get to this temp a bunch of different ways.  The space above or behind your fridge is often warmer.  If you have an oven with a light, the closed oven with the light on is often warmer.  If you have an aquarium heater those usually hold this temp.  Many electronic devices like computers or wireless access points generate a little bit of heat.

You should not microwave the starter, this will warm it up but you'll probably kill the yeast.  When you are about to feed it you can microwave the water you're using to warm it up first, but don't microwave the starter or flour.

If your water has a lot of chlorine in it, that can inhibit yeast growth. You can either use bottled or filtered water, or leave some water sitting out for a few days to let the chlorine dissipate.


I've tried to make yougurt but I've got soured milk - what went wrong?

Either you failed to adequately pasteurize the milk, or your culture was bad, or some unclean / unsanitized (some would say sterilized, I know better) utensil was involved on the cooling/inoculating side of the pasteurization step.

4 hours is a remarkably short incubation time - were you aiming for a "liquid/drinkable" yogurt? For a set yogurt 8-12 hours is typical and my process at this point is 24 hours at a somewhat lower temperature (95-100F) as I like the result better than the warmer/shorter incubation.


Chinese pork jerky: what makes them so tender, how do you make it?

I just found the recipe for it. The name of it is Bak Kwa (Sweet BBQ Pork Jerky). Here's the wikipedia entry (boy it's easy to find things when you know the name!). The recipe actually grind up the pork. They use about 70% meat and 30% fat.  But according to the wikipedia entry there is also an expensive version where they slice of a solid piece of meat.

Sugar and salt was originally used and then the meat was smoked (this sounds really close to BBQing, which generally cooks the meat with smoke...yummy tender ribs).

These days, people make them in the oven at low heat. In the recipe, they put the minced mixture between two sheets of parchment paper, which probably keeps it moist and tender!


If you're adapting a recipe for a slow cooker, you would normally reduce the liquid. But there's also quite a lot of variation between slow cookers, in terms of how much steam gets out, so even a slow cooker recipe may need adjustment to the liquid. On top of that your tastes may differ from the recipe creators'.

If you want to thicken the sauce while keeping the quantity constant, a little cornflour (US: corn starch) at almost the end can help - mix it up with cold water then mix into the sauce before putting the lid on for a few more minutes. It should be cooked by the time you do this - opening a slow cooker lets out a lot of heat which can extend the cooking time. You can thicken a slow cooked sauce with cornflour at the start, but you tend to get a skin on top. This will disappear in a few minutes if you stir it in.


substitues for confectioners sugar when making icing

Confectioner's sugar and powdered sugar are two names for the same thing, at least in US usage.  In the UK, this product would be called icing sugar.

So it is not even a substitution, it is the requested ingredient, and of course you can use it by either name.


What type of vegetable oil should I use for tempura?

In my experience at expensive tempura restaurants, sesame oil is almost always used at least as part of the blend, but my understanding is that it is not the roasted kind, which has far too low a smoke point. I've been to a restaurant in Izu, now closed, where it was obvious because we were seated right in front of the fryer and the smell was quite noticeable, and the fancy place I went to in Tokyo was apparently using sesame oil as well, but they had more effective ventilation, so it was mostly obvious from the flavorfulness of the results. I've seen unroasted sesame oil in middle-eastern markets and I know some companies sell it in the US, so it is obtainable, and I've seen it at about $40/gallon on Amazon. I also know from experience that a blend of the roasted sesame oil and neutral, high-smoke-point oil will have a higher smoke point than just straight roasted sesame oil, and will add flavor, so it's at least possible that some people do that.

At home and at inexpensive restaurants, other vegetable oils are frequently used, and there's a simple tempura set that you can buy as a gift pack that I've seen used as a winter gift. This is usually cottonseed oil or a blend. In some regions, an ambiguous blend called "salad oil" is commonly used. It is not unheard of to use tea seed oil (camellia), which is increasingly available in the US at Asian markets (when I ran a specialty import business, I used to sell sell some that a Chinese tea importer was purchasing until he shifted his focus to larger packages suitable for restaurant use).

The Japanese entry for tenpura on Wikipedia confirms that a custom blend of sesame, cottonseed and other oils is often used at tempura shops. The Tokyo style and Kansai style is a bit different, with many Tokyo shops serving a darker version thanks in part to sesame oil and egg, and Kansai region versions leaning a bit whiter thanks either to using neutral vegetable oils or lack of egg.

I've used canola oil but it tends to leave an unpleasant aroma in the air, especially after the second use. If I were in the US and on a budget, I'd probably choose peanut oil, but it will taste different than most of what I've seen in Japan. I doubt that I've ever encountered peanut oil-fried tempura in Japan, though there's a chance I just didn't notice.

In practice, I've found that the most important thing to get good results from homemade tempura is to prevent overloading the fryer, because the temperature will drop too quickly. This is true for other kinds of fried goods as well, but is far more important for tempura because the coating should be fairly thin. As an unpracticed amateur, I've found that using a modest amount of katakuriko or cornstarch in the flour blend helps produce crisper results.

It's fairly difficult to get an assortment of different items to be ready at the same time, so consider making it in "courses" if you want flawless results, or make only one or two items at a time. Tempura restaurants tend to have wide, slightly shallow fryers, whereas most fryers meant for western deep-frying tend to have several stations of deep pots, since it's ok in many cases for things to be submerged, like when making french fries. It's quite unusual for tempura to be completely submerged.

Edited to add:
Assuming you're coating with a batter (there are some types that are dusted with flour or katakuriko rather than a full batter), I get far better results by keeping the batter (or the flour) very cold.

Many years later edit, since I live in Japan now and occasionally buy prepared "tempura flour":
I just wanted to note that, looking at the ingredients in tempura flour sold in Japanese supermarkets for home cooks wanting to make tempura here, baking powder is typically in the mix. I have added it occasionally with plain flour in the US depending on how important crisp results were to me, but if your primary issue is textural it may be worth a try. I don't think it's as much baking powder as "self-rising flour" would contain, but I'm not sure. I will say that in a pinch, when I was low on regular flour, I used tempura flour in scones and got acceptable results, so it may be "just enough" to cause some carbon dioxide explosions that produce a leavening effect.


There are so many factors in the rising of bread, have a look at this previous answer for something more exhaustive. I will say that 30 minutes is pretty short, especially when you are starting from a cool dough. You are using milk, which will enrich the dough, and although you haven't mentioned it I'm sure there is salt in the mix, both of these will slow yeast development.

There's nothing wrong with this, in fact slower is better for good gluten and flavor development. I would be prepared to let an enriched potato dough prove at least 3-4 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.

24 hours may be too much at it may have over-proofed, also foodborne illnesses may have developed in that time. Personally I'd discard it and try again.


Sugar/salt frosted around the top of a cup/mug

Place the sugar (or salt) in a bowl or plate large enough to hold the glass (upside down)

Rub the rim of the glass with lemon (or lime, or use simple syrup) the rim should be wet and sticky.

Roll/Dip the rim of the glass in the bowl full of sugar.

In my experience, you need to leave the glass to dry for a few minutes to let the sugar or salt settle and dry properly; or long enough to prepare your drinks (or tea).

There are numerous video on the internets showing this.


My date has some black powder in it. Is it safe to eat?

What you're looking at is mold, not uncommon in dates and figs, and not a recommended snack. Not only does it have an unpleasant taste, it may trigger an allergic response in some individuals.

Whole Fresh Dates in Yuma, Arizona (USA) gives a good overview in its August 6, 2016, blog:

  What is this in my Date?

  The unfortunate truth for many date lovers and fig lovers too is that these deliciously tasting fruits are susceptible to being tainted by bugs and black mold. This is a side of the date industry that is not talked about all that much, and for good reason. Nobody likes talking about nasty critters or black unknown powdery stuff in their food. We will try and bring some clarity to this problem as well as some things you can do to ensure you are not biting into a date that might contain some foreign elements.

  What's the Black Mold in Dates?

  The perfect environment for growing dates are hot extremely dry climates that receive very little rain fall. Moisture is a killer for date crops. And this black dust is exactly that, it's excessive moisture that has caused the date to turn. ... Actually, date fruits growing on date cluster need several days of 100 degree weather to ensure proper development and reduce the likelihood of moisture.... Simply put, dry growing conditions equals less moisture for mold to exist, wet environment equals black dust (mold).

  Here's What YOU Can Do:

  Those that have eaten dates for sometime know that you just don't bite into a date. You need to peel it apart and open it up. Always open your dates prior to biting into them. This is a process that all date lovers either know or have learned over the years of eating dates. I typically will pick out several dates that I'm going to eat slice long ways from the top of the date toward the bottom. Split it open, remove the date and then wash thoroughly regardless if I see anything or not.


What nondairy milk does not curdle when heated?

Assuming the curdling happens when added to the coffee:

Hot soymilk is even more sensitive to curdling from acids than dairy milk. UHT (soymilk, not dairy) varieties are generally considered less prone to that effect, trying these might be worth it.

Oatmilk is often considered the best nondairy alternative for this scenario.

If palatable, this trick could also help:

Why does salt prevent soy milk from curdling in hot coffee?


Can I keep home-made salad dressing un-refrigerated?

Me think you should be OK.

The dressing does not contain garlic which can be an issue in regards of botulism.

I don't know if chive has the same botulism problem as garlic, you might check that out


Whole wheat pasta from milling to the results

Yes. I will show you. Here are my experiment results.

I have this as my mill. It takes a long time to go from wheat to flour and I mean like hours maybe even days.

I tried a 2 3/4 cup flour: 6 eggs: 5 tsp oil ratio and kneaded both batches for a good 10 minutes and rested 1 overnight and 1 for 30 minutes.

I obviously got more than what is shown but I can't show a full 20 ounces with each strand separate.

those black lines are supposed to be the pasta, the dark orange representing that it is whole wheat pasta. The brighter orange is the cheddar cheese sauce. I made this by taking some sharp and some mild cheddar that I have made myself and melting it on low bit by bit so that instead of a crust I would get a smooth sauce. It turned out good and after about 5-6 minutes, maybe less, maybe more, it was al dente and it didn't turn out to eggy or flourly or oily. I think I have found the right ratio for my whole wheat pasta.


When making soda bread, 45 min on baking sheet or 15 min on cast iron skillet?

If you read some of the reviews on the one that says to bake for 45 minutes (Brennan's), many of them say it was done in less time:

sunnieday:

  Really great and simple recipe. Recommended cook time is too long. I cooked mine for about 25 minutes and it was perfect. Will use this again.

Nutmeg~n~Pepper

  After making as written and baking for the stated time, I find it hard to review how the bread tastes as it comes out way overcooked and rubbery.

lambertfan

  I did follow the advice of another review post with only baking for 30 min.

So it looks like the bake time on Brennan's recipe is too long.

As to the pan vs sheet, with the sides of the pan so close to the loaf, it can certainly absorb and radiate some extra heat to the bread, so that might explain a little of the time difference... but not 30 minutes worth... but since the actual bake time for the sheet loaf is really 25-30 minutes, that might account for it... but the skillet would also take longer to heat up initially (assuming it's not preheated), so it would probably make the bottom of the bread cook more slowly.

So, as always with baking, don't bake by time. Keep an eye on your baking and pull it when it's done, not when the time is up.


How can I remove sticky residue from a pot I boiled salsify in?

When trying to remove gummy, rubbery substances often something oily will penetrate and soften the goo so that it maybe cleaned as usual. Things to try, cooking oil, peanut butter or something like Goo Gone or WD-40.


When making Eetch, is it necessary to sauté the onions and simmer the tomato products? Are there differences if using quinoa rather than bulghur?

Okay. I tried this two different ways. First I tried just combining the ingredients without the simmering and sautéing step. The flavors didn't seem to come together as well and it did take longer for the liquid to absorb into the bulghur.

So then I tried just adding the chopped onion without sautéing first but I did simmer the tomato products. This worked equally as well as when I sautéed the onion, added the tomato products and simmered. The onion is finely diced so the residual heat from the simmered tomato products was enough to very slightly soften it.

I haven't had a chance to try it using quinoa rather than bulghur but when I do I will update the answer.


Should iodized salt be avoided when salting meat?

I assume you are making a brine?  Such as pastrami, corned beef, pickled pork, etc.

If so, you probably want to go with kosher or pickling salt.  Both are pure salt, and pickling salt is ground more finely to facilitate mixing with cold or lukewarm brines.

You can use iodized, table, or sea salt, but there are additives in them to prevent sticking that can affect the curing process or leave sediment in your brine (i.e. pickles or pickled meats stored in brine).  Sea salt may not have additives, but it may contain other trace minerals that could affect the finished product.

Here are some links on the subject:
Curing and smoking
More curing and smoking


What's wrong with my technique in this Belgian Liège Waffle recipe?

the amount of flour is likely the culprit.  Flour is very sensitive to moisture and can change volume a surprising amount so that the two cups may not be two cups.  Also make sure you are not scooping the flour out with your measuring cup,  but filling it with another implement before leveling off the top with a straight edge.
As you are after a not-quite-bread-like consistency, even though you are using high-gluten flour (in the bread flour called for) you don't want a full bread-like texture
Letting the yeast rise
Many sweet breads do something similar.  Cinnamon buns for example.  It again affects the crumb and texture of the final product.  It also slows down the yeast as it notes in the recipe when you refrigerate for just a little bit.  The rise the next morning should give you nice small bubbles.


How can I make my banana bread more moist?

Turn the oven down by about 25-50F. Quite often, ovens just blast the heck out of baked good, especially smaller apartment ovens. Larger, more expensive ovens tend to be better calibrated and will produce the proper 350F temperature usually required for banana bread. A cheap oven, which is still fine for banana bread, will overshoot the temperature and kill your banana bread. Turn the oven down a bit, and if necessary cook for longer. I have even turned my oven cooler AND cooked it for 15 minutes less time than the recipe required.
Check at 2/3 time. Don't let the bread run through the entire cooking time before checking it. Always check early. For some recipes, I take the banana bread out at 2/3 recommended time!
Don't over-beat the mixture. Despite being called banana "bread" it isn't a bread, it is a cake insomuch as it is made from a batter, not a long-kneaded dough. If you start mixing and it seems already too dry - STOP - and add a few tablespoons of milk to loosen the mixture up. If it's too dry in the initial stages, it will certainly be dry later, but a dry mixture also causes you to push harder, thereby causing the gluten to harden.
Don't cut down on butter/fat. This is really what prevents it drying out. Use creme fraiche, more butter, a bit less flour...


You can caramelise onions for making the rich sweet-savoury flavour, but you have to caramelise it slowly, and be very patient...it doesn't get made in 5 minutes.

Also, for something ready-made, Coconut Secret makes a coconut-based liquid aminos that contain no soy, and we got it at Whole Foods.


The advice I have heard is for stronger tea use more tea.  Do not steep longer as it can get bitter.

If you are in a hurry a stronger tea with ice could work but if you want to come from brew temperature to ice temperature it would need to start very strong.

Maybe experiment with double strength and let it cool to like 100 F. You would add as much ice as tea. If all the ice melts then you need to let is cool more next time. If almost none of the ice melts then you need to let is cool less next time.


When pan searing, why does all of my oil keep disappearing?

If the oil is of too low temperature, it'll have a tendency to get soaked up by the food you're preparing or get evaporated together with the water that's leaking out, so that's where it's disappearing. (Some vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, ... tend to soak up oil like sponges regardless of the temperature.)

To test whether the oil is hot enough, I always use the empirical method:

slice off a sliver of whatever you're going to sear
throw it in the pan

if bubbles start forming: oil is hot enough
if not: throw away sliver, rinse and repeat

Works for anything  you're going to sear!

Having said that: Don't be shy on the oil: it doesn't just sear, it adds flavour too!


Parcooking carrots and green beans for an already well-seasoned casserole

In my experience, carrots at about 1.5-2cm thickness will be cooked through after an hour at a bare simmer. You might consider slightly browning, rather than boiling them before adding them to the mixture, for flavor, and to get them up to temperature. As for green beans, (depending on how you like them ) add them 10 -15 minutes before the end of your cooking time?

But if you really don't want to shift the flavor, why not cook them exactly to your liking and add them right at the end, just before service? More like a garnish than an ingredient. Plenty of traditional French stews do this with bacon, caramelized onions, mushrooms .. etc.


Dented can of iced tea fizzed when opened

It fizzed a bit when opened, like soda sort of and sprayed on my hand, after that it was flat.

I see this happen all the time with cans of uncarbonated drinks, e.g. Arizona iced tea. Even though the drink isn't carbonated, the cans seem to be pressurized to some degree: an unopened can is quite firm and hard to squeeze, while cans that have been opened even just a tiny bit yield easily. Also, you can hear the hiss of escaping gas as you open the can.

I've also seen these cans spray somewhat when they're opened, mostly after they've been shaken. My guess here is that shaking the can mixes the gas and liquid, and when you open the can the bubbles of gas in the liquid expand quickly as the pressure drops. I've never seen a can of tea spray nearly as much as a vigorously shaken can of soda would, but it enough to wet your hand a bit or spread a few drops on nearby surfaces.

  This is not a botulism risk is it?

I doubt it -- botulism does not like acidic environments, and one source I found puts the pH of Lemon Brisk at 2.86, which is pretty acidic.

  I put it down the drain but not sure how much cleaning up I need to do.

I'd wipe the area with a damp towel to remove the sugar, which will make things sticky as it dries. Other than that, I think you're pretty safe.


What causing royal icing to get stringy?

As Escoce mentioned, it's partially technique.

After you finish your dot, you want to move the tip in a quick circle while keeping the tip against the dot, then lift off.  This will help to minimize the peak created.

If it's only a peak, and hasn't put icing all over the place, you can take a damp brush and knock down the peak.

'Threads' might be too fine for this, but typically if icing has gotten where you don't want it (eg, typos in words), it's often better to wait for it to harden, gently break it free with a toothpick, and then brush it away with a soft brush.  If you really mar the surface in the process, cover it up with a flower or other decoration.


Your best bet would be a dutch oven on a low to medium low heat in the oven. You could use a regular pot in the oven, but you'd need to stir it regularly (maybe every hour) to stop everything from sticking to the sides and burning.


Help Identifying a pale green, spherical squash-y like vegetable

That's a cue ball zucchini.

It's similar to a one ball zucchini (yellow), and an eight ball zucchini (dark green, almost black). All of them are round and great squashes to stuff and roast. Hope you enjoyed it!


Do you need to rinse vegetables that can be peeled?

While I don't always practice what I preach, in the interest of food safety, I would recommend rinsing any vegetable or fruits before peeling.

The reason for this is that when you cut into an unwashed vegetable or fruit, any contaminants on the outer surface are transferred to the part of the item you are going to eat.

While it doesn't happen often, some foods have been contaminated by E. coli, salmonella, pesticides, fertilizer residue, etc., when not rinsed first. In the worst cases people have become ill from it.

Garlic may be the exception as the outer peel is usually removed by hand before doing anything to the individual cloves. (Except when roasting and the top is cut off.) Onions could also be an exception if you are able to remove all of the outer peeling so that your knife will not go through it when cutting the onion.


How can I fix my tasteless baked flounder?

Most fish is pretty mild, and flounder is no exception. You shouldn't expect it to have a terribly strong flavor of its own; that's why you've made a recipe that cooks it with onions and mushrooms and adds Hollandaise sauce. If you eat it with all of that, it'll taste like mild fish with mushrooms, onions, and Hollandaise - hardly tasteless. If you think even with all the other stuff there's not enough flavor, you might want to add a bit of salt; salt increases our perception of flavors, and if you're used to it, undersalted food will taste bland. But otherwise, it sounds like you just don't like fish, mushrooms, onions, or Hollandaise sauce and you should make something different next time.

And maybe this is subjective, but I can't imagine that this could possibly be so tasteless that you'd rather throw it away than eat it, accepting that it's not your favorite food.


Why does string cheese taste different when pulled apart than when bitten?

All your doing by seperating it into strands is exposing more surface area. So when you put it in your mouth you experience a sudden "big" taste sensation. If you chew it your exposure to the taste doesn't come in such a big "rush".


The brown color is given by the caramelization of the sugars contained in the meat. It is due to a chemical reaction that is triggered by the high temperature in the pan (take place between 140c and 180c or 284f and 356f) called Maillard reaction. It is exactly the same thing that gives bread and fried foods their characteristic golden-brown color and their delicious taste!

But back to the picture: the reason why you see the bottom of the pan becoming brown is because during cooking the meat lets some juices out. Those juices contain sugars that caramelize and stick to the pan or float in the hot grease.


if a chicken has been in the freezer from November 18 till now July 2 is it safe to cook it and eat it?

Frozen foods will remain safe for a very long time, provided that they were treated with care before being frozen.  If your chicken was kept refrigerated before freezing and frozen before spoilage, or purchased frozen...AND, you thaw it in a safe manner (in the refrigerator is best), it will be safe to cook and eat. Freezer temperature matters, as does the temperature cycling that most home freezers do to maintain a "frost free" environment. This impacts quality, rather than safety. In the end, it is more likely that the quality has degraded, especially if it is not vacuum packaged.  A lot depends on the packaging.  There is a good chance that it has freezer burn (dehydration); with that comes the potential of off-flavors and textures.  However, that is not a safety issue.


How to replace sugar with dry fruit in a cake recipe?

This will definitely require some experimentation on your part. As a starting point, I recommend comparing the sugar content of the fruit to the sugar content of sugar. Below, I use dates as an example.

48 grams of dates (approximately 2 dates) contains 32 grams of sugar (source)
48 grams of sugar contains 48 grams of sugar (source: common sense)

So dates are 2/3 (67%) sugar by mass. This means it takes 1.5 times the mass of dates as sugar, to get the same amount of sugar. For example, in a recipe with 100g of sugar, substitute 150g of dates.
Making the dry fruit into a paste seems like a good way to get the sweetness evenly distributed through your batter. I suggest re-hydrating in hot water. Then puree the re-hydrated fruit, and incorporate it into the wet ingredients. Measure the amount of hot water you use, and reduce the amount of liquid in the cake recipe accordingly. Depending on the type of liquid used in your cake recipe, you may be able to use that liquid to re-hydrate the dry fruit. I know from experience that citrus juice works well for re-hydrating dry fruit; I'm not sure about milk or cream.
Of course the results will not be exactly the same as the original cake recipe. Different types of fruit will seem more or less sweet. The fruit paste will add flavor and effect the texture of the cake. Typically it will probably make the cake more moist and dense. This technique will not be suitable for cakes which are intended to be very light and fluffy, such as angel food cake or sponge cake.


Removing metal disc ring from chocolate mousse: which method should I use?

The goal is to melt the outermost little bit and let the ring mold slide off.  Make sure they have had plenty of time to set up before unmolding.

The torch will work, although I would use a towel soaked in very very hot water, then squeezed dryish—just wrap it around the mold for ten or twenty seconds.   This maybe gentler than the torch, and less likely to go too far.

Edit:

Agar agar us not freeze stable, so you should not freeze your confections.

I imagine that eight hours is sufficiently long for a good chill, but I would go overnight if you can--a lot of labor goes into this sort of dish, so you don't want to loose the work.


How can I grow my own yeast (sourdough starter)?

Most bakers refer to this as a starter and it is extremely easy to keep up.  You will need a plastic bag or a jar to keep it in, a cup of warm water, and some flour.  You can either grow some wild yeast or add a particular strain to the growth solution depending what you are trying to do with the yeast.  Once you do that, just leave it someplace warm but not over 100 degree F. Then once a day, you feed the yeast by removing half and adding back a half cup of flour and a half cup of water.  Once it starts foaming remove to the fridge and remember to feed once a week.  It will be with you for the rest of the your time on earth.

Also, that half you take out when you feed it? Makes a great gift to other baking or cooking friends.  Also, if you devolop a dark smelly liquid, just stir it back in, it is normal and nothing to worry about.


Red kidney beans, break up long cooking time

It will be inconvenient, and you are likely to run into food safety problems. You would have to somehow make sure that they cool quickly enough after the first cook, and then heat up quickly enough for the second, and then cool again, that the total time in the danger zone is below 4 hours.

The more practical thing is to soak them before cooking. You can soak them overnight, for example. Then the total cooking time is much less, I don't have numbers in my head for kidney beans, but other beans are done in about an hour after a good soak. They are also a bit tastier that way (better hydrated) and it is an easy way to save energy.


Is it less bad to refeeze bones than meat?

I don't think there is a big problem re-freezing bones themselves.

If you plan to use the meat attached to bones (not clear from your question), then, yes, re-freezing and re-thawing will cause the meat to become mushy, even for a stew.


Why do my brownies inconsistently end up hard and thin?

You might not be as consistent as you think.  See my comments about baking cookies.

One thing that comes to mind is amount of flour, and how (and how much) you're mixing -- but I don't know that those would make it 'thin' necessarily, but it would make them tough if you're over mixing.

It might be a temperature issue, if you're using a solid shortening (eg, butter) rather than a liquid shortening.

Also, although you said you're cooking them for the same amount of time, inconsistent oven temperature might turn that into inconsistent baking -- you only want brownies to be set on the sides when you take them out of the oven -- they should fail a toothpick test if you want them fudgy.  Cooking them until they're 'done' will result in them hardening up as they cool.


The basic definition of Brix is grams sugar per 100 g solution. For an avocado, the FDA’s  nutrition data says that’s 8.5 °Bx.
The Brix scale is generally applied to solutions consisting mostly of sugar and water. That’s why it’s possible to use something like specific gravity or a refractometer to measure it. For solutions with other significant components, it’s not possible to use a refractometer or hydrometer to accurately measure Brix.


Toasting sandwich bread before packing a lunch - when is it appropriate?

I usually toast most of my sandwiches (or the grilled cheese kind) for hikes and picnics. My general rules are: no filling that releases water (fresh tomato, for example) and wrap in paper (tissue or napkin) and then plastic or foil (or a cooler/plastic container). Keep in the fridge until needed or when packing your bag. The paper will prevent most of the moisture from condensation making your bread mushy. It won't have the crispness of fresh made toast, but it's pretty good.


this might just work:

let's say there's about a half-cup (or just over 100 ml) of crumbs

preheat your oven to 200F (about 90C) with the door closed
take a paper towel and tear it in half
get one half completely wet with water, but squeeze it out enough so it's not dripping
put it in the bag and shake-shake-shake.  this gets a little water more-or-less evenly on the surfaces of the crumbs
remove the wet paper towel and shake the clinging crumbs back into the bag
dump it all on the dry half of the paper towel and roll it up into a sausage shape
set it in the oven on middle of a rack in about the middle of the oven
close the oven door and turn off the oven
wait at least 4 hours
voila, 1 granola roll, i hope


To knead or not to knead, that is the question

In order for dough to bake into nice bread, you must develop a gluten structure that can trap the gas the yeast release as they feed on the flour. You can do this in several ways:

Mechanical action (kneading)
Natural fermentation through yeast

There risks to overdoing it in both cases. If you overknead, see   Are there any negative effects to kneading bread dough longer?

If you overferment (overproof) the dough, the yeast will break down the gluten structure completely and you will have a saggy/gloopy mess that can't contain the escaping gas. See this post.

Many doughs can't develop a good gluten structure without at least some mechanical action, so we typically use a combination. Allowing a natural fermentation (particularly with wild yeast or starter) allows for a more flavorful, easier to digest bread as well.


How to prepare gnocchi dough for mixed ingredients?

You're on the right track!  Start adding your flour in the bowl as you did and when you can remove it without it being too tacky then start working it on a cutting board or countertop as you continue adding more flour.  Sounds like maybe you pulled it out of the bowl too soon.

As for a specific ratio of flour to potatoes/veg. that's going to depend not only on the items you're using, but also cooking method (for instance I recommend baking potatoes for making gnocchi rather than boiling as they will be drier and need less flour added, thus making for a lighter dumpling).

Once you have enough flour in the mix so that you can knead it and work it, I usually do a "stretch" or "tug" test but holding the dough up in the air and with my hands at each end and then kind of pull and push the dough from the ends (hard to explain in text but imagine the push and pull of two magnets you're trying to push together).  If it has a bit of tug and a little elasticity you should be fine.  If it doesn't, then either knead it a bit more, adding flour only if it is sticky.  If it still doesn't have any tug after kneading more, then you probably don't have enough flour.  The gluten in the flour is what's going to help hold it all together so that you don't just end up with disintegrating mashed potato/vegetable blobs in your poaching water.  If you're making a big batch it will probably take longer than you expect to get it to the right consistency.

As for types of flour, the more protein a flour contains the more liquid it can absorb.  While I have not made gnocchi with bread flour, it would take less bread flour than all-purpose to absorb the moisture in the mix.  It will also have a more distinct flavor from the add'l protein.  One caveat is that it could end up making them too tough due to the extra gluten.


What is the correct term for this method of cooking?

I'd say "slow pan roasted stove top".
It's not stewed, it's not braised, it's not pan fried, it's not oven roasted.


A little research seems to suggest that escallion is not scallion :

Escallion - The escallion (Allium ascalonicum L.) is a culinary herb. Grown in Jamaica, it is similar in appearance to the British spring onion, American green onion, Welsh onion and leek, though said by Jamaicans to be more flavourful. Like these others, it is a (relatively) mild onion that does not form a large bulb.
(from Jamaica Cooking Dictionary )

Now ... 'Allium ascalonicum' is not what most countries consider 'scallions' (that'd be the 'Allium fistulosum'); ascalonicum is what we normally call 'shallots' ... so it's possible that they have a variety of shallot (aka 'multipier onion') that's bred for the green tops.
A little further digging suggests that the Allium ascalonicum L. is specifically 'wild onion', which I know I have growing in my lawn (but only really harvestable in the spring, before I start mowing for the season).  It's possible that there are regional variations, but I'd say that wild onion tops are closer to chives, but that might also come from my harvesting them before they've fully matured.
...
All that being said, I substitute things all the time.  I'd probably cut down the amount of onion (or use a milder red or yellow sweet onion), go with chives or shallots, or as @belisarius mentioned, go with leeks.
update: and in walking through my yard today, I noticed that the wild onions are back up above the grass, so at this time of year, you might have a free (and closer) substitute -- if your yard has areas where it looks like densely packed chives, and if you cut some, it'll have an onion-y smell, then you most likely have wild onions.


The "best" ratio of sauce depends on:

The type of vegetables;
The type of sauce;
The quantity of solid food;
Time spent cooking;
Personal preference.

I've made some stir fries with no sauce at all (technically a stir-fry only needs oil) and some with extra sauce, particularly if they're intended to be eaten with bland white rice.  I know you say you can't trust their judgment, but to some degree, you're really going to have to, because there are too many variables to pin it down to a golden ratio.

At the end of the day you're trying to get an even coat on the vegetables (or meat, or whatever) - the thickness of that is again dependent on personal preference.  But even if you make that decision for them, the main ratio affecting the end result isn't based on the weight of the food, or even its volume - it's based on surface area, which is nigh on impossible to measure and guaranteed to be inconsistent between specific preparations.

Stir-fry sauce is extremely cheap to make.  It's pennies per cup.  If you make too much, you can always cook it down, so if you have to pick a number, it's better to err on the side of caution and make too much as opposed to too little.  You can always supplement the real sauce with soy sauce, teriyaki, etc., but that's not the same as a proper stir-fry sauce thickened with tapioca and flavoured with sesame oil and so on.

So pick a number that seems a little high, and instruct the cooks to let it reduce if it seems watery.  They'll be using high heat, so it won't take long to reduce, and the net effect is positive anyway (a stickier, more flavourful sauce).

Personally, I always find 1 generous cup of sauce to be more than enough for a standard-size (14") wok filled with meat and vegetables, assuming it's the kind of stir-fry that you want to be reasonably "saucy", and also assuming it is thickened properly; if you dump a full cup of pure soy sauce in there, you'll just end up with vegetable soup.  I literally use a coffee mug and never measure any of the ingredients, and the difference between one preparation and the next isn't particularly noticeable.

So start with that as a guideline and test the recipe yourself, if you can.  Unless you have extremely precise control over the quantity and quality of the raw ingredients in addition to a precise and well-tested sauce recipe, you won't be able to come up with a reliable ratio.  It's not a question of trust, just practicality; Asian cooking is (at least in my experience) very loosey-goosey and doesn't lend itself well to precise recipes - or inexperienced cooks.


Here are some suggestions-

I usually use freshly prepared spices. By this what I mean is I buy from the market not the powder but the whole spice. For example I buy green chillies from market. I dry them under sun, and then grind them for a fresh chilly powder. Also I use two types of chilli powers Kashmiri, for giving red color but it is not spicy and the spicy chilli powder. I also buy coriander seeds from market and grind them fresh wherever I want to make indian curry. The aroma while grinding is so strong compared to the powder packet spices from market, and obviously this enhances the flavour.
Spices used initially, eg cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, I usually roast them and then grind them. This gives an amazing flavor to my curries. If you are not using these spices, I will recommend you to use them especially for Punjabi Graveys
As you mentioned, you use potatoes. And you fry them before adding to curries. That's good. You can also make holes in potato so that some flavors penetrate inside the potato and it doesn't taste bland.
Whenever I use onions, I chop them finely. This enhance the flavor to a great extent. As chopping them finely and then using them their surface area increases, increasing their flavor.
I hope you use fresh tomato puree.
Whenever you add spices like turmeric, chilli powder, then cook them little while and then you may add little water so that their flavours blend nicely.
You can try adding some curd or cream to your gravy.
However make sure to mix the curd well before adding.
You can try add some cashew pastes, or muskmelon seeds to especially punjabi gravy
Whenever buying vegetables from market, you should one with best flavors. Tomatoes should have sourness and curry leaves should have good flavor. You should smell them before buying.
After I have prepared my gravy I usually give it an oil/ghee tadka. This enhances flavor to a great great extent. By this what I mean is that I heat some oil/ghee in a small pan, add Asofoetida(optional), cumin seeds, curry leaves chilly powder mix well and as they start to sprinkle I quickly pour this is my gravy.
I hope these suggestions help.
Will add more if I remember one.


Can we (safely?) use salmon after storing it (in deep freeze?) for two years or more?

Yes, if it was still OK when it went into the freezer, and has been frozen the whole time, it is still safe. That's true of all foods - if kept frozen, food will remain safe indefinitely. Quality of taste, appearance and texture are likely to have taken hits in that period of time, however.


How can I keep my buttercream from becomming grainy?

This can have different reasons.

How long did you mix it? The transition between grainy and creamy can come late and suddenly, but it should happen eventually.

Was the butter cold? I have been getting the best results with room-temperature butter.

Did you sieve the powdered sugar? If not, that may be the problem. Or did it perhaps get wet at some point and crystallize again?

If all these are NOT the problem, try adding some milk, or if you plan to use it anyway, vanilla essence, in small drops, while stirring.

I hope one of these will help :).


I'm not sure that's the right way to go about this. There are tons and tons of types of cheeses. I'm not sure you'll find a good list of all substitutes because it will be too big to put together.

Instead, I think you need to learn about the types of cheese so that you can make an informed decision. Is a cheese blue, sharp, creamy, hard, soft? How does it melt? What part of the world is it from? Those questions will allow you to find a cheese that is similar enough to make a good substitution.

For instance, if a recipe called for Pecorino a hard Italian cheese, Parmesan (another hard Italian cheese) would make a much better substitute than goat cheese or cheddar.

So see what cheeses are available at your local store. Write down the whole list (and preferably buy some of each). Get home and do a little bit of research on each one. Where is it from? How do people describe it? Take some notes on all of this. Then, when you see a new cheese in a recipe, look it up and see how it's described. Then find a cheese from a similar area with similar characteristics, and you should be good to go.

Edit: While I stand by my approach as a great way to go about this, I did find a good resource. Cook's Thesaurus has a great list of cheeses, including substitutes, broken down by type of cheese, type of milk, hardness, etc.


Preserving colour of vegetables in Chinese hakka noodles

It's quite a simple technique actually, called blanching. You just need to:

Dip the vegetables in boiling water for a short time (10-20 seconds)
Immediately transfer them to ice-water (or cold/running water, if you don't have ice), to stop them from cooking with the carry-over heat. (This is also called shocking), and seperate.
Later, just before serving, combine and heat the vegetables back to the serving temperature.


Why are croissants brushed twice with egg glaze?

In the baked goods where I double-brush, the first layer of eggwash is applied  before a long (cold) proofing. When proofing already formed buns, you don’t want the layer of foil or whatever you are using too tightly on top, both to ensure there’s enough room for expansion and to keep the top „pretty“. The wash will moisten the top of the buns and prevent (or at least reduce) the formation of a skin, which later may interfere with oven spring. It should also keep the crust soft. The second application right before baking is for more shine and extra humidity on the outside, again allowing for maximum oven spring and keeping the crust soft.

I can’t see why the double-brushing would be specific for croissants, in my experience it’s more about proofing and a soft crust.


Are egg whites generally available at the store?

Many stores sell egg whites.  Organic Valley Liquid Egg Whites as an example.

They can be both pasteurized (useful if you want to use the whites in a non-cooked application) and non-pasteurized.

In my US grocery stores, I find egg whites in the refrigerated section, near the eggs in cardboard cartons, similar to those that cream comes in.

Depending on your application, beware of egg substitutes; these aren't quite the same thing.


How do I avoid gummy, unworkable pasta dough?

Michael Rhulman writes: "The pasta dough ratio is 3 parts flour, 2 parts egg.  So I crack 1 egg per serving into a bowl, then multiply that weight by 1.5 and add that much flour."

Try that.

Also, the recipe for extruded pasta is different, most often made with semolina and water...almost always a crumbly texture when entering the extruder.


While sugar makes a liquid thicker, it is not considered a thickening agent.

Sugar is a crystal. When you add it to water, what you get is a simple solution. A solution of a solid in water is always thicker than water. This happens with all kinds of everyday substances. Whenever you add a thick liquid or a solid to a thin liquid, the result is a semi-thick liquid. The "thickening" here is roughly proportional. In that sense, you are not thickening the thin liquid, but creating a mixture whose thickness is the average of the thicknesses of its components.

A thickening agent, on the other hand, really thickens. It does not dissolve in liquid in the sense that it breaks down into ions swimming freely among the polar water molecules, but creates a hydrocolloid, also known as a "gel". This is a very special phase combination in which a few solid strands of matter trap lots of liquid in such a way that the liquid cannot flow easily. This results in a thick consistency.

Because a single molecule of a hydrocolloid building substance can trap lots of water, you can add little amounts of this stuff to create really thick liquids. Starch is added at a ratio of about 1:10 to create pudding, and some others such as xanthan can be used at ratios as low as 1:200 to create a creme and 1:1000 to create a milky-thick liquid out of water. At these consistencies, they rarely have consequences for flavor or nutrition, but really change the texture of your food. This is opposite to dissolving solids like sugar: if you wanted to add enough sugar to get your solution to a milky-thick consistency, you'd have an unbearably sweet liquid. For achieving a creme-like thickness, you actually need a supersaturated sugar solution, which is basically a candy (you'd have to stop heating somewhere below the soft ball stage).

So, while sugar does thicken somewhat, you will not use it for the purpose of thickening. If you were to choose the amount of sugar to add based on how thick you want your food, you will change all of its other properties, starting with making it overly sweet. The exception is when you are making candy: here, you are really using the thickening power of sugar, and you are controlling the amount of sugar such that you get the desired final consistency. Another exception is making jam - while it also has pectin together with the sugar, the amount of sugar is high enough that it also contributes a lot to consistency.


That recipe has a pretty low butterfat content and no real stabilizers, plus a lot of water. Commercial gelato is usually made with low butterfat also but with a lot of stabilizer, sometimes several different kinds. Although gelatin isn't usually used, you can think of how it affects liquid, and stabilizers sort of do the same to compensate for the lack of butterfat. Gelato is also not usually frozen hard, but rather served at a warmer temperature because it generally doesn't freeze well.
I made gelato once by starting with a commercial mix that had stabilizers included, and it came out great. But most of the home recipes I see for gelato either turn out like yours did, or they're really just ice cream recipes with lots of whipping cream but they're calling it gelato -- which they can do, because unlike ice cream, gelato has no regulation as to what percentage of butterfat is required.
If you really want to make gelato, I'd suggest trying to buy a commercial mix, or experiment with stabilizers such as xanthan gum powder.


What pot size for 150 servings of sauce?

I would make up a small test batch and measure the amount of sauce you think is sufficient per person.  It will vary significantly on the type of sauce, how "hearty" or rich it is, and whether you'll have a lot of side dishes or whether spaghetti is the only main dish.

Anyhow, once you decide on a typical portion, then just multiply the amount by 150 to see the total volume.  For a typical example:

If you assume 1/2 cup (4 ounces) per person (probably the absolute minimum you'd need), that would be 4*150 = 600 ounces.  Since there's 32 ounces per quart, that comes to 18.75 quarts
.
If you assume 2/3 cup per person, that's 5.33 ounces*150 = 800 ounces/32 = 25 quarts.  That might be a reasonable assumption for many sauces if there's just a single measured serving given to everyone.

If it's self-serve or "all-you-can-eat" or whatever, you might need a LOT more.

Always remember with a large pot that you'll need to allow space for headroom.  If you want to cook 25 quarts of sauce, I'd use at least a 30-quart pot.

All of that said, unless you have experience cooking with large pots and have access to a stove with sufficient power and room (large pots are very wide and often quite tall), I'd recommend using multiple smaller pots.  Sauce often needs frequent stirring, and that can be difficult with a very tall stockpot or something.  Also, with a very large pot, it can often take a long time for the food to get to an appropriate hot temperature, so be sure your meat sauce is "safe" and heats fast enough.

(EDIT: I would clarify that the above is assuming an "American-style" spaghetti dinner.  Traditional pasta in Italy served with red sauce usually has much less sauce, probably half of the above amounts.  Again, I'd recommend making a test batch and measuring the amount you think is "correct" for your style of dish.)


You can make some sort of bread by adding plenty of the highest protein wheat flour you have. You'll have to judge the hydration when you knead. I'd aim for proportions like a yeast-risen cornbread (or failing that a basic enriched dough) , and make it into rolls, then eat them warm (or reheated). Rising will also be a matter of guesswork/judgment. I find warm bread to be more forgiving when it comes to doneness - a little doughy matters less than when cold. This is even more true if you serve it with soup/chilli/stew for dipping.


How should I interpret this expiry date?

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


Is it normal for the colour of the cooked lentils to change overnight even when they were kept in fridge?

the color change you've observed is from oxidation. If you want to prevent this, lay some plastic wrap over the surface of your lentils to prevent air from getting to them, or add some acid, like lime juice, to the recipe.


What can I mix with a sweet liquor to cut its sweetness?

Add a splash to hot coffee for a fabulous liquor coffee, or use with cold brewed coffee in a Tiramisu dessert. Adding fat (i.e. mascarpone) and bitterness (i.e. coffee) or sourness (i.e. citrus suggested in first answer, or natural yoghurt) will help balance the sweetness.  Also chilling sweet food and drink reduces their detectable sweetness - perhaps make an alcoholic sorbet or frappe.


How long should dry beans be soaked before cooking?

Overnight is ideal, but even an hour or two will help. If you don't have much time, you can speed the processs by using hot water. Tap water, and not salted - salt toughens the skin of beans if it used before they are cooked. Most folks discard the soaking water, as it is thought to produce flatulence. Also, if you have a pressure cooker, you can cook dried beans without a pre-soak and get great results.


Oven temperatures are conventions and really mean little.  Plus, typical home ovens vary widely, so that when you set the dial to 350, the interior can easily fluctuate between 330 and 370, and that is when your oven is correctly calibrated, which few are! So, it is probably not getting to the temperature that the readout says.  An oven thermometer can help get you in the ball park...but...no big deal...You are on the right track using a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of your food. Be sure to calibrate your probe thermometer to make sure it is accurate.  Then, you are just going to have to get a feel for your particular oven, by setting the temperature a little higher and/or leaving food in a bit longer.  Take note, and you should soon recognize a pattern that you can work with.


I have two days to thaw a 16 pound turkey; Can I start thawing it in cold water, and do the rest in the fridge?

It's fine to thaw for a few (or several) hours under cold water and then put it in the refrigerator. Just keep the water cold and refrigerate immediately upon removing the turkey from the water. The USDA and Butterball are being extremely overly conservative, most likely because a lot of people are really bad at following instructions. Cold water good - warm water not good

As a matter of fact, defrosting under slowly running cold water for several hours now, and refrigerating until time to cook is exactly what I would do.

I happen to live in a part of the world where I can be guilt-free about slowly running cold water for hours. There is no such thing as a water shortage here, the melting glaciers are extraordinarily huge. Thawing a turkey that way in some parts of the world (and even here in the US) would be an environmentally unsound way to do it. So in those parts of the world, be sure to buy frozen turkeys several days in advance so there is plenty of time to defrost in the refrigerator.


Advantages of cooking vegetables before or after freezing them

Some vegetables will need to be blanched (parcooked) for best results before freezing; freezing them raw results in enzymatic decay that affects quality.

Freezing a finished dish has the advantage that you can work with the ingredient as a fresh one, eg you can match cut sizes to the dish and it might stay more firm while cooked.
Freezing ingredients gives you freedom of what to do with them later, albeit preparing them optimally can be trickier - freeze fine cuts and you can't have large pieces when needed, freeze big pieces and they might freeze slow (affecting quality) and can be difficult to cut smaller (cutting frozen veg is hard, thawing takes time).


Nonstick pans blistering after dishwasher?

How old is the piece? Is the piece actually rated for the dishwasher?

I don't know what the latest stuff is rated for, but I've always been under the impression that non-stick coatings are pretty fragile, and that while they are better today than ever before, I just assume that I'm not supposed to dishwasher them.

Assuming that it is rated for the dishwasher, this seems odd, unless the pan was a bit old, and the coating had degraded somewhat, allowing it to fail in this way.

I REALLY think you should contact the manufacturer about this - they should have some clue what happened, and should be able to give you hints on prevention.


Can I turn my unset jelly into cactus fruit gummies instead?

Yes, but you can also reprocess the jelly and see if it will set. See this article for more info: http://www.pickyourown.org/how_to_fix_runny_jam.htm

If you want to make gummies, usually gelatin is used. You'll need unflavored gelatin for that. I've used this recipe with success, but they are pretty firm, so you may need to play around with the amount of gelatin. (Also, I wouldn't add more sugar since you've probably already added some when you tried to make jelly).
https://elanaspantry.com/gummy-bears/


If you want soft and moist, you need egg yolks. Their emulsifier and fat content makes dough pliable, soft and smooth, and retains moisture.

Egg whites dry out a dough. This is sometimes desirable, e.g. in pate a choux. Eclairs made with whole eggs often have wet planes in the middle, resulting in an underbaked impression. If you remove some yolks from the dough and use a mixture of whole eggs and egg whites, you get a firmer, drier dough. But in many cases, people want softer, moister end products, and in such cases, recipes which increase the ratio of egg yolks to egg whites (by using more yolks than whole eggs, or yolks only) will give you a better result.


What has a cooler got to do with sous-vide cooking?

Coolers (chilly bins) are ideal sous-vide cooking vessels as they are well insulated, and thus conserve energy and avoid temperature varying across the water bath.

Most sous-vide cooking happens at less than 80°C (176°F), so the plastic will stand up fine.

Many commercial clip on sous-vide cookers are only suitable for fish tank style containers (thin walled). These tanks look pretty, but waste a lot of energy, and can struggle to keep the same temperature throughout all the water. An interchangeable clip, or wide reach clip is more useful for coolers or other insulated vessels.

Specifically with the Chefsteps Joule sous-vide cooker: it seems to have a powerful magnet in its foot, so if you place a sheet of coated steel on the bottom of your cooler, you won't even need a clip.


Both arborio and carnaroli are used to make risotto.

If you are making risotto the proper way with adding in your stock over time you will be able to control how much liquid overall goes into the rice and therefore be able to adjust your overall liquid amount as time progresses. Carnaroli has a higher starch content than arborio, but if you mix them together and make risotto I am sure it will turn out just fine and no body will notice. Yes they are different grains, but not enough difference to change things.

About Carnaroli

Older discussion re: Carnaroli vs arborio


Is there a way to properly steel-cut oats yourself?

Seems like you should consider investing in a grain mill.

They come in a wide variety of options from manual to electric and they have different settings for how fine a grind you can get. While many of them may not grind as coarse as needed for cereals, there are many, particularly the manual mills, that do.

You probably want a burr-style mill... they're essentially the same thing as most pepper mills or good-quality coffee mills. Find one that does very coarse grain milling... perhaps check with homebrewing groups to see which they recommend, as milling is part of the brewing process.

I'm not sure you'll get the same results as a true steel cut, as it's a factory process but it will certainly be more consistent than your current results.


There are two levels to this question. If you are using modern whipping cream as a starting point, then the trick for a longer lasting whipped cream is stabilization. If this is some farm bought milk you are skimming the cream from, then you have the additional problem that your cream is not fatty enough. Modern creams are concentrated with a centrifuge.

To get good whipped cream, whip it cold until it doubles in volume and you get firm peaks. Stabilize the whipped cream by hanging it in a cheese cloth in the refrigerator or by adding gelatin.To use the gelatin, dissolve 2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin into 2 tablespoons of cold water. Work out the lumps. After the gelatin expands, mix in a quarter cup of cream and heat the mixture to dissolve the gelatin.  Cool over ice and mix a bit. Complete 2 cups of cream and proceed as you would to finish your whipped cream.


Where do you find gums, acids and glucose ingredients?

Many of those are available online; that's certainly where my wife and I have obtained most of these sorts of ingredients. That's usually the "quickest" way to get them, in the sense of least effort to find something (not necessarily quickest to actually arrive of course).  Citric Acid, Gum Arabic, etc. are easily available in "moderate" quantities (think a pound or so) online.

Some are also available at larger grocers, depending on exactly what you're looking for.  If you're in a larger city, there are also often specialty stores that carry some of these ingredients; especially if they're frequently used in a particular culture's cuisine, for example there is a Korean market near my work that has quite a lot of specialty ingredients that I can't find easily elsewhere or even easily find online in moderate quantities.  Look in the "bulk" area of the store - next to the bulk nuts and seeds and such; often you'll find other powders, like many of the gums and acids.

I'd also check with the larger spice shops - while what you're describing isn't a spice, sometimes they'll carry them anyway due to the similarities (and, probably, the similar distributors).  I've found for example gum arabic at my local (larger) spice store.


What ingredients do Bernaise sauce and fruit smoothies have in common?

Bernaise = butter, egg, vinegar (usually white wine), salt, pepper, and herbs.  It would surprise me if any of those things were in your smoothie. So, based on the information you provided, I would say they have nothing in common. Beyond that, you would have to go the the Smoothie King, and the steak house, and ask for a list of ingredients to see if there is something out of the ordinary in their recipes.  Maybe you should just go see your physician.


Unopened shredded cheese gets soggy in the fridge

Traditionally, mozzarella is  sold extremely fresh - as in made that day or the day before. If it's held for more than a day or so, it comes packaged in a brine. Most of the American stuff is just too soft to be held for packaging like other shredded cheese in the mega-mart.

In the US, being extreme gluttons for convenience, we tend to make do with part-skim shredded mozzarella instead of the good stuff. Slight temperature variations can make the shreds stick together in a globby mass. It's harmless from a safety point of view, and the expiry date can be long after the occurrence of perfectly safe globbiness.

Pro-Tip: Put the globby pieces in the freezer for 20 minutes, and then shred it like a block of harder cheese. Upon heating, it will melt (almost) as if the the globbiness had never happened. I have taken advantage of a few good sales that way. Mozzarella will become... ehem... colorful before it becomes unsafe.

While this answer is more for mozzerella than for other types of cheese; the last paragraph works for any mega-mart shredded cheese.


Is there a machine for thick shredded carrots for home use (not grated)?

I think this might be the closest to what you are looking for... it's a food processor attachment for the KitchenAid Stand Mixers. Of course, you might look for new blades to use with your existing processor (they might offer blades that cut sticks instead of shreds).


You've pretty much answered your own question. Put the PB in a blender, drizzle in a little peanut oil, blitz and season to taste with salt and a little sugar if you want it. I'd add them all slowly: you can always add, you can't take away.


I would make it with a duck demi-glace or some simmered down duck stock, juice from a bitter orange, and perhaps a bit of Grand Marnier or other orange liquer. If you're looking for a Chinese influence, you could simmer it with a star anise or two.

There are any number of duck a l'orange recipes online (duck and goose are fairly similar flavour wise) if you need inspiration.


How should I store homemade salad dressing?

Yes, you should refrigerate. Shelf life of foods which can be stored warm is determined by the fact that they are missing something which bacteria need to survive. For example, flour is missing water.

When you mix up several ingredients which can be kept in the pantry separately, you never know when you will be adding back into the mixture whatever was missing into the first place. Actually, you have a high chance of doing just that, because bacteria and humans find the same stuff tasty. When you make it more palatable for you, you are probably making it more palatable for them.

Bottom line: unless you know very well what you are doing, always refrigerate mixtures. They have a shelf life of 3-5 days in the fridge. It doesn't matter what the shelf life of the individual components was.


How can I prep a large amount of garlic quickly?

The quickest way to peel lots of garlic is placing a bunch of cloves in a large metal bowl, placing another metal bowl of the same size upside down on top, holding them together and shaking vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Most of the peels should come loose and it will be fairly simple to separate out the garlic cloves from the peels. They can then be chopped quickly either by hand or with a food processor. I would strongly advise against not peeling them. The peel is not dangerous, but it is tough and papery even with cooking. Your dish would be sprinkled with tiny inedible papery flakes which would be very unappetising.


Do I need to cook the meat filling before stuffing ravioli?

Yes, cook the meat before stuffing into the ravioli.  If you are worried about your mixture being too fatty (which I didn't experience with a non-traditional beef and bacon ravioli), make sure to drain the meat well after cooking, perhaps patting it with clean paper towels to remove excess grease.


How can I cold smoke without any of the equipment?

There are smoke extract products available, such as Liquid Smoke and others with the type of wood smoke flavor desired being specified. With only a few hours to work with, you may wish to inject the solutin to speed up penetration into the meat. Brine or marinade diluents may be options to explore depending on your desired outcome.

Even so, minimal " equipment " such as the injection syringe and a container with some means of covering for the leg would be helpfull, or at least a foil or other wrapping for the
lamb to keep juice in and atmosphere out.


That's the first thing I did with my Anova circulator.

It turns chuck into ribeye! (so to speak) Notice no grey border? And the perfect medium rare?!

I don't know about sous-vide cooking chuck as a roast (although I do have a recipe), because I haven't done it (yet). It turned out so great as a steak that I'll probably do at least one more as steaks before I do a roast. I live alone so I'd rather have 5 steaks vacuum packed in the freezer than 1 beautifully cooked roast.

That is chuck, circulated for 60 hours (no joke, although I did one for 36 hours that was almost as good) at 131F. The long time is necessary to break down all of that delicious connective tissue.

Then I seared in a NASA hot cast iron skillet.

It was so good! I sprinkled with salt and pepper just before I seared, that was all the seasoning I used. Great steak for the price of hamburger :)

Good luck! Enjoy!


Are all stainless pans necessarily non stick?

I would go further than the other answers and even say that it is the opposite of your understanding:
The terms "non-stick pan" and "stainless steel pan" are mostly mutually exclusive in their usage. That is, when a cook speaks of a stainless steel pan, or a product description is titled as a stainless steel pan, this is usually taken to mean that the pan has no non-stick coating.
I am saying "mostly", because technically, they are not mutually exclusive, they are orthogonal. You can have a stainless steel pan with or without nonstick coating, and pans of another material with or without nonstick coating. This is why you can still see a product page which has the title of "nonstick pan" and somewhere in the description you will see the material listed as "stainless steel". But this is a minor detail, if you go shopping for a "stainless steel pan" you will almost certainly get only pans without a coating.
Pan materials and coatings can be a confusing topic, and if you have never experienced them live, you may not be able to recognize them from a picture. In your situation, it might be better to buy a pan offline, from a specialized store, and ask a salesperson to show you the different materials so you can start recognizing them. Just don't believe any claim the salesperson or the packaging makes about the durability of nonstick coatings, be it the teflon or the ceramic kind.


Should the oven temperature be the same for smaller batch?

Keep the oven temperature the same, as a good hot oven is necessary for the loaf to 'spring' (ie inflate somewhat). Just reduce the cooking time accordingly.


I've found stones in dried beans, so it's no myth.  Not common, but I'd say I find one every year or two.  If you simply swallowed a small stone, it would almost certainly pass without harm, but as TFD pointed out in his comment, biting down on one could be an expensive and painful dental experience.  What I do is spread the beans out on a kitchen towel in a single layer.  For dark beans, I use a light-colored towel and vice-versa for light beans.  It's very easy to spot any foreign objects that way and it takes less than a minute, so it's worth doing in my opinion.  You can then easily toss the beans into a pot by just picking up the four corners of the towel and dumping them in.

I should add that I've found little balls of dried dirt far more often than actual stones.  Those would most likely dissolve and get washed away when you rinsed the beans, but it demonstrates that stones can be in there.


Is there any cleaning utensil that is comparable to fingernails?

Try searching for "pan scrapers." I have a pair from Lodge that has served me well, though you can find almost identical scrapers without the branding.

These are essentially equivalent to the scrapers mentioned by ChrisH, but with curves to make it easier to clean the edges of your pans


Why would IQF shrimp say "do not force thaw under running water"?

Three possibilities that I can think of:

If the water weren't cool enough and they were big shrimp, it could raise them to a temperature at which bacteria could develop.
If the water were actually warm or hot, it could start to cook the shrimp.
If the shrimp were defrosted directly under water, not in a bag, they could absorb some of the water and the texture would become mushy.

So of course Costco could write "If you defrost the shrimp under water, make sure they're in a bag and the water is cold." But perhaps they feel that people are more likely to read a warning than an instruction, so their current wording is safer.

Just guessing, anyway, but a quick Google search doesn't turn up anything more likely or useful!


How can I figure out fat content in quark cheese?

Do you have access to similar but more precisely labelled brands? I'm thinking you could use them to calibrate a measurement based on density - weigh a precisely measured volume of a couple of brands with a known fat content and interpolate.

It won't be perfect because the composition of the remaining water/protein mix won't be perfectly consistent.


What's the purpose of clarifying butter?

You can heat clarified butter to a higher temperature for two reasons -- you remove the milk solids, which can burn, and you remove the water, which will boil at 100°C and cause spattering.

In baking, clarified butter's lack of water means that it can't develop gluten as you would with simple melted butter.  It's actually more similar to other oils than it is to melted butter when baking.

In the case of ghee, my understanding is that because it's from a warm country, part of the reason for making it was as a preservative, as the ghee would have a longer shelf-life  (months) than standard butter in the local climate.


What can I make with corn flake that is no longer crispy?

You can crisp them up again in a hot oven for a few minutes (exact temperature not too important, spread them out thinly on a baking sheet and take them out before they burn).  I'd then go on to make a normal cornflake cake recipe of your liking straight away, to avoid having the same problem again.


Can I use wood from a camphor tree for a barbecue?

It seems that the wood is fast burning, which may not be ideal for a barbecue. Additionally, the wood will probably burn smelling of camphor, which could (will) give your food some of that taste.

I can't find anything related to the safety aspect, but several sources say not to eat things with camphor in them, and that breathing it in large doses can be toxic.

I probably wouldn't use it for that purpose.


How to fry Italian sausages without producing so much smoke?

Use less heat.

It's not clear if you used any fat here. If you do, you have to be aware of the smoke point of whatever oil you're using.

By turning down the heat you'll decrease the amount of fat you are burning, and turning into smoke. If you want to still get a nice crisp exterior you can briefly sear your sausages on high heat prior to fully cooking. Although, his might be irrelevant since you don't really get good sears with a non-stick surface.


You probably have already eaten it by now, but the general answer is probably:

(1) Yes, you can generally add fresh bones or other things to a pre-existing stock/broth and cook it some more.  This is traditionally called a "double stock," and is sometimes deliberately used by chefs to get a more concentrated flavor.

(2) "Would it be okay?"  Mostly, yes.  It shouldn't ruin anything.  However, there are some flavors that will begin to break down with prolonged cooking.  So if your broth included some more subtle vegetable or herbal notes, for example, they might be lessened if you continued to cook it for a long time.  If I planned to do this, I would taste the stock again about an hour or so before I planned for it to be done and add back additional fresh flavor components if necessary to rebalance it.


I think you will get the 'best result' out of 'par baking' your rolls. I have done this myself, though not for shipping. It is simply easier to make a large batch and then store them for use as needed. IMHO rolls are best served hot and fresh, and while re-heating fully baked rolls can recapture some of the glory that is fresh baked bread, allowing your customers to finish bake a partially baked product will give them the convenience of truly fresh rolls on demand. The technique (and recipe, for my part) I picked up from Alton Brown, in the episode of Good Eats: Roll Call. Alton's recipe for Parker House Rolls includes a par baking option:

  For Brown and Serve option:

  Assemble rolls as above, but bake as follows.

  Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

  Bake until the outside of the rolls just begin to set but have not
  browned and the internal temperature is 185 degrees, about 30 minutes.
  Remove and cool on the pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove
  the rolls from the pan and place on a cooling rack until they are room
  temperature, 30 to 40 minutes. Place the rolls in bags and freeze for
  up to 3 months.

  To Finish:

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Thaw the rolls for 60 to 90
  minutes.

  Spray a sheet pan with nonstick spray. Place the rolls on the prepared
  sheet pan and bake until the rolls reach an internal temperature of
  200 degrees F. Rotate the pan halfway through baking, 10 to 12
  minutes. Remove the pan to a cooling rack and cool for 2 to 3 minutes
  before serving.

The key 'take-aways' that you will want to apply are:

Bake to internal temp of 185°F
Cool to Room Temp
Freeze for up to 3 months


Well, for a start it's not really goulash without paprika. Having visited Hungary numerous times I'd also say it's not really goulash with ground meat, turkey sausage, corn, egg noodles, salsa or cheese either, but each to his/her own.

Thyme is always nice in stew-style dishes, as is a bay leaf. Other than that just salt and pepper.


Normally if you want to increase chewiness and softness, you increase your egg and fat.  Also, instead of using water, use milk.  These are blanket rules, having no idea what your specific issue is.  Also, try using a flour that has lower protein count.  You don't want a bread flour for cookies, cakes, biscuits - pastries in general.  Of course if you are stuck with a bread flour, make sure to undermix your ingredients.  The more you mix, the more gluten is produced.  This is what you want for breads, but not the structure you are looking for in pastries, etc.


Why is pork pink after roasting to 205 F?

Color is not necessarily an accurate indicator of doneness.  The only way to check this is to be sure that your thermometer is accurate, and that you placed the probe at the center of your roast.  You can check the accuracy by using ice water (or boiling water...ice water is safer).


Where to order whole-wheat flour(NOT ATTA) in India?

We buy wheat grains and get it milled at a local flour mill. This way we can ensure the texture that we desire and also the quality. Time consuming but worth it. Not to mention the reduced cost.


You would use raw corn. You can either grill it on the cob, or use a mesh grill roasting pan.


I haven't cooked beef for a while, but a wooden spatula works very well, as it can break up clumps and is safe for non stick. I prefer the straight shape of the one I've got to any of my nylon spatulas, that are more designed for lifting.

The second implement matters less, but I may use a slotted nylon spoon so it's ready to lift the meat out of the fat, or if I'm not going to do that, a wooden spoon.


secret ingredient in a restaurant bolognese

If you are missing an umami note, it's possible you are missing a very common ingredient in bolognese - chicken livers. These give a meaty, almost sweet flavour. Soak them in water for a few minutes, then finely chop or pulse in a food processor. I use minced (ground) pork, beef and chicken livers.

You might also try adding pancetta, to add a smoky tinge.


Chia seeds as replacement of oil in bakery

According to Pure Goodness:

  Chia gel can substitute for half the butter in most recipes! The food
  will bake the same and taste the same (or better) from the addition of
  the chia gel. All you need to do is divide the amount of butter or oil
  in half, and then use the same amount of chia gel to fill in. [...] Everything from cookies to cakes to muffins, pancakes and
  waffles can be made with chia gel as your butter replacement.

Other sites bracket this range, recommending 25% replacement of the butter or oil (some indicating that it is very hard to tell the difference at this ratio) to as much as 75% (but that is fairly unusual); 50% seems to be the most common recommendation.

My survey of sites shows that most recommend making Chia Gel with a 1:9 ratio of seeds to liquid (usually water).  The instructions at Health Central are fairly typical:

  Put water in a sealable plastic container and slowly pour seed into
  water while briskly mixing with a wire whisk. This process will avoid
  any clumping of the seed. Wait a couple of minutes, whisk again and
  let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Whisk again before using or storing in
  refrigerator (Gel will keep up to 2 weeks).


If Wikipedia is to be trusted (and in this case, their source is the FDA), there is in fact a toxin in some raw beans, such as kidney beans.

  The toxic compound phytohaemagglutinin, a lectin, is present in many
  common bean varieties, but is especially concentrated in red kidney
  beans. White kidney beans contain about a third as much toxin as the
  red variety; broad beans (Vicia faba) contain 5 to 10% as much as red
  kidney beans.3

  Phytohaemagglutinin can be deactivated by boiling beans for ten
  minutes; the ten minutes at boiling point (100 °C (212 °F)) are
  sufficient to degrade the toxin, but not to cook the beans. For dry
  beans, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also recommends an
  initial soak of at least 5 hours in water, which should then be
  discarded.3

During the pressure-canning process beans undergo (they are fully cooked in the can), the toxin is certainly deactivated.  Canned beans are ready to eat, even cold, although they probably taste better hot, and with some flavor from a sauce or accompanying dish.

The danger would be in slow-cooking dry beans of this variety, which have never been previously cooked.


Often, yogurt will drain away excess liquid in that length of time, thickening the yogurt. If left to drain overnight, a lot of yogurts will drain away a huge quantity of whey (yogurt water), some yogurts will hardly release any. If your yogurt didn't release whey, that just means that it was good and thick to begin with. That's great, but don't assume that your next container of yogurt will be the same way, even if you get the same brand. If you drain yogurt and it releases whey it will be a lot thicker than it was before you drained it, making the resulting marinade thicker in the bargain.

In the US, that's the major difference between Greek yogurt and "regular" yogurt like Yoplait original. Greek yogurt is thicker because it has been strained. "Real" Greek yogurt may also use different cultures, I don't know, but in this country the difference between Greek and "regular" is straining.

Welcome to Seasoned Advice!


Serious Eats describes pork brisket this way:

  Pork brisket is simply a substantial part of a boned-out picnic ham.

Although ham generally refers to a cured/cooked product, "picnic ham" here refers to the lower part of the pork shoulder:

  Guide to Pork Cuts

  ...

  Pork Picnic Shoulder This comes from the lower part of the pig's shoulder. It's usually made into smoked hams, but fresh picnic shoulder makes for very juicy barbecued pulled pork.

  Source: http://austinsfarm.com/GuidetoPork.cfm

Pork shoulder is a very fatty cut that should be cooked "low and slow" in order to render the fat and break down tough connective tissues. Since beef brisket is also a fatty cut with lots of connective tissue, cooking methods appropriate for beef brisket should also be great for pork brisket (e.g., roasting, smoking or braising).

The US health department recommends cooking both pork and beef roasts to the same internal temperature of 145 F (63 C) with 3 minutes of resting time. So apart from the differences in texture and flavor that you would expect between pork and beef, you can probably treat these cuts as equivalent.


Do popovers serves as the starch and the bread in a meal?

I personally would skip the potatoes. Though bread is a standard accompaniment for meals, unless the bread is interesting I fail to see the point. So if you do have an interesting bread, skip the other starchy parts of the dish as unnecessary.


Prevent syneresis effect in agar-agar fruit jam

Unfortunately, syneresis is a byproduct of an agar gel.  It is the nature of the molecular structure formed in the gel.  This can be desirable, especially when using agar as a clarifying agent, however, not good for your jam.  According to www.molecularrecipes.com, you can prevent this by replacing 0.1 - 0.2 percent agar with locust bean gum. I see you've tried this, but it is the common wisdom/suggestion. Maybe up the lbg a little? Alternate thickeners are gelatin, arrowroot or chia seeds.


Well it's possible they are over ripe. Acorn squash should be dark green or mostly so when it's ready to eat. It turns orange when it's ripe, but just like many circubits and cucirbits (squashes and melons(including cucumber)) you don't want to eat them when they are ripe, you eat them before they start to ripen.

How you store them makes a difference in the long term but not so much in the short term. Last year we had a batch of acorn squash that was thin and stringy and not tasty just like you described. I think they didn't get enough water at the farm that grew the Walmart acorn squashes.

On the other hand, I have held on to acorn squashes for 2 years in the cool, and dark and they were still quite tasty.

Just try again, but try a different source for them for now.


How are fresh fish shipped across continents?

If the fish is fresh (not frozen) then it will typically be put in insulated or double-insulated packaging with dry ice and/or gel packs and flown to its destination.


Container for keeping butter/chocolate at 74°F/66°F (23°C/19°C)?

One option might be using either a mini-fridge or wine cooler, and the addition of an external temperature controller, which overrides the internal temperature setting. Combined, the cost would be at or under your $200 target. Here's an example of Johnson Controls Digital Thermostat Control Unit (on Amazon)


What are sugar-free sweets actually made from?

It appears that he main ingredients of sugar free Polo Mints are:

Sorbitol - a non-sugar (technically a sugar alcohol) sweetener with less calories per gram than sucrose, about 2.6 kilo-calories per gram compared to sugar's 3.9.  E420 in Europe.
Magnesium stearate - this appears to not be metabolizable.  E470b in Europe.
Mint oils

I did a quick check of UK labeling laws, and it appears all ingredients must be listed.

So the answer is:  the sugar substitute itself, sorbitol provides some of the bulk of the candy, with most of the rest being the magnesium stearate.


bread dough rising without airing cupboard

Use your oven. If you wish, turn the oven on at its lowest temperature for about 10 minutes before you want to rise your dough. Then turn it off and place your dough inside.

Another trick is to add a pan of warm water to the bottom of your oven while the dough rises -- this increases the humidity which may help with rising.


Throw the lot away. Mold is not always visible but when it is, the mycelium may be present in the entire substance, especially in foods with high moisture content. Eating the mycelium can make you sick and it can continue to develop mold after you've cut the moldy parts away.


How to scale chicken recipe that requires cooking in a single layer?

Short answer, no. If you're going to saute something in a pan it's going to have a different flavor than if you were to bake it in the oven (and you don't get the same reduction effect that you'll get by using a pan over a medium-high heat). that said, there's nothing that says you can't bake it, it just won't taste exactly the same, and will be thinner. If you want identical results, you need an identical process. You could always put another pan on the stove


Are there a better ways to crush biscuits/cookies than a rolling pin?

Generally, I've only heard of the plastic bag or the food processor.

I have seen people who just bash the packet of biscuits on the kitchen top. Jamie Oliver likes to do that with slabs of chocolate!

Otherwise use a heavy duty snack-lock bag or else wrap the plastic bag in a tea towel.

It helps to have a small hole for the air to escape.


How to remove bits of egg shell from a cracked egg?

Use part of the shell you just cracked to scoop it up; it will attract the broken bit.

Also, if you frequently end up with bits of shell in your eggs, you should revise your cracking technique. Eggs should be cracked on a flat surface (countertop or plate) not a sharper surface like the edge of a bowl.


what thickener has the most waxy consistency?

If you’re looking into hydrocolloids, the best you can get will be a iota (0.45%) and kappa (0.35%) gel, which is used to coat food with a firm gel.

I think you’re thinking into the right direction in getting a real waxy texture will go through exploring lipids and lipcolloids (I don’t really know if there are food applications though).


To understand the Food.com recipe you referenced, I compared it to the Libby's recipe which sets the benchmark for pumpkin pies.

              Food.com     Libby's

Raw measurements

Pumpkin       6 c          2 c
Sugar         2 c          0.75 c
Eggs          8            2
Dairy         4.5 c        1.5 c

Pseudo-bakers percentages (eggs as ratio of cups pumpkin to eggs)

Pumpkin       100%         100%
Sugar         33%          38%
Eggs          1 : 1.33     1 : 1
Dairy         75%          75%

As you can see, other than creating a huge volume of filling per shell, the Food.com recipe you used is quite similar.  The main difference is that it adds a lot more egg, so should set up more firmly.

It does seem to produce far, far too much filling for the number of shells specified, even if they are deep-dish.

I would suggest baking the extra filling in ramekins or baking dishes as pumpkin custard for any surplus after you have filled your shells.

Don't add more ingredients to the filling, though; they are approximately balanced already.  Remember, pumpkin pie is a custard, and the filling will be quite liquid before it is baked.


Squash Casserole: Reducing the water content?

I've roasted vegetables to address the same issue; it definitely works for eggplant and squash. All you have to do is spread them out over a baking sheet or two (if they're piled up the moisture won't escape as well) and roast at say 425F until they're mostly cooked, a bit shrunken down, and obviously not as wet.

Your idea of grilling should work fine too, just maybe a little more work. (...unless you speak British English so grill means broil in American English in which case, basically the same thing.)

The only other thing I can think of is salting it and leaving it out to dry on paper towels, but that sounds like a lot of effort, so unless you really want the squash still raw I'd just precook it.


Is There A Better Way Than Straining To Clarify Lard and Tallow?

When I have rendered lard, I have generally just heated the solids with just a little water at the bottom of the pan over low heat.  I never let it get to a boil, and this does take a long time.  When the fat is all liquid, I pour it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a second vessel, then pour the strained liquid into jars.  I have not had issues with impurities - my rendered lard is very clear and white.  I have found straining to be very effective.

You don't mention the amount of heat or exact process you are using, so I can't speculate as to what your exact situation is, but it's possible you are trying to do this over too high heat.