Kimchi versus pickles: sterilized containers?

Sure. The containers should be clean, but because it's an active fermentation (very similar to sauerkraut, other than the ingredient lists typically differing) the salt suppresses the activity of certain undesirable bacteria more than the desirable ones (which are naturally present on the plant leaves), and then desirable ones take over and make things highly acidic, (lactic and acetic acids) which also makes bad bacteria unhappy. If you are using an appropriate jar, the CO2 given off by the action of the friendly bacteria also make it anaerobic. And that's how (Kimchee, sauerkraut, fermented pickles) work.

Mind you, I figure all the "good bacteria" I need are on the leaves, and tend to steam (and then cool) my container, but I do go for overkill sometimes.

Vinegar pickles are not fermented - it's just fruit and enough vinegar to make an acidic environment (which makes the bad bacteria unhappy, still) and then heat processing to try and kill off as many bacteria of all strains as possible.

I'm not quite up for writing a tome, and many tomes have been written on the subject.


How much fat should be added to venison when making sausage?

Michael Rhulman recommends 3 parts meat to one part fat when making sausage.


How can I make dry coconut from fresh coconut meat?

Fresh coconut meat is approximately 47% water (Basic Report of Raw Coconut Meat from the USDA National Nutrient Database. I would imagine you could grate fresh coconut meat and spread it on a cookie sheet to dry in an oven. I'd keep it on the lowest setting possible - no more than 150° F (65° C), otherwise it may turn out to taste more toasted. Stir it a number of times to evenly dry.

Since I've never done it, I have no idea how long it would take but I think not more than a day. Hopefully, someone else may have tried it already. Are you sure freshly grated coconut couldn't be substituted?


Cheap cheese is tasteless. Can I make it tastier in my mac and cheese?

Cheap cheese is, as others have explained, cheap for a reason.

You should be able to find old/extra old (AKA "sharp"/"extra sharp") cheddar cheese in the cheap section, which makes a reasonably good starting point - this cheese does have some flavour.

Daniel says he simmers the milk; I generally start with evaporated milk, which is even more economical than regular milk and keeps in the pantry forever.  Although I would not use evaporated milk in just any recipe calling for milk, it happens to work quite well for Mac 'n Cheese.

Other common additions to help offset the lack of flavour in poorly-aged cheeses are:

Salt. Remember, salt is essentially a flavour enhancer and will bring out the natural taste of any other ingredient.
Mustard.  Prepared mustard is OK, but concentrated mustard made from dry mustard and a small amount of water is even better, so you can avoid having to add too much liquid.  This doesn't enhance the flavour of the cheese, but it does share some of the "sharpness" associated with cheddar and makes a good complement.  As a bonus, it also acts as a natural emulsifier for the sauce, helping to minimize separation and curdling.
Ground cayenne or red pepper.  Although most people probably don't associate Mac 'n Cheese with piquant, a small amount of this won't make the sauce noticeably spicy, but it will add a bit of the same "kick" you get with very old cheese.

If all else fails, my "secret weapon" for Mac 'n Cheese is - not kidding - the sauce base from Kraft Dinner (AKA Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner for you Yankees), especially if you can get the "extra sharp" version.  This stuff is dirt cheap (often just 99 cents for a package) and before you dismiss this as heresy, keep in mind that the idea is not to use the whole thing.  Just a teaspoon or two to enhance your homemade sauce.  If you don't approve of such shortcuts then you shouldn't be buying cheap cheese in the first place, right?

So there you have it.  Try some or all of the above; I'm sure you'll end up with something that's at least acceptable, if not great.


Expiration dates on milk are not intended for open containers. Any open milk is only good for 3-5 days. After that, it is not safe for drinking, and taste is not guaranteed either.

Many people seem to not know that. Traditionally, you could only buy HTST pasteurized milk, which has 7-10 days of usable time altogether. It spent 2-3 days on its way to the customer, and if a milk opened on day 3 after production went off on day 8, nobody wondered, because it was on or just before the expiration date.

Today, you get also ESL milks and nut milks, which have a much longer life in the closed container. But once you open them, they start acting like any other food - they are only good for 3-5 days in the fridge, no longer. The expiration date doesn't matter for open foods.


Can I freeze left over Shake & Bake coating mix after it's used?

You can freeze any shake&bake coating if it has not been used.I would think there would be a strong possibility of bacterial contamination (which is not killed in the freezing process.)


Firm cheeses like cheddar can make excellent material for sculpting, which sounds like what you're after. If you really mean sharpening, well... you'll need a very hard cheese, like an aged Parmagianno Reggiano or Romano to get a good sharp edge, and even then it'll require frequent honing to keep the edge in good condition.


Is there a device that can be used to grate coconut and sweet potatoes electrically?

Check this out:

Presto 02910 SaladShooter Electric Slicer/Shredder

I haven't used it personally, but two of the top 3 reviews mention using it for grating both potatoes and coconuts.  There's also a "professional" version that's probably a bit more versatile/reliable.

Considering how silly the idea sounds, it seems to have gotten some pretty rave reviews and is also inexpensive.  So give it a try maybe?


"Tahini Sauce" and "Taratour Sauce", which are sauces based on tahini, are often simply called "tahini".  Generally the recipe is tahini, lemon juice, salt, and optionally herbs and/or garlic.

Example recipes:

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dipsandsauces/r/tahinisauce.htm
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2009/11/simple_tahini_sauce.php


Does liquid temperature matter when making bread in a bread maker?

With a bread maker, it's important to follow the recipe closely, at least until you've got a reliable result , when you can start experimenting.

Mine, for example, expects "tepid" water for most programs, which the book defines as 20-25°C. The super rapid program requires 46-51°C. Cooler and there won't be time for the yeast to get going, much hotter and the yeast will be killed before it starts to work.  This also means the super-rapid program can't be used with a delayed start, as the water would cool.

As a very general rule, slower programs will be more forgiving on temperature if you don't have a suitable thermometer and don't trust your estimation.

You can get a very good idea of the temperature of the water if you mix boiling with room temperature, in known proportions, taking a weighted average. For example that super rapid program could use 2 parts room temperature to one part boiling, mixed before it reaches the yeast. If room temp is 20°C and you mix it with actually boiling water, the resulting temperature will be (2×20+1×100)/3 = 140/3 = 47°C. Ths is at the bottom of the acceptable range for my super rapid program, so I use a little over 1/3 boiling (handily it wants 260ml, so 90ml boiling made up with cold is good).


First time sharpening, do I sharpen on the coarse or fine side?

Yes. The coarser grit removes material faster, but leaves a rougher finish. The finer side then allows you to bring the edge to a fine polish. The most important thing to remember when sharpening is to keep the blade at a constant angle relative to the stone -- don't change the tilt of the blade as you move or you'll just make a mess of it.


How do I use no-boil lasagna noodles in a normal recipe?

You can use 'no-boil' pasta straight from the box, alternatively, you can soak it it warm water for a few minutes. The soaked pasta may prove to be a little easier to manipulate when building the lasagne. However, providing there is enough liquid in the sauce, soaking is unnecessary.

Personally, I'd cover the dish with foil until the last 10 to 15 minutes of the cooking process, this will allow the pasta to cook and it should prevent the sauce from drying out. The last 10 to 15 minutes uncovered will provide the colour.


What is the difference between white and brown eggs?

The Egg Nutrition Center's FAQ page has an entry on this very topic. Basically, the color of the egg does not affect the egg's flavor, nutritional value, etc. It simply depends on the particular breed of chicken that lays the egg -- white eggs from white hens, brown eggs from brown hens.

It's also worth noting, as the ENC points out:

  Generally, brown hens are larger and
  require more feed and therefore their
  eggs may be slightly higher priced.


How to bake burger buns so that they expand horizontally instead of expanding vertically?

Your buns are likely sticking to the bottom of the tray. If they stick, they will expand vertically because they can't expand horizontally. They're stuck.

Dust the trays with semolina flour, rice flour, and/or fine corn meal. You can even lightly dust them with white or rye flour, but the aforementioned flours are preferable.

If you're retarding the buns, consider placing parchment paper on the tray, lightly dusting the parchment with the aforementioned flours, and then panning the buns.

You could also use non-stick Silpats or silicone mats, but that's expensive if you have to buy a lot of them.

I don't know the composition of your dough, how you are shaping them, how much you are working the dough, etc. These could contribute the problem as well. Buns are usually enriched dough (they have butter, milk, etc.) made with low-protein AP flour. They don't need a lot of gluten development or shaping. If you develop the dough too much, it'll hold something close to the original shape (in this case, of a ball of dough instead of a disc).


No-bake cheesecake - freeze or chill overnight?

Your refrigerator should be set at a temperature below 4 Celsius. If it isn't, then you are exposing yourself to danger from eating the other things stored there.

At this temperature, the cheesecake will keep perfectly without the icing deforming. Indeed, it will probably even keep well if the fridge temeprature is slightly high.

Under no circumstances should you increase the temperature of your freezer. The cake risks texture change if it freezes. A freezer should always be kept below freezing, or else the other food stored in there will take large hits to both quality and safety.


Is a maple tree with a squirrel hole in it safe to tap?

With the disclaimer that I've never actually tapped a maple tree, I'm pretty sure this is okay, assuming the hole doesn't indicate the tree is unhealthy.

Everywhere I've seen, for example this guide says that you can tap trees as long as they're mature enough - at least 10-12 inches in diameter. I did find some references (like this one) which additionally say that you should only tap healthy trees. These guidelines are really just to make sure that tapping the tree doesn't harm it too much, and that the tree is actually going to be able to produce sufficient sap with enough sugar in it.

But a hole that squirrels play in? Plenty of trees have holes in them, and as long as we're not talking about a gaping wound in a sickly tree, it should be fine. The tree isn't actually exposed in the hole, unless it's recently created or extremely large.

Now, given that you say the hole is "large": trees grow over wounds, trying not to leave them exposed. If a wound is sufficiently large, it may not be able to repair it effectively. At this point, again, it's the tree's health that's the issue, not food safety - you don't want to tap a tree that's already struggling to heal. So if the hole is large enough to worry about this, you should inspect it: see if the tree has grown a new solid layer over the wound, or if it's exposed and decaying from the inside. If you want to know more details about what to look for, I'd suggest gardening.stackexchange.com; they'll be better at answering specifics about tree health than us!


How do i make frozen pizza crispy and what temperature is required?

Microwaves don't make things crispy, and aren't defined by temperature, but by power level. First you need an oven, then a good place to start is following the instructions on the pack, assuming you bought one intended to be crispy. Generally a high temperature is needed


How do I melt the chocolate in a s'more?

Since you specified not wanting any equipment other than a campfire and a stick, the best I can do is add one more piece of equipment you should be able to find anywhere (i.e., not have to carry with you): a rock.

If you put a flat-topped rock just to the edge of your campfire, you should be able to place a graham cracker and slab of chocolate on top of it. While you are toasting your marshmallow on the stick, the chocolate should start to melt. This technique won't produce totally melted chocolate (unless you have a very large, very hot fire), but the chocolate should get a little melty without being so runny that none of it makes it into your mouth.

This only works if you have thin Hershey bars or other chocolate in relatively thin pieces. Thick slabs won't soften all the way through with this type of indirect heat.

And for those people concerned about dirt, bring some aluminum foil to act as a buffer between the rock/dirty stuff and your s'more.

Extraneous but related note:

Your question got me thinking about ways to achieve melted chocolate with microwave s'mores (a last resort if I'm stuck inside with an electric oven or no oven at all), and I have an idea I'll test out tonight. When I microwave s'mores, I usually microwave the bottom graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow together, then top with the other graham cracker once the marshmallow gets gooey. The chocolate doesn't really get melted that way, though, because marshmallows take almost no time at all to melt. I'm wondering if pushing the chocolate inside the marshmallow before I stick it in the microwave might help the chocolate melt more. I will update once I've had a chance to try this.

Edit:
I didn't really notice any difference between microwaving the chocolate inside the marshmallow v. underneath the marshmallow.


What are the pros and cons of storing bread in various locations?

Storing bread in the freezer you can store for several days and keep it soft.

To eat, remove from the freezer and put in the oven.


If it's from an animal that is "young at heart" (veal/calf), it may be tender enough to cut into thin strips and pan-fry or grill quickly as "steaks."  Don't overcook, or they will be really tough, and you'll be heartbroken.

But to get to the heart of the matter, if it's really an adult beef heart, it's too tough and chewy to cook quickly.  Braising is my preferred method and the one closest to my heart.  This is one of those things can cook all day and will eventually become incredibly tender -- tasting like a slightly unusual and hearty pot roast.

You can also stuff them and then either braise or roast them -- again, "low and slow" heat is the most heart-friendly.  If you roast it, also be sure there is enough moisture in the stuffing (i.e., leave a "soft spot" in your heart), or else it can dry out during a long bake.  (You can also "roast" it in a dutch oven or something.)  When you open up your heart after cooking, a dry stuffing will just leave you with a heavy heart.

A final option is to use it as stew meat.  It will take longer to cook than most stew meats, so you might want to simmer for a while first before adding vegetables.  Then cook until the flavors come together and your heart's content.

Once, when I had leftovers after making a stuffed heart, I was just going eat it, but then I had a change of heart.  I chopped up the tender meat and added it to chili.  It probably was about 1/3 of the overall meat in the chili, along with some diced chuck chunks and some ground beef.  It came out incredibly good: there was a deep earthy flavor that really worked well.  I served it to a number of friends without explaining the dish, and they didn't notice anything unusual; I didn't have the heart to tell them.  In fact, a number of people said it was some of the best chili they had tasted, which was really heartwarming to hear.

Take heart!  There are lots of ways to cook it.  Any slow-cooking method or recipe you might use for a tough cut of beef will probably work -- just follow your heart.

(I am actually serious about all of these methods -- but, okay, truly sorry about the puns.  From the bottom of my....)


What's the difference in baking bread in a loaf pan vs. in a Dutch oven?

There's two important distinctions:

The dutch oven is preheated, so the oven conveys a lot of heat, rather quickly.  This causes some steam to be pretty much immediately made.
The dutch oven is covered.  This traps the steam previously made.  This is trying to replicate steam injection and the goal of most methods that cover the loaf.

Steam keeps the crust from hardening and promotes better oven spring and crisper crust.  The steam basically allows the bread to 'swell' more in the oven.  Steam also gelatinizes the starches in the crust and formes a better 'shine' and 'crisp' on the finished product.  The dutch oven is then uncovered after awhile and the crust hardens.


How to get the effect of gluten in gluten free baking

According to this site I've been using (https://www.americastestkitchen.com/guides/gluten-free/troubleshooting-gluten-free-baked-goods), if your cake is too dense, try: "Reduce amount of fat, use additional liquid, use additional baking powder, use additional egg." So I would try each one of those things separately and see what gets the result you want. I've just started experimenting with gluten-free baking, hope this helps!


By quick-prepare ravioli, you mean without sauce, right?

It's fine to (and you should) cover the pot to bring the water to a boil. Incidentally, it's best to start with cold water from the tap, hot tap water will likely be more contaminated, possibly with lead. Once the water is boiling, add the salt, then the pasta. Adding the pasta will bring down the temperature of the water, so you can briefly put the lid back on to more quickly bring the water back up to the boil.

Once the water is boiling again, it's recommended that you keep it uncovered because pasta water is very prone to foaming up and boiling over. It's a royal pain when that happens, so think before covering pasta while it is boiling. If your pot is big enough and you watch carefully, you can save some energy by cooking with the lid on, just be careful because boil-overs happen quickly. Obviously, it's good to have a stockpot with a glass lid for that.

EDIT: Now that I've covered the conventional wisdom, I'd also encourage you to read this: A to Pasta: is simmering equivalent to roiling boil?, especially the Serious Eats link. I admit, I haven't done it (set in my ways, I suppose), but considering your set-up, you might find the method works better for you.


Just found this page when I was trying to find a solution to removing crumbs that lodged on the areas above the tray and wouldn't move when I shook the toaster upside down. I have now discovered that using a paintbrush (art not decorating) is successful.


What tweaks can be made when preparing chili powder?

First, as someone who has made chili powder, let me offer you one piece of advice -- get yourself a coffee or spice grinder.

Second, disabuse yourself of any notion of making your chili powder with anything wet. Whatever goes in should be bone dry. I wouldn't even bother with drying fresh peppers, garlic, etc. It's just not worth the effort. However, you absolutely should get your cumin in (dried) seed form, and dry toast it yourself. That IS worth the effort.

Beyond that, everything else is negotiable. Mess around with different types of peppers, different herbs/spices, different proportions, etc., and see what you like best.


What is the proper amount of time to thaw + brine a turkey simultaneously?

A few things aren't quite right here.

1- a cooler full of water for 3 days.
A turkey will take 3-4 days to thaw in the fridge- between 35-40F. Quicker methods call for submerging in running water for some hours. Submerging the turkey in stagnant water- even if it started as ice water- will allow the turkey to rise well above 40F over the course of 3 days. You would have to add ice or have the turkey somewhere colder than 40F for this to be safe.

2- brining too long turning a turkey to mush.
The salt in a brine denatures some proteins and supercharges the bird with water. These will make the meat more tender and seem more tender respectively. That said- the risk isn't that the meat will get mushy. Unless you are adding some other ingredient to the brine that is actually a proteinase like papain the risk is not mushiness but being too salty.

3- 1-2 days of brining.
I have never seen a recipe that called for brining this long. The brine recipes I have seen are on the order of 4-10 hours. If your brine recipe calls for this length of time then it is probably more dilute than the ones I use. In such a case it would probably be fine to thaw it in the brine if you address the safety concern.

The turkey being frozen will prevent the brine from penetrating but as the bird thaws from the outside in the outside of the bird will have more alone time with the brine than the deeper meat. I can't say whether this would be a problem- especially as Harold McGee says that the salt from brining isn't able to penetrate very far into the meat anyway.

Unless it is cold enough outside (or you have enough fridge space) that you could brine the turkey at <40F for 2 days while it thawed I would recommend at least mostly thawing it before introducing it to your brine.


Italian meringue deflated after adding sugar

I've only ever made French meringue prior to this, and I've only ever used whole, separated eggs.
In this case, I used egg whites out of a carton (probably should note they were only a few weeks shy of their expiration date). I know fresher whites whip up better..

Older egg whites being thinner volume up better, but the drawback is being less stable (not so suitable for french meringue).  Polar opposites to fresh eggs.  However you are going to stabilise them by pouring hot syrup and keep whisking till it's cool, so no worries.
Note: carton eggs are usually pasteurised, so there is a slight performance decrease, but not enough to prevent from making a meringue

..but I definitely got these to soft/slightly stiff peaks when I whipped the whites on their own. However, when I added the sugar syrup the meringue turned liquidy pretty quickly. I kept it whipping for a bit but the texture remained pretty liquidy (I did use some cream of tartar to help stabilize, but to no avail, apparently).

Presume the cream of tartar was added when the whites were foamy.  It is mainly used as a stabiliser to prevent overbeating.
There are two camps on Italian meringue methodology:

Adding the syrup at soft peaks,
This is with the consideration of using a stand mixer or a suitably powerful beater at high speed to beat the whites to stiff peaks before it is stabilised, and continue beating until it has cooled.
Adding the syrup at firm/stiff peaks
This allows you to also whip by hand, hand beater or stand mixer, until cool.

I'm wondering which, if any, of the following is the likely culprit:
is there any general detriment to using the whites from the carton?
was it simply the lack of freshness? (I would be surprised if it was either just because the whites did whip up pretty nicely before I added the sugar)
could the syrup have been too hot or in some other way caused the whites to break down?
could I have overwhipped the whites before adding the sugar? the peaks didn't seem to be too stiff before that point, but I suppose it's possible
something else?

It's not clear in the OP whether:

The whites were beaten by hand, beater or stand mixer;
The temperature of the sugar syrup reached 'soft ball stage' (112°C - 116 °C or 234°F - 241 °F)
What speed were the whites whipped while the syrup was being added

One or more of these issues may have caused the collapse.


Can I just rinse a shaker, solely used for immediate consumption of whey with milk?

So let’s be clear - rinsing with just water won’t remove all of the fats and proteins in your container. It’s definitely not “clean” afterwards.
But even for the bits left in the container food safety guidelines apply, so if you immediately freeze the shaker in between uses, you just have to add up the time the shaker spends in the danger zone and/or above freezing. Whatever value reaches the „no longer safe“ threshold first (two hours for the danger zone above 40°F/4°C, three days in the fridge) gives you the “now it’s really time for a real cleanup” trigger.
Off the cuff, I‘d say that your three day cycle would still be technically safe. Whether it’s really a good idea is up to you. I like my food prep equipment fresh and clean for each use. More frequent cleaning will also serve as extra safety net in case some cleaning cycle was not perfect. And of course in a commercial setting all food handling and cleaning regulations have to be observed independently of what I outlined in this answer.


Cut the sprout end off.
Place the cut end on the board, slice the onion in half vertically (i.e. place your knife on the root and cut down)
If the outer skin layer is nice and thick, pull it off from one corner. Repeat on other half.
If the outer skin is papery, pull it and one layer of onion flesh off from one corner. Repeat on other half.

If the first layer of onion flesh is slightly dimpled or has a kind of matte finish, it's probably turning 'skinny'. Strip that off too.


Cheese salt is just non-iodized salt, generally in flake form; the iodine would interfere with the cultures, and flakes are good for salting surfaces. So kosher salt and flaky sea salt are both essentially the same thing and viable substitutes.


Where can I Buy Kaima or Jeerakasala Rice?

You need to use Kali Jeera rice available in most Patel stores or big indian stores. We were also looking for this and avoiding Kali Jeera thinking it is some black rice whereas it is not. This is rice used in Nor Malabar chicken biriyanis.

And no need to mention that ghee rice or biriyani prepared with Kali Jeera rice tastes way better than normal Basmati rice.


Is there any substitute for vital wheat gluten?

No, there is no substitute for gluten, at all.

The gluten + soft flour combination is itself a substitute for bread flour, so if you can get bread flour, as Catija suggested, use it. If you can't, you need another recipe. Especially if your goal is to "not make it complicated", don't use substitutes. Substitutes are always complicated. The easy thing is to follow a recipe without making changes, and there are thousands of good recipes, so if you can't make one, choosing a different one is easier than looking for substitutes.

Seitan is not a substitute for gluten, even if you grind it up. In seitan, the gluten is already set, but you want it "raw" for making dough.


What to do with italian soda type syrups?

Coffee flavoring; Pouring it over Ice Cream; Mixing it with Cottage Cheese as a snack;


Should I use a metal pan or non-stick pan for cooking salmon on the stove top?

This is a matter of personal preference.

Assuming you are sauteeing or pan frying (as it would make no difference for poaching, for example):

There is no reason that you cannot put butter and olive oil in a non-stick pan.

Use a traditional pan if you want fond (the brown flavorful bits) to form at the bottom of the pan, to use as a the basis of a pan sauce.   If your salmon is skin-on, that will help keep it intact.  You will want to oil your pan well.

Use a non-stick pan if your priority is making sure you keep the fish intact.


Sweet potatoes stored in direct sunlight

Sweet potatoes are not in the potato family (Solanaceae) and as you say, do not develop solanine, or other glycoalkaloids such as chaconine. The only toxin they are listed as having in Medical toxicology of natural substances is ipomearone, typically produced in response to fungal infection. I cannot find any indication that is produced in response to sunlight. The toxicology book above says 'consumption of sweet potatoes has not been linked to human toxicity'.

While it's hard to be completely certain, it seems to me that there are no reasons other than the likely higher temperature to avoid storing sweet potatoes in sunlight.


Shelf life of refrigerated cream cheese - unclear best before date

You open it:

The best before date is merely a guideline, it does not mean the food will be bad after that date (there are posts on this site that expand on this). Still, after almost an extra year, the cream cheese will very likely have gone bad - and this should be immediately noticeably by an off smell or visible mold.

If you notice no deterioration, you are either before the best before date or you were quite lucky and the package kept exceptionally well.

CAVEAT:

With all food items there is always the general rule:

  When in doubt, throw it out.

I would never feed "questionable" food items to others, especially children, pregnant or elderly people or anyone else with a weak imune system. (Even though I might use it myself if it appears perfectly ok to me.)

Weigh the cost of a package of cream cheese against the risk of food poisoning - and use common sense.


The plastic fork just melt (soften) a little bit, no biggie, you should be able to eat that.
You should buy cheap cutlery at the dollar store, you do not need many, maybe 4 sets (fork, spoon knife); when your exchange session is over, just leave them in your apartment; no need to bring them back with you.
Using real cutlery and washing them is better for the environment than using cheap plastic cutlery and throwing them in the trash (*)

(*) Unless you buy expensive biodegradable or compostable cutlery.


You cannot "cook off the calories". Also, caramelized yogurt is still yogurt.

Some of the lactose in your yogurt surely got converted to something else, but 1) there is no way to estimate how much got converted and how much remained, and 2) it is impossible to say what the result was (it could have been another sugar). So a conservative estimation is that all of the lactose that went in will count towards the sugar allowance in your diet.

Also, baked or caramelized yogurt is still dairy. I can't know why you were placed on a no-dairy diet, but a yogurt marinade is still a breach of the diet rules. Especially if you are dealing with food intolerances, where tiny amounts of a substance can already trigger symptoms.

In summary: yogurt marinades are indeed tasty, but not compatible with the diet you describe. Caramelization does not change that.


Saving seasoned flour used for dredging chicken

It is not a good idea.

You can certainly prepare your seasoned flour mixture and keep it in bulk.  Just transfer it as you need it to the container where you do the actual breading or dredging; then you don't need to discard the entire amount.


What type of rice vinegar is more often used in Asian dishes?

All of your example recipes seem to be written from a Western POV. That being the case, all of those recipes seem to be calling for white or light, unseasoned rice vinegar, not Chinkiang AKA Chinese black vinegar. Someone writing a recipe for an American or British audience would not expect you to even know what Chinkiang is, and would ask for it specifically if it were expected.

The other type of rice vinegar that you might commonly see in a bottle on a typical Western shelf is one seasoned with sugar and salt, most particularly for use on rice for making sushi rice. These recipes are not asking for that either, just use your regular white rice vinegar.


Why does olives with the pit left always taste better than pitted ones

Just like the US dollar, olives suffer from dilution.

When an olive is picked and brined, the olive skin provides a barrier between the tasty fruit and the liquid medium.

When the fruit is pierced to remove the seed, the unprotected pulp of the fruit is in constant, direct contact with the brine liquid.

This direct contact allows the natural juices, which are protected by the olive skin in regular, unpitted, olives, to leach out into the brine liquid, reducing the flavor proportionally.

Pitted olives have their place, in stews, soups, salads etc.  For full flavor though, always go for the unpitted olives.

Have worked in many olive producing areas in the world, and the best olives are always unpitted.

You could even do an experiment to prove or disprove this:

Buy some decent unpitted olives, fairly large.  Buy a hand held cherry pitter and remove the pits of half the olives, put both the pitted and unpitted olives back in the brine and leave them on the counter for a week or so, then try them.  There will be a difference.


How do I increase the amount of store bought peanut butter from 1/2 cup to 1 cup in a peanut butter brownie recipe?

It is possible to substitute regular butter with any nut butter (like peanut butter), it will add a nutty flavour of course but this shouldn't be an issue since there's already peanut butter included. The difference is the fat content however, have a look at this post that explains it quite well.
They mentioning adding oil to the peanut butter and mixing it to get a more butter-like effect. So you could add 1/2 cup of peanut butter (this is in addition to the 1/2 cup that's already included making it 1 cup of peanut butter total) with 1/2 cup of oil (I recommend coconut for best flavour with baking) and change the amount of butter to 1/4 cup (removing 1 cup as the substitute).
1 1/4 cup butter = 1/2 cup peanut butter + 1/2 cup oil + 1/4 cup of butter
This gets pretty complicated but is likely the most accurate. If you're open to experimenting a bit, I would honestly just try it without the oil and see how they come out, hopefully the difference in texture isn't noticeable enough.


Why does refined coconut oil make cookies chewy?

I believe that the key here is the fat content, to achieve a truly chewy texture you need to have the right amount of saturated fat. In this case, chewiness comes from coconut oil's high saturated fatty acid content. As a comparison, coconut oil is 100% fat, 80-90% of which is saturated fat while butter has almost twice less (50-60%).


help with consistency of dough being made in bread machine

In my experience with the kind of bread you're making, you want it fairly wet. But breadmaking is all about experience. You need to get familiar with the dough and see what works, then try altering your recipe and see if it's better or worse. Change just one variable at a time, and if possible, bracket (make your rolls with what the recipe calls for, then make a batch with 1/4 cup more water and a batch with 1/4 cup less water).

I don't know about your particular recipe, but in traditional breadmaking it's possible to make good breads with the same recipe with widely varying hydration. I recently saw FoodGeek make loaves from 100-120% hydration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XCbonAQkWU.

The video is instructive because it also shows the effect the three different hydration levels have on the loaves.

The other thing I'll say is that often you can knead dough successfully with higher amounts of water than you think. You just have to be patient. Once the gluten network gets strong enough the dough is surprisingly workable.

Just remember that all those batches of cinnamon rolls are going to be delicious even if they're not perfect. So share with friends and have fun with it.


Cheese Kranksy or Kasekrainer is the common sausage with cheese. Around 10% cheese seems typical

They taste great, and are very popular with children


Does ghee make a good substitution for lard?

Yes, you can use ghee or oil for sauteing instead of lard.

NOTE: You will not get the same "lardy" aroma from butter, ghee or oil, but if you use other stronger aromas / spices in your recipe it might not really matter.


Canning Jar bottom pops off during canning

Having the bottom of a jar pop off is a symptom of thermal shock to the bottle.

Don't place cold bottles into hot water or refill a canner full of hot bottles with cold water-- there is a good chance of cracking a bottle.

Another consideration, though in my opinion less likely to be the issue, is that your rings on your bottles should be only lightly tightened-- just enough to keep the lid on.

When the bottles are processed, the air in the head space expands and some of it pushes out past the lid. When the jars cool, the air in the head space shrinks and, since there is no longer enough to fill the space, it creates a vacuum that seals the bottle.
If there is no head space or if the rings are tightened too much, the extra pressure in the bottle will not be able to escape and the bottle can burst.


Should I use salted or unsalted butter if the recipe doesn't specify?

Generally, you should use unsalted butter. You can always add salt to your unsalted butter, but you can't take it out if you want it less salty!

If it's just being melted on some vegetables, then salted butter is probably fine. However, different brands of salted butter have different amounts of salt added, which makes it difficult to know how much total salt is going into your food. This is more problematic in baking. It's possible to easily oversalt or undersalt just by using a different brand — leading to unpredictable results. By using unsalted butter, the only salt remaining in the recipe is what you have added, and you have more careful control over the outcome.

If you need to substitute one for another, you can estimate how much salt is in salted butter and adjust your recipe accordingly.

If you are not sure whether a particular recipe calls for salted or unsalted, look for clues.

Is there additional salt in the recipe? (If not, it may expect some salt from the butter. If so, it may expect unsalted butter!)
How old is the recipe? (Newer recipes tend to assume unsalted butter. Older recipes tend to assume salted butter.)
Where was the recipe written? Different cultures assume different butters (and salt levels may vary between countries for salted butter!); I will not give an exhaustive list here, mostly because I don't know, but it's worth researching.

If you have the time, interest, and money, you can try making the recipe twice (once with salted, once with unsalted butter) and see which tastes better. This is a bigger investment, though, so only worth doing if you really want to get the recipe as good as possible.


How can I reduce the salt taste in a dish

a stew or soup can be fixed by adding a halved potato into it and simmering for as long as it takes for the potato to cook. Carefully remove the potato with a slotted spoon afterwards.


What's the best approach to baking bread with whole grains?

I use whole grains in my bread- wheat, oats, quinoa, etc.

There are a couple considerations:
1- rehydration
If the grain won't be adequately rehydrated from just sitting in water for an hour then it should be precooked. Wheat berries, for example, definitely need to be cooked. They just won't get enough water or time in the dough while it is rising.

A little experimenting may need to be done to get the water ratio right.

2- sharpness
Adding hard ingredients will change the dynamic of your dough kneading. For example, if you knead in a mixer then you might have to go at a slower speed to keep from shredding the gluten.

Sprouting grains is fantastic. Sprouted grains are very nutritious and have a completely different flavor that I find very interesting. Sprouts also have a lot of sugar in them. I sometimes replace some of the sugar in my recipes with sprouted, dried, and ground wheat berries.


How much sugar and corn starch is in commercial icing sugar?

Powdered sugar (as it is known in the US) is approximately 3% cornstarch by weight.

See, for example, United Sugar's website.  This is typical of all manufactuers, however.


Are all dark chocolates with the same amount of cocoa equal?

There's just a ton of different types of dark chocolates out there that cater to all kinds of needs:

Chocolatiers
Bakers
Gourmets
...

To answer your questions:

Yes, it's rather easy to have a "more fluid" dark chocolate that still contains a high % of pure cocoa and cocoa mass by adding more cocoa butter.

Cocoa mass is a raw ingredient that comes straight out of the beans and cocoa powder and cocoa butter are the separated products from cocoa mass, so to add more sugar, Chocolate producers use the same amount of cocoa mass and powder but a bit less cocoa butter.

One additional factor to consider is the chocolate bean roast and quality. Like coffee, the roasting process can affect the taste.


I spray mine with a little water and then put it in my toaster-oven at 400 (F) for a few minutes.  Won't be as good as fresh baked, but it does improve the smell and texture.


There are some applications where actually boiling the milk is needed, for example when you want to precipitate out some of the proteins - they build that fuzzy film on the bottom and the skin on top during cooling. In other cases, it is about sterilization - for example for yogurt, you keep the milk boiling for longer time, and it is almost impossible to keep it at just under boiling, unless you make a sophisticated thermoregulated setup and take the extra time needed to heat it slowly so you don't overshoot.

You also have to consider whether the temperature is needed by ingredients other than the milk and the starch. For example, if you are making a pudding with both starch and yolks, you have to hold it a couple of minutes at boiling to deactivate the amylase.

For milk rice, you don't strictly need boiling, but you have to get really close. Different starches thicken at different temperatures, but practivally all I have read about are between 94 and 100 Celsius. So if your starch hits the sweet spot at 97.2 C, then just watching it and noticing that it is very close to a boil is not of much help. First, you run the risk of stopping too early, which will ruin the milk rice(as opposed to stopping after it boils, which will result in good milk rice). Second, the last few degrees of milk boiling go so fast, you may not manage to remove it from the heat before boiling anyway.

If you know the exact temperature for the starch you are using, you could in principle get away with making milk rice a couple of degrees lower. It is rather impractical, but possible.


Preparing minced garlic the night before using them

It's safe to chop your garlic the night before. It will change color slightly due to oxidation, probably not enough to affect the look of the dish. It will lose flavor overnight though, so I wouldn't chop it until I'm ready to use it.

Generally the big pain with garlic is not the chopping but the peeling, you could peel it the night before and then chop it just before using without impacting the color or flavor. That's the way I'd go.


How do you use the gizmo for Café Sua Da?

Here's a website that goes into it and includes this picture of the gizmo to which you refer:

  This little single serving device is meant to fit over a cup, hold about two tablespoons worth of coffee, and the required amount of water for brewing. There is a screen on the bottom, and a plunger with another screen on it that screws down on top of the coffee to smush it between the two filters. The tightness of this top filter controls the strength of the coffee. The tighter it is, the slower water flows, and the stronger the brew.

EDIT: Regarding the "bonus question": I'm not aware of chicory as an ingredient in Vietnamese/Thai iced coffee, I'm only familiar with it as a traditional New Orleans addition, having migrated from France. It became a popular substitution during the French Revolution when coffee became prohibitively expensive. Certainly the website I linked to uses it, so it may be traditional for some. Certainly the French significantly influenced Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. I dug up a recipe for New Orleans chicory coffee:

"Ingredients
1 lb. coarsely ground coffee,
1 1/2 oz. roasted and chopped chicory,
2 1/2 quarts water,
3 oz. simple syrup,

Tools
Large stockpot,
Wooden spoon,
Fine-mesh sieve,
Large Mason jar,

Combine the ground coffee, chicory and water in a stockpot. Stir with a wooden spoon, cover and let steep at room temperature for 8-12 hours.

Carefully break the crust of the coffee grounds with a spoon and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into the Mason jar. Add simple syrup to concentrate and stir to combine.

Serve over ice and add milk to taste—most people opt for about a 50/50 ratio of milk to chicory-coffee concentrate.

Keep refrigerated and use within 1-2 days. Yields 4-5 cups of concentrate.


Are capers a substitute for pickles in a tartar sauce?

I love capers and add them to different foods when I think it suits it. I'd much rather eat tartar (not tarter) sauce with capers than pickles in it. But them I'm not a fan of tartar sauce (maybe because of the pickles).  If you add capers, rinse them first to remove excess salt,  pat water off between a paper towel  and chop finely. I think a tiny bit of finely grated raw garlic would suit it nicely. Let the flavours meld together in the fridge for a few hours too.


Kitchen aid pasta roller getting oil on my pasta

I've almost never seen a pasta roller that doesn't do this at least a little. My 30-year-old hand-cranked one does it, same as my Kitchen Aid. I have always figured it was a side-effect of the plain bearings (essentially one piece of lubricated metal rubbing flat against another), which eventually blackens any oil intended to lubricate them.

I've been left trying to avoid the pasta reaching the edge as this is when it happens (as you've seen). When it does get discolored, my solution has always been to just trim off or discard the edge wherever it gets the black stuff on it.

I don't think you should be using the edge of the pasta roller to square up your dough in any case. If you want to make it more square, run the dough ball through, then fold the resulting sheet in thirds or whatever will make it narrow enough to feed through perpendicular to your first feeding and then run it through again. If you fold it carefully and feed it squarely, your edges will be quite square to each other. I think there may even be an illustration of this in the instructions for the Kitchen Aid pasta roller. It takes practice but it works well.


Is Erythritol acid or alkaline and what is it's pH compared to brown sugar?

As a 4 carbon sugar alcohol, erythritol lacks both strongly acid and strongly basic groups.  pH of a 1 molar solution will run around 7. It is not going to affect the pH of a solution when you add erythritol. It will affect osmolarity, and water activity but those are different properties.


110F is almost too hot for the yeast. 100F works just as well and leaves a threshold of safety.

You do not have to warm the yeast before placing it into the water.

Try 1/2 tsp of sugar in 50 grams of 100F water to start the yeast. It should be a party in there within 10 minutes. If not, you've got dead yeast.


I may have found the answer I was looking for from
http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/242-FAQ-Mozzarella.html

  Many folks try to knead their cheese like bread during the stretching phase. That will result in too much moisture loss which can cause your cheese may become tough and chewy. Instead, you want to use a process more like pulling taffy.  Let it fall on itself a few times until it all seems smooth and shiny.

I was making dough at the same time and I think I might have gotten carried away with the shaping process and did it too much like dough.


what is the reason for adding tomato paste when making a brown stock?

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

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


What happens chemically when flavours 'mingle'?

There are two different processes.

Amino and glutamine acids break down into smaller components, γ-glutamylpeptides due to long cooking. These proteins create the "complete, rounded taste", kokumi, similar to the umami taste, which is more a feeling than a flavor.

The second process are enzymes breaking down fat into other components that we recognize as flavor, f.e. pentylfuran or heptenal. This process takes time and is independent from temperature and happens f.e. in the fridge overnight. It is similar to the process of aging meat.

Flavor pairing is a different process that is not related to this.

Reference:
Aroma - Die Kunst des Würzens / Flavor - The art of seasoning
http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-Thomas-Vilgis-Vierich/dp/3868510729


While adding milk may change the flavor slightly, such a small amount is used that it is not likely to be an extreme loss of flavor.
Some people add a small amount of water. With a small amount, flavor loss should not be noticeable. And since most people scramble their eggs with butter or some other type of oil, there is a measure of fat included. (Ref. to below quote.)
 Yahoo Food  explains the effect and differences:

Some recipes for scrambled eggs call for water or milk. Does this do anything for the eggs?
When eggs are scrambled, the mechanism that transforms the liquidy beaten eggs into a fluffy mound on the plate is protein coagulation—the process by which, when exposed to heat, proteins unfold and then tangle up with one another and set, forming a latticed gel. The more tender the scrambled eggs, the more loosely the proteins have coagulated. Adding water to scrambled eggs dilutes the proteins a little, thereby raising the temperature at which they coagulate and making it harder to overcook the scramble. Water also increases the amount of steam, which puffs up the eggs, producing fluffy scrambled eggs. As for milk, it contains water but also fat, which coats the protein molecules so that they can’t bind with one another as tightly. The key to scrambled eggs that are both fluffy and tender is a balance of water and fat.

Also you can choose not to add anything and just whisk the eggs very well before cooking. This will incorporate air and result in fluffier eggs.
In the end, it will be your choice. I would suggest trying all three ways and deciding which you like best.


Can you tell how ripe a banana is by the actual fruit not the peel?

Ripe bananas are softer and sweeter. You can pretty easily tell how ripe a banana is simply by biting or cutting into it, or even poking it with a finger. Ripe bananas are also more prone to bruising, which is visible on the inside of the banana as well.

If you really want to try to measure, you could indeed try to measure the sugar content. As bananas ripen, they get sweeter because starch is converted into sugar, so the sugar content should indicate ripeness. You'd need a refractometer to do that, not generally an everyday household item.


bleach cleaning on chopping board.... dangerous?

The ever lovely cleanipedia actually reccomend using chlorine bleach solution to sanitise chopping boards

https://www.cleanipedia.com/gb/kitchen-cleaning/kitchen-cleaning-how-to-clean-your-chopping-boards

The comments under the question also offer some very good advice.

My personal thoughts are that it should be perfectly safe. When on survival training we used bleach to purify water to drink (in small quantities!)

I would suggest that you could now wash the boards in plain boiling water just to ensure no residue remains.


What does the "bold" setting on my Cuisinart coffee maker do?

"Bold" appears to be a flavor term in general, usually referring to a type of bean; however, on coffee makers, it appears that the water drips more slowly, which allows more flavor to be extracted from the beans. This source confirms that this appears to be the case on at least one Cuisinart model.


What country are you in?

Every country has some edible insects. Most are terrible. some are toxic, or have toxic parts that must be removed first. This knowledge is hard won, and not readily available. Traditional local people are your best source of information (though the Coke and McD's culture has killed that in most parts of the world)

In New Zealand they have the Huhu grub, and in Australia the Witchetty grub. Both of which are edible raw or cooked (roasted on hot coals for a few minutes). They have slightly nutty flavours

These are both soft wood eating larvae around 5 to 10 cm in length, quite plump and juicy. Such insects can be found around the world. But not all are edible


What is the maximal shelf life of UHT milk?

I'd never heard of ESL until your question, so I had to look that up.  A local company did a lot of work developing UHT milk; I remember samples when they were first starting up production, and they were trying to find flavors additives which would mask the flavor change from the UHT processing.   Since then a lot of companies have adopted the processing methods for other products, or just adopted the packaging.  So, before I relied on any random box-packed product to be shelf stable, I'd check into how it was produced.

Proper UHT milk doesn't go bad until it's opened.  It's sterile, and in a pretty sturdy container.  Once opened, bacteria will get back into the container, and the milk will go bad as normal.  When the local company started production of UHT milk, they were putting 2 year code dates on packages, and that was just the longest date the government would allow; I've had boxes 3-4 years old, which were fine.


What is the best ingredient to add to a normal French toast recipe to make it taste pumpkin flavored?

Not meaning this as a snippy answer at all, but I would say: pumpkin.

I would suggest substitute pumpkin bread and continue as normal.  This one I have done before.  It is a heavier French Toast (or eggy bread, pain perdu or many other names around the world), but turned out quite nice in my opinion.

Another option would be a stuffed version with pumpkin as the stuffing.  And also coming to mind would be a pumpkin butter or compote topping on a recipe you already use.


You could try wine coolers*. Wine likes temperatures around 50F, so they should all be around the temperature you want, and the nicer ones will have accurate thermostats too.

Mini-fridges could work - if their warmest temperature setting is warm enough. But be careful: they tend to have very bad circulation. On normal fridge temperature settings, a lot of them range from frozen on one end to too warm on the other end. If you set it warmer, you might end up with a range from too cold to room temperature. If all you're storing in it is roots, this is totally fine, but it could cause problems if anything is sensitive. So your mileage may vary, and it can be tough to tell without buying and trying.

That said, you don't want temperatures that cold for tomatoes. Storing them at room temperature is fine and generally recommended, unless your room temperature is excessively hot. (For example, Harold McGee says this in On Food and Cooking, and that temperatures below 55F will mess with the texture.)

Most herbs also do pretty well in the refrigerator, wrapped loosely with paper towels inside an open bag. Things like basil that like warm weather do better at room temperature, with cut ends in water, like flowers. (You can also do this in the fridge, if you're having problems with them drying out too much - you'll want to cover the "bouquet" loosely with a bag still.) See How to Store Fresh Herbs for more.

The things that you might want to store at intermediate temperatures are root vegetables - this is why they were traditionally stored in cellars (like wine). Potatoes, for example, have an ideal storage temperature around 45-50F. But it's not a huge concern; their storage lifetime is pretty long at room temperature. Unless you find them sprouting before you use them, there's not much to worry about!

* Note that I said wine cooler not wine cellar - in general the ones marketed as cellars are more expensive, but there are ones marketed as coolers that are back down closer to the minifridge price range. Rumtscho's additional suggestion of drink refrigerators is probably good too - though quickly searching, I didn't find ones that were any cheaper than the cheap wine coolers.


What causes a cake to sink in the center?

I made the cake from the recipe, and had no problems with leavening. I first cooked a marmalade of the whole oranges (including the pith) and all the sugar and then followed the recipe as given.

But during the marmalade cooking step, the whole thing cooked down a lot. I started with 950 ml of water and 225 g of sugar, and cooked to 107 Celsius, which means that maybe close to 800 ml of the water evaporated. The rest was very saturated. I don't know how exactly you made your puree, but you mention draining it, so I can imagine it will have been quite dry.

Now, if you look at a classic pound cake, the ratio is 1:1:1:1 for flour, fat, eggs and sugar. We have 225 g of sugar here and a similar amount of eggs. But we are using much less fat. It is common to use a fruit puree to partly replace fat, but if we are staying with the original recipe, even after 30 min of cooking, we will have much more added water and fruit pulp than the missing 160 ml of fat. So the authors seemed to have adjusted the recipe for the additional moisture by increasing the flour to 325 g.

What I did was to add only half of the flour I had measured out, and then a bit more baking powder as I had already mixed the leavening agents under the flour. If you didn't adjust the flour but cooked down the puree a lot, you might have ended up with a very heavy, floury cake, which couldn't leaven and collapsed under its own weight. My advice would be to try reducing the flour next time and go by feel until you have reached a proper batter consistency.


how to fix a sharp carousel microwave after it has been used to heat a lot of food?

Three possible things to consider: steam in the electronics (which should be sealed from that so it would be likely to happen again); sparking when heating the last item, which can confuse the electronics; simple overheating, again of the electronics.

In the latter two cases, leaving it unplugged for a few minutes before trying again should be fine. This is less likely to help if the control circuit has got wet. I assume here that you've got a sensible electrical system with an independent safety earth (ground) and circuit breakers, like I'm familiar with testing appliances on. If you don't, I can't recommend that you test it. I don't suggest that you remove any covers, and definitely don't open it up without it having been unplugged for several hours, or power it up with any covers off, even if you'd do this on other appliances.


How do you know how much garlic to add to a dish and in what form?

Garlic is a wonderful vegetable that can add intense flavor, and is also praised by many people for its healthful benefits. But as is the case for most strongly flavored foods, personal preference varies widely.

You've already established one reference point, in that the amount you've used in the past was insufficient to result in a flavor that you personally found strong enough. So, the obvious next step is to increase that amount gradually each time you prepare that particular recipe until you reach a point you find most pleasing, or at least until the garlic flavor sounds a note that harmonizes with the dish.

Note that garlic cloves vary not merely in size, but also in intensity of flavor; depending on the source, age, and other factors. With experience, you'll gain a sense of this, partly from the aroma and "feel" of the garlic. As is the case with many cooking techniques, with practice you'll become better at judging this too.

Also to consider, is what form you're using the garlic in your recipe. For example, a meat roast recipe may call for whole cloves to be inserted, causing the flavor to disperse from the inside out. A sauté or sauce calling for minced garlic, distributes the flavor more evenly.

Using a garlic press goes even farther, releasing juice and making it almost like a paste — this works very good in a marinade, but it might be too strong for other things. You can also throw whole cloves of garlic in with potatoes while steaming them — the garlic will become buttery soft and blend in beautifully to make delicious garlic mashed potatoes.

If your garlic is burning, most likely the heat is too high, or else you're cooking it too long. At what point you add it to the dish, depends on what you're cooking, and what other ingredients are included. If I'm sautéing up a collections of vegetables, I'll usually begin with onions in the skillet first, and mince up the garlic while they're starting to cook. The onions will have "sweat" a bit, reducing the chance of the garlic burning.

Your task now is to experiment with all of these things, observing the differences in how it appeals to your own taste. If you only ever cook for yourself, you'll be all set. However, if you're cooking for others, you may wish to moderate the garlic level, to suit the tastes of your guests — for that, there's no rule of thumb.

If you're cooking for diners who normally eat bland or packaged food, a little garlic can go a long way. But for people who are used to ethic food where garlic is prominent, it might be impossible to use too much.

The key to seizing control of garlic and mastering it in your kitchen, is to explore and understand how it tastes to you. Doing so will give you the knowledge and skill to wield garlic with confidence. Have fun, enjoy garlic, and listen to feedback from your guests.


How much rosemary and garlic did you stuff into the fish? A sprig of rosemary and a clove of garlic in a 4 lb fish isn't going to do much, but too much would overpower the fish.

I personally like making a rub for the outside of the fish of whatever I am stuffing it with. In this case, take a few rosemary leaves and a few cloves of garlic and make a light paste , then rub it on the outside of the fish. Then, stuff the fish with rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves (sliced or mashed if possible to extract more flavor). Whenever I stuff a fish, I also tend to add 1 tablespoon of butter and spread it on the inside of the fish to act as a conduit for the flavor.


Pizza dough dipping in middle during proofing

In general you should be fine, I would give this dough more time to warm/"re-proof" on the counter before shaping/ baking.

I've seen something similar in other doughs, but I don't know what caused it. I don't expect much proofing in the fridge, and I've seen some weird stages when I try to slow a proof in the fridge (start a dough then finish it the next morning.)

If I was forced to guess..

This dough may have been handled more roughly
Colder spot in the fridge
Condensation on the plastic wrap dripping an slowing raise in one spot
Moved at some point, popping the center of the dough


What is the term for simmering something in sauce?

As Tall said, that can be referred to as braising, but generally braising is with liquid that doesn't quite submerge the meat. If the meat is fully submerged, another term is "stewing". Whatever you call it, it is best done at a simmer, not a full boil.


Why are my beef short ribs still chewy after 5 hours?

There is conflicting information on the Internet about BBQ short ribs,  so, I can see the confusion.

Serious Eats suggests that you want to grill short ribs to an internal temperature of about 130 F (54.5C) (medium-rare).  They suggest that any hotter, and the fat will start leaking out, drying the final product. Short ribs, grilled in this manner, are common in Argentinian and Korean cuisines, among others.

I see that your approach was different, going the low and slow, BBQ route.  There are folks who use this method as well.

The Big Green Egg forum has several examples. Almost all of the low and slow recipes that I see employ the "Texas crutch"; that is, after a couple of hours of smoking, wrapping the short ribs in foil with some liquid, and returning to the smoker.  The Texas crutch helps control moisture loss and helps with tenderization.  This is probably the route you want to take.

If you have the proper equipment, a third approach I have used with great success is to first sous vide the short ribs.  That way, I can cook to medium rare, for as long as 48 hours (greatly enhancing the texture), and finally tossing on the smoker or grill for a much shorter time to add the smoke flavor and develop a crust.


What are Japanese rice seasoning packets called?

I think it's called furikake. Per Wikipedia:

  Furikake is a dry Japanese seasoning meant to be sprinkled on top of cooked rice, vegetables, and fish. It typically consists of a mixture of dried fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, salt, and monosodium glutamate.


What flavorings do you use for sour pickles?

Depending on the main ingredient, some additional flavours can be added using the following:

Coriander Seed
Yellow or Black Mustard Seeds
Dried Chillies
Allspice
Ginger
Black Peppercorns
Bay Leaves
Juniper berries
Cinnamon stick
Fennel seed
Cloves
Celery seed

Combinations of the above can provide some really great flavours.


Is it ok to ignore the skin on top of my stock?

It could be gelatin from the broken down bones and connective tissue.


What is a good substitute for avocado oil in Indian food recipes?

For dal, any oil will work because it is a fairly minor flavor component of the dish. The other flavors (I assume onion, garlic, and spices) will predominate.  I have used vegetable oil, grape seed oil, and olive oil when making dal, all with no problems.


How can I make caramel that will hold its shape, without using refined sugar?

you could try the vegan raw version of "caramel". It is date caramel. It is done by processing fresher soft medjool dates into a vitamix blender(works best really),pinch of salt, coconut butter and water to slightly thin out. The outcome will look very similar to caramel. Using a vitamix will result in a smoother creamy texture. This should freeze well too. Best of luck


It is safe enough to store hardy squashes in an apartment, but more delicate ones such as zucchini and other thin-skinned squashes should probably be stored in the crisper of a refrigerator if you're planning to keep them for more than a week. If that space is not available, you can extend the "keep" time of less hardy squashes with just a bit of advance prep before storing. Seal the stem and blossom ends of the squash with melted candle wax, beeswax or paraffin. In a very clean sink, create a mixture of sterilizing water by making a strong brine, then adding one tablespoon (yes, tablespoon; it is, after all, a sterilizing agent) of bleach per gallon. Sink each squash in this rinse for a few seconds (I generally don't do it for more than 3 seconds, 5 if the peel is uneven or has scarring) and pat excess moisture off with a clean, non-abrasive, absorbent cloth. Allow the exterior of the squash to air dry before storing per the method for hardier squash.

For hardier squash, find the coolest location in your apartment that doesn't include a damp place like a bathroom or laundry. If it has a closet, you just found your storage place. Put down either a few small boards or a few bricks with several layers of cardboard. Perfect base. You can store your squashes right on there, or put them into cardboard boxes on top of that base, which is what I usually do. Don't let the squashes touch each other, as every point of contact is a potential weak spot. Turn your squash once a week; handle very gently to prevent even shallow, minor cosmetic bruising or abrasion of the skin, again in the interest of avoiding weak points. If you live in a relatively humid climate, melt candle wax or paraffin onto the squash where the stem meets the fruit -- after ensuring it is completely dry, of course -- to minimize the formation of molds and fungi.

Check hardy squashes for soft spots or mold each time you turn them, and immediately remove — and use — ones showing those signs. More delicate squashes should be checked every three days and should not be stored longer than two weeks, in case there is spoilage from the inside.


Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, a mineral. Left to itself in a clean and dry place, it will remain unchanged for billions of years. In particularly wet or polluted environments it may react with chemicals in the air and become unpleasant for use in food, which you can detect by smell.

Baking powder is a combination of baking soda and tartaric acid, which react in the presence of water. Eventually, even the moisture in the atmosphere is enough to cause this to happen. Checking whether your powder is still active is easy...just add a drop of water to a small bit. If it bubbles and reacts, it's still good.


No, pumpkin will not shred the way spaghetti squash does. That's pretty much distinctive to the spaghetti squash, and I don't know of any substitute.

The flavor is generically squashy, so if you were to serve a sauce on top of a slice of pumpkin or cubed pumpkin it would taste just fine. Not the same, but similar enough to be edible. The texture will be different, and to really get the dish the way the recipe designer intended, you'd need to lay your hands on a spaghetti squash.

So, if the sauce has a really interesting flavor you want to try, go ahead and prepare it, then serve it with pumpkin prepared any way you like. (The easiest way is to cut it into slices or chunks and roast at 350F/170C until soft; there are lots and lots of variations on that basic idea.) If you like it enough to try again, maybe you'll locate a spaghetti squash; they're easy to grow and you may be able to push your local grocer into carrying them.


Most recipes I've seen for clam chowder suggest adding salt and black (or white) pepper to taste before serving along with a sprinkling of chopped/minced parsley leaves (either in with the clams or as a garnish).  A touch of white pepper in cream-based dishes can be a wonderful addition.

I have never seen a recipe for clam chowder that includes cayenne pepper or pepper flakes - I would think the heat in either choice would work against the delicate flavors of the clam and cream (and even if you were making the Manhattan version with tomatoes, that dish is typically briny and savory - not what I'd call spicy).

Is it possible that the recipe could be referring to paprika?  If that's the case, a little bit of mild paprika used as a garnish on top when you serve the clam chowder should be fine, but remember that a little of that can go a long way in a delicately flavored dish.


How do I create a meat like bite resistance/snap and texture in Vegan sausages?

Zambian Chikanda has a meat (more of processed meat/saussage) like texture, it’s made using ground peanuts and orchid tubers. The polysaccharide (glucomannan) in the orchid tubers once cooked above a certain pH level, will form a heat stable gel upon cooling. I think this texture is what you’re looking for.

Even though you say you have tried Konjac powder (which also has GM in it) I think you should look into how it behaves in a high pH environment and with presence of fats.


Is it okay to prepare "Cannelloni with Spinach" recipe and put it in fridge BEFORE baking?

Most casserolles are OK to be stored in the fridge before baking, or even made several days ahead and frozen. Assemble it, cover it well (e.g. with plastic wrap) and put it in the fridge. When you are ready to eat, you can bake it as usual, but you will have to make the baking time longer, because it starts out at fridge temperature, not room temperature. I can't tell you how much longer, in the worst case you will have to try cutting into the cannelloni a few times to see if they are done.


water temperature affecting bread rolls texture!

The yeast (and other microorganisms) will effect bread dough over time, breaking down sugars and fermenting the dough. The speed and character of how the yeast will work is a function of time and temperature. At colder temperatures, like in the refrigerator, the yeast will work slower and take a longer time to ferment. At warmer temperatures, the yeast will work faster and reproduce more frequently. At hot temperatures (140 F) the yeast will start to die off and be useless.

Therefore, the temperature of the water added to the dough will help determine what temperature the yeast is starting at. Adding colder water is a good way to delay the fermentation process, and warmer water can help speed it up.

Since your question was about texture the question now becomes how does fermentation time effect the texture of my bread? All other things equal, slower fermentation times produces larger and more irregular holes and faster times produce smaller, regular-size holes in the crumb. A fast rising dough will have many small air pockets all of a similar size and shape.


Ok, try this: Put all of the sugar in your mixer bowl, add only 1/2 of the butter. And beat, making it as smooth as possible, add eggs, mix again, add flour and any flavoring that you use ie; vanilla, etc. Mix again, only then add the rest of the room temp soft butter. Final mix.
   It is also possible that , in your original recipe, you were not mixing enough.
You are using a stand mixer? Right ? You might try doubling mixing time in your original recipe , AFTER you have added the flour.
I seem to recall, many, many years ago trying to make choc chip cookies at a friends house. All my friend had was a mixing bowl and a heavy wooden spoon. Those cookies fell apart after baking. Why ? My arm got too tired and I figured it was fine.  Later, at my house I made the same recipe but I used my stand mixer. Result, perfect cookies.
Good luck. Good baking


This is partly about temperature, as brick ovens can get to the 600 degrees F that you cited...and beyond...so, yes, potentially much hotter.  It is also about heat retention.  Further, the low ceiling is a factor.  "Best" is certainly subjective because there are a variety of pizza styles, but the advantage of a brick or stone oven is in the design.  The construction allows the baking surface to heat to a high temperature and then retain that temperature as multiple pizzas are cooked.  This is critical for crust development.  The low ceiling allows the top of the pizza to be cooked quickly, preferably charring the surface crust in places, and cooking a Neapolitan style pizza in 2 - 4 minutes.  Why are they used?  Well, they were around long before deck ovens.  They are an efficient design that has stood the test of time.  They make great pizza.


At what temp does mayo and salad dressings spoil?

I'd throw it out (and everything else that is in the fridge), especially if you know your fridge will be out for days.

Better be safe and loose a few $ than risk of being sick.

"...If you lose electricity, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. Your refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours if it's unopened. A full freezer will keep an adequate temperature for about 48 hours if the door remains closed..."

https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm093704.htm


How long can chili be cooked in a crockpot

The keep warm setting on a crockpot is not hot enough to prevent foodborne illnesses, and after 7 days your chili is probably not safe to eat. I would throw it away. Next time put it in your refrigerator if you want to preserve it.


If your fond is burning, your pan is too hot.  Preheat your pan over medium or low heat.  Add your protein. Monitor the cooking so that you get browning, even deep browning, but not burning.  It is ok to remove the pan from the flame if it seems to be smoking or getting too hot.


How can I know if I'm purchasing "mild" chorizo or spicy chorizo?

You realistically can't, unless they print it on the wrapper. If the manufacturer gives more detail in the ingredients, maybe. But if it just says "spices", it's trial and error, unfortunately.


Thickened cream is cream that has a thickener in it with a minimum fat content of 35% - it whips well. I would look for something like this; I've seen cream called whipping cream which I would assume is the same, with the added thickener. If you can't find that the most similar cream is double cream - it's the most versatile  - it's got a higher fat content of about 50%, it doesn't have a thickener, but you can whip it.


This is very subjective but I think charcoal grilled food is better. Although I have found that larger quantities is easier to make on a gas grille because it is easier to keep the temperature on the same level for a longer time.


This seems to be more of a linguistic question to me.
It depends on who you ask. In the region where I live: not necessarily, both the American style and French crêpe style pancakes are sometimes called "блин" and "блинчики" (little pancakes).
But for a lot of people it's only the French thin ones. And they call the other one "оладушки". (Read: oladushki)
It's not exactly defined by region as much as simply what you're used to.
Also: the word is also a curse word, although a very childish one. The English version might be 'crap', I  think.


I haven't been able to find an official standard for US sized pans... the wikipedia even state : "used worldwide except in the United States, which has its own domestic system" but does not link to any reference to that system.
This seems to indicate that the Gastronorm was based on existing US standard :
"At this meeting the basic size of 530 x 325 mm, already in use with American standard steamable pans, was accepted."
This lists a series of sizes that seem to be accepted nationally in the USA and says that : "Gastronorm sizes are comparable to American sizes and can generally be interchanged." (bold by me)
So you can safely use GN sized pans everywhere.


What do to with cans that you just dented?

If you just damaged previously unharmed cans and they don’t show signs of leakage, the cans should be perfectly safe, even if you store them at room temperature.

The US Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service writes:

  If a can containing food has a small dent, but is otherwise in good shape, the food should be safe to eat. Discard deeply dented cans. A deep dent is one that you can lay your finger into. Deep dents often have sharp points. A sharp dent on either the top or side seam can damage the seam and allow bacteria to enter the can. Discard any can with a deep dent on any seam.

So if you inspected the cans and found them ok, I would recommend you

Store them at room temperature, not in the fridge, and
Use them in the near future, not keep them for months or years.

Apart from that, I would probably check the inside of the can when open them, in case the inner lining was damaged and especially acidic foods (think canned tomatoes) caused oxidation or corrosion. I would probably discard them, not because of food safety issues, but because it may cause an unpleasant taste.

For cans with significant damage, the rules for opened cans apply: Don’t store the food in open cans, but empty the content in suitable containers and refrigerate.

——-

Edit, as I had a dented can at hand:

Under normal circumstances, I would probably have left this can at the store. But thanks to the recent wave of panic buying, a family member decided a dented can was better than none.

You can see that the edge of the dent doesn’t affect the seams, so no problem with leakage, and no subsequent food safety issues:

Also, the inner lining is intact, so no risk of the acidic content (tomatoes, in this case) corroding the metal. No problem either:

Still, this was the can I decided to pull first from the pantry, only a week or so after it was bought. I don’t know when the damage happened, though. If I had noticed anything beyond a shape change, I would have discarded the whole can and used another.


Will old coffee in the refrigerator keep for 2 days?

If left at room temperature it would certainly become a pool of mold, but if you refrigerate it, especially for just a few days, it should be fine. You would do well to put in a sealed container and probably adding ice to chill it faster would be 'better' but just set in the fridge for 2-3 days (depending on what else is in the fridge) should be ok.

Beyond that, taste is a personal thing and if you like it that way...go for it.


Is it sensible to add steamed vegetables to a vegetable curry to reduce cooking time?

I‘m sure you could do this.

But the gain may be less than you calculate and the results will not be exactly the same:

If you are (pre-)steaming the vegetables, your are keeping their individual flavor whereas by cooking in the curry sauce you get a more evened out flavor as the various ingredients contribute to the overall flavor and absorb the spices. This may or may not be what you prefer, but it’s how your first recipe is designed.
If you are using a pressure cooker, you might reduce the overall cooking time, but you are doubling the washing up: two pots instead of one. And most pressure cookers need hand washing.

Another aspect:

If your vegetables took significantly longer than you expected, it’s likely that you used bigger chunks than the recipe author. So if you want to save cooking time, consider cutting your vegetables smaller. Unless your stove has serious problems, the amount of veggies shouldn’t be too much of a factor.

Bottom line:
It’s up to you which approach you choose to reduce the cooking time, as both can work. I personally would just cut the vegetables a bit smaller.


How can I add more "chew" to veggie burgers with only vegetables?

Vegetables are mostly water. Water isn't chewy, protein is. What has a lot of protein in the vegetable world? Legumes, grains and fungi. Your "usual substitutes".

I feel like the requirements that you have laid out are self defeating.

Instead of not allowing the known chewy foods you should instead figure out how to use them for bulk and still showcase more flavorful vegetables.

I prefer white wheat that has been boiled until it bursts. Lots of texture but the flavor is easily overridden by whatever else is added.

As for a binder- the easiest is an egg if you don't need vegan. Otherwise you can use starch such as flour but you have to be gentle.


Here is one solution, a spatter guard:

It has a mesh screen that holds most oil, but air moves freely. This is just one, Amazon has many: Spatter Guard.

For what it is worth, they don't have to be uni-taskers. They are great as steamers as well. Awesome for sticky rice or to steam veggies. Just put an inverted bowl on top. Most are stainless steel and dishwasher safe.


Can you get sick from milk that's been heated at a high temperature?

No, there is nothing about raising otherwise-safe milk rapidly to a high temperature that is going to make you sick. Unless you are already lactose intolerant or otherwise allergic to milk. Raising milk rapidly to a temperature above the danger zone (140 F / 60 C) is going to make it safer, not less safe.


How to get the flavors to meld when I add fruit and sugar to plain yogurt?

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

General advice:

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

In response to the updates:

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

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


Is it ok according to established practice to serve a salad in addition to crudités?

It is perfectly acceptable to serve both or just one or the other. Typically crudités are considered an appetizer but, when serving crudités, a salad is not always needed. I would base my decision on what type of gathering it is and the entirety of the menu.

From The Veggie Table:

  Crudités is a French term that refers to raw vegetables, so a platter of crudités typically consists of one or more types of vegetables served with one or more dips. These are great for parties and can be served as an appetizer, at a buffet, in place of a salad – the sky is the limit.

UPDATE - Based on the information provided in the comments, I agree with @Max - I would serve both crudités and salad.


What is this yellow and white mass inside my red cabbage?

These are immature flower shoots from the cabbage. Over time these would develop into a shoot that projects out the top of the "head" of the cabbage bearing the flowers.

These are not purple as they are largely stem (check the stems/major veins on the leaves - they are mostly white too). The flowers of the cabbage are yellow - but these aren't the yellow bits you are seeing - those are the bracts; the same as the "leaves" you get around a broccoli floret.


Safe to wash rice the night before and leave overnight before cooking?

I did this in my restaurant for years, it really does work great. Make your rice in a huge batch, cook it as if you're planning to eat it then, but then let it cool until handlable. Once it is cool enough, bag it in individual servings and freeze it. Refrigerating cooked rice quickly ruins it, freezing it, however, works great. If your servings are fairly small, snack sized ziplocks work great for this, otherwise use sandwich sized. Make sure you press the air of the bags, I take all of the small bags and seal them together in gallon sized ziplocks to give them one more layer of protection in the freezer. Either with the rice solidly frozen, or at lunchtime (defrosted, cool rice), throw the baggie in the microwave. You don't even have to open the baggie, when it pops open that's a sign to check it. It may need a bit of a mix and a few more seconds in the microwave, or it may be done, it just needs to be heated through. The hot rice will be almost indistinguishable from freshly cooked. If you don't have a microwave, you can drop the sealed baggie into simmering water, or take the frozen or cool rice out of the bag and steam it to heat.


I've imported a dragon beard candy product from Hong Kong in the increasingly-distant past. The company I worked with used a maltose-based solution that had been boiled (wheat germ sugar). They'd typically heat the puck in a microwave or hot water bath before shaping the dragon beard candy so that it would be soft enough to work, but still have the tensile strength to hold together while stretching and pulling.

I would seriously doubt that uncooked honey, even fermented, would be sufficient to obtain the structure required for dragon beard candy. What honey does provide, though, assuming this is 100% honey, is a good mix of fructose, maltose and glucose to help control crystallization as it cools. It's not clear to me whether that vendor (I presume you're referring to the one in Insadong) "ferments" the honey before or after boiling, but I expect they would have fermented it beforehand. This is likely to affect the ratio of sugars present and maybe result in a bit of alcohol, but there are several mechanisms possible to ferment honey, including raw honey.

I'm not sure how critical the fermentation step is for a honey-based dragon beard candy; for a wheat germ based or barley-based sugar, the amylase reaction is essentially what yields the maltose (since otherwise you're just eating the grain germ).

In any event, ultimately the boiling step is what controls the crystallization needed to produce dragon beard candy. Thanks to some combination of trade secrets and language issues, I never learned with absolute certainty whether traditional dragon beard candy is boiled to soft crack to hard crack stage, though I'm inclined to believe the versions for which storage is possible reach something very close to hard crack stage and therefore need the softening step.

For what it's worth, I've done the hand-stretching process with the guidance of the master confectioner of the dragon beard candy company and it's quite stiff. Attempts at duplicating it at home with my own sugar solution had mixed results; it does take some experimentation (or training) to get it right.


What's the minimal set of cookware for Chinese, Japanese foods on an electric induction cook-top?

You can cook with only one pan. Or, if you want to go absolutely minimalistic, you can get the cheapest stainless steel pot you want and both cook and fry in it - not very convenient, but doable. In that sense, the minimum amount of vessels to buy is one.

Of course, your grandparents might find that they don't want to deal with the inconvenience of having only one pan, but nobody can predict which number of pans is optimal for them personally, this is something they have to decide.

Frankly, in your situation, there is no pan in the world that meets your grandparents' expectations. If they don't want to care for a seasoned cast iron or carbon steel, then this is out. If they hate food sticking, all other technologies beside PTFE and ceramic are also out. PTFE and ceramic are not durable, they fail after some time - and the higher the heat you use, the sooner they fail.

The way I have seen most people in your grandparents' situation solve the problem is to use PTFE only and replace it when it gets ruined - about once or twice a year.


To pre-slice or not to pre-slice fajitas?

Marinating only works on the surface of the meat as salt is the only thing that can get inside the slice of meat. So I suggest marinating the meat sliced and then cooking it. Extra bonus - cooking time is shorter!

I have some extra tips, take if you want. A good idea is to cook it hot and quickly like in a wok, but if you don't have a wok then that's okay (I don't have one myself). That way you sear the outside of the slices and what juice there is in the small piece of meat should stay in. If you do cook at high heat remember to use an oil with a high smoking point, like avocado, ghee, lard, or coconut oil.


What varieties of potato would be good for chips / french fries?

The potato is probably not as important as the method. Simply frying them will not get you the fry you want. Basically you boil them, then double fry them. Here are the steps for The Perfect French Fry:

Ingredients
2 pounds russet potatoes (about 4 large), peeled and cut into
1/4-inch by 1/4-inch fries (keep
potatoes stored in a bowl of water)
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
Kosher salt
2 quarts peanut oil
Procedure

Place potatoes and vinegar in saucepan and add 2 quarts of water and
2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil
over high heat. Boil for 10 minutes.
Potatoes should be fully tender, but
not falling apart. Drain and spread on
paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet.
Allow to dry for five minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in 5-quart Dutch oven or large wok over high heat
to 400°F. Add 1/3 of fries to oil (oil
temperature should drop to around
360°F). Cook for 50 seconds, agitating
occasionally with wire mesh spider,
then remove to second paper-towel
lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with
remaining potatoes (working in two
more batches), allowing oil to return
to 400°F after each addition. Allow
potatoes to cool to room temperature,
about 30 minutes. Continue with step
3, or for best results, freeze
potatoes at least over night, or up to
2 months.

Return oil to 400°F over high heat. Fry half of potatoes until crisp and
light golden brown, about 3 1/2
minutes, adjusting heat to maintain at
around 360°F. Drain in a bowl lined
with paper towels and season
immediately with kosher salt. Cooked
fries can be kept hot and crisp on a
wire rack set on a sheet tray in a
200°F oven while second batch is
cooked. Serve immediately.

Worth reading is also the science behind the perfect fries.


Instant Hummus Pre-cooking without Dehydrating

Raw chickpea flour is unpleasantly bitter, but it becomes delicious when dry roasted or fried in a little oil.
It takes some practice to achieve exactly the right degree of roastedness. You will notice while dry roasting that the flour starts to become aromatic, and then smells slightly over-roasted and rather suddenly turns light brown. I recommend roasting it until just before the colour change for this purpose. Stir constantly and break up lumps to roast evenly.
This pre-roasted flour will not need further cooking. To reconstitute you simply add a little water, mix, add more water, mix, and keep going until the consistency is what you want. You can immediately eat it, you can use cold water for this, and you do not need to cook it.
You can also lightly dry roast and grind sesame seeds, probably along with the chickpea flour. Avoid grinding sesame seeds alone too finely, as they will turn into tahini.
Presumably you have access to garlic powder.
A dry substitute for lemon juice could be sumac (a type of berry which is dried and powdered), as suggested by Chris H.


What are the basic tricks to prevent the bottom layer of cake from burn when making it without an oven?

I am guessing from your question that you are making a stovetop cake.

Burning the bottom of the cake is probably related to too much heat transfer directly to the cake pan.  Most recipes that I have seen incorporate some method to separate the pan from the direct heat.

If you are making the cake with the assistance of a large pot or dutch oven, then it is important to make a rack to keep the cake pan off the bottom of the outer pot. The most common way of doing this is by creating a crunched up ring of aluminum foil, and placing the cake pan on top of that foil ring. You could also use an upside colander.  I've also seen techniques that use cleaned gravel or pebbles to keep the cake pan off the direct heat. (For example, check out this website: https://www.nigerianfoodtv.com/how-to-bake-cake-without-oven-and-on/)

If you are cooking directly on the stovetop (without using a dutch oven), then you probably need to decrease your heat and go for slower cooking. Lining your cake pan with foil or parchment may also help.

Good luck!


How to make vivid color candy with a small quantity of natural food coloring?

To the question in the title: you can't. Food coloring works just like any other dye or pigment. It consists of tiny colored particles, and the more particles you have in one place, the more intense the color. If you dilute the particles, the color will be pale, no matter what. If you want a certain shade of color, you need the corresponding quantity of particles, and cannot arbitrarily decrease it.
As for the reason for different color intensities with different food coloring products, there are too many possible reasons, both due to technical limitations and marketing decisions.

the different product types can use different colorings
the different product types can use different densities of color particles
the size and structure of the color particles matters. It is normal that a powder will give you a dull color, if it is insoluble - powders generally have low saturation, and transparent crystalline materials are white when powdered (prime example: sugar).
I wouldn't be surprised if color particles suspended in gel droplets can be perceived as more vividly colored, since the gel droplets do have their own optical properties. This is just speculation though, I don't know if it is possible to reliably create a structure in which the color is enhanced, and if yes, if it is being used for such a cheap product as food coloring.
even if it is technically possible to make e.g. a powder with the same coloring result as a gel, the companies might prefer not to, to achieve better market segmentation

So, there are many potential reasons, but the result for you as a baker is the same: the color hue you get is a physical property of the product you pick, and its intensity is a physical property of the amount in which you use it. You cannot magically change that, so you have to determine what gives you the shade you want, and use that.


What do you call a steak separated with fork?

Shredded is the correct term...maybe ropa vieja? This dish is typically made with flank steak that is shredded with the grain of the meat.  The Mexican version is cooked, shredded and then browned, usually in a pan on the stove, but back on the grill does not seem unreasonable.  It is typically served in a tortilla, with condiments.