Are there significant differences between different brands/models of immersion blenders?

America's Test Kitchen published a review of eight models in the April 2010 issue of Cook's Country.

Their test covered several common tasks for an immersion blender:

Mayonnaise emulsification
Making soup
Whipping cream
Making smoothies with frozen ingredients
Making pesto

They evaluated the blenders on three criteria: performance, usability, and ease of cleaning. The only blender to perform at the highest level across all three, and the only to win their top honors of "highly recommended" is the Kalorik Sunny Morning Stick Mixer.

The model that I use is the KitchenAid Hand Blender. I have never had a problem with it, and it was the only other model reviewed to be recommended. It was dinged a few points in the soup & whipped cream tests.

The remaining models were either recommended "with reservations", or outright not recommended. The reasons for these included:

No cup included. The cup is important for ensuring optimal mixing.
Battery powered
Having to hold two buttons to use
Ridiculously loud
Excessive vibrations
General discomfort & fatigue
Poor performance with one or more of the food tasks. This was typically attributed to either a weak motor, or a poor blade cage design. A poorly designed cage can restrict the circulation of food resulting in portions being over blended.

None of the models  reviewed included a Sunbeam or Braun. However, the Cuisinart model was, and received the lowest marks of all.


You might want to include your recipe for the buttercream. That could help people figure out one of the reasons for your cake layers sliding around.

My thoughts from looking at your luscious cake photo are:

3 layers is a pretty tall cake! 2 layers would be more likely to stay stable. If you want 3, you could make them thinner, or even cut one of them in half. As long as you don't have a sliced edge at the very top, it doesn't matter that frosting will kick up crumbs from the sliced edges.
Layers don't look quite level (i.e. flat). You mentioned leveling the top layer. Maybe more important to level the bottom layers, if you don't want the upper stories sliding around.
Is buttercream a little too liquid and slippery? Knowing your recipe might help people determine this.
Possibly a little tooo much buttercream in between layers. I don't mean too much to be delectable; I mean too much for mechanical stability. It's hard to tell how much is in between the layers, but it does look like a pretty thick coating on the outside, so I'm guessing you were also generous in-between.

All that said, this cake looks terrific, and very rich!


What limitations are there to sauteeing with water?

The big difference is that oil can get to a higher temperature than water can.  Water turns to steam at 212F, while most oils won't start smoking until 300-400F.  Caramelization doesn't happen until 320F (for sucrose and glucose, 230F for fructose), while browning (the Maillard reaction, to be specific) doesn't happen until 375F.   Now when you "saute" like that in water, you'll also be using the steam to cook, and the steam will be somewhat hotter than 212F, but probably not enough hotter (or in enough quantity) to get to those reaction temperatures.   You might get high enough temperatures via direct contact with the bottom of the pan, but that's a recipe for uneven cooking, as the part of the food actually in direct contact are likely to be quite small.


Can powdered citric acid be used instead of baking soda?

No, those are absolutely not the same thing. They're completely different compounds: baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), and citric acid is C6H8O7. And they're not even similar chemically: baking soda is a base, and citric acid is (surprise) an acid.

Also, to help out in the future, Google is actually really good for questions like this. If you search for baking soda or citric acid, then along with the usual web results you should get a knowledge panel with a brief description, chemical formula, various other simple facts, and a link to the Wikipedia page.


making scalloped potatoes, need to be in oven for 3 hours,what temperature should I have them on

I found a recipe for slow baked potatoes that has the potatoes in the oven for 3 hours set at 350F. According to the author:

"The accepted practice is to bake potatoes for an hour. But here's how long to bake a baked potato if you want it to be nutty and soft: three hours, yes, that's no typo, it really is 'three' hours. The skin and flesh are both completely delicious when slow-baked for a long time."

Recipe here.

However, I am unsure whether this theory holds true for scalloped potatoes. Most scalloped potatoes recipes I came across had the potatoes being baked in the oven for ~1 hr at ~350F.


Is there REALLY a difference in powdered milk brands for baking bread

There are some differences between powdered milk brands -- most significant is in if they have fat in them or not.  Most powdered milk are non-fat, but there are a few such as Nido that contain fat in them.

Your recipe specifically says nonfat powdered milk, so it significantly reduces the differences.  There might be some variety because of how they're produced (vaccuum only, vaccuum plus mild heat to dry it) or what the source of the non-fat was (eg, if it came from butter-making).

There are also come companies that fortify (add vitamins) to their powdered milk -- Nido again comes to mind.  Some of the vitamins (eg, vitamin C) can make a difference in yeast activity.

That being said, the majority of times when a recipe calls for a specific brand**, it's because the recipe was distributed by a specific company, and they're trying to get you to use their brands. Pillsbury, Kraft and Campbells are quite common in this regard, and I wouldn't be surprised if other companies did so as well.

** Except in the case of hot sauces.  Although there are some hot sauce cookbooks distributed by Tobasco and such, the differences in heat and spicing are quite significant, and some cookbooks will say things like "1 TB hot sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot)".

My personal recommendation would be to try to look up the nutrition information for the variety they call for, and the one you have.  If they're similar (same amount to reconstitute to a cup of milk, and similar sugar levels), I'd go ahead and try it -- you might even like it better with the different brand.  If it doesn't come out quite like you're looking for, then go ahead and try to find the specific brand from the recipe.


Keeping the starter in the refrigerator is a fairly common practice, and does not degrade the quality of the starter.  In fact, you can also freeze a starter...or even dehydrate it for longer storage.  As you point out, this just reduces its activity, and the frequency of feedings.  Of course, when you are preparing to bake, you should remove it from the refrigerator well in advance.  Depending on how long you go between feedings, you may want to remove it from the refrigerator 24 hours or more in advance, and begin regular 12-hr (or so) feedings to get it working at its full effectiveness again.


New to cooking - how long to cook chicken breast pieces in a wok?

Unfortunately, temperature is the only thing you can go by: the phrases 'medium heat' and '4/6 on the hob' don't really give us any information, and there could be significant variations in cooking time due to the shape of the wok, the starting internal temperature of the chicken, the shape of the breasts, and so on.

With chicken, the entirety of the meat (down to the center) has to be exposed to a high enough temperature for long enough that any bacteria that may be present will be killed. This happens essentially instantly at 165 F, though one can cook it at lower temperatures for longer periods of time for the same effect (this is much harder, because you need to sustain a relatively high temperature, in the range of 145-150, throughout the entirety of the chicken for something on the order of half an hour). Whether or not the meat appears bloody is irrelevant, so long as the meat has been cooked to the right temperature.

There are plenty of general guides on determining when chicken is done: for instance, Pan frying chicken breasts? and How to know when chicken breast has cooked through?. You will likely need to experiment or get a meat thermometer.


What are the benefits, if any, of using a pizza stone in a toaster oven?

In a small toaster oven, using a pizza stone is likely to be a tradeoff:

Toasting -- counter-productive, because it will shield the bottom of the bread (or other item) from the direct radiative heat from the bottom elements; you would want to remove the stone for this use.
Broiling (or as it is called in the British parlance if I understand correctly, grilling) -- Probably not a good idea.  In a full sized oven, the stone would be left far enough from the heating elements that it would not be subject to intense radiative heat.  In a toaster oven, it might be too close to the elements when the oven is used this way, so might be subject to cracking due to a higher temperature gradient and uneven thermal expansion.
General baking -- will require a longer a pre-heating period for the oven/stone to come up to temperature, but once at temperature, will provide a buffering effect for more even heating.
Convenience -- in full sized ovens, people often leave the stone in all of the time, and cook on a different rack if they don't want direct contact with the stone.   This may or may not be possible or convenient in a toaster oven, so you may be constantly removing or putting back the stone based on your current use

Note that all of the above is just reasoning based on known facts; I haven't tried a pizza stone in a toaster oven, and wouldn't do so, as they have a generally low thermal mass.   I tend to think of them as tools for toasting and reheating, not for primary cooking, baking, or roasting.


What should I look for in a good, multi-purpose chef's knife?

One of the most important things is a full tang. The tang is an extension of the metal of the blade into the handle. In knives with a full tang, it goes all the way through the handle. This improves stability, control, and durability. Cheaper knives with partial tangs will have the handle break off over time.
In a chef's knife, you want a blade from 8 to 10 inches long, whichever is more comfortable.
You can also either get a forged or stamped blade. I suggest reading this article on the differences. To summarize, forged blades are softer, easier to sharpen, heavier, and have a bolster. Stamped blades are sharper, harder to sharpen, lighter, and have a welded on a bolster if any. With current manufacturing processes forged is not necessarily better than stamped. You should make your own decisions. All crap knives are stamped, but not all stamped knives are crap.
This brings me to one of the most important points: It must feel good in your hand. Don't buy an expensive knife just because it's expensive, or you recognize the name. Go to a store that will let you use the knife, Williams-Sonoma will do this. If you can, bring a carrot in your pocket and actually cut that in the store.
I'll do some research on steel quality and update this later.


Speaking as a Brit - we are a nation of chip lovers :)

Use an oil which can cope with the high temperature such as groundnut. For that proper chip experience (* heart attack alert *) add some beef dripping or lard. I add a small amount to give the chips a nice flavour.
Whilst heating the oil regulary dip a chip in the oil. When it starts to bubble then it's time to cook. If the oil is too cold the chips will absorb it and they'll go soggy. (This is easier to achieve with a traditional chip pan or I prefer a deep saucepan).
For the perfect chip the potato variety is important but this is personal taste. Last seasons reds will make dark delicious chips but I prefer new potatoes which make a crisper lighter coloured chip. (The potato variety also affects the colour when cooked).
Finally, drain on kitchen paper and a sprinkle of salt.


How to test that a knife is sharp enough?

The most readily evident way of determining if a knife needs to be sharpened is when you notice that you're having to apply more force than normal.

When you start out with a sharp knife you will become accustomed to how it glides through food.  Over time you're going to notice that you are having to apply more pressure than normal and that's when it's time to have it sharpened.

Factors that affect how frequently knives need to be sharpened include:

-The type of knife itself:  Forged knives, if properly cared for will typically hold and edge longer than stamped knives.

-Care for the knife:  Washing knives in dishwashers wears down the edge quicker.  Storing loose in drawers without a blade guard will also cause them to dull quicker.

-The manner in which you use the knife:  The "Whack" "Whack" noise that so many people associate with cutting is an audible clue that you're cutting incorrectly.  The "Whacking" of the blade against the board is caused by pushing the blade downward rather than forward.  Cutting straight down against the board dulls the blade through the blunt force pressure against the cutting surface and it also results in smashing and crushing the food instead of providing a clean cut.

-The surface that you're cutting on:  The harder the surface the more damage it will do to your blade.  Don't cut on surfaces composed of tempered glass, stone (natural or man-made products), solid surfaces such as Corian, metal, or hard plastic.

-The frequency of use:  The more often a knife is used, the more frequent it will need to be sharpened.


From a food science point of view, in terms of the quality of flavor and the texture of the cookies, there is little reason to choose slicing over squashing; both will give very similar outcomes.

You may find the aesthetics or appearance of the cookies will be slightly different with the two methods.   The sliced cookies will be more regular, especially if you cut them with dental floss; they will be quite round and even edged.  The squashed cookies will be more irregular at the edges and perhaps show more texture on top.


Following on from my comment, I have found some (old) US government documents that seem to answer this question. TL;DR: salivary glands, lymph nodes, and fat are "pork byproducts" (thus not "pork") and as such must be named explicitly on the ingredients list.

The long answer: The USDA's 2005 Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book lists:

  MEAT BYPRODUCTS:
  Byproducts must be individually declared by species and specific name in the ingredients
  statement, e.g., Pork Liver, Beef Tripe, and Beef fat.

and

  “(Species) tongue trimmings” may also be used to
  identify salivary glands, lymph nodes, and fat from which the muscle tissue has not been removed.

(note that OP's ingredient list specifies "Cheeks", suggesting that these may indeed be "tongue trimmings". A different USDA website gives some idea of what is considered a "byproduct":

  virtually all parts of the live animal that are not part of the dressed carcass.

The policy book further defines Chorizo (which OP's product is marketed as) as:

  CHORIZO (SP):
  The product name “Chorizo” can be used for any type of chorizo sausage that is cooked, dry, semi-dry, cured and fresh without further product name qualification. Other requirements for various types of chorizo apply, including the sausage standard.

Finally, we can find the following text:

  SAUSAGE CLASSIFICATION: [...] Cooked sausages and/or Smoked sausages: [...] Meat byproducts may be used when permitted by standard.

There are a few plot holes:

There is no mention of byproducts in any type of sausage other than "cooked and/or smoked", so I cannot tell if they are allowed or not.
The policy book has an entry that seems to forbid the inclusion of these ingredients, contradicting the quotes above:

  Trimmings with fat from tongue is acceptable ingredient in cooked sausage products covered under section 9 CFR 319.180 of the regulations. Lymph nodes and salivary glands are not acceptable ingredients.


Litmus paper is quite inexpensive. Edmund Scientific has 100 strips for US$1.95.


Does proofing time affect the density of bread?

Yes, under-proofing is an excellent way to ensure a dense loaf.

  When we bake too soon after shaping (i.e. under-proof our loaf), our gluten network has not had sufficient time to relax. As a result, rather than stretch as its internal gases expand, the gluten simply tears. Under these conditions, gases don't escape in a controlled manner like they should; they burst out at random weak points in the crust, resulting in bread that is over-expanded around the edges, but dense and gummy in the center. Improper scoring (or forgetting to score entirely) can lead to similar end results as the dough desperately tries to find avenues of expansion.

-Max Bernstein Serious Eats

That whole article is a good read, especially in ways to avoid proofing problems. The poke test is your friend. Using your finger (some bakers insist on a floured finger), poke an indentation in the loaf just shy of about a centimeter deep. In a fully proofed loaf, the indentation will stay and you are ready to bake (the indentation will fill as the loaf bakes). In an under-proofed loaf, the hole will bounce back pretty quickly.


Information regarding Brassica juncea var. rugosa (芥菜) and it's bitter leaves

Bolted?
This is a mustard related to bok choi, napa cabbage etc.  If mustard (or many other leafy plants) bolt and set flowers they can become bitter.  One would think that they would not then be sold, but sellers can cut off the flowers and hope no-one notices.  I once bought some like this at the farmers market and a different seller caught sight of it and pointed out where the flowers had been cut off.
I am not super averse to bitter so I ate it anyway.


According to Seductions of Rice (which also has the best written instructions for making sushi rice I've seen), any Japanese-style rice will work fine for sushi rice.  They further define Japanese Rice as Japonica short rice which has a length:width ratio of 2.5:1.  The grains should look translucent and rounded, sometimes with a small white spot at one end.

For example, I personally use "Akita Komachi" organic rice.  This is also a "half-brown" rice, which gives it more vitamin content than pure white rice, as well as a nice nutty flavor.

According to them, Japanese rice is frequently covered in talc or powdered starch to keep it dry, which is why rinsing it prior to cooking is essential.

I'm not going to go through their entire instructions for preparing sushi rice -- you can borrow the book from your local library for that -- but I will go over the essentials to make sure you're not missing major steps:

Rinse the rice
Soak the rice in cold water for 20 minutes
Cook the rice
Mix the rice with vinegar, sugar and salt
Spread the rice out in a wide pan to cool
Make sushi within 3 hours.


How to reproduce the smell of the ocean in cooking?

"The smell of the sea" as romanticised by those of us who visit the shore infrequently, is really that of rotting seaweed & dead sea animals...

So, that aside, which aspect of "the smell of the sea" are you really trying to recreate?

It could be as simple as 'make it smell a bit fishy' for which almost any South East Asian fish sauce will do. [It will also add salt, so be careful in your seasoning]. Some are far stronger than others & many, to a westerner, have almost indecipherable labelling, so you may need to try a few to find the right one. They're generally quite cheap, so it's not too hard to experiment.

Additionally, sea-weed - packaged conveniently in sheet form by many Japanese companies for making sushi - would add some of that 'vegetable edge' to the experience, with its own distinct aroma.

Both of the above, added to almost any broth or sauce, will set you off in the right direction, without having to add anything you dragged from the pier yourself ;)


Will liquid keep longer if I boil it and then leave the lid on?

If both foodstuff and cooking vessel are heated fully and tightly sealed, you may sterilize them well enough to delay spoilage. It is not safe to rely on this, because it is easy to compromise the seal.  You can't be sure the lid of the pot got hot enough to sterilize it too, and escaping steam will open the lid slightly, allowing outside air in.  Once contaminated, warm broth and meat are a perfect growth medium for bacteria.

The safer approach is opt for fast cooling in an ice water bath with the lid off to allow steam to escape, followed by prompt refrigeration.  This gets the food out of the temperature danger zone (40-140F) where bacteria multiply rapidly, and doesn't rely on maintaining a sterile environment in your pot.

Sous vide cooking is an exception: with a sealed bag, you're recreating Louis Pasteur's famous proof of the germ theory. In his experiments, he sealed boiled broth in containers that prevented dust particles (carrying microorganisms) from contaminating them.  The sealed containers did not spoil.  Of course, this ignores the problem of botulism: the spores aren't killed, even at a full boil, and can then germinate and start to multiply.  This (and similar pathogens) are why sous vide foods do not have infinite shelf life in their bags.


Baked sweet potato french fries (chips) too soft, how to crispen?

You can try a few things:

dredge the fries in cornstarch (whack them in a plastic bag, give it a good shake), shake off the excess, then season.
ensure the fries are in a single layer in the pan - crowding and stacking will mean they steam, not roast
when they're nearly done, turn the oven off and leave them in there for 20 minutes or so before serving.

I would also avoid cutting them thick. They should be french fries, not steak fries.


Is there a reason to NOT use no-stick spray (Pam) for handling dough?

The only potential reasons not to use spray oil to help handle dough are:

There is a small amount of lecithin in most spray oils
The oil may not be of the highest quality, and thus not have the best taste
The propellants may leave an off-taste

You are using it in such tiny quantities, however, that I don't think either of these are a practical concern, except possibly in the face of an extreme soy allergy (if the lecithin is from soy).


What is the best way to cook chicken for enchiladas?

Most recipes say to use a slow cooker, but some say boil. Why would one be better than the other?

It is better to slow simmer. As a very general rule, it is better to moist cook meat or poultry slowly. It makes for a more tender, more luscious bit of meat. Sometimes I'd rather not reinvent the wheel, so I'll just show you this from Bon Appetit to address the question of why.

  I plan on using boneless skinless chicken breast.

Certainly that is your prerogative! :) I would advise against it. In my opinion, boneless skinless thighs are best for this application, even though breasts shred more evenly and are just prettier than thighs. Again, I'm going to provide a link, this time for a recipe Add a Pinch . Easy!!

  I recognize there is no exact time for it to be done, so what are the signs of being done and ready to shred?

One of the reasons I love chicken thighs is that they are almost infinitely forgiving. You (for a few reasons, safety being perhaps the most important) should always cook chicken to an internal temperature of at least 165F (74C). In my opinion thighs are better much longer cooked than that, but that's the minimum for safety. When in any doubt, use a digital, instant read thermometer. That one and this one tied America's Test Kitchen ratings for best inexpensive models.

  Last question, how much water would I use in a slow cooker with the chicken?

None :) Use a very small amount (2 TBS even) of something wet and flavorful! The recipe in the above section should be able to help with that. I use the "refrigerator velcro" (thanks Alton Brown for the great line) method. Open the refrigerator and look for something wet, Mexican-y and isn't spoiled. That'll work!

Good Luck.

I've left a lot of room for improvement in this answer and for more answers. I'm pretty sure the community has quite a bit to add.


Why is there a watery run-off after cooking my bolognese?

A few things that can help, if it's not an issue with fat like @Aaronut suggested:

Tomato paste.  Yes, I know it's a sacrelige, but it'll act as a thickener.
Take the pasta out before it's gotten to al dente, and finish cooking it in the sauce; the pasta will absorb any extra liquid, and help to thicken the sauce.
Do not rinse off the pasta after you drain it.  Way too many people do, and it washes off the starch that you want for the sauce to bind to the pasta properly, and may introduce extra water.


I usually cut the wheel of cheese, wax and all. So cut a quarter or a half off, depending on how much you want to eat. Then, you can simply peel the wax off. Clean the knife of wax before using it again to cut cheese you'll be eating.

EDIT:

Another solution (upon a quick Googling to search for an answer to @Joe's issue in the comment) could be to use a vegetable peeler to peel layers of problematic wax off until getting to cheese goodness: http://nomenu.com/?p=43877


How do I remove boar taint (from a wooden handle)?

This is speculative, but too long for a comment.

One option you have for dealing with tools is that you can heat them hotter than food. You could try putting the cleaver in the oven for quite long periods, first fairly cool then hotter. Bare wood will generally darken but not char at typical oven temperatures, and I assume it's not vanished or otherwise coated as the flavour has soaked in (coatings may burn). Too hot and you risk losing the temper of the blade - if you know the exact steel you may be able to set an upper limit, otherwise you could stick to no more than about 120--150 C for caution.

You can also try soaking in alcohol as at least one of the relevant compounds is soluble in alcohol, and that won't damage the wood. I'd use flambé alcohol or surgical spirit/rubbing alcohol.

Wood treatments (such as linseed oil) don't generally soak in very far - so sanding the handle to remove the surface might work (possibly followed by refinishing). If the handle is riveted you might have to file down the rivets as well (sandpaper would be ok on brass rivets but not steel).

If the knife is so precious that you don't want to try any of these options, or if the wood gets damaged, you could see if you could get a new handle fitted.

In order, I'd go for heat first, then sand the surface bit not so much as to cause any rivets to stand out, then soak in alcohol.


Why do baking recipes often tell you to "make a well" in flour before adding wet ingredients?

You don't need a bowl to make bread dough. You can make it on your kneading surface, by mounding up the flour and adding water. Of course, the water will just run off... unless you make a well in the flour to hold it until it's mixed in.
There is no good reason to "make a well" in flour in a bowl.


Which side of the oven tray is the front one? Why?

It doesn't really matter most of the time, but the sloped side should be the one facing you. Any rack designed to go inside the tray would better align with any grill (broiler) elements in that position. It also makes access easier if you don't have any rack in it & need to reach into the tray itself.
The holes may be for some additional attachment, or simply where the tray was hung whilst it was being enamelled. Any kind of heat-set powder coating needs to have a hanger which won't interfere too much with the eventual finish. Often they're placed out of sight, but that's not always possible, depending on the overall design.
Sometimes if you look, or even feel carefully, you can identify where the hanging wire/hook went, by the irregularity in the surface at that point.
Two lovely old enamelled trays showing the holes, with a cheap teflon one underneath, no holes

click for full size


How much smoke is normal for pan cooking steak?

in my experience, a carbon steel pan is highly reactive in term of temperature, especially on an induction cooktop; it will quickly overheat and burn your food.

Steak will smoke a lot, especially if the fat content is high.

Try lowering the temperature, use a thermometer and continue on your quest for the "perfect" steak.


How should I substitute jalapeño peppers for fresh green cayenne peppers?

I'm not sure you're familiar with it but I'd like to introduce you to the Scoville Scale:

  The Scoville scale is the measurement of the pungency (spicy heat) of chili peppers or other spicy foods as reported in Scoville heat units (SHU), a function of capsaicin concentration. The scale is named after its creator, American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville. His method, devised in 1912, is known as the Scoville Organoleptic Test.

  Unlike methods based on high-performance liquid chromatography, the Scoville scale is an empirical measurement dependent on the capsaicin sensitivity of testers and so is not a precise or accurate method to measure capsaicinoid concentration. [emphasis added]

This scale is subjective but having many people rate peppers at similar levels gives a pretty decent scale of relative "hotness".

On the scale, the Jalapeño rates between 2,500 and 10,000 Scoville units

  It is of mild to medium pungency, 2,500 and 10,000 Scoville units in general.

While the cayenne rates around 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units:

  It is generally rated at 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units.

It is unclear whether this range includes the immature, green varieties, though some charts place the cayenne at 50,000, so that could give the lower 30,000 as the rating of the green peppers.

So, even at its lowest rating, the cayenne pepper is three times hotter than the jalapeño's higest rating.

Relative hotness aside, I don't believe there's any reason you can't substitute the two. There are two important factors to be mindful of:

different flavor profile

  Classified, as a hot pepper, Green Cayenne chiles are not as hot as in their more mature red form, yet still offer a pungent heat with a fresh grassy, chile pepper flavor.
  The crisp and juicy flesh of the Jalapeno pepper offers a vegetal flavor and a spicy bite with heat increasing as the pepper peaks in maturity.

different water content

the jalapeno is more wet as it has thicker flesh while the cayenne has thinner flesh. This alone could affect your final product a bit, though you say you cook it down a lot, so it may be less impactful than a fresh salsa.

I'm would not recommend increasing the ratio to 3-1 to make it more hot because I'm not certain that having a higher ratio of heat producing content will actually make it taste as hot as the cayenne ever would - and it will add some volume to your relish. In the end, using jalapenos instead of cayenne will certainly be a different product but that doesn't mean it will be bad.

You can always taste as you go and add more spice before it's finished cooking if the flavor is too mild. Remember, though, that spicy flavors can change as a product ages, the way chili always tastes better the second day.


There is, as you've seen, no universally precise definition. Broadly, though, "resting" refers to allowing heat to diffuse through the food. Although the burgers are "still cooking" once placed on the higher rack, the amount of heat being applied is nowhere near as high as when they were on the grill, and following the resting the temperature differential will be lower than when they were first taken off the grill.


What is the correct water to pasta ratio?

This question was answered to some extent in another Pasta cooking question by Roux. This answer, which is basically just a link to a series of experiments by an MIT grad / Chef, dispels a number of myths about cooking pasta. For instance:

Water will return to a boil in the same amount of time regardless of how much is in the pot prior to pasta being added.
Pasta won't get sticky with smaller amounts of water. It only gets sticky because of reactions in the first few minutes of cooking, and the solution is to stir it. This is necessary even with lots of water.
You do not need a lot of water to cook pasta.
Water does not need to be boiling to cook pasta. It simply needs to be above 180°F/82°C.

Some really interesting stuff in the article that debunks quite a lot of kitchen lore about cooking pasta. I have tried this at home with great success.

So in answer to your specific question:

No, you do not need a lot of water, it simply has to cover the pasta.
The amount of salt is heavily dependent on the amount of pasta, the amount of water, and your own taste. You need to find a consistent way to cook pasta and then experiment.


How to cook a thin crispy pizza on a pizza stone

The most important thing is for the stone to be hot.   That generally means you need to set the oven to its highest setting, and then let it preheat for at least 30 minutes.

I use a 1-inch thick paver from a hardware store, and I generally get my best pizzas when I set the oven to 500F and wait about 45 minutes before I put the pizza in.

For a thin crust, I like the results from leaving the oven at 500F and baking for ~13 minutes in my oven, but I'm sure some people would consider that "burned".


Is it safe to eat marinated beef that has been frozen for three days?

As far as safety goes, you're fine, assuming the meat didn't stay unfrozen for too long before you refroze it.

As far as the efficacy of the marinading process, I'd think that the freezing/freezer burning process would go a long way toward preventing the marinade from imparting a lot of flavour and/or tenderness. Still, 3 days frozen is nothing. Shouldn't hurt anything.


Am i able use overripe bananas in pancakes?

Sounds delicious. The ripe banana would work great incorportated into a standard batter - maybe even with a dash of cinnamon/nutmeg (i'm so ready for fall flavours now), or some chocolate chips, or as is!

You can also create a simple "healthy" pancake, with mashed ripe banana and egg mixed together.

Go for it! Ripened bananas are very versatile, flexible and easy to incorporate into most sweet recipes (sugar and starch).


Why to remove skin and seeds of tomatoes when we puree them?

For whatever reason, the brand of tinned tomatoes I used to buy regularly had somewhat bitter-tasting seeds; the flavour was definitely present in pureed soups / sauces.

I used to squeeze them all out by hand, but some still made it into my precious San Marzano tomato sauces.

Then I found the perfect tool for skinning and seeding larger quantities of tomatoes: the food mill.

For the next several years, I dutifully used my mill to remove seeds from my favorite brand of (already skinned) tinned tomatoes - boring, yes, but the bitterness was gone.

Sometime during this period, I switched to a different brand of tomatoes. Then I got bored of the food mill, and pureed them whole again... with no bitterness.

The moral of the story? Eat some of the seeds! If they're bitter, get rid of them before you puree. If you don't really notice, then don't bother.

My food mill still makes great mashed potatoes. Or are they milled potatoes?


Do I need to increase the liquid amount when adding cheese to my scone recipe?

In general, I would expect this to work without adjustments.

The cheese is not actually a dry ingredient - as you say, it doesn't absorb moisture. If anything, it's slightly wet, in that as it melts in the oven, it will soak/meld into the scones a little. So if you had sufficient cheese, you might manage to turn things into a bit of a greasy mess. But in this kind of ratio, 50-100g of cheese and about 900g of other ingredients, that really doesn't seem like an issue.


What is a good way for a beginner to start sous vide cooking?

Start by estimating the accuracy of your temperature sensor and controller.  You're going to need to do some comparisons with reliable thermometers for this step.  I'm guessing you don't have any laboratory grade thermometers at home that have recently been professionally calibrated.  (Who does, really?)

Start by finding two or three digital cooking thermometers (preferably different models) that seem trustworthy.  Then calibrate your PID controller by measuring the temperature of a mixture of equal parts crushed ice and water.  It should be 0 °C.  While you're at it, use the ice slush to check the accuracy of the cooking thermometers you found.  Recalibrate or replace them as needed.  Finally, heat some water to around 60 °C (or whatever temperature your think you'll be using most often for cooking).  Then measure the temperature with your PID controller and the cooking thermometers.  That should give you a pretty good idea of how accurate your PID controller will be during cooking.  (If you find that your PID controller is accurate at ice temperatures, but quite a bit off at higher temperatures, you likely need a new temperature sensor.)

Sous vide accuracy is frequently in the neighborhood of +/- 0.1 °C, but +/- 0.5 °C is often good enough.  I'm not sure what "low accuracy" means, but let's say, for example, that you estimate your accuracy to be +/- 2.0 °C.  In that case, simply raise the temperature setting by 2 °C to compensate for the margin of error.  It might result in a different level of doneness than you want, but the food will probably be safe.

Take a look at Douglas Baldwin's A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking.  Not only does it have some excellent recipes for beginners, but it also has some great safety information.  If the food is to be consumed by pregnant women, you don't just want it to be cooked.  You want it pasteurized.  The guide includes tables for looking up the pasteurization time for fish, poultry, and meat (beef, pork, and lamb).  If the meat is starting frozen, add about 30 minutes to the cooking time.  If a recipe's going to take too long, use the tables to adjust the meat thickness or temperature in order to reduce the cooking time to your preference.  Keep in mind that your shouldn't start the timer until the food is in the water bath and the water is up to temperature.  So, save time by heating the water first thing when you're ready to cook.


Heating ham/cooking hashbrown potato casserole in same oven

This is what I would do.

Wait until the ham has 30 minutes left, then move it to the bottom shelf, put the hash browns on the top shelf, baste the ham well and set the oven for 350. Pull the ham out after 30 minutes so it has time to rest, and leave the hash browns in until they are done.


Why does my "dulce de leche" look like this?

I tried it again with fewer amounts and it came out perfectly (also added baking soda) as I also waited the right amount of time after it turned brown(i think it was about 5-10 mins).
and constantly took a sample to see how thick it is.
thanks for your help!


Is it possible to "ripen" mushrooms after it's picked?

You can not ripen mushrooms after they've been picked because once they are removed they are disconnected from the mycelium which acts as the mushrooms "brain". Once picked they soon die off. You can only slow that process by cleaning them and keeping them at cool temperatures.


Can I boil milk unattended (and still keep the pan clean)?

Boiling the milk in the microwave is the only way to do this "unattended", and that requires a lot of trial and error to get the time just right. It also won't work with many recipes that involve stirring anything into the milk while cooking.

Out of the microwave, I use a non-stick pan, but even that requires scraping the bottom from time to time a bit to prevent solids from forming. (I use a rubber spatula for this.) I usually boil the milk on its own and and combine it with the rest of the recipe later.


Defrosting haggis is no different to defrosting any other perishable food. It shouldn't be at room temperature for more than 2 hours. That means:

Defrosting in the fridge for 24 hours
Defrosting by running it under cold water for no more than 2 hours, then cooking it straight away.

There really is no problem with cooking haggis from frozen (or after partially defrosting), so long as you ensure it's piping hot throughout when you take it out of the oven. Use a probe thermometer if possible to ensure a safe temperature (75°C is a safe bet).


Bell Pepper Mousse - won't charge or discharge

You would not have been able to open a fully charged ISI without some effort and a big mess, so I am going to assume that the gas never entered...or entered and released as you were shaking.  Disassemble and fully clean your ISI...use the small brush that came with it to clean the nozzle. Check to see that all gaskets are present, particularly the large one that sits inside the top.  Reassemble.  Fill 3/4 with water (so as not to waste any useful ingredients), charge with one canister.  Hold an cup over the nozzle (so you don't spay water everywhere) and pull the release handle to see if gas/liquid is discharged.

My hunch is that you are either missing gasket...or something is caught in the mechanism that didn't allow the valve to seal properly.  You don't need much for the latter...black pepper or even raspberry "seeds" will hold the mechanism open enough for gas to escape.  Since you say it was your first use, I would guess the former.


Holding mashed potatoes in fridge before serving

I would suggest getting them to the riced/passed stage and then refrigerating in a tightly sealed container. When an order comes in, scoop out a portion, and bring it up to temperature with the use of hot milk (which could be microwaved) and a few minutes of on the stove. That way it's still reasonably fresh tasting.


When I steam fish, I usually steam it whole, but here are the steps I used to check for done ness

Are the eyes of the fish white?  A cooked fish's eyes will harden into white balls as the proteins in the eye coagulate

Can you separate the fish meat from the bone easily? Cooked fish should just barely stick to the bone and should come off very easily

Is the flesh easily separated? Using a chopstick or some other implement, the fish should "flake"; you should be able to easily separate the "sections" you see in the fish without much force

Is the flesh a solid colour or translucent? Cooked fish should be a solid white/pink/whatever colour and not slightly translucent like it is when uncooked

Of course, only the last 2 steps will probably apply to your fillet, but hope this helps!


How to achieve fall-off-the-bone lamb with browned bits in oven?

That temperature is fine, but is never, ever going to produce “fall off the bone” in one hour. That requires hydrolysis of collagen into gelatin, which takes significantly longer.  It’s possible the chef was describing how he finished the lamb, after a longer (and possibly wetter) cook at a lower temperature.
Don’t worry too much about losing liquid. That is absolutely going to happen with long, slow cooking, even if you’re boiling the meat. The “moistness” of long-roasted meat comes from rendered gelatin, not from hoarding the juices. With very long dry cooking you do run some risk of drying out (this will manifest as a thick dry 'bark' on the meat, not as dryness throughout), but just tenting the meat with foil should avoid that.
Try three hours at 180, covering with foil until the last half hour. This will probably produce more fall-off-the-bone than you'd like, but it's a good starting point.


why have the roast chicken pieces turned brown when put in a pot of boiling vegetables

It sounds like the chicken has taken the color of the soup base, as long as it was safe when you put it into the pot it will still be safe now.


The grades that you would be interested in, that are available in Canada, are:
Prime, AAA, AA, and A

See:
Beef Grades and Comparison with US Grades

You can get Sterling Silver Beef in most grocery stores and it is either Prime or high quality AAA. It is also aged for 21 days.

You can also order Prime on-line or ask your favourite butcher.


What happens if I forget to feed my sourdough starter?

Then feed it again

In my experience, any issues with sourdough, up to and including a surface layer of fungus, formaldehyde smell, and rotten dirty socks smell, can be fixed by simply feeding it. The worse the sourdough's condition is, the longer you have to feed it; if you don't have any of the above mentioned issues, two days consistent feeding should be fine.

Three notes:

Usually I put in 2:1 volumetric flour to water.
I have used whole grain wheat (and rye) before, with no difficulties. The consistency will be a bit different, but whole grains can sustain a good long term sourdough. In my experience, a sourdough "trained" exclusively on whole grains does a much better job on any bread recipe with bran in it; whether whole grain or added.
If you are forgetful about a sourdough, consider putting it in the fridge. I put mine in the fridge and feed it once a week. You can miss a couple weeks, which will then cause the aforementioned smells, but it can be recovered in a few days of consistent feeding on the countertop.


How to cook popcorn from frozen popcorn kernels?

I've done this a few times now. It works, straight from the freezer, no defrosting required.

Here are some observations, based on cooking the kernels in a stove-top metal saucepan with a little medium-hot oil over a moderate heat:

More steam than usual comes off the frozen popcorn during cooking. Without a pretty big gap between pan and lid (bigger than usual) for all the extra steam to escape, the popcorn can come out not soggy, but soft and less-than-crisp. It's a little tricky to get the right gap without letting popcorn pop out the pan. Holding the lid flat about 2cm above the pan with one hand while moving the pan with the other seems to work.
Even after doing this, the cooked popcorn is still a bit less than crisp immediately after cooking. If I leave it in the hot pan for about 5 minutes, with the stove off, no lid, moving it around occasionally, that seems to be enough for any extra moisture to evaporate and the popcorn to finish up nice and crisp.
I tend to use small amounts of oil for popcorn, so spitting when I added the frozen corn wasn't a big problem. Certainly, there was less spitting than, for example, stir-frying frozen vegetables. That said, it's still worth having the lid in the other hand ready to hold over the pan immediately, but primarily to stop any fast-popping corn, more than to shield from spitting oil.

Apart from that, and maybe taking very slightly longer to pop (not nearly as big a difference as I expected, and some seem to possibly pop faster, which doesn't make much sense), it seems to cook exactly as normal straight from the freezer, no defrosting required.

So I wouldn't keep popcorn kernels in the freezer unless (like me) you need to, but if you do need to, it's no big deal, just slightly less convenient.


What can I make with the broken corn chips at the bottom of the bag?

They're generally good for adding some crunch, too, not just the flavor. A few things that come to mind:

on top of a salad - my family does a roasted corn and black bean salad; also probably good instead of croutons in salads where they're a better flavor/style fit
garnish on a soup - tortilla soup, sopa de elote...
as part of a breading for fish or chicken (or anything else to bake or fry)

In general, anywhere you would use breadcrumbs, tortilla chip crumbles might find a place. If you're afraid they're too salty, you could always put dump them in a sieve and shake some of the really small bits out, leaving the more sizable bits of chip.


Is there any good way to check for honey adulteration besides a lab test?

The answer, quite simply, is no.  Even advanced laboratories have difficulty making the determination for certain.

This is also a complex problem that gets more difficult as various standards are used and then fail.  Before 2000, a common solution was to simply use microscopic analysis to look for pollen and and other vegetable matter.  Since then, many honey processing plants have been developing increasingly advanced filtering techniques that will remove the characteristic markers (deliberately or unintentionally).  [**See detailed note below.]  Various chemical or basic physical markers also have proved insufficient, since the sugar composition of honey can be faked quite well with various sugar syrup blends.

The accepted standard these days, as mentioned in the question, seems to be to use a mass spectrometer to determine the carbon-13 to carbon-12 isotope ratio in a rather specific lab procedure.  (Obviously most people don't have a mass spectrometer at home.)  The current procedure for this test was adopted after previous lab tests were shown to generate false positives in some batches of honey.  The isotope ratio method is the only one specifically listed in the FDA's import alert to determine the possibility of adulteration:

  FDA laboratories do not have the instrumental capability to analyze
  honey according to the Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC
  International, AOAC Official Method 991.41, which requires an isotope
  ratio mass spectrometer.

Ironically, in order to avoid the previous false positives for the New Zealand honey mentioned above, the new testing process needs to have the pollen completely removed, a process which has also been used to hide the origin of honey and to confuse analysis:

  To eliminate a false positive C(4) sugar test for Manuka honey, prior
  removal of pollen and other insoluble material from the honey is
  necessary to ensure that only the pure protein is isolated.

But even a refined isotopic methodology is flawed when it comes to detecting various types of adulteration, specifically beet sugar.  As this article notes:

  [Using isotope ratios from a mass spectrometer,] adulteration using C4
  sugar syrups (HFCS and GS) could be detected to a certain extent while
  adulteration of honey using C3 sugar syrups (beet sugar) could not be
  detected. Adulteration by using SS (beet sugar) still has a serious
  detection problem, especially in countries in which beet is used in
  manufacturing sugar.

So, what's the alternative?  Well, the other general method that could detect various adulterating components is differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).  This article gives a good summary of the process, which essentially looks at how a material behaves as it undergoes thermal changes.  At certain temperatures when crystallization or something occurs, there will be excess heat absorbed or given off compared to at other temperatures.  And at other points there will be minor changes in heat capacity (i.e., the amount of heat it takes to alter the temperature of a substance by a specific number of degrees).

Honey, for example, displays a glass transition temperature (Tg) around -40°C (-40°F) near a certain point in crystallization.  Other sugar syrups may not show this, but they may show changes at slightly higher temperatures (still below freezing), due to water crystals freezing or thawing.  (Water is included in the sugar network in honey, so it doesn't show the same characteristics.)

There are other thermal properties that can be measured at various temperatures.  As this article summarizes in its conclusion:

  Used concomitantly with the second enthalpy of fusion (occurring
  between 40 and 90°C), the glass transition temperature, Tg, is one of
  the most potentially useful parameters for characterizing honeys and
  syrups and for distinguishing between them. The Tg value, being
  strongly dependent on the amorphous phases of the sample, will respond
  to modification of the chemical composition and the implicit
  structural modification caused by the addition of exogenous material.
  Thus, adulteration of the honey will cause inevitable changes in both
  Tg and [delta]H2 values. Under laboratory conditions, adulterations by
  industrial sugar syrups can be detected from 5-10% additions depending
  on the measured parameter.

I would pay particular attention to this final sentence -- the differences can only be detected "under laboratory conditions" where precise temperatures and amounts of heat can be measured.  To replicate such a test at home, you'd need to be able to add a certain precise amount of heat to the honey at subzero temperatures, all the while keeping it isolated from other sources of temperature fluctuations and observing where the heating "stalls" briefly.  Then, you'd have to calibrate your homemade test against some known samples (syrups, 100% honey, etc.) just to be sure you're actually observing the same things as in the article cited here.  You'd need to confirm that by observing a more subtle difference in heat capacity changes that would occur in hot temperature ranges (below boiling).

Even under lab conditions, this sort of testing has a threshold of 5-10% adulteration, and that requires something like being able to detect the difference between a glass transition onset at -41°C vs. -42°C.  Also, it should be noted that these physical characteristics are inconsistent among various batches of honey.  In this study, for example, the Tg was found to have a variance of over 7°C in different pure honey samples.  In the study quoted above, that range of 7°C would indicate a difference between pure honey and a 50/50 mixture with a sugar solution.  (If you look around at other studies, like this one and this one, you begin to see a Tg range that is well over 15°C for various pure honey types.)

I'd guess this is partly the reason why DSC isn't generally adopted as an official testing procedure: to use it effectively, you'd need to really know the specific kind of honey you started with before blending with adulterants, and most of the time you don't.

Bottom line: there's just no way to do a test like this at home.

Finally, to address a point raised in the question, based on the DSC data there should be minor differences in honey's behavior at various temperatures, perhaps even how fast it dissolves at a certain temperature.  But the differences are so small and/or inconsistent among different types of honey or different types of adulterating components that there's no practical way of consistently identifying them outside of a lab environment where very precise conditions and measurements are possible.  It might be possible to isolate adulterated samples outside of a lab given prior knowledge of the original honey used and the specific adulterants that might be present, but that information is generally not available.  If it were a simple matter of a test like "let's mix this honey in some water and measure how long it takes to dissolve," government regulations would not be resorting to mass spectrometers to try to detect adulteration.

Note that this answer really only "scratches the surface" of the various testing methods available.  Here's a partial list of possible tests.  Even a cursory search will uncover hundreds of scientific articles describing the advantages and limitations of various tests.  Note that most of the other tests only detect specific kinds of adulteration and/or are mostly used as initial screening tests that then need to be verified by another lab procedure.  As mentioned, the current standard seems to be an isotope ratio test.

** ADDED CLARIFICATION ON POLLEN AND FILTRATION: Some pollen is generally removed in the normal filtration process used to produce a "clear" honey that doesn't crystallize quickly during storage. However, traditional filtration techniques often allow trace amounts of pollen to remain, while some processes may use a more complex "ultrafiltration" method that will remove all pollen traces.  The reason for complete pollen filtration may have originated with a desire to disguise the geographic origin of honey, whether pure or adulterated.  In 2001, for example, the U.S. instituted high tariffs on Chinese honey, to avoid putting American beekeepers out of business.  At other times, various countries have instituted outright bans on honey for periods due to contamination or adulteration, such as the EU ban of Indian honey in 2011-12.  Such actions have provided strong incentives for Asian honey producers to disguise the origin of honey, even if it is unadulterated.  The result is that large amounts of commercially available honey are now filtered to remove all pollen, which has a side effect of making adulteration detection much more complex.  That said, it should be noted that normal filtration may also result in very low or undetectable amounts of pollen, so the absence of pollen is not necessarily evidence that any deception is intended.  (See further details and explanation here.)  However, processing methods that deliberately remove all pollen have been used by those who wish to disguise origin and/or adulterate honey with cheaper substitutes.  The question specifically inquired about Asian honeys which had been diluted with water; given that ultrafiltration often involves adding water during processing and has apparently been used by some Asian producers, I originally wrote my answer to target the specific honey type inquired about.  Once again: an undetectable level of pollen in other countries and from other producers is NOT necessarily evidence of anything nefarious.


I recently read somewhere (I forget where) that if you're only storing it for a day or two, standing the loaf cut-side down on a cutting board worked fine. The crust stays crisp, and the cut edge is protected and doesn't go stale.

Storing it that way much longer than a day or so probably would risk going stale.

Unfortunately, we don't get to do this much as we can't eat one fast enough to get away with unprotected storage like that. So we have to live with increasingly soft crusts in plastic bags.


Most pestos use olive oil, which solidifies at around 6 degrees celsius - just over the temperature of the average fridge. The shop-bought pestos you buy probably adulterate the olive oil with other kinds of oils.

In any case, you'll be able to eat your pesto just by leaving it out at room temperature for a few hours, or by just scooping it out and adding to your hot pasta.


Keep milk (or milk alternative) for a day without a fridge

I would invest in a small thermos bottle, about the size of what you need for one day. They are not only designed to keep hot food hot, they can also keep cold food cold. Choose a size that will be as full as possible when you start, it will keep better.

This is what the small B&B we‘re currently staying at supplies to their guests. If it’s good for an early morning tea, it’ll be good for afternoon coffee as well:

If you want to go all the way, you can pre-chill the container, then fill it with well-chilled milk from your home fridge. You could even freeze some milk as ice cubes, if you find that it doesn’t stay cold enough until the end of your work day or your last coffee break. Store the thermos away from heat sources and not in warm sunlight, of course.

Note that you also have the “two-hours in the danger zone” buffer and that “unsafe” doesn’t automatically mean “spoiled”. Especially when the milk is still quite cold and only shortly after the two-hour window the risk for a healthy adult should be small. No recommendation, just a thought.

Switching to milk alternatives won’t change anything where food safety is concerned.


What are the main differences between sugarcane jaggery, rapadura, and panela?

If your question is if we can, the answer is yes. Rapadura = brown sugar tablet. The brown sugar is very similar to panela and jaggery.

The difference is the source of raw material, and the origin of the country where it is processed obtain the sugar. Jaggery is in Asia, brown sugar and panela or rapadura in many Latin American countries.


Please remember that you are talking about poultry breasts, which are always the leanest part. So no extra long cooking to tenderize, you'd be just making them tough and dry.

I'd also recommend not putting them in the slow cooker, because the skin is rather fatty and you'll want to render it to get the skin  nice and crisp, let the excess run off and moisturize the meat below. In a slow cooker, most fat stays in the skin, making it rather rubbery (and IMHO quite nasty).

You should be absolutely fine if you either

sear them skinside down in a pan, then finish in the oven or
just pop them in the oven for two hours (rough estimate, depends on weight and oven temperature)

Of course you can freeze the leftovers.


Sure, use all-purpose flour.

I don't know what your original recipe said, or what exactly your non-all-purpose white flour is, but all-purpose flour is normal, regular flour, exactly what a brownie recipe that calls for "flour" would normally mean. Even if there is a difference here (e.g. cake flour vs all-purpose flour) a few tablespoons in brownies is not going to be a big deal.


Usually when cookie dough falls apart, it is because the flour is not sufficiently hydrated, that is to say, it has not absorbed enough water.

There are two factors at play:

The ratio of liquid in the recipe (from eggs, milk, water, juice, coffee, or any other source) to flour (by weight)
The amount of time that the dough has had to rest and absorb the water.

Typically, when you are saying your dough is crumbly, it is going to be a rolling type cookie, like a sugar cookie.  These often benefit very much from a resting period of at least four hours in order to fully hydrate the flour.

Another common cause is measurement.  Flour, especially when measured in a measuring cup, is very easy to mis-measure, and the ratio of flour to liquid is extremely important.  I strongly recommend weighing flour for all baking purposes.  Quality recipes and cookbooks will indicate flour by weight, or tell you how much their standard cup weighs.  If you cannot find this information for a particular recipe, using 4.25 ounces of flour by weight for each cup is a good guess.

What you don't want to do is add flour to the recipe; that will only exacerbate the problem.

See also: What does an overnight chill do to cookie dough, that a 4 hour chill doesn't?


Chicken and Dumplings soaked up all the broth

Add more broth.  Use either water, balanced with spices, or add from a good brand.

Edit:  You could always make more broth than you need and freeze the rest.


Do I have to change the cooking time when I cook homemade noodles?

Homemade noodles have a completely different texture from dried pasta.  The times I've made lasagne for friends with fresh spinach noodles, they were quite confused by the texture.  And even if there's lots of moisture and time for it to cook in the casserole, you need to boil them for 30 to 60 seconds or they'll disintegrate in the casserole.

Depending on the recipe, I might consider starting with everything already hot, the pasta boiled for a minute or so, assemble it, then put it under the broiler (grill, whatever you call 'top heat only' in your country) to get a bit of a crust on top, then let it sit for a few minutes to firm up some.


How do you cut/process a whole pineapple?

First, you have to peel the pineapple.

Cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple and set it upright on your cutting board
Using a sharp knife shave the skin off from top to bottom, following the contour of the fruit

You then have two ways to cut it into either rings or chunks:

Pineapple Rings

Next, you lay it sideways and cut it into slices as thick as you wish.

You then use a paring knife to cut out the corky centers of each slice. You now have a pineapple ring.

Pineapple Chunks

Next, cut it lengthwise down the center. Cut out the exposed corky center. This can be done with a V-shaped cut. You can then break down the fruit into chunks as desired.

Here is a step-by-step guide with photos: http://howtocutapineapple.com/

Here is a step-by-step guide on video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJJ-iQkbRNE


Placing a cookie sheet under my pyrex baking dish in a convection oven

Yes.

The instructions with my oven say to always leave the grill pan/roasting dish [which is of course the full size of the oven area] on the bottom shelf rungs, even if you're not using it for any other purpose, simply to catch spills.
A cookie tray would certainly serve a similar purpose.

Assuming you will pre-heat the oven, then it will all heat up at the same time, before your lasagne goes in, so won't change your cooking times at all.


I can't comment on how long it takes but I can comment on the difference I've noticed between each method.  To start out I could never explain the how and why better than J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, over at The Food Lab, so here is what he has to say about high vs low temp roasting:
    http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/12/the-food-lab-how-to-cook-roast-a-perfect-prime-rib.html

If you still want to read here is my take on it.

To me the results were almost identical for the final outcome of the meat.  However the difficulty in achieving the right level of done-ness is what differed the most.  With the low temperature method, you have a fairly large window of time where the meat is in your 118-120F range.  Contrast this to the high temperature method where it is easy to miss by only a few minutes and quickly overshoot your correct temperature.

Another benefit of the low temperature method is that you can pull the roast from the oven, and let it rest while you finish preparing the rest of the meal (in case timing everything isn't your forte).  Then when it comes time to serve, you put the roast back into a screaming hot oven, you get the nice brown crust on the outside, warm the meat up again, and can immediately carve the roast right out of the oven since the interior has already had a chance to rest.


Without any other information besides "80% power", this really isn't a very well written recipe. If you don't know the wattage of the microwave used in the original recipe (i.e. how much is 100%?), you are in the situation of the musician in the movie "Spinal Tap", who prefers the amplifier whose volume knob goes up to "eleven" when all the other amps stop at ten.

But it doesn't matter anyway if you have no way to adjust the power of your own microwave. You will just have to experiment with different times. This is the case whenever you use a microwave oven for anything. As the saying goes, "microwave ovens vary". The prescription given by Paparazzi, ...[ 3 minutes X 0.80 = 2.4 minutes ] seems like as good a starting guess as any. Test the lemon squares a little before 2.4 min., & keep cooking in increments until they're good, then record the final cooking time for the next batch.


My question is, are these the right way to make good crust pies

You're doing things at commercial scale and with commercial equipment and ingredients, so your method is going to be somewhat different right off the bat. As well, the owner's goal isn't necessarily to make the very best tasting crust that he can. Rather, his goal is to run a profitable business, and that means making a crust that's sufficiently appealing to customers that he can sell it, and to do so as cheaply and efficiently as possible.

There's not enough info here to know whether you're just using regular old salted butter or something that's more shelf-stable. A bakery probably goes through huge amounts of butter, so maybe it's delivered every few days, and it's not unreasonable for butter to be kept at cool room temperature for a few days, especially in large blocks that have relatively little surface area.

Home bakers generally use as little water as they can to make pastry crust, and they'd mix it as little as possible and let it rest in the refrigerator to hydrate. The goal is to get the dough to hold together while forming as little gluten as possible, so that the crust is tender and flaky. Your recipe definitely contains much more water and calls for much more mixing than home recipes. It may be that more gluten is helpful to make a dough that works reliably with the machines you use to form the bottom and top crusts. Home bakers generally wouldn't have access to "pastry gems," which I'd guess are preformed lumps of shortening that give the top crust the desired flakiness.

You really have to be the judge of whether the crust seems good to you: how does it taste? Is it tender and flaky? Also, is it good considering the owner's goals: do customers like it, does it work reliably, and can you make money selling your pies?

  and why is the top flaky crust keep lifting up after baked?

It's probably due to steam building up inside the pie, and possibly even within the crust itself. Do you dock (poke tiny holes in) the bottom crust before adding the filling? Do you cut one or more vents in the top crust before baking? If not, steam is very likely the culprit.


Can I use nut meal or nut butter as a curry base?

I think it may work in some sense, but the results will be pretty different. Nut butters don't have a lot of starch in them. They thicken a liquid just by dispersing their solids. So 1 tablespoon of nut butter isn't going to have near the same thickening power as 1 tablespoon of flour. If you add enough to thicken it substantially, it will taste strongly of whatever nut you use (which may be good).

If your friend is specifically trying to avoid gluten, there are many other things you could use to thicken your curry. Rice flour would be an excellent choice, or cornstarch, or xanthan gum.


Is it possible to identify the quality of fish after cooking the fish?

Old filets of fish will be slimy and have an overly fishy smell. When frozen filets are poorly stored, (refrozen/not flash frozen/stored at improper temperature/too old) they have this texture of eating a sponge that makes me wretch, since the delicate emulsion properties of the flesh have been completely broken down. The moisture can be sucked out and the proteinous membranes chewed on like rough, spongey, dough. If you try to skin them, they sometimes come apart in your hands rather than adhere like tissue from a living organism.

When cooked poorly (burnt to a crisp, overseasoned), it's difficult to tell the difference between fresh and old filets.


A paper filter is a true "filter" in that it basically only allows liquid to pass through. This means that you will have no sediment in your coffee, if that is a concern to you. Paper filters are absorbent though, so some of the flavor compounds of the coffee will be absorbed into the paper, and some other compounds as well (a chemical in coffee that causes a rise in cholesterol is absorbed by the paper). The paper can also lead to a papery flavor in your coffee.

Metal filters only filter out particulates of a certain size, so you will frequently end up with a layer of "sludge" at the bottom of your pot. Metal filters should be non-reactive though, so they will not add a flavor to your coffee and will allow everything extracted from your coffee to pass through.

If cholesterol isn't a concern, I'd say try both and see which you like better.

Types of Coffee Filters

Coffee & Cholesterol


Using a mixer is not "a must". You should be able to whisk 1-2 egg yolks together quite easily which a whisk and some elbow grease. How do you think we beat egg yolks for the centuries prior to electricity?


How long could a meat-based broth be held safely near 180F/82C?

Just to provide an official source, the USDA's National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) says this (unit conversion added):

  Question 4:  What minimum time/temperature parameters for hot holding
  would ensure food safety?

  . . . For non-continuous temperature and time monitoring, a minimum
  hot holding temperature of 130°F / 54.4°C for a maximum time
  of 4 hours, based on information provided by FDA regarding the
  limitation of growth of Clostridium perfringens to no more than 1
  log_10 in food, would be adequate to ensure food safety.  In addition,
  the Committee concluded that a minimum temperature of 135°F / 57°C for
  a maximum of 8 hours, or a minimum temperature of 140°F / 60°C indefinitely also would be adequate to ensure food safety.
  . . .

You can read further details in the link and the detailed report which is linked on that page.  But, basically as long as your food stays above 140°F / 60°C, according to this report, it should remain safe "indefinitely."

I would say that the main issue arises in the fact that you might add things to this endless soup/stock.  It would only become potentially dangerous if the additions are below 140°F / 60°C when added (and thus cool parts of the food into the danger zone before they recover) or if the additions already contain toxins that might then be concentrated as the liquid evaporates off.  Food above 140°F / 60°C should not be producing new toxins (from bacteria at least), but whatever is in there already may not necessarily be destroyed.  Adding water though shouldn't pose a problem as long as it's heated before adding or is only added in a small quantity which wouldn't reduce the temperature below 140°F / 60°C.

My main other concern would be that any cooking vessel or utensils used be VERY non-reactive.  Elevated temperatures will make it easier for metals or other substances to dissolve more quickly.  A pot or pan or other vessel that might be fine for simmering for a few hours could leach more significant quantities of metals or coatings over days or weeks.  If your cooking vessel AT ALL reacts with the liquid inside of it, this could pose a long-term issue.

(It's possible that some foods themselves might break down into less desirable components, but this will mostly be a quality issue than a safety issue at temperatures below boiling.  At much higher temperatures -- which would be impossible in a liquid stock -- you could also potentially produce carcinogens over time as things break down, but this is probably unlikely for food kept in your proposed temperature range.  If you were to let the stock reduce at some point to the point that it went past the demi-glace stage and became drier and temperature began to rise significantly, this could theoretically pose a problem.  But in that case you'd probably get smoke and bad smells that would be a clue that your endless soup should be tossed because it had... well, met its end.)


What's the black thing at the bottom of navel oranges?

I'm not as familiar with citrus, but tomatoes and peppers can develop something called blossom-end rot. This is caused by the plant not receiving enough nutrients (specifically calcium), whether b/c the plant isn't getting enough water and thus can't get the nutrients out of the soil or b/c the soil is deficient.

Regarding whether it's safe to eat, a tomato w/ blossom end rot is still safe to eat, once you remove the affected area.

I hope this is helpful!

Do you have a picture of the orange in question? That would help greatly with diagnosis.


It's not exactly what people mean by culinary foam, but you can make maple whipped cream. (It seems kinda like the original recipe you found was trying to do this, except it forgot that you can't really make whipped milk.) There are a lot of recipes you can find for this online. They probably won't be as concentrated maple flavor as a more pure maple foam, so a couple thoughts:

You can always reduce the maple syrup, so that you can add more maple flavor without adding so much water that you destabilize the cream.
You could use manufacturing cream, which has even more fat than heavy cream, so it's more stable when whipped, and you'll be able to add more maple.


Educated ways to simplify/substitute recipes

There’s no such rule, but you can approach in a strategic way.
You need to know, however why that ingredient is in the recipe.

When it’s only about flavor (say spices), i think it’s fairly easy to substitue with what you see fit.

But this is not always the case:

Say your ice-cream recipe calls for a banana, it’s not only there for flavor, but also texture. You can not just replace with any fruit, banana is used there for its starchy texture as well. You’ll need to replace the banana with similar amounts of starch (or eggs that would give a similar texture) and a flavor you see fit.


Subs for baking mix/ eggs and condensed milk?

Don't try to modify the recipe, unless you're ready to have a lot of failure before you get something you like. Making substitutions for all the main ingredients in a recipe (flour, sugar, dairy/fat) is a good way to make it fail.

Look for recipes for peanut butter protein bars, presumably vegan, gluten-free ones. (I tried searching for vegan gluten-free peanut butter protein bars and found this one - probably at least a good starting point.) Even if you can't find something that meets all your requirements, you can get close, and not have to make as many substitutions.

You can possibly replace the biscuit mix with a gluten-free flour and some leavening, probably in a ratio like you'd use for self-rising flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder per cup of flour, and 1/4 tsp salt. (The biscuit mix may also have a bit of sugar normally, but most of the sweetness in your recipe is from elsewhere, so that shouldn't be an issue.)

For sweetened condensed milk, you can likely use coconut milk (so that there'll be some fat, and it'll be thick) and artificial sweetener to taste.

For eggs, you can try an egg replacer in a carton, or flax or chia eggs (ground flax/chia seed and water). If you've also lost the binding power of the flour, you may end up needing more egg replacement to compensate, or even want to add things like oats help it all hold together.

But with all those substitutions, you're likely to end up with something really far from the original recipe. The texture will likely be pretty far off, if it even holds together. It'll really be best to start with a recipe that's closer to what you want.


1 ltr Milk is not curdling even after squeezing 2 lemons; What could possibly wrong?

Milk proteins will coagulate at particular temperatures and Phs. You wrote that you used 2 Tbs of lemon juice but you didn't say how much milk you added that to. If you used too much milk then the mixture will not be acidic enough. Follow a recipe.

You also wrote that you boiled the milk once. I don't know if it is a language barrier issue but it sounds like you boiled the milk in the past. The milk needs to be at near boiling temperatures when you add the acid. The combination of heat and acid will cause the milk proteins to unravel (denature) and tangle up with each other (coagulate) which will result in the curd you are looking for.

If the milk has been handled well, that is if you didn't leave it out overnight, then it has likely not spoiled and you can try again by either adding more acid or bringing to a boil as necessary.


What is different about "sprouted barley"?

What does "sprouted" mean?

germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or similar structure while sprouting is the process by which seeds are induced to sprout or germinate for commercial purposes.

In the case of sprouted food grains such as barley and rice the seeds are allowed to start the growing process (germination). It won't have a shoot because the process is usually stopped early, but it's enough to change the nutritional value of the seeds.
As explained here,

Recent studies have shown that if we actually allow those seeds to begin their growing process and then bring that to a halt before eating, their nutritional punch is multiplied significantly.

So sprouted or germinated grains will be easier to digest, therefore higher nutritional value than the regular (non-sprouted) variety.


I would say if you want to improve on your burgers, go even simpler. Season only with salt and pepper, or even just salt, after you form your patties. Rely upon the salt to bring out the flavor of your beef, and the maillard reaction from cooking to add flavor and texture. Anything more and you are likely to overwhelm what is some quality beef.


There's really nothing to worry about. As long as it's safe when it goes into the freezer, and it's in a reasonably-sized container so it doesn't take forever to freeze, it's going to be safe when it comes out. Freezer storage limits are more about quality than safety; things can dry out or pick up odd flavors, especially if they're not well-sealed, but it'll be safe indefinitely.

I'm guessing you want to freeze it in reasonable serving sizes anyway, so you shouldn't have problems with container size.

You can do the cooking before freezing, or after as part of thawing, whichever works better for you. I'm guessing that cooking after would save a bit of time, and it also means it'll go into the freezer a bit cooler and freeze a little faster. But cooking before is totally fine too. All that really matters is that it doesn't spend more than a couple hours total in the danger zone (40-140F/4-60C), and you can accomplish that either way.


A microwave has a very different mechanism of heating than an oven, and recipes for the two are not interchangeable. The results of making microwave-optimized cakes in the oven will be unpredictable. And this will be a much larger problem than having the right mugs.

A better option would be to find a recipe for muffins or cupcakes that is intended to go in the oven, and bake it in the oven. Do test it in a small batch before giving it to 100+ guests, because not all recipes floating around are good - but still, it is more likely to produce good results than baking your microwave cakes in an oven.


After a quick Google I found this recipe :- http://www.grassfedgirl.com/diy-make-your-own-healing-gelatin/

  Ingredients:

  3-4 lbs pastured animal bones (any kind will work, I even mix them between animals) (the more bones the more likely it will gel…fill’er
  up! )
  4-5 quarts filtered water
  1 tbsp sea salt

  Directions:

  Put all the ingredients in a slow cooker over night or for up to 48 hours.
  Strain it off through a wire mesh strainer.
  Refrigerate until firm or overnight.
  Chip or scrape off any fat and save for cooking or discard.
  Melt the gelatin and add fruit and sweetener to make something sweet the refrigerated again.

  Or use the gelatin as a base for making a soup or stew.

  This gelatin will keep in the fridge for a week (or a year in the
  freezer.)

One thing to note, the recipe makes no mention of all the meaty juices which will settle to the bottom during the cooling process. So where it suggests scraping the fat off the top I would recommend flipping the big gelatin block over a slicing the bottom off also.

Also during the straining process, if you can get hold of some cheese cloth or muslin it'll help ensure there are no meat particles in there anywhere.


Freezing Bouchon Bakery Macarons. Whole cookie or just the halves?

I don't know about the Bouchon recipe, but my wife just attended a macaroon making class at Mille Feuille last weekend.

They recommended refrigerating the whole macaroon overnight (and up to a week), not freezing. The idea is the moisture from the filling migrates to the cookies. This causes the cookie to be moist on the inside, but still have a firm and somewhat crisp outside.


What is the shelf life of homemade peanut butter in winters and summers?

Per Pick your own (emphasis added):

  Store it in the refrigerator until you use it.  It should keep for a month or two. You can also freeze it.  It will keep indefinitely in the freezer. In both cases, you may need to stir the peanut butter to mix the oils back in (the oil tends to separate over time). And no, you cannot "can" the peanut butter - it is too low acid to safely can with home equipment.

I could not find a single government or university sponsored publication that discussed how to can homemade peanut butter.  If you stumble upon a certain link that does not eschew this practice, and recommends boiling temperature canning, consider them fraudulent.

According to Does it go bad:

  If you make your own peanut butter and you don’t use any stabilizers, you should keep it in the fridge. .... Your homemade peanut butter should be of best quality for at least half a year.

Note that all of the even semi-credible sources I could find indicate refrigeration is required.

At ambient temperature, especially in summer, it is going to have a much shorter shelf life, but I could not find any authoritative information.  You should probably prepare it in small batches that you can eat within a week, maybe two at the maximum  (in winter) if it will be stored without refrigeration.

You also want to store the peanut butter so that the oil (which will probably separate) on top will protect the peanut solids, since it is more difficult for microfauna to gain a foothold in the oil.  Keep an air tight lid on it whenever you are not using the contents of the jar, to oxygen contact, and thus hold of rancidity.

Homemade peanut butter will have mostly unsaturated fats (one reason the oil in your peanut butter is liquid at room premature), which are susceptible to rancidity.  You will want to discard the peanut butter if it develops rancid flavors as they are highly unpleasant.  If you see signs of mold or bubbles or sour or off smells, discard it immediately.

I suggest contacting your local universities, who may have programs or services to provide this type of information for your area and constraints (which I infer includes no refrigeration).

To the enumerated questions:

Sources seem to assume the basic peanut-only recipe.
There will be no significant difference for small amounts of additions of honey, sugar, or salt.  The amounts are too small.  Honey balances anti-bacterial effects, with adding moisture.  The amount of salt is just too small to matter.
See discussion above, there is no credible data that I could find for ambient temperature storage of homemade peanut butter.
See 3, only worse.  Those are incubation temperatures.  And how do you stand summers like that?


What are the modern or recommended ways of cooking corn on the cob?

Lately, I've been direct grilling them fully stripped of the husk, with a brush of olive oil first.  Its relatively quick, but requires a bit of attention as you'll need to turn the ears.  You don't want the heat too high and it can be difficult not to dry the corn out.

It produces a distinct favor but its absolutely wonderful, everybody raves.  The slight smokiness and carmelization of the sugar in the corn heightens its favor considerably.  It produces a much different result than grilled corn wrapped in foil (which is essentially steaming the corn) or boiled corn.  Grilling in the husk is another common way, but its a much different result and not too different from grilling it with foil.

It was brought up in the comments, but the most 'modern' correlation to boiling the corn like you said, would be to sous vide it.  It's definitely 'modern', but sous vide is not quick.  It does preserve and intensify flavour well though.


Can I refrigerate homemade puff pastry made ahead of time?

Classic puff pastry absolutely needs a final resting and cooling time in the fridge before you use it for your croissants, palmiers, danishes....

Most recipes give a minimum rest of 30-60 minutes after the last "fold", but overnight in the fridge is absolutely fine. I'm not sure whether storing it for two days might have negative side effects, but up to one day is no problem at all.


Why is there liquid in my macaroni salad, potato salad and tuna salad the day after making them?

Have you tried baking pasta, after boiling it in the water?

I highly recommend you bake the pasta in the oven on very low heat, for 20 minutes, then you will see that there is no more liquid.

Also it gives the macaroni a spongy condition which makes it able to keep the liquid in it.

I believe if you bake the pasta before mixing with mayonnaise, you will get a good result.


In terms of food safety you can leave the door open for the same amount of time that your food can safely sit on the counter when taken out of the fridge. This is a couple of hours for most potentially hazardous foods as indicated in the answer to the linked question. This a cumulative time, so if you leave the door open for an hour three days in a row you're going to have to throw out a lot of food.

Of course this isn't really what you meant. If you're just leaving the door open while you pour yourself a glass of milk, the temperature of the food in the fridge isn't likely to reach the danger zone. How long that takes will depend on factors like the nature of the food and its location in the fridge, but I wouldn't worry about if you unless have it open for more than minute or so.

So from a food safety perspective you don't have to worry too much about leaving the door open. From an energy savings perspective you do however want to keep the length of time of the door is open to the minimum. The temperature of the air in the fridge will rise faster than temperature of the food, so every second you have the door open the fridge has do that much more work to cool it down again. This is probably the real reason why your parents told you to close the door immediately.


What are the grey-black specks that appear when whipping cream in stainless steel bowl?

Those look like air pockets - you're using an unusual whisk, perhaps it can't get enough "bite" on the stainless steel bowl to pop them, whereas the plastic bowl's texture offers enough resistance. I'd try it with a balloon whisk rather than a spiral whisk, and see if that helps. Here's a breakdown on whisks and their uses from Craftsy.


You can of course try to thaw it in your microwave (if you have one) or in your regular oven on low heat. However, I've never had any problems cooking with frozen ground beef. Just cook it on fairly low-medium heat and scrape off the outer layers as they get thawed. This might be easier and take a shorter amount of time if you manage to split it into smaller chunks before cooking it. Continue scraping, and splitting the big chunk into smaller parts as they thaw. If you use a low enough heat,  the parts you scraped off first won't get burnt either.
Turn the heat up when everything is separated, and fry it. Good luck!


Brown rice aricini but always end up with too much water

Keep good notes?

Seriously, just use less water, until you have the correct proportions figured out.  Trial and error is a long process, but I don't see any shortcuts in you case if you can't find a recipe already using brown rice and spinach.  The extra water used in making brown rice should really be absorbed by the rice, the preparation shouldn't have too much extra water left in it unless there was a mis-measurement.  The water added by the spinach has to be accounted for, but without knowing amount or preparation of spinach, or anything else there's no way to guess how much water would be added (and therefore how much needs to be removed to balance it out).

The recipes I found for Arancini (I I think this is the same thing, please mention if if you meant something else) - have the rice and other ingredients cooked risotto style first, rather than in a rice cooker or by some hands-off method that requires pre-measured water. In short, it means you don't have to get the amount of rice exactly right immediately, you can use much less water at first, and slowly add more if it's getting too dry, or even cook a bit longer to reduce if it's getting too wet.  Longer cooking may change the texture a bit, if you aren't careful, but if you are gentle with the heat it may come out alright - especially since the recipe is going to be cooked again anyway to make the balls with.

If you are intending to have the spinach stuffed into the balls, instead of mixed into the risotto - then Joe's link will be useful, as you need to get as much water as you can out of the spinach beforehand (possibly you can still add it to the risotto), and there are limits in how dry you can make the risotto to balance the extra moisture.  If you cannot balance the moisture even after pushing the spinach and the risotto to their limits, you may just have to use a different preparation of spinach, or lesser quantities.


Cooking meat by time is ill-advised, whether it is on the grill or in the oven.

Instead, you should cook by desired outcome, which is the final internal temperature.  Pork is done around 155 F / 68 C, so you should roast it in an oven until it is just a few degrees below the target temperature, as measured by an instant read or probe thermometer inserted into the thickets part of the loin.

With a 400 F / 200 C oven, that is likely to take somewhat less than an hour depending on the size and shape of the particular loin you have, but the internal temperature is what will tell you it is truly done.

Note:  you may want to remove it from the oven when it is a few degrees shy of the target temperature, and allow so-called carry over cooking to bring it up the rest of the way as you let it rest.  Personally, I like my pork a little more done so I stop roasting when it registers 155 F, and let it carry over a few more degrees.


Does frying in canola instead of shortening change the fry time?

The type of fat you use makes no difference in cooking time, as long as you use a fat with a smoke point above that you want to cook at. There's a related question on the site about fats for deep frying which talks about the properties of different fats. Canola is absolutely fine to use instead of crisco or some other shortening.

It sounds to me like you had the fat just where you needed to be, I think what went wrong is your dough. From what you describe it sounds like you may have had it too moist. Moisture is important in the dough as it's the conversion of water to steam that gives you the puff, but too much moisture means you will saturate it. Try a thicker dough.


If you freeze it, the gravy may separate or curdle after thawing. Stir well, though, and it should be fine.

Cooked meat will be less dry if frozen in a bit of gravy... so if you have any leftover meat, that would be a great way to save both.


One is heating the to edge of the base and consequently also the pan side-wall, the other is not.
The cooler pan side-wall will just make the difference between it boiling over and not.
This is assuming the centre of the pan is being heated to exactly the same degree on each, which is a larger variable.


Which caffeine-free tea herbs have tannins?

Oak perhaps?

I know oak chips are added to wine and other alcohol for flavor (originally aging in oak barrels, but in this day and age oak chips are likely easier to source and use).  Oak adds tannins to the liquid, and the oak chips sourced for home-brewing are chosen to be food-safe, and the flavor is probably both generally good and also neutral, or perhaps I mean flexible, for it to work with so many different brewed drinks.  I see no particular reason a tea or extract can't be made of these oak chips, or such chips used to add tannic elements to other teas.

If you have access to oak trees, I think acorns might also work - bitter acorns are edible, but only after soaking until the tannins are down to a manageable quantity - the liquid is usually discarded, but that's because it is very strong, dilution might make a reasonable flavor.  The acorns are not poisonous, or else soaking would be about making them safe rather than palatable, and it takes a lot of soaking (several changes of water), so you should get quite a lot of... tannic extract? per volume of acorns that you can use to supplement other teas.


This is not a precise term, you cannot go and buy "moist" and "dry" vanilla beans. But the pods can be prepared to different degrees of dryness, similar to prunes. And the ones with more remaining moisture have more taste and are generally higher quality. This is why they specify it. If you only have access to dry pods, I will still try out the recipe with them, just change the source for the next buy.

Regarding the comment above, I have never had vanilla beans with a grade denoted on the packaging. But I have had both moist and dry ones, so it isn't a case of only one grade being marketed to end users. It is surely better if you can distinguish them based on some kind of grading, but chances are, you won't know what grade you are buying.


Is it possible to make chocolate with cocoa butter and cocoa powder or any two other ingredients only?

As discussed in the answer to Making dark chocolate at home (and additional detail on  Is it possible to sweeten chocolate without making it gritty?), making chocolate at home is basically not feasible. You need specialized equipment, because chocolate is not just a mixture of cocoa and other things, it's been ground and mixed in an extremely time-consuming and specific way.

Setting that rather large issue aside...

Sure, chocolate can be made with only cocoa solids and cocoa butter. It's called unsweetened chocolate, and people usually only use it for baking, since it's pretty bitter on its own. The core ingredients are normally cocoa (solids/butter) and sugar. After that, it's mostly about flavor: milk for milk chocolate, salt, maybe even vanilla, and so on. All that can be omitted, but without the sugar, it won't be what most people think of as chocolate for eating.

The percentage is the amount that's from cocoa, whether solids or butter. Unsweetened chocolate with nothing added is 100%, and 70% dark is likely close to 30% sugar (maybe a bit less if other things have been added). I believe that unsweetened chocolate is usually something like 50-55% cocoa butter and 45-50% solids, so I guess that's about the maximum to retain a normal texture if there's nothing else going on.

But again, unless you've got some serious chocolate manufacturing investment plans, all you can do with that information at home is use it to pick what you buy.


Many of the dried noodles that are marketed as "udon"—at least in my experience in the USA—are actually mislabeled, thinner noodles like Hiyamugi or even Sōmen.  I would suggest buying the semi-dried variety that are usually packaged in vacuum sealed plastic.  This variety is shelf stable, but it can often be found in the refrigerated section of Asian mega-marts.  The noodles will already be almost full size before cooking.


Using a French press with finely ground coffee

If you use immersion brewing (which is what a French press does) with more finely ground coffee, you will want to reduce the time as extraction is faster.  I wish I could give you an exact time, but I have not experimented with this; I would start with approximately 2 minutes.

You are also likely to ge ta muddier, grittier cup as the mesh in the press will not catch all of the more finely ground coffee.