Making a sausage and letting it dry out in the fridge

Yes, from a food safety perspective, this is a terrible idea and not safe.

Shelf life of ground meat
Typical recommendations for ground meat is 1, max. 2 days in the refrigerator. Ground meat has a very large surface area and the grinding step can mix bacteria that previously were only on the surface of a whole piece (and unable to penetrate) throughout the meat.
Salt as preservative
Salt (NaCl) is a preservative, but you need up to 20% of the meat weight, which is far more than your two tablespoons. The preserving effect is acchieved by osmosis, drawing the liquid out of the meat cells. As that amount mixed in would make the food unpalatable, it is used on the surface of of large pieces - think ham. Curing salts work differently, they contain sodium nitrite and similar salts.
Spices as preservative
Spices do have some effect, but not to a degree to make ground meat stable. Note that excessive use of spices may aid in digestion, but even more was traditionally used to mask "off" (read: slightly spoiled) tastes and smells.
Vinegar as preservative
A very dangerous bacterium is Clostridium botulinum, causing botulism. It can be inhibited in low-ph environements. Yet two tablespoons of vinegar won't get you in a safe ph range.
Cooking to make food safe
While heat will kill most bacteria and molds, it will not necessarily kill the toxins produced by them before. (It does work for botulinum toxin, though.)

Our posts on food safety and shelf life:
How long can I store a food in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer?
Why is it dangerous to eat meat which has been left out and then cooked?

On traditional recipes:

"Not safe" does not automatically mean "will make you sick". Those recommendations are based on statistics and include a safety margin. But if you or someone with a possibly weaker immune system does get sick, the consequences can be lethal.


Why does Béarnaise separate as opposed to crème brûlée or lemon curd?

I think that there are a few different concepts being conflated here - let's try to clear those up before getting to the heart of the matter.

First of all, acidity causes just about any dairy product to curdle. That is precisely how cheese is made. Acidity, salt, and heat are all catalysts in the curdling process. This does not, however, affect clarified butter, because curdling is a result of the milk proteins coagulating and binding to each other, and true clarified butter is just the butterfat - there is no milk protein left. Based on that, we can conclude that vinegar is definitely not the important factor, which is further evidenced by the fact that lemon curd will also have a fairly high acidity due to the citric acid in lemon juice.

Crème brûlée is also not heated to 100° C, or even close to it. Dairy products burn very quickly when they approach that temperature. Many recipes for crème brûlée or crème caramel - and IMO virtually all of the good ones - will have you use a bain-marie (water bath) for the express purpose of temperature control. Since egg yolks begin to coagulate at 63° C (145° F), a crème brûlée doesn't need to be heated much higher, although there are many recommendations for the optimal temperature that seem to average around 75° C (around 170° F). If you try boil a crème brûlée, it will almost certainly burn and quite possibly curdle too.

For this reason, I believe that at least part of the difference is simply in your perception of the heat. Ovens heat much more slowly than stoves. Béarnaise (or the very similar Hollandaise) doesn't get heated all the way to 75° C, but it does get heated up to around the 63° C coagulation temperature of egg yolks, which really isn't that far off. You might see the surface of your crème-whatevers sizzle a bit, but that doesn't mean the entire pastries are at the liquid's boiling point; if they were, they'd be ruined.

The rest of the difference is sort of what Bruce's explanation is saying, although I think he's got it backwards, and the reported Julia Child ratio is way off (it should be 2 egg yolks per 3-4 oz of butter, which is only 90-120 mL). The amount of egg yolk (which acts as an emulsifier) relative to fat or dairy is important, but in order for the answer to really make sense, it's also important to understand why.

Egg yolks and butter-fat compose an emulsion of proteins and fat. The fats don't do anything special in response to heat, but the proteins coagulate, and in the process they will try to bind to each other; given a generous enough amount of egg yolk emulsified with butter, if you (a) heat up the yolks past the coagulation temperature and (b) don't keep them extremely well-dispersed, you'll end up with buttery scrambled eggs.

When making crème brûlée - or any custard - you want full coagulation of the egg yolks, because the relatively small amount of protein-packed yolks (typically, anywhere from 10% to 20% of the heavy cream by weight, which is only 4-8% of the fat by weight) is easily dispersed, and the individual molecules can't get close enough to each other to coalesce; instead they form a semi-firm but sparse network around the fat, much like what a meringue does around air.

On the other hand, Béarnaise and Hollandaise are supposed to be sauces. You're trying to thicken but not coagulate the eggs - in other words, allow a very weak protein network to form. To make this partial coagulation have any noticeable effect on the sauce's consistency, you need (relatively speaking) substantially more protein - closer to 30% of the fat. This higher concentration of protein puts the protein molecules in much closer proximity; without constant dispersion (in the form of whisking) and low, slow heat, the proteins will quickly start to coagulate and coalesce, because there's nothing stopping the attraction. This causes flocculation or even outright coalescence of the emulsion, which is the point at which you get that nasty scrambled-egg consistency.

It's got nothing to do with fat:water and everything to do with protein:fat. Fat helps prevent the coagulation of proteins; this principle is applied everywhere including baking, where oil or butter is used to slow down gluten development from flour (not eggs) and keep baked goods from becoming tough and rubbery. The ingredients and cooking method are different in a custard, but the principle is the same.

Protein is the main character in egg-based sauces and in scrambled eggs; the main difference between the two (with custards being somewhere in between) is how much protein, how well dispersed it is, and how much it is allowed to coagulate. Sauces have more protein, less coagulation; custards have less protein with full coagulation.

The difference is not huge, but it's enough to tip the scales if you're not careful.


Keeping Beef Wellington warm vs delaying cooking after assembly

Food safety wise, as long as you keep the food above 50C it should be fine. However, due to the nature of the BW, you’ll probably end up having a very soggy pastry if you do so.

Refrigeration is an option:

Depending on if you will you pre-cook or just sear the loin:

If you pre-cook, you’d normally want the pastry to crisp as quick as possible, and then you can serve. So I don’t think it’s a good idea to refrigerate the pre-cooked loin.

If you just sear and assemble, as long as you have made sure the beef is well-rested and the filling of the assembly is as dry as possible, you can keep in the fridge even over-night.


Most cakes freeze extremely well--especially cakes that are not iced, such as bundt cakes.

Wrap the cake in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and freeze.  For cupcakes or slices, you can put them in a freezer bag.

If you are going to freeze a whole cake, it is better to frost it after thawing, as the icing can be tricky.

If you have icing, you can put the cake in the freezer long enough for the icing to br firm, and then wrap and freeze--however, thawing can be tricky as you might get a bit of condensation, which can affect the texture of the frosting.

EDIT in response to question about a plastic box, and why the double layering:

Boxes consume space extra space, often at a premium in a freezer, and offer air gaps in which freezer burn is more likely.
Not all plastic is food-safe.
The food-safe plastic wrap is for direct contact with the cake but is gas permeable.  I suppose you could just go directly to foil, but things are more likely to stick to it.
The foil provides a gas and moisture barrier (and light, but that is less of a problem in the freezer).
The direct contact with the with the cake eliminates the air gaps, making freezer burn much less likely.


Reason of putting clarified ghee on Modak

Golden goodness of ghee has a special value in the culture and cuisine of Indian sub-continent since ancient times. Ayurveda suggests it promotes digestion and increase the absorption of nutrients.

Adding warm ghee to any meal enhances the taste significantly. An example is the 'tadka/tarka' added to lentils('daal') or pouring ghee over boiled rice to enhance the taste. Probably the main reason of putting ghee on steamed Modak is to enhance the taste.

From the story behind the traditional association of Modak with this festival my guess is that ghee was added to Modak to make it soft, tasty, easy to eat and filling.


You want the garlic flavor but not the chunks of garlic?

You can crush your garlic and let it sit in a couple tablespoons of warm olive oil for a while. Remove the garlic and whisk the now-flavored oil into your sauce. Besides adding the garlic flavor, the oil will also make your sauce develop a beautiful, glossy sheen.

Personally, when I make similar sauces, I just crush my garlic and mince it fine. There are very small chunks in the sauce but they are impossible to see and only rarely felt on the tongue. I don't find it objectionable.


My dough is cracking (not crumbling) and more water does not help

The serious eats article that accompanies this recipe does a good job of explaining what you are trying to accomplish.

You are trying to have wheat gluten that is interspersed with pockets of fat. The fat pockets are tender, the gluten is flaky. Perfect balance.

They dough that you have doesn't have any gluten development and is basically shortbread. If you press it into a pie crust it will be tender and flavorful but not flaky. It's still delicious so don't throw it out- it just won't be perfect.

There are three ways that you could have too little gluten:

Flour with too little protein
The recipe calls for all purpose flour. It needs to have some gluten but not as much as bread flour.
Too much mixing in the second stage
This recipe calls for some of the flour to be completely blended with the fat and then flour added in a second stage and only just cut in. If this second addition of flour is too thoroughly blended into the fat you get shortbread.
Not enough resting time
The recipe calls for resting the dough for at least a few hours and up to a few days. This is important. Only some of the flour in the dough has access to water to form gluten. The dough needs to be given time to rest to allow the flour to hydrate.

I love this pie crust recipe. It turns the traditional method on its head and it works very well. It has fewer tricky points for failure than the traditional method but it still helps to know what you are doing.
I highly recommend reading the article that accompanies the recipe.
http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2011/07/the-food-lab-the-science-of-pie-how-to-make-pie-crust-easy-recipe.html


What is the best way to get rid of the ants from the box of clarified butter?

The best way to get rid of the ants? Toss the ants and the butter in the trash or a trash bag that you can quickly seal to prevent the ants from spreading around your house. Then, wash the container and check it for any holes or openings where the ants could have gotten in through (can do a water test - fill it with water and see if any water escapes). Then, go out and buy fresh butter.


Are there any cookbooks specifically designed for restaurant-level chefs/cooks?

Disclaimer: Not a professional

Look at what organizations that train professionals use. For example, the Culinary Institute of America publishes The Professional Chef. My understanding is this an instructional text for the institute.

From the introduction of the 8th edition:

  The Professional Chef is suited to a variety of teaching situations... Chapter One covers the history of cooking as a profession and examines the skills and attributes of a professional chef and other members of the foodservice profession.


Bananas are radioactive...so how many exactly would you have eat to die? Is it possible to calculate?

Wikipedia's article on the Sievert, a unit used to measure radiation, tells us a banana's output measures about 0.098 μSv.  The lowest fatal dose listed is 4.5 Sv.  So we know the radiation from forty-six million bananas would be enough to kill.

Annual world production of bananas is around 18 million tonnes, and at 125g per banana, that's enough to kill 3000 people every year if all the bananas are produced on the same day instead of throughout the year and if the bananas are arranged in spheres around the people to maximize radiation exposure. The same mass could probably be used to crush or suffocate a larger number of people.


substituting white all purpose flour with whole wheat flour

Whole wheat flour is denser, has more protein and tends to dry out products. To compensate, sift more, do not overmix, and up your wet ingredients slightly. From eHow. TLC confirms that whole wheat flour is higher in protein because it is milled from hard wheat which is naturally higher in protein, and then ground whole wheat flour is 25% higher in protein than all-purpose flour.

Some sites (including TLC) recommend only subsituting out up to half of white flour with whole wheat, except if you're using white whole wheat flour (see below).

My secret weapon is white whole wheat flour, which is lighter than standard whole wheat flour and tastes more like white flour but has the same health benefits as the whole wheat flour we're used to. Because so many people are looking for whole wheat recipes, you may want to try a recipe that is specifically designed for whole wheat flour--both for taste and texture. Try King Arthur Flour for recipes (they make my favorite white whole wheat flour, and they have a recipe for whole wheat biscotti!).


Wooden vs Anti Microbial Cutting Board For Carving Meat

Lots of hardwoods have antibicrobial properties, so a board that is well-crafted and properly maintained will be safe to use and will last much longer than a synthetic cutting board. Many privately owned butcher shops work over a hardwood table. To clean the surface, you can either scrub with bleach water or you can cover the surface with salt to pull moisture from the board and kill any microorganisms on the surface. Always treat your hardwood cutting surfaces with food safe mineral oil.


Does vanilla powder really prevent melted chocolate from seizing?

I just reviewed the Nielsen Massey website and under their FAQ's they suggest that vanilla powder be used for "liquid sensitive products".  The powdered nature of the vanilla would allow you to add it to melted chocolate without causing the melted chocolate to seize up.  While vanilla has a unique and characteristic flavor of its own, it also helps to heighten and intensify other flavors, chocolate being one of them.

When chocolate seizes the emulsion of cocoa butter and cocoa powder has been interrupted  by the introduction of a small amount of moisture. You either need to keep all liquids out of melted chocolate or add in a significant amount.

So...it only prevents it from seizing if you were going to be adding vanilla in extract form but no other liquids.  It would not be something you add as a preventative measure.

Prevent the seizing through proper procedures in the first place:

Do not allow water in the water bath to touch bottom of the bowl that you're melting chocolate in.
The steam produced by the water is what's doing the melting so as long as wafts of steam are rising from the surface it's hot enough.  The water doesn't even need to be simmering - cocoa butter starts to melt around 83-85 degrees F.
Make sure all utensils are dry so water droplets aren't introduced
Make sure the bowl you're using is large enough for the edges to flare out beyond the edge of the pot.  If the edges just meet the edge of the pot then steam will condense on the edge and get into the chocolate causing it to seize.


There a Difference between Chinese parsley and cilantro

It is just another name for cilantro AKA coriander, Latin name coriandrum sativum.  There is another herb also labelled "Chinese Parsley," but it does NOT resemble cilantro.  This herb is Salt Helioptrope, Latin name Heliotropium curassavicum.

See the picture below for comparison to cilantro:


Why do some recipes call for sugar in a brine?

The sugar is simply used for flavoring; the fact that it helps brine to a lesser extent is just an added bonus. The sugar also aids in browning via the Maillard reaction, though this can also result in burning in a high heat application.

I suggest brining two boneless skinless chicken breasts -- one in a salt-only brine and the other with the salt & sugar brine suggested by Cook's Illustrated. You should notice a difference in both flavor and appearance.


how does turbo chef oven work and technology in it?

From a quick google: It looks to be a combination of 3 different technology, radiant heat, hot air and microwave.

From the turbo chef web site: Tubo Chef Bullet

"The Bullet oven uses radiant heat, high-speed air impingement, and side-launched microwave to cook food rapidly without compromising quality."

Air impingement seems to be high pressure, high temperature air jets:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/air-impingement

Video describing air impingement


Ways to counter the burn of too many scallions?

Cauliflower fritters. Mix some egg, ice-cold water and flour, then stir in the other ingredients. Gently put about one or two tablespoons at a time into a deep-fryer using two spoons. We do something similar to make "kaki-age", which is a mix of vegetables prepared using a batter similar to tempura, and generally includes onion. You can probably also get away with doing this in a frying pan with just the bottom covered in oil if you keep the oil temperature stable enough.

For what it's worth, I prefer to make mashed potatoes by ricing them then adding butter, milk, scallions and cream then letting them roast for a while in an enameled cast-iron pot. I've never noticed an unpleasantly raw taste with the scallions in this way. Perhaps a similar approach would work for the cauliflower.


Fastest way for cloning Milk Kefir Grains

The kefir grains are a culture of bacteria and yeast that are active at near-room temperatures. Their ideal temperature is 71F (22C). Below this and they will grow too slowly. Above this temperature, up to 86F, for extensive periods the grains will be damaged.

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir-faq.html#temperature

Building the grains takes time- there's no way around it.

You can keep the grains at exactly 71F to maximize their growth. You can also change the milk often and keep the milk to grain ratio high to ensure that the milk doesn't acidify too quickly and the grains stay active.

You may see an improvement using organic milk as it won't have residual antibiotics in it.

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir-faq.html#growthrate

I have not read anywhere of a way to modify the milk itself to encourage growth. You might experiment with adding a small amount of milk powder to make the milk more nutritionally dense but my gut feeling is that this would have a negligible effect if any.

I'm afraid your friends are just going to have to wait patiently.


Are commercial chocolate almonds coated with something that prevents melting?

The aren't coated, but the chocolate is mixed with hardeners. Things like xanthan gum, gum Arabic, corn starch, bees wax, etc.

These let the chocolate harden and polish a little better.


Does ginger have to be peeled? If so how?

There's no reason to peel besides the aesthetics of it. There's no major flavor or nutritional difference either way. If the ginger is going to be seen then peel it, if not don't bother.

The best way to peel ginger is to use the edge of a small spoon to rub it off, it works really well, takes seconds, and doesn't waste as much as using a knife or peeler.


Use high gluten (bread) flour for hand pulled noodles

Hand pulled noodles are normally made with low to medium gluten flour (cake flour)

Alkalines, like Lye water or baking soda are added to soften hard flours (high gluten). You use much less for soft flour

Elastic may not be the word you want, supple is what you want in the dough. It need to be able to pull and not break, and stay that way

The dough needs to sit a few hours to fully saturate. Also keep it warm at a high-ish room temperature to keep it supple

It can take years of practice to pull noodles well


Brining chicken doesn't take more than an hour.Just make sure it is well dried before frying.  I use 1 pint of water with 1/8 cup of salt and the breast (which can be very dry when just fried) comes out juicy,  Hope this helps.
Seasoning should be coated with seasoning but be careful of the salt.  Brining adds some water to the breast but also some salt.


How would you restore sweetness and moisture in this bundt cake?

My suggestion would be to just go with the sugar increase, it might be sufficient to increase moisture. You can combine it with less baking time, if you want to - try using a thermometer and bake to 94 C, maybe 96 if it gets out underbaked.

If it still feels dry, you should add fat, not water. Increase the butter, and maybe add one more yolk.

You can also use an artificial sweetener instead of sugar, but it will again increase your dryness problem. An interesting option would be to use another form of sugar - replace part of the original sugar with some molasses or a syrup (corn syrup, agave syrup, whatever you find). It will make a moister, heavier cake, but also change the flavor profile.

I must also say that people rarely find pound cake to not be moist enough. If you don't like it that way, you might be the kind of person who likes cakes extra moist, so it might be worth looking into cakes soaked in syrup after baking. You will find most recipes for that from Middle Eastern sources. If that's what you like, you might want to try syruping this one too, it will solve both your moisture and your sweetness problems.


Pressure Cooker vs. Slow Cooker for Moist Meat

If you are using the wrong kind of meat (= tender meat low in connective tissue), the pressure cooker will make it much worse. With this meat, the more energy goes into it (and the pressure cooker gives it more over the same amount of time), the worse it gets. You really have to prepare it as a steak or roast.

It would be an interesting thing to try out on the right kind of meat though, since there you want to break down the connective tissue, and the pressure cooker could be better at it.


Crock pot turned to warm for 45mins- 1hr

The USUAL problem with "warm" (or off/unplugged) on a crockpot is when food that is not hot is placed in one and left on those settings, where it does not quickly warm to a safe temperature range.

If the food was on "High" for 2 hours, it was hot. Depending on the specifics of the "warm" setting on your crockpot, it's somewhere between no risk (warm is 140F or above, maintaining a safe serving temperature) or low risk if for some bizzare reason they set it lower (food would still take a long time to cool below 140 °F, and thus would not actually have been below that temperature for anywhere near the full 45 minutes.)

I honestly can't imagine that a manufacturer would have chosen the second (unsafe) option, but I don't know for sure what your specific model actually does.


My cultured butter homogenised again after separating

How does it homogenise again?

I'm almost sure, the cream you used had some emulsifiers in it. Check the ingredients.


My favorite way of preparing canned sardines, which hasn't yet caused me "fish burp", is:

Boil some whole yukon gold potatoes in heavily salted water.
Meanwhile, make a vinaigrette with red wine vinegar and the oil of the canned sardines (assuming they were packed in oil).  I prefer to make the vinaigrette quite acidic.
Toss with parsley and fine julienned shallot and season to taste.
Plate the potatoes smash them into an even layer.
Put the sardines over the potatoes.
Cover with the parsley salad.
Optional: Cover with sriracha to taste.

If there is any credence to the belief that lemon juice will cover up the bad breath, you could alternatively use that instead of the vinegar in the dressing.  Furthermore, the acid from the vinaigrette will help cut through the fattiness of the fish.  Finally, the potatoes will help "dilute" the fishy contents in your gut.


Luckily you caught it before it finished the whole crown :)

What you've got there is an earwig (probably one of the most creepy names possible for such a thing) and they're not known to be contaminants (they don't carry or transmit diseases to humans).

Hard to tell from the picture, but that one seems to either have just begun (or finished) a molting cycle - wash the broccoli well or (ideally) blanch it prior to eating.


I don't think this will be such a good solution. You can try it, but it probably won't do what you want.

First, there is the problem of temperature control. In blanching, it is critically important that your vegetables heat up quickly, and then cool down just as quickly. If you insulate them with a plastic bag, you are building a thermal delay into the system, and this will reduce the quality of the blanched vegetables. They will be mushier and have worse color than when directly blanched.

The second problem is that you'll still get liquid inside the pouch. Blanching destroys the cell walls of the vegetables. The juices from inside the cells start leaking. And this will happen inside the vacuum bag too. So, you won't have dry vegetables in the bag, you'll have vegetables swimming in their own juice. Unlike the normal blanching scenario, it won't be diluted in water, but it's still probably not what you wanted.

This doesn't mean it's impossible to do it. You can try and see if you like your vegetables better that way. Just make sure that you choose bags which stand up to rapidly boiling water - it may be quite hard finding such bags.


What ingredients can be added to pasta to give a different color?

We use spinach to color and flavour fresh pasta.


How can I make fat-free whipped "cream" with a whipped cream dispenser?

There are any number of combinations of hydrocolloid agents that can be used to simulate the viscosity and other properties of dairy cream without the fat or even the dairy. "Modernist Cuisine" by Myhrvold includes a recipe for low fat "cream" which combines skim milk with l-carrageenan, cellulose gum, and whey powder; as well as a recipe for non-dairy whipping cream made from water, cellulose gum, proplene glycol alginate, agar, vegetable oil, and glycerin flake.  Other recipes are less complicated with only a single agent such as agar or xanthan gum


What should I use to clean out a plastic bucket I am planning on using to store food in?

What, if anything, was in the bucket before?
I prefer to stick with food grade buckets, most easily found from foodservice operations that get food in buckets.
For those, hot water and baking soda are key for removing the smell of the previous food if it was smelly, after washing with soap for basic cleaning. i.e. olive kegs are handy, but I can wash them by hand repeatedly, in the dishwasher repeatedly, and still tell that they were olive kegs by sticking my nose in and sniffing. But a few iterations of hot water and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) left to soak and they don't smell like anything any more. Also works for peppers, pickles, molasses and other odors that soak into plastic.
A hardware store new empty bucket that wasn't used for anything, but which is not marked as food grade (such as the "fork and wineglass" symbol being molded into it) is probably OK for storing rice, but I would not use one for wet food storage (pickles, etc.) and would prefer a food-grade bucket even for rice, myself.
A bucket that had non-food chemicals stored in it I would not use for food storage at all, no matter how well cleaned out it was, barring some sort of post-apocalyptic scenario where I could either starve or use a cleaned out paint or grease or detergent bucket to haul food in.
Another option is to put the food in food-safe bags, and put the bags in the (non-food-safe) bucket for ease of moving and protection from damage, rodents, etc. The food only touches the bag, not the bucket.


We do a fajita night once a week in my house; so I have tuned the following recipes over the last 10 years or so.

1/2 tsp of each:
ground cumin
onion powder
salt
chili powder
cornstarch (ONLY if melting cheese)
crushed red peppers (optional for spicy)
garlic powder
oregano leaves
(Heavy cream and butter if melting)

Cheese base is pending my mood; queso fresca, standard white sauce with cheddar or some fancy mexican blend with the standard, colby/cheddar/jack...

Based on your post i would recommend the colby/cheddar/jack with spices (can we call that the fajita trinity?).


Use coconut milk powder. It is very fine and dissolves easy and tastes great, better than artificial essence. Also it is pure white and does not alter the texture or color. I found it in an Indian store, what a find. I also use it in coconut custard pies dissolved in regular milk instead of the canned coconut milk, and to change basic cake recipes into coconut cake.


What is the alternative to a vine ripened tomato?

Tomatoes grow on a vine. But it is possible to pick them unripe, ship them unripe (which is much easier than shipping ripe tomatoes), then gas them with ethylene at the destination. Ethylene acts as a plant hormone and causes ripening.

But tomatoes ripened in storage don't taste the same as vine ripened ones. The compounds a tomato builds are dependent on the amount of UV light it gets, the surrounding temperature, the speed of ripening, the nutrients it gets during ripening, and many other variables. There are lots of tasty compounds it creates while ripening on the vine, which are absent when it ripens in storage. This is why vine ripened tomatoes are tastier. It is also more expensive to let them ripen naturally, therefore the producers label the vine ripened ones as a sign of quality, else customers wouldn't be willing to pay the premium.


Meaning of the term 'tack' in bread making?

I am not sure there is common meaning of "tack" that makes sense in this context.  I suspect it is a typo for "tacky", but even so, tacky implies a certain amount of stickiness.

On the other hand, the outcome that is indicated is clear.  When your dough first forms, it sticks to almost anything:  the sides of the bowl, the counter, your hands, leaving a residue.  As you knead and develop the gluten in the dough, it will prefer to stick to itself, rather than these surfaces.


Is there a compressed gas device designed specifically for creating infusions?

1) I do not think so, the technique was described in e.g. modernist cuisine, they suggest using a ISI siphone and if I can remember correctly does not describe any other tool. Any pressure chamber would work, if you have access to one :-)

2) I have something like this which can be charged with both soda and cream charges, that is what I woudl suggest. (mine is not ISI). Think both you show will work since both charges are the same.  Charge with N2O (cream charge).

3) For the infusion part, you want pressure, look for size of the device that suits your needs. The bigger, the more you can do at the same time, but will require more charges for same pressure.


What's the best way to reheat frozen boiled potatoes?

When I have left-over boiled potatoes, I always freeze them and when I have enough frozen potatoes, I pour them (still frozen) into an oven-proof dish, spray some olive oil over them, throw in a branch or 2 of fresh rosemary and put them into the cold oven and then set it to 150°C and let them heat up that way.  (until the tip of a fork pushed into the middle of the largest potato comes out hot.)
Then you'll have perfect par-boiled baked potatoes!
Boiling or microwaving them makes them too soggy for my taste...


Honestly, I'd say there is no substitute that you're likely to have on hand. The unique qualities of celery are mostly the cellulose crunch it provides, and the suggested substitutions like daikon, radish, bok choy or the like are even less likely to be in your pantry.

Most likely you'll just have to go without or make a trip.

If it is just the taste in that recipe you're going for, you could use celery seed if you happen to have that on hand.

Reference:  http://www.thekitchn.com/my-celery-dilemma-154426


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

The rest period hydrates the starches in flour, giving the dough a firmer and more workable texture (there is some very minor gluten development, but its mostly the expansion of the starch bundles with water).  In many cookies, the flavors will also mature and improve, especially with cocoa in the recipe.

In many recipes, the cooling from refrigeration is itself part of the point--doughs may be easier to roll and cut when they are cool due to chilling of the fat.  Most dietary fats are waxy, which means they don't have a single set freezing/melting point, but rather get more viscous or eventually firmer then hard as temperature drops.

For example, linzer cookie dough is very frangible, and the chilling and hydration make rolling and cutting much easier.

Generally, most of this affect is going to happen in the first 8 hours or so.  The overnight thing is simply for convenience in most cases.  In fact, 4 hours is often enough, although obviously not in your case.

If the major effect is chilling in your recipe, by flattening the dough to a disk, or lengthening it to a log (thus increasing surface area) compared to a ball, it will chill more rapidly.   You mentioned this is a high fat recipe--if that fat is butter (as it so often is with cookies), that may help.


How can I substitute for unsweetened chocolate in a frosting?

The reason this frosting uses unsweetened chocolate is because with all the sugar and sweetened chocolate (even dark, ie 70%) it would become cloyingly sweet. It needs to have double the amount of icing sugar to butter as this produces a smooth texture. If you don't have enough icing sugar it won't have a smooth texture and will have a hard texture almost like the state of the butter to begin with. So there are 2 ways of getting around this:

This is the easiest method. You can use the original recipe substituting unsweetened chocolate for dark chocolate (preferably with minimum cocoa solids of 65% to keep the chocolatey flavour) and add a quarter of a cup of cocoa powder to balance out the sweetness. To equate for the stiffness it brings slowly add 3 or 4 tbs's of milk so it has a smooth frosting-like texture.
Make an meringue frosting. This is appropriate because the meringue keeps the buttercream smooth and light without adding huge amounts of sugar, so you can then use your chosen chocolate and not have it too sweet. To do this you have to make an Italian meringue which is hot sugar syrup whipped into a meringue (or a Swiss meringue but this uses a different method which involves whipping sugar and egg whites until hot in bowl over a pan of water) then once cool whipping in soft chunks of butter. Then you can add your melted cooled chocolate. Here are some recipes for Italian meringue buttercream (US measurements), Italian meringue buttercream (metric measurements), Swiss meringue buttercream (US measurements) and finally Swiss meringue buttercream (metric measurements).

Hope this helps!


What kind of peppers are used in Gochugaru (고추가루)?

When I go to the Korean supermarkets in LA, I usually see half an aisle just dedicated to 고추가루 in all kinds of forms (mild to spicy, fine to coarse grind) and colors. I don't know that there's any specific pepper than it is all about how sweet and mildly spicy 고추가루 is supposed to be. You could start from there to make your own by sun drying and crushing whatever peppers are available to you.

If you are looking for a substitute that you can buy at a western store, try crushed red pepper flakes (the kind you see in the shakers at pizza places). You're going to be adjusting for taste/spiciness anyway, so not much of a dealbreaker.


I think the toffee potatoes in the article must be Brune kartofler; the literal translation is "brown potatoes". They are simply small potatoes covered in caramelized sugar. The photo Ocaasi links to are potatoes gone terribly wrong. I think the photo caption is ironic.

They are a traditional side dish for any christmas meal with pork roast or duck.
Here is a video that shows how they are made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYoJ14RIIhs.

The recipe is as follows:

Boil small potatoes.
Peel them.
Distribute sugar evenly in the pan.
Warm until the sugar caramelizes.
Add butter in small pieces (amount of butter and sugar are equal).
When the butter is incorporated add the potatoes.
Distribute the caramel over the potates.
After 10 minutes the potatoes are done.
They should now have a nice layer of caramel around them.


How to prevent "sweating" chocolate covered strawberries?

Very simple: don't store your chocolate in the fridge. The ideal temperature for setting chocolate is 20°C. You can store it at less or more than that, but not too much. Setting in the fridge results in bad chocolate. Remember, when you work with chocolate, exact temperatures are extremely important.

Here a loose translation from a good article on chocolate/couverture coating:

This is the usual case. You only want a temperature difference of 12° to 13° between the chocolate and its environment as well as between the chocolate and the confect interior.

If the interior is colder than the room, the setting will happen "inside out". The cocoa butter film which gives a confect its shine will build on the inside, leaving the outside looking dull.

This is a really good case for some types of confect, but you can't do it with most types of filling (definitely not with strawberries). Cooling from the outside gives you a beautiful shine.

If you want to achieve a good shine, it is possible to put the confects in the fridge for a short time, but only after they have cooled to 20°C at room temperature. Don't let them fall to fridge temperature, take them out at 15°C. The continued cooling from the outside is beneficial.

This shouldn't happen. The temperature difference is too small, and the confect doesn't set quick enough. In this case, cocoa butter pools on the surface and creates a yellowish layer after it hardens.

When you make your confect, you should time the first piece. The setting should need 10 minutes. If it is less, you don't get all the possible shine. If it needs more, it will get grey or whitish yellow.


Candied almonds made In a crock pot didn't harden, are still gooey

I'm not an expert on candy-making, but it sounds to me as if you didn't heat the sugar sufficiently.  The temperature that the sugar reaches will affect the texture when it cools:

https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar-stages.html

I'd attempt to heat it back up to hard-crack state (300°F), and see if I could recover it.

Being that I don't have a candy thermometer, I'd probably try something stupid, like spread it out on a sheet pan (on a silicone mat) and bake it in a 325°F oven 'til it got close, then turn the temperature down to 300°F and just let it sit for a while.

Candymaking generally requires pretty specific temperatures ... I'm not sure that I'd trust a crockpot unless it was one of those digital controlled ones with a temperature probe.  (but I suspect most of those are intended for meat, and may not be able to handle temperatures above 250°F)


Is it possible to cook a meatloaf using clear glass Pyrex containers?

I see no reason you couldn't use that Pyrex set for a meatloaf - I've used glass casseroles for meatloaf before (so glass in general is no problem), and that set says the bowls are oven safe.

As for the cookie sheet method, I would be afraid of it falling apart as you described, but if you were to go that route, I'd recommend wrapping it in aluminum foil to help it keep its shape.


How do I get the filling inside pâte à choux?

They are a little hard to find, but if you can find a "Bismarck" pastry tip, they have an elongated tip that is perfect for poking into your cream puff to fill. And, on a side note, a couple ways to keep your pastry tube from getting so messy... Put it inside a drinking glass and fold it down over the sides to fill it. This holds it open and you're less likely to spill all over the edges. Then, once you gather the open end, use a rubber band to tightly hold it closed. This reduces the mess dramatically.


Basically, a good stock is fairly concentrated.  In general, home cooks use too high a water to bones/veg ratio for a proper result.  So, when you leave your stock uncovered you are concentrating everything and, perhaps, getting a good result...at least one you like.  However, this is difficult to tell without knowing your recipe.  With respect to adding water back later, it is not an uncommon practice to reduce a well-made stock further, by half or more, simply for storage purposes.  Then when ready to use, water is added to bring it back to the original strength.


Can you cover an angel food cake with fondant?

Angel food cake has a very light and springy texture. It has no fat and so can sometimes feel more dry than other types of cake.

It is eaten precisely because it has a lighter, less rich, flavor. Toppings should accentuate this not detract. It's rare to see a rich buttercream frosting on an angel food cake, for example. Common toppings are whipped cream and fruit, a simple glaze, or just a dusting of powdered sugar.

Once cooled, an angel food cake would be able to support the weight of thinly rolled fondant but it is my opinion that it would not at all work with the simplicity of that cake. If you are going to eat the cake then you should use a lighter topping. If you aren't going to eat it then put your fondant on a cake that is less work to make.

Much of this information was written years ago in comments by Jolenealaska, Catija, and dlb.


Most optimal pizza type or style for home oven?

"Optimal" is a matter of taste and opinion with regard to this question.  I am not sure we can answer that. I would start with a calibrated oven thermometer and crank your oven, so you know what temperature you can achieve.  In my home oven, I can achieve a decent Neapolitan style pizza using a pizza steel and oven temps slightly below 260C (500F).  This is well-below the ideal temperature, but with a long pre-heat, and longer than typical cooking time, it works out well.  Alternately, there are thick crust sheet pan pizzas, deep dish pizzas (Chicago style), and pizzas that can be made in a cast iron pan...all of which should be easy to do in any home oven.


Is using vinegar a viable way to reduce burning? How would it affect taste?

The OP's answer is correct that this theoretically should have an effect, but I have my doubts about its practicality for a few reasons:

The goal is supposedly to "reduce burning," which implies carbonization.  Carbonization happens most rapidly at higher temperatures (over 400F or so) compared to the ideal temperatures for Maillard reactions.  Thus, you can very easily go quickly from underdone to burnt at very high temperatures.  Decreasing Maillard reactions is not the problem; it's too high of a temperature leading to carbonization.  Wilson should just turn down the heat.  Increasing Maillard will just make more of a thicker "brown crust" giving the meatballs more of a "fried" texture.  Most people wouldn't find that too objectionable.
Vinegar is a rather dilute acid and is mostly water.  Water will also inhibit the Maillard reactions by lowering the surface temperature of the meatballs.  Effectively, before the meatballs can begin browning again, the water will mostly need to be evaporated, so the surface will "steam" for a bit at lower temperatures, again inhibiting browning.  Anyhow, the larger problem with this from a practical standpoint is splatter.  Introducing a bunch of mostly water onto a food right before frying will cause that water to vaporize when coming in contact with the oil and splattering.  Also, the question is how much this acid will penetrate the meat surface and prevent browning vs. being effectively washed off during this vaporization and splattering.  Unless you let the meatballs sit and absorb the acid for a few minutes before returning to the pan, I imagine most of the vinegar would just come off and be ineffective.
Even presuming that the acid stays on the meatballs and that we actually want to inhibit Maillard reactions (which I'm not sure we do), I don't know how effective a little bit of surface acidity is really going to be in this case.  Keep in mind that many, many people prepare meat in marinades before cooking, which often contain acidity.  While most people dry the meat before cooking, this surface acidity obviously doesn't seem to get too much in the way of browning and flavor reactions, or else people wouldn't put so much acid in marinades.  The uneven surface of meatballs may lead to a little more absorption of acid than a solid cut of meat, but again I have some doubts about the magnitude of the effect.

Bottom line: I suppose this might delay browning for a couple minutes, at the risk of (maybe significant) splattering.  It will NOT be very effective at stopping burning if the oil is too hot.  The flavor of the meatballs shouldn't be affected (except from the direct flavor of the vinegar), other than the outside tasting like it was browned slightly less.

As OP's link in the answer notes, there are other ways to reduce the speed of Maillard reactions, notably reducing temperature of the pan and/or removing the meatballs and letting them rest (to cool the surface down a bit while some heat migrates inward) before finishing cooking.  Reducing temperature seems a much easier and more effective solution in this case.  Another alternative would just be to remove them from the pan and finish cooking in a low oven: the frying is to obtain the browned outer crust, and if that's done, there's no need to keep frying.

House's solution -- while technically intriguing -- seems overly complex and unlikely to be practical, but then again, that's why people tend to watch House....


You didn't mention the size of your grind. You definitely want a course to medium grind. A fine/espresso grind will leave a lot of sediment and produce a bitter cup of coffee from over extraction.

Two things you can do to minimize sediment:

After letting it brew, before plunging, use a couple of spoons to scoop out as much of the coffee grounds as you can. This video shows a demonstration of this.
Decant the coffee. Pour the coffee from the press into another jug and let it settle a moment before pouring into your cups.

Another tip: Place a saucer over the top of the press for the four minutes to minimise heat loss.


What kind of salt are you using?

In the presence of iodine, starch can turn a surprisingly purplish-black color. This phenomenon has be leveraged for many decades in medical examiners' offices, to help determine the contents of a last meal in a cadaver (pardon the unappetizing digression).

Iodine is an essential nutrient, vital for the proper functioning of our thyroid (read more about Iodine Deficiency) that has relatively few ways of entering our bodies through our diet other than through shellfish, meats, eggs, and some dairy products.

One way to combat the problems of iodine deficiency is its addition to our salt, which we consume in predictable quantities and never goes bad. Table salt contains up to 25mg/kg of iodine and that number has been on the rise since its safety and helpfulness have been demonstrated repeatedly. Sea salt contains some iodine, as it is naturally occurring in the ocean, but in a much smaller quantity.

Maybe when you were at the beach, your salt supply changed to sea salt or an uniodized version and and when you returned and used the regular Iodized Morton's or Iodized sea salt.


Is it possible to improve one's taste palette through practice or other methods?

Sure...well, almost.  I don't believe you will be training your actual taste sensors to become more sensitive (biologists or flavor chemists can correct me), but you can learn to improve your recognition and understanding of flavor. So, it is a matter of training your brain, not your tongue.  It's how chef's, sommeiliers, food/taste chemists, and even home cooks get better and become experts.  Taste a lot...observe...take notes...practice.  I would start with one food, one cuisine, or one beverage (like wine), and learn as much as possible about it, by which I mainly mean lots of tasting. You will find that you begin to recognize aroma and flavor profiles, variation and even imperfections.  Of course, this takes time, but the journey can be very rewarding.


Why did the skin of my tomatoes fracture after a few days in a refrigerator?

Tomato Gardening Tips
This site's gardening tip says that tomatoes splitting on the vine is due to a lack of water - the plant gets dried out and the skin doesn't retain the elasticity to contain new growth.

The refrigerator is typically a dehydrating environment. Could be that's your culprit.

But for pity's sake, store them on the counter where they stay their most delicious and you can see them and remember to eat them!


Electric cooktop for sous vide-level precision?

Absolutely not, this cannot be built. There is a reason sous vide is called sous vide and not sous PID. Cooktops are, by design, a device that emits a constant amount of energy (oversimplified) into the surrounding space, which is the opposite of what you need for keeping a constant internal temperature in a chicken breast.
If you would build a cooktop with a heat element that would stay constantly at 74 C, then put a pot of water on it, the pot would constantly sit at (74 - X) C due to thermal loss. X will vary for each combination of pot and water volume you use. And the water is a special case which you can keep at a constant temperature that way, not a chicken breast. So even if somebody were to put in the expense and effort to build such a heater (and nobody does, both resistive and induction heaters are time modulated), you still wouldn't get what you want.
If you do want your food to stay at a constant temperature, you first have to put it in an enclosed space, then heat the fluid in that space to a constant temperature. The traditional way to do it is with an oven. Keeping an oven at constant 74 C is possible, but if you put a naked chicken breast in it, it would take too many hours to get to be 74 C internally. So the next logical step is to surround it not with a great insulator like air, but a great thermal conductor like water - and then you have built the simplest device suitable for the task, which is a sous vide.

For completeness, there are cooktops with a probe that goes into the food, although they are niche and expensive, or you could rig one yourself. They would work for the pot of water, but for frying a chicken breast, the element will be working just like an old-fashioned heat element and heat to much over 74 C, until the breast itself reaches 74 C, at which time the cook would remove the breast instead of letting it sit there, so the controller would never even get a chance to start working and the situation is equivalent to sticking an external probe in the breast.

Update in response to your Edit 2:
If all you want is to keep a pot of soup/stew in a not-too-precise temperature range, all you need is to take a standard cooktop and put the dial at the proper setting, "proper" being something you learn by trial-and-error for your combination of stovetop, pot and batch size, fine adjusted by observation during cooking. You may have to readjust a bit over time, but only rarely. This is not some new method though, this is the way everybody cooks on stovetop. I don't see why you would complicate things by trying to overcompensate (and introduce new errors) by manually turning on and off on a preset schedule. That would mean both more work and worse results than the normal way of cooking.


Use non-inductive pans on induction cook top

You seem to be mixing up some things here.

The difference is not between "normal" and "inductive". The difference is between pans which happen to have a ferromagnetic body, and thus work on induction, and all others. All pans with ferromagnetic body also work on resistive or gas stoves, so they are sold as "normal" pans, just like the non-ferromagnetic ones. "Ceramic" has nothing to do with the pan body **, that's a coating which can be put over a body made of a variety of metals, some of them ferromagnetic and some not.

Most steel pans and all iron ones should work on an induction stove, regardless of how they are coated. You can test this with a magnet - if it sticks, it will work. If it doesn't, don't try it anyway - in the worst case it can be an aluminium pan, and melt on the stove bad things can happen - my memory is patchy about what exactly happens, but the general advice is "don't".

You are likely to already have enough pans to use on the induction. But if you want to keep using some existing pan which is not ferromagnetic, you can simply use metallic discs which are sold for this purpose. The downside is that the performance of the stove drops to levels comparable to old-style resistive stoves (non-glasstop). But you can continue with your existing pans, and ditto for pots.

** I assume here that you mean ceramic-coated nonstick pans. The word "pan" is ambiguous in English and can also mean e.g. a lasagna pan whose body is 100% ceramic. But these are not used on stovetop, so I think we can exclude them here. Another option is a series of solid ceramic pots and pans developed for the stove, like Arcoflam/pyroflam but they are quite rare. None of the full body ceramic will work on induction, no matter if intended for the oven or stovetop.


How to reduce the eggs from over burnt at the sides in a wok?

You didnt mention what temperature the flame is under your wok. Low, Medium or High. Also Powerburner on some cooktops. Maybe turn the flame down some.


How to prepare smaller amount of coffee than nominal in Moka pot

The Moka pots like Bialetti are very similar to the esspresso process except that the water goes through the coffee from the bottom in Moka's case.

They are designed to match the pressure of the water with the resistance from the coffee grind/puck (IIRC 1-3 Bar of back pressure).  If you use significantly less coffee, the water can just run through the coffee compartment without extracting much flavor or worse, it can fill the compartment (replacing the missing coffee) and soak for too long.

My guess is that you'd need to reduce the volume of the compartment to allow proper pressure build up on the coffee.  Perhaps roll a coffee filter into a ring shape and place inside the coffee compartment to take up the missing 5 cups worth of coffee grind and fill the inside of the ring with the now less coffee grind.

Again you may not be able to reduce the water all the way since it needs to be above the opening of the spout/pipe that descends into water reservoir.  The solution here is to take the Moka off the heat when you're near your one cup so you don't dilute your Moka Espresso too much.


Advice for cooking two pumpkin pies at once

Putting 2 pies in the oven will likely cool the oven more, and the oven will try to heat up to compensate. So its best to keep the temperature the same and cook longer. I'd say 5 minutes would be adequate in this scenario. Also, do not put the pies on different racks in the oven, the one on the lower rack will cook at a lower temperature and your product will be inconsistent.

If you have a convection oven, or a convection setting on your oven, use it. The movement of hot air will mitigate most of the effect of having another pie in the oven, its also more energy efficient and cooks more evenly. If you do not have a convection oven it might be wise to rotate the pies so they cook evenly. The pies will likely create a cold spot between them, in addition to any potential cold spots in your oven.

Another way of getting rid of cold spots and helping the oven retain more heat is to add a baking stone. I keep my baking stone in the oven all the time, because it helps hold onto heat, even if I'm not cooking directly on top of it. It helps hold heat when I open the over door, and it helps my oven heat more evenly. The trick is to let the oven preheat 5-10min longer before you put your goods in.


Ginger starting to sprout - can I still use it?

From a culinary perspective, I find that when sprouted, the ginger just loses a bit of flavour, that's all. If you let it grow for a very long time and it becomes all shriveled, then you are talking about a flavourless piece of ginger. I've even used such shriveled and even moldy (cut the mold off, though) pieces... no flavour at all!


Techniques for making sourdough starter in cold/altitude

You might want to try a desem starter.  Have a look at the desem primer, which is also linked on the Wikipedia page.  Starter instructions are given toward the end.  Common lore says that desem starter should never get above 65F, which sounds perfect for your situation.  (It's actually fine if it gets warmer than that, though.)  Traditional conditions for creating a starter are 50-65F, and I imagine you must have an area at least in that temperature range.  I don't think the high altitude should be an issue in getting a starter going, and it might actually help in the case of desem starter by allowing the internal sponge to grow slightly easier.

Basically, it's a dry dough sourdough starter -- different from the typical goupy or soupy sourdough starter most people work with.  You begin a starter by essentially taking a little water and kneading in about as much whole grain flour as is reasonable to make a very dry little dough ball.  (Whole wheat is traditional, but you can use other grains -- rye would probably be effective, but it's not traditional "desem.")  Then bury it in flour.  Standard practice is to throw half away every 24 hours and then add water and flour to repeat.  You can also start with a very small amount and gradually enlarge the ball.

Eventually, you'll pull the ball out one day and it will be very soft and spongy inside.  This will probably happen in about a week at low temperatures, but it could take more or less.  At this point, I would usually do a few feedings 12 hours apart before using it to bake bread.  If you want to ensure the strongest starter, I'd also do regular feedings for a few more days to really get the culture established.

You can easily convert a desem starter to a wetter version once it is established.  Just add water to get the texture you want, and feed according to whatever starter recipe you want to follow.

And, of course, you can use to bake other kinds of bread.  You can also convert it to another type of flour once established.

Why does this work better at lower temperatures?  I've never actually tried it at very low temperatures (I've had success with a temp of 65F or so), but lots of people have.  I think you might be able to get a more standard wet sourdough culture going with at least 50F temperatures -- I only recommend the desem method because anecdotally it's what a lot of people use at lower temperatures.

If it does work better, I assume it might have something to do with the way yeast and bacteria growth rates change at lower temperatures.  Both are integral to a sourdough culture, but too much of one and not enough of the other, and the starter can fail.  Early on in the creation of a starter, bacteria are much more active than yeast, and they produce a lot of byproducts, including acids which provide souring.  In the first few days, you often end up with an excess of acetic acid (partly from bacteria that are undesirable and ultimately die off in the starter process), whereas a mature starter should produce more lactic acid.  Excess acetic acid is known to be a significant inhibitor of yeast growth.  So, at lower temperatures, the yeast may grow too slow and not have a chance to get established at all if there's too much acetic acid around.  The high flour proportion in the desem starter could dilute the effect of all that acetic acid early on more effectively than in a wet starter.  At least, that's what I'd theorize.

Regardless of the science, lots of people have success with the desem starter technique at lower temperatures.  If you don't like maintaining that type of starter (which I personally have grown to like, because it seems to stay fresh longer with fewer feedings in the fridge once established), you can add more water once the starter is established.

As for allowing your dough to rise once you start baking, there are lots of ways to make a temporary humid warm space.  If you have some small enclosed space that doesn't allow a lot of air circulation outside (microwave, small oven, etc.), put the dough in there along with a cup of hot water.  Refresh the hot water as necessary to keep the desired temperature.  If you don't have such a space, you can even take a large wider-than-tall cardboard box, cut off the top flaps, seal the bottom with packing tape, and invert it over your dough along with the cup of hot water.  I used such makeshift proofing boxes for years until I actually was given a proofing box as a gift.

Frankly, you can let sourdough bread rise at lower temperatures, too, which will increase certain flavor elements.  It will just take longer, and sometimes you might need to use a different amount of starter in the recipe so as not to end up with a loaf that's too sour in the end.  But that will depend on the recipe and the specific characteristics of your mature starter.


Spaetzle is basically a noodle. Throw together egg, flour and salt (maybe some water to thin it out) and force it through a mold. Anything with holes can be used as a mold (for instance, I've used my old metal colander and that would work fine). Once the dough is formed into little pieces (it doesn't usually hold together for long threads), put it in boiling water to cook for a few minutes and dress it to eat however you desire.

Note: some people say Spaetzle is a noodle, some say a dumpling, I have no preference, I just call it tasty!


Summary: Don't toss the soak water.

First, to address the food safety issue, phytohaemagglutinin is gradually destroyed by temperatures above 175F or so.  The FDA has referenced studies (see pp. 254-256) which show that 10 minutes of boiling will completely destroy any of that toxin in beans, though they recommend 30 minutes at boiling temperatures to be on the safe side.  Yes, some studies have recommended discarding the soaking water to decrease amounts of toxins before cooking, but there's no need to as long as you are certain to have your beans at or near boiling for at least part of the cooking time.

Also, just to clarify your statement about temperatures near 170F increasing the toxin -- it's true that undercooked beans which never reach higher temperatures will release more of the toxin than raw beans.  However, I see nothing so far in the literature that suggests a problem if the beans spend some time at that temperature as long as they spend at least 10 minutes (and preferably 30 minutes) near boiling during the simmering.  (As long as your beans are actively simmering for a good portion of the cook time, the toxin should degrade: the real problem comes with slow cookers which never reach a boil or even a decent simmer and might maintain a constant temperature that never rises above 180F to destroy the toxin.)

Finally, I should also note that you've asked about black beans, and the concern with phytohaemagglutinin is greater for red kidney beans and a few other related beans where the concentration is particularly high. Thus there are sometimes recommendations for discarding soaking water for those specific bean types.  The concentration is significantly lower in black beans, and while there many be some other lectins in black beans to worry about, as long as they are cooked thoroughly, including boiling for at least 10 minutes, there is no reason to worry.

Regarding your other questions about nutrients, flatulence-causing agents, etc. and the soak water, I quote Harold McGee (who is also referenced in one of your helpful links) from On Food and Cooking (pp. 486-487):

  A commonly used method for reducing the gassiness of beans is to boil
  them briefly in excess water, let them stand for an hour, then discard
  the soaking water and start the cooking with fresh water.  This does
  leach out most of the water-soluble oligosaccharides--but it also
  leaches out significant quantities of water-soluble vitamins,
  minerals, simple sugars, and seed-coat pigments: that is, nutrients,
  flavor, color, and antioxidants.  That's a high price to pay.  An
  alternative is simple prolonged cooking, which helps by eventually
  breaking down much of the oligosaccharides and cell-wall cements into
  digestible single sugars.

In line with McGee's recommendations, I generally don't bother soaking at all anymore, since the longer I cook the beans, the more I break down the gas-causing elements.  (Also, except in unusual cases, I find soaking -- even long-term -- rarely saves me more than 30-45 minutes of cooking, and for beans I'm going to simmer for a few hours anyway, that doesn't seem to help much.)  Regardless, I never discard soak water, since I prefer to preserve the flavor and nutrients.

Some people still find that soaking for a short time will improve final texture or keep beans from bursting or breaking apart or whatever.  If you find that it makes a difference for you, soak.  But aside from an odd batch here or there, I found that the best textured beans I've made generally have not been soaked at all.

One other minor point is that, while I do sometimes use the oven to cook beans, there's no reason not to simmer them on the stovetop as long as you use a heavy pot.  If you're really concerned about toxins, bring them to a boil early (while there's still a lot of liquid), but after 10-30 minutes, you can turn them down to a simmer.  Unless you tend to cook beans to the point that they burst and cause the liquid to thicken significantly, you shouldn't need to stir them often (or at all) to avoid sticking.

You can add tomatoes or other mildly acidic ingredients once the beans are near-done, say for the last 30 minutes or so.  You're right that you shouldn't add them at the beginning, but adding them a little before the end can allow flavors to permeate the beans more (if you want that).  Also, adding small amounts of acid toward the end will actually strengthen the beans somewhat and preserve their structure even if you overcook them a bit.

Otherwise, I agree with basically all of your ideas, which seem well-researched.  You'll find similar advice given in many other questions here.


There's no point drinking wine and not enjoying it. The point of wine with food is that, if you enjoy the wine and enjoy the food, you'll enjoy both together even more. But if you don't enjoy the wine, you'll enjoy the food less if you force yourself to drink wine with it.

Is there anything you do like about wine? If not, I suggest you ignore it for the time being. If you're curious, you'll come back to it in your own time, whenever you're ready. If you're not, it doesn't matter: there's nothing wrong with not liking wine.

If there is something you like about wine, for example, the aroma or some component of the taste, I suggest you keep trying it but don't force yourself. Taste it every now and again and, if you still don't like it, wait until you want to try it again.  This is what I did with whisky.  As a teenager / young adult, I really liked the smell of whisky but didn't like the taste – in hindsight, it was probably the alcohol content that was the problem.  Every now and again I'd have a taste from my father's glass or from somebody I was drinking with at a bar.  For a long time, I didn't like it but I still liked the aroma so I kept trying a couple of times a year. Eventually, I started drinking it.

A few things to bear in mind about wine.

Avoid cheap wine and don't waste your money on expensive wine that you won't appreciate. Low price isn't a guarantee of low quality and high price isn't a guarantee of high quality but it's worth spending, say, twice the price of the cheapest bottle if you're at the supermarket. That's likely to lift you into wines that you're disliking because you dislike wine, rather than because they're bad.
Red wine, poured straight from the bottle often tastes rather harsh. Open the bottle half an hour or so before you want to drink it and let it sit in the glass for a couple of minutes before you drink.
Wines (especially red) with just one or two grape varieties named on the bottle usually have simpler, less challenging tastes.
Sweeter white wines will probably be more appealing to you than drier ones. Try something like a sauvignon blanc or unoaked chardonnay, rather than, say, a pinot gris/pinot grigio. Riesling can be anywhere from super-sweet to mouth-puckeringly dry depending on what the winemaker did.
Supermarkets in the UK sell quarter-bottles of decent-but-not-amazing wine. That's a good way to try lots of different styles without having to spend a lot of money or feeling that you're wasting a whole bottle if you don't like it.
This suggestion is heresy but... consider chilling red wine. Chilling tends to make harsher flavours less noticeable. If you find you like it chilled, try chilling it less.
Ask a wine merchant. Specialist wine merchants love to talk about wine. Don't be embarrassed to walk into one of their stores and say, "Hi. I like the idea of wine but I've never found a wine I like drinking." Their eyes will light up because this is a challenge to them to use their skills to make a customer really happy. If you buy a couple of bottles on their recommendations, you'll be their favourite customer of the day, I guarantee. Doubly so if you go back a week later after liking what you bought. Go for it!


How can I keep my reheated Oats from sticking together?

You have to really beat the milk into it. Start with all of the oatmeal in a bowl, and add just a little milk and mush it in with a fork. Keep adding milk a little at a time until you reach the texture you like, then reheat it.


Bottom line
When you use both racks at once, your cooking pattern will become somewhat uneven.
Normally, you will only see this as a serious effect in thin, rapidly cooking foods like cookies.  Some cookies on the tray may be browned and done, while others are still pale and underdone.     This is why cookie recipes almost always specify swapping the trays between the racks, and rotating them front to back, half way through.  The idea is to balance out the influence of these various affects.
For thicker and longer cooking foods like a casserole or a braise, internal conduction or convection will tend to even out the influence of the local hot and cool spots over time, making use of both racks fairly irrelevent to the outcome.
Background
Ovens transfer heat into food in two modes:

Infrared radiation (much like a heat lamp puts out) warms the surface of the foods (or their containers) directly
The hot air in contact with the food (or their container) conducts heat into the surface

Furtheremore, the conduction of heat into the food from the air is strongly influenced by the convection (circulation of the air due to temperature differentials).  If the air were pefectly still (which it never is), then the part that is in contact with the food would soon come into thermal equilibrium with the food.  As air is a very poor thermal conductor, it would then take some time for it to heat up from the adjectent air, and the food would cook very slowly.
In the real world, air also changes density when the temperature changes, becoming denser and sinking as it cools, and becoming less dense and rising when it is heated.  This causes the air in the oven to circulate, even if there are no fans, and is called convection.  It increases the ability of the air to transfer heat energy into the food.
There are also ovens which have fans to force air circulation, technincally called forced air convection ovens, although often simply called "convection ovens" for short.
Understanding these modes of heat transfer allow you to understand what happens when you use two racks within the oven:
Shadowing
As radiant heat is a major mode of heating, and infrared is light (just of a wavelength too long for people to see), it can be blocked and cast a shadow.
When you use only a single rack, the food (or its container) is bathed in the radiant heat from all of the walls (and floor and ceiling).
As soon as you use two racks, the food on one rack absorbs and blocks the radiant heat from at least one direction from getting to the food on the other rack.
This will cause the baking to slow down slightly, and change the pattern by which heat reaches the food.
Convection patterns
When you use more racks, the pattern of natural convection within the oven will change.  Its like being in a city where the wind patterns are affected by the shape of the buildings.  This can create hotter (more air going by) and colder (less air going by) spots within the oven.
If you have forced air convection (a fan), this affect is reduced but not eliminated, because the air still must circulate past the foods to actually transfer heat energy into them.

A note on on oven design
All ovens have radiant heat as a major cooking modality.  The hot air from burner or heating element heats the walls of the oven, which then begin to emit infrared radiation back to the foods.
Some ovens also directly expose their heating element within the main oven cavity.  In this case, infrared can be an even stronger mode, and become very directional.
This is particularly true of electric ovens with directly exposed coils.  The shadowing affect becomes stronger in this type of oven.


What is the correct flour, sugar, butter ratio for crumble?

There is no single ideal. More sugar and butter will mean a more crunchy crumble top (and one that browns or burns more quickly), more flour will make it more sandy - they each have their place. The juicier the fruit, the sandier I like the topping to absorb some of the juice. The longer the fruit needs to cook, the more resilient to cooking the topping needs to be. And of course for a tart fruit like rhubarb, you might like more sugar in the topping to balance it - or you might just add sugar to the fruit and leave the topping alone.

My goto mix is 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter. But play with it a bit and vary it according to the fruit you are using - and I don't just mean "rhubarb" or "apples" but taste a bit of today's fruit to see how sweet it is, how soft it is, etc.


What spike is this? Identifying some utensils

I have a definitive answer. I found a manual to the combination microwave oven, which is a Samsung C108STBC or similar.
The accessories to this oven (which can grill and/or microwave) include:

a roasting spit (also referred to as "roasting stand") which is the larger spike.

The roasting spit is a convenient way of barbecuing a chicken, as the meat does not have to be turned over. It can be used for grill combination cooking.

the skewers that fit into a plastic "coupler" that I found in another cupboard drawer (it looks a little like a cotton reel and I would have never picked it as something to be put in an oven). Together, the skewers are mounted vertically in a circle to form a "multi-spit".

Using the multi-spit with 6 kebab skewers you can easily barbecue meat, poultry, fish, vegetables (like onions, peppers or courgettes) and fruit which have been cut into pieces.


You don't need onions or mushrooms, you can make gravy from strong stock, thickened using a roux or cornstarch slurry. This only really comes out well if you can get concentrated stock, it's not really that good with stock cubes, as they aren't really stock, more of a flavored salt.

My go-to gravy recipe uses Knorr stockpots, which are widely available in the UK and EU (from what I've seen in my travels), in the US they seem to be marketed as Homestyle stock, and they look like the same thing. I start with a roux made from 25g flour (about 2 tbsp) and 25g butter, cooked for about 2 minutes to give it a bit of color, then add 1 beef and 1 chicken stockpot and 600ml water, which is 2/3 of the normal dilution. I bring it up to a simmer, add some pepper, a drop of honey and a splash of dark soy for a bit of richness and color. If I have drippings I use those instead of butter to make the roux, if I have juices I will add this in addition to the base gravy recipe without adjusting it, it's just bonus flavor. If I have neither it still comes out well.

The flavor of the gravy comes from 2 things:

The roux: cooking the flour down to give it some color gives depth of flavor. You can use a cornstart (cornflour) slurry after heating but I find you can tell the difference. You can cook the roux longer and get more flavoring, at some point you start to lose the thickening power. You can make more roux than you need and spoon it out, adding it until you get the thickness of gravy you like
Concentration of the stock: you need a more powerful meaty flavor for gravy, thin stock won't cut it. If you have thin stock you can concentrate it down by gently simmering it to evaporate water.


Are electric kettles a good choice for tea?

Well, my kettle will boil water to 70, 80, 90 or 100 degrees, which eliminates all of those problems you mention. If you are concerned about those things I would recommend shopping around for a kettle with more functionality.


Is lemonade better when made with simple syrup?

Simple Syrup is sugar that is has been dissolved in water. Heating speeds the process, and also allows the water to "absorb" more sugar. I don't remember the chemistry of why the sugar doesn't crystallize at room temp, but it doesn't. It is typically made in a 1:1 mixture .. heat a cup of water to boiling, add a cup of sugar, stir until the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat, allow to cool.

It is used in cold drinks like lemonade and iced tea because granulated sugar does not dissolve easily in cold liquids. It requires a lot of mixing, and the saturation point is low, so people who like lots of sugar can't get enough to dissolve to get the taste they desire.

Note #1: this is why Southern-style Sweet Tea is sweetened while the tea is still hot.

Note #2: The sweetness of 1 tsp of sugar is not equivalent to the sweetness of 1 tsp of simple syrup.  You will have to find your particular taste point.

Note #3: It can be flavored with just about any flavor extract, such as lemon, orange, peppermint, vanilla, almond, and so on. As I understand it, this is typically how flavored iced teas are made.


If I were to make a guess, thick cooked rhubarb would be chunks of rhubarb cooked in a sugar syrup that is thickened. (Kind of like cherry pie filling, which comes in cans.)

Here's what I would do to simulate this:

cut some chunks of rhubarb in a size that you think you would like in a pie or cobbler.
Add some water (at least a cup) and the rhubarb to a saucepan.  Add some sugar (about a cup) Cook on medium low heat until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is boiled down to a thick syrup.
Let the mix cool, or refrigerate, and then move along with your recipe.


A quick search of the internets confirms your basic recipe of 2 tbs buttermilk to a cup of cream. This is likely a modern formula. Keep in mind that today's cultured buttermilk is not the same product as buttermilk (the liquid left over from churning butter...which could then be left to ferment) or "soured cream" (fermented cream) of years past.  In fact, I did find this Julia Child recipe that more closely aligns with the recipe from Le Cordon Bleu, which you reference. Julia calls for 1 cup of "soured cream" to 2 cups of heavy cream.  So, I don't think your reference has a typo.  I think it is from a time when we didn't use modern "cultured buttermilk." The bottom line is that you need some type of starter to get a lactic fermentation going.  While it might sound like too much liquid, remember that the fermentation process would thicken things up.  I would say that you could probably reproduce the traditional recipe, but it's probably more convenient (and would likely result is a very similar product) to use the smaller amount of commonly available cultured buttermilk that can be found in many markets.


To have the most flavor, you will need to roast/brown the meat scraps.

Let them get a nice brown color.

you could add aromatic vegetables (onion, carrots, celery) as well to the roasting pan.


Microwaves steam food from within, because they excite water molecules to the point of heat production. This has varied side effects such as:

Glutens tighten (that's why breads come out rubbery, and pasta sometimes falls apart)
Meats cook unevenly (though, as you mentioned, this can be a way to give marrow bone-in meats a head start so they cook completely in less time on dry heat)
Vegetables steam very quickly and are easily overcooked (though spuds in a microwave can be a handy shortcut)
While those 'crisper' liners can help, you can't really sear anything that's steaming. It's meant to reheat things mostly, and it's good at cooking some things entirely.

I would no sooner put waffles in a pressure cooker than I would tenderloin or fresh squash in a microwave - it's just the wrong tool for the job. But I will use one to melt butter, thaw demi glace, soften potatoes, quickly heat water to replenish a pasta pot that has been going a while, and lots of other things.

My objection to the use of them in commercial kitchens is mostly centered around cooks preparing and freezing stuff and then just microwaving it on demand. I can buy frozen food much cheaper in the grocery store. If you can easily reheat something that needs bulk prep and cold storage without degrading the taste or texture, who cares how you do it? I don't mind if you microwave my mash as long as it was made recently and tastes like you made it today :)

My objection to home use is assembling an entirely cold dinner plate and whacking it in there for a few minutes - my short ribs get all dry and my string beans start staring at me like Whoopi Goldberg would if I accidentally walked in on her in the restroom. Microwaves don't replace conventional ovens, but they're often marketed as if they do.

But I don't hate microwaves, in fact I'm considering an upgrade to one of the smarter ones in hopes of getting more use out of something that occupies some prime counter real estate.

Much like hammers, I think they just get used as inappropriately as they do appropriately, and you're hearing lots of people complaining about throbbing thumbs :)

I think some also resent the implied suggestion that microwave manufacturers make, which is "go on, cook more of stuff that shouldn't be reheated, in fact you don't even need to worry about that anymore - we've got this!" At least I did when I saw my mother-in-law grab 750 grams of cooked tiger prawns and throw them in the microwave on high for three minutes and I knew it would be rude not to eat them.


Flour is many years expired but still looks good

I am using flour that expired in 2018. I had to use some of my emergency flour due to the corona virus shortages. Its pretty good but not as good as fresh. Id say 90% as good tasting. Yeast on the other hand is different. Ive had a one pound block of yeast in the freezer since 2014 and it still works. Not very well but it works. I have to double up the amount and wait twice as long so the bread tastes very yeasty but it is good to know it can last this long.


Are there common culinary uses for the addition of stearic acid?

Its main "culinary" use is as a binder or texture agent in "processed" foods.  You'll tend to find it in stuff like chewing gum, edible wax, and various candy elements like coatings.

Aside from its natural occurrence (which, as noted in comments, comes in sorts of foods, but especially animal and vegetable oils and fats), it is also sometimes found in substances that are trying to mimic those oils or fats, like artificial butter flavoring, etc.

As a long-chain fatty acid, its solubility in water is limited, so it can't really be used as an "acid" in the way you tend to think about culinary stuff like vinegar or citric acid.  (And its effective pH would be way too high to do anything.)  The "fatty" part of the carbon chain also dominates the perceptual aspect of it, so it will taste more "fatty" than sour or acidic.


Is it safe to reheat old water in an electric kettle?

Maybe I'm wrong, but there is no safety risk at all when boiling old water. There is however something like taste. The reason the old water is discarded is because, after boiling, it lacks oxygen and will taste stale. This is also the reason why coffee is made with 95ºC hot water, or why Moroccan tea is poured from above (to oxygenate)...

So, as long as you boil it before drinking it should be safe.


What method of extracting oil from almonds preserves the most almond flavor?

You can make your own extract easily using vodka/neutral spirits and crushed almonds, filling a glass jar with half vodka/neutral spirits and half crushed almonds, letting it sit for a month or so to extract the flavor and oils, you can make a vanilla extract in the same way.


In my experience, those temps work for milk chocolate, but not for bitter chocolate. Instead of 115/81/90, give 135/83/90 a shot. That ratio works well for me.

Good luck!


Can you safely torch a meringue topping instead of baking it?

Yes you can - if you make the right kind of meringue.

There are three types that vary in the preparation process:

French (or classic) meringue
Where egg whites are simply beaten with fine sugar.
Swiss meringue
Where the egg & sugar is beaten over a water bath.
Italian meringue
Where the whites are beaten first and a steady stream of hot sugar syrup is then slowly added while continuing to whip.

The former two are often considered “easier”, but only the latter will result in a meringue that is safe to eat without an additional baking or cooking step. And torching a meringue is merely decorative.


Using kalpasi (which is also known as Black Stone Flower) in a biriyani?

Kalpasi is type of lichen, usually used in spices for typical Chettinad and West Indian (Maharashtrian) Cuisines.

Dry ground kalpasi has little or no smell and should be roasted in little oil to get its actual and full aroma.

It has a distinct smell, which it would impart, if used properly i.e. after roasting (also depends on how and for how much time you marinate).

Its generally used in combination with other spices like cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, saffron, peppers etc. for flavor.

On its own, it can't add much flavor.


You cannot find a "golden ratio" as there is no such thing for something as diverse as "waffles":

Brussels Waffles
Liège Waffles
Butter waffles
Vanilla waffles
Blueberry waffles
Honey Waffles
...

Just take a recipe for waffles that resembles the kind of waffles you want to make and substitute one ingredient for another (In this case, I'd start with a blueberry waffle recipe and change the blueberries with oranges cut up in cubes as big as blueberries).


What kind of tray or tray coating to use for pretzels?

You need a Silpat! I recommend a half sheet size Silpat and a Stainless Steel Half-Sheet Pan.

A Silpat is a silicone mat. It's the most non-stick way to bake anything, and they're quite durable. Buy a couple of mats and you can just swap them out when baking multiple batches.

According to folks at The Fresh Loaf the silicone shouldn't react at all with the lye.

Aluminum reacts badly with lye, so be sure that nothing you use with the lye contains aluminum.


I have two ceramic-coated skillets (one aluminum, one cast iron; both coated on the inside with ceramic) and they are decent. There is still some sticking of food, but it is very manageable. It also doesn't (so far) peel off like the Teflon (or other non-stick coating) always did, so I feel much better about preparing food without the negatives of that stuff getting into my food.

As far as cooking, one of the skillets (standard shape/size) cooks very well. The other is a large skillet that is almost wok-shaped (but not quite) and it cooks things very differently from what I am used to, but I am pretty sure that's due to the pan style and not the material.


Contrary to popular belief, older asparagus is not what causes larger stalks and larger stalks are not tougher than thin stalks. The size of the stalk is determined by the variety of asparagus.

As cited in this article in the  NYTimes , asparagus will start to get tough immediately upon cutting. It starts to toughen at the bottom and continues up the stalk. The asparagus need to be chilled very soon after cutting to prevent this.

  Most of this loss of sweetness and toughening happens in the first day after harvest. Farmers can minimize it by chilling new-cut asparagus right away. But a delay of just four hours between harvest and chilling causes the spears to toughen significantly. So does allowing the chilled spears to warm up to 60 degrees or more in a grocery display or at the farmers’ market.

So, in short the toughness is most likely caused by improper storage when the asparagus is harvested.

We have two asparagus beds and we chose a large stalk variety as it seemed to have a little more flavor (to us). Once or twice we have let the stalks grow to over 2' long and they were still tender. That said, when we cut them, they are immediately refrigerated and stay chilled until we cook them.


Fajitas: Marinade Vegetables With Chicken

Your grocery store has it down to a science.

To get all parts "done" at the same time, they have to be cut to the right size. Your grocery store does that very well. The marinade flavors all parts, but the marinade doesn't carry flavors much (see here, different but similar: How deeply will the flavors in a brine penetrate chicken?) So it works.

Is it safe? Certainly, as long as you cook it within a couple of days and don't let it linger in the "danger zone" (40F to 140F) for too long. (Too long per government standards is 2 hours cumulative. Since you can't know how long the grocery had it there, don't mess with it, just put it in the fridge as soon as you get it home, and cook it straight from the fridge.)


Are there any natural preservatives that can be used in Soups or Stews?

If cooled and stored properly (minimize air space in the container), most soups will should last in the refrigerator up to 5 days.  Do you really want to be eating the same soup that long?  I would suggest dividing your soups into smaller sized containers and freezing it so you have a wide selection available at any given time.

Depending on the ingredients most soups can be succesfully frozen for long term storage.

Dairy based items are more likely to curdle/separate after thawing so you'd be better to add the cream/milk when you're reheating it.

Chunks of potato or pasta are likely to break up a bit and have a more mealy consistency so it would also be better to leave the potato out and add to it and cook when reheating.


Baked apple that was left out overnight?

While not an exact match, Still Tasty indicates up to 2 days for an apple pie at room temperature; one would expect the baked apple to have similar properties.

So yes, I would expect eating your baked apple the next day should be fine.

I would not hold them much longer than that, though, as the cooking helps bring out moisture which will foster growth of molds over time.


Although ours rarely lasts for more than a week, we typically just store it in an airtight container with the rest of the cereal.  I would imagine the fat could eventually go rancid, so if you need to store it for weeks or months, either refrigeration or freezing should work.  You'll still want the airtight container, however, to prevent any fridge funk from tainting the taste.


What are the primary differences between Ethiopian and Eritrean food?

I asked my friend who's written a cookbook adapting traditional ethiopian cuisine for vegetarians, here's what he told me.

Ethiopian and Eritrean food are basically identical. They were the same country until the early 90s, so that's not too surprising, I guess. In both countries, wats are common and are eaten with teff-based injera. Berbere is a primary seasoning in both countries. He said the only differences are due to climate: Eritrea is at a lower elevation, so the food there uses more warm-weather vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants, etc. while Ethiopian cuisine might have more carrots, for example.

However, he did point out that "Eritrean" restaurants he'd been to in the US (specifically, in the Bay Area) were actually closer to what he would consider Ethiopian food anyway, which may explain your experience: you may be eating Ethiopian food at an Eritrean restaurant. Of course, since the cuisines are so similar, this is like going to a "Western New-Mexico" restaurant in China and being served (gasp) "Eastern New-Mexico" food--not too surprising, in any case.


Get a flat one.
You can put a bowl on the flat one & use tare weights*, or even negative weights (put a full pack of something on it then spoon out -150g etc.
The one that's got a built-in bowl has you locked into that system.
It also takes up a whole lot more space.
Personally, I like the completely flat, single surface, glass-topped ones. The glass can be scratched if you're not careful with rough ceramic bases etc, but it's pretty tough & very easy to wipe clean. The more 'fiddly' the top is, the harder it is to keep clean.
From comments
Some cheaper scales apparently cannot do negative weights - which is something I would very much miss. Apparently all modern Salter scales can do this - & as their entry-level is about $£€ 12 & even an expensive one is only about $£€ 30-40 I'd pick one of theirs at whatever suits your price-point. Not expensive for what is essentially a lifetime purchase.
*For sake of completeness, tare weight means you can re-zero the scales at any time - so you can put a bowl on, then zero. Add 50g flour, re-zero… saves you having to keep a running total in your head if you've a complex recipe.
To do negative weights you put a full pack on the scale, zero it then remove the required weight, which will then show as minus figures down from zero - again avoiding any complicated calculation.
Another very neat trick with the tare function is you can weigh 50g flour, then add 'an egg' re-tare & add 140ml water or even 'half a pint', just by swapping units after you press tare. It makes the whole structure very flexible.
Late edit
There is some debate as to whether you want totally flat, or with a sloped display so you can put a bigger bowl on it & still see the numbers. Also, whether you can read the display in low light.
Mine is large enough for every bowl I own. Until this cropped up I'd never even thought of ever putting a plate on it, but yes, that might be an issue.
Mine has a large LED display, so room lighting is not a factor.
Of course, you want one you can always reach the buttons even when loaded.
I suppose, TL:DR
You want anything except one that forces you into always using their bowl ;)
Last note - the 'flat' one in your picture looks like it curves away at front and back. Avoid that too - it makes the useable surface much smaller than it looks.


How do I avoid splatter when frying ginger garlic paste?

Have you considered using a splatter screen? You place it over the frying pan while cooking and it will prevent any oil or other substances from splattering out of the pan and onto the stove. Something like this: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81D4-YeDBtL.SL1500.jpg

Alternatively you could try lowering the temperature you are cooking at.


Without a thermometer (which I personally do not own), the other way of testing pork to make sure it is sufficiently cooked is to pierce it with a fork or skewer in the thickest part.

Check this extract from recipetips.com:

  Piercing: Another method for testing doneness is to prick the cut of pork with a fork or the tip of a knife and check to see if the juices that escape run clear. If the juices are clear or have just a very faint pink tint, the meat is done. If the juices are not clear, the meat should be returned to the heat source for further cooking.


What part of meat is mince meat made from?

If you are referring to ground beef (as we call it in america) then it can be from anything really. Usually trimmings. Ground beef for hamburgers is usually from the chuck, but sirloin is also used (among every other cut of beef in theory)


How do you remove garlic smells from your fingers?

The smell of garlic is due to sulfur compounds.  When you rub your hands against stainless steel, the iron of the stainless steel will react with some small volume of those compounds, but much more will remain in your hands.  Rubbing your hands against an iron object does not work.

The sulfur smell compounds are water soluble to slightly water soluble, so rinsing your hands in cold water and then soap and water should work as well as the recipes suggesting Noxzema, lemon juice, salt, baking soda, raw potatoes, tomato paste solutions, or mouthwash.