Why do chefs insist that cleanliness is next to godliness?

Cleanliness, as pTerry reminds us, is only next to godliness in a very sternly abridged dictionary.

However, working clean has three main things going for it:

order! when you're trying to bang out a couple hundred dishes as fast as possible, being orderly and methodical in your work is not just important, it is absolutely vital.
safety! see above. if your area is a mess, you're more likely to injure yourself or others. Bear in mind that we play with sharper knives and hotter burners than you do at home
health! a clean work area is one that is free of cross-contamination.

Per calumbrodie's answer below, I'd like to expand a bit on the need for order. I'll do this by telling you about my day today.

We've just rotated the kitchen; chef does this from time to time to make sure everyone is cross-trained on all stations. So right now for the restaurant I'm responsible for sandwiches (one hot menu sandwich, one daily special), prepping one of our appetizers, one hot appetizer, soup daily, and one of our main courses (crepe stuffed with pan-roasted wild mushrooms, caramelized shallots, and barre boulard cheese which is just heavenly). In addition to that, we also have a takeout counter and a satellite location elsewhere in the building; for those I am responsible for sixteen sandwiches daily (different from the restaurant sandwiches!) as well as stuffed chicken which goes with a salad.

We start work at 9:30AM, everything for the takeout must be ready by 11:15, and restaurant service runs from 11:30 until 3PM. You should be able to see the time constraints this imposes.

When I walked in this morning, here is what I had to do just to get the counter stuff out, and be ready for service:

Bake bread (parbaked, frozen, from a local artisanal baker; we simply do not have the room to bake our own, although chef is open to the idea of tasking me with that)

Bread, par-fry, stuff, and bake chicken breasts.

Deep-fry onions until crispy (garnish for the menu sandwich)

Make crepes (must be done fresh daily)

Make sandwiches for the counters (today I was lucky; I had some of the mise ready from some free time on Saturday)

Oops, mayonnaise didn't come in Friday's delivery, better make some...

Make garnish for the soup I made Saturday

Double check all my mise en place in case I forgot something. Chef has slimmed down the menu somewhat, but I still have roughly fifteen to twenty different components which must all be ready, all the time. With backups in case we get slammed.

I have 1h 45m to do all of these things. And while I work best in a situation that looks like chaos to the outside observer, everything is carefully organized and planned. For example, crepes are something that--if you've made enough of them--you can interweave with another task: make the batter first. Ladle batter into pan, spin around, put back on the heat. Good, now I have a minute or two to work on another task; make a sandwich. Flip crepe, cut and wrap sandwich. Remove crepe from pan, repeat.

And this was a slow day. On a busy day, this list could easily be twice as long, including some things that will simply take time and require undivided attention.

So that took right up until service. During service I'm still prepping: everything I need for tomorrow that can possibly be done today, I do. So... roasting turkey for tomorrow's sandwich, making a cranberry aioli, making crab croquettes for the entremetier station (so: mashed potatoes, chilled--oh dear that's going to take two hours to come down in temp, better get started now--then folded around a crab mixture), some sort of stuffing for tomorrow's chicken... and on top of that I've got to be planning for Wednesday, for which I will need a new soup (and garnish), gotta roast another lamb leg--and that needs to chill too so I can slice it carefully, make sure I've got enough bread in stock, and oh wait--we have a catering function Thursday for which I need to make about a dozen things, best figure out when I'm going to do that... And all of this is being done while chits are coming out of the printer, so I need to be organized in such a way that I can not only stop whatever project I'm working on, but that having those ingredients/tools on my station won't impede my ability to serve food in a timely manner.

...you get the point. (There's a much better treatment of this, from an exec's POV, in Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential).

Without some order to my workspace (which is thankfully large), I would quickly be dans la merde and everything would go a bit pear-shaped. I've had those days, and it is difficult for me to convey how much it sucks to look at the clock, know you have five minutes left, and know that you have fifteen minutes of work still to go.

The thing about working in a kitchen is that, apart from a very few places which run with military precision (Alinea, Fat Duck, elBulli, Moto, the Laundry, etc), there is never enough time. Ever. And when there is enough time, well, there's always something else that can be done. So you have to be organized. There's just no way not to be. And you always have to be thinking several steps ahead of where you are; focus on now and you're screwed later.

This has wandered somewhat far afield from 'cleanliness', but cleanliness and order are opposite sides of the same coin. Without both, you're SOL. And the thing about being orderly in your work is that being clean will flow naturally from that. The reverse isn't necessarily true.


Does salty water become more or less salty after boiled?

It will be higher. If (for example) there was 1% salt in a volume of water, then that water halved, you will be left with 2% salt content as only the water has evaporated.
This is actually how salt is made commercially. Salt water from the sea or lakes is evaporated until no water is left, leaving just the salt residue afterwards.


Thawed frozen fresh strawberries, can i refreeze them

Refreeze them if you aren't using right away

Your strawberries started out well below freezing point of water. Home freezers operate at close to 0 F. Cooling is a function of temperature difference between substance and surroundings. Your strawberries are in no danger, unless they were absolutely covered in bacteria before freezing, like you had rubbed rotten halibut on them for some reason.

Any texture will be changed with freezing and blending, so don't worry about that.

I like frozen fruit in smoothies, as it gives thick texture without ice addition.


Why do we like dessert, but not extremely salty, sour, umami, or bitter foods alone?

There's also probably a bit of biology involved: sugars are calorie-dense, and thus good sources of calories when you're struggling to survive on what you can forage. Bitter foods are often dangerous or poisonous in some ways; sour foods are often unripe, and thus harder to digest, and umami is a fairly neutral indicator. Salt can be dehydrating in large quantities. I have heard that this explains why little children need no coaxing to eat sweets but rarely like bitter or astringent foods.


There are a few rules I follow - but sadly bread does vary depending on water content, room temperature etc.

If making smaller loaves or rolls - the time is greatly reduced.
Making the oven extra hot before loaf goes in and then reducing heat helps get a nice crust.
Adding a cup of boiling water into the oven also helps with the crust
I use generally use a fan oven and rotate the bread part way through cooking
Take bread out early - tap the bread - it should sound hollow if cooked.
Cook in the middle of the oven not on the bottom shelf.

Sorry I can not offer more detail - but it does tend to be a more of a trial and error process - and I am not sure what type of oven you are using.

I was advised by a baker - trial and error and take notes - do not change to much ant any one time!


Can I approximate stock using gelatin, MSG and water?

Yes, you can do it and it will work.
In fact, there is a huge market for products doing exactly that. You may know them as "bouillon cubes" but they exist in versions other than cubes, such as powder or liquid. They are a combination of MSG and aromatics, usually also salt. They rarely use gelatin, since the gelatin is actually a side effect of making stock and not necessary for the taste, but there are a few products which include thickeners, if you prefer those.
So, if you want to experiment, go ahead, if not, you might find it more convenient to use an existing product that has been formulated so it "just works".


What's the point of "cheese alternative" that has dairy in it?

Lactose intolerance (which is different from a milk allergy, which is a smaller group) comes in varying degrees, so this may be useful for people who can have a bit of lactose (who can process casein fine).

For example, many lactose intolerant people (who often avoid dairy) can handle non-dairy creamer fine (and varying amounts of cheese), even though it has casein. Many cheese substitutes still do use casein.

The parmesan adds glutemates to the mix, while casein gives a lot of structural properties to cheese (like melting ability for real cheese).


What level of heat is best when caramelizing?

In my personal experience, "caramelizing" and "quickly" are not things that get along well. I happen to have done a small batch of caramelized onions last night. It took two hours, which is faster than some larger batches I have done, but not anything I'd call "quick" - quick leads to burnt onions, not caramelized ones, in my experience. So - low heat, and forget "quickly."


You could try using arrowroot. This is a widely available alternative to cornstarch - it is used in cookery because it doesn't turn liquids cloudy like cornstarch does. In your case, it might work better as it also has a more neutral flavour.

Substitute 2 tbsps of arrowroot for 1 tbsp cornstarch, and make a slurry with cool water as you would cornstarch. One issue is that overheating can break down the arrowroot, preventing it from thickening, so you are probably better off adding it to the tea after removing it from the heat.


How can I prevent my texas toast from sticking together?

If you're making it yourself... freeze the slices separately before putting them in a container. Put them in a single layer on a baking sheet, then put the sheet in the freezer. When frozen, seal them tightly in a bag or wrap in plastic wrap. Since they're already frozen, they won't stick together.

(They do similar things commercially with shrimp, fruits, and other things. It's called Individual Quick Freezing.)

If you're having a problem with store-bought bread, you're kinda stuck. You can try defrosting it in the microwave to make it easier to separate the slices. But really, they should have been IQF frozen or otherwise prepared. They may have defrosted and re-frozen, which is a sign of improper handling (either at the store or by you).


How should I prepare the coffee to be used in my tiramisu?

Someone will be able to notice.  In matters of taste, there is always variation.  Some people can't taste the difference between stale Folgers and fresh high quality coffee.  However, many can.

I the case of your dessert, without more data, I can't tell if you would be able to tell or not.  But, for sure, someone would be able to tell.  That being the case, it's worth doing with the best ingredients you can reasonably use.

My personal opinion for my cooking is any ingredient that isn't high enough quality to stand on it's own shouldn't get used.


Can I make a latticed cream pie (no-bake filling)?

The second option is your way to go. Fashion your lattice on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or Silpat that is twice the size that the lattice will be. Use dabs of pancake syrup, maple syrup, fruit syrup or egg white to seal the strips where necessary. To the side, lay out a piece of paper or cardboard and invert your pie plate on it. Draw the outline of your pie plate and cut the paper on that line. Use it as a lightweight template to trim your lattice to size. Egg wash your lattice and bake it until it reaches the color you want it to be. Let it cool so it hardens up, and then fold the excess of the parchment or Silpat mat over the lattice so you can lift it without breaking it. Slide the lattice off the parchment and onto your pie, color side up, and affix with syrup or egg white.


I don't know for sure, but I have a theory.  Tofu contains a lot of water or soy whey.  Soft tofu contains even more than firm varieties.  This water is trapped in the cell structure of the soy proteins when they coagulated and were pressed together
Freezing causes water, which has now, of course become a solid, to expand. When you simmered you tofu in warm water, you very quickly thawed the tofu, rupturing the cell structure.
We know from examining the thawing of other frozen products, like chicken breast for example, that quick thawing leads to higher moisture loss than slow thawing in the refrigerator.
So, I think, in your case, you rapidly destroyed the structure that typically keeps the water in place.  The water left the tofu, and tofu flattened.


Difference between "Sweet" , "Yellow" ,"White" and "Chives"

There's a great guide to onions that covers most of these and more over on Serious Eats (all of the quotes below are from this article). But, in relation to your question:

White onions are the standard onion you'll see. They are white.

Serious eats describes them as:

  The white versions are somewhat sweeter and cleaner in flavor, but don't store quite as well as yellow onions do. [. . .] Milder in flavor than yellow onions, white onions can be eaten raw.

Yellow onions are apparently the most popular type of onion in the US. They are yellow but otherwise pretty similar in appearance to white onions.

  Yellow onions are undoubtedly Americans' favorite: nearly 90 percent of onions grown in the US are yellow. Their deep but not-too-strong flavor makes them endlessly versatile in cooking. Larger, slightly sweeter yellow onions labeled Spanish onions are often found right next to plain old yellow onions; they're a milder choice that works well for raw applications.

Sweet onions are specialty onions... there are a bunch of varieties. In Texas, you're probably familiar with the "Texas 1015". Similar varieties are the Vidalia of Georgia and the Walla Walla of Washington.

These onions are yellow like a yellow onion but they are more saucer-shaped than round. They're very sweet and can be eaten raw pretty comfortably.

  Super-sweet and crisp, ideal for eating raw.

Your "sweet onions" are probably what the Serious Eats description classifies as "young onions" they fit your description - visually similar to green onions/scallions (they are the same thing) but with a more bulbous base.

  Though spring onions resemble scallions in appearance and flavor, they're actually just very young storage onions—yellow, red and white—that are pulled out of the ground at an earlier date, when they're still thin-skinned and mild in flavor.

As to your question about chives, they resemble tiny scallions. They're sold in bunches but aren't really layered the way a scallion is.

They're generally sold in bunches and don't have white bulbs at all. They're generally just used as a topping, like on baked potatoes. They have a pretty mild onion flavor.

Here's a fun infographic from Buzzfeed about different types of onions:


Problem cooking chicken wings with a bbq marinade

Marinade

Whether to cook the wings with the marinade, or apply it after cooking depends on your specific recipe or method.  The traditional technique for Buffalo style and similar wings is to fry (or bake) the wings sauceless, and then toss them with the sauce after cooking.

The advantage of this method is that you will not burn the sauce (which if it is sweet, can burn easily); the disadvantage is the sauce does not cook onto the wing, and so how well it adheres is down to the thickness of the particular sauce you are using.

The other traditional method, more often used for grilled wings or baked wings is to cook the wings until they are mostly done, then baste them with the sauce for the final part of the cooking.  The advantage of this is that the sauce will not burn, and is baked on to the wing.  The disadvantage, of course, is that it is more work.

Adherence

There is no simple answer to getting the sauce to stick to the wings.    The biggest influencer is the thickness of viscosity of the sauce recipe itself, so that it sticks of its own volition.

Tenderness

There are many methods that result in tender meat but crispy skin.   Perhaps the three most common are:

Baking.   Baking is relatively slow, and so makes it easier to cook them without overcooking.  Alton Brown, for example, recommends 40 minutes (with one flip) at 425 F / 220 C.
Deep Frying.   Deep frying can cook them through and render the skin very crispy, but is very fast, so it is harder to prevent overcooking, and more sensitive to size variation among the wings.  The Food Network recommends 375 F / 190 C for about 15 minutes.
Steaming (or otherwise par-cooking) the wings to cook them through and render the excess fat under the skin, then crisping them with another method.  This is most often done when doing a grill (in the sense of a charcoal grill) to finish.   Serious Eats uses this method solely on the grill, initially cooking on the cool side of the grill to cook through, and then searing on the hot side to crisp up.

Rack

Whether to use a rack depends on the cooking method; it only is applicable to oven baking, where it is a good idea.

Oil

Oil is not usually required for chicken wings, which have a great deal of fat under the skin.  Normally the challenge is rendering that fat.


Why does my milk bottle lid have two dates

I haven't been across the border in a while, but I just double-checked via image search.

Most dairy products (and other foods with a short shelf life) in Switzerland have or had two dates, a "sell-by" and a "best before" or "consume by" date.

Often, there will be a descriptive text, sometimes even in German, French and Italian, but there are brands that omit the text, probably because the average Swiss consumer knows how to interpret the double dates.

An example of a non-dairy product is this:

Source

Interestingly, there was a debate about the double date, centered around the confusion of consumers and their impact on food waste. Some supermarket chains like Coop have removed the "sell by" date since 2016, Migros insists on keeping it. (Source, in German)


It's ALL different from year to year - from season to season, from area to area.
Honey is nectar that has been converted to an invert sugar by the bees. Then moisture removed to < 18%, then sealed with wax over the comb.

The flavors and quality depend 100% on where the bees are collecting the nectar. I have found no difference in the type of bee, however.   Some bees collect more nectar, work longer hours, swarm easier, and have other traits that make life easier for the bee keeper, but in my apiary - I found no preference to the flavor of one type of bee over the other. (Italian vs. Carniolan, vs. Caucasian).  Some were a bit different because I think some flew earlier and foraged longer, and may have gotten nectar that was from different mix of flowers.

There is also almost NO  true "organic" honey.  This is because you cannot guarantee that a bee ONLY has access to property that falls under the organic guidelines. With a flight radius of 2 Miles or more, thats a LOT of acres that would have to be certified 100% organic.

Most Clover honey will usually taste about the same, mesquite, about the same - but having sampled lots of it - it DOES change from season to season and area to area.  Various regions and seasons have different mixes of flowers and trees producing nectar at any given time, and that is what flavors the honey.

For the best honey, get Pure, Unfiltered, Raw honey, from a Local source. You may try a farmers market. It's a hot, hard job, and the pay is not so great, but most beekeepers (as most other farmers) do not do it for the big bucks - but for the love of the land, the bees, and farming. Note that some honey may be adulterated by the use of pesticides that are not allowed in the USA. And some large companies buy honey from anyone and any place and it all gets mixed together.


This is pretty much echoing GdD's comment, but chilling dough generally slows the chemical reactions significantly.  Since you are also talking about "dough" and not, say, "batter," the moisture content is likely lower.  This is significant because it will also inhibit leavening reactions, since higher moisture allows chemical components to circulate more easily and thus can aid reactions.

Most modern baking powders are already "double-acting," which comes from the fact that they have multiple acidic components that begin to react most strongly at different temperatures.  Baking soda (and sodium bicarbonate that is already part of most baking powders) will begin to react with acidic components already in the dough when mixed, but the other acidic components of baking powder will only activate strongly upon heating, at which point they will react with the remaining sodium bicarbonate (i.e., baking soda, whether added separately or as a component of the baking powder) to form gas bubbles.

In sum, if you're using a "double-acting" baking powder, the secondary reactions will be slow whether the dough is at room temperature or chilled.  Chilling will inhibit initial reactions as well, but those are most significant in doughs that depend on baking soda and added acid in the recipe.  However, I doubt most cookie recipes that depend on such leavening would include a chilling step, because leavening power will gradually be lost even at low temperatures.

I haven't seen this for cookie recipes, but I have seen biscuit recipes (for example) that use a bit excess baking powder while anticipating that the biscuits will be held in the refrigerator for a few hours (or sometimes even overnight) before baking.  Although some initial bubbles may be lost, the heat-activated components of the baking powder still ensure a final rise in the oven.


Do roasted almonds have similar calcium value to raw ones?

Looking at the USDA database, roasting the almonds does not affect the calcium levels (comparing equivalent weights).  Look at the value per 100g or value per ounce rather than volume-based values and you'll see what I mean.

Raw almonds average 269mg of calcium per 100g (or 76mg per ounce).

https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3635

Dry roasted almonds average 268mg of calcium per 100g (also 76mg per ounce).

https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3637


When preparing confit, do you start ingredients in cold fat, or do you add it when it reaches cooking temperature?

Traditional duck confit is made with duck fat, which would be a solid when cold.  That will not work so well.  So, the cured duck is placed in a crock, and warm duck fat is added to cover.  This is then placed in the oven at a low temperature. After the cooking, the duck is left submerged to cool, and be stored in the fat.  There is no splatter risk, because the temperature is not hot enough, but the duck is generally blotted, before submerging in fat, to remove excess moisture and herbs or spices that were used in the cure step.


I haven't tried this myself but upon researching on the web, there are several ways that you can preserve mushrooms: (please click the sub headings for reference)

Freezing mushrooms -

  Freezing your mushrooms will allow them to keep their great flavour,
  but freezing leaves you with a soggier looking mushroom. Frozen
  mushrooms are ideal for soups, stews and casseroles.

  Using the method below your mushrooms should keep for about a year.

  Bring 1 l of water to the boil with ½ a teaspoon of salt.
  Add mushrooms and bring to the boil again.
  Boil for another 3 minutes.
  Rinse with cold water.
  Drain thoroughly.
  Seal in freezer bags.
  Freeze.

Dehydrating mushrooms

  Stored properly, dried mushrooms have a more potent flavour than fresh
  ones, so you will use less dried mushrooms vs. fresh.

  Directions for Drying

  Pre-heat your oven to 150°.
  Slice your mushrooms into slices about ½ cm. The thicker the slices, the longer they take to dry out.
  Arrange your sliced mushrooms on baking trays in a single layer.
  Bake your mushrooms for 1 hour and remove from oven.
  Use some paper towel to gently dab any moisture that sweated out from your mushrooms.
  Turn your mushrooms over and cook for another hour.
  By now your mushrooms should be completely dry. If not, repeat Steps 4 and 5 until they are dry.
  Allow them to cool, and then store them in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.

  Your mushrooms are ready to store when they feel dry when you touch
  them. They should still be flexible A good idea is to add a wad of
  paper towel at the bottom of the jar - just to absorb any moisture
  that might still be lurking around.

  To Rehydrate Put your mushrooms in a bowl of warm water for 30 minute
  or if you are in a hurry, bring a pot of water to the boil and simmer
  your mushrooms for 10 minutes Keep this liquid for stocks, soups and
  sauces by pouring the liquid into an ice tray and freezing. When you
  need it, just pop the frozen stock into the pot.


Par-blending the sauce (eg with a stick blender) could thicken/emulsify it just enough to stop it from separating but without adding any thickener.


Sauerkraut soaks up too much liquid while fermenting

It will likely mold on top, where the cabbage is exposed.  You can simply remove that layer, the kraut below will be fine.  Alternately, you can top it off with brine...or use a container, smaller than the opening of your jar, filled with water, to weigh it down.


I have never even heard of spray dough, but you could make a filo dough roll it out thin with a pasta machine and drape it over a shape and then attempt to bake it as long as the shape can withstand the heat. Or you could let the dough dry a bit and it may retain its shape after you pull the mold out for baking. Any decent bread dough recipe should work as long as the gluten content is high enough to withstand the pasta machine and molding process. Although you could take a paper mache approach and use thin dough strips.

Maybe if you can tell us more about what your end product should be we can help you get there.


Is it sufficient to wash utensils, which have touched chicken, with soapy water

This question addresses whether or not soap kills "germs". The answer to your question has more to do with how pathogen free you really need to be. Firstly, knowledge about where your chicken comes from and how it was processed helps. Indeed, bleach or other kitchen approved sanitizers designed for commercial kitchen use are effective at eliminating bacteria.  The question is, to what degree do you really need to take this in your own kitchen?  I think personal comfort levels and needs vary for the home cook.  For me, cleaning hands, tools and surfaces with hot soapy water does the job.  I've never had a problem.  However, I could see instances where one might want to be even more careful.  For example, if a family member or guest had a compromised immune system one might want to play it extra safe.


Check how much protein your milk contains, that makes the main difference in the behaviour of the milk during frothing. See CoffeeGeek for a more detailed explanation.


What is the perfect temperature for serving soup?

In general, and according to a few culinary school sites, clear soups should be served near boiling 210°F (99°C), cream or thick soups between 190°F to 200°F (88°C to 93°C), and cold soups: serve at 40°F (4°C) or lower.


Many of the aromatic qualities of liqueurs are due to volatile substances that will likely evaporate while reducing the liqueur. So it really depends on how volatile the substances are that you want to keep.

I performed a simple experiment with Frangelico. So, what I did is (over low heat for 20 minutes) I reduced 1/4 cup of store bought Frangelico to cca. 1/8 cup hazelnut and caramel flavored sugar water/syrup. It tastes pleasant, but the hazelnut aroma is a bit weaker - which might suggest that some of the hazelnut aroma evaporated together with the alcohol and water (wouldn't be surprising) or that the alcohol helped with distributing (hence perceiving) the aroma better or that the sweetness and other flavors now overpower it.

Anyway, as stated above in many cases the aromatic substances in mixtures are aromatic because they are highly volatile - we can smell them cause they escape from the mixture.

So, what can you do? Some techniques that I have used in the past come to mind:

Distillation. Where you separate aromatic substances depending on their boiling points and catch them after condensation. However, the heat might not be good for some substances.
Rotary evaporation. Which became a "hot" technique in molecular cooking =) Here the idea is similar to distillation, but the method is gentler in terms of temperature as it operates under reduced pressure - however it requires special equipment - a rotary evaporator. I successfully used it to separate the aroma from walnut liqueur and to make whiskey syrup.
Freeze distillation. It has been suggested for separating menthol and other stuff from the alcohol medium (you might find suggestions for similar techniques by searching the internet for "homemade [whatever] essence/extract").
Making your own liqueurs/alcohol extracts - with more concentrated aroma than the commercial ones - so you have less volume for the same amount of the aromatic substance. This might be possible as the amount of alcohol in the solution might be able to accept more of the aromatic substance than there is in the commercial liqueur. However, it is very likely they are adding a concentrated/distilled essence, which gives a more clean and stronger flavor than what you can get from  just extracting it (from say hazelnuts) with alcohol.

However, as perviously suggested by @TFD you can just want to avoid all the hassle and buy commercially available essences/extracts or use some alternative flavorings as @razumny suggests. Or simply try the reduction technique if you don't mind loosing some of the volatile substances - and if the result is satisfying enough.

That said, I made very tasty reductions of some liqueurs with very strong flavors (homemade wild blueberry liqueur and Terrano liqueur) to pour over deserts, where I mostly just wanted to get rid of the alcohol taste and to thicken it a bit. So, the results will vary from liqueur to liqueur and your best bet would be to just try it out with small quantities to see how it goes.


Soda water first stored in refrigerator and then at room temperature

If it's unopened it will stay perfectly fine, cold or warm, until the Best Before date printed on it.
It doesn't need refrigerating until opened - unless, of course, you want to drink it cold ;)


Garnishes should always be edible - there may be laws depending where you are, but in general anything on your plate should be edible or very obviously not meant to be eaten (like a skewer or a paper wrapper). Depending on the specific case, it might not necessarily be meant to be eaten, though. The defining characteristic is the appearance.

Springs of parsley or stronger herbs might not always be too pleasant to eat on their own, so there's nothing wrong with skipping them. I don't think whoever cooked your meal is going to be too upset if you don't like eating sprigs of parsley - but eat them if you want!

With lemon on a glass, you can enjoy the scent as you drink water without actually eating it, or you can squeeze it into the water if you enjoy that little hint of acidity.

So probably the best garnishes are ones that look good and are pleasant to eat. For example, a dish sprinkled with something small (finely chopped herbs or cheese or nuts or anything else that's already in the dish). Some garnishes are really all about the appearance, though. You'll have to use your judgment to figure out which is the case for whatever dish is in front of you!


Does cauliflower have to be parboiled before cauliflower cheese?

It might just be a timing decision.
Parboil it will take 20 mins in the oven. From raw, more like an hour.
Bear in mind how long it will take to heat to the centre whilst submerged in sauce compared to being boiled or steamed alone.
Some examples -

'Standard' recipe: parboil whilst making roux, add hot sauce to hot cauli, bake 20 mins.

Jamie Oliver's 'pre-cook' version: Make sauce, cool. Break raw cauli into dish, add sauce, save in fridge. On the day, 50 mins to an hour.

Gordon Ramsey: parboil cauli, cool, combine with sauce, 20 mins oven.

'Alternative': roast cauli with oil coating 20-25 mins. Add sauce, and another 20-30 mins in the oven. This one uses a well-darkened roux, so I think it's going for a much richer flavour than any 'regular' cauli cheese.

Generally, the time differences agree: Pre-cook, under 30 mins / No pre-cook, an hour (ish)
I love it when the Guardian does these 'test it every which way' experiments. I found one right on target… How to cook perfect cauliflower cheese
However, I would suggest if you're going to be doing this just the once for Christmas dinner that you don't play with the recognised timings. You don't want a dish of mush, yet you absolutely don't want crunchy cauli.
Four mins parboil (or personally I steam, maybe five mins maximum [depends on sizes & whether you cross-cut the stalks, like with sprouts], centres still more than al dente at that point) & adding hot to hot then 20-25 mins oven is safe… even if you have to hold dinner for unexpected last minute reasons, or have to juggle Yorkies, etc. Pulling it from the oven or even keeping it a few minutes more will not kill it.


I've baked salmon dozens of times and the most common mistake people make with it (even in restaurants!) is baking it for far too long.

It dries out because it continues to cook after you remove it from the oven.  Of course, people bake it until they think it's thoroughly cooked - so by the time it's cool enough to eat, it's completely dried out.  This happens with meat too, but it's a lot more noticeable with salmon and other fish because the baking time is so much shorter.

For a typical fillet (about 1"), you'll want to thaw it completely first, then bake it at 450° F for no more than 10 minutes.  If it's thinner, dial it down to 8 minutes or so.  You can also wrap it in foil and bake it for about 13-15 minutes; I don't do this because I find it unnecessary, but it can help to mitigate some of the drying-out if you're still having problems.

Oh, and don't leave it in the baking dish after you take it out of the oven!  Transfer it immediately to a serving platter (preferably warmed, but not hot).

As long as you don't over-bake salmon, it will not dry out.


Leaves that fall off Brussels Sprouts, any reason not to cook?

The ones that fall off because you've accidentally trimmed off too much stem are fine to cook, although likely to overcook when treated the same as full size sprouts.


English name for cut of meat (Cacho de Paleta)

Cacho de paleta means "hunk of blade" as far as I can tell, however blade comes from the shoulder and that doesn't look the right shape for a shoulder cut. It looks more like leg to me, in the US that would be called shank and in the UK it would be shin if the front leg and leg if it's from the back leg.

Whether it's shoulder or leg meat preparation is similar as both are working cuts with lots of collagen. Roasting is out - you won't get the collagen breaking down and the lack of fat will mean a tough, dry result. Use a long, slow and wet method like stewing or better yet braising. Put it in the oven at 120C for 4 hours with a cup of water and a cup of red wine in a covered pot as a basic preparation method.


It's just how long you dry them.  Thin apple slices work best for crunchy chips and then just dry them till they're crunchy - sometimes as much as 18-20 hours.  Soft, chewy dehydrated apples just go for a shorter time.


Never use boiling water with yeast!
Using boiling water almost guarantees instant death.

Baker's yeast is a live organism, a unicelluar fungus saccharomyces cervisiae, very closely related to and in fact bred from brewer's yeast. And yes, it's alive even in those dried granules in small packages or boxes. It's metabolism digests carbohydrates and produces CO2 (what we want in baking because it creates a light and fluffy dough) and alcohol (of interest in brewing and winemaking).

Yeast is heat sensitive and while it will happily grow and multiply in lukewarm water, it starts to die at about 45 to 55 degrees C. Note that yeast does even grow at refrigerator temperatures, albeit slowly, in fact, many bakers prefer the long and slow fermentation over a quick warm rise.

This question/answer discusses temperature thresholds in detail.

If your recipe suggests the use of boiling water, it's faulty and I suggest simply using lukewarm water instead or finding another recipe altogether.


Why does honey prevent porridge congealing?

Honey is hygroscopic - meaning it has the ability to absorb water. Even if you covered your porridge after adding the honey, there's still enough moisture in the container for the honey to absorb.

You don't say whether your honey is from a local beekeeper or heat-treated store honey. The more honey is heated, the more natural enzymes found in honey are destroyed. One of the enzymes in honey is distaste (amylase). It has the property of hydrolyzing starch (breaking starch down into sugars). I can't state for a certainty as I'm not a food scientist but I'd guess the additional sugars might be liquid. But even if not, it would mean less cooked starch, hence less gelling ability of the porridge.


Does it matter what kind of sugar is used in baking?

Yes!

Sugar is often used as a "wet" ingredient in baking.  That means it needs to be dissolved in the water in order to prevent too much gluten from being produced (making the result fluffy/flaky, and not chewy).  Different sugars hold different amounts of moisture (for example, brown sugar holds more than white) and using sugar with crystals that are too large (or too small) will make the texture come out completely wrong.  Too small and your cake will be rubber; too large and your biscuit will fall apart.

Also, if you're using the sugar for creaming (with fat), you generally need to use a coarser sugar.  Superfine sugar will dissolve too quickly and won't allow enough air to be incorporated.  Confectioner's sugar is good for creaming but has completely different properties from crystal sugar - it's been "processed" and has cornstarch added, so you can't just substitute in equal quantities.

Of course, it goes without saying that the taste is different as well.  But even more important than the taste are the solubility characteristics which, as explained above, will have noticeable effects on other parts of the recipe.

It does depend what you're baking; if the sugar is being used purely for flavouring, then you can use whatever sugar you like.  Much of the time in baking though, sugar is used for more than just sweetening, and it's important to be aware of that.  If the sugar is being creamed or dissolved, don't substitute unless you're sure you know what you're doing.


Is there an easy way to tell if a pan/pot is oven-safe?

Speaking in generalizations, without knowing the details of content:

Anything with a non-stick coating- I wouldn't put it in the oven. If you don't know what the non-stick coating is made of, you can't be sure if it will melt. Additionally high temperatures and non-stick coating make for off-gassing.

Anything with plastic handles, knobs or any other plastic parts- don't put it in the oven at any temperature. No way to know how it will react.

Cast iron- always oven safe to almost any temp that a non-commercial oven would reach

Enameled cast iron (like Le Crueset)- oven safe to 500°F (260°C)

Uncoated stainless steel- oven safe to 500°F (260°C)

Uncoated anodized aluminum- I would say no more than 450°F (230°C), to be safe

Copper- 500°F (260°C)

Glass- 450°F (230°C)


Disclaimer: I am not an expert on foams.  I've made a couple before, successfully, but never anything like a lobster bisque foam.  So I would advise any casual readers to do their own fact-checking and try this on a small scale - at least until somebody can verify it.

Now, onto the questions:

  I have Lecithin and Mono/diglyceride from a set. It says they're both emulsifying agents. Which should I use? What's the difference?

First of all, what you want for a foam is a stabilizer, and emulsifiers and stabilizers are not the same thing.  Personally, I have never heard of mono/diglyceride being used for a culinary foam.  Some research suggests that it is actually an anti-foaming agent!  Stick to the lecithin.

Note: For the sake of completeness, lecithin is also considered a foaming agent, which means it facilitates the foaming itself in addition to stabilizing it.  This is especially important when making foams out of things that don't naturally foam, like teas or juices.

  What's the appropriate ratio of emulsifying agent to liquid? How does changing the ratio affect the foam?

This page on culinary foam suggests starting with a 0.6% ratio, but most people (myself included) use a ratio of 1% - in other words, 1 g of lecithin for every 100 mL of liquid.  See here, here, and here.  The ratio is not quite as sensitive as some other hydrocolloids where you need to measure out sub-grams, but it is still important; too little and your foam won't hold at all (seems to be what happened to you), too much and you'll end up with soy-flavoured soap.

Note: When making a foam out of something that does not naturally foam, such as juice, you may need to up the ratio as high as 2%.  Milk-based foams rely partially on the foaming ability of milk itself.

  Does temperature effect how the foam forms?

Sort of.  Actually, if you're making a milk-based foam then it's pretty much the same as just frothing the milk - i.e. for a cappuccino.  The only difference is that you've added a stabilizing agent, so it will stay foamy.  So basically you just need to keep it under 80° C or 175° F, otherwise it will burn.  Lecithin can dissolve in cold water, so you really don't need to be very precise, but anecdotally, it's best if it's slightly warmed, say around 40° C (104° F).

  What consistency should my bisque be to make a good foam? Does it need to be thin, or will it work thick?

You want a very thin consistency, close to the consistency of water, for the same reason that it's better to use skim milk for frothing and egg whites for meringue.  Generally speaking, it's the proteins that are most active in creating culinary foams; large amounts of fat (such as in cream) can interfere with the foaming action and also add weight, which is not at all what you want in a foam.

I haven't made lobster bisque, but I believe it's very thick and made with cream - not a good candidate for foams.  I looked at this Epicurious recipe which involves tomato paste, corn starch, and cream; if making a foam I think I would substitute a thin tomato sauce or juice, reduce or eliminate the corn starch, and use skim milk instead of cream.  Remember that you're not trying to serve this bisque, you're using it in a foam.

  What else should I know before trying to make this?

I don't have a Vitamix, and maybe it can do a lot of cool things that one can't do with an ordinary blender, but nevertheless, I've never heard of a culinary foam being made in an actual blender.  A stick blender (AKA hand blender, immersion blender) is much more reliable for foaming.


Georgian dumplings (khinkali) sticking to the bottom of the pot

I don't see the additional flour as the cause. It's there to prevent them sticking during manufacture & once in the pan will in seconds just be 'more dough'.

I see several ways to mitigate their sticking...

Bigger pan - obvious, but there's a reason your pasta pan is the biggest one in the kitchen.
Drop them a few at a time, so they don't touch until the outside has had a chance to start cooking.
Non-stick pan - at least then they can only stick to each other.
Keep them moving all the time - gentle persuasion is always a good idea, rather than having to prise them apart afterwards.
Add some oil to the water - pasta trick, ostensibly to prevent the water boiling over, but does very slightly coat the surface if you stir.


The gas is likely due to fermentation of the sugars by wild yeasts which are present almost everywhere.  This is the standard method for production of alcoholic beverages, although specific yeast strains are used.  It is obvious that there was insufficient vodka to prevent yeast growth.

As far as consuming; there is no way outside of a lab to determine the yeasts and their products, as well as any bacteria - and their products - that may have participated.  As such, I would hesitate to consume it.


Where can I obtain cream without additives?

Looking for a farmers market is a good way to find fresh possibly additive-free dairy, or to find recommendations on where to get fresh additive-free dairy. Just talk to the vendors. Most know more about the bad side of additives and hormones than us and look very diligently to avoid them.


Grilling vs BBQ semantics aside.

A gas grill doesn't add any flavor of it's own. Some of the food will sear, char, or even drip and catch on fire. These will produce a variety of new flavors that range from delicious, maillard goodness to sooty, bitter, death. These new flavors are not a function of the open flame but of the very high, direct heat.

In this regard, the only advantage of a gas grill over the broiler in your oven is that it is:

more accessible to work with and
located outside of your house so you don't have to deal with smoke or excess heat.

Maillard reactions require the food to be dry. You don't want your marinade to pool around your meat because that isn't grilling- that's braising. Delicious for ribs but not so great for chicken.

Her other argument for the foil was ease of cleaning. Just leave your grill on high for 10 minutes after you finish cooking and any food particles will disintegrate easily under your brush.

In my opinion, unless you do intend to actually braise your meat, the foil is completely unnecessary.


Why would rasagullas break while cooking?

I think the water content of the rasgullas cause it to break.

To make sure that they're ready, after you drain the water from the paneer, take a bit of paneer on your palm and knead it with your thumb for about 40 seconds. You should be able to roll out a firm yet smooth ball off it. If you can't form balls, it means you will have to squeeze out more water from the paneer. In the end you should have something like a soft dough.

It takes a while to get it just right. If you can't make perfect balls in your first few shots at it, you can make rasmalai/ kheer/paneer pedas out of it, so it won't be a wasteful disaster after-all.

Refer to these articles/videos:
Sources :
1, 2, 3, 4


IMO, It it not the best situation.

Freeze them up.

It will not be as good as the unfrozen cheese.

Cut them in manageable portions, wrap them up in plastic film and put in freezer bag, freeze as quickly as possible.

For the cheese you want to keep in the fridge, I suggest finding cheese wrapper and wrap the cheese in it while keeping them in the fridge (you can also use wax paper)


How do I prepare (any) coffee with desired caffeine concentration?

I'll concentrate on this from a cooking/coffee-making point of view, but if experimenting on people you need to be careful and follow the appropriate local guidelines, even if you're only giving them substances you can buy in a supermarket.  The design of the experiment must be done under supervision.  That side of things would be off-topic here for good reasons, but we can consider preparing drinks.

You'll obviously need to follow up the references but Wikipedia says that decaf coffee only gets down to ~3 mg per cup. This means that if you want zero caffeine, you'll have to start with something other than coffee unless you can prove the claim on Wikipedia (which I've flagged as original research) that this was residual caffeine in the machine.

If we assume for the moment that you can get an acceptably low baseline, one approach I've heard of is to brew this near-zero coffee for all the experiements, then add caffeine to the others.  This will also reduce the taste difference (all your coffee will taste rubbish, rather than people thinking "this is disgusting, it must be the decaf") which is important for a blind test.  It won't however eliminate differences in taste as caffeine is btter.  Adding pure caffeine is one approach if you have access to it, but dosing small quantities is difficult.  Caffeine tablets are a better source as they typically contain 50 mg (in the common low strength versions) which means you can add 0.5 – 4 tablets per serving.


What are the effects of thawing food at low temperatures?

Not being in the grocery industry, I cannot advise you on what best practices are in your industry.

However, assuming you thaw the items in your chiller at safe temperatures (40°F or below) as you indicated, you do not have a safety issue.

Depending on the product, there will be damage from ice crystals forming during the freezing, which will make meats more watery and degrade their texture, change the texture of vegetables, and so on.  This is more true than commercially frozen equivilent products, because slower freezing produces larger crystals which cause more physical damage.  Commercially frozen foods are often frozen in blast chillers to minimize freezing time and ice crystal size growth because of this problem.

I cannot give you specific information on what to look for in terms of quality degradation, because it would depend on the specific item.  Think about what would happen if you froze it at home in your own freezer, and thawed it for use later.  The same type of quality change will occur.  Vegetables will tend to get limp; meats will tend to exude more juice.  Of course, the consumer deserves to know that this has occurred.

Therefore, I think your best options are 2 (disclosing that the item was frozen).  You may choose to discard the item as not of a high enough quality, but it is still safe and fit for human consumption.

It may not be practical for you to store, but you could also let the item freeze completely, and sell it at a discount frozen, allowing the customer to thaw it at their convenience.

I applaud your ethical approach in actually asking.


You don't really need a lot of tasting spoons, just one. Use your stirring spoon to pour some into your tasting spoon without touching. Or if that's too tricky, serve a bit onto a small plate/bowl.

But if you're just cooking for yourself I personally wouldn't really worry about it, because in general you'll be cooking the food at a safe temperature, not just above the danger zone (140F/60C) but something safe for all meat (180F/80C) so whatever bacteria you put in with your spoon is just going to get killed. We routinely put potentially contaminated things like raw meat into our food while cooking, and let the heat take care of it; whatever you might be carrying isn't any more dangerous.


How do I know that the quantity of salt is enough for a given amount of flour?

There is no such way, because the amount you add is arbitrary. There is no special ratio, you just add so much that people will like the taste. The problem is, different people like different amounts of salt. For any reasonable amount of salt you choose to add, it will be too much for some people and too little for others.

If you are always baking for the same people (your immediate family, perhaps) you can find out by trial and error how much they like, or even get them accustomed to a certain amount over time, which will become their preferred amount. If you are baking for others, you just have to give up the idea that the salt will be right for everybody.


Is a "cup" on a coffee maker always 6 oz? Is this a standard in the US?

Assuming you're talking about USA usage, you're correct, a "cup" is usually 6oz.  In the USA, the standard size for a "cup" of coffee is 6oz, even though nobody drinks cups of coffee that small (12oz to 20oz is more common).  For that matter, the size of a "cup" of tea can be 5oz or 6oz when the number of "cups" a teapot holds is listed; a "6 cup" teapot is only 32oz.
However, be careful how the word is used in American recipes.  If a recipe calls for a "cup" of coffee, they are more likely to be calling for an 8oz cup, rather than a 6oz cup.
I can't find a clear reference as to where the unrealistic 6oz measurement for a cup of coffee started.  Possibly the result of Mr. Coffee, but we're stuck with it as customary now.
However, even though a 6oz cup of coffee may be customary, specific coffee maker manufacturers may use different measurements on different models, including cups as small as 4.2oz.  So don't assume unless you've checked.
Oh, and also note that the 8oz cup is American, rather than Imperial measurement.  An Imperial cup is around 10oz, although you're unlikely to encounter this measurement in any recipe published after World War I.
Confused yet?


If too much water is the culprit, then its a simple matter of reducing the soup on the stove top. Just put it in a pot and boil it with the lid off(so the water escapes) until you reached a desired thickness and flavor.


How long can I safely keep a thawing pork shoulder in the fridge?

Unless your fridge is above 40 F (4 C), it won't go bad. I've had large frozen turkeys take 4 days to thaw before. Just use it once it is fully thawed, don't let it sit around thawed for several more days.

There's no food that I'm aware of that goes bad in the time it takes to thaw it. The stilltasty link below shows 3-5 days for refrigerated meat, and 4-6 months for frozen. Transitioning from frozen to thawed though, I generally count on defrost time + 2-3 days.

If you want to thaw it faster you can always use the cold water method. Simply place it in a sink full of cold water (submerged) and change the water every 30 minutes. The rule of thumb for turkey is 30 minutes of thaw time per pound. I imagine pork shoulder would be similar, maybe a little longer?

Additional Info:

http://stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/18060


What you're concerned with when it come to food spoilage is the toxins bacteria produce, not the bacteria. While heating it will kill the bacteria, the toxins are typically proteins which will not be destroyed until your food has been turned to charcoal. Heating it will thus not increase the shelf life. On the contrary: heating and the cooling means your food has been in the 'danger zone' for longer than if it was refrigerated the whole time.

If you want to increase the shelf life of a dish like you described, freeze it. If frozen as soon as it comes out of the oven, it will last for several months in a normal freezer. The sooner you get it frozen the better for extending shelf life.


Does a plain latte have chocolate in it?

No, it does not. A latte is espresso with steamed milk and a thin layer of steamed milk foam on top. Assuming your barista knows what he is doing, you'd have to specially ask to get chocolate in a latte, and then it would be called a mocha (in the US).


What preservative can I use to can my hot sauce

With just those four ingredients (plus maybe some seasonings), your hot sauce will be a "low-acid food" which means that to be shelf-stable, it needs to be canned at 240F/115C.  This means that you will need to use pressure canning to seal it (pictoral guide).  If properly pressure canned, it should be shelf-stable for months to years.

This has two drawbacks for you: first, it requires getting a pressure canner (or using a pressure cooker and really small batches).  Second, it does mean that you're going to be cooking the hot sauce at 240F, which may lead to it being more "cooked" than you necessarily want it to be.  If you have a pressure cooker around, I suggest trying that with one jar and seeing how it tastes.


It sounds like you've got at least two problems:

First, without a lid, it absorbs moisture from the air.
Second, shaking it over hot food delivers steam directly to the powder
Possibly third, the holes in the shaker may be small enough to block as soon as the smallest clumps form.

Rice will act as a desiccant and absorb water, but its capacity to do so is actually quite limited.  I have a few pre-mixed spice grinders (garlic, chilli flakes, salt etc.) and they specifically say they're not meant for grinding directly over hot food.

So what can you do about it?  Using a small shaker (so it doesn't hang around too long) with a lid for storage will help but, maybe not enough . If you really want the garlic powder sprinkled rather than spooned, then you could keep it in an airtight container and spoon some into a tea strainer when needed.


How easily can table salt be contaminated?

No foodborne illness is going to be able to live in pure salt, in fact even low concentrations of salt will kill most foodborne illness organisms - which is why salt is used as a preservative. However, that does not mean that it's a good idea to touch the salt with contaminated hands because:

You could contaminate the container the salt is in, anyone touching the container could pick up the illness and transfer it to themselves or the food
If there was a significant piece of food stuck to your hands when you touch the salt the piece could fall off into the salt, and any part of it which does not come in direct contact with the salt could remain contaminated. If you came into contact with that piece you could pick up the contamination
From a non-safety perspective, getting chicken juice in your salt is going to make it stick together and get nasty because of the moisture

When I prepare a chicken for baking I do the same thing - I pour salt and spices in a bowl and then pinch it out of that bowl before rubbing it on the skin. When I'm done I throw out any remaining mix and wash the bowl. When filming a show like the food lab they do the same thing - everything is going to get cleaned afterwards, so if the bowl got contaminated it doesn't really matter and the salt is not going to be re-used.

The takeaway from this is that it was fine in the food lab, but it would not be fine at home if your were using your main salt container.


Special twist to make pasta noodles like the ones at Take Aways / Kebap Huts

The picture looks like the 'Hokkien Noodles' you can buy at the supermarket here in Australia. The pack I have is made by Fantastic Snacks. The ingredients are wheat flour, water, wheat gluten, salt, colours (carotene, annnatto, turmeric), and canola oil. They have 6.5g of protein per 100g, 33g carbohydrates (of which 1.8g is dietary fibre), 1.5g fat and 160mg sodium. Maybe that can help you reverse engineer the recipe.


Is adding garlic powder to pasta with oil safe?

Doubtful. The botulism risk usually arises from long term storage of garlic cloves in olive oil under anaerobic (no oxygen) conditions. You with your garlic powder are nowhere near those conditions. Cooks cook garlic in olive oil all the time, with no ill effects.

Promoted to answer as requested. I was not sure where we draw the line on food safety concerns.


Absolutely not

A non-stick pans surface will be ruined when any oil becomes polymerised onto it. The whole idea of a non-stick pan is that it's surface is non-stick to food. Permanently layering it with anything else will make it less non-stick

Only use non-stick pans for low to medium heat cooking, and use no, or very little oil in them. Be very gentle with the surface so as not to scratch it, as the scratches eventually make it sticky again

Most manufacturers of non-stick pans recommend gentle hand washing with soap from new, and then removal of excess oil from the pan with a plain paper towel while still warm. Never hard washing or scrubbing

If oil does become polymerised onto the surface, sometimes you can recover them by using 3M style green polyester scourers with liquid soap to gently remove the hardened oil, if done carefully it will not overly scratch the non-stick coating

Seasoning is for plain metal pans, not for coated, glass, or ceramic


Maybe salting them like you would eggplant would help draw out some moisture.


Does anyone know what it is in my apple cider vinegar?

The mass in your picture is the mother - cellulose and bacteria that convert the cider into vinegar.  It may not have been there when you bought it, but can develop over time.  It's safe to consume, but you can filter it out with filter paper if you want.


What could I substitute for coffee in an Opéra cake

Some sort of nutty flavor perhaps? Hazelnut syrup? I think it should go well with both chocolate and orange. Otherwise I think the cake will be quite delicious even without a substitute, just using plain buttercream.

EDIT: I just noticed that the cake has an almond base. Perhaps a few drops of Amaretto in the buttercream would work. That would play nicely with the almond flavor already there.


What you are seeing is almost certainly a form of firescale, and it should be completely harmless.  If the discoloration bothers you, you can try to remove it using the aforementioned Barkeeper's friend or a mixture of boric acid and denatured alcohol (which are non-toxic).

With regard to cooling off the pan, you should never put a hot, empty pan into a cold, wet sink: The temperature change can cause the pan to warp.


What purpose does coffee serve in a chocolate cake recipe?

it's probably there to add depth to the flavor, since chocolate and coffee complement each other so well. i've used the instant kind in similar recipes and it's just fine.


Is there a significant difference between Turkish coffee and Moka pot coffee?

There is a significant difference in how the two operate.

Turkish coffee works by heating the water to a boil, with no added pressure. The coffee, with gronds, is then transferred into a cup to seethe, before drinking.

In a mocha pot, pressure will typically rise to as much as 1.5 bar, and the resulting liquid is free of grounds.

Given the radically different extraction methods, the end result of the two are likely to be radically different. My experience, taken from memory, follows:

Turkish coffee goes through a sequence of mouth feels, from completely clear, to grainy, almost muddy, with coffee grounds. This also affects the flavour of the coffee. At the beginning, it is much like a strong filter brew, but tends to get bitter towards the end of the cup, which is also, in part, why it is traditionally served in very small cups. In addition, it is often spiced with cardamom, and often sweetened with sugar.

Coffee from a mocha pot has a consistent mouth feel all the way through the cup, as the grounds are left in the pot. Due to the pressurised extraction, the flavour notes are closer to an espresso than filter coffee.


I was sure that with all the questions and answers we have had about yogurt that this simple question must surely have already been asked. But I couldn't find it.

Making yogurt is simplicity itself.

The goal is to introduce heat-loving (thermophillic) bacteria to milk, keep them warm so that they munch on the lactose in the milk turning it into lactic acid. The acidity and warmth denatures the milk proteins and turns the whole mass into a gel.

The steps may vary a little depending on your equipment and the bacteria that you use.

Get milk. -- The more fat the better it will taste. Powdered milk can also be added to improve the texture as it will add more protein.
Get a starter. -- Any commercial yogurt that advertises "live active cultures" will work just fine. Pick a yogurt that you like as the yogurt you make with those cultures will be similar.
Heat the milk to about 85°C (190°F) for a few minutes. -- This will denature the albumin in the milk which will add to the yogurt structure instead of leaking out with the whey.
Cool the milk at to between 40°C (110-120°F). -- 55°C (130°F) will kill your starter.
Mix in the starter.
Keep the mix warm for 6-10 hours. -- The longer the more acidic and firm it will get. The exact temperature will depend on your starter and equipment. Danon plain yogurt, as a starter, wants to stay at 37°C (100-110°F). My Indian coworker's starter that she brought from India can thrive at almost room temperatures."Yogurt makers" can be purchased that simply hold their contents at about 100F. Some people use heating pads. Some people set their oven on low. You can be creative- just don't get hotter than 55°C (130°F) or cooler than 30°C (90°F) or so.  To try it out for the first time I would recommend simply putting your yogurt in a heavy, lidded, container, wrapping in a towel and letting it sit in the turned-off oven for 5-6 hours.
For a thicker creamier texture you can strain your yogurt. -- After it has fermented to your liking stir it up well, pour it into a piece of muslin in a strainer, and let it drain for a little while. The whey draining off is good for baking. It has some calcium, b12, and a lot of lactose. (If you skipped step 3 it also has a lot of wasted protein).

Making your own yogurt is a fun activity. You get to pick what goes into it so there is no sneaky ingredients and you can make it for a fraction of the cost of commercial. Play around with different starters. Different bacteria will produce yogurt with different qualities and it is interesting to experiment.


What happens to cheese below 0°C and above +8°C?

Though my answer won't go into the "technical" side of things as Lorel C.'s answer, I can answer from experience.

I regularly travel to The Netherlands and when coming back I'll always bring cheese back with me on the flight. (Flight duration ~4,5-5 hours)
I've brought back all kinds of cheeses, last time I brought a block of yellow Gouda cheese, block of Danablu cheese and 2 kinds of parmesan cheeses.
I've never noticed any tangible difference in quality of the cheeses after travelling and they stay good for at least the stated shelf life of the cheese.

What I tend to do is:

Make sure the cheeses are vacuum packed.

Helps store the cheese and ensure if any fats dissolve from the cheese they don't ruin anything in my suitcase.

Wrap them in bubble wrap.

I find this to be more flexible a packaging compared to a coolbag and as a bonus it doesn't add much extra weight.

Keep the cheese for as long as possible in the fridge before the flight.

I.e. put them in your suitcase just before you leave to the airport, but do make sure you left enough space for them :)

I personally haven't tried freezing the cheese as I'm worried that would ruin the cheese so I can't quote experience on that.


Can I substitute bread flour for bread machine flour?

"Bread machine flour" and "bread flour" are interchangeable terms.

  Bread flour, sometimes called bread machine flour, is what most bread maker recipe books will say to use in order to achieve the best results. (Source)

So yes, you should use bread flour in the recipe. It has higher protein than all-purpose flour and will help your bread rise better and hold its shape.


What is the correct ratio to make self-rising flour?

For 1 cup self-raising flour, add 1½ tsp baking powder+ ¼ tsp salt to 1 cup all purpose flour. (http://www.joyofbaking.com/IngredientSubstitution.html)

Edit: Calculation added by Sebbidychef:

According to http://www.jsward.com/cooking/conversion.shtml 1 cup of un-sifted all-purpose flour is equal to 120g.

Therefore 1000 divided by 120 is 8.3 recurring (1000/120=8.3).

8.3 multiplied by 1.5 (1 1/2 teaspoons) is 12.45 , so let's round it to 12.5 (12 1/2 teaspoons or 4.167 tablespoons, rounded to 4 tablespoons), (8.3*1.5=12.45). In metric this is 45g of baking powder.

8.3 multiplied by 0.25 is 2.075, so let's round it to 2 (2 teaspoons), (8.3*0.25=2.075). In metric this is 10g if salt.

So for 1kg of flour you will need 45g baking powder (4 tablespoons) of baking powder and 10g (2 teaspoons) of salt.


How come my dishwasher leaves grime on dishes?

This is (most likely) a hard water issue. There are trace levels of minerals (calcium) in the water and when it dries the minerals are left behind. This leaves a white film that is not dangerous but is unsightly.

There are commercial products that will help with this. 'Jet Dry' is the most common of these and I have found that it works quite well. There are competitive brands out there which report to do the same.

You may also need to "clean your dishwasher" (sounds odd, I know). Again I point you towards a commercially available product, CLR. Basically you put some CLR in your empty dishwasher and run it. The exact instructions are on the bottle.

(This is not a paid endorsement of either Jet Dry or CLR)


Like you, I've found a wide variety of fats in fudge recipes.  To name a few;

The chocolate fudge recipe in The Joy of Cooking cookbook calls for both half-and-half and heavy cream. (From my home copy of that cookbook)

On this Macinac Island website, there's a recipe that uses a combination of whole milk and Crisco (vegetable shortening).  http://www.mackinac-island-insider-tips.com/aunt-merrys-fudge-recipe.html

... and I found a recipe for Devonshire Clotted Cream Fudge that uses other ingredients I'm not familiar with such as golden syrup and castor sugar: http://www.food.com/recipe/devonshire-clotted-cream-fudge-238801

I think you may be obligated to experiment by making different kinds of fudge and discover your favorite homemade fudge.  Sounds like a sweet adventure!


What non-dairy filler to use in white chocolate style coatings?

Honestly, I would look at almond flour.

what milk powder gives to the recipe is proteins, sugars, and fats - all of which are present in nuts.  This is also why almond milk is totally a thing, there are a lot of similarities.

Two major differences are, there will be an almond flavor instead of a (milder, more "neutral") milky flavor.  And, almond milk has some of the almond solids removed, using almond flour is therefore "grittier" (not quite sure how else to put it) that using milk powder.  A true substitute would be extracting and dehydrating almondmilk, so those extra solids aren't present.  But, honestly that's a lot of work, and almond flour will probably work well enough - though you might revisit if you're using a lot, or if you think it's worth the extra work.

Of course, any other nut flours will also work, and even soy flour or coconut flour (both of whose precedents can be made into -milk) can be adapted.  The extra flavors will be in the finished product, but they can be left as subtle, or celebrated, or something.


How Can I Make Flour More White When Under Process In Flour Mill

Flour will whiten over time when stored. It generally takes several months to get a whiter color. Most flour manufacturers wish to speed this process up and so they actually bleach the flour using cholrine or benzoyl peroxide. This bleaching process also removes nutrietns which is why flour in the U.S. that has been bleached must also be "fortified" by having nutrients added back in.

There isn't much you can do beforehand. After milling, you can either bleach for immediate affect or store and allow it to whiten naturally. Keep in mind that different flours are usually bleached with different chemicals depending on what you plan to do with the flour.

I'll leave it to you to decide if it's worth the time and nutritional value to mix chemicals in to your flour for what is purely a cosmetic benefit.


Bolognese: can I add the meat after tomatoes?

It won't be as nice if you place meat into the fresh tomato sauce.

The reason why is because you are then essentially boiling the mince, so you won't have any caramelisation happening. That caramelisation adds a good amount of flavour to the sauce, so you'll be losing that.

Sure, the mince may dry during the frying process, but remember that it will get 'rehydrated' anyway when you throw it into the sauce afterwards.

Also, by frying the mince, you render out all the fat that can be used to fry the Mirepoix to add extra flavour.

I like to add the wine to help deglaze the pot/pan once I've fried everything, then I reduce to half, then I add the tomatoes last.


In regards to your particular tomato sauce. I don't think its acidic enough (a pH of 4.6 that is), and according to this page - the answer is no.  Even when canning fresh tomatoes or other tomato sauces you need to add some lemon juice.  Now you could try lowering the ph, but it would drastically change your recipe probably - whether or not you want to do this is up to you.

If you have a pressure canner, you likely can do it.

Generally, yes - it is a function of temperature and acidity. You need to either sterilize the food through temperature, or create an environment in which the bacteria won't grow - normally a higher acidity.  Pressure canners work by sterilizing, so recipes that are low in acid can still be canned.


The first thing I would change is the final rising period before putting it in the oven. Cut that in half, so it doesn't have as much time to expand, and that should give you a denser loaf. You could also try substituting 25-50% whole wheat flour, which will both make it denser and more nutritious.


Using Canned San Marzano Tomatoes Vs. Regular Canned Tomatoes

San Marzano tomatoes are generally preferred for Italian tomato sauces because they are denser, fruitier, have a slightly lower acidity, and break down well when cooked.  I've made both fresh and fresh-cooked tomato sauces from the San Marzanos my mother-in-law grows, and would prefer these over just about any other tomato variety for sauce-making (dry-farmed Early Girls are also pretty good).

However, in my personal experience trying several of the canned and boxed varieties of San Marzanos available to me, they're not worth paying more than double what more common varieties of tomatoes cost.  For example, last week I made my standard "quick tomato pasta sauce" using boxed San Marzanos, and did not find it notably better than other high-quality boxed tomatoes (such as ones from Pomi) which cost $2 less. My judgement is that many of the qualities which make them a superior tomato when cooked fresh are destroyed in the canning process.

On the other hand, you're comparing them to Contadina, a rather low-quality brand.  Given that specific comparison, I would expect the San Marzanos, even the mass-market Italian brands, to be notably superior in quality.  So if that's your actual comparison, I would say go for the San Marzanos.

According to an article in Cook's Illustrated from several years ago (CI archives are behind a paywall, so no link), this is partly because San Marzanos, like other imported tomatoes, need to be canned at higher temperatures in tomato puree instead of at lower temperatures in tomato juice due to obscure US produce import restrictions.  So it's also possible that canned San Marzanos can, in fact, be excellent, just not the ones commonly available in the USA.


heavy cream and half-and-half substitute

Cream has a high fat content, fat adds elasticity, flavor and a smooth mouth feel to ice cream. You can use 2% milk in ice cream instead of cream and it will work, however it will not have many of the desirable properties you get from cream. It will be harder and taste "weak" for lack of a better term.

If you want to make a lower fat ice cream then you can make up for the lack of milk fat somewhat by using more egg yolks and adding stabilizers like xanthan gum, guar gum, etc. See my answer to this question for a bit more detail on gums in ice cream.

It is possible to make a cream substitute by mixing 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter with 3/4 cup milk, but this would only work for recipes where the emulsion of fat in the liquid is not required - all you will get from this is milk with fat floating around in it. This may work in some baking applications, but it won't whip and it won't make ice cream you'd want to eat.


That's how I store the bird's eye chili that I get from my small balcony garden. I truss them up so they're hanging from their stems and hang that from a baker's rack, let them dry naturally, and just store them in a glass jar with a lid or cork.

I produce way more than I use, so I use small (pint) size glass jars to store the peppers, and I rotate them by using the oldest batch to grind up into several kinds of chili powder; the oldest batch I keep in the cabinet is about 8 months old (and that's the point where the pungency has mellowed just enough for use in rubs and stuff)

But yes, as long as you've got them covered and stored in a relatively cool place, they'll keep a nice flavor for quite some time. Just don't forget about them and taste before using if you can't remember when you bottled them (labels help!) :)


If dark pans brown food faster, do I need to make adjustments to baking when I use a light colored pan (and vise-versa)?

For metal pans, lining them won't significantly affect the cooking time -- the reason they cook differently is because of how much radiant heat they reflect.  (dark absorbs, light reflects).

For a glass pan, however, I would think that if you use aluminum foil, or something light and reflective, that it could make it cook more like a light metal pan, as the issue in the glass pan is that it allows almost all of the radiant heat through without reflecting it.  I've never tested it, though.


Can sunflower or coconut oil be substituted for vegetable shortening in cake icing?

I don't know for sure, as I've never tried, but I doubt it would whip up into the right texture. Shortening is already a solid, so you're just introducing air. Sunflower oil is a liquid, so you'd want to solidify it somehow to make frosting.


How do I recognize if a dish cannot be cooked in a gas oven?

You can cook anything in a gas oven that you can cook in an electric oven.  There might be a little extra moisture (due to the products of combustion), but some people consider that to be an advantage when baking bread and cooking roasts.


Do I need a specific pot to cook Japanese-style rice?

In my experience, rice can be cooked in any pot. I cook quite a lot of Japanese style dishes, and as far as I can tell the rice is cooked in the same way as any other.

For myself, I've done it in good "induction-able" steel pots, as well as huge (navy galley) aluminium pots, and a couple of low-quality stainless steel things too. They're all fine.

Normally, as soon as the pot is at/near boiling, turn the heat down to a low setting and leave it in the pot until it's ready. Then take it off the heat, but leave it covered (don't peek) for another five minutes.
Generally, once you've added the water, you put the lid on. You only start the timer when it's boiled and you turn it down, though. That's probably why a glass lid is better, so you can see the boiling. It's not critical to the process, though.


Marshmallows are wet on the bottom as they set

It's exactly your deviation which caused the problem. Stiff meringue weeps - the foam slowly loses the egg white moisture. When you mix cornstarch in it, the cornstarch absorbs the water droplets before they have the chance to make a big wet spot. So if you use the marshmallow mix, you won't have this problem.

As for crystallization, I am not sure that xanthan gum helps. It prevents crystallization in ice cream, but there you have too much water between the dispersed particles of the other ingredients, and this water forms ice crystals. Xanthan thickens the water and makes the water droplets smaller, so they don't freeze to big, crunchy crystals. In a sugar syrup, you have it the other way round. Sugar is better soluble in hot than in cold water, so once the syrup cools down, there is too little water and too much sugar. I don't think that xanthan is capable of doing for the sugar what it does for the water. But even if it helps, it will make your result firmer than you want it, you'd have to reduce the gelatin, risking to end up with marshmallows either too firm or too soft.

The usual way to prevent sugar syrup from crystallization is to add an acid to it. This splits the sucrose molecules into glucose and fructose, which don't crystallize at the saturation sugar does. Be careful what you add, you don't want your marshmallows to smell of vinegar. Cream of tartar is the neutral smelling choice, and citric acid has a smell, but it doesn't feel out of place in most sweets.


How to determine that a particular product is Organic?

The USDA does regulate a notion of "organic" in the US. Here's their full page on organic, and one specifically on regulations. Many of the links there are quite relevant. The best one for you is probably the labeling for consumers page, though many others would be informative for you as well. The Organic Labeling and Marketing Fact Sheet contains more details about labeling restrictions. Those pages all have tons of links, depending on what exactly you're looking for.

In terms of labeling, as described in the linked page on labeling, yes, the USDA regulates the usage of the USDA organic seal:

  Look at the label. If you see the USDA organic seal, the product is certified organic and has 95 percent or more organic content. For multi-ingredient products such as bread or soup, if the label claims that it is made with specified organic ingredients, you can be confident that those specific ingredients have been certified organic.

Unfortunately many other people do have their own notions of what organic means, and if you see the term used without the seal, then you can't really tell what standards it was held to.


The simple answer is that propane cylinders should be stored outside. That's what every guide will tell you. You really shouldn't even be storing it in a garage. Your yard is the best place, and if you take the safety guidelines seriously, you probably shouldn't own a propane torch if you don't have an "outside" (i.e. you live in an apartment). Either that or you should dispose of the fuel immediately and only store the head.

There's always a risk associated with storing any pressurized gas in your home, whether it's a propane cylinder or a nitrous oxide charger that you use with a whipper. The autoignition temperature of propane is 470° C, about the same as wood and far greater than paper, so it's not just going to spontaneously combust - it needs a spark or a heat source like a burner - so don't store it on your stovetop. The real worry isn't a sudden explosion in the middle of the night but rather a gradual leak, which you can't see or hear, and don't become aware of until it's too late.

Much like most of our food-safety questions, the risks are very small and many folks choose to ignore them - but there is a risk of a fire or explosion. If you intend to store it in your house, you might want to check to make sure it's not specifically prohibited by your insurance policy, homeowner's association, etc., depending on where you live.

N.B. If you do decide to store it in your house anyway, at least keep it away from children, pets, and anything flammable. For example, in a metal toolbox on a top shelf.


Can I rescue a bread preferment with unmixed flour lumps?

It's not a big deal, you can use it. Just add all the water for the next step of the process when you're ready and mix it up really well, getting the lumps out, then add the rest of the flour and other ingredients.


Why is the first hotcake always the worst?

Absolutely the first hotcake/pancake is the worst.

Typically, the pan has not reached an optimal temperature nor has the oil/butter that you use seeped into the pan to create a better cooking surface for the hotcake. An improperly heated and greased pan will lead to suboptimal pancake.

To cook the perfect first pancake (or as close to the second as possible), do the following:

Heat the pan (375 F / 190 C)
Coat the pan with oil (I use safflower - but can use canola)
Let the oil get hot
Wipe the oil from the pan (wipe the pan dry)
Add a few more drops of oil
Let the oil get hot again
Wipe the oil
Apply batter

This process will seal the surface of the pan (which is pocked) and create a truly flat surface for the hotcakes to cook on.

Additionally, you should let the batter sit (in its bowl) for 6 to 8 minutes so that it has time to mix the wet and dry ingredients more thoroughly. Make sure that your batter is at room temperature - or as close to it. You don't want the pan to lose heat while trying to bring cold batter up to temperature - this will give you a soggy pancake.


Can one tell the different sources of dashi by taste?

Sure, it's really not that difficult if you've actually tasted several kinds of dashi-jiru. It's more a matter of experience. There is decidedly a flavor to each category of dashi; it's not just "umami" or you would be able to get away with just throwing in a bunch of MSG into a bowl of water. But the flavor is mostly from aroma, like with other types of soup stock, since you haven't added any of the basic "tastes" other than the kombu and occasionally residual salt from the dried fish at the point the dashi is made.

At home, I often make a vegetarian one with kelp and porcini, sometimes with added cabbage; this the closest I've been able to come to the katsuo-dashi taste without actually using fish ingredients. It's a variation of a more standard Japanese kombu-dashi that's made with kombu and sometimes dried shiitake, but works for a broader range of dishes than the shiitake or minimalist kombu-dashi.

In practice, the main categories of dashi are these:

Katsuo-dashi: Made with dried, cured skipjack tuna (aka bonito), and shaved. It has a slightly bitter taste. It is best made with the addition dried kombu. Tastes richer with either thicker shavings of katsuo-bushi or just-before-cooking shaving, when possible.
Niboshi-dashi: Made with small dried whole fish (sometimes with heads removed, sometimes not, depending on the type of fish). Generally has a more pungent, richer flavor. There are several potential kinds of fish used and there was once substantial regional variation in this category, so the taste can vary quite a bit depending on the exact fish variety and how the fish was cured.
Kombu-dashi: Made just with kombu, usually for adding a little bit of aroma and complexity to simple dishes, but rarely for soups, except for nabemono, where you'd typically have additional seafood or meats in the hot-pot. (I usually lump kombu-shiitake or kombu-porcini dashi in this category, but for no particular reason).
Tori-dashi or gara-dashi: Made with chicken or other fowl bones. Except for fact that mirepoix isn't usually in the Japanese equivalent of this, so you won't have the celery base, it's similar to a typical Western-style chicken broth.
Ton-kotsu-dashi, made with pork bones. Generally pretty hearty and full of fat.

Dashi is the analog to a soup stock, so it generally does not have added salt. Accordingly, you won't serve a straight dashi with an udon; you'd turn it into a broth, generally called "kakejiru". This will contain added salt, shoyu, and usually some combination of sugar, sake and/or mirin.

Before you put salt in it, you'll mostly "smell" a difference. After that, you can certainly at least distinguish between katsuo and kombu dashi, and with a little practice, you can distinguish between niboshi-dashi and katsuo-dashi. For me, the difference between katsuo-dashi and the instant "hon-dashi" is usually not subtle; the hon-dashi is a bit aggressive and harsh to my taste, but not everyone feels that way. (For what it's worth, I'm as close as practical to being a vegetarian for someone who regularly dines out in Japan). Tonkotsu-dashi and tori-dashi are somewhat rarely used in home cooking (though there are some exceptions in west Japan and Okinawa), but the taste difference is pretty obvious.

I actually tend to prefer niboshi-dashi over katsuo-dashi, but it depends on the type of fish. There's a dried sardine from Korea that I find a little harder to stomach when used in dashi.

I can't speak to allergies, but I suppose it's possible that different types of fish may cause some people to react differently. I suppose you'd have to ask an allergist.


Correlation between perceived sweetness and sugar content

Different sugars have different relative sweetness (in %) (Elmhurst College):

Sucrose: 100
Fructose: 140
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS): 120-160
Glucose: 70-80
Lactose: 20

Relative sweetness of some non-sugar sweeteners (NutrientsReview):

Aspartame: 180
Acesulfam potassium: 200 (in some diet colas)
Stevia: 300
Saccharin: 400
Sucralose: 600

Plain yogurt (100 g) contains 4.7 g sugars, but mostly lactose, which is not sweet. (NutritionData, milk composition)

Kirkland Protein Bars contains stevia (300% sweetness) (link - read at the bottom of the Nutrition Facts), which explains its sweetness. Stevia is a natural non-sugar sweetener.

Perceived sweetness can increase with the food temperature (ScienceDirect) and salt content (a study in mice). Liquid and solid foods with the same sugar content can have different perceived sweetness (ScienceDirect). And there are sweet taste enhancers...(ChemistryWorld)


Aged gouda is my favorite cheese!

Beemster Classic Aged is like a firmer, creamy, sweet, slightly sharp, nutty version of regular gouda.

I've never had a 5 year, but 2 year aged gouda (like Beemster xo) is kind of like a creamy parmigiano but not as hard... nutty, caramel/toffee flavors with random crunchy tyrosine bits.

I would expect the 5 year to be comparable in flavor to Parmigiano with more creaminess and a less crumbly texture due to the fact that gouda is made with whole milk while Parmigiano is made with partially skimmed milk.

Truthfully, it rarely lasts long enough for me to use it in anything... it is the perfect cheese to eat by itself or with apple, pear, or almonds. You can basically use them anywhere you would use a sharp cheddar or parmigiano.


These are not perfect solutions, but merely hacks that could work.

Make the outer biscuits slightly bigger to increase the cooking time needed.
Let the inner biscuits cook for a few minutes, and then add the rest of the biscuits.
Use aluminium foil to shield the outer biscuits from direct heat.


Steel Pan non-stick improvement by polishing

(1)  It is worth noting that many people prefer stainless steel pans to cook meats on because they are NOT non-stick (meaning they stick).  The fat rendered during cooking, along with the bits of fat and meat that stick to the surface are called "fond" and are used to make pan sauces to serve with the meat.  This is a big selling point for SS pans.

(2)  Polishing the surface of your pans to a mirror-finish won't make your pans non-stick.  The sticking has more to do with the properties of the stainless steel itself rather than with the buffing of the surface.  Some people have suggested that you can season a SS pan like  you can a cast-iron pan to make the surface non-stick but that sounds fishy (but, admittedly, I have never actually tried that - I used different types of pans for different types of cooking).

(3)  Some seasonings just burn very easily - like paprika.  Seasonings that burn easily will most likely burn or scorch whether they are still on your meat, or if they have strayed to the pan.  Any spices that might burn should be applied shortly before the meat finishes cooking or applied when you serve it.


Create my own high-gluten flour by mixing vital wheat gluten and bread/AP flour?

Yes, and it is very easy. I do it all the time.

You only need a very simple calculation. You don't even have to be precise.

If you do want precision, you will have to find out 1) how much of your flour protein is gluten, 2) how much of your "vital wheat gluten" is gluten, and 3) how much gluten content you need for your recipe. Then use a simple rule-of-three calculation to get the amount needed to add.

I usually don't bother, because 1) and 2) is information which is very hard to find, and due to the large difference in gluten weight and complete weight, imprecision from not using true proportions is minimal. What I do is:

Look up the protein content of your flour (usually printed on the package), for example 9.6 grams per 100 grams
Look up the gluten content needed for your bread recipe. If it is not specified, 12.5% is usual for bread flour.
Add the difference in vital wheat gluten. In the example above, add 2.9 g of vital wheat gluten per 100 g of flour.

This doesn't produce exactly 12.5% gluten content, but I think that it is within the tolerance of most recipes; indeed, not all commercial flours are exactly 12.5%, they vary with brand and season.

I add the powder to the flour and mix it well before making the bread. If I am using a preferment, I add all the gluten to the preferment and make the non-fermenting part with AP flour only, so my gluten can benefit from longer autolysis.

I have no direct comparison with "true" bread flour, as I have never used it. But my breads requiring bread flour turn out good for my standards. There is no problem with bad distribution, the dough turns out very smooth and evenly elastic. There is a pronounced difference to using AP flour only.


Grinding loose Green Tea for more concentration

Grinding should not increase the flavour concentration, unless you mean increase the amount of tea you can fill a container.  The quantity of leaf and steep time would play a bigger factor in the strength of flavour.  However, if you powder the tea the main benefit would be shortening the steep time.  Which can also be a drawback as you have a higher chance to over steep and bring out unwanted bitter and/or astringent properties out into your tea.  For more information on powdered green teas and usage, look up "Sencha" and "Matcha".

Note: If you are wanting a stronger tea flavour you should consider the stronger end of the tea spectrum.  Such as Oolong (e.g. Tieguanyin aka Iron Buddha) (e.g. Pu-erh, Goishicha) or Post Fermented Teas.


What is the difference between shawarma and gyros?

They're rather different.

Gyros are Greek in origin. They are simply meat, tomatoes, onion, and tzatziki sauce on pita. In Greece the meat is typically pork (never had one). In America, specifically here in Chicago (their local origin), the meat is a combination of beef & lamb.

Shwawarma is Middle Eastern in origin. The possible toppings are much more diverse, and can include: tahini, tabouli, fattoush, cucumber, and hummus. Tzatziki isn't typically used, at least not in America. The meat is also never pork, it can be lamb, beef or chicken.

They owe their similarities to their common Turkish ancestor the doner kebab.

See also:

Doner kebab
Gyros
Shawarma


Are the stems of rehydrated dried Shiitake usable?

If they are so tough that they are unable to be cut, or unpleasant to eat, I use them in stocks and soups (they would have to be removed before serving).


Can olive oil be substituted for vegetable oil in a box cake mix?

Yes.  As far as the mix is concerned, oil is oil.  You're not reaching high enough temperatures to worry about smoke points or anything, and you're not trying to use a weird substitution (applesauce or some such).

That said, I've done this before, so I can tell you that it may affect the flavor of the finished cake-- vegetable oil is called for because of its neutrality, but olive oil (especially the good stuff*) often has a distinct, fruity flavor.  Depending on the (quality, quantity) oil that you use, that olive-oil taste may come through in your cake.  Whether that's a bad thing or not is up to you.

(*I and many others would consider it a total waste to use good extra virgin olive oil in a cake.  I can't speak to any health reasons you may want to substitute, but if it were me and I just didn't have any vegetable oil on hand, I'd either go to the store now or wait to bake the cake.)


How can I make very small quantities of balsamic reduction?

I've sometimes made small reductions in the microwave. Just put the liquid in a much deeper container than it fits in so it doesn't make a mess, and run it on 50% power, check every 30 seconds or so until it is reduced to the degree you need.


Spiciness is a taste perception, and as such, it is simply subjective. There is no way to create an objective scale for rating it.

I read your comment about "objective spiciness", but it is not something that can exist. It is based on the erroneous assumption that the spiciness you perceive is a 1:1 measurement of some quality of the food. This is not true. Even foods with the same amount of capsaicin will taste differently spicy to the same person, or the same food can taste differently spicy to the same person in two separate meals. So no, all scales will be subjective, with all the usual consequences of subjective rating scales.


How to adjust oil in recipe when adding peanut butter

Natural Peanut butter is about 50% fat, butter is about 80% fat. If you want to maintain the original amount of fat in the recipe, you would decrease the butter by 60% of the amount of peanut butter you used. So if you used 1/3 cup of Peanut butter, subtract about 1/5 cup (a little less than a 1/4 cup) of butter from your recipe. Don't adjust the eggs.

Hope this helps! I had to use too much math to get to the answer.


A general rule which applies to different types of bread

Not at all. It is possible to make bread that way, but it's rather rare.

If you are using any kind of preferment, even a 10 minute sponge, you are likely to add dry ingredients to it. Then you add this mixture of dry+wet to the rest, and the order for "the rest" can vary.

Also, if you have any enrichments, they are usually added after the flour has been kneaded with the main liquid, especially if you are using fats.

Whisking can also be skipped in many cases, sometimes to spare time, sometimes because you don't start with a ratio of water to flour and prewhisking the correct amount of yeast to 10 times the flour you need (well method) will lead to 1/10 of the needed yeast in the end product.

Then there are complicated recipes where you e.g. start out with half your water frozen to slush, or are using very large amounts of preferment so that 1/2 of your ingredients is sourdough which is neither liquid nor dry, etc.

There is indeed a basic process common to all bread baking, but it is not on the level of mixing order, it is about the rhythm of kneading and proofing. All mixing, no matter how many stages it has, is a single step in it, typically the second one.