When did the US start refrigerating eggs on a regular basis?

The question actually brings up two separate issues:

(1) When did the U.S. "start refrigerating eggs on a regular basis," i.e., when did the process of refrigeration become a common practice with eggs?

Answer: late 1800s

(2) When did refrigerated eggs "become the norm," i.e., when did American consumers expect eggs to be always (or almost always) refrigerated?

Answer: trending upward significantly in the 1950s, very widely accepted for eggs in grocery stores by the 1970s, legally mandated in the 1990s

Further details on both questions below.

Preserving eggs on a mass scale has a long history in the U.S.  There's an entire chapter devoted to eggs in the book Fresh: A Perishable History (2010).  As discussed there (pp. 86-87):

  In fact, of all the perishables first touched by commercial
  refrigeration, no food proved a harder sell than the cold-stored egg.
  Even in the fridge-friendly United States, popular distrust of the
  "storage" egg endured for decades.

  As refrigeration experts saw it, the basic problem was consumer
  ignorance.  People needed to give up the outdated idea that the only
  good egg was a local and recently laid egg.  But as the public saw it,
  the basic problem was uncertainty.  The egg's unrevealing nature
  became an unappealing mystery once merchants began chilling massive
  stocks.  The perceived danger lay not so much in cold storage itself
  as in the way it could be used to cheat people out of wholesome and
  fairly priced provisions.

[This section of the answer largely derives from this book.]

The first wave of egg refrigeration occurred after the mass rail transport system was developed in the mid-1800s.  By the 1860s and 1870s, eggs were sold in New York from as far away as Minnesota and Mississippi, carried there by refrigerated rail cars.  (Of course, these cars were packed with ice, rather than modern mechanical refrigeration equipment.)  By the last decades of the 1800s, eggs even began crossing between continents on refrigerated steamships: Normandy's egg prices were driven down by cheap refrigerated egg shipments from the U.S., while California received regular egg shipments from China.

But aside from egg trading, cold storage at this time was necessary because eggs were a "seasonal crop."  Hens would stop laying eggs for much of the winter, necessitating cold storage to supply eggs year-round.  While previous generations had preserved eggs temporarily in cold cellars or using various other techniques, by around 1900 the United States had a network of cold-storage food warehouses in major cities that was unparalleled elsewhere in the world.

Nevertheless, consumers had mixed feelings about "cold storage eggs."  They couldn't be sure about storage conditions, and eggs often acquired odors and flavors from other produce and food stored at these facilities.  And as the practice became more common, consumers couldn't be sure whether their eggs really were "fresh" as advertised, or whether they had spent time in storage, particularly in the cold months when few fresh eggs were laid.  Consumer guidebooks and magazines of the early 1900s suggested that cold storage eggs were a useful necessity as an ingredient, but were not of high enough quality to be eaten simply fried or scrambled.

There's a lot more to this early story -- involving consumer reactions, business advertising campaigns, political actions, governmental intervention/regulation, etc. -- but suffice it to say that cold storage eggs were both common and available (particularly in major cities) from the late 1800s onward.  But such storage was a necessity for transport and longevity, not something used yet by retail grocers and consumers.

By the early 20th century, there was already a push toward cooling fresh eggs which were not intended for long-term cold storage.  But since farm refrigeration equipment was not commonly available yet, there was little effect, and well into the 1920s there are reports of suspicious consumers who had to be convinced to try refrigerated eggs when told they were refrigerated, even though many had likely had cold storage eggs preserved in warehouses.

There was a temporary setback to the cold-storage warehouse industry with the development of techniques to make chickens lay eggs year-round.  Starting in the 1910s, a series of shifts in feeding schedules, temperature regulation, and henhouse lighting gradually led hens to lay in the "off-season."  While annual cycles didn't disappear completely until around 1970, the demand for long cold storage decreased, as consumers preferred the fresh products.

[This section of the answer is somewhat more speculative and was cobbled together from various sources.]

The true emergence of cold storage as a "norm" for the whole path from farmer to consumer happened after the rebranding of "cold-storage eggs" to "refrigerated eggs" to eliminate the stigma of eggs that were not perceived as "fresh," along with the advent of cheaper and more widespread mechanical refrigeration for farm and home use in the 1940s and 1950s.  Egg production increased significantly during WWII, and after the war, numerous studies of egg longevity convinced farmers that cooler storage conditions would reduce spoilage and thereby save them money in the long run.  By 1953, Popular Mechanics reported the modern marvel of the large-scale chicken farm, including: "Painted on the farm's big refrigerated truck is the slogan 'Eggs From Happy Hens'."

Grocers were gradually convinced of the same thing.  A report from Baltimore on retail egg practices notes that, between 1946 and 1951, the number of retail stores refrigerating eggs went from about 1/3 to 2/3 of all stores.

Consumer recommendations for egg storage followed as well.  The cookbook You Can Cook if You Can Read (1946), for example, notes the following on "The Care of Eggs":

  Always keep your eggs in the refrigerator in a covered dish or pan.
  They deteriorate much more rapidly in warm air than in cold.  And if
  possible, find a grocer who keeps his eggs in the refrigerator too.
  All the grading and government inspection in the world cannot
  guarantee fresh eggs to the purchaser as long as grocers and
  householders keep them in the open air.

In the 1950s, many magazines also began running ads for refrigerators with dedicated compartments for eggs in the refrigerator.  Refrigerated trucks (as described above) were perfected in the 1950s and made refrigeration possible for all stages of transport.  Unless eggs were purchased from a small farm, by the 1960s most consumers were used to seeing eggs stored in refrigerators all the way from the farm to consumer.

Of course, the period around 1950 was also the time that egg washing became widespread, though the relationship of egg washing to refrigeration was probably more to do with a consistent production method and quality control.  (Washing methods varied greatly and were not consistently regulated for inspected eggs until the early 1970s, after a series of Salmonella outbreaks in the 1960s.)

While it may be at least partly true that the U.S. continues to advocate refrigeration for food safety because eggs are washed (even if recent research indicates that the effect of washing on cuticle damage may be limited), the initial trend toward refrigeration occurred in an earlier period for a variety of reasons.

The holdouts among consumers who would leave eggs on the counter were probably convinced to put them in the fridge due to consistent storage among grocers and concerns about quality deterioration during temperature cycles.  (Condensation on cold eggs left out also can help bacteria migrate through the shell to contaminate the interior of the egg.)

But there was nothing actually requiring refrigeration from farm to table until the early 1990s, when more frequent Salmonella outbreaks in the 1980s convinced Congress to act.  (Regulations on refrigeration before that varied from state to state; the applicable 1963 Michigan law -- likely valid for the Detroit area -- only required egg storage temperatures below 60F.)  Since then, a number of new federal regulations have been passed, beginning with temporary refrigeration rules in the early 1990s.  The 1991 amendments to federal regulations also required all consumer egg containers to contain warnings that indicate that refrigeration is required.  These regulations -- basically requiring eggs to remain below 45F from farm to grocer -- were made permanent in 1999 and 2000, though exceptions are still available for small farms with fewer than 3,000 laying hens which pack their own eggs and sell directly to consumers.


What would happen if you use warm base on a compressor ice cream machine?

Firstly, it will work and you will get ice cream.  However, cooling the base (a) decreases the time it take to freeze, and (b) potentially improves the flavor of the base (as ingredients meld together).  Let's say you are not concerned with "b".  The more quickly you freeze ice cream, the smaller the ice crystals...the creamier the texture.  So, in any ice cream making scenario, it is better to begin with cold base.  How much better?  How much creamier?  It's probably a matter of preference in the end.  It sounds like you probably have an ice cream maker with a compressor.  Why not make a double batch of base, freeze one immediately, place the other in the fridge for 24 hours.  Freeze that one the next day.  Taste them at the same temp/consistency, and tell us here what you've learned.


How to plan the portion size for a vegetarian bourguignonne dish?

For bourguignonne, most of the calories are going to be in the noodles anyway.  The beef amounts for bourguignonne are smallish, and the flavorings (mushroom, possibly carrot, broth, wine) are pretty much non-existent nutritionally.

I would just go by mouth-feel.  Cut the aubergine in amounts that approximate the texture and flavor of the original dish, and don't much care about the differences.


What is a good website or book to learn kitchen techniques?

Jacques Pépin's Complete Techniques is an extremely useful guide to every technique you can imagine. Each step of each technique is fully illustrated with photographs.


Will dried buttermilk react with other ingredients in dry mix with oil, stored in fridge?

The baking soda and acid from the dried buttermilk should not react in any significant amount until you hydrate the mixture, so it should work.   Remember, baking powder is acid and sodium bicarbonate in the same can, and there is little except acid and reactant; your mix will have a lot of buffer ingredients as well.

I would not add the oil to the dry mix though until you are ready to make the pancakes, along with the water.


How long do I need to freeze the freezer bowl when making the second batch of ice cream?

This really depends on your freezer and your icecream bowl. Usually the instructions will have a suggested freeze time on them...In my experience, however, it's usually 6-8 hours at a minimum.

If you need to make multiple batches, it is ABSOLUTELY worth your money to get another bowl.


What kinds of beans are there and how to recognize them?

How many basic types of beans are there

There are hundreds of different bean cultivars. Some countries sell predominantly 2-3 types of bean in the supermarket, but which type is sold varies from country to country. If you are eating beans from a farmer's market, all bets are off.

  How do you distinguish them

There are reference books for agriculturists and system biologists which contain detailed descriptions and pictures of different plant cultivars for a species. You could try finding a reference work for beans and looking them up there, but many cultivars look very much alike, and with only the seeds available, even the experts are likely to have a high error quote. Trying to do such a recognition requires lots of effort, has a low success rate, and serves no good purpose in the kitchen.

  Do they differ a lot nutritionally

It is hard to say, as the difference between closely related cultivars will be larger than the difference between less related ones. But if you are thinking that you can get a single calorie count per cultivar, forget it.

Sources state nutritional info based on a measurement they have made, and it is hopefully the average of many measurements made. But unprocessed foods vary a lot between batches. Did the bean grow in the sun or in the shade? What was the soil composition, how much fertilizer did it get, how much water and sun? How ripe is it? How much time has gone since it was picked? Water evaporates and vitamins get destroyed over time. Both the calorie content and the ratio of nutrients will vary considerably between exemplars of beans (or melons, or fish, or whatever natural food).

If you have found calorie counts which are a lot different from each other (say one is 3-4 times higher) then this is probably a difference in the state of the food and not between cultivars. It is possible that the 22 calories are for fresh beans or cooked beans and higher counts are for dried raw beans. Or with beans, it could even have been a number for green beans (picked unripe). Also, sometimes calorie databases contain mistakes, I have seen the same database give a higher calorie number per ounce of hazelnuts than per 100 gram of hazelnuts. But if the difference is not so much (up to 100% maybe), I'd assume that it is more of a matter of variance between batches.


I'm going to assume you are talking about deli-style sliced roast beef here. There are a couple of ways to help preserve meat freshness better.

Wrap it in butcher paper. This type of food-grade wrapping paper is inexpensive and can be purchased at many general stores and office supply stores. It works great for all sorts of meat, poultry and even fish, and can be used in the refrigerator and freezer.
Keep it in the coldest section of your refrigerator. It is often near the top or the back, varies depending on refrigerator model.


For ingredient ratios, the keyword is baker‘s percentage or baker‘s math.
Typically the flour is taken as the base value and all other ingredients are described as a percentage of the flour weight. Most home bakers come across the term when starting to venture into the theories of bread baking (King Arthur has a nice introduction here), but the same principles apply for other baked goods. A very famous example is the pound cake: originally using 1 pound each of flour, fat, sugar and egg. If you want to make a smaller or larger amount, you still use the same ratio.

Note that while in home settings we today typically count eggs and (at least in some countries) use volumetric measures instead of weight, in professional or larger-scale context ingredients- even eggs - are weighed. The importance of weight becomes obvious in recipes that are famously finicky like macarons, where some recipes recommend weight the egg whites and then calculating the remaining ingredients.

Older recipes for cakes, especially cake types which need rather precise ratios, are often based on the weight of the eggs. (Eggs come in “portions” and using “half of an egg” is impractical.) While today eggs are sold in weight ranges and a “size L egg” is pretty consistent, the eggs produced by a flock of chicken can vary a lot depending on the individual bird and the breed. So a cook or baker had to measure the amount of egg used for each batch of cake and adjust the other ingredients accordingly.

For references, you can either compare multiple recipes for a type of cake and calculate the ratios (or ranges thereof) or you check references for professional bakers or apprentices.

Temperature and time are a different matter. There are typical ranges for various baked goods and times will depend on the amount and thickness of batter, shape of the mold etc. A linear conversion like for the ingredients can’t be given. Just check  existing recipes and work from there.


How to make profiteroles without a visible hole?

Fill from the bottom. Take a paring knife and cut a half-circle about the size of a dime near one end on the bottom, with the ends of the cut facing the end of the profiterole. This makes a sort of trap-door to get the filler tip into. Afterwards, you can use the paring knife tip to pull the trap door flush with the bottom.


You cut off a little too much of the phrase; it's "add sauce and stir to cover and warm." You're stirring to cover the other ingredients with the sauce, and to warm the sauce.


no-knead pizza. When is it supposed to raise? which flour is the best?

So the recipe in baker's percents:

Flour               100%
cold water           80%
olive oil             4%
salt                  2%
instant dry yeast   0.2%

This looks like a high-hydration Sicilian-style dough that's calling for a 24 hour cold ferment (CF). As you can see in such a recipe, the yeast level is very low -- so low that you're unlikely to notice any appreciable rise in only one hour, even if it's at room temperature rather than refrigerated.

It sounds like the recipe is calling for an autolyse at room temperature for an hour or so, during which time you should try to make a few stretch and folds. I'm sure at this point the dough is going to be very wet and sticky, as there has been little gluten development. It most likely won't resemble anything like a pizza, and it certainly won't be able to be handled like in the video you linked to: that's what the cold ferment is for. You should follow the directions, ball the dough in an airtight container (a plastic bread bag works great, twist the end of the bag closed and tuck underneath the dough ball), and place it in the refrigerator at the specified temperature.

(The yeast level is low and the dough underdeveloped in a CF recipe because it's intended that it will take the entire 24 hour time period to accomplish what could take an hour or 2, were the dough fully developed with a higher yeast level).

During the CF, further autolyse will help more fully hydrate the dough improving gluten development. The dough will also undergo biochemical gluten-development from yeast activity. During this 24 hour period you should notice the dough rising, albeit very slowly.

After that 24 hour period, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to warm up to at least 50ºF (10ºC) before trying to open the dough up as he is doing in that youtube video.

What I see in the video is him opening up the dough and preparing to bake it. That dough is only workable like that because it's been given the full 24 hour period it needs to develop.

One last thought: I would caution against using too cold of water (I'm thinking it should be at least above 50ºF (10ºC)), as that could potentially shock and kill the yeast, which would then release glutathione into the dough. Not only would the dead yeast not provide any fermentation and biochemical gluten development, the glutathione would make gluten development more difficult.


Making caramel: how the ingredients effect the outcome?

Here's the function of each ingredient, as I understand them:

Sugar - Obviously, this is the thing that caramelizes.  You need it.  The amount of sugar determines the amount of caramel.
Water - The water helps early in the cooking process by causing the mixture to heat evenly without burning.  Most of it boils off.  As the water evaporates, the boiling point of the mixture increases.  So, you can determine the ratio of water to sugar by measuring the temperature while it's boiling.  Once enough water has boiled off to reach the temperature specified in the recipe, then you know that the ratio of water to sugar is right.  Too much water and the caramel will be too soft.  If you add extra water, it will take longer to reach the target temperature, but you'll still have the same amount in the end as long as you get it to the right temperature.
Lemon - A bit of acid helps the caramelization to occur faster and at a lower temperature.  This can be useful if you want a soft caramel because you won't have to boil off as much water.  It can also reduce the risk of burning because you don't have to get the caramel quite as hot.
Salt - This is just for flavor.  In the small quantity normally found in caramel, I wouldn't expect it to make a difference to the cooking time, target temperature, or texture.

A longer cooking time allows more water to boil off, resulting in a harder (or possibly burnt) caramel.  Otherwise, it doesn't affect the outcome that much, unless you're making a low temperature caramel.  There are some dulce de leche recipes, for example, that require cooking for 13 hours.  At higher temperatures, the reactions happen a lot faster.  At 350 F, for example, the caramelization happens so quickly that there's no need to hold it at that temperature for any significant time.


How can I impart bacon flavor into collard greens without losing crispness?

One way to do it is to render the fat from the bacon first. Once the bacon is crispy you can remove it and add the greens. Cook them down until finished and right before serving you can add the bacon crumbled. If it's served right away the bacon will be crispy. If you leave it out too long or go to re-heat the next day then they will be softened. There is no need to add anything to the bacon grease unless it's not enough to cook all the greens in. In this case just add a couple of tablespoons of butter. This is definitely not a low fat way of cooking greens, but it's the best way I know of getting that bacon flavor into the greens. Hope that helps!


Solution 1:
Use it as poundcake batter.
Judging by the photo, it looks a lot like perfect cake batter.

Solution 2:
Chill it well, work in the missing 80g flour, chill again.
Use as planned, accept that the pie crust might be a bit tougher than expected. Adding a pinch or two of baking powder to the flour can counteract it a bit.


As described at Pick Your Own, you can freeze kale like any green.  The technique is fairly similar to many vegetables:

Clean the greens, and remove the toughest parts of the stemps.
Blanche briefly in boiling water, then shock in an ice water bath to halt the cooking
Drain and dry.
Freeze, perhaps in a zip-type freezer bag.


Can you make chocolate from coffee beans or coffee from cacao beans?

You don't need a brand for brewed chocolate. You just take cocoa powder (which is ground cocoa beans minus most of their fat) and put it into boiling water. You don't even need to strain. But I prefer to make mine with milk (btw, I sometimes brew coffee in milk too).

Solid candy from coffee is something else. What you call "coffee butter" is, in fact, coffee oil at room temperature. I can't find information about the breakdown of the coffee beans, but I am not sure if they have the starch content of cocoa beans (which helps hold a chocolate bar together). Add to this the potential for a heart attack inducing amount of caffeine per bar of caffeeolate and you see why this isn't commonplace.

I guess that the industry today would find ways around these problems. You can hydrogenize the oil (although I don't think it would attain the smooth texture of tempered chocolate, chocolate butter has some very special crystallization properties which allow a chocolate bar to have a silky but hard texture. It will be just grainy) and you can decaffeinate the whole thing, and then mix it with some starch to thicken it, and as much sugar as there is in milk chocolate to counter the higher bitterness of coffee.

But this will be as distant from real rich-flavoured coffee as 39 cent discounter chocolate bars are from real chocolate. There won't be an equivalent of premium dark chocolate (which is the one that tastes of cocoa beans instead of sugar).

If you love coffee so much that you want to try a coffeeolate bar, you are better off making coffee flavoured chocolate. If you want the least taste mix, start with a white chocolate bar. The easiest way would be to melt it and mix in a very small amount of cream with lots of instant coffee solved into it, but the taste will be bound by the instant coffee quality. The other way would be to brew the coffee powder in cream, very concentrated (more than an espresso) and add it to the melted chocolate. You'll have to work at chocolate candy making temperatures (30°C to 32°C), if you overheat, you'll have to retemper the chocolate.


Yes, you should store them in a air-tight jar, and the best is to store the jar in a cool place in the house. The fridge is to moist for storing cupcakes. You can store them in the jar for about 3-4 days, but they won't taste fresh any more. So I would suggest if you want to store them longer then 1 or maybe 2 days, freeze them right after they cooled down from baking. If you use a topping, you can top your cupcakes when they are thawed.


It is probably best if you pre-soak the rice before cooking. How long you soak it for will depend strongly on the type of rice and your ambient temperature. Try an hour to begin with. Thai glutinous rice is traditionally steamed rather than boiled. Use a porous container for the rice so that excess water or condensates could drain out and not make the rice soggy. As a hack, you can wrap the pre-soak rice in a towel and put the bundle in the steamer, just be prepared to lose a fair amount to the towel deal with the sticky mess on it afterwards.


Keeping food warm: does cast iron make a suitable potluck vessel?

All the cast iron pans I've got came with instructions that read along the lines of "suitable for serving, but not storage of food".

I'm not sure what would suffer most though, your pan, or the food, or both, depending on length of time. My guess is that the length of time you actually can store food in a cast iron pan/pot safely somewhat depends on the ingredients used. For example, a tomato sauce would be less good to store in a cast iron pan than fried potatoes.

Regarding the temperature, I'd say it depends on how well insulated your "bag" is. Cast iron distributes temperature very nicely, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will cool less quickly than another type of pan (of same size/thickness) when taken off the heat.

Regarding keeping food warm, I did see insulated pots similar to a thermos flask you'd use for hot coffee or tea, which are made to store food. They have a big enough opening to be filled, and to be eaten from.


I can't select either of the above answers as the best answer for the following reason:

The brownie I'm making is meant to be "gooey", and even after cooling for 2 hours, and then chilling in the fridge for another 30 minutes, the the upper-half brownie still remained fudge-like. I ended up using Jay's suggestion to eye-ball a 4x4 grid, however I didn't use a hot knife. I used a plastic knife with an up-and-down sawing motion and got fantastic results.  The cuts were as clean as you could ask for, and the entire process didn't take more than 5-10 minutes.

As an aside: I decided to forgo the "aluminum foil sling" and just spray the 9"x13" pan with PAM, line the bottom with parchment paper, and spray it down one more time. The brownie "loaf" came out with zero fuss and had a perfect looking crust.

edit: I plan on experimenting with 2 large metal rulers to score the loaf, instead of eyeballing the grid.


How can I extract menthol powder from fresh mint/peppermint?

This is a fun question, but your plan is not very practical.

If you indeed insist on doing it, you have three steps in the process of menthol extraction:

Extract the essential oil from the leaves
Separate the essential oil from the solvent you used
Freeze the menthol out of the essential oil.

For the essential oil extraction, the only method doable at home is a steam/water distillation. (OK, there are also absolue methods, but they are less practical, and not necessary for mint). So you are left with a mixture of a hydrosol and mint essential oil.

Here is where it becomes difficult: the second step is to separate the oil from the hydrosol. Most methods I know of will produce something which is not food-safe. The popular ones are to use a nonpolar solvent and then boil it off (I hope you don't plan on handling diethyl ether in your kitchen!) but I also found a reference to "passing it through a bed of anhydrous sodium sulphate". This is probably your best bet edibilitywise, but getting the supplies and learning the process won't be easy.

In the end, you have to freeze the essential oil to a sufficiently low temperature (the source with the sodium sulphate uses -60 C but I also found references to -22), then keep it for a few days and harvest the crystals.

If you are brave enough to do it at home (and live in a place where it is not illegal to have a distillation still, and found a freezer that goes to -22) you will need time, space for the apparatus, and mint. Lots of mint. Here I found an article for a portable still which weighs 635 kg, has a 500 l distillation tank, can process up to 9 kg dried mint per distillation (you'll first need an area where you can hang 72 kg of fresh mint to dry out for a month or two, or find a dehydrator and pay for the energy to process it) and yields about 100 ml of essential oil from peppermint, half that if you use spearmint. The oil consists of about 50% menthol, but I couldn't find references for the actually recovered amount when using crystalization only (chemists tend to follow up with a boric acid distillation) but let's say you can recover half of the contained menthol, this would be 15-25 grams of pure menthol crystals.

If your children want just a few portions of ice cream, you should be able to downscale this to 1/10 or less, and get away with a much smaller still. But you'll still need several square meters worth of mint plants, and your children will have to wait a few weeks for their ice cream.


A step by step guide from the wikipedia page:

http://chefinyou.com/2009/11/roti-canai-recipe/

reproduced here in case wikipedia changes.


Can seasoning be eaten without being cooked?

There is no need to cook it, it's fine to eat straight out of the grinder. It's just green, black and pink peppercorns with dried garlic, salt and dried onion (ingredient list from Amazon).


Oil temp goes up when turkey breast is added - why?

Where does the temperature readout come from?

I would be very curious indeed about the results of measuring the temperature with a thermometer directly in the oil.

As far as I know there is no exothermal chemical reaction between meat and oil, so adding a colder piece of meat to hot oil should ALWAYS reduce the temperature of the total volume (assuming that no extra heat is added from an external source)


What causes the sugar to turn grainy after I have cooked it for a glaze or cooking it with butter for carmelizing?

It sounds like your syrups are crystallizing on you.

For a smooth glaze or caramel, you want tiny little sugar crystals. When you heat your sugar and water mixture, after a certain temperature the water becomes super-saturated with the sugar.

After this super-saturation point, things get dicey. If the solution is disturbed--say by stirring, or an undissolved sugar crystal or other foreign particle getting into the solution--the sugar can rapidly come out of solution and form big crystals. This could be why your confections are grainy.

There are a lot of resources online that have the science behind it and suggestions on preventing it (example, example, example). To summarize a few:

Always use a clean pot or pan.
Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved before it comes to a boil
Dip a pastry brush in water to wash away any sugar that sticks to the side of the pot or pan as the sugar heats.
Combine the sugar with a little water (it should have the consistency of wet sand) before cooking.
Avoid stirring the sugar when it comes to a simmer.
Cover the pan loosely with a lid or baking sheet.
Add a little acid (such as a touch of lemon juice) or corn syrup to the sugar-water mixture before cooking


I agree with nixy. Make sure it's food grade. If it's not the extract may have other stabilizers that you don't want to consume. Glycerin is an example where glycerin that you use in soap is different from the food grade glycerin one would use to make non-alcoholic vanilla extract.


How to store cut potatoes for the morning?

When I was in the navy, we used to store peeled and cut potatoes in a big plastic bin covered in water. They would be fine for a day or two.

In a home setting, I think putting them in a covered bowl with (unsalted) water overnight would probably work fine.


What is the right kind of syphon to use for fish batter?

Get an ISI whipper (no affiliation), the model that can take both hot and cold.  It accepts CO2 or N2O.  They have multiple safety controls built in, are versatile  (especially given your interest in Heston), come in multiple sizes, and are relatively easy to clean.


I have a recipe that calls for a Cubanelle Pepper, but my dad can't eat peppers.

Note that Cubanelle peppers are not hot peppers — they're similar to green bell peppers. So if your father's restriction is restricted to hot peppers, then he'd be just fine.

Otherwise, there's nothing else quite like the flavor of peppers (other than paprika, which of course, is made from peppers). Your recipe has so many other flavorful ingredients, that it's sure to be delicious if you simply leave out the Cubanelle pepper.

However, celery might be a good substitute in your recipe, being similar in color and texture to Cubanelle peppers. The flavor of celery is subtle and would work quite well with the other ingredients you listed.


How long does cooked pasta last in the fridge?

http://www.stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/17887 is as good advice as any I'd give.

In my experience, it gets some slimy mold stuff on it. If it feels slimy, its probably not good to eat, although the mold might taste delicious, you never know...


What's the best way to get roasted garlic out of its skin

Cut the garlic head in half, add a little oil if you like, put halves back together, wrap in foil, roast, unwrap, cool, squeeze roasted garlic out of halves. The idea of cutting in half ensures that most, if not all of the cloves are cut open, making removal of roasted garlic easier. Placing the cloves back together, avoids the potential problem of a crust forming over the cut end, which also may make removal easier (though I've never tested this).  You do need your hands, so one way to avoid stickiness, particularly if you are doing a lot, is to wear rubber gloves.


Can I make a good pizza in a home portable oven?

It depends on what you call "good".

On the one end of the scale, you have people who don't go to pizzerias with an electric or gas commercial oven and insist on wooden fired ovens which get the pizza ready in 90 seconds. On the other end, there are people who will be happy with anything flat with a covering of tomato sauce hot enough to sear the roof of the mouth. Without knowing where you fall on the scale, I don't know if pizzas from this oven will reach your threshold of "good".

But I will encourage you to make pizza in it. I have been using nothing but a toaster oven myself for the last 10 years, and it works well for me for all the usual purposes. It is better for pizza than the usual big home ovens, because its higher ratio of radiation vs convection heating is more similar to a fire oven than that of the usual electric home ovens. (Not everything is rosy though - this same quality makes it inferior for cakes and oven roasts).

So, go ahead and make your pizza.


Lactobacillus acidophilus is the main culture contained in yogurt. Although it eats many types of sugars, it's biproduct is mainly lactic acid and whether it reduces oligosaccharides is largely unknown.

  "...little information is available on FOS transport and metabolism by lactic acid bacteria and other probiotic bacteria." http://aem.asm.org/content/69/4/2217.abstract

If you wanted to experiment with it you could try the traditional yogurt incubation method by mixing a few tablespoons of fresh yogurt into the beans around 110 degrees F and letting it incubate at that same temperature from 10-24 hours. Be careful though, the incubation could also bring about unwanted cultures as well.


Primary advice: use shorter lengths. Also, make sure the dough is the right consistency, not too wet.  Make sure you are aligning correctly. Allow it to drape over so that you are not inadvertently pulling it toward you when you are feeding it.


What can I substitute for butter in a custard-based pie?

Butter in this type pie is there to add "richness". It is possible to leave it out entirely and save about 800 calories, but it may not satisfy your definition of a good dessert. If you reduced the amount to 1/2 a stick (1/4 cup), you would reduce the total calories by about 400 and still have a very nice pie.

I would not recommend replacing the butter with a reduced calorie margarine or spread, as they contain water and other stuff that will not improve the pie.


How can I make the exterior of my croissants less hard and more flaky?

this is a technique that might help with the shell issue:

I suspect your croissants are losing humidity during proofing, possibly freezing the butter block, and possibly baking resulting in a harder shell.  If you have a humidity controlled proofer and oven, then those parts may not be your problem.  Otherwise, read on:

Peter Reinhart in The Bread Baker's Apprentice suggests pouring boiling water in a flat pan/container and placing in the bottom of the oven during the baking (of breads) in order to keep up the humidity.  This  Link has the recipe published with Peter's permission.  Notice how the freezer doesn't come into play (freezer is a dehydrator and pretty good at it, too) although some recipes call the freezing part a must.

Croissants are lighter than bread loafs so they may require a different humidity profile than breads during baking (as noted by commenters). However, for proofing humidity levels should be high and the temperature around 80F or 27C.

To achieve that, for the proofing period keep the dough in a turned-off-oven and turn on the oven light a long with a the boiling water method.  This usually prevents 'the skin' formation and a dried out crust.  It also helps with getting a better rise during baking.  The oven light bumps up the temperature but if you're room temperature is close, don't bother.

You may wish to read this piece on humidity and baking and generally the Maillard Reaction.  Here's an excerpt that might explain the problem:

"Under dry oven conditions, the dough will have rapid evaporation of the water from
the exposed surface. This will cause premature formation of a dry inelastic outer shell
on the bread surface"


The difference between green, red and yellow bell peppers

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodtip&dbid=68

Same plant species, different cultivar, different maturity, different tastes, different nutritional value. To summarize from the link, green are harvested earliest and contain the least vitamins, yellows are next and contain more vitamin C and less vitamin A and beta carotene, reds are harvest last and contain the most each vitamin types. Yellow and red are both sweeter and more fruity than green.


I don't know about the safety standpoint, but from a texture standpoint -- don't refrigerate them.

The problem is that they turn into an brick when cold -- rather than being a nice dessert, it's something that you have to gnaw at and fear that you're going to chip a tooth.

You might be able to get around this by warming them back up before serving, but I'm not sure what the best way to do that would be.  (microwave?  low oven?)


Can fresh citrus juice be reduced to concentrate flavor?

Heating citrus changes its flavor quite dramatically.  When and how much to heat and reduce citrus depends on the outcome you are looking to achieve.  If you want to preserve the fresh squeezed flavor, heating is not advisable.  If you are looking for a more reduced, cooked down flavor, heating can be good. Certainly, the flavor will be concentrated, but it will be different from the fresh juice. Ultimately, it is the application that matters.


I am scared that the chocolate will stick to the counter top (in plastic) or the sheet pan.

Don't do it on the counter top. The best surface would be a silicone mat from a baking store - a smooth one, not the ones that seal an woven steel wool inside and so have a relief pattern. If you don't (yet) have that, plastic foil will do, you'll be able to peel it from the chocolate when cooled.

  I am scared that it won't fully solidify. I am wondering whether the counter top should be cooled down (which is impossible in my kitchen).

20 C is a good temperature for cooling chocolate. Never cool the counter top. If anything, it would be best to warm it slightly so the bottom of the chocolate bark is cooled slower than its top, this gives the best shine. You can skip that though, it's a perfectionist's thing. If you are interested in a deeper explanation, see How to prevent "sweating" chocolate covered strawberries?.

  I am scared that it could be hard to warm up the chocolate at a high enough temperature without burning it so that it is easy to spread smoothly.

Here comes the most important part. The problem is not even burning, the problem is distempering. The chocolate will melt at around 30 Celsius, but will distemper at around 33 Celsius. Distempered chocolate solidifies in a grainy mass. You should not let it go warmer than 33 C, better yet 32, and that's a very narrow temperature range to hit.

To avoid this, you have to work in small batches1, use a double boiler for warming up, and use a candy thermometer. Don't use the microwave, that's uncontrollable and only useful if you are going to make some kind of chocolate mixture, not if you want to resolidify it as bars or similar. Also see What is the best way to melt chocolate? and What is the purpose of tempering chocolate?.

1 At the beginning, "small" means "so little you can stomach tossing it" because you will probably get it wrong a few times, it is a skill you have to build. But not so little that it smears onto the bowl and cannot be handled, I'd say the minimum is somewhere between 25 and 50 g if you are using a small enough bowl. Later, when you are confident in your process, "small" means "as much that you don't get a heat gradient in the melted chocolate in the double boiler", it depends somewhat on geometry and bowl material, and you have to experiment with that a bit to find out what amount works well.


What food from Niue can I cook in the UK?

You've asked an extremely broad question, and no indication of what kind(s) of fish you have available, or want to use.  Fish is a staple in the Niue Islands, and the seas offer up an abundance of such choices such as mahi mahi (dolphinfish or dorado), ahi (tuna), and ono (barracuda), coconut crab, red bass, sailfish. You can substitute any firm-fleshed white fish: cod, bream, hake, monkfish, sea bass, sole, swordfish, turbot. In truth, I would go to the fishmonger and get the freshest, firm-fleshed variety available (and the most sustainable). If what's available is frozen, go with that. Then make Fai Kai, massively simple, fish baked in an umu, an earthen oven, and requiring only two ingredients, fish and coconut cream. I checked and Tesco stocks the latter. Place the fish in a baking dish, pour over the coconut cream, cover the dish with foil, and let it marinate for about 30 minutes. As I'm pretty certain that you don't have an umu, or any plans to dig one, bake in a pre-heated 180 C (gas mark 4/350 F) oven until done, about 30 minutes.


How to substitute flour with nutritional yeast

I think this is not such a good idea. It is going to take a lot of nutritional yeast to get anything like the thickening power of flour. If you really want to thicken this with less flour, there are plenty of other things that will do the trick, like xanthan gum, potato starch, corn starch, ultra-tex, some formulations of methylcellulose, etc. Just add however much nutritional yeast you want for flavor or health reasons, and get your thickening elsewhere.


I would definitely use lemon extract over dried lemon peel. According to eHow, use half as much lemon extract. That seems like a lot, but then 1/4 cup of zest is also a lot, and I don't know your recipe so use your best judgement.

You could also use a bit of each. The downside is that extract is VERY strong, and peel can be a bit gritty once it's dried.


Best way to rehydrate dry black beans so the skins are not hard but beans are soft?

If you soak your beans in brine (3tbsp table salt per gallon of water, or 1.5% salt by weight) it'll help soften the skins by replacing calcium and magnesium ions in the skin. After soaking for 8–24 hours, drain and rinse. (Source: Cooks Illustrated, login required). Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking also mentions this (p. 488–489) and suggests 1% salt by weight. McGee also mentions that 0.5% baking soda will further reduce cooking times (but may lead to unpleasant taste & mouth feel).

Alternatively, Cook's Illustrated also reports that dried kombu can be used to similar effect, without needing the soak.

Even after brining, taste them when nearly done cooking: you may need to add some salt—it doesn't always penetrate that far into the beans. At least, that's been my experience.

Quick summary:

Create 1–1.5% salt (by weight) brine, approx 3tbsp table salt per gallon of water.
Sort (remove rocks, deformed and damaged beans, etc.) and rinse dried beans. Drain rinse water.
Soak rinsed beans in brine for 8–24 hours. Beans will noticeably swell.
Drain brine, rinse beans again.
Cook beans normally. Towards the end of cooking, season to taste.

You want to season towards the end of the cooking because it results in creamier texture and also eating some beans which haven't been heated to boiling for 10 minutes is ill-advised due to phytohaemagglutinin.


Why does bread soften after heating it up?

Bread is mostly flour and water.  Flour comprises a small amount of protein (gluten, which is responsible for the bread's elasticity or chewiness) and a large amount of starch (specifically two molecules called amylose and amylopectin).

The process involved in bread baking - in massively oversimplified terms - accomplishes two things:

Development of additional gluten; and
Gelatinization of the starch.

The latter - starch gelatinization - is the important part in the context of this question.  In order for the starch to gelatinize, it needs to be completely dissolved in water and then heated, which breaks up its original crystalline structure.  This process cannot be reversed... except, it sort of can.

Gelatinized starch undergoes another process called retrogradation.  At lower temperatures, these starch molecules will actually start to realign themselves back into their original crystalline structure or something similar, and during the process they will force out water.  That is why refrigerated bread often appears to have a soggy exterior, and frozen bread may develop a layer of frost on the top.

This process doesn't happen on a large scale, but it is enough to make the bread go stale.

But remember that bread is mostly water.  When you heat it again, as in the microwave, you are significantly improving the solubility of these reformed crystalline molecules, which causes them to dissolve again.  Essentially you are re-hydrating the dehydrated (stale) bread with its own water.

As you've noticed, the taste isn't great.  You can't change the fact that the bread has lost water, and a non-trivial amount of great protein and other flavour in the process.  The reheated bread is kind of limp and soggy and fragile because the protein (gluten) is what was holding it together.  But it's softer.

If you've got very stale bread, another trick you can use is to wrap it in a cloth dampened with hot water for a few minutes, or use a paper towel and microwave the whole thing for a short time.  That will do a lot more to hydrate the retrograded starches instead of relying on whatever water is left in the super stale bread.


When you bake a crumb crust, a few things happen. Related to "setting the crust" the baking step allows the butter to seep in to the crumbs, making the whole thing more of a unified unit. It also toasts the crust as a whole, giving the crust some imperviousness to the liquid in the filling, helping the crust to avoid becoming soggy before the whole cheesecake or pie is baked. Lastly, baking brings out the aromas of the ingredients in the crust. If you don't bake a crumb crust prior to filling, it'll just be butter moistened crumbs, not a "crust".


How to store bread dough in the fridge for proofing?

Using the refrigerator for the first rise is absolutely easy, but that is not what you are asking about.

For a second rise, tweaking your current approach a bit, I suggest:

Place yout bread(s) on a baking tray or similar or use a well-floured banneton (basket).
Find a plastic bag large enough to fit the entire tray or the banneton plus a bit extra room inside.
Lightly "blow up" the filled bag and close with a clip, rubber band or similar. You are not creating a "ballon", just enough to have the bag "float" a bit over the loaf.
Another option would be placing a glass, can or similar object next to your loaves to support the foil tent from below.
You need not create an air-tight seal, but you want to limit the loss of moisture to keep the surface of the bread from drying out.
For a single boule, an inverted bowl can protect the loaf enough, or if you use an appropriately sized Tupperware or similar bowl in lieu of a banneton, just  close the lid.

A few additional thoughts:

For round loaves (boules) a banneton or in a pinch, a bowl, helps to keep the loaf in shape. Especially for long proofing times the tension created by shaping the loaf might not be enough to hold over hours, causing the loaf to "flow" sideways. Flour the basket well and don't worry about excess flour at the bottom (or top, depending in technique) of the loaf, simply brush it off after baking.
You don't need to put parchment under the loaf if you transfer them to a pizza stone or pre-heated tray. Don't try to lift a baguette by hand, use a sword-shaped baguette peel or, in a pinch, a cutting board and roll the baguette onto the peel and back onto the pizza stone or second tray.
That said, damp paper isn't much of a problem unless it is so wet that it will simply tear.
Rolls or other small items are easier to pack into a plastic container - plus they bake quickly in the morning, which may add a bit of convenience (or allows for a few extra minutes of sleep).


How can I ensure a juicy beef burger patty?

Using a coarse grinder attachment. Take the meat straight from grinder, leaving it with the grain from grinder like a "log". Do not mix it up. Do not add any extra ingredients after grinding

If your grinder output is not very wide, make three or four "logs", and lay them parallel to each other to make a cluster

Cut the burger patties across the grain of the "log", and gently press the outside edge inward to hold the disc shape

Cook on high heat till rare or medium rare, and enjoy


The sugar in ice cream isn't just there for the taste, it also has an important effect on the texture. Ice cream isn't a pure compound, and doesn't have a single fixed melting point but a melting traject. The more dissolved solids (sugar) you have, the longer the melting traject of the ice cream. It also starts to melt at a lower temperature.

That translates to a softer icecream (when it's stirred enough while freezing to avoid large ice crystals). When made correctly and served at the correct temperature, a sorbet isn't fully frozen.

When you use sucralose, you need a lot less for the same sweetness, and thus you end up with less dissolved solids. That means a higher melting ice, which is a lot harder at the normal serving temperature, and which goes straight from solid to liquid.

This is for sorbet type icecream (basically fruit and sugar sirop, with some extra ingredients to adjust the taste). When you make milk or cream based ice creams, the basics stay the same, but the extra fat helps getting a soft and smooth ice without large water crystals. If you insist on using sucralose or other artificial sweeteners, you could try starting with a custard base (traditional custard, from cream and egg yolk), and replacing only part of the sugar. Industrial ice creams include some ôlysaccharides to improve the texture, but those might be hard to get for home use, and have to be dosed rather precisely (and in small quantities).


I followed the instructions, but my food still stuck to the wok

Stainless steel woks burn and stick very easily and are expensive and can't really be seasoned however they last forever. They are only used for foods that would attack a normal carbon steel wok and give the food a metallic taste, e.g. acidic foods.

Carbon steel woks are used by Chinese chefs and after proper seasoning they are like non stick but able to handle extremely high temperatures that Teflon can't.


Fresh ones will require peeling, and probably slightly longer cooking, as the freezing process tends to break down some of the cell membranes. The frozen ones are typically pre-peeled.

The easiest way I've found to peel pearl onions is to score them accross the top in an X pattern with a paring knife, dip them in a pot of boiling water for 15 seconds or so, shock in an ice bath. Then, one by one, grab them by the stem-end, and squeeze gently -- the onions will typically pop right out of the peels!

Again, depending on the dish, you may have to cook them a little bit longer. If it's a fast saute or stir fry, you may want to leave them in the boiling water for another 30-60 seconds when you're peeling them to soften them up more. If it's a long braised or stewed dish, I wouldn't bother.


What is the expected shelf life of salted butter?

There is a possible case that the butter isn't old. McGee writes that butter made from unpasteurized cream should be eaten within 10 days, else its unique aroma is lost. Maybe the addition of salt and/or other preservatives stretch that to over 20 days, or the manufacturer is being optimistic.

On the other hand, even if the butter is old, there is no need for concern. Butter doesn't catch germs or molds. It can go rancid, but this is a chemical change, which happens slowly. The affected parts are visible, and after removing them, there is no problem with the remaining butter - this is no invisible penetration as with mold. The butter must get really old (maybe > 6 months) to get small pockets of rancidity on the inside which are too much trouble to remove. And even if they aren't removed properly, eating small amounts of rancid butter isn't a health concern (although the taste is ruined).

Butter also doesn't undergo signinficant changes when it ages - it isn't like eggs, which are good to eat for weeks, but behave differently when fresh. So eating old butter isn't worse than eating fresh butter (with the exception of the raw-cream butter mentioned above).

For these reasons, I wouldn't worry about the butter. Unless it was sold as raw cream butter, it is probably old stock. But it is still good to eat, and will be good to eat well past its stamped date. If it should develop an oxidized layer on the outside, just cutting it away will be good enough.


You will have the best results if you prep by cutting and blanching prior to freezing. This should ensure that moisture content in the veggies does less damage over time in the freezer and improve color duration. I find it helpful to freeze vegetables separately rather than as mixes as you can always grab from multiple bags, but you can't unmix mixed vegetables without more work.

The majority of vegetables for stir-fry (e.g. broccoli, peas, etc) will freeze well enough, the ones in your freezer aisle obviously freeze a bit better than others. If a vegetable has a high water content (i.e. lettuce, which I hope you aren't stir-frying with) that is more integral to its structure than the cellulose it is likelier to burst cell walls in freezing; these vegetables are better to avoid.


"preseasoned" cast iron pot colors my broth

Pre-seasoned doesn't generally really mean ready-to-use. It usually only means that the cookware is coated in wax and/or oil to protect it from rusting prior to use. It still needs to be seasoned. Consumer Reports gets into that and how to season cast-iron for first use. Seasoning is also covered at length on this site.

Don't worry though, the factory coating is perfectly safe to eat as you have.


How can I improve my chicken curry recipe?

Notwithstanding that there is a similar question here - Secret to takeaway curry with a lot of good answers, let me try to address your specific request, whilst mainly maintaining the ingredient list you already have...

Leave the chicken out until near the end. That will allow you to cook your sauce for a lot longer - 2, 3, even 4 hours. Every hour will improve it, so long as you don't burn it... low as it will go, or even invest in a slow cooker or one of those flat metal simmer rings that spread the heat & slow the process [$£€ 2.50 on eBay]

While the rest of the curry is cooking, you could marinate the chicken in something to add a bit of interest. It won't really affect the final flavour a whole lot but will blend it into the dish better at the end.
Kashmiri mirch would be your prime - it's not expensive but not easy to just buy at the local supermarket. Paprika [sweet or hot, not smoked] would be a fair substitute, with cayenne if you want a little heat back in it. A little garlic, crushed or paste, frozen or even powder [many curry takeaways use only powder] & some oil to bind it.

Use twice as many onions - you didn't say how many you use, but there's no such thing as too much onion in a curry masala [sauce base]. It ought to be the bulk of your sauce.

Use more oil - your standard takeaway uses a whole lot more oil than you would dream of, & very little water.

Sweat [don't brown] the onions down a long way [20 mins, not 5] before you add the garlic & ginger. Some people puree the onion; this adds a new guesswork factor, because if you puree them when they're too raw they will be bitter, & pureeing scalding hot onion isn't fun so you'd have to wait for it all to cool.
It's 'easier' to skip this step & make it up in cooking time later. I have a little 'trick' I use for this. I chop most of my onion very finely - this will pretty much liquefy over the cook time & just become part of the sauce... but I also rough-chop half an onion which will stay whole & visible in the final dish - best of both worlds.

Add your dry spices & allow them to fry in a little; keep it all moving & don't burn them but don't rush to add your liquids. You'll smell the change within a few mins.
Then do the same for your tomato puree. Pre-frying it helps thicken the sauce & also removes any bitter edge the puree may have.

I can see your reasoning for the whole can of tomatoes - it saves having half a can going off in the fridge - but you're going to need to get rid of most of the water from that over your cooking time. You can either try to boil it off at the end, right before the chicken goes in, keeping stirring like there's no tomorrow so you don't burn anything; or leave your saucepan lid off for the first hour & your heat up slightly. If you get the balance right on that you can stir it every half hour & it won't stick.
Don't dry it out completely, you've still at least an hour of simmering on very low, with the lid back on.

Half an hour before you're due to serve it, add the chicken & bring it back to temperature rapidly, then simmer. If you use bite-sized pieces rather than whole breast, reduce this time to 5 mins. You want the chicken cooked safely, but not like shoe-leather;) The longer you cook off-the bone, skinless chicken breast, the tougher it gets.
Note the chicken doesn't need frying at all for this type of dish.

5 minutes before you serve, if budget will allow, a little garam masala will add a cheap but interesting aromatic edge.
If it's not hot/spicy enough, you can add cayenne at pretty much any point, even right at the end. It's amazing how little cooking in it needs to just add a bit of punch.

Save the yoghurt for a side dish.
So...
Potential additional expenditure
Simmer ring
Kashmiri mirch or paprika. Cayenne you should have anyway; it's your 'magic add heat to anything' powder, with very little actual flavour.
Garam masala
Potential savings
Powdered garlic instead of fresh - will help thicken & also taste like 'takeaway' rather than home-cooked.
Yoghurt.


Is there a difference between a slow cooker and a crock pot?

Crock-Pot is a brand name.  Slow cooker is the generic term.

It's like Kleenex & tissue or for the Brits, Hoover & vacuum.


It sounds to me like you are using too much heat to allow the seasoning process to work, instead the oil is burning off before it can polymerize and form the seasoning layer.

The bits that are already seasoned probably don't need to be re-seasoned; you can add seasoning to the areas where it is not seasoned. You may want to do multiple layers to ensure that the coatings are even across the whole pan.

I suspect that what you need to do, as you have been rubbing thin layers of oil over the surface, but then use a lower heat setting and ensure that the pan is fully heated through over as much of the pan as you can get hot and at constant temperature. One way to do this is to heat it in an oven, rather than over a flame.


Really, the difference is the process -- full sheets of butter results in layers of the dough which allows it to puff up.

But it's a lot of work for a crust that's going to just be bogged down toppings.  And if it's too flaky, it has no structural integrity -- it breaks apart as you're trying to eat it, making it pretty useless as a crust.  That's part of why some pie crust instructions call for docking the dough and using weights if you're blind baking it.

Now, what you linked to isn't actually true puff pastry.  It's what's called 'rough puff', where it's not quite as laborious as you're not dealing with a whole slab of butter ... but it still takes hours to make, as you have to keep it chilled down as you go just as you would normal puff pastry, so the butter doesn't mix with the flour before it goes into the oven.  That recipe you linked to has over 4 hours of resting.

So, for something that's not going to functional as well as a pie crust, is the extra time worth it?  I'd say no, myself.


What is the difference between tomato juice and passata?

Passata still contains the pulp of the tomato, whereas juice is literally just the juice.

So juice is thin like water whereas passata is thick like crushed tomatoes minus the seeds and skin. You probably wouldn't use tomato juice for making a marinara sauce.


Three small (but not mini) metal loaf pans (5"L x 3"W x 3"D) will do it. Check out vintage bakeware in thrift stores to find that odd size, or choose pans closest to that size.


How to prevent light-colored macarons from browning?

As well as the previous answers and if not already doing so, try using beet sugar (e.g. Silver Spoon in UK) rather than cane (e.g. Tate Lyle in UK)
as beet sugar takes a little longer to Brown.


What is the shelf life of cookies made with Greek Yogurt?

In general, the yogurt is not going to affect the shelf life of any baked goods. You're going to kill the culture when you bake it, so it's just a question of how long that particular baked good lasts.

And so the answer varies drastically depending on what you've made. It's mostly a function of how moist it is. Dry cookies last several days or even weeks at room temperature, just slowly getting stale. Don't bother putting them in the fridge; it'll just make them go stale faster. Very moist cookies might start to mold at room temperature, so they're best eaten quickly. Pies and cakes generally need to be kept in the fridge. They'll generally last at least several days, with cakes tending to dry out and pie crust suffering a bit.

If you want things to last longer, freeze them. Everything essentially lasts forever in the freezer: it's safe forever and all you have to worry about is decline in quality. You just need to make sure they're stored airtight with as little extra space as possible so that they don't take on smells and they don't accumulate a lot of frost.


What is the world's hottest pepper?

According to the Scovile Scale the hottest pepper is Bhut Jolokia. The one you are currently growing

Scovile Scale Visualized

  What is a naga jolokia, and where does it stand in comparison to the
  other "contender" peppers?

Bhut Jolokia or Naga Jologia

According to some sources, they indicate that Bhut and Naga are the same pepper. Naga means Ghost.

MSNBC has a great article covering this world record chili:

  The pepper is known by any number of names across India’s northeast.
  It’s the “poison chili” in some areas, the “king of the chilis” in
  others. Just to the south of Assam is Nagaland, it’s eaten in nearly
  every meal. As a result, it is often called the Naga mircha — the
  “Naga chili.”


Why would this pastry cream have an eggy smell?

The eggs may have cooked about before fully incorporating. You may want to put the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to see if any egg bits strain out.


If your refrigerator is in an unheated part of your house and that area regularly reaches temperatures below freezing, your refrigerator will eventually freeze.  Good fridges are certainly insulated well but no amount of insulation will prevent temperature change over time, particularly if you're opening and closing the fridge. Refrigerators only cool. They don't have heating elements.

The only possible way to keep your fridge from freezing during the winter is to store it somewhere that stays above freezing or work out some sort of hack where you hook a heating element (say a heat lamp) up to a thermometer and whenever it hits below 33F (1C), it turns on for a short period of time to bump the temperature back up again.

When we were brewing beer during the winter we occasionally had to do something like this as our fermenting fridge needed to be kept at 70F (21C). We had a special setup, though, which allowed one compartment to have the heat lamp and a fan to blow the warm air into the beer compartment. This prevented hot spots, which would be really bad for you in the case of perishable foods.


Why can't chocolate be made caffeine free?

When taken literally, the article you cite is simply wrong. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5302282/ -that's scientific proof that decaffeinated cocoa does exist. I have no idea if someone is actually making chocolate bars out of it, but there seems to be no theoretical hurdle for it. There is some remote  possibility that the decaffeination may change the physical qualities of the cocoa powder, or that it is not well suited to other cocoa intermediate products such as cocoa butter, which could make producing a decaffeintated chocolate bar challenging - but even if that's the case, I would expect professional food technologists to be able to work around that.

I won't speculate on why the site supplied incorrect information. My personal opinion is that I don't trust sites that feel comfortable making broad health claims, and the site you cite is very much focused on doing exactly that.


Rye is fine for sourdough.  It's actually the main motivator for sourdough since rye's rather sticky doughs take considerably worse to yeast as leavening than wheat doughs do.  But while using sourdough is more relevant for raising rye, cultivating it works similarly well with wheat.


Is there a tradition where eating something sweet before something savory is the norm?

Its pretty common in indian culture to eat sweets before eating savory stuff,


The best way to freeze something is to do it fast.  Chill the food first in the refrigerator before putting it in the freezer.  Keeping the food thin/flat rather than thick will help the center to chill faster. Loading up a sheet pan with individual portions works well for this - just be sure you have room for it in the refrigerator and freezer.

However, the larger problem with this type of sauce is re-heating of it - the sauce tends to split into its constituent ingredients.  Reheating the sauce very slowly on low heat is the best way to prevent the splitting.  You can also consider adding some lecithin to the sauce during cooking, which will help stabilize it.  See How can I reheat a roux-based (alfredo) sauce in the microwave without separation? and Keeping A Sauce From Separating for details.


My belief is that the salt can inhibit the bacteria and yeast growth that is necessary for fermentation, so I add the salt after fermentation and just before cooking.


How to thicken a hot chocolate microwave recipe

I'm not familiar with psyllium husks or guar gum, but I do know cornstarch and xanthan gum. Cornstarch needs be heated to 203 degrees Fahrenheit to have a thickening effect, but xanthan gum doesn't. Since you're making it in the microwave, using cornstarch and maintaining that heat may be difficult. I've actually used xanthan gum to thicken hot chocolate before, and I usually use a pinch per cup of milk, but if you want something more puddinglike I might bump it up to 1/2 teaspoon and go from there. Be aware, though, that too much xanthan gum may cause gas or bloating.


What are the major causes of food poisoning?

Welcome to the forum! Food poisoning may be due to many reasons, some of which are restaurants leaving food unrefrigerated, not washing produce thoroughly or not cooking meats and eggs to a high enough temperature ( varies among meats, poultry and eggs). Sometimes you can tell it's moldy from smell or color, but  other times, unfortunately, like in the case of E. coli, you can't tell whether  the food is contaminated by the way it looks, smells, or tastes. Try to make sure all food is fully cooked, do not eat dishes with uncooked meats, all raw vegetables should be washed, and do not eat dishes with uncooked eggs. Good luck!


Does this tool exist? Perforated disc for making stock

Have you considered repurposing a steamer insert? I don't know how the weight would suit you, but if you're handy, you could probably chop the feet off and add a weight to the top stem thing. Although the feet shouldn't cause too much of an issue. The main problem I foresee using a steamer insert in this way would be cleaning it. But as long as you don't let it sit around, that wouldn't be too much trouble.


I've a feeling one of those items should be Tobiko, flying fish roe. Normally a pale or brightly coloured orange little eggs like this:


How to know when a recipe shouldn't contain onion/garlic?

Bolognese is (to Italians) a specific dish with a precise ingredient list. You wouldn't put garlic in a chocolate cake, but that's because it probably wouldn't taste nice. Imagine a chocolate cake to which you added coffee. Some people might enjoy the cake, some might not, but assuming it was a cake and had plenty of cocoa and/or chocolate, nobody would say it wasn't a chocolate cake. Now imagine you made a Tarte Tatin but you used pineapples instead of apples and you added chocolate, too. Some people might say "this isn't really a Tarte Tatin" because you're not following the traditional recipe for that pie. That's how they are feeling about the Bolognese sauce.

I expect that to you "Bolognese" means a vague category of tomato-and-meat sauce for putting on pasta, and you figure you can put in whatever you like as long as you like it. The Italians aren't complaining because garlic ruins the taste, but because when the sauce has garlic in it, it's not really a Bolognese any more, just as a Tarte Tatin with chocolate and pineapple isn't really a Tarte Tatin any more.

So the literal answer to your question is: garlic and onions do not belong in any dish that has a capital letters name and a generally accepted traditional recipe for that dish, where that traditional recipe doesn't include garlic or onions. If the dish doesn't have that kind of name (eg beef stew, grilled steak, roast chicken) then you're free to put in anything you like. It's not a matter of "not needed" or not, but of following a particular recipe or not.

As for the Bolognese with garlic, you could call it precisely that. Or "tomato and meat sauce with garlic." I bet it was yummy.


Can I repair a cake tin which has started to leak?

Wrap the bottom in tin foil before squeezing it into the sides with the clasp.


Gums are considered fibre because they are ignored by our microbiome.

Besides, industry (at the contents of any product that we buy) also consideres fibre anything that is not processed by our digestion.


How to understand "for immediate consumption" term?

It's not generally about food safety or even quality. That phrase refers to the type of license the seller of the food item has. So the phrase has a legal meaning, which may have nothing to do with the food.

In some jurisdictions, grocery stores have different regulations and zoning than restaurants. So, one way to differentiate between grocery stores and restaurants is that food sold in restaurants is for immediate consumption. Some packaged food may only be sold to restaurants, or the labeling is different for packages destined for restaurants. Some information may be required on labels destined for grocery stores, which isn't required on labels for restaurant packages. Restaurant packages may be labeled "for immediate consumption".

Such rules are often frequently ignored, and regulations can change faster than labels.

In the US, a more common way to see it on packages is "for foodservice use only".


Go the old-fashioned route and simply butter your pan.
Worked for our grandmothers, still works today ;-)


Suitable alternative to cast iron pan for sweet potato cornbread

Hi Lisa and welcome to Seasoned Advice! What you don't want is a thin pan. You will run the risk of burning, especially on the bottom. But it's not all bad news.

Cast iron is thick and while it will take longer to heat up than a thin pan, it will provide a more even heat.

Another thing to consider is that a dark pan usually cooks a little quicker (sometimes compensated with a slightly lower temperature) and helps with browning.

One alternative would be a thick aluminum pan. I have a couple and use them interchangeably with cast iron for baking. If you have one, you might need to slightly raise your temperature as this is not a dark pan.

If all you have is a thin pan, I would suggest moving the oven rack up one notch and slightly lowering your temperature, perhaps 25° (F). With the other factors in consideration you will need to check it more often and watch your time, but you can make it work.


Dough(s) to hold moist oven dish contents

Canned biscuit dough might be a good neutral substitute (you'd have to roll/cut/tear it as appropriate), or just make your own equivalent (flour + butter + milk = tasty).


I am looking for a substitution for milk in risotto

So the milk does 3 things: 1 adds dairy flavor, 2 adds liquid, and 3 adds fat. Maybe if you mixed 2/3 fat free sour cream with water until it was a consistent texture, you might have a kinda-approximation. It'll be thicker, perhaps granier, and tangier. Personally I'd just add 3/4 that amount of water and 1/4 that amount of butter.


How does one find recipes given an ingredient rather than the recipe name?

Supercook

Supercook's core feature is a "pantry inventory" system.

You basically fill in all the ingredients you have in your kitchen. You are presented with recipe choices based on a subset of your ingredients, as you enter them. You can then "emphasize" certain ingredients which makes them a required ingredient in the recipes you are shown. It will also show recipes where you are only missing 1-3 ingredients; useful if you don't mind running to the grocery store. You can also exclude specific ingredients from recipe results.

Creating an account permits you to save your ingredients as well as your favorite recipes. You can also generate shopping lists based on the missing ingredients from your favorite recipes that you don't currently have in stock.

The quality of recipes varies a lot. Supercook sources its recipes from many other sites, including: Allrecipes, Recipezaar, Epicurious, FoodGeeks and others. Some sites (like Allrecipes) I feel have a lot of "filler" recipes, which are simply present for search results.

Epicurious

Epicurious doesn't provide the "pantry inventory" aspect that Supercook does, but it is very useful in its own way.

With Epicurious you search for your main ingredient, e.g. chicken, and then refine your search using ingredients and other parameters such as: meal, dietary requirements, holiday, cuisine, and preparation method (among others). I find their interface very intuitive.

One of Epicurious' greatest strengths is the quality of its recipes. Many of the recipes are originally from the reputable food magazines Gourmet and Bon Appetit. I find the recipe ratings to be very accurate, and the community feedback on the recipes is also of a reasonably high caliber. I also find their original content recipes to be very high quality. They often come up with quality themed recipes for major holidays, including full menus.

They also have a useful iPhone/iPad app that provides recipe syncing. I often use the iPhone app when grocery shopping to check off ingredients that I need for whatever dish I'm planning to make.

Allrecipes

Allrecipes is another site I have used.

Allrecipes has a general purpose recipe search, similar to Epicurious. It also has an ingredient search that is similar to Supercook. The ingredient search doesn't provide the ability to save your pantry inventory like Supercook does, but is more of an ad hoc way to find recipes based on a list of ingredients and exclusions.

Unfortunately, I find the recipe quality to be rather low here. There are a lot of user submitted recipes which tend to range in quality from mediocre to atrocious. The feedback left by the community is also subpar. I tend to use it when I want a really basic recipe to use as a base for something more. They do have a lot of these "filler recipes", as I call them, which are very simple and often missing a thing or three that make them memorable. This is useful for experimenting or giving yourself ideas.

Food Network

Food Network is another site I use that functions very similarly to Epicurious.

Food Network has a general purpose recipe search that permits filtering of results by cuisine, ingredients, technique, show, tv personality, and others.

I use Food Network primarily to look up recipes that I've seen on a Food Network show before, but didn't record at the time. I also find it very useful for finding new recipes by a chef I like. It's pretty much the canonical source for all Alton Brown recipes for example.

The community feedback and recipe ratings are middle of the road. I find they are less reliable than Epicurious, but far more reliable than Allrecipes.


It is not uncommon to use pineapple juice, grapes...berries...really all sorts of fruits,  as a source of yeast/bacteria for a sourdough starter.  Dried fruit, such as apricot is also used. So, there is no reason you can't give it a go.


Bizarre: Chocolate tempering is good on the outside

First of all, if by marbling you mean spreading chocolate on a slab, then your chocolate may be tempered. If you heated the chocolate properly and slabbed a good portion of it then when you add the slabbed chocolate back in, it will temper all of the chocolate. Your "problem" may be that the chocolate was actually tempered.

I'm also a little confused about how you are judging the interior to be out of temper. Other than the "snappiness", the quality of the interior chocolate is almost never used to judge temper. If you could provide a picture of what the inside and outside looks like that would be very helpful.

Aside from that, there are a few possibilities:

How long did you wait before judging the temper of the outside? Chocolate may not show signs of streaking for up to 24 hours.
Polycarbonate molds when used and, more importantly, washed correctly will build up a layer of cocoa butter. This layer of cocoa butter may help encourage the chocolate to form the correct crystals (temper).


Sadly no mater what you do, you are going to come out with non-optimal results.  I would go with the oven method over the grill as you need to get the meat up, but you want to do it with out losing all the juice/fat you have already taken all the trouble to convert to gelatin.  The grill is going to raise the outside of the meat much quicker that the inside (mostly, you can use your grill as an oven but in this case I don't think it brings anything to the table that you regular oven doesn't).

The best way, and by best, I mean the one with the tastiest results, is going to be put the butt in a 200 to 250 degree oven and let it come up to temp.  This method is going to take the longest but will preserve the meat that come off the grill as close as you could.

Or, you can heat just like a roast and let the outside overcook a bit.

or, depending on how you are serving the finished product, you can slice cold and finish in a skillet to heat though... this would be great if you are doing sandwiches or pulled pork.

If you are feeling adventurous, 130 degrees plus smoke is a little on the rare side but it would still be delicious... not for this one as you let is cool on the counter top and fridged it but on the next one, I might just eat it then.


Cooking more than one meat - will I have to adjust my cooking time?

Yes, you can put both meats into the oven at the same time and take it out at the same time.  However:

You need to sear both before putting them in the oven to keep the juices inside and you will need to cut thin strips from the lamb when serving and then put it back in the oven as it will not be cooked to the bone.
Bake the potatoes before the meat as leaving the meat out for 2 hours will cool it down too much.  Subsequently, re-heat the roasted potatoes for 2 min in the microwave at 750W for 2 minutes, let rest for 1 min and then another minute at 1000W. (or the highest setting) just before serving them.  No one will notice the difference.


Normally, your deli/charcuterie store will slice the prosciutto for you, either manually or with a meat slicer (more often).

The melon, is thinly sliced manually, just pick a ripe melon, halve it and slice it up and remove the rind.

Depending on the thickness of the slices, you will be able to make fancy folds like in the picture, or maybe not, then you will just have nice slices.

Melon and Prosciutto is a simple dish where ingredients is more important than presentation.

i personally, just slice the melon in wedges and drape the ham over it, or roll the ham around pieces of melon.


3 day old steak turning brown from the inside out

I've heard that some stores will actually use some type of food safe bleach to extend the life of their meat products. It is possible that the meat you purchased was treated in this manner which would not have an affect on the inside of the steak. This would make the inside age quicker than the outside.  Just a thought.


You can make a great great BBQ sauce with:

Some sarsaparilla (..or root beer)
Pureed, drained tomatoes
Some soy sauce
Spicy Mustard
Dill
Little vinegar
Other spicings to flavor

Add the sarsaparilla a little at a time and just mix in half your base at first so you can work the flavor out as you go. Simmer 5 or 10 minutes and let cool. Make it really thick. Put that on some ribs, chicken wings or steaks...mmmm. tasty.

I've also had some Chinese and Thai food that had some and turned out pretty good. Not sure if it was 'authentic' but good.


I want a new range hood, how many CFM (Cubic feet per minute), would i need for mostly Asian/stir fry cooking?

Use these as personal experiences and not as guidelines for construction or for code-compliant renovations.

You can use the commercial kitchen code as a guideline: for every square foot of hood codes suggest between 50 to 100 CFM (cubic foot per minute) of exhaust capacity.  With those guidelines, a hood covering a 36 by 20 inch cooking surface (720 sq. in. or 5 sq. feet) should require 5 time 75 (the average) or 375 CFM.

Now the problem.  While many hoods will provide more capacity than that my experience is that they are not enough.  Unlike commercial kitchens, home kitchen are missing the blowers that pumps air in.  The code for commercial kitchens suggests an in blower at about 90% of the exhaust capacity.  If weather permits you can open doors or windows, but that is never like having the air coming in right next to the stove.

This question has also been asked in the DIY Stackexchange as "How many CFM for a range hood do I REALLY need?"


How can I make my kefir milk smooth and creamy instead of watery and grainy?

I've been making kefir for about 2 years now and I've noticed a few things one of which is what you mentioned - kefir not thick and creamy.
I've found when you use too many grains that's what happens.
I make a pint (2 cups) so not as much as you but I only use two little pea sized grains.
If they start to grow larger than that, the kefir starts to come out thin.
Mine comes out nearly as thick as yogurt, but a little stir and it's drinkable.

The other person who responded is right as well, over fermentation: the result is little tiny curds.

The more you make it, the more you'll find out how to get it just like you like it.
For example I like mine really thick and also really carbonated and I've figured out if I put a tight lid on it (even though most sites say to only put a breathable top on it like a napkin or cheesecloth) when it's fermenting it comes out like a milk soda. :)

So maybe try only using 1 tablespoon for your quart (4 cups) and see if that helps?

oh yeah, and I use whole milk - using skim or low fat milk might make it thin.


How to keep baked seitan from being too tough?

For what it's worth, I read once that you should briefly soak seitan in a bowl, covered in boiled water, to soften it up before using it. I have tried this, and it really does make a difference in the final texture. I typically cut it into cubes, soak it for about 10-15 minutes, then drain it and proceeded as normal for the recipe.


Re-seasoning of cast iron skillet gone wrong?

It looks like the second attempt used far too much oil, which can lead to all sorts of uneven spots in the pan. Seasoning that thick tends to flake off when you cook with the pan. I would strip it and reseason immediately. In general you want to use a very very thin layer of oil, wiping out the excess from the pan with an absorbent cloth (I don't like using paper towels since they can leave residue in the pan) before heating. There should not be enough oil in the pan to drip down the sides or form a noticeable layer in the bottom like it has done in your picture. Placing it upside down in the oven is a way of ensuring that any excess oil drips out of the pan instead of forming drips in the pan or a too thick layer at the bottom. Then you repeat the process at least three times if you start from a completely stripped pan. It's normal to require several layers before the finish is restored.


Potatoes in bread? How to estimate potatoes needed?

You'll want to be careful when trying to modify an existing non-potato recipe.

Potatoes, like any other agricultural product, have a variable amount of starch and water. Some are big, some are small, etc, so it's hard to tell just how much flour and/or water you'd want to replace in an existing recipe without doing some serious lab-testing or trying to remove all the water somehow.

The Non-risky method:
Look for published recipes that already have potato added:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/search/node/Potato

The Experimental Method
Take a recipe you like that could use a bit more moistness. Throw in a cup of baked potato. Remove a half-cup of flour and 1/4 cup of whatever liquid you're using.  You can also try using Potato flour:

http://www.bobsredmill.com/potato-flour.html

Bake that loaf and see what happens. Adjust the variables as necessary, and try it again, carefully documenting what worked and what didn't. If you develop something that you like, publish it so the rest of us can enjoy!


What is the basic technique for cooking amaranth?

The basic cooking technique is the same for whole amaranth as for many other whole grains (e.g., barley) and grain-like seeds (e.g., quinoa): bring water to a boil, add the grain, simmer uncovered on low until the grain has reached the consistency you desire (that is the only true definition of "done" -- never be afraid to taste your food as you go!), then let cool.  Even when packaging suggest soaking, I do not soak my grains and I have never had any problems.  OF course, others will insist soaking is necessary.  My advice, if you are concerned: try it both ways and see which you prefer.

For each part of whole amaranth, here is the proportion of water:
-- porridge consistency, 3 parts water (some liquid will remain)
-- soft texture but with distinct grains, 2 parts water
-- firm texture (pilaf), 1 part water

If the water has nearly all cooked off but you want a softer texture, add extra water and keep cooking.  If you are not sure what consistency you want, err on the firmer side, and taste as you go.  Note that larger batches (say, over 1/2-kilo of grain) need less water than smaller batches, so plan accordingly.

Adding salt to the water at the start is optional but I encourage it.  The point of adding it early is to incorporate the salt into the grains evenly.  Under-salting will mute the flavors substantially.  Adding salt at the last minute will provide a burst of salt on the tongue that is not always pleasant or desired, especially if you serve the grain with some other moderately salty food.

As for fat, I don't add any because I usually serve the amaranth with something that is already fatty (like an enriched sauce).  If you want to add a fat, then I would do so before the water has completely cooked off to ensure the fat coats the grains more or less evenly.

Oh, and I love using an automatic rice-cooker for my grains, as it automatically turns off when the temperature of the food rises substantially above 100 C (meaning all the water has cooked off).


Safety and quality of low-price imported beef sold in US supermarkets

Exporting meat into the United States is not a simple or easy matter.
From the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS):

Checklist for Importing Meat, Poultry and Processed Egg Products
This checklist is provided as an overview of the steps needed to be taken when you want to import meat, poultry, or processed egg products to the United States.

Products must originate from certified countries and establishments eligible to export to the United States.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) restricts some products from entering the United States because of animal disease conditions in the country of origin. For information on restrictions related to animal diseases and information about APHIS, contact the APHIS Veterinary Services, National Center for Import and Export.
Countries and establishments become eligible following an equivalence determination process by FSIS.
Imported products must meet the same labeling requirements as domestically-produced products.
After filing the necessary forms for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and meeting animal disease requirements of APHIS, all imported meat, poultry and processed egg products must be presented for inspection by FSIS at an official import establishment.

Mexico is one of 33 countries that can legally export meat to the US. In Mexico there are 74 companies authorized to export to the US (As of May 3, 2017).
USDA Source
Also from the USDA Website:

So, in the United States, beef from Mexico has been determined by the US Government to be as safe as domestic beef.


I suspect your sourdough starter is just too acidic.  I have no similar problems with sourdough in the past, but my starter isn't particularly acidic.

Have you tried discarding with a large refresh and then shortly (in bakers terms) trying a new loaf?  Trying to isolate just the yeast and not the sour part.  The loaf may not taste sourdoughy, but it should determine if that's the issue.


Can you partially cook soup/stew and finish cooking it later?

Just to add a clearer answer to this question: in general, it is usually possible to partially cook a soup or stew one day and then finish it a day or two later.  However, if one wishes to do so, there are some guidelines to keep in mind:

Any perishable ingredients in the soup/stew should be thoroughly cooked, particularly things like raw meat, etc., which need to be cooked enough to destroy any residual bacteria
The soup/stew should be cooled quickly (large pots should be broken up into smaller containers for more rapid chilling; and/or an ice bath can be used); it can then be stored for 2-3 days in the refrigerator or for longer times in the freezer
The soup/stew should be reheated relatively quickly, getting above 140F as fast as is reasonable
Once the soup/stew - including all ingredients in it - are above 140F, it can be simmered until the desired flavor and texture is reached

Comments have mentioned the option of cooking completely in advance and simply reheating.  That's usually possible too, but there may be reasons to delay finishing some steps for a soup or stew until the final preparation.  In particular, while flavors will generally meld together more during storage, any ingredients that are meant to taste more "fresh" should likely be added during the final cooking stage (e.g., fresh herbs, some vegetables or sauce elements meant to taste "fresh" and not overcooked).  And some ingredients won't respond well to refrigerated storage (or to the freezer, if longer storage is desired), which could alter texture.  For those who don't mind it if everything in the soup/stew is mushy, it's probably not a problem for most recipes.  But to get more specific textures or levels of doneness for ingredients, it may be helpful to save some of the cooking until the final stage before serving.
And sometimes the reheating process itself may end up "overcooking" some ingredients, so it makes sense to wait and simmer upon reheating until the desired doneness.
I know the question asked about camping specifically, where many people don't worry about culinary details like this.  But I thought I'd answer the question in general (and for those whose camping experiences may be more adventurous and finicky from a culinary perspective - I know mine sometimes are).


My guess would be that you boiled the soup at some point, possibly for an extended period of time.

If you bring it to a full boil the fat from the meat will emulsify and distribute itself through the liquid.  This is the same stuff that foams to the top, the "scum" that a lot of recipes (usually ones that say bring to a boil, then simmer) tell you to skim off.  I would venture to say that this distribution of the fat into the liquid is also why it tasted heavier.

When making stock or soups, the most I'll heat them is to just below boiling and keep them at that simmer for a little longer to make up for not bringing it to a boil.  When making stock, I strain once through a chinois and again through a piece of cheesecloth in a chinois to help reduce the floating particulates, but this won't really solve the cloudiness problem (though it will help some).

You can also try putting it into the fridge overnight so that the fat comes to the top and solidifies, but I don't think this will solve the problem, only help reduce it.

If it's just the stock that's gone cloudy, this page has some suggestions on how to clarify it, but honestly unless you're presenting it to guests, I see no reason to even bother.  I've made cloudy stock and clear stock before and except for a slight "heaviness" difference, the taste is generally about the same.  The cloudy stock sometimes has a more oily mouth feel, but it's not a major difference - and I've found some people seem to prefer the soups or rices I make with a cloudy stock.

If you have a hard time controlling the temperature on your range-top, you can use an oven-safe stock pot and cook it in the oven at 180°F to keep it just below a boil.

One other trick, depending on what kind of soup you were making - if you were making (for example) chicken soup, consider trying to turn it into a cream of chicken soup to hide the cloudy broth :)


How long should I cook boned shoulder of Lamb?

Shoulder is a tough cut. I think you will probably find it a bit chewy if you've cooked it at 190ºC for 52 minutes. In future, preheat the oven to maximum, place the lamb in a roasting tin, cover the tin with foil, put the tin in the oven, then immediately turn the oven down to 150ºC, and leave it for 4 hours. After that time, take it out of the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes or so. The lamb will melt in your mouth.

And yes, you can buy a bone-in shoulder at just about any supermarket, and they are usually tastier. Cook it as above and you will just be able to pull the bone out of the meat.