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Normal double-acting baking powder makes CO2 (thus giving a rising effect) in two ways: when it gets wet, and when it is heated. Baking soda only makes CO2 when it gets wet. From Wikipedia: The acid in a baking powder can be either fast-acting or slow-acting.[6] A fast-acting acid reacts in a wet mixture with baking soda at room temperature, and a slow-acting acid will not react until heated in an oven. Baking powders that contain both fast- and slow-acting acids are double acting; those that contain only one acid are single acting. By providing a second rise in the oven, double-acting baking powders increase the reliability of baked goods by rendering the time elapsed between mixing and baking less critical, and this is the type most widely available to consumers today.

1

I place the bacon in a cold oven and then turn the oven on to 400F. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get slightly crisp bacon.

2

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, while baking powder includes an acidifying agent (cream of tartar) and a drying agent (starch). You can substitute baking soda for baking powder if you already have an acidifying agent in a recipe (like buttermilk). http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm

3

In addition to forefinger's answer, I also believe baking powder has cream of tartar in it, making it more pH neutral.

4

Extra-Rare: 125F (52C) Rare: 135F (57C) Medium-Rare: 145F (63C) Medium: 160F (71C) Well-Done: 170F (77C) Note: Extra-Rare and Rare are not recommended by USDA

5

I fill a tall frying pan (or pot) with water. Add some white vinegar. Let it come to a boil Add the eggs. Don't make it too overcrowded Take it out with a flipper or a spoon with holes when they look done.

6

The Egg Nutrition Center's FAQ page has an entry on this very topic. Basically, the color of the egg does not affect the egg's flavor, nutritional value, etc. It simply depends on the particular breed of chicken that lays the egg -- white eggs from white hens, brown eggs from brown hens. It's also worth noting, as the ENC points out: Generally, brown hens are larger and require more feed and therefore their eggs may be slightly higher priced.

7

I've always cooked it on top of aluminum foil, at 350°F (~175°C) for 20 minutes. Flipping it once at about the half way point. If you prefer crispier, go for 25 minutes.

8

You can do a number of things like using brown sugar instead of white, use more leavening, and use oil or margarine instead of butter.

9

Try bacon! It smells wonderful cooked on a plank.

10

More fat! Your recipe has two dairy components (half and half and whipping cream). The half and half is half cream, half milk. To increase the fat, experiment with using more cream and less half and half.

11

Maybe! Flour is unusually variable in how densely it will settle, so this can make a big difference for some recipes. The purpose of sifting is to make the amount of flour in a given volume reliable. (If you are measuring by weight, you don't need to sift.) By moving around the sifted flour, or pouring it from one container into another, you are changing the way it is packed. Therefore, you can easily "unsift" it in the course of normal handling. Proper sifting is done straight into the measuring device.

12

You can make your own baking powder using baking soda, cornstarch, and cream of tartar. 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp cream of tartar 1/4 tsp cornstarch That will give you one tsp baking powder. Increase as necessary. Also, if you don't have all those ingredients, you can use 3 measures of baking powder for every measure of baking soda, although you won't get the same flavor profile with the reduction of acidity from baking soda.

13

Have you tried cream? It really seems to soften up a tomato sauce, as long as you don't mind the lighter change in color.

14

Put on a cookie sheet. Use a high temp (375F+) for 10-20 minutes depending on desired crispness. For easier cleaning of the cookie sheet, line it with aluminum foil. To let the grease drain, corrugate the foil. (This is by far what I prefer.) If you do this, remember before you tear off your sheet from the roll, you'll need ~2x as much foil for the same area.

15

The only difference you might notice would be if you free range eggs instead of factory farm eggs. There is a slight yolk color difference and I think a slightly better flavor. Mine come in a range of colors including green, brown, and white.

16

More fat generally makes softer cookies. For a great desciption of how the fat / sugar / flour ratio affects the texture of cookies etc. check out Michael Ruhlman's "Ratio" cookbook.

17

Sometimes I add an chopped apple to the sauce. The sauce becomes soften and the apple tastes good.

18

I set the oven to 400F, line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil, place a cooling rack inside the pan, and then put the bacon on top of the cooling rack. It takes between 20 and 30 minutes to reach the point that I like it, but you may want to stop it earlier. Also good, blend some brown sugar and pecans until the pecans are well mixed with the sugar and then sprinkle the mixture on top of the bacon half way through cooking.

19

I bake mine on a cooling rack (to drain excess fat) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with foil for easy clean up. I start in a cool oven, 400 degrees for about 20 minutes for crisp turkey bacon.

20

Just add half a teaspoon (or even less) of white sugar. Typical Italian tomato-sauce always requires a bit of sugar (and not just to cut acidity).

21

It won't go unsafe if it's refrigerated or frozen, but it might pick up off flavors or turn rancid eventually. You can probably use it for 6 months if it's well-sealed and not exposed to air.

22

It can't hurt. I wouldn't trust flour that came pre-sifted. Anything will settle during transport. Random tip: pulse your dry ingredients in a food processor instead of sifting.

23

A little more salt, a little less tomato, a little more stock / water / non-tomato liquid, a slightly longer cooking time. If using dried herbs, switch to fresh (and increase the quantity). If you're using pureed tomato in some form, try switching to tinned; if you're already using tinned, try switching to chopped fresh; if you're using chopped fresh, switch to a sweeter variety.

24

Find a recipe you'd like to try. The biggest issue that I have found is that it doesn't get cooked enough and you end up with raw rice, or you end up with extremely thick risotto. A good rule of thumb is to have your stock heated up while you start your risotto and when you start to ladle in your stock, stir constantly until the stock has been absorbed. This will help lead to a creamy delicious cooked risotto.

25

It's supposed to help with cooking the albumen in such a way that it doesn't get all feathery at the edges. I have no idea what the actual chemical reaction is, though. I've also heard of people adding a pickle to the poaching liquid instead of vinegar directly.

26

Kneading a resting do different things to the structure of the bread. Depending on the recipe and the desired texture the kneading amounts may vary, but other than quick breads, it is necessary to evenly distribute the yeast and the associated gasses as well as develop the gluten. The gluten, or wheat protein, is what enables the dough to stretch instead of collapsing when the yeast grows inside it. If the gluten isn't developed, the dough won't rise well and will produce a heavy loaf - rather like a brick.

27

I've always stored my bread in a dry, dark cupboard or drawer. I would assume that a bread box would accomplish the same thing. Bread stored this way has generally lasted me 2 weeks before mold even begins to start growing. Another thing to keep in mind is to keep your bread stored in an airtight fashion. If you don't, you risk your bread drying out quicker. My experience with keeping bread in the fridge results in faster molding, and dryer bread.

28

If you take the danish "rugbrød" (I think the closest english version is rye bread)...it gets really hard, dry and dull tasting if you put it in the fridge, though it'll be able to keep of the mold for a while longer.

29

National Center for Home Food Preservation The National Center for Home Food Preservation is your source for current research-based recommendations for most methods of home food preservation. The Center was established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (CSREES-USDA) to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods.

30

One of my favorite recipes is Giada De Laurentis' Wild Mushroom with Peas. It's rather simple, but amazingly delicious. The most common flubs when making a risotto are overcooking or dumping in all the liquid at once. I always use the wooden spoon test to determine when the risotto is finished. First, stir often! Periodically drag your spoon down the center of the pan as to part the risotto. If the path the spoon makes closes quickly then it isn't finished yet. If the part stays open, then you've overcooked it. Ideally it slowly oozes back together. You're looking for two important things in a perfect risotto: Creamy The finished risotto should be creamy, not runny, and not gummy. The spoon test takes care of this. Tender The rice grains should be tender, not crunchy, and not mushy. You should taste frequently as you approach the end of the cooking time. You want the grains slightly al dente. You should know that you have rice in your mouth and not just a good tasting mystery-paste.

31

The basic risotto recipe is fairly simple. 1) Buy some risotto rice. I usually get mine from trader joes and it is called Arborio Rice. 2) Make sure you heat the rice along with some olive oil before you start adding the stock. Many recipes will also add wine, onions, or other flavors at this point. 3) Once the rice is translucent (semi opaque), then add your stock. 4) Make sure that you always keep the rice in the stock. If you let any stray rice grains sit on the side above the stock they will be hard. 5) Don't stop cooking and adding stock until the rice is very tender. Have fun!

32

I always stick the chicken in a zip lock bag and pound it that way. And I use a flat meat tenderizer which doesn't rip the bag.

33

Storing bread in the freezer you can store for several days and keep it soft. To eat, remove from the freezer and put in the oven.

34

The best way to store bread I have found is in a good stone container that is keeps airtight. The stone container keeps the bread away from light and keeps the bread in normal temperature. It also keeps mold away very good, especially when washed every now and then with diluted lemon juice or vinegar.

35

Try churning longer, making sure that your churn container is thoroughly frozen.

36

Common U.S. Volume Measurements: 1 tbsp = 3 tsp 1 fl oz = 2 tbsp 1 cup = 8 oz 1 pint = 2 cups 1 quart = 4 cups 1 gallon = 4 quarts Common U.S. to Metric Conversions: 1 oz ~ 30 mL 1 cup ~ 237 mL 1 quart ~ 1 L 1 oz = 28.4 g 1 lbs = 0.45 kg Common Metric to U.S. Conversions: 1 kg = 2.2 lbs Online Converters: Google: Type a conversion such as "1 tbsp in mL" and it will automatically convert it for you. This is generally the fastest option. Wolfram Alpha: Same idea, gives you a little more information and lets you disambiguate between similar measurements (e.g. US tablespoons vs. UK tablespoons). Convert-Me - Cooking Ingredients: Converts to every well-known measurement at the same time. Can convert (approximate) volume to weight and vice versa, for many ingredients. Food.com Measurement Converter: Same thing, a little easier to use, but slower. iPhone/iPad: Kitchen Calculator ConvertBot Smart Chef Conversions Cookulator Convert ...or just search the App Store. Android: Unit Converter Ultimate Cooking Conversions ...or just search the Play Store. Printable Conversion Charts Cooking Measurement Equivalents (InfoPlease) Measurement and Conversion Charts (StartCooking) Conversion Tables (Delia Online) Converting Recipes to Metric Measures (The Metric Kitchen) Heirloom Weights & Measures (About.com) - archaic/non-standard measurements (Note: Use your browser's "print selection" feature to print just the conversion chart)

37

"Risotto" is a typical Italian rice-based dish, it comes in a number of variations, but the basic technique is common for all the versions: Start browning some chopped onion with butter or olive oil, then add the rice and roast it a bit. When the rice is roasted add some white wine and let it almost evaporate, then cover the rice with vegetable stock. continuously add stock to cover the rice while it cooks, and stir frequently! The more you stir, the better it cooks! Cook until the rice is soft but beware to not overcook it! You should get the ideal cooking level called "al dente", the best way to get it is to taste frequently (as every rice variety has a different cooking time). At the end, add butter and grated parmigiano cheese and stir vigorously (this phase is called "mantecatura"). Now, with this basic recipe you can create as many variations as you want. Just add vegetables, or tomato soup, or cheese, or sausage (add the additional ingredients in time to have they well cooked when the rice itself will be cooked). A common Italian version is called "alla Milanese", you have to add some saffron near the end of the cooking, the rice will have a nice yellow color!

38

Kneading does two things. First it mixes all the ingredients uniformly. You have to do this no matter what, but you only really have to do it enough to mix the ingredients. If you keep kneading beyond the mixing stage, you are applying energy (which equals heat) to the yeast which makes it ferment, generating the tiny bubbles which make bread fluffy. The yeast will ferment on its own, but kneading just accelerates that process. Historically, dough was proved (left in a hot humid place) for about 18 hours allowing it to rise slowly in order to make bread. In 1961 a process was developed in England called the Chorleywood Process. Essentially you work the heck out of the dough with high-speed mixers. The extra few minutes of high energy mixing applies heat to the yeast, which dramatically reduces the fermentation period required, allowing you to make bread much more quickly... at factory-type speeds. Factories can make bread in a couple of hours instead of having to prepare dough one day and bake it the next.

39

Alphabetically works best for us. I have a friend that does alphabetically by sweet and savory.

40

From wikipedia: teaspoon (tsp): 1/6 ounce tablespoon (tbsp): 3 tsp, 1/2 oz fluid ounce (fl oz): 2 Tbsp, 1 oz jigger (jig): 3 tbsp, 1.5 oz cup (c): 16 tbsp, 8 oz pint (pt): 2 c, 16 oz ("A pint's a pound the world around" - both have 16 ounces.) quart (qt): 2 pt, 32 oz gallon (gal): 4 qt, 128 oz

41

The California Avocado Commission suggestions: To ripen a California Avocado, place the fruit in a plain brown paper bag and store at room temperature 65-75° until ready to eat (usually two to five days). Including an apple or banana in the bag accelerates the process because these fruits give off ethylene gas, a ripening reagent. Soft ripe fruit can be refrigerated until it is eaten, but not for more than two or three days. The California Avocado Commission does not recommend using a microwave to accelerate the ripening process.

42

Dried herbs really do only last around six months, certainly no longer than a year. They're generally easy to get in small quantities, though. Spices are trickier. They'll generally last rather longer, but the time will vary. If the spice is used for the colour and/or heat (e.g. turmeric, chilli) it will generally last much, much longer than one used for its smell and/or taste. Whole spices last much, much longer than pre-ground; I generally buy whole spices from asian stores, they sell them in much larger amounts for the same prices as supermarkets; and use a coffee mill to grind the right amount just before cooking (and keep a separate one for coffee!). If kept in the dark, in a dry, clean, airtight glass container, spices and dried herbs will certainly not become health hazards, and should not pick up unpleasant tastes or odours. The strong-tasting / strong-smelling ones will, however, lose taste and smell, eventually almost completely; since that is the whole point of using them, you might as well not bother once they're off.

43

Try a butter crock. This will keep your butter fresh at room temperature for a fairly long time (weeks, not days).

44

Make sure to seriously wash the wok before initial use. Scrub it with hot soapy water and dry thoroughly. After drying, place the wok over the stove on high heat until it starts to smoke. Rotate the pan so that all parts of the inside are exposed to high heat. Then rub the wok with oil on a paper towel. After this, try not to scrub the wok. A rinse and rub down are usually all that is needed to clean it up. Always rub the wok with a little bit of vegetable oil after washing/drying. That will help to prevent rust. And the most important factor of seasoning a wok is to use it. It's definiteily my most used kitchen item, and it's just getting better and better with each use!

45

Just Right Menus is a fledgling one that's very intuitive. I especially like that there are formatting options available for ingredient lists. I prefer to put the ingredient name in bold (like the following) so it's easier to glance at when cooking, but most sites won't let you. 2 cloves garlic

46

I sort mine primarily by pairing the ones that are most often used together, like I have cumin and coriander together...just like oregano, rosemary and thyme. Salt and pepper will always be living next to each other in my kitchen.

47

I've found that if you brush on some cooking oil either on the chicken or directly on the grill it will help. Also, if you move the meat slightly before it cooks too long it will help it from sticking so much.

48

There are several alternatives, but the most common I know of are tapioca flour and arrowroot powder/flour. That said, most cornstarch substitutes aren't appropriate for pies, because they break down under high heat. The only substitutes for corn starch that I'd use in a pie are potato starch and tapioca. Tapioca powder can be hard to find in some areas though; I usually get it at Asian grocery stores.

49

Did you whisk the cornstarch in water separately before combining it? I think that reduces the starchy taste a little bit. Otherwise, maybe try a roux? I've never heard of using it in baking, but it will thicken things without adding a starchy taste. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roux

50

Generally the best way to prevent sticking is with fat. One solution is to apply fat (oil) directly to the meat, or to the grill, right before cooking. The other thing is to avoid cleaning the grill too much. While you should keep too much junk from building up on the grill you do want to let it season, much as you would a cast iron pan. As the fats and everything build up on the grill it'll help future meals from sticking.

51

Yep. Rotten eggs float, fresh eggs sink. This is because eggshells are porous, so over time water vapour and gases leak out, reducing the egg's mass. A fresh egg will lie on its side on the bottom of a glass of water. The older the egg, the more it sits up, until it's floating.

52

Add an extra egg and 1/3 cup oil, my waffle recipe uses half baking powder, half baking soda while my pancakes only use baking powder (but when converting a mix I usually just do the egg and oil).

53

I'm using Evernote for all my digital recipes, though it doesn't give you any ingredient list. The list is no issue for me though since I prefer going through my cupboard and check up on what I have, what I need and what I'll soon be needing. I find the ingredient lists to make you focus on one meal at the time instead of having a mixed basic setup.

54

I have a magenetic strip on the wall of my kitchen with little containers stuck to it - I find it's quickly accessible and looks cool ;-)

55

There are cultured soy and coconut milk products (generally sold with yogurt) which can be used as a sour cream substitute; it's frequently advisable to add a little extra vinegar or lemon juice as these products don't generally provide as much kick as real sour cream.

56

Absolutely not. A honing steel is significantly harder than the blade of a knife and is specially textured for honing. Rubbing two knives together is more likely to dull or knick the blades than anything else. The blade of a knife should never touch anything harder than a wooden cutting board. Not glass, not granite, and certainly not steel (except for honing/sharpening).

57

The ones I've found for Mac (and that look reasonable) are: MacGourmet SousChef Yum There are definitely others, but those are the ones that I've fiddled with. I think SousChef is my favorite.

58

I really like the book "Knife skills Illustrated"; it is a bit annoying that it has left and right handed versions of everything, though.

59

To be perfect honest, I'm a fairly big fan of microwaving eggs in lieu of poaching. There are little plastic gadgets you can get that you break the eggs into. You can microwave them either to hard or soft boiled levels, and they end up as nice, symmetrical mounds. The only trick is not to microwave on too high a power, or the yolks might explode! In that case, the result is a bit exploded in texture, but because the eggs are in the plastic gadget, at least you don't have egg all over the inside of your microwave!

60

The secret is that the fruit produces ethylene (a hormone found in plants), and ethylene promotes ripening. By placing fruit in a paper bag the ethylene collects (rather than dispersing in the room), increasing the concentration around the fruit and speeding ripening. About.com has an interesting article on ethylene and fruit ripening called Fruit Ripening and Ethylene Experiment.

61

The typical issue with risotto is that it requires attention -- it's considered a problematic dish because you're supposed to stir it almost constantly. The issue is that you need to get enough starch off the rice to get it to be creamy, so you want to keep only a little bit of liquid in there at any time, so that you can keep the grains rubbing up against each other. You need to add the liquid a little bit at a time, but you want it already hot, or it'll just take forever. You can use stock, but if you do, go with low sodium or you might end up with too salty of a dish. You can make a pseudo stock quickly by pouring water over dried mushrooms to reconstitute them (but be careful of the grit that'll fall to the bottom), or by quickly boiling some shrimp, then peel the meat for adding later, and leave the heads and shells boiling in the water. It also doesn't hold well -- you need to eat it soon after it's done, as it'll continue absorbing liquid, and will set up if it's over cooked or cools. So, the basic steps: Heat up the stock, while you heat a pan with a little olive oil in it. Add a medium grain rice to the oil, and cook 'til it's almost translucent. Add whatever other vegetables you'd like cooked in the dish, diced small (onion, shallot, bell pepper, etc.) Finish cooking the rice 'til translucent. (optional) add some white wine, then cook it 'til it's almost dry. Add a ladle or two of your stock to the rice, and stir for a minute or two. Cook 'til the liquid is mostly absorbed. Stir the rice, add another ladle of stock, and stir some more. (repeat steps 7 and 8 'til the the absortions is taking a long time, then cut back to 1/2 a ladle each time.) (repeat steps 7 & 8 'til the rice isn't absorbing liquid quickly) Taste for doneness and salt level. Stir in any fresh herbs and maybe a little hard grating cheese (we prefer pecorino romano) Dish up and top with any more herbs and/or cheese (if not using seafood). Serve & enjoy Leftovers are tricky, too ... it can be microwaved if you didn't add too much cheese, but you'll need to add a little extra liquid before microwaving. You can also make balls, coat 'em in tomato sauce and bake.

62

My favorite place to store bread is in my mouth/tummy :P On a serious note: we've tried storing it in various places and each seemed to have enough downsides (coupled with how much we enjoy good, fresh bread) that we decided it was worthwhile to just buy and make it more frequently then it was to try to preserve it longer.

63

The ripening itself is caused by ethylene gas released by the food, which is trapped by any kind of bag. As far as I know, there's nothing inherently special about a brown paper bag, other than the fact that it's porous and thus still allows some air to get in and out. Plastic ziplock bags have no ventilation, so they don't work nearly as well.

64

Ochef.com answered this question. Here are some quotes from the webpage. According to the USDA: Round chicken/turkey: 165°F / 74°C Whole chicken/turkey: 180°F / 82°C Poultry breasts, roasts: 170°F / 77°C Additionally, the USDA says the thighs and wings of poultry should be cooked "until the juices run clear." Although the following temperatures will make the meat safe to eat, you might want to drop the temperature by 3-5°C for more flavor.

65

Personally I think the best way to store fresh herbs is to use a small herb garden. I just planted one and found it very useful for things like thyme, rosemary, and parsley. If you don't have room for a small herb garden then a plastic bag in the fridge is usually the next best thing. Update: Cool link on popular mechanics on growing a garden in 5 gallon drywall buckets.

66

AFAIK, the mineral content of the salt is the major difference. Also, the smaller crystals of Fleur de sel dissolve very quickly.

67

Up here in Canada (and elsewhere around the world) we use white or malt vinegar on french fries (chips)

68

I do thigh, wings, and drumsticks to 180F (82C) and breasts to 170F (77C).

69

White Vinegar Cider Vinegar Balsamic Vinegar Rice Wine Vinegar Red Wine Vinegar

70

You don't. Citrus fruits, unlike most other fruits, do not ripen after being picked from the tree. The only solution is to be proactive and not buy unripe citrus.

71

These will cover 90+% of the recipes you're likely to find: White Wine Vinegar Apple Cider Vinegar Balsamic Vinegar And if you do a lot of Asian cooking, it's worth it to invest in a bottle of Rice Wine Vinegar

72

All the books I've read say that oiling your food is the preferred method. Having said that, I often oil my grill by using a paper towel with oil on it

73

I'm not 100% sure but I found this site that explains what fleur de sel is. It says that Like other sea salts, fleur de sel is harvested by evaporating sea water. However, to harvest fleur de sel, workers gently skim the top layer of the sea salt from partially evaporated pools, before it sinks to the bottom again. These salt crystals are very fine, light, and delicate, and must be handled with care and exposed to minimal moisture, or they will clump again. It looks like you are reproducing how fleur de sel is made, through boiling the water which is the equivalent to "evaporating sea water".

74

The difference is probably the level of heat being applied to the burgers. Pan frying is only heating one side and probably isn't as intense as the broil/grill method. I always use a patty press when I make my burgers since it compacts them really well and helps them to be less round.

75

The ones I always have: White vinegar (as a condiment, and also for cleaning); Balsamic vinegar (mainly for salads - let it age!) Rice vinegar (essential to almost all Asian cooking); Red wine vinegar (essential in French and a lot of Italian cooking); Cider vinegar (the best deglazer, and great in chilis)

76

I'm not sure what causes the bowing to be more pronounced from one cooking method versus another, but the solution is to put a thumbprint indentation in the middle, creating a slight "donutted" shape. This will help to ensure you get the "patty" shape you want.

77

I wouldn't recommend it -- it can be done, but I think it's more for show than anything else. They're actually pulling the edge of one knife against the back of the other one. My mom used to always use the bottom of a plate to hone (sharpen) ? her knives. The plates were glazed stoneware, but the bottom was unglazed. We never had a steel that I can remember. Most home chefs aren't putting their knives through as much work as professional chefs, and likely aren't as aggressive with their knives, so likely don't need to be as worried about honing, so long as they're following @hobodave's advice (no glass cutting boards!), take care of them (no dropping them in the metal sink with glasses) and aren't hacking through bones.

78

Alton Brown talked about this on an episode of Good Eats, and here's what I remember: If you cut with the grain, you'll end up with long strands of protein, like this: ------------------------ ------------------------ ------------------------ From what I understand, this means that it'll be pretty chewy. Your mouth has to work harder to break the strands up into smaller pieces to be more easily swallowed. If you cut against the grain, you get strands like this: |||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||| You can see that the strands are much shorter, which means the meat will fall apart more easily (each strand doesn't have as much surface area to connect to adjacent strands) and will therefore be more tender.

79

I believe the only type of food that gains calories from cooking is starches, and it would vary depending on the type of starch.

80

I almost always cut against the grain, as it tends to make the meat softer when cooked. Also, since cutting against the grain can be difficult to do without shredding, I partly freeze the chicken first by leaving it in the freezer for a half hour - much easier to slice that way. One exception is if it's going into a stir fry. Then, I tend to cut along the grain, because really thin slices cut against the grain have a way of falling apart in the wok (at least, they do for me).

81

Certain herbs are very mild when fresh and do not develop their full smell and flavour until dried; e.g. bayleaf, oregano. Fresh herbs generally have short storage times. When substituting you typically need to add much more of the herb, as drying shrinks it concentrating the flavour.

82

This page lists several methods for drying and storing herbs. A quick summary: Food dehydrator - a topic unto itself Air drying - Indoors or out, you need shelter, low humidity, and air circulation Sun drying - Low humidity, need to make sure the sunlight is not too intense Microwave oven or traditional oven - use very low temperatures

83

Dry rubs are one case that I can think of where dry is specifically necessary, so you can grind them up properly. The main advantage to dry herbs is that they're available year round. When you're dealing with winter dishes, dry herbs would've been the norm to have used at that time. If you are going to substitute, you'll need to add more (typically about 3x as much, as the dry is usually more concentrated), and you'll want to add it late in the cooking process, while dry herbs are usually added early. One exception to the rule is bay leaves -- you'll still need to add them early, and you'll want to reduce the number.

84

While we don't generally go a month in advance, we've found a vacuum system to be immensely helpful (we just got a $20 food saver pump and some vacuum bags from Wal-Mart, nothing super fancy). Then we went to Sam's club (which we had a membership already - side note: if you have a baby get your formula there, the Member's Mark stuff is amazingly cheap and exactly the same as Enfamil, diapers are also pretty cheap) and bought 10 pounds of beef, a bunch of chicken breasts, and some pork chops. We then vacuum sealed it all and froze it. Whenever we make anything we make roughly 3 times as much as we can eat and vacuum seal the rest. The left overs usually go about a week before they're gone.

85

Tie stems together in a brown paper bag, and hang somewhere away from heat and moisture for a few weeks. Once they're dry, strip the leaves off of each stem and store in zip-lock bags until needed. Make sure they're good and dry before sealing though, or they'll mold!

86

I tend to go fresh whenever possible. Some useful tips: When using dried, crush them first. I typically smash them with my thumb a few times into the palm of my other hand. This helps release the essential oils in the dried herbs. When using fresh in place of dried use slightly more. I'm not an herb-measurer, I eyeball, but I always use roughly 25% more. The fresh herbs tend to have a fresher, yet milder flavor. They also give up their essential oils much easier than dried, so the oils can evaporate and cook away quicker. When using fresh in place of dried, add later in the cooking process if possible. This depends a lot on which herbs in particular. The reason behind this is similar to the previous tip, fresh herbs are tenderer and can do a flavor dump very early in the process.

87

To make sweetened condensed milk: The best make-your-own version is to mix 1 cup of evaporated milk with 1-1/4 cups of sugar in a saucepan, heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, and let cool. If you don't have evaporated milk on hand either, you can make your own by slowly simmering any quantity of milk in a pan until it reduced by 60%, and then adding the sugar. Source: http://www.ochef.com/125.htm Another recipe that sounds like a lot more work and uses powdered milk: http://www.ehow.com/how_4903555_make-condensed-milk.html

88

To me, the following are necessary: A chef's knife (8 inch) A paring knife A bread knife There are tasks for which other knives are more suitable, but these are the three I started with, and there's little you may need others for.

89

Chef's Carving Serrated/bread knife Paring Filet There are plenty more you could use (I love my Santoku), but that will enable you to do just about anything.

90

There are three core essentials: Chef's knife 8" or 10" depending on your preferences Paring knife 3" or 4" depending on your preferences Bread knife As long as possible, 12"+ Feel free to go cheap here, it's serrated and thus largely unsharpenable You may want to check out Alton Brown's book, Alton Brown's Gear For Your Kitchen. He spends a chapter on knives and where to go past the essentials. He also suggests which ones are worth spending money on and which should be throwaways.

91

Totally depends on the rice - I usually read the back of the bag or whatever.

92

Pan frying means letting the food sit in the pan and occasionally stirring or flipping. It tends to be done with larger pieces of food, and at a medium to medium-high heat. Sautéing means shaking the pan back and forth - making the food "jump", if you're translating directly. It's done at a high heat, for a short time, usually with thinly-sliced or finely-chopped ingredients. Shallow frying, according to some references, refers to the food being partially (halfway) submerged in hot oil and flipped once, as opposed to deep-frying where the food is fully-submerged the whole time.

93

There isn't really a simple answer to this question due to the many variables of personal preference, rice type, water hardness, etc. I suggest buying a proper rice cooker: Zojirushi NP-HBC10 5-1/2-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer with Induction Heating System, Stainless Steel. (I love mine!) The rice cooker has precise instructions and measurements for each type of rice, even the more obscure types.

94

Normally tomato sauce (Ragu, Prego, etc) with Parmesean cheese on top.

95

I use three: Chef's knife - sharp, straight blade Bread knife Sometimes a serrated knife for tough vegetables But then I'm a vegetarian, so I don't need to cut meat.

96

Parsley is usually used more for looks than for taste. If you don't have it, then you can probably leave it out.

97

I use my cutting board and place a layer of plastic film ("saran wrap") over it. It can still result in somewhat of a mess, so a zip lock bag may work better albeit more expensively.

98

I use two types of cutting boards: wood and [soft] plastic. The plastic is for meat, or anything that could ruin a wood cutting board. Wood is for everything else. If you can afford it, try to get an end-grain wood cutting board. Bamboo is a popular choice right now (it's affordable and sustainable), but I don't have any personal experience with it. Most other materials, especially glass, will ruin your knives.

99

I use a very long piece of clingwrap, place the meat about 1 quarter of the way along and fold it over. Because of air isn't trapped it doesn't rip. In then bang away with a rolling pin. Doesn't seem to get too messy (maybe I don't hit it hard enough!)