Latest Cooking Answers

What does vanilla extract add to a recipe?

I have been cooking for a while and have noticed small amount of Vanilla extract needed in cakes, cookies, muffins, even a smoothie recipe. Often times I forge

Almond Flour pancakes

I have this really tasty recipe for pancakes that use almond flour and whey protein (along with Ricotta cheese and lemon). However, the problem is, these panca

Why does a portafilter machine take so long to warm up and a modern machine doesn't?

I was wondering why a portafilter coffee machine takes up to 15 minutes to warm up in order to make an espresso. On the other side, a modern Nespresso Citiz d

What does a fridge do apart from storing and cooling?

There are quite a lot of recipes ending with 'Put it in the fridge for a couple of hours'. I've had this with tiramisu, chocolate mousse, panna cotta to name a

Is my pan too hot for brown sauce / gravy?

I've tried to make the following sauce the last couple of days. The same pan is used for everything. Fry steak. Put steak on plate. Sauté onions. Melt b

What do you use to measure the weight of ingredient?

I don't have a single tools to measure the weight of ingredient. I came across recipe with different weight: 1/4 cup olive oil 1 pound dried spaghetti 2 tablesp

What is this French cuisine technique called, where "a piece of pheasant meat is cooked between two slices of veal, which are then discarded?"

A famed physicist Murray Gell-Mann compared a theoretical machinery in high energy physics theory to a technique in French cuisine, which he described thus:

What is a good way to cook a pork tenderloin without searing?

I realise there are a couple of similar questions hereabouts, but this is a specific case. I currently have sitting in the fridge a pork tenderloin (fillet) co

Ingredients: Icelandic local specials

The question is similar to this one. I'm going to Iceland and I'd like to bring home some ingredients which are specific for Icelandic cuisine but are hardly pu

How is apple syrup made?

I've been making dutch apple pastries for a couple of weeks now, and I've noticed that the apple filling that spills from the pastries turns dark brown like app

How much overrun do I get with a compressorless home ice cream machine?

I started making my own ice cream this year. While the French type works quite well, I've been having trouble with American and Gelato types. I don't have an

Is it safe to eat off of partially tarnished silver?

My wife and I were visiting some friends who were recently married and had received heirloom silver as a wedding present. It was obvious it had been recently p

How do I cook chicken and asparagus over an open fire?

I have some chicken breasts and some asparagus that I want to cook tomorrow whilst we're out camping for midsummer. The fire will have a grate over it probabl

Undercooked beans in chili?

I made a bit of a mistake, being a lazy bachelor and inexperienced at cooking. I was making chili and when it came time to add beans I discovered I didn't have

Where does the shape of pretzels come from?

I wonder where the shape of pretzels originated. My guesses: The holes make it easy to put them on a stick or rope and store them in a place (under the roof?)

Curry powder mix

I mostly make curry from scratch. However some recipes (kedgeree)call for using curry powder. I can never get the mix right. Is there a standard spice mix subs

What is the difference between liquid and powdered pectin?

We have powdered pectin and have a recipe that calls for liquid. What are the differences between the two? How are they made? How do their uses differ? How do y

How can I buy or make pasteurized eggs?

Many recipes for the raw-egg yolk sauces and dressings suggest using pasteurized eggs for safety, and say they are available in stores. I've never seen them fo

How can I achieve the same flavor and texture as roasted garlic without an oven?

I'd like to make roasted garlic, but I don't have an oven, only a gas range. Is there any way for me to get the same results with the range as I would in a con

What can I do with batter that has lumpy sugar in it?

I was making a scratch cake, and my sugar (to my chagrin) was inferior. When I beat it into the batter, it turned into many tiny lumps. Has anyone ever figure

how to get a ciabatta with a more uniform shape

My ciabattas tend to have be domed along both axis. So towards the ends they are too thin, and near the middle I end up making them are thicker than I want. I t

What kind of olive oil should I use?

When you cook pasta, something you have to mix the pasta in the pan with olive oil and various ingredients. For example, in this recipe: http://smittenkitchen.c

Is there grade/quality for spaghetti selection?

Just as the topic. One of my friends brought me some spaghetti from Italy. What is the difference between spaghetti from Italy and spaghetti from outside of It

How to wash soft fruit?

I bought a pack of blackberries from the supermraket and the label said to wash before use. I tried that and it completely ruined them. I tried running them un

If I'm reheating things in tins and I don't have enough oven space, can I stack them on top of each other?

I'm reheating a bunch of leftovers, all stored in aluminum tins. I don't have enough oven rack space to lay it all out flat. Can I stack the tins? (Additionall

What is this teapot and where can I buy it?

I recently watched this video and instantly fell in love with the shown teapot. As you can see, the strainer is movable and integrated in the handle very clever

Substituting Dried Shiitake Mushrooms for Fresh

I have a recipe that calls for 12 oz of fresh Shiitake mushrooms. Due to cost and availability concerns, I decided to get dried instead, figuring I would be ab

How can I make home-made veggie burgers stay together so I can grill them?

I tried this weekend to make veggie burgers to cook on the grill, with fake ground beef (maybe Gimme Lean or something like that), egg, breadcrumbs, spices, and

Are 'premium' spices worth the expense?

I have done some calculation. And I think that if I buy a jar of spice from the supermarket, it is about 25 times more expensive (it costs more and you get a fr

How do I scale a recipe that calls for boiling off liquid?

I made a lamb ragu last night, but doubled the quantity for a large group. One of the steps called for 1.5 cups of red wine and then boiled it off. Doubling to