Latest Cooking Answers

Looking to add some texture to my tomato soup recipe

I have been working on perfecting a tomato soup recipe for the past month or so and I've reached the point where the soup itself is to my liking. I am now tryi

What to look for in a Stand Mixer?

I want to buy a stand mixer, a good one. Mainly for mixing dough, but also for mincing meat. I've seen that the KitchenAid has a mincing attachment. So, I've ma

When I make apple juice, what's in the foam on top?

I juiced my peeled apple seconds. What makes the foam on top? It seems to have good flavor, but this juice is going into the fermenter for apple cider when I co

What property makes a liquid soapy/bubbly?

Is there a scientific or food industry term for what makes a water solution behave like a detergent, and perhaps an associated unit of measure? For example, th

How to store pancakes

Can I just put a stack in the freezer, with some paper between each? Do I need to make any changes to my ingredients (Milk, Flour, Butter, Sugar, Salt, Eggs) fo

How to cook and plan meals when ingredients are not reliably available?

My wife and I have just moved to Mozambique Africa for her job. She works all day it's my job to do the cooking. I've never been much of a cook, but I could alw

How to preserve spaghetti for a short amount of time?

Let's say I make a spaghetti-and-meatball supper, and I made the spaghetti an hour or so before the meal. What's the best way to keep it fresh and warm until we

How long can cooked food be safely stored at room/warm temperature?

If I leave fully-cooked food (particularly meat) out at warm temperature - say on the counter or in a crock pot that's been turned off - how long will it stay

What other vegetables can be used in cake/muffin baking?

Vegetables have been commonly used in baking cakes and muffins. A common one is carrots to make one of my fave - carrot cake. Recently I also found out about ad

Surface tension in food

Based on a related question, some of us are curious about surface tension in liquids commonly used in food and drink. There's a table on Wikipedia containing a

Would one use holy basil to make pesto sauce? Are there other culinary uses?

I got some holy basil seeds (via mail) from a guy on an internet forum. I planted them and they are growing nicely. They taste similar to thai basil. Would one

Can I use duck feet to make duck stock

I had my first crack at making chicken stock the other day and now I would like to try duck stock. One of the posts I read when learning how to make chicken st

How to understand the effect of individual ingredients of recipes?

I like cooking and I try different recipes from web/book. But I am not satisfied by just cooking using recipes, I want to understand what tastes individual ingr

Minced meat malaise

I've been cooking a Dutch pie lately, and the results are not very regular. Using the exact same ingredients (I'm trying to get the best minced meat, but that's

Is smoked beef cooked 100%

For the first time in my life I tasted smoked beef. It tasted mostly like ash. It didn't have any raw taste but just wondering when meat is smoked, does it get

What does 6% acidity taste like?

A friend and I have been doing research on a recipe and he encountered a statement to the effect that the result should be around "6% acidity." I am not familia

What is the difference between "Mongolian Grill" and "Hibachi"?

For years I have been frequenting Chinese restaurants that feature "Mongolian Grill" (or Mongolian BBQ depending on the location). Recently I tried a new place

Pimientos de Padron equivalent

In Spain I had a wonderful tapa called Pimiento de Padron. Green chiles fried in olive oil and salted. What type of chile could I find in the US to replicate th

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

I'm making this hash recipe for a potluck at work tomorrow. Tonight I did all my prep: Peeled, diced, roasted the sweet potatoes Diced the onion Diced the ap

Can I leave out raw already-formed cookies for close to an hour while I wait for the oven to be available?

I'm making a cookie dough and forgot that I already had something in the oven. I prepared a baking sheet of cookies to go into the oven - but there is something

How to salt and roast pistachios?

I have a bunch of raw pistachios, in their shells, and I want to roast them and also have them be lightly salted. I presume I would do this in a conventional o

Why doesn't my quick bread rise properly when substituting splenda for sugar?

I used Splenda in one of my favorite quchinni (squash) recipes and it did not rise at all. It is about 3 inches thick and is heavy as the batter was thick. Why

Why does olives with the pit left always taste better than pitted ones

When you buy or eat olives it seems that the high quality ones always have the pit left in them. If you buy cheaper, not so good olives, they will most likely b

Why don't the single serve coffee cream cups need to be refrigerated?

It seems to me that it would be subject to the same bacterial/spoiling processes that the larger containers are. And if it's that opening a container exposes t

Can I use the grill tray in my oven for grilling?

My oven came with 2 baking trays, and a small tray which looks like a grill (i.e, its got rows of vertical metal strips the same way as a grill does). Can I use

Is it safe to remove the rings on jars for long-term storage of home-canned goods?

Is it okay to store the canned goods without the ring screwed on it? I know someone who removes the screwed rings off her jars once they're processed and then

How long can I reuse this delicious bacon grease for cooking?

I cooked some bacon about a week ago and left the grease in the pan. I've used it the last two nights with great success for cooking other meals. How long is

Can extra virgin olive oil be used for stir frying, roasting, grilling?

I'd like to use extra virgin olive oil for the above mentioned cooking methods as opposed to other oils/butter. Are there any downsides to it, or can it be used

What could be used as a savoury custard to serve with a savoury jam roly-poly?

I'm not mad, you know. I have this plan to serve a meal backwards - coffee and brandy, then dessert, then a main, then starters, then champagne. Except that of

Is it okay to eat gorgonzola cheese mold?

My pack of Gorgonzola came with greenish/blue mold. is it okay to eat that mold? I intend to eat the cheese by itself.