Latest Cooking Answers

What is the ideal grind for making espresso?

I know that there is no "ideal" grind for making espresso (or rather, like most things, it depends on the machine and the tastes of the drinker), but I am looki

Can I substitute olive oil for butter/shortening in pie crust?

I was making a pie the other day -- a mock apple pie*, to be exact, which is unusual enough. But I came up short on butter and don't keep any shortening stocked

Safety of coffee in thermal flask, long periods of time

How long is it safe to hold coffee in a thermal flask? Is coffee (prepared in a cezve, Turkish method, no sugar) carried in a thermal flask for 24 or 48 hours

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

I want to experiment with a cream pie with a nonbaked filling (containing whipped cream, thickened with gelatine - basically a flavored diplomat cream). But for

Can I use tapioca pearls for thickening?

A friend of mine went shopping in an Asian market. I asked them to bring me tapioca starch. They brought me a package of small tapioca pearls. Is there any wa

Romano vs Parmesan in Cacio e Pepe?

I've tried making Cacio e Pepe a few times, using a recipe from America's Test Kitchen. In Cacio e Pepe, you boil pasta in a limited amount of water, then mix s

Parmesan Cheese Substitute [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate:Cheaper alternative to parmesan cheese? What cheese tastes most similar to Parmesan Cheese? Note: I am not looking

Can I substitute brown or confectioner's sugar for granulated sugar in sugar cookies?

I'm making sugar cookies and I have ran out of granulated sugar. I only have confectioner's sugar and dark brown sugar left. Can I substitute one of these for

Good site for nutritional info [closed]

I cook my breakfast from several raw ingredients (about 12) and was trying to come up with caloric and nutritional content for the same, for f

How do I remove small grounds when using a french press?

When I use a french press to brew coffee, there always is some small grounds with the coffee. I have adjust the grinder to make coarse grounds, but this does n

Should I use my microwave's 'popcorn' button?

My microwave oven has a "POPCORN" button. Its manual reads: Touch this pad when popping popcorn in your microwave oven. The oven's sensor will tell the oven

Do black metal vessels cook food more quickly than normal steel?

http://www.hawkinscookers.com/1.1.5.hawkinsconturaHA.asp Those pressure cookers are made of hard andonised Aluminum. Does it make any difference to cooking sp

Durability of hard andonised metal (aluminum)

Products like Hawkins Contura Black Pressure Cooker are hard anodised but haven't specified the metal used in the body, here. Others explicitly mention they are

What are the best types of apples to use in Charosset?

What are the best type of apples to use when making Charosset for Passover? I'm torn between something more neutral like Gala vs something tart (which might wo

Why can't I scale up jam/jelly recipes?

Pectin packages always explicitly state that jelly/jam recipes cannot be scaled up. My own empirical evidence is limited but I did have a doubled batch not set

Uneven brownie baking?

I used to make the best brownies, all the time. They came out perfectly without any effort. Duncan Hines, Hershey's, Betty Crocker-- all out of the box, all sim

Is there such thing as "almond tofu," and if so, is it a misnomer?

I just read a restaurant review in the New York Times that mentions "almond tofu." Made from almonds, it has the luxurious texture of a custard rather than

Texture issue in homemade powdered sugar

The other day I was making marshmallows and ran into a multitude of problems -- broken candy thermometers, overheated mixers, syrup spill, you name it. I though

What is the difference between pot roasting and braising?

I'm looking at this guide for cooking cuts of beef: http://www.newworldfrontiersman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/1288720744352.jpg and some are supposed to

Can putting items with high heat capacity smooth out heat changes in Sous Vide?

So was recently thinking about the beer cooler sous vide method and had a thought: While heating the water to put in the beer cooler, if you were to place an o

How to maximize and preserve horseradish potency without vinegar?

Is there a way to pre-grate and store horseradish in a manner which preserves and maximizes its potency without relying on vinegar? Preferred storage time is ap

Why is there cornstarch in powdered sugar?

I was looking up how to make my own powdered/confectioner/icing sugar. Some 'recipes' say that you should add a bit of cornstarch while others just leave this o

How can I fortify homemade soy milk?

Commercial soy milk is fortified with lots of different vitamins. Is it possible to add these vitamins to homemade soy milk? If so how would you do it? I'm not

Fastest way for cloning Milk Kefir Grains

It's about two weeks that I make Kefir at home. I started with three mid-size Kefir grains, and now I have six ones (three of them are really big) Now my frien

Estimating sugar & cream for a coffee service

I'm helping to organize a workshop, and we're planning on providing coffee ... but not being in the catering business (nor a coffee drinker), I really have no i

Is it true that natural peanut butter splits in cookies?

I was watching a video recipe about peanut butter cookies. The maker mentioned that you shouldn't use all natural peanut butter for making those cookies, becaus

Getting flavor powders to stick to nuts

I've just checked for some recipes online on how to make flavored (in particular, hot and spicy) peanuts. It seems that in every one of these recipes, there has

How should I control the time and temperature when baking two dishes?

I want to cook multiple dishes at the same time using a conventional oven. A 9x 13 pan with potatoes should bake in an oven of 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. The

Which thickeners work well with dairy?

I know from experience that arrowroot doesn't work very well, so I'm curious to know which ones actually do. Thanks a lot for any help!

Do I need to adjust slow cooker recipes for high altitude?

I live at a high altitude and love to use my slow cooker, but I don't think the meals are coming out as expected when I follow the recipes. Do I need to adjust