Latest Cooking Answers

Eating food from a slightly rusting cast iron dutch oven...is it safe?

I have a cast iron dutch oven. It has a self-basting lid, basically it has a grid of little cone shapes on the underside of the lid. The idea is that liquid con

Would a fruit cocktail flavoured cake work?

I am baking a Cinderella Princes cake for my daughter's first birthday party. I have now had the crazy idea of having a rainbow cake under the skirt of the dres

How can I make a BBQ sauce from my dry rub?

I would like to use my dry rub to make a BBQ sauce but don't know how.

Can I use this dutch oven on a grill or camp fire?

I have a six quart cast iron, enameled dutch oven from Lodge and a power outage likely to last a few days. The dutch oven looks like this and has one of the ove

How can I prevent cross-contamination when applying a dry or wet rub to meat?

In either wet or dry rub prep, if you use both hands, you will have likely contaminated the rub by the end. How can I prevent this from occurring?

How to cook common bean in mess tin in campfire during hikers camp ? Possible?

How to cook common bean in mess tin in campfire during hikers camp? Each night would be in the other location. The challenge is to first soak the beans and then

Safety of old, unopened bottles of ketchup

I just found two bottles of unopened ketchup dating back several years. One says "Best used by September 19, 2008," and the other says "Best used by May 10, 201

Is there a practical way to make belgian fries for four at home?

I would really like to make some professional style belgian fries at home, with the specific restriction of frying them twice. Frying in a frying pan is diffic

My banana Muffins won't rise like I want - Why?

So I just tried this recipe for banana muffins. They taste great (even directly after baking) and the texture is really nice and soft - like a muffin is suppose

Why pressure cook rasmalai?

My wife loves rasmalai and we make it often. I have used several different recipes and both made the paneer from scratch as well as using paneer purchased at

What kind of pan works best with a waterbath?

Whenever I bake cheesecake or flan, my springform pan always leaks into the water bath or vice/versa. Is there a better type of pan to use when baking with a w

Spaghetti sauce consistency / coating noodles

I made my home made spaghetti sauce this weekend, which I've been making for several years. As always, the flavor turned out great, so I don't want to change m

Is the double boiling canning procedure really necessary?

It seems the usual procedure is to sanitize cans and lids by immersing them in boiling water, to fill the cans, and then to cap them and boil for a few more min

How can I make Turkish dondurma?

Turkish ice cream is called dondurma. Besides milk and sugar it also contains:Salep- a flour made of ground orchids andMastic- a resin that produces a gum. Bec

What was wrong with my Ohio Shaker Lemon Pie?

Last Thanksgiving I tried a pie from the Joy of Cooking that sounded amazing. Called an Ohio Shaker Lemon Pie it consisted of lemons sliced paper thin and mace

What is the ideal coffee temperature for tiramisu?

When making tiramisu, I usually make a fresh batch of strong coffee. I just don't know how long to wait to use the coffee (for dipping the cookies). In my opin

Lard (or other fat) as a subsitute for butter in desserts for someone with a dairy allergy?

My wife is currently unable to consume any dairy as our breast-fed baby has a milk protein allergy. When reading many dessert recipes, many of them call for but

How to make chapattis round and of same thickness?

I have tried making Chapatis many times. I can make dough for Chapati very well, but I am failing when it comes to structure of the roti/chapati. I make two mi

Are oven bags anything more than disposable dutch ovens?

A few months back, on a whim, I bought plastic oven bags. I'd never seen them before so I was curious. According to notes on the packaging I can cook chicken, b

How do I cut out the vein/tendon from a chicken breast tendorloin?

I like to cook grilled chicken sometimes to go in salads. The problem I always have is that in the chicken breast tendorloins I buy, there is always a tendon or

How to measure a cup of "solid" ingredient?

I was reading a recipe in which it was mentioned among the ingredients "8 cups of broccoli florets". Measuring by "cups" is for liquids, right? For solid ingred

How do I make a frappuccino less watery?

I'm trying to recreate a Starbucks caramel coffee frappuccino, but it's coming out awfully watery. I've watched them make it and here is what they do, as far as

What can I use to replace the tomato juice in gazpacho?

I'm trying to find cold alternatives to hot soup. A friend pointed me to gazpacho. I tried that, and we really liked it. However, I will be cooking for someone

What oven should I buy, which is appropriate for baking?

Three months ago I moved to a new apartment. In my old apartment with my old oven, my baked goods turned out pretty well. However, since I moved, my baked goods

It is safe to store celery in aluminum foil?

Because I cannot find on a regular basis celery, I am trying to preserve what I buy as long as possible. After trying some methods, the one I found is aluminum

What is the meaning of reconstituted juice?

The following is written on a packet of Juice by a renowned company: ingredients: water, red grape juice concentrate 24.7 % * *reconstituted 100% gr

How to estimate amount of all purpose flour for roux?

I was making some roux for white sauce for pasta and followed instructions to the dot. (All purpose flour == butter == 4tbsp. 2 cups milk.) But the milk was ver

Right way to defrost roux

I like preparing a large quantity of Roux and pouring them in ice trays to keep them in the freezer. However, I'm always confused about the right way of defrost

How do I care for a carbon steel knife?

I recently purchased a Dexter-Russell carbon steel Chinese cleaver, because they're supposed to be amazingly useful. I'm used to caring for good stainless st

preserving dehydrated foods prepared with citric acid, honey or syrup

Can anyone please confirm for me whether food that has been dehydrated with honey, syrup or citric acid (which I understand has a shorter life span than those m