Latest Cooking Answers

Meringue seems to fail at piping stage

I tried making meringues for the first time yesterday, using splenda instead of sugar. I didn't have any cream of tartar either. I definitely overbeat them, to

Cooking temperature and time adjustments for cooking several whole fish in a conventional oven?

I've successfully prepared one whole fish using a roasting pan and conventional oven, and now would like to make four to six of them at once for a gathering. Is

What's this "pucker" style hole on my cheese grater for?

Ok, this picture has two sort of weird looking holes, but the one I'm asking about is on the left side of the picture - the metal sort-of puckers up, like it'

How to store Parmesan cheese?

I recently lucked into about 4 lbs of a delicious Parmesan. Sadly it's already in 4 pieces, and so I'm pretty sure its going to be more prone to spoilage than a

How long should I let a tea with lemongrass steep?

Every time I have a tea with lemongrass in it the tea ends up with a really strong and rather terrible aftertaste. I drink several different types of tea, and a

Can I use gelatine in Creme Brulee

I'm having trouble getting my creme brulee to thicken up. I'm wondering if I should add a little gelatine to the mix. I had a look around the net and couldn't

Melting sugar on creme brulee with blow torch

Whenever I try to melt the sugar on top of a creme brulee with my kitchen blow torch, I find that the sugar takes forever to discolour even slightly, let alone

How can I chill ice coffee quickly?

I brew coffee using a french press. After I've pressed it, how can I make it chill fast? I've tried pouring it into a wider container (larger surface area) and

My sous vide chicken is tough and stringy - did I cook it too long, or too little?

So far I've attempted it twice. The first time I cooked legs and thighs at 60C for an hour and a half; the second time I cooked two breasts at 60C for about 45

Are there any scientific advantages to using a cork to stop a wine bottle?

Although I am by no means a connoisseur (I don't really even drink it) I have been investigating the various means by which wine bottles are stopped up. This w

How to find a good sweet potato fry cutter?

I am looking to make my own sweet potato fries, however sweet potatoes are harder to cut than regular potatoes. Even more expensive cutters such as the Nemco N

What can I do with lots of plain sweetened yogurt? [closed]

I have a several gallons of yogurt intended for smoothies. So far I have been eating it over fruit and in various types of shakes. I've also

Is it possible to subsititute nutella for peanut butter?

Beyond the obvious differences in flavor, do these two tend to be interchangable? The consistencies and composition seem close enough to me to make an acceptab

Chinese rice vermicelli tastes of chemicals

We bought a large package of dry rice vermicelli recently at our local Thai market. We've cooked it a couple of times, and both times once it starts to boil it

Will soaking chicken in milk hurt the chicken

I'm trying a new recipe and I was told to soak my boneless skinless chicken thighs in milk with a little spices. Let them soak for a while then take them out of

What should I look for when buying a pasta roller?

I'm looking to buy a pasta roller but I have no experience with them at all. What things should I look for to make sure I get a good one? Can they be made of d

Chicken marinade with soy sauce - have I done something wrong?

I have made a chicken marinade with soy sauce, olive oil, dry herbs and spices. I put it to marinate for 3-4 hours (like I mostly do), but I couldn't cook it th

What kind of fuel do I use for a Hario TCA/50A coffee syphon?

I just received a Hario Coffee Syphon TCA/50A as a birthday gift which makes use of an alcohol-fuel powered wick/lamp to heat the water. However, I'm a bit con

How to take canned beans out of jar?

Is there any method to take canned beans out of the jar without spoiling the beans, as they are kind of sticking on each other?

What does it mean when a recipe calls for coring a tomato?

When I was making gazpacho, I looked up a video, and found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDt0L1-SaRg In this video, almost the entire interior of the tom

What would be an appropriate gluten-free substitute for breadcrumbs?

I would like to make a gluten-free eggplant parmigiana, and there are a couple of ingredients that I realize I will need to substitute. The basic idea is eggpl

can Tilapia replace salmon in recipes and taste good?

I have a few recipes for salmon, and a freezer full of tilapia. Can I just use the tilapia instead of salmon? It's for things like "salmon and rosemary", and "p

Canning in a Pressure Cooker

Well, unfortunately the present my mom got me last Christmas turned out to be a pressure cooker and not a pressure canner. I've read that it is unsafe to can

Roasted potatoes: should they be dry?

I'm in the middle of roasting some sirloin in foil packets. It's surrounded by carrots and quartered red potatoes, and I'm roasting it for an hour at 400F, turn

How to substitute oranges in a mango mousse recipe?

I'm looking for a recipe for orange mousse without eggs, but hopefully with gelatine. I've tried to search for some recipes on google but didn't really find any

Is a vacuum strictly necessary for sous-vide cooking?

I'd always assumed that things cooked sous-vide (which translates as 'under vacuum'!) needed to be under a good vacuum for the most efficient heat transfer into

How long does it take for milk to spoil unrefrigerated?

A half gallon of milk (in the paper carton, not plastic) got left in the car for 1.5 hours in about 80 degree (~27 °C) weather (evening so no direct sunligh

Over cooking shiitake mushrooms?

I eat Asian cuisine a lot but I've started to use shiitake mushrooms in the stead of just about anything else because I think they're delicious. I've had them

How to choose good quality Chinese slicer knives?

Chinese slicer knives look like cleavers, but are very thin and meant to chop foods that are reasonably soft, e.g. not bone. I've heard that Chan Chi Kee (CCK)

How to make chocolate cups with swirls?

Can someone please help me with tips to make chocolate cups with swirly designs. Something like this. I've tried painting the inside of a cup with white chocola