Latest Cooking Answers

Indian Mango Pickle producing gas is that normal?

I am trying to pickle some mangoes the Indian way. I boiled the jar in hot water, dried it and then added the mixture of spices, salt and mangoes to the jars af

What is the best way to store homemade sauces?

Sometimes I make korma, satay, masala or pasta sauce for meals in advance. What is the best way to store these, once they're made? Ideally the sauce won't go of

Is there a releaseable mold/pan for bread?

I am looking for a bread mold (or is it a pan?) that can be removed prior to baking. The reason is that it will lose the shape if I rest it before baking too l

Are the bubbles in the sourdough starter caused by yeast cultures?

I'm new to sourdough starter, so I'm a little confused regarding a statement I read recently which said that the yeast is formed AFTER you see bubbles forming i

Conservation of ground beef

We planned to eat hamburgers tonight, so I bought 1.5 Kg of fresh ground beef at my store, at 3 PM. But then, we decided to postpone that to tomorrow night. Gr

How can I minimize crumbliness in agar based candies?

3.5% agar agar makes a sturdy gel, which can be used to make candy. However, instead of dissolving smoothly in the mouth, the agar tends to break down into smal

Should a sous-vide-cooked meat be frozen then reheated?

New to sous-vide, I was wondering, once you are done cooking, will it degrade the quality of the meat if I freeze it then reheat it back? The method of reheatin

Shelf life of commercial jams with no preservatives?

This commercial peach jam does NOT contain any preservatives. Room temperature is 20 C. It is written on the bottle that it should be refrigerated after open

How do I mimic trader Joe's (dark) Chocolate covered Espresso Beans?

I'm trying to mimic the thick, rich, dark chocolate covered espresso beans made by Trader Joes. These sweet morsels have a thick chocolate coating that easily g

White chocolate ganache won't set

The other day I attempted to make a white chocolate ganache, and while the flavor is perfect, it utterly refused to set. Instead what I ended up with was a stic

How do I get the butter out of my chocolate fondue?

In my chocolate fondue, I used butter to help it melt smoothly. Now, after the meal, I want to use the left over chocolate. There is a slight sheen of oil on th

How do I know if a food or recipe can be made in a microwave oven?

We've got a lot of questions about specific microwave cooking here - for example, "can I cook hamburgers in the microwave oven?" But rather than asking about sp

What kind of food should be stored in a refrigerator's "snack pan" drawer?

(This may be a silly question, but I'll ask anyway since I am curious about this.) We have an older fridge and it has a drawer labeled "snack pan." I'm not su

How can I make low sodium (140mg or less per serving) pancakes / waffles?

I work with heart failure patients who have to limit their sodium intake, but still would like to enjoy some of their favorite foods. How can I reduce the sodiu

How long does the cream in a freshly baked chicken pie last for?

I am planning on baking a chicken pie that contains double cream tonight and serving it two days later. How long does the cream in the freshly baked pie last f

Sous Vide without vacuum. What liquid should be used?

I'm new to sous-vide and I am trying to figure out how to do it without vacuum. I've seen how other people have done it with oil to displace the air in the bag.

Does water boil faster with the lid on?

When bringing water to a boil from cold water, what effect does a lid have on the time to boil? Does it increase or decrease the time? How much? Why?

Does the airflow pattern in a hot air popcorn popper matter? / What should I look for in a popper?

I'm interested in purchasing a hot-air popcorn popper. I grew up with a Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper, which holds the unpopped corn in a metal cup with angled slots

How can I prevent spices from lumping together?

I notice that sometimes, some of my spices become one hard block. I have this especially with my garlic powder, in a smaller degree with my chili powder (that c

What makes ice shatter in icecube tray?

I have two identical ice cube trays. When I twist the trays to remove ice, sometimes the whole cubes pop out perfectly, but sometimes they shatter and I get lot

How can I increase the amount of gravy I can make from one roast?

Making gravy per usual is a by-product of roasting or pan-frying something. At that point, you take whatever jus you have in the dish and that essentially dete

Sousvide seafood for sushi

I'm curious whether the store-labeled "sushi grade" fish, like some salmon and scallops, can be made by cooking the fish sousvide and chilling it in the refrige

How can I tell when the wax has been removed from citrus fruit?

This evening I tried different ways (taken from other cooking forums) of removing the wax coating from lemons. Pouring boiling water over In a bowl with (initi

How to keep thick puréed sauces from separating into solids and liquids?

Today I was making a version of spaghetti alla puttanesca and while the result of the dish itself was delicious the sauce didn't seem like a sauce; it was rathe

What is the shelf life of homemade compote?

I made a cooked compote with dried fruit and am wondering what safe refrigerated life I can expect. Ideally, please provide some reasonable rationale or refere

Can adequate heating transform spoiled food into safe food?

Suppose I have some food that became unsafe or contaminated by any means besides explicitly adding dangerous substances. It could be past the expiration date,

Amount of Brioche dough in a Brioche mould?

I have a 22 cm classic fluted Brioche mold (22 cm being the widest measurement on top). It's volume is extremely close to 1500ml. I'm wondering how much dough

pre-soaking tea in cold water prior to brewing

My friend recently gave me the advice that tea bag should be soaked in a little bit (barely enough to submerge the tea bag) of cold water for a couple of minute

When I bake a 2lb loaf, the very Centre of it lacks structure

Am I over proving my bread, or might there be some other issue? I'm using a fairly standard baker's mix. 750g flour, 450g water, salt, quick blend yeast (Dove

Difference between Spumante & Champagne

When winter holidays come, I always find with my parents and the whole family. Sometimes we use Spumante, some other times Champagne, both to accompain with som