Latest Cooking Answers

Telling if small pieces of meat are cooked - blind or colour blind chef

When I am cooking small pieces of meat (so a meat thermometer is not an appropriate tool - I'm thinking of things like shredded chicken being stir-fried, frying

Does acidity negate double-acting baking powder?

As described here, most common baking powders contain two acids, one that reacts to moisture, and one that mostly reacts when heated. Does that mean that if my

How do I make the ingredients in a burrito evenly distributed?

I've been to countless "Southwest" Mexican restaurants, but for all of them except Chipotle, they just can't seem to get the ingredients in a burrito evenly. F

Butter Substitutions in the Quiche dough

I used to make quiche very often, but I really have a problem with dough, I want to reduce the amount of butter in the dough without making it very hard and unp

Fastest or most efficient way to cook rice in a pot with a lid?

Without using (read: buying) a rice cooker, what methods can I use to reduce active cooking time for brown rice? Does pre-soaking help? Should I add the rice be

Safety of Calphalon pots and pans

I hear so many thoughts on Calphalon hard anodized pots and pans. Are these safe to use?

Can I cook lentils in a rice cooker?

Can I cook lentils in a rice cooker? Would I need to adjust my lentils/water ratio?

homemade chilli oil

I am making chilli oil using light olive oil, crushed chilli, dried garlic, dried fennel seeds and parsley. I have been making this for years. I am concerned a

Using kalpasi (which is also known as Black Stone Flower) in a biriyani?

Can we ground kalpasi (also known as Black stone flower) be added to a masala for marinating chicken/mutton for making Hyderabadi Biriyani? Will it taste reall

Stronger bread, how could I achieve that?

I'm new to baking in general, and I've been recently trying to make a simple pizza bread. But the problem is that after I bake the bread in the oven, it seems

How can I keep pasta shapes intact?

I frequently make wagon wheel (rotelle) pasta (Racconto brand and probably others) for my kids, but the shapes rarely stay intact. Pieces of the outer edges of

Cooking Temperature for Crocodile meat?

Does anybody have any experience cooking crocodile meat sous-vide? We found some crocodile meat at our local butcher, and bought some on a whim. Judging by ap

How do I determine if my mussels are fresh?

What texture should fresh mussel have? Does mushy mussels mean they are bad? What causes this mushy texture: cooking or quality of the mussels?

Substitute to milk in coffee?

I'm looking for a substitute to milk in the coffee... something that will have the same effect on the coffee (tone down the bitterness of a coffee cup) put that

Constructions of Lego Bricks Made of Cake

My friends and I had this idea while drunk one night, to create a big batch of small cakes shaped like LEGO bricks and interlock them into a larger, round cake.

Is corn a fruit, vegetable, or a nut?

I've been debating with my friends whether or not corn kernels are considered to be fruits or vegetables or nuts. To my knowledge, a fruit is a sweet "bubble" (

chef knives and cutting surfaces

I recently acquired a chef knife. Alton Brown says I should never use a glass surface to cut, but when I need to cut chicken I don't want to use the wood block

What accounts for the softer texture and sharper flavor of Italian ice creams?

I know that Italian ice cream (home made, most of all) doesn't use any stabilizers or gum ingredients. How can they be made soft, and agreeable to taste?

Vanilla extract vs. Vanilla powder

What is the difference among the vanilla extract and the powdered vanilla? When I'm making a certain recipe if it required vanilla extract, is it ok to replace

Is it possible to make breads using cake techniques?

Is it possible to make bread using similar batters/techniques as cakes? Or why isn't is possible to make breads using similar techniques or batters as a cake?

Subsitutions for Monterey Jack cheese in the UK

At one point in the US I had some Monterey Jack cheese which was tangy and yummy and delicious. Here in the UK they also sell cheese labelled "Monterey Jack"

Freezing bones for stock

Is it ok to freeze a chicken carcass to make stock with another time? And if so, after I make the stock with it, is it ok to then freeze some of that stock or w

How can I create the equivalent of a fresh cake yeast from my sourdough culture?

I essentially want to wash away the excess water and already consumed flour after I've fed my culture. What I usually do is whisk the culture and pour off the

Pickling green peaches: is the fuzz a must?

Last year, I had to thin the fruit on our peach tree to keep the branches from breaking once the fruit matured. Rather than throw away all the quarter- to half-

What is the alternative to a vine ripened tomato?

Having just had a lovely sandwich of Aberdeen Angus beef, vine ripened tomato and horseradish I was wondering if anyone could explain to me exactly what a vine

Can I change the flour type of my sourdough starter?

I started my sourdough starter with rye flour. But after some months I continued feeding it with wheat flour. I feel like there is less life inside than before

Peeling cupcake liner from chocolate mold

I am trying a new recipe that creates a chocolate mold by brushing chocolate inside a cupcake container. The challenge now is to get the paper off the chocolate

How long should chia seeds soak?

I am new to use chia seeds. I soaked them in water for about an hour and there was no significant difference in the size. As per websites it could grow like

Homemade flour tortillas without cast iron

My wife and I love making things from scratch, but we're just starting out without a lot of equipment. We don't have a cast iron pan, especially because my wife

Is it possible to identify the quality of fish after cooking the fish?

One know that a fish is fresh if the fish eye is clear and bulging and its gills is ought to be red. However, if the fish is being cut into many slices and the