Latest Cooking Answers

Why boil rice first when steaming rice?

Why do people suggest boiling rice before lowering the heat to low, when making steamed long grain rice? What happens if you don't wait for it to boil and go st

Effect of adding wet ingredients to dry when making bread?

I inadvertently omitted the eggs from my challah recipe, but realized this only after the final step of mixing in and after fully incorporating the flour. Rath

How to get stable and long lasting high temperatures in charcoal grill?

I have Weber one touch spherical grill (18.5") and trying to cook steaks with direct heat. I place steaks when grill thermometer shows 450-500F, but after 2 or

What is the shelf life of my home made coleslaw dressing?

I made about a gallon of dressing today from Kraft mayo, apple cider vinegar, and sugar. What is the shelf life of this? Also, what is the shelf life of balsa

Green rhubarb safe and tasty for use like red?

My mom in her earnest harvested her rhubarb early and sent me stalks that are indiscernible from celery. It tastes very tart which I like but has very faint "rh

What can I do to prevent the gaseous side effect of sunchokes?

I'd love to eat sunchokes (aka Jerusalem artichokes or topinambour) more frequently, but the side effects (gas, abdominal discomfort) are a bummer. In a home ki

Adding baking powder as a final step

Being someone that bakes infrequently I prefer to have plain flour on hand and add baking powder rather than purchase self-raising flour. Something I've noticed

How are commercial protein bars made so dense?

I am trying to make protein bars at home from protein powder and natural sweeteners. I have basically all the ingredients mentioned on the pack, but mine come o

Is bread that can go mouldy better than that which does not?

I've recently moved from Holland to the UK, and one thing I've been noticing is that the available bread here (which I feel is highly inferior to Dutch bread) d

How to correctly infuse cream into vegetables

I tried to cook a butternut squash curry, and I feel that the squash wasn't exactly "infused" with the sauce. I've had similar experiences with making gratin, a

How do you make Welch's fruit snacks?

The ideal goal is to replicate something similar to Welch's Fruit Snacks. We want something that is firm, flavorful, and not sticky. Has anyone come up with a d

How do I accurately take a chicken thigh's temperature?

I tried to bake chicken thighs the other day and I used my probe thermometer to tell me when they were done. Well it seems that I did something wrong when inse

Is it safe to eat sauteed onions left at room temperature? [duplicate]

I made a big pot of sauteed onions and garlic (~9 onions and a head and a half of garlic), and forgot to put it away overnight. It was probabl

Lifetime of French press filter

I'm thinking about buying a French press for making coffee. I'm just not sure what is the lifetime of the filter? Can I use it for years or do I have to get a n

Pulled pork substitute- How do I do it?

I want to emulate pulled pork for my non-pork eating friend (semi-Jewish, read: no pigs, it doesn't have to be technically kosher). What cut of beef would achi

Potato and Macaroni Salads soak up all the mayo when I store them

When I make either potato or macaroni salad, I always have a problem the next day with the salad soaking up the mayo so it looks like there was no mayo added.

How to soften diced meat that was has had too much of its juices leave from being cooked too long?

I have a bad habit of wanting to over cook meat on the frying pan. It's from a phobia that any juices or red/pink coloring inside the meat may contain bacteria/

At what concentration is sodium bicarbonate a sanitizing solution?

I can't find an authoritative answer to the question @rumtscho asked me here about the concentration of sodium bicarbonate, mixtures of which I've come to rely

Can I make gyoza with raw meat?

I know it's traditional to make gyoza filling with raw vegetables, but is it also made with raw meat, or should it be cooked first? With other types of dumpling

Cooking Dry noodles without them being soggy

Could I get some tips on how to cook like or similar to Sharwoods Dry Noodles since when I cook, strain, wash and add them to the wok for cooking they always se

What are the authentic traditional ingredients for Naan bread?

I would like to know what the authentic and traditional ingredients for Naan bread are. There are many recipes that use some ingredients but not others and the

Bottling and Storing Cold-Brewed Coffee?

I'm a bit of an iced-coffee snob – I love a good, rich tasting coffee, and love the smooth flavor of cold-brewed coffee; unfortunately, the only time

bread flour strength?

I know nothing about bread making and I'm a novice. I've got a new recipe that I really want to try, but it calls for bread flour and doesn't mention the bread

Is it possible to can lemons in a simple syrup as opposed to using salt?

I would like to know if its possible to can/preserve whole meyer lemons in a sweet simple syrup, much like you would can peaches or cherries. I haven't been a

Is there anything special about "homogenized" shortening?

I'm interested in trying to make this "water whip" pie crust. Unlike a typical pie crust where lard/butter/shortening is cut into the flour, the shortening is a

How long does ginger root last?

I bought ginger root months ago, and I didn't use all of it. I've kept it in the fridge and it still seems good. How long will it last?

Cause of foam in fried chicken pan?

I made chicken katsu tonight following this recipe. I added peanut oil to the pan, let it get hot, then threw in my semi-frozen breaded chicken thighs. As you c

How can I make a chocolate syrup that can be frozen? [duplicate]

I am looking to make a chocolate syrup without eggs, that freezes well.

Can a few bad (dead) mussels harm a larger batch?

I realize there are numerous related questions on freshness of mussels: Fresh mussels, or are they? How do I determine if my mussels are fresh? I couldn't find

How to make chocolate cigarellos in a quicker way?

I wanted to make chocolate cigarellos from scratch and looked it up but all I could find was this, which the author describes as being time consuming. Can someo