Latest Cooking Answers

Where does the Asian dish "sang choi bow" come from?

I'm currently travelling in Laos where my favourite local dish is called "larb" or "laap" (ລາບ in Lao, ลาบ in Thai). When I

I am trying to cook Buta no Kakuni or Japanese pork belly but it's tough

I have tried cooking "Butta no kakuni" or slow braised pork belly. I watched a video on making kakuni from a check in Nagasaki. In it he used a Le Creuset dutch

Pulled pork - interrupted cooking in oven?

I'm planning to cook my 4lbs pork in the oven but as my guests arrive at 1pm for lunch, I wanted to start the cooking the evening before and then keep the partl

How did/do the Russians make carrot tea?

A while ago I read a book about the Russian Civil War (it was Blood on the Snow by Emanuel Litvinoff) in which the characters frequently drank coffee made out o

Why is a 4 lb bag of sugar at the grocery store hard as a rock?

When I purchase sugar the bags are often brick hard. How does this happen? Is the sugar 'damaged' some how? Is it safe to use?

Are chestnut mushrooms and baby portabella mushrooms the same thing?

Based on the information in Wikipedia - Chestnut Mushrooms and the answer located here at What are the mushrooms used in this (video) recipe? I would take an ed

Slow cooked steak

OK, I've got a big dinner coming up, and I want to do something different. What I want to do is a large piece of meat, cooked slowly in a low heat oven until it

Water in the microwave to reheat pizza better

I've seen this claim various times on the Internet; for example at http://imgur.com/vlh4M Put a small amount of water in a glass when you microwave your piz

Can I RE-freeze chicken soup after it has thawed?

Can I RE-freeze chicken soup after it has been thawed and heated?

How to stuff Brown Sugar croissants?

When looking at a recipe about Brown Sugar croissants I found a slight problem. These are supposed to be desserts. However I can't find a way to place the sugar

How to fry big potato pancakes for hungarian pancakes?

Good hungarian pancakes use potato pancakes the size of a big plate as base under the goulash. I never managed to successfully flip such a pancake. I can make s

Can bad honing technique spoil a knife?

I was really happy bringing home my first quality Zwiling Chefs knife. Before cooking I ran the knife through some paper - sliced like butter! After I was done

Fennel mandarin salad

I have a recipe for a fennel mandarin salad. it says to chop the fennel bulb. I haven't cooked or even ate fennel before. I have the fennel. Do i chop the green

Why does spinach lose its texture when cooked?

I know that cooking spinach until it loses its texture is called wilting, but what is the chemical process that is going on. It it losing moisture? If so why do

What grains are gluten free?

I know wheat is the common problem when avoiding gluten, but what about other grains, like barley, rye, or oats?

Can food spoil at cold temperatures?

So someone here at home tweaked the thermostat on the fridge and raised to its maximum (coldest) level, and now a few of my housemates are really upset because

At what temperature will the fats on meat render?

I am expectantly awaiting the arrival of a sous vide circulator. I saw a clip where someone cooked a duck breast sous vide, finishing it off in a frying pan to

secret ingredient in a restaurant bolognese

I have dabbled with almost every ingredient I can think of in varying amount to get my Bolognese to taste similar to a restaurant made Bolognese in the italian

Is acid required when pressure canning?

I saw in the answers to this question that acid (like vinegar) is necessary to properly preserve hot sauce, and many other answers here similarly say that a low

refrigerating meat after cooking

I've heard that you need to let meat cool down after cooking before you store in in refrigeration, something about bacteria building up when you do that. Any id

What's the difference between a cupcake and a muffin?

I was debating with someone today whether what we were eating was a cupcake or a muffin, but realized we didn't really know the difference. So what's the differ

Canning pickles and sealing lids

I did the whole boiling process of canning the pickles and over night some did not seal but as soon as I placed them in the fridge they sealed. Do they need to

How do I cook store-bought glutinous rice dumplings?

I bought some pork-filled glutinous rice dumplings from a Chinese supermarket, but I've no idea how to cook them! Someone told me to drop them into a pan of wa

Will old corn meal ruin muffins?

I have found a recipe for muffins that I'd like to make, and it calls for corn meal. I found some in the pantry, but I don't know when it was purchased. It does

From elastic to fragile chocolate

I tried to make a homemade chocolate by mixing coco powder (5 teaspoon) milk powder (3/4 cup) butter (1/4 cup) sugar syrap (1/4 cup sugar) [to completely disso

Ginger precipitation

I make a ginger in alcohol product and am having a problem that I though you could help with. I juice fresh ginger root through a standard juicer, discarding th

How to make the best of tough meat while camping?

The problem is my buddies like to buy cheap steaks to take camping (usually from the 5 for $5 bin), then they hand them to me like I could work some miracle oth

Is the "gamey" taste of venison just a polite name for "rotten"?

I have had a theory for a long time that it is the blood in the deer which causes the gamey flavor. Hunters gut the deer soon after a kill, but they don't blee

Using Agar agar beyond its use by date

A friend of mine came over the other day to borrow some agar agar from us. We had two boxes in the cupboard, and handed him one that was within its use by date,

My cookies are turning out like cakes

This is the basic recipe I used (taken from http://www.yuppiechef.com/spatula/the-science-behind-chocolate-chip-cookies/): 8 oz (about 225g) unsalted butter 1