Latest Cooking Answers

How to achieve tender or crunchy toasted lentil sprouts?

A few days ago, I started sprouting a batch of lentils. This morning, I took some of the beans, now with 0.5-1 mm shoots growing out of them, tossed them in sal

Camellia sinensis var. assamica in Yunnan?

Camellia sinensis var. assamica is the tea variety that is associated with Assam, as the name attests. I have also seen allusions and suggestions that this is

Can I use expired cream cheese spread?

I bought cream cheese (Milkana), didn't use it, and I found out it already expired on 5 August 2013 (over a month ago). Taste and smell are still good. Can I u

Name of an Indian dish with stuffed whole potatoes

I had a lovely Indian meal which I would like to find the name of. There were small whole potatoes with a little hole cut into them and filled with spices and (

Why does my spinach pasta break when I run it through the cutter?

Why does my spinach pasta break when I run it through the cutter? Too dry? Need more gluten? Flour mix is half 00 and half semolina. Spinach is high-quality s

How do I create spherical coffee?

As a Barista, I have been playing around with different coffee flavours and creations. Now I have been thinking of also adding textural elements in the coffee.

What's the difference between rectangular tea bags and pyramid tea bags?

Does the difference in shape between pyramid and regular rectangular tea bags have any practical consequences? Perhaps a difference in preparation method, or in

What's the chemical difference between normal coffee beans and Kopi Luwak?

Is there any actual difference in the chemistry or components of a Kopi Luwak coffee bean, and a more traditional coffee bean? If so, what are those difference

In brewing coffee, do I need to use filtered water and what kind of filter should I use?

In brewing coffee, is it important to use filtered water? If so, why? Is there a particular type of filter that is most effective for water to be used in brew

My espresso shot is extracting too quick, what am I doing wrong?

If my espresso shot appears to be extracting too quickly, what factors could be causing this? What should I change to try to get a better result?

How long does it take to ripen tomatoes in a bag with bananas?

I read a tip about putting unripe tomatoes in a bag with a few bananas, and keeping them in a dark part of the house at room temperature. How long, more or less

Steel Cut Oats: cooking in milk vs. water

Most of the recipes I've seen (including Good Eats) recommend simmering the oats in 4 cups of liquid for 1 cup of oats. Alton Brown recommends 3 cups of water f

Will the ingredients of "baking powder" store indefinitely?

I don't bake as frequently as I used to, so if I decide to bake on some random evening, there's a good chance my baking powder has already lost much of its leav

How do I confit a Pork Neck

I am wondering about how is the best way to confit a pork neck. Is it best to confit a whole piece or should I chop it up before? What kind of oil or fat sho

Caramel Coating producing inconsistent results

I have been experimenting with a recipe for Caramel Coated Pecans. The problem I have been experiencing is that (I believe) the instructions are too general.

Is aluminum pressure cooker reactive? Will it give "off" flavors?

I have an aluminum (not stainless steel) 5 qt pressure cooker that I bought fairly cheaply at a kitchen ware outlet store. It seems the traditional pressure coo

Is leaving a Teflon rice cooker on overnight dangerous?

I own a cheap Rival brand rice cooker. Here is a link to the product page. Note that there is an inner removable bowl where the rice is cooked. This bowl is coa

When should I add spinach to homemade pizza?

When making pizza, do you put the spinach on raw or cooked? I would prefer to put it on raw, but I am concerned that the high water content in the spinach will

How can I thicken margaritas?

I've been making margaritas and I've found that, unlike fancy bar/restaraunt bought margaritas, my margaritas come out more like a liquid drink with shaved ice

What is the best way to store ground coffee?

I know it's better to use freshly ground beans and not store it ground at all, but if I have no other choice, how can I best preserve ground coffee? This quest

Vegetable Oil vs. Canola oil in DIY Spreadable butter

I've been scouring the net for DIY spreadable butter recipes but nearly all of them use Canola oil, but all I've got available here is Vegetable Oil and Coconut

How does mixing different kinds of beers/liquors mask the taste of alcohol?

Some time ago, I was at a college party where my friend gave me some horrifying concoction of various liquors, and he asked me to try it. As I'd expected, it w

How do I pour from a dutch oven without making a mess?

This is a seemingly simple question, but I can't seem to find good helpful techniques or suggestions for this. After frying in a dutch oven (or any other pot w

Advice on use and care of Le Creuset cast iron skillet

Below is a picture of my current cast iron skillet from Le Creuset. As a relative cooking novice, could someone let me know if I have possibly damaged my pan,

Is there a bacteria that would eat gluten for cooking?

Is there some yeast or bacteria that will eat gluten? I was hoping for some kind of yeast, but I can't find one. Where could I look?

I'm tweaking a Lasagna Bolognese

I'm using fresh pasta sheets (boiled al dente), a very slow simmered Bolognese, a whole milk ricotta mixture with a fair amount of spinach, basil, egg and Parme

Is regular unsweetened cocoa powder safe uncooked?

Presumably, the cocoa isn't raw. I can't find anything on the safety of consuming it uncooked. I see here the questions on how to make it dissolve in cold milk

Sauerkraut for hot dogs

I'm a recent convert to the fermented cabbage dish Sauerkraut which I know is popular in Germany and Poland. On TV I've seen this served on hot dogs in The Sta

Does freezing non-freezable liquids affect life span

I've created my own sauce, bagged it and left in the freezer for many days. It is still not frozen stiff (details to follow). I'm struggling to know how to phra

Chopped onion versus dried minced onion

Can I use dried minced onion instead of chopped onion? I don't have onions and I have more than enough minced onion in my seasoning rack.