Latest Cooking Answers

How to make a smooth crème brûlée top

I make crème brûlée from the Alton Brown recipe and it ends up delicious. However I am still in search of a method that will produce a smoot

How do you crack eggs on a tawa without running away?

My iron tawa looks like the following. It is a bit shallow in the center. I pour some oil on the tawa and it gets collected in its center. Then I wait for i

Sous vide vegetables packed in advance?

Is there a reason to not dice vacuum pack vegetables and keep them in the fridge for å few days before cooking them sous vide?

How to make dutch pannekoek?

How can I make those Dutch pannekoek, specially those salty ones that have cheese and mushrooms? Every time I try, I end up burning those "toppings".

Frozen Kefir Grains Seem Dead...Any Suggestions?

My kefir grains were frozen by accident when the temp in my fridge was turned way down. I turned the temp back up, and after a couple of days took my grains ou

When soaking chickpeas (garbanzo beans), do I discard floaters?

When I put my dried chickpeas in water to soak, some of them float. Should I throw these ones away, or are they okay?

What's the skinny on fat asparagus?

I had always heard that pencil thin asparagus is the best, and that has always been what I look for. But now I've heard from a few (what I would consider reliab

Suggestions for meal-for-two with one lamb shank [closed]

I have one lamb shank in the freezer. Usually I make tagine with lamb shanks, but I'd need another (for one each) and they're quite pricey. Ca

Furman's Italian Style Tomatoes

My question is of a scientific nature in regards to the above product. My boyfriend has been given cans of this and every time he has used it, he has said that

Any suggestions on caps for Bakers and Chefs plastic squeeze bottles?

I purchased some Bakers and Chefs clear plastic squeeze bottles, which do not come with caps; however, there is a ridge about 1/3" down on the bottle, suggestin

Shelf life of Sesame Oil?

I love the taste of sesame oil, I can easily go through an 8 ounce bottle in a couple of weeks if I'm on an Asian kick, an 8 ounce bottle of my favorite brand h

What is yellow rock sugar, for pho?

I love pho and will soon try making it myself using an authentic Vietnamese recipe. I'm clear on all of the other ingredients and techniques, but "yellow rock s

How long to steam eggs for? (Instead of hard boiling)

I'm steaming eggs, rather than hard-boiling (I want the same effect), because it's convenient as I'm using the steam from some boiling chickpeas underneath. Bu

Why the common basic taste of energy drinks is tutti-frutti?

With extraordinary exceptions, most of the basic energy drinks has the same basic flavour: tutti-frutti. Why was it chosen instead of an already known flavour,

How does baking temperature affect kale chips?

My ideal for kale chips would be to have the kale remain as green as possible, be crispy, but not have a burnt flavor. In kale chip recipes around the interne

How to make my croissants to grow?

I tried to cook croissants following a recipe I found on internet, but although I used yeast they didn't grow at all once in the oven. Is there any secret to pr

Is this "true" cinnamon?

I just made pho. It turned out great but for one thing, I found the cinnamon flavor to be just a tad overwhelming. No worries, I just added more of everything e

Substitutes for cheese due to allergy.

I have an allergy to the histamines in various aged cheeses such as parmesan, romano, blue cheeses, etc. Many recipes call for parmesan for saltiness and flav

Chicken Stock gelatinous [duplicate]

I made chicken stock recently from chicken thigh bones and skin (just needed the thigh meat and the bone-in-with-skin were cheaper). After co

What is the definition of a cup of coffee

My wife and I had a discussion in regards of my consumption of coffee during office hours. Health gurus always talk about a maximum amount of coffee during a da

Parchment paper and crumb crusts?

I have fallen in love with America's Test Kitchen's recipe for lemon cheesecake. Animal crackers in a crumb crust...who knew? It's really good. I just made it f

Why isn't a Sourdough starter unsanitary?

Letting a bowl of flour and water go bad in a warm corner seems problematic at best. I'm willing to believe there is some process that goes on to limit pathoge

Should tamarind pulp go into Pad Thai sauce?

I'm making my own Pad Thai sauce and I'm not sure if I should strain out the tamarind pulp or if it can stay in the sauce. Or is there some type of prepared tam

Why stuff a roast chicken with lemon, onion, and thyme?

I just made a classic roast chicken and the recipe called for stuffing a lemon, thyme, and onion inside the cavity of the chicken. Why even bother stuffing the

Potato Crisp making

I read that 100kg of potato will process 35kg of potato crisp. I have tried it and did not achieve that result. I used 100kg of potato to process only 15kg of p

Can you put whole eggs in a blender?

So, a bit of an odd question, but it's been bugging me for a while; could you put whole eggs (shell and all) into a blender if you're making something like scra

Is a black coating dangerous when cooking on cast iron?

A lot of times when I use my cast iron pan, I'll sometimes get some "black stuff" which I assume is gristle on my food. It doesn't taste bad, it's not a "TON" -

Condensed milk instead of evaporated [duplicate]

I'm making pumpkin custard and it calls for 1 can evaporated milk AND 3/4 c.sugar. I have a can of condensed milk. Can I used the condensed mi

cake undercooked or too wet?

I recently tried this recipe: http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/09/easy-pumpkin-bread/ with the following modifications: I didn't have any butter, so I subs

Is a peanut a nut?

Is a peanut technically a nut? If not, when people say they are allergic to "nuts", are they also allergic to real nuts,(walnuts, almonds, cashews, etc.)?