Latest Cooking Answers

Keeping bananas fresh for longer

Is there any way to keep bananas fresh for longer? We tried putting them in the fridge but their skins turn black very fast.

Storing raw cranberry

I want to be able to use chopped raw cranberries instead of sweetened dried cranberries in oatmeal and yogurt year round. Can I chop raw cranberries and then st

BBQ Rib problem, need suggestions

I have a pretty fail safe method for cooking BBQ baby back pork ribs at home. make a rub and apply to ribs wrap in aluminum foil one hour at 325 in the oven t

What's an appropriate shelf-life for refrigerated pre-peeled garlic?

Buying pre-peeled/crushed/sliced garlic is great because it saves so much time during prep -- hand-peeling and crushing garlic in the midst of of everything els

What's the name of the black-brown decoration sauce used in French cooking?

When my boyfriend and I visited France a few months ago, I noticed that a lot of savory dishes were drizzled with some black-brown colored sauce on top (see pic

What can I do with the fat skimmed from chicken stock?

Two days ago I prepared some chicken stock. During the preparation, I took care to skim the grayish foam (as per procedure) and all went well. I usually freeze

Too much cardamom in apple butter

I put too much cardamom in the applesauce that I'm cooking down to make apple butter. Will the cardamom flavor mellow as the sauce cooks down or should I add mo

Why are my hazelnuts/filberts bitter?

I live in the Mid-Atlantic area and have terrible luck buying raw hazelnuts/filberts in the store. They are often bitter and/or old-tasting, very expensive, and

How to keep fried fish warm and crispy during transport to venue?

I frequently cook for my choir and I wanted to serve fried fish. The problem is I have to cook the food at home and transport it to the church. How do I keep i

I want to cook chicken legs, but will be out of house for 2.5 hours at what temp do I need to cook it at so it's not over or under cooked

I want to cook chicken legs, but will be out of house for 2.5 hours at what temp do I need to cook it at so it's not over or under cooked? I have just a basic o

Can I use flavored beers in beer bread?

I'm making beer bread and only have blue moon or leineys lemon shandy. Would these work without a fruity flavor overpowering the bread?

Cause for Popovers not Rising in Oven?

Today, I was inspired to make popovers. I followed this recipe, "Foolproof Popovers" but substituted the white flour with whole wheat white flour. As for th

Reducing Canned Pumpkin (as per America's Test Kitchen)

I have a request from a friend for a Libby's Pumpkin Roll. I don't have any experience working with pumpkin because I don't like pumpkin. That particular recipe

How to store/what to do with leftovers from Ayurvedic ginger & turmeric cold/flu drink?

I've made an Ayurvedic drink for a cold/flu (though I adapted it to my tastes) - minced ginger and turmeric brought to a boil over medium high heat then simmere

Chinese cooking troubleshooting: still biting into pieces of ginger

I'm trying my hand at Chinese cooking. I doctored a mung bean soup that otherwise turned out okay. I took the spices, veg, added them to stock, waited till boi

Using fresh pumpkin as a substitute for canned

Several times I've seen recipes from the United States that call for canned pumpkin which isn't widely available in Australia. From research I see fresh buttern

Confused about the addition of garlic

I keep reading online that garlic should be added at the end of dishes because they'll otherwise turn brown and bitter. What confuses me is that a lot of rec

How do I use my lever press correctly?

I have a lever press espresso machine and wondered how I can produce the optimal shot of espresso. I am using the single serving sieve and try to fill it up to

Do I need to peel a red kuri squash?

I was just preparing red kuri squash for a soup, and as usual during preparation I snacked some pieces. The skin did not seem very thick and I took a bite of a

How to keep a green smoothie from getting 'frothy'?

I've been making a lot of green smoothies (using a Vitamix), and they have a tendency to end up with about 2 inches of undrinkable froth/foam at the top. It se

How to pick ripe plantains for maduros?

I'm trying to make sweet fried plantains (maduros) but I'm not having much success. I've tried frying on low, medium, and high heat and with varying amounts of

Do these smoked ham hocks which contain dextrose, contain gluten?

I love using smoked ham hock in soups, beans and stews. Dextrose is a listed item on this package I bought - does dextrose contain gluten?

Digital meat thermometer that does not cause juice losses

Sometimes when I'm trying a new cooking method that uses different cooking temperatures compared to what I use normally, I find it difficult to estimate when my

Homemade Tofu Firmness

So I am really getting into eating Tofu, and I want to get into making my own (since organic soybeans are alot cheaper then organic tofu). My question is, when

Making hazelnut flour with *just* blanched/peeled hazelnuts

I've just peeled 3lbs of hazelnuts by blanching them with baking soda. Here's a GREAT video showing what I did: Hazelnut Peeling (close the ad if you watch the

Can I make a good pizza in a home portable oven?

I have a portable small oven with a max temperature of 250°C. There are two hot bars, one at the top and the other at the bottom. First of all, I'm not su

How much sugar and corn starch is in commercial icing sugar?

If anyone knows about the percentages of sugar & corn starch to make icing sugar for commercial purposes, please let me know. How important is it for these

How to add banana flavor to my cookies?

I want to add the smell and flavor of banana in my cookies. I'm not sure whether I should substitute APP-flour or butter with banana. Thank you.

Olive oil vs almond oil for frying ground beef?

I need to fry some ground beef with some spices (black pepper, mustard seeds, cumin, cinnamon, salt, garlic, onion). I have olive oil and also almond oil. Wha

Best practices to minimize smoke when cooking meat using a cast iron skillet

What are the recommendations to minimize the amount of smoke generated when cooking burgers, steaks or other meats in a cast-iron pan?