Latest Cooking Answers

How to keep blintzes closed

I am trying to make cheese blintzes. I made them out of egg and flour. After packaging the blintzes up and readying to put them in the oven, they slowly start

Stovetop Flank Steak

Let me start with some background info: 99% of the steaks I cook are strip skirt steaks because they are delicious and thin. This makes them ideal for stoveto

thicken stew with excess floating fat

I skim fat from my stews and then thicken it with a roux or cornstarch. Is there a way to directly thicken with the floating fat?

Homemade yogurt & flavours - Keeping it thick

I am getting a really thick yogurt with fresh whole milk + cultures. What I do is: get the milk (3,8% fat) boiling (95°C) keep heating the milk, lowering

Homemade yogurt aftertaste

My homemade yogurt is wonderful: thick and fresh, made out of whole milk and cultures, no sugar, just a bit of organic vanilla powder. There's only one thing I

The mystery of heating up canned beans- What the tin says

Cans of beans say "Heat for 3-4 min. DO NOT BOIL". Does anyone know why canned beans should not be boiled? Surely they were boiled when they were first cooked,

Delaying Fermentation in Refrigerator

Yesterday, I was on the cusp of baking my bread (I had just begun the final shaping process of the dough, putting it in banettons to rest at room temp. for 3-4

How long will grease (from bacon or roast) keep in the fridge?

I kept all of the bacon grease from making bacon this weekend, and now I have a jar of solidified grease in the fridge. How long can I use this to impart bacony

How much should yeast rise?

At some point in the past, I had purhased a large amount (maybe a pound) of instant yeast at a restaurant supply store. I transfered it to a glass container, a

Honey in porridge

Honey degrades in temperatures over 40°C. When I cook the porridge in the morning, it definitely has more that 40°C. If I mix in the porridge a tablespo

Is it unwise to store oils etc above gas stove/oven?

Due to space constraints I keep my oils and some various cooking sauces above the gas stove/oven. These can get VERY hot up there. Am I ruining my oils? The red

How to skewer a baked potato without leaving bits of foil

My preferred method of cooking baked potatoes is to lightly coat them in olive oil, then wrap them in foil and skewer them before baking for a couple of hours.

french press vs. chemex - oil absorbed by chemex filters?

I've always understood the french press to be the superior way to prepare coffee because it lacks any paper/cloth filter thus leaving the flavorful and aromatic

The Warm Oven Temp. for Cakes

My Mom is making a cake. Its an old recipe, 50 - 70 yrs old (or older). All it says is to use a warm oven. No temperature range, just a warm oven. What temperat

Best way to impart rum flavor in caramel candies?

I have a caramel candy recipe that uses spiced honey instead of corn syrup that I really love. I also have a caramel syrup recipe that uses rum and it was a hug

How to tell when cheesecake is done?

I'm baking a cake that shall be categorized as "light cheesecake". The recipe says when the top of the cake is firm, the cake is done. So I baked for an hour, o

White wine substitute in potato leek soup

In this recipe, can I substitute or do without the white wine? Is there a non-alcoholic substitute?

What is the shelf-life of home-made tomato sauce?

My husband made home-made tomato sauce two years ago that we still have on the shelf. It's stored in air tight mason jars and smells fine. Can we still eat th

Steeping green tea leaves - how many times can I steep them, and do they lose flavanoids over steeps?

I order my green tea leaves in small vacuum sealed baggies from China. They are crumbled up, but expand out once they become saturated. I typically use maybe

Does dry pasta need washing?

When I am cooking at home I usually cook with dry, store bought pasta shapes. Before I cook it I usually partly wash it under the tap so that the water isn't to

Create my own high-gluten flour by mixing vital wheat gluten and bread/AP flour?

Has anyone had success with giving their bread or all-purpose flour an extra gluten kick by adding vital wheat gluten? I would like to know what ratio to mix t

How much lemons are needed to produce pure 1 kg lemon essential oil?

First of, sorry of the question is not for here, but I can't seemk to find more proper place... My question is, how much lemons are needed to produce 1 kilogram

Fix my waffle recipe

The other day, I made waffles for the first time in a long, long time. I had no recipe to use, so I found one online, and used it almost verbatim. When fresh, t

My soufflé turned grey

I have been trying to make a raspberry soufflé, because, well, I found a recipe, and it sounded tasty. It utterly failed, but because I'm stubborn, I wan

Tea-flavored concentration from a teabag

I was wondering if there was a way to make a concentrated flavoring from a teabag. This probably isn't the best choice, but we have teabags readily available i

Having trouble getting lower fat fluffy pancakes with baking soda approach

I have a baking soda and vinegar pancake recipe that uses too much butter for my liking. When I reduced the butter content, the pancakes seemed too thin and cri

Do I need to clean an oven that's not been used in 10 years?

My house has a built-in oven that I've never used since I moved in ~10 years ago. (I prefer to use the oven function of a combi-microwave.) My wife, who has ju

History of eating not fully cooked meat

When/Where/Why did humans start eating not fully cooked meat? I am aware that certain cultures were eating raw meat and still do but I am interested specificall

What considerations are there when using powdered or pasteurized eggs in baking cake?

If I am baking cake (from box mix or from scratch) and I don't have any fresh eggs, what must I take into account if I want to use powdered eggs or pasteurized

Soaking millet before making ogi

I have a recipe for making Ogi - soured mixed millet, that calls for soaking whole millet grains, then blending them, then souring them with whey for three days