Latest Cooking Answers

How to save hardened fondant?

I make cakes with fondant decorations and figurines. To harden the fondant for these figurines, I add tylose or CMC powder. Sometimes, I just color the white fo

The quantity of which ingredients should be increased to raise the moistness of a cake?

I tried this recipe and found the result to be quite dry for my taste. It contains milk, oil, and eggs. Which among the three should be increased to how much

Whipping double cream with amaretto

I was making a chocolate mousse style dessert and wanted to finish it with an amaretto flavoured whipped cream. I whipped some double cream not too stiff, then

Is asking for a "Chinese menu" in a Chinese restaurant a common way to get more authentic dishes?

At a Chinese restaurant I went to in Sydney, Australia, I asked for a Chinese menu in addition to the default menu supplied. The "Chinese menu" had dishes' name

Exceptional pumpkin variants

Five or six years ago, I happened upon a pumpkin in the bin at a Whole Foods in Cambridge, MA, that turned out to be substantially different from the others I'v

What's the difference between dried split peas and dried snack peas such as wasabi peas?

Wasabi peas (and similar snacks) appear to just be dried green peas (coated in wasabi). Similarly, dried green split peas are also dried green peas (that have

What is the purpose of heating agar powder

Is agar powder heated so that it will form a gel when it is cooled? if not then what is the purpose of boiling it?

Why doesn't my caramel sauce thicken?

The actual measurement of the caramel sauce is 50g sugar : 20g water. I divided it to 17g of sugar to 7g of water, but after following the necessary procedures

Kneading dough - significance of warm hands

I made bread the other day and kneaded the dough by hand. The recipes everywhere ask for warm water, which is understandabe for the yeast to rise. When my mot

Is sugar a thickening agent?

Is sugar a thickening agent? Palm sugar for instance? Let's say if sugar has a role in thickening liquid then how does it do it?

Making batter one day, baking the next

I have to bake a white chocolate mud cake after work and I am always left with some batter, which I then use to bake cupcakes. As mudcake takes a couple of hour

Slow-Carb or low-carb alternative to pita and similiar neutral tasting breads

While I like grey or dark breads from whole grain, some recipies simply call for a white bread with less own taste. For example when you have hummus or aioli, y

'Espresso' Maker - Base turned dark, is it bad?

A few days ago I got an 'Espresso' maker made out of Aluminium (one of these). At the moment I am experimenting a bit with it, but I noticed something strange.

At what point is a beef stew being overcooked?

I made beef stew last night in my slow cooker. At seven hours I felt like it wasn't ready so I set an alarm to wake me up at ten hours and moved it into the fri

Is there any truth to the idea that you shouldn't multiply seasonings when multiplying a recipe?

I often hear cooks discuss that idea that if you are multiplying, say, a recipe for 4 to be a for 32, that you shouldn't multiply some herbs, spices, or salt. I

How does aging affect Gouda cheese?

I'm particularly interested in how aged Gouda will melt compared to young Gouda, but I'm interested in what happens to its flavor as well. I live in the US an

Using whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose and semolina

I want to make pasta at some point and I am wondering if I could use all whole wheat flour instead of a blend of all-purpose and semolina flour. I know the tast

Creating a home "anti-griddle"?

I watched a restaurant documentary last night (Spinning Plates; pretty good!) which featured a modernist chef demonstrating their kitchen's anti-griddle: essent

How do I brew longjing tea? [closed]

I want some knowledge regarding the longjing tea. I have not tasted it but want some more knowledge about it and also the brewing method of i

How do I leave fried eggs intact?

Note: I looked through to see if there were any similar questions, but it appears that most of them were about eggs done over easy. I like having my fried eggs

What is a yeast cake?

Kids and I are reading a book written in the 50's, and there's a recipe in the book that uses one "yeast cake"? What is a suitable replacement in dry yeast? T

Adding/substituting non-flour ingredients in bread

I have a basic bread recipe that works well in my automatic breadmaker. The recipe is: 1 & 7/8 cup water 5 cups whole wheat flour 3 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp dry m

Cheese from UHT Milk

I live in a town where fresh or whole milk is not readily available. I was wondering if I could make cheese from UHT Milk. If so, what kind of cheese and what m

Can anyone explain the meaning of 2x and 4x brie cheese?

I have seen brie cheese labeled 2X and 4X and would like to know what that means.

Do I need to boil filled jam/chutney jars? [duplicate]

I want to start making chutneys/jams at home, but am unsure of exactly how to proceed. Friends I've spoken to have said to sterilize the jars

Why won't my beans soften?

I have an old jar of 9 bean soup mix which is basically dried beans. In order to cook them, they must first be softened and according to some prior research a f

Is there any commercial stand mixer bigger than kitchenaids with bowl scraping paddle?

the biggest kitchenaid with a bowl scraping paddle (called flex edge by them) is a 7 quart mixer. i would choose something bigger only if such paddle that also

Alton Brown's Buffalo Wings

See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSaR4WmVvRI Alton Brown refrigerates his wings, then steams them, then refrigerate them again. The rationale behind refrig

Is an unrefrigerated canned ham safe to eat?

I just cooked a canned ham for my family. It was fully cooked, and I reheated it well. The problem is that we ate it and then I realized it was supposed to be r

Whole wheat pasta from milling to the results

Can it work to make pasta from freshly home-milled flour?