Latest Cooking Answers

Reasonable level of inaccuracy in thermometer?

A little over a year ago I purchased an expensive digital scale / thermometer combo: http://www.breville.com.au/thelittlegeniustm-kitchen-scale.html It works f

What should I do with a turkey after roasting but hours before dinner?

I work overnight, from 12 AM to 8 AM. When I got in, my only instruction was to check the turkey by 1 AM. I was also told by the co-worker I was relieving that

How can I fry leftover mashed potato?

Today I need some tips on reusing mash potato. And not the "don't do it" tip. I mean, how can I fry it? So far I've pretty much limited my reuse of mash potato

What material/metal is typically used under the layer of coating in 'ceramic' frying pans?

I am looking at different ceramic frying pans, e.g. this lagostina one, but from reading the product description it is really hard to figure out what metal is t

What is the best marker for writing on glass?

I am looking for a permanent marker for writing on glass spice containers that can endure being washed. I thought of just using sticky paper labels but they wi

Why is my pecan pie always runny?

My pecan pie used to be firm years ago. Now going by the same recipe it's always runny. This time I added an extra egg, stirred it less and with a wood spoon

What should I look for when buying a ramen bowl?

I live in Italy and I love ramen, but I can't seem to identify the characteristics that make for a good Japanese hot noodle serving bowl. What's a good capacity

Can I purify / kill germs in a water to make it drinkable by putting it in a freezer?

I've conducted a research on how can I purify the water to make it drinkable and the results are many, but most of them says that drinking a freeze water can ca

Which tools can be used to safely cut bone?

I need to cut various types of bone for its marrow (ie, leg of lamb, or pork bone). I'm wondering what type of tool would accomplish this safely. I've considere

What is the ratio of curing salt versus table salt in a recipe?

My soppressatta recipe calls for 2.50 lbs. of table salt for every 100 lbs. of meat. How much curing salt would I use in place of table salt?

Baking a pie in air grill / electrical convection oven?

I got a following device, apparently not too common one. :) Marketed here as air grill, but also named electrical convection oven. It took me a bit of trial

Can I fix my universal meat grinder which leaks when I make cranberry orange relish

'Tis the season for cranberry orange relish, but what a mess! The source of the leak: where the handle meets the barrel of the grinder. Is there a gasket t

How do I heat up rice and pasta at work?

I want to heat up rice or pasta at work so I can have a hot meal with rice and chicken or pasta and chicken. There is a microwave there - can I use that?

Why potatoes need to be boiled in order to make alcohol?

I have read a couple of recipes and descriptions of what needs to be done in order to produce alcoholic beverages such as vodka and rum. I was surprised to lear

Can You Blowtorch A Pig Skin to Make it Crispy?

I like to try this recipe here. http://panlasangpinoy.com/2014/01/11/crispy-oven-broiled-liempo/ Liempo means Pork Belly in our country. Anyway, my oven is a

Why do most belly pork recipes recommend cooking the pork at a high temperature at the beginning of cooking?

Most belly pork recipes recommend cooking the meat at a high temperature at the beginning. And then lowering it for a number of hours. However, I have found th

What caused my homemade "Nutella" to go bad?

I had a first try on a self-made recipe for a chocolate-hazelnut cream, in short Nutella. Question Even though I used ingredients that wouldn't have gone bad s

Why does my knife leave grey streaks in the butter?

Sometimes my flatware leaves grey streaks in butter. I've only seen this with knives in cold butter. They claim to be stainless steel which I would think woul

Should iodized salt be avoided when salting meat?

Should iodized salt be a avoided when salting meat? I have heard people telling me that iodized salt makes meat taste funny when using it for meat purposes. Is

Burning crumpet bottoms

When I cook crumpets because the pan has to be so hot and the heat has to remain hot for the bubbles to form. How do I stop the bottom of the crumpets from burn

Chicken Tikka Masala tastes a bit off

I have made chicken tikka masala recently and it turned out alright. I got the texture and look properly, but, however, the taste seems a bit off. I have used t

Why is my bread so dense and moist?

I have been trying to make bread using a bread mix and my mixer. I read that the amount of water you should add can vary on the humidity at the time. The mix

What are the options for sweetening?

This question relates to a tomato based sauce, but I imagine it applies to all dishes. I recently made meatballs in a tomato sauce; typically, I find that an

Jam scum after sealing

I made strawberry jam and bottled and sealed using wax discs. I'm planning on selling the jam but scum has formed on top. If I open the jars they will have to b

cinnamon in bread dough

Is there a reason, besides the beautiful appearance, that cinnamon is added as a swirl instead of added directly to the dough? I heard once that it inhibited th

Is a smoked pork shoulder a suitable substitute for ham hocks?

In reference to a recipe for ham hocks and beans, can I use smoked pork shoulder instead of ham hocks and still get a good result? What will be the difference i

Why do my huge bone broth ice cubes become tiny puddles when melted?

I made some bone broth soup and froze it in ice-cube trays. When I melt these huge ice cubes (via microwaving), they melt down to a tiny puddle of bone broth.

How to store homemade pasta without freezing

I'm curious how to make pasta (and in this case I'm talking about say, spaghetti, angel hair, shells or lasagna noodles, no filling) and store it dry like I wou

When is an avocado considered bad?

I'm generally an avocado purist, so I throw out any brown spots, but I notice that many restaurants serve avocado even with the brown stuff... When is an avoc

Sous Vide and Plastic Melting?

Is there a danger of the plastic bag melting for cooking via sous vide? How do you know when the plastic has melted?