Latest Cooking Answers

How to use meat thermometers with big needles for thinner meat pieces?

Naturally steaks will be thinner than 4 inches like thermometer needle, at least the one I have. So it will absorb less heat in total, and maybe show lesser val

Are there any sugar substitutes for preserving food?

A quote from the Live Strong website Just like with salt, some forms of sugar can draw water out of food and tie up water within the food so it is not avail

Not sure my meat spent long enough on high in the crock pot?

Last night, I was making chili and realized I'd forgotten to thaw the meat. I was most of the way through putting the veggies and sweet potatoes in, so I put th

Thicker steak: pan seared then oven

If I use cast iron pan to sear it, and then put in the oven I have some questions: If I sear it from both sides, one side 2 minutes, other 1 minute, and then p

What is the purpose of this footed glassware with a large round bowl and a decorative handle?

I inherited a very large collection of glassware, most of it I recognised, some very esoteric (specific vessels for specific kinds of alcohol etc). I've been ab

Any reason I can't use popover batter to make one huge popover without separating into little cups?

Something like http://www.food.com/recipe/perfect-popovers-189284 but all in one baking pan?

Why is my avocado tough and rubbery?

This is the second avocado from the same bag that is tough and rubbery. The pit won't come out without leaving a skin, and it won't peel out of it's skin withou

Do you need to pre-heat a gas oven?

I mean it's gas - an open fire - and heats up in less than a minute. Does preheating making any difference when baking with gas?

Graham Crust Cheesecake is so hard to cut?

How come with I follow the instructions to the letter on the Nasbisco Graham box for the cheesecake recipe that my crust come out so hard to cut upon serving? I

Uncarved Pumpkin - is it still okay to cook with?

Is there a way to tell if the insides of my pumpkins are still okay to cook with? Assuming the innards smell okay, is it fine to eat? Is it possible for the p

Any way to reduce the tangy taste of homemade coconut milk?

I make different kinds of non dairy milks (nut, rice, etc). I rather like coconut milk, but would like to reduce the natural tangy coconutty flavor. I was loo

Shelf-stable "frosting" for a savory "gingerbread" house?

My mom read a Rachel Ray magazine, and is planning a craft project with my nephews where they make a log cabin out of pretzel rods. The problem is that it like

Chocolate hazelnut: efficacy of mixing crushed&roasted hazelnuts to sauce

I would like to know of roasting and crushing hazelnuts, then mixing them with chocolate sauce, is enough to create a nice choco-hazelnut syrup? (I recently as

Crackling sound and a thin layer of something on the surface before water boils

I washed my cooking pot and put some water in it, and put it on the stove. When the water came close to boiling, I started hearing crackling sounds and there wa

How do I properly breadcrumb meat?

I have always breadcrumbed meat in a certain way (cordon bleus, schnitzels). But the crumbs on the food are nowhere near a standard that I would make this for g

Does sprinkling salt on top of brownies give the same result as putting it in the batter?

Standard recipes for brownies have a teaspoon of salt in them. Questions like this one and this one explain that it's only for taste. Can you just put some salt

How do I know if food left at room temperature is still safe to eat?

If I left food out of the refrigerator for some period of time, is it still safe? If I left it out too long, can I salvage it by cooking it mo

How to get that crispy skin on a roasted turkey or chicken

I love making roast chicken, but I don't seem to be able to get the skin to crisp to that nice mahogany color, like this: Some of the things I have tried: b

Home made yeast cinnamon rolls deflating?

I use an old time recipe that uses high-gluten flour, mashed potatoes flakes, sugar, salt, oil, yeast, eggs - I make them very often and lots of times have no i

How can I remove salt from a saline infused pork sirloin roast?

How can I remove salt from a saline infused pork roast. I purchased 4 of them. After making the first one I could not eat it. I am on a low sodium diet.

Why is the handle of sauce pans tilted and not horizontal?

Why is the handle of a saucepan tilted upwards now-a-days rather than the old fashioned horizontal handles?

Effect of metal colander on jerky meat post-marinade

I make a lot of beef jerky. I always marinade in for at least a day in a Ziploc bag. After marinade, I leave it in a colander for several hours to drain and spe

Can silicone moulds be used for making cupcakes in electric tandoor

I am preparing cupcakes as I have bought new electric tandoor. Now I am confused, can silicone moulds be used in electric tandoor or not?

How finely chopped should vegetables be when making stock?

I've watched several YouTube videos now to learn how to make vegetable stock. Most of these videos show the vegetables being chopped into relatively large chunk

Why mono and diglycerides instead of xanthan?

Xanathan gum (like many other vegetable gums) is often used as an emulsifier and for thickening liquids. Meanwhile, mono- and diglycerides (aka glycerin flakes

Incorporate oreo bits in cookie recipe

What's the best way to incorporate prepacked oreo bits into a tested chocolate chip cookie recipe? Mix with dry ingredients or wet ingredients? Consider weig

What pot size for 150 servings of sauce?

I am cooking spaghetti meat sauce for approximately 150 people. I can cook the sauce, but I have never cooked for such a large group before, what size pot is re

How to store live scallops?

I bought some really fresh live scallops from the pier today. I was planning on making something with them immediately as it is best when absolutely fresh. Howe

Why and when do you need to dock dough?

When making a pie, you almost always have to make holes in the dough with a fork. This is called docking. What is the exact reason for doing this? Are there ki

What's this yellow plum-like fruit with a spiky stone? West Africa

I recently bought a couple of these from a fruit seller in Sierra Leone. On the right is the stone after eating the fruit. They're small-ish, a similar size to