Latest Cooking Answers

Lemonade as a base for steak marinade

I have marinaded steaks in the past with acidic juices, usually including orange juice. The acidity seems to help with the tenderization of the meet and the sl

How long can you store sugar syrup? [duplicate]

Recently, we made a variety of cocktails from Ottolenghi and Scully's NOPI book. Now, we are left with two sugar syrups. According to the book

Heart shaped fruit cake: how to prevent uneven baking

I have just made my first ever fruit cake. I used the BBC light fruit wedding cake for a 6" tin. I used the cake o later to increase the cake to a 12" one. The

Carbonated Beverage in Pressure Cooker

This recipe for Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwich is written for 8 hours in a slow cooker. I'm considering doing it for an hour in a pressure cooker. I'll paraphr

Is there a searchable food catalog of USDA Organic products?

Is there a website that I can search for all products certified by USDA with one of the 4 organic labels: 100% Organic Organic Made with Organic Some Organic i

What tempering process do you use when moulding chocolates

I want make moulded chocolate but am always having a hard time keeping the chocolate in temper for the sealing process. I use the microwave method to temper th

How to prevent calzones from getting soggy on steam table?

How do i keep fresh made calzones from getting soggy while displayed on a steam table?

Where does scarface pasta get its name from?

I couldn't find anything within the first few pages of a Google search other than the fact that fettuccine al burro (it's original name) was named after it's cr

How does yeast feed on the water

How and why does yeast grow and feed on the water? My children and I have been making yeast rolls and they keep asking why it expands,I don't know how to answer

Use of sour milk for bread making - how long after the expiration date is it safe?

My mother uses (and my grandmothers used to use) sour milk in the baking of homemade bread. This was generally whole raw milk that had soured. I'm not so luc

freeze then roast red bell peppers?

I frequently make a pasta sauce with red bell peppers that I roast in the oven. All of the other ingredients are staples in my house and always available, but i

How to prevent shitakes from sticking to pan when sauteeing?

Is there any way to prevent shitakes from sticking to the stainless steel pan when sauteeing in olive oil? I cook with many different kinds of mushrooms and onl

Can one always cook food faster in a pan with water in it with the lid on and/or high heat?

In other words: Does water boil faster with the lid on? Yes. But folks often don't consider food looks cooked 'till it's browned, and will find that takes a r

What's the point of "cheese alternative" that has dairy in it?

I was at Trader Joe's again, and I bought this cheese alternative. Being hungry out of my mind, the thought to check the ingredients never crossed it. Now I,

How long should bread dough warm up after cold fermentation?

I'm trying to experiment with cold fermentation. I've put dough in the fridge and I see that it slowed down. However how long should it ferment afterward before

Refrigerate after opening, but why?

When I open a jar or a bottle of...well, anything (but especially juices or sauces), I have to put leftovers in the fridge if I want to finish it later. What m

Soy milk; fridge vs. shelf?

Occasionally, I see a product in the supermarket that is either sold off the shelf at room temperature (then expected to be refrigerated after opening), or righ

Use BBQ for both searing and slow-roasting beef

When I make roast beef in the kitchen I typically have these two cooking steps: Sear on all sides in a frying pan on high(ish) heat; Slowly roast it in the ove

Sealed whey protein container past its use by date - is it still usable?

I've had an accident that made me stop training for quite some time and I ended up with a sealed - never used nor opened - whey protein pot that expired Oct/201

Does a pressure cooker really cook food evenly?

My mother uses a 5 liter pressure cooker to cook chicken pieces. She heats it for 10 minutes, switches off the stove and waits for the steam pressure to go d

Bread from the machine always too soft, can't be buttered

My bread machine (Panasonic SD-2501) makes good bread. The loaves rise every time and it has a great golden crust. However, the bread is always too soft. The r

Bakers percentage for cookies

I am aware of the bakers percentage used in bread, and I have used it successfully. I am baking cookies at home as a hobby. I have collected few recipes from b

Why does ice form mostly on one side of frozen sliced bread?

I keep my store-bought bread in the freezer and I've noticed that after it's frozen, every slice has a lot of small ice crystals on one side, but almost none on

Why are these called "no bake" brownies?

I have this old recipe, that my grandmother's aunt's, someone or other (don't really know any more, no one alive can remember) cut out of a magazine years and y

White bristles on carrots

I've had carrots in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few weeks and when I went to use them today, I noticed there are what I can best describe as white bristle

At what step is the difference made between a quesadilla and burrito?

My quesadillas keep turning into burritos. This happens because I fold the tortilla in half but it doesn't stay so I tuck it in and roll it up by then it become

How do we keep our roasted cashews from smelling bad eventually?

We are from a small manufacturing unit and do roasting and packing of cashews. After roasting we pack them in polypropylene pouches with nitrogen flushing. But

When making pizza dough ahead, at what point in the process should I let it rise?

I would like to make pizza dough by hand a few nights before actually baking. Do I knead the dough, let it rise, punch down, cover in oil and saran wrap, and th

Can I use tomato paste in dal?

My current method for making an Indian dal include using whole peeled tomatoes, almost always canned. Would substituting Tomato Paste, the thick stuff from cans

Yogurt-based sourdough smells like alcohol

I'm following this yogurt-based sourdough recipe, and (right now) at the 18-hour mark, it (the dough) smells like alcohol. Is this a bad sign, that it should no