Latest Cooking Answers

Avoiding gritty cockles

Is there any way I can identify whether or not a cockle is likely to contain grit before I bite down on it? I don't mean by cutting it open before hand, but a v

Is the grey stuff the thing we make fond out of

When cooking minced meat in particular (and most meat as far as I know), some grey, gooey stuff usually turn up on one side. Its also apparent when doing certa

Use foil as dutch oven lid for loaf pan

Can I lay foil over the dough in a loaf pan, to contain moisture like a dutch oven? I've practiced using cast iron dutch oven baking, but this time I would lik

Lemon bread issue

using my standing mixer, I creamed the butter and sugar, added the eggs, one by one. Then added some lemon juice, the batter became grainy. I wonder if my lem

Why blanch handcut fries?

I work at a restaurant. Im a potential management candidate. One of my first projects is researching hand cut fries in an effort to transition from pre-cut frie

What are yellow sushi radishes called?

I'm considering growing some sushi radishes, but what are they called, because I'm considering growing some this summer after ordering them from a seed catalog.

Under-watered bread dough: specific effect?

I would like to ask what would be the difference between a bread dough that had a sufficient water component, vs a bread dough that wasn't sufficiently moisturi

Why are mushrooms safe for everyone to touch at the supermarket?

Food safety laws generally apply to most food you can touch with your hands at supermarkets - such as loose leaf spinach, bread rolls in the bakery, and anythin

When using puff pastry in the base of a savoury pie, do you need to blind bake it?

I am making a chicken pie. I've made it before with just a pastry shell on top but I'd like to line the dish with pastry this time. Will I need to blind bake t

How to conserve eatables in humid and moist environment?

I am living in very moisture and humid environment. The eatbles I bought like rusk(made of wheat and vegetable oil), capture moisture within a day and then beco

Re-Heat meringues after having them in the fridge for a long time?

Three weeks ago I tried to make meringues. Unfortunately I left them in the oven for too short, and thus they were quite soft. Thus I put them in the fridge. No

Milk in fermented bread dough

I would like to ask if the role of milk in bread dough fermentation, is to increase the population of microorganisms similarly present in sourdough bread? If so

Does it matter if I add cornstarch to my sauce instead of pasta water?

Since it is starch in hot water in both cases, I wonder why starchy pasta water is so prized over adding (trigger warning for Italians) warm water and cornstarc

Is it possible to bake bread or the like using a stovetop tagine?

I have a Moroccan style tagine, and I usually use it on the stovetop. The recipes or guidelines I have found for baking bread in a tagine usually depend on usi

How can I reduce the salt in oversalted potatoes?

Let's just say I was experimenting, and now I have a pan full of diced carrots and potatoes that have been boiled and way, way over-brined. They taste like... s

Is it possible to fry breaded or flour covered chicken with only butter?

I understand that I would be using a lot of butter, but my only concern would be burning the milk solids. So would clarifying the butter be key? Would it ta

Which bread keeps the longest?

I want to buy the type of bread which last longest. It should be toastable, so no zwieback and other dry types. Which is the best bread for this purpose? Is the

What temperature, in degrees, should I set my slow cooker to for a 5-pound pork shoulder?

I'm making pulled pork with a 5-pound pork shoulder in my slow cooker. My cooker has a temperature control that ranges from 200 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I hop

why (Calif.) apricot & peach jam will not set?

For years, both my mother's and my own apricot and peach jams would never set up. The pectin package warned us that it might take up to 2 weeks to set (WHY??),

How to thicken slow cooker recipe sauce

I made a slow cooker balsamic chicken recipe that has a lot of liquid from 2 cans of diced tomatoes with their juice. The recipe says the juice is needed to kee

Sweet Potatoes going black when peeled

When I peel sweet potatoes for a meal, why do some go black? I peel them about 1 hour or half an hour before I cook them

Cooking pot with lid for saving gas but that doesn't overflow?

I care about gas saving and for that I want to cook with the lid covering the pot. This allows me to reduce the fire power of the stove top (then using less gas

can I freeze jalapeno peppers then use them for pepper jelly when my green peppers comne in?

My jalapeno peppers plants are loaded, but my green peppers aren't ready to pick yet. Can I freeze the jalapeno peppers then thaw them out to make pepper jelly

How to save failed pie crust dough (warm butter)?

OK, I've accidentally used warm butter in a common pie crust recipe (250 g flour + 205 g butter + salt + cold water). The dough formed before I could even add s

Commercial yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in a sourdough culture

I would like to know a good reason for adding commercial yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to a sourdough culture and would it survive?

Why is Himalayan Salt Pink?

I have heard it is from an ancient ocean floor's deposits that have since been uplifted by the Himalayan orogeny, but what in that ocean water made the salt pin

Are there particular palate cleansers for particular foods?

Whilst buying perfume for my wife, the assistant kept offering us a glass of coffee beans to 'cleanse our olfactory palate' in between smelling fragrances. I

Can unsweetened almond milk be used for the same things as regular milk?

Yesterday, I bought a bottle of almond milk from the store across the street. Normally I get lactose-free milk for my wife's sensitive stomach, and today I tri

What do the numbers on my deep fryer dial mean?

I'm very new to cooking. I bought a second-hand deep fryer, without a user manual. The dial has these numbers on it: What do the numbers mean? Do they refer

Cooking rice overnight?

I want to have cooked rice in the morning when I wake up. My plan is to prepare the uncooked rice before going to bed, add the water, set a timer and go sleep.