Latest Cooking Answers

Edible painting pens and biscuits

Can I use an edible food painting pen to decorate shortbread biscuits or can it only be used on icing? Thanks

When was the garlic peeler invented?

I've just discovered today that there is an instrument used for peeling garlic - it looks like a simple tube made of silicone or rubber. Here's a sample video w

Varying pungency with size

Is a chilli of small size more pungent than chilli of large size of same plant if so then why? If a small chilli is more pungent then why aren't chillies in mar

I get black flecks on my butter when I grease my pan

I recently bought a Teflon-coated pan and have been using it without cause for concern, but while greasing it tonight I found the butter stick I used came away

How long can oil sit for?

My brother is having a go at me because I apparently destroyed his Tefal fryer because I left the oil sitting. He said that "the oils been sitting too long, it'

Is there a term for the blending of different recipies of the same type?

One of the things I do when cooking is I look at several different recipes for the same dish. I take a "base" recipe "A" and add these ingredients from recipe "

Recipe asks for "15 cardamom pods, crushed". Do I keep the shells?

do I just crush the pods in a pestle and keep the pods in or do I remove the seeds from the pods and then crush them? this is for a flavouring for grilled chic

Does one have to occasionally put up with this kind of nasty surprise after switching to organic beans?

First I diversified my source of protein by eating beans. Then I was glad to find that it's a lot easier to find organic beans than organic beef. Even better, I

What can I substitute for ragu in kosher lasgne?

Most lasagne recpies ask for ragu and bechamel. Since I am cooking kosher, what can I substitute for ragu?

mixed egg and bicarbonate of soda

I was half way through making a batch of peanut butter cookies when my mixer blew up - not a happy camper. As I had already mixed my eggs and bicarbonate of so

Slow cooker tips when on high and others remove the lid

I cannot use my slow cooker as designed, as I try to cook for my elderly parents. They do not rise before 11a.m., the kitchen is located upstairs with them, so

Why some vegetables are good to fry, and not others?

Is there a biological reason why some vegetables are "good" to fry on a pan while some others are not? I would readily fry onions (from "a little bit" up to "

Why was fish cut open at supermarket?

I bought some whole mackerel at the supermarket yesterday and I found when I opened the package that the fish had had their belly cut open but they had not been

Weird Smoke Coming from Stock Pot on Stove

I have recently purchased a stockpot and I have been using it for making pasta on an electric stove. The first two times I used it, everything was fine, but ton

Which is the most caloric, edible, single ingredient by weight?

There is a lot of articles among the Internet talking about the most caloric meals you can eat, but just out of curiosity, I would like to know which is the mos

How do you cook lasagne noodles?

Do you throw it all out in a tall pan at once or by batches? In what pan should you cook it? Do you put them on top of each other in the pan? Do you place them

Avoiding injuries from kneading

I've been working on my pain au levain and after a couple 15-20 minute kneadings, I have some pain in my wrist flexors. I'm using Bread Alone as my guide and Mr

How to prevent the lasagne filling from sliding out?

When I cook lasagne most of the filling slides out between the pages. How do you make the filling stay in its place?

How do you prevent your lasagne from being watery?

As you can see there is a lot of liquid that assembles at the sides. This lasagne has bechamel and marinara sauce. The bechamel is reduced, with a chunky (but

Goldenberry Storage Conditions

I have a question about goldenberries (aka Cape Gooseberry, Physalis, ground cherry.) Is it better to keep goldenberry in the fridge or not and for how many day

What is fresh preserving?

What kind of canning does fresh preserving refer to, or is it an all-encompassing sort of thing (e.g. water bath canning, pressure canning, freeze-canning, lact

Adjusting Cooking For Smaller Portions

I am going to University in the fall. I love to cook and bake but since I will be myself, I cannot cook the regular portions I had before. Is there a way that I

How would I jar a sauce for keeping at room temperature without adding loads of vinegar or sugar?

I'd like to make and sell jars of my mum's satay sauce at our local food markets. I'm trying to figure out the jarring process so it can be stored at room tem

Adjusting Bread flavor

I just found a lovely recipe to make a super crusty bread in my dutch oven. The texture is lovely and the crust is fantastic! However, the bread didn't rise mu

Has anyone tried to bake raw olives?

I was thinking about alternative ways of processing olives. Has anyone tried to bake raw olives? What did it look and taste like?

How do I maintain the crunchy crust of home baked bread?

When I bake artisan bread, the crust does not retain its hard consistency, and by morning of the next day is already soft. I use a Dutch oven and spray water. T

Why does cooked chicken taste different after a few days in the fridge?

I have observed that cooked (fried) chicken tastes a little bit different when left in the fridge for 2-3 days. I don't observe this with pork or beef. Is there

Does the order in which I turn off the gas stove matter?

I have a gas stove. This is connected to a big gas canister (I don't know the volume, but I'd guesstimate 20-30 liters). Whenever I want to cook, I turn on the

Macarons Problems because of convection gas

I tried the pierre herme macaron ispahan recipe: 250 g de poudre d’amande 250 g de sucre glace 6 blancs d’œufs (180 g) 3 g de colorant rou

How to succeed with making omelette

Sounds simple but I seem to fail every time, that is it turns into scrambled eggs instead. How do you make it so that you can flip it over both without it break