Latest Cooking Answers

Can I use a plastic tub to ferment sauerkraut?

I have always used glass jars, crocks, etc. but found a nice plastic tub....will this work okay?

Can you make fermented, oil-stored Giardiniera at home?

I'm wanting to try to make Chicago-style giardiniera at home. However, some food-safety site says that The Italian condiment, Giardiniera, CANNOT be made s

The use of chicken bones that have frost on them

I have chicken bones in the freezer that have frost on them. Can I still use them to make chicken broth?

Process fresh salmon into Sushi / Sashimi salmon?

I am a Sushi and Sashimi lover, especially salmon flesh. I recently bought some fresh salmon from Taobao. It's not frozen and has been kept around 4°C for 2

What does it mean to place a "piece of parchment paper and an inverted lid of foil" to cover

I'm working with a dutch oven, and i'm braising short ribs. I'm assuming the idea to place a "piece of parchment paper and an inverted lid of foil" to cover me

How do you prevent the flour/cornstarch in pork chops from falling off after pan-frying and still be crunchy?

I coat my pork chops with cornstarch with seasonings (salt, five-spice, etc.) before pan frying. After pan-frying, the coatings easily fell of from the pork cho

When kneading bread dough, how sticky is 'too sticky'?

I often see the directions "If it's too sticky, add more flour". This usually comes shortly after "Add as little flour as possible." Being a perfectionist, thes

How to cook young onions so that they melt?

I was at a restaurant yesterday and I was surprised to get young onions (sorry for the direct translation from French oignon nouveau en botte - I added a pictur

When do you add spices to homemade butter?

I have looked up many homemade butter recipes. I know how to make plain butter. I have seen some recipes with herbs added and other seasoning. They don't say wh

Revive sourdough starter after 2 months in fridge

I have a sourdough starter in fridge for nearly two months and have not fed it. Haven't even looked at it. So two questions: if it smells ok, for a starter, t

How can I make dry coconut from fresh coconut meat?

For my recipe I need dry coconut, but I have only fresh coconut meat in my kitchen. Is there any easy option to convert it into dry coconut?

Recipe calls for a heaping teaspoon of a liquid ingredient

I'm looking at a recipe for chickpeas (garbanzo beans) roasted in a spice mix, which looks yummy, but I'm confused by some items in the ingredients list. I'm h

Added sugar instead of syrup to sorbet mixture

I made a sorbet at work and I was in such a rush. I'm still new to the making sorbet (it legit is one of the simplest things ever), but I had the biggest bonehe

pork went over internal temperature, can I make it tender by putting the oven in a lower temperature for a couple of hours?

I cooked a piece of pork shoulder and i put it at 250 celcius for 30 min and 130 celcius for 1 hours. Now the internal temperature is well above the 71 celcius

Premix dry herbs for easy oil pasta

How normal is it to use premixed dried herbs with pre-toasted garlic as a quick oil pasta preparation? Is it presumable that one can just use supermarket brands

Tasting food while cooking

I cook quite regularly at home, but I have trouble tasting food while cooking. All I want to know is if I should adjust salt, pepper or sourness. On the rare oc

Water content in beignet dough

When I add the indicated amount of water to my beignet recipe, I end up with humid flour: not enough moisture to form a dough of any kind. It seems apparent to

Are hardware store themocouples food safe?

I recently finished reading The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee: Growing, Roasting, and Drinking, with Recipes. The authors of this book put a strong emphasis on ac

One Cup in Grams

How much is a cup of milk in grams? Of course I can search google and get it (240gr) but that sounds too much for making pancakes . I don't have a measuring cu

Pretzel burger buns: how to make soft crust?

According to pretzel bread recipe, raw dough buns must be dipped for 30 seconds into a water with baking soda before going into the over in order for them to de

Royal icing safety concern

Is it possible to acquire salmonella from consuming royal icing? Is it better to use a powder substitute? I am afraid to serve egg whites that have not been c

Dehydrating Strawberries - Wax Paper or Parchment?

I just tried dehydrating strawberries in our oven (it has a dehydrator setting), and used parchment paper to line the metal trays. The results were quite good,

Should I write Steak or Beef Tenderloin on the menu?

I am trying to write a simple menu. One of the dishes is "Pan seared sliced beef tenderloin". Is sliced beef tenderloin considered steak or would that cause co

Homemade Dill for Charity [closed]

I really want to make my own dill to put in my spaghetti sauce for a charity luncheon I'm hosting. Do you fellas/ladies have any tips? How sh

Are capers a substitute for pickles in a tartar sauce?

Would capers work in place of the usual pickles in tartar sauce? I'm mostly curious and it might help other people who want to try this as well! I figure that i

What damage is caused to kefir when it comes into contact with metal?

Advice differs. And what about contact with stainless steel, which was only invented in the 19th century, when kefir had already been consumed in the North Cauc

At what temperature does simple syrup freeze?

I would like to freeze mint flavored simple syrup into ice cubes, and store them for a while. I tried this with a 2 to 1 simple syrup and it did not freeze at a

First time cooking Ribs. St. Louis Style, membrane questions + more

This is my first time cooking ribs so I feel I am making some rookie mistakes. I forgot to peel the membrane off of the rack of ribs I plan on cooking later to

How to get rid of tiny black spots on white plastic cutting board?

When I looked in the dishwasher this morning after it ran overnight, I noticed an amount of tiny flecks on the white plastic cutting board I have, on both sides

Delayed Pressure Canning by 12 hours? OK? or no?

We did a batch of canning the other day. We take our beans and blanch them then let them cool off. We take our mason jars and boil them as well as our lids. We