Latest Cooking Answers

What is the benefit of a tinfoil packet?

I see a lot of recipes for tinfoil packet meals: various vegetables or meats and aromatics wrapped in tinfoil and baked/roasted. What is the benefit of roastin

Substitute for Palm Sugar

What is typically the best substitute for palm sugar? I've been getting away with brown sugar or molasses if I really have no time to get the actually stuff. H

Are the terms self-rising flour and baking powder different in the US and UK?

I made Mary Berry’s Cherry cake, which called for 275 g of self-rising flour and 2 tsp of baking powder, in an 8-inch pan. Went all over the oven. Are the

How do I pick up and move shortcrust pastry dough without breaking it?

Apologies if this is a bit of a newbie question! I have no problem with making, chilling, and rolling my pastry, but for the life of me I can never manage to p

Meatballs and Spaghetti in the InstantPot separately

I am pretty much a newbie at pressure cooking. I've been following this recipe for meatballs and spaghetti, and it comes out great. The thing is that my kids w

Home made jam consistency and taste

Am very new to cooking and baking. Trying on homemade organic ones.. everytime I make jams, the taste differs in spite of using the same ingredients.. when I as

Baker's Angel Flake Coconut

I have an old recipe that calls for a large can of Baker's Angel Flake Coconut. How many ounces were these cans; I need to substitute the bags that are availabl

Cooking "steak tips" on the grill - how to avoid making them tough?

Recently we bought some "steak tips" from a local farm, and cooked them on our grill and were very unhappy about the result - they were very tough, although the

A very specific synonym for a potatoes au gratin type recipe

Many years ago, we went to a restaurant that served a little cube of potatoes that was in the same category as my Mom's scalloped potatoes, but much more refine

Eating the same meal [closed]

Is there a meal or multiple meals I could rotate that would be safe to eat for 1 (or possibly more) meal(s) every day that would also stay goo

Which herbs are cooked and which go raw, when making fish pate

I'm cooking a salmon pate. I intend to use parsley, rosemary, garlic, pepper and lemon as seasoning. I'm not sure which of these I should cook with the salmon,

Dehydrating fruit/veg, temperature, and safety

I have a food dehydrator, which I've used in the past for chillies, apples and herbs. I intend to dry some tomatoes with it soon, a process that apparently tak

A book about croissants/viennoiserie

I am looking for a book which concentrates on croissants. I already have some recipes and other books which either present them or delve a little bit into them.

Eggless choux pastry recipe yields paper-thin top, gooey bottom

I'm trying to make eggless choux pastries for an egg-allergic friend (my eventual targets are croques-en-bouche and saint-honorés). I have experience wit

How to prevent large rice noodle from curling?

Today I cooked big rice noodles with chicken in oyster sauce, Thai style. It was very delicious. I had not fresh, but dried noodles (photo not mine). In or

Various ways to identify smoked foods and liquid smoke

What are some key identifiers for telling if a dish was smoked manually rather than using liquid smoke i.e. taste, smell, visually etc. I'm curious about meats

Whether a piece of meat is near its shelf life or not, does it also determine how long it can be stored after it is cooked?

For example, to buy two pieces of meat in supermarket. They are well sealed and can be kept for a few days; one piece is new, another piece will be expired just

Is it possible to release the earthy citrus of a tomato in a soup without eating it?

I have this idea that maybe along with other ingredients for a savory Thai-inspired soup that I can boil whole tomatoes with it to balance the savory flavor wit

Must bread dough clear the side of the mixer using the hook?

I can get it to clear just fine with the paddle, but I can't reliably do so with the hook attachment, even after ten minutes at the fastest setting. My flour is

Add fresh yogurt to whipping cream to make creme fraiche?

Can I use fresh yogurt instead of cultured buttermilk, to add to heavy cream (35%) and make creme fraiche? I learned that adding cultured butter milk to heavy

Why is my gluten so weak?

I’ve been making sourdough bread regularly for over a year now. But since about half a year ago, the bread has consistently come out badly because the gl

Which method to use when making fruit powders?

Searching online I found a lot of videos/ articles about making fruit powders, some of them dried the fruit itself then ground it. While other juiced the fruit,

Lasagna won't cook properly in oven with no lower exposed element :(

My new wall oven with the hidden lower element will not bake lasagna properly, no matter what I do. The cheeses and sauce don't meld into the pasta well. It tak

Should my oven have a hole like this? [duplicate]

I moved to a new apartment and under the far left burner is a hole into the oven: That is my pizza stone you are seeing through the hole.

How accurate should a thermometer be?

One week ago I sent an inquiry about why a digital thermometer seems to have a bigger temperature difference, as compared to a previous, more accurate, thermo

How do I reduce the heat in my white bean chicken chile

How do I tone down the heat in a white bean chicken chile with corn that is made from the Omaha Steak side meal kit?

Cooking pinto beans in a pressure cooker

So I have read some of the questions and answers regarding soaking and cooking pinto beans and I am still trying to figure out the best process for my needs. I

How to reduce the intensity of garlic in a soup?

I made a soup, and put a lot of raw garlic in. It cooked in a slow cooker for about 8 hours. Now the soup is much too spicy and dominated by that raw garlic fla

How do I preserve Tagetes Filifolia?

It's turning to fall, and have a lot of Tagetes Filifolia to preserve. How should I preserve it?

Salting meat before simmering

Recipes for beef stew generally call for salting and peppering the meat before browning, then simmering for a long time. How is that different from browning, t