Latest Cooking Answers

What to do after cooking oil beyond the smoke point

I accidentally cooked oil beyond the smoke point for way too long. Could hardly breathe in the kitchen etc. It's cooled down now and I know it's toxic so my que

Substitute for blood?

We're working with some 16th century recipes for sauces that call for blood (among other things). However, several members of the group try to keep kosher, and

Can white rice be burned without looking yellow, brown or black?

I try to boil my rice by using just enough water, if I don't cook it in enough water or cook it for too long, the rice will burn. However, when I burn the rice

How does the caramel in creme caramel stay liquid?

Recently, I made a creme caramel, and it came out fine. The recipe used made the caramel sauce by cooking water (30ml) and sugar (55g), then adding water (30ml)

Ayer cooking kielbasa and sauerkraut in a 300 degree oven for one hour, can I eat it after it was sitting on kitchen counter for five hours [duplicate]

After cooking kielbasa and sauerkraut an hour in a 300 degree oven, I left it sitting on the kitchen counter for five hours. Is it safe to eat

Is it a bad idea to pour water on a pan without letting it cool off? [duplicate]

Obviously I have enough common sense to not add pour water into boiling oil, but after the cooking is done I try to add water to the pan so it

How to clump store-bought granola?

I purchase granola from the store and like to snack on it as an alternative to chips. At the top of the bag, most of the granola are bite-size and easy to pick

Keeping food warm: Do double duty with heated dinner plate and enameled cast iron sizzle "charger" plate?

Will using both a heated dinner plate and an enameled cast iron sizzle plate as a charger (under the dinner plate) keep food warm for an appreciably longer time

Why does food get cold faster in some locales than others?

I live in a dry climate at 7,000 feet where we experience a true four seasons. The temperature range can be vast from below 0 degrees farenheit to the high 90s

Exact difference between demi glace and bordelaise?

This feels like a stupid question, but I've spend a fair bit of time reading about this without finding an answer... I'm trying to understand the French mother

Parsley stems in chimichurri

There is a lot of weight in the parsley stems and it is therefore tempting to include them in the chimichurri. I have also seen their use suggested on some sit

My soft chocolate cookies are soft but still too crumbly. How should I fix it?

The taste is great and it is soft, a bit chewy and not dry, but it is still too crumbly. When I push it, it is too easy to break apart. Could you please explain

Buttercream frosting with 2T buttermilk - refrigerate overnight or no?

Typically I leave my buttercream-frosted cakes out of the refrigerator. However, tonight I tried a new recipe that called for adding 1 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tb

How can I use pollen?

My dad and I bought some pollen at a fair about five years ago, and other than taking a little handful out and munching it every so often, we've never really us

Placing a steel disk inside a non-ferrous pan using an inductive stove

I have an inductive stove, and some very large pots that don't work on the stove. It seems that the material is invisible to the induction coil, and if I were

Where do you find gums, acids and glucose ingredients?

If I find a recipe that contains any of those, I just won't make it because I don't know where to find such ingredients but now there's a series of desserts I w

My drink electrocuted me

I combined acacia gum, apple cider vinegar, l-glutamic acid, egg white protein, flaxseed oil, and blackberry / citrus selzer water in a closed container.... it

Is is safe to use a stainless steel pan that has been cleaned with bleach (Comet)?

I have been cleaning my stainless steel pan with Comet for quite some time now and have only now come to know that I shouldn't be using bleach on stainless stee

Prevent onions and potatoes from sticking to bottom of steel pot for stew

I make bulk lentil stew every week as a form of meal-prep. The first step in my ad-hoc recipe is to fry some onions in oil. If I add spices to these onions aft

How to tell if my young starter is mature?

I am trying to grow my starter for the very first time. I have two of them, one is 12 days old now, 100% hydration white flour at 1:2:2 ratio, feeding every 24

Nixtamalization: Am I doing it right?

It's been a few years since I nixtamalizated the last time with the help of my Chilean friend. Now I'm on my own and due to several contradicting information on

Is it possible, and if so, how can I preserve lean meat using only salt at home?

I have lean meat (4-5mm slices) which I would like to preserve using only salt. Is this possible to do at home? Do I need any kind of special curing salt or is

Dense pizza dough

I proofed my yeast and realized it was dead but decided to still make the pizza because I figured flour, tomato sauce and cheese would still taste good. 550 d

Is sugar a necessary ingredient to feed yeast?

I consider myself a reasonably successful baker, including making my own bread dough from scratch. Lately, when searching for some new and different recipes, I

Why to store olive oil in opaque bottles?

Nowadays it is common to store olive oil in opaque (dark green/brown) bottles to preserve its condition. Does the olive oil get bad if I would use clear glass

Should calcium propionate be disolved in a liquid when making yeast bread?

There isn't much information online for home bakers regarding the use of calcium propionate. I've started an Etsy shop and selling various yeast breads and othe

Broiler vs. second baking steel?

How are the results in pizza baking different between one baking steel using a broiler, versus baking the pizza on a lower steel with a second steel on a higher

Is there an optimum (or minimum!) thickness for a steak when cooking on a BBQ?

I've just purchased approximately 3kg of Ribeye steak (which has come in at about 30cm in length as a visual estimate) with the intention of cutting it into mul

What makes breads different from one another?

I have two bread recipes I use frequently. recipe one is a type of flat bread called taftan, and the second recipe is called barbari. Taftan is griddled while b

How much salt in "liberally season"?

I've been reading and watching content about cooking and when the instructor says, "liberally season with salt", I am left clueless as to how much I should appl