Latest Cooking Answers

What is room temp Butter

Many of my baking recipes call for room temp butter. In general this just means butter soft enough to be creamed with sugar, but is this a specific temp range?

What should I look out for when cooking with truffles?

My birthday is coming up, and we saw some black truffles at Whole Foods, so we thought it was time to try cooking with this rather expensive ingredient. I've ne

Can I cook my haggis from frozen?

It's Burn's Night and I want to cook some Haggis. I froze my Haggis over a week ago. The packet advises to 'fully defrost before cooking'. After which it advise

How do I prevent food from sticking to a standard (non-coated) pan?

On cooking shows I always see cooks using ordinary pans without non-stick coatings, and nothing ever seems to stick to their pans. But when I try the same reci

How can I make this very low hydration bread more home baker friendly?

The recipe is something like that: 400g of flour 180g of water 2g of yeast 7g of salt Part of the flour and water can be used to prepare a biga or a poolish, l

How do you make tomato paste?

I have a garden every year and would prefer to use my own tomatoes for all my cooking. I can them and make sauces, but haven't found a good recipe that describ

Resources for cooking for a person with type 2 diabetes

I am a private chef and will have to cook for 16 days for a person recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The meals I'm required to prepare are lunch and di

Food that does not spoil, lightweight, energetic and balanced

As I am preparing to get into sailing, the problem of having food with me that does not spoil, is lightweight, sufficiently energetic and well balanced becomes

Accidentally baked flatbread with oxygen absorber -- is flatbread safe to eat?

We just accidentally baked some trader joes flatbread and didn't notice the oxygen absorber went in the oven with it. If you're unfamiliar, this is the little p

How to deal with flare up when broiling a steak?

I was broiling a steak (with the fat on, and I had also lightly coated it with olive oil). After I had turned it over, about the 2nd minute (before it was done

hard crack candy coming out too sticky

I've made a few batches of hard crack candy, but so far every batch i've made has come out stickier than I'd like. by too sticky, i mean that the candies will s

How much dough will I need in order to fill a loaf tin?

I'm going to be making a loaf of bread in a 900 g tin (11" x 4.5" x 4" deep). What is the total weight of the dough I will need (when mixed) for a tin this siz

How to dry homemade pork sausages with proper humidity and temperature?

I am new to this and am attempting to dry some pork sausages. I was told to add a quarter pound of salt for every ten pounds of pork meat, which I did (I used o

Commercial Sponge Cake Improver?

Many years ago (35+) my grandmother received a container of a 'sponge cake improver' from a family member whom was a commercial baker. She describes it as look

How to make sparkling powder for candy?

When I was young, someone taught me how to make this powder you find on candy. It's acidic and seems to "sparkle" in the mouth, but I don't know the name and s

Is 'Pizza yeast' any different than normal baking yeast?

A friend (Italian) mentioned that she uses 'Pizza Yeast' for making pizza, and one can't use normal yeast or it'll "grow too much".. I looked around the interne

Is "until juices run clear" a valid test for poultry doneness? Why or why not?

I've come across this particular recommendation many times in various recipes and cookbooks and probably even given it out myself once or twice. Poultry is suf

Sautéing big batch of onions

So I like making pasta sauce with lots of sautéed onions, but to properly sauté, at least as far as I understand it, I can only put a limited amou

Does cooking wine go bad like regular wine?

I bought some cooking wine last week and made a delicious meal with it. I only used half a bottle, so the other half is still in my pantry. I know that regu

Making madeleines without the special pan?

I don't have the special pan or any cupcake or muffin tins. Can I just plop spoonfuls on a cookie sheet? Does anyone know whether I have to alter the recipe?

How to complement a dish?

I really love cooking the "main feature" of a meal... I love doing the meat - steak, chicken breasts, you name it, I love it. But when it comes to making the

Substitute for marjoram

Are there any herbs similar to or anything i can substitute marjoram with?

Would a cast iron pot work well for chili? If so, why?

Is there anything to the cliched image of the big ol' cast iron pot filled with fiery chili? We have some cast-iron skillets and love them, but I've heard tha

Are frozen onions any good? (And general advice with frozen veg)

Whilst I am not that good, I love to cook and I absolutely love onions! When I cook, the longest part always seems to be peeling and cutting onions.. and hate

How to store homemade fresh Mozzarella Cheese

What is the key to keeping fresh Mozzarella soft. It often turns "sticky" in refrigerator storage

What features do I want in a Toaster Oven?

Our Toaster isn't doing well, planning to replace it with a toaster oven to get some more versatility on the counter top. What features are good? I've looked an

Does flaxseed oil need to be refrigerated?

I bought a bottle of organic flaxseed oil to season some cast iron, and the store keeps it in the refrigerator. Does flaxseed oil need to be refrigerated, or is

How to prevent sticking and get a nice searing on scallops

When I am searing scallops, they often stick in the pan and most of the time, they are very hard to turn. I use only a little oil 1-2 tablespoons. Am I not us

Stripping seasoning from cast iron

After reading this article, I want to try to re-season a skillet with flaxseed oil; I'm fairly certain I did a terrible job when I seasoned the skillet several

Why does leftover pizza dough make terrible bread?

I like to make my own pizza dough. Usually I end up with some leftover dough, which I stick in the fridge and then try to make into buns or something for break