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i75o92

Why does boiling water make dough taste sweet? I was experimenting on dough for chapathi, which is basically wheat tortilla. This is how I normally prepare it, 1. Mix whole wheat flour and salt with room tap water, often 20 to 30 degree Celsius . 2. Knead with oil until I get a consistent dough. 3. Immediately press with a rolling pin and cook in a pan In this method, the product is often crisp, never fluffy and no particular taste. But today I experimented with hot boiling water as I read recently it denatures protein in food, which prompted me to experiment. When I cooked my chapathi, those were extra tender but more importantly, it was very sweet, even though I added salt . I hope to find a scientific explanation to this phenomenon.

That's basically how you make wort for beer. You heat the water to a specific temperature, usually around 156F, and it will convert the starches in the grain to sugar.

5fx9qg

Trying to improve my cranberry sauce recipe (how to balance/mute the tartness) So I have a very simple cranberry sauce recipe I usually make but it is quite tart and I can only take it in small quantities. I tried a different recipe for thanksgiving this year that I thought might solve some of the problems but it ended up tasting horrible to me. My basic recipe is just a cup of oj, a cup of sugar, some cinnamon and cloves, bring to a simmer, then add the cranberries and simmer until they pop and you get a thicker consistency. It tastes great but is very strong. I was hoping to mute some of the tartness and came across a cranberry chutney recipe that used an apple and pear as well as a little onion and balsamic. I loved the addition of the apple and pear but the balsamic, even though it was only 1.5 tbsp, overpowered the entire dish. Also, the chutney recipe used a little less sugar and apple cider vinegar instead of oj. So what are some techniques or tips I could use to tempter the tartness of cranberry sauce? Is adding the apple and pear enough to help or should I try some other things? Not looking for a new recipe persay, more techniques for balancing flavors, particular tartness.

Are you adding any salt? This might help round out the flavors a bit. You have tart from OJ, sweet from sugar, bitter from the cranberries. Start small and see how that helps. I usually make a very similar recipe to yours (but no clove) and I like it. Also, are you using a cinnamon stick or just ground cinnamon? I normally chuck in a stick and pull it out before serving.

1v9y8d

Vacuum marinading, does it really make a difference? I recently got a FoodSaver to use with my sous vide cooking. The one I purchased has the attachment that works with their quick marinator. I've never tried marinading under a vacuum and I'm wondering if it really makes a difference. Does it actually marinade the meat better than the traditional way, or does it just allow it to happen quicker?

Quicker = better. There really isn't a "better" way to marinade meat as it is really just soaking the meat in some mixture of flavorings for a period of time. The change in atmospheric pressure associated with a strong vacuum can speed this process up (google vacuum tumbler for marinating in commercial settings) which is more efficient so I guess you could say "better". The separate canister on the food saver works differently than the bags in that the canister is actually altering the atmospheric pressure and pulling a true vacuum on the contents of the canister whereas the bags are really just being efficiently voided of air and no change in atmosphere is occurring. This is why you can't do things like quick pickles or compress fruits in a foodsaver bag.

15axq8

Cinnamon sticks vs ground Why are cinnamon sticks so much more expensive than ground cinnamon? You get more per volume with the ground. And I understand that the sticks are a more versatile. Anyone know for sure?

This is late and will probably be ignored and I'm fine with that. But I want the OP to know the truth, and I happen to know the truth. Cassia and Cinnamon are the same basic taste coming from 2 different trees. Both are the bark (or more specifically the layer right under the bark) of the tree and cinnamon is the term used for both spices. So ground cinnamon usually comes from the tree trunk and when they come off the tree they look like big-ass cinnamon sticks. I'm talking about 3-4 feet long and your at-home spice grinder/microplane can't handle that big of a thing. That's why ground cinnamon is so common. But when you do see the cinnamon sticks, that is usually from the upper branches that are smaller and less potent than the stuff from the trunk. Both are wonderful, but the main difference is that ground cinnamon comes from a more potent source that has been ground and looses potency from grinding. Sticks come from a less potent source and retain more of their volatile chemicals because they are staying firm. But they had less to begin with compared to the trunk. As far as flavor, some people prefer Cassia and some prefer cinnamon. One of the best national sources to see what you like is Penzey's. You can check out their variety here. http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyscinnamon.html But as far as sticks v. ground the argument is up in the air. No one can definitively tell you which is better. All are opinion. There are many who will tell you that grinding it yourself is better and others who would say that the ground stuff comes from a better source so it is better. Leave the argument to your tastebuds. You decide who is right and wrong. And by the way, no one is wrong. Just figure out what you like. Also, here is a video about the different ways cinnamon/cassia is presented. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ-PKjmvbbU

vcf07f

160°C "fan on?" My oven automatically lowers the temp when using the convection setting. What do I set it to? I'm using this recipe for hot dog buns, and it says to set the oven to 160°C and turn the fan on. I'm in the US, so I set the oven to 320°F on "convection bake," which I know from experience *automatically lowers the temperature to 295°F on the convection setting. 25 degrees lower.* It says so on the screen. This is the only convection oven I've ever used - should I be raising the temperature 25 degrees to 345°F so that the oven is truly 320°F/160°C "fan on?"

The idea is that with convection bake, the oven gets hotter so it reduces the heat to compensate. Unfortunately it's not always effective. Try it at the reduced heat setting, see how the rolls bake. If they aren't done, either disable the reduction or add 25 degrees and bake another batch.

9z9al5

Last minute Thanksgiving prep advice People were still posting questions to the old Thanksgiving prep post, but nobody was checking it out to answer them. I thought a fresh post might help.

I'm "dry bringing" my turkey and spatchcocked it, serious eats. I really like cutting off the breast and slicing it like a bread loaf leaving a sliver on skin on each piece. I have noticed that's some times the skin slides right off when slicing it to serve. I'm wondering if I leave the skin attached to the meat when prepping if it will stay on or a if roasting it in the oven loosens up the skin any ways? If I don't loosen up the skin I can't directly salt the meat and wondering if there is some sort of trade off here, salt the meat directly vs having the skin not slide off?

2qsd6y

If I re-cook food for hours @ boiling point, does that reset how much longer its safe to eat? I cooked a turkey on Friday, and I want to make turkey soup tomorrow. I generally finish everything within 5 days to be safe, but if I am recooking the turkey at boiling temperatures for an hour(or more) will that kill any nasties?

I'm going to re-post my same comment from when we had this question last week. But I'm inclined to add that if you fully cooked a turkey last Friday december 26th and you want to use it for soup, sandwiches, or pretty much anything tomorrow it is almost certainly completely fine unless your refrigerator is too warm (greater than 40 degrees F) or you and your whole family have been picking at it with dirty fingers for the past 5 days (I will assume you have not been doing this.) 5-7 days "use by" time is about right for meat that you fully cooked and saved in your refrigerator. I'm still eating Ham that I made on Christmas. Tonight I'm planning on chopping up the rest of it and using it in an Omlette or easy soup recipe or something. Anyway here's what I wrote last week. The OP in that thread was asking about meat "that's about to go bad" which isn't exactly how you worded it but the core idea is the same. The problem here is that you're referring to "bad" as a condition that isn't and then all of a sudden, is. When is a piece of meat "bad?" When it's one day past the "use by" date? What if it looks and smells fine on that date? What if it looks and smells fine 2 days later? Is it "bad?" What if it's a day before the "use by" date but it smells funny? Is that meat "bad?" And what does "about to go bad?" mean? It's a day before it's use-by? One day past? It's a little smelly but should be OK? It's a lousy question because there's no single answer. There's no answer because "bad" is not any kind of term that a competent food preparer should be using. The FDA/USDA time/temperature guidelines for cooking various cuts of meat assume that the meat has not been temperature abused to the point where E. coli can run away and start growing. The fact is if your meat is rife with heat stable toxins from E. coli or other Enterobacteriaceae then it wasn't safe to begin with and it was held at an abuse temperature for too long. You have to use quality as your first benchmark. If a cut looks funny and/or smells funny then there's something off with it. If you owned a restaurant you wouldn't serve it to a customer, if you worked at a factory you wouldn't wrap it for sale, so why would you cook and eat it at home? Throw it out. If the meat is right before the "use by" date, looks OK, smells OK and has been in the fridge the whole time then it's not "about to go bad." It's fine, just cook it to the correct temperature. If it's a little smelly then it's garbage; take it back to the store and get your money back because they sold you meat that didn't make shelf life. Don't try to be an E. coli expert and do mental time/temp calculations based on something you read on the internet about different strains producing different kinds of heat stable toxins. Pay attention to the basics (use-by, quality, storage conditions, internal cook temp) and you'll be fine.

1crsr2

I have a duck carcass leftover from roast dinner last night. Any cool ideas of what to do with some duck stock? TIA. Since I am amateur, I have never prepared duck stock before, and have no idea if it is as versatile as chicken stock. Also, should I roast the bones before boiling?

You can use it to do a number of chinese-style soups or home made ramens. The best stock is 50% duck and 50% pork (trotters or shank), green onions, ginger, shitake, salt and pepper with shrimp added in the end. That combo duck/chicken plus pork plus seafood makes and amazing stock for asian soups.

yxyxo0

I have this idea to deep fry my brussel sprouts in rendered turkey fat (may subsidize with chicken fat if I don't have enough from the turkey). Do you think this will work well? Is the smoke point high enough to cook brussel sprouts properly? Will the fat lend extra flavor? Any tips/advice?

I´ve never deep-fried Brussels sprouts, so I can only imagine a crispy, rather burned outside layer with a softer inside, and I´m not sure I´d be happy with that. What I´d do is to simmer the sprouts in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes; drain, then sauté in the turkey fat, to which I would add a generous knob of butter, maybe some small pieces of bacon, and maybe some walnuts/pecans, then finish with a splash of honey.

1hnwx9

I just moved in right next to a Chinese market. The next closest grocery store is ridiculously far. How can I learn to cook chinese food? I'm also interested in knowing which brands/food items I should look for or avoid. I'm really concerned about eating healthy food, and because I'm a very physical person I need to eat a LOT of proteins to be satiated. Thanks in advance guys :3

I like Martin Yan (for a place to start learning) and Pearl River Bridge (for soy sauces).

ay8q35

I have decided to treat my friends to a multiple course meal consisting entirely of meals suspended in aspic. Does anybody have any suggestions or advice for dealing with Jello Salads and gelatin in general? [Request/Discussion] Jello salads fascinate me as this radical break from the culinary tradition of the west. I want to come up with 3 or so courses of food that are all suspended in aspics. Ideally I want it to parody a standard cheap gala dinner: something with an arugula salad something with chicken, baked veg, and a sauce something resembling apple crisp and/or cheesecake and/or tort. I intend to spend this weekend designing the dishes and pompous plating for the event next Friday. Does anybody have any suggestions who have worked with gelatin focused mediums before?

You can find a number of publications with recipes in The Gallery of Regrettable Food.

xjxquo

Swedes i need your help! i'm on the quest for the best Kanelbulle recipe and have a question about cardamom hey everyone! My me and my fiancee engaged in Stockholm a couple of months ago - his birthday is coming up and i want to bake him his favorite pastry in the whole world: Kanelbulle. i am going to follow this recipe https://www.koket.se/saftigaste-kanelbullarna because judging from the amount of milk and butter they are going to be super tender and fluffy. But if you have a better recipe (in english of swedish doesn't matter) Now here's my question. My guy loves cardamom and in Stockholm he usually ate the cardamombulle. The cardamom on the buns was always quite coarsely ground - almost like pepper or sesame seeds. Not powder anyway. I cannot for the life of me find this kind of cardamom in germany. I have cardamom pods at home but but i am not sure how to use them in this context - should i roast them in a pan and them grind them? or do you think it's better to sub with ground cardamom? Anyway i am happy for every tipp you can give me as i really want to nail this thing :) thanks in advance!

The NY Times did a feature on these buns and I’ve been dying to make them. My family does a cardamon wreath for holidays and I’ve learned to love cardamon bread things. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/dining/fabrique-cardamom-buns.html

y9xxjf

Best way to keep soft pretzels warm but not soggy or dry? I’m throwing a Oktoberfest themed birthday dinner for my husband, and want to serve delicious soft pretzels. This will be more of a grazing style night, so I would like to make the pretzels and keep them out and warm for guests to eat at their leisure. Things I already have are a chaffing dish, roaster, and crockpot. Would putting them in a chaffing dish for the evening keep them warm without getting soggy or dry? Should I cover them with cloth? Finally, should I attempt to make them myself or is there a restaurant supply that may carry them frozen that are just as good? Located in Southern CA. Recipes and recommendations appreciated!

Pretzels freeze well also. You can pull them out of the freezer and pop them in the oven and have hot pretzels in 5 minutes.

1n4rpc

If egg yolk causes water based liquids and oil based liquids to mix then why do I need to use only yolks instead of the whole egg in a recipe that doesn't have any oil based liquids?

Eggs do much more than just emulsify liquids. Also, proteins in the egg white can act as emulsiers as well. But eggs affect a lot of factors, especially in baking. Using different ratios of whites to yolks can be the difference between something light and fluffy or rich and dense.

2pmmty

What does yeast extract do in stock? I noticed in the ingredients of store bought stock/broth there is yeast extract. I've mostly made stock at home (bones, onions, carrots, and celery) when I want to use it and yeast does not seem like it fits. Ideally, I'm wondering what the yeast extract is doing from a food science perspective.

Apart from glutamate, yeast extract is actually a universe of flavours! Essentially it's yeast protein broken down into smaller peptides and/or the whole array of amino acids. All of these amino acids - not just glutamate! - can bind to different taste receptors, with slightly different affinities, therefore eliciting different signals in the cell. The combination of all this gives a rich flavour profile containing notes of "umami", "sweet" or even "bitter". Here's a website explaining some of the science: http://www.umamiinfo.com/2011/02/the-composition-of-umami.php And here's a highly cited paper with more science: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v416/n6877/full/nature726.html

7tahr1

Best way to roast a large volume of peeled garlic cloves? Need to roast a couple of pounds of pre-peeled garlic cloves. Would also like to minimize the amount of oil used, if possible. I usually roast garlic heads the traditional way, by slicing off the top, then wrapping them in foil and drenching in olive oil. There has to be a more efficient way, right? Thanks!

I regularly roast 2-3 heads of garlic a couple times a week. I have found that peeling the cloves lead to the least amount of waste and with enough time you get fast. With pre-peeled garlic it will probably take less prep time than it did to post this thread. From there, roasting in a pan or on foil is fine. I would make a big effort to keep oil to an absolute minimum, you're not trying to fry the garlic. I prefer a longer roast but I don't mind babysitting the garlic and checking a few times so everything stays in the tasty range.

7fmhv5

Vanilla extract - what to expect with different flavors of alcohol? The usual vanilla extract is made with a neutral alcohol like vodka. I'm looking for some additional flavors I can use in the sweet stuff like cakes and cookies or even pancakes. For example, I like whiskey, preferably a heavy peat smokey one, rich with fruity and caramel tones. I can imagine a cake with a smokey taste is not a great idea, but what will be left of all those flavors if u use a teaspoon of extract? Anyone have some tips on the subject or some proven great combinations? On google I only found some bourbon or rum examples but no real info about the end result.

I made a ton of testers with Madagascar vanilla beans to see if I liked extracts made with vodka, gin, light rum, oaked rum, dark rum, 151 (I like my rum) and moonshine. Moonshine was disgusting. 151 is strongly vanilla tasting, but kept the burn, and I haven't found a good use for that one. Gin was interesting, as you get weak juniper in with the vanilla flavors, but eventually the gin taste is overpowered. Vodka was pretty meh, as were almost all the rums. My favorite by far was the extract done in Bacardi Oakheart, which gave an oak undertaste to the vanilla. I've used it in whipped cream and in sugar cookies and it's been fantastic. I need to make a larger batch...

hq5dsd

Can I freeze whipping cream to later use it to make whipped cream? Would the whipping cream’s integrity be compromised if I freeze it?

Healthcare kitchen manager her. I buy un whipped whipping cream frozen to be thawed and whipped later. Comes that way from the distributor. Also, I know this same distributor offers frozen pre whipped cream in a piping bag which is then thawed and ready to use. Assuming there's some food science magic going on to make it stay that consistency, but it does show it is possible.

gqa29j

Can you use a nitro syphon like the nitropress or the nitro whip to make soda and whipped cream like you can a normal cream whipper? Instead of buying both? As this would save me buying two separate whippers. Obviously I’d have to use different canisters but any advice on if it would work would be appreciated.

Just be careful you don't leave the soda bulb in if you have a curious teenager in the house

fuosos

Croissant instead of puff pastry for Beef Wellington? I'm planning on making a Beef Wellington soon for the first time, and I wanted to make the pastry casing from scratch. I want to use croissant dough instead of puff pastry dough though because I want to use the excess dough to make ham & cheese croissants and cinnamon buns and cronuts. My question is, will using croissant dough completely ruin the Wellington? Will the dough be too mushy/undercooked or will some terrible food science reaction make the dish melt or something? I like croissants more than puff pastry, so there's that. Also, I don't care about "tradition". I'm already not using a mushroom layer and substituting a shallot/sausage/rice mix.

Puff pastry is the simplest form of laminated dough, with just butter folded into a basic dough of flour, water, and salt. Croissants take it one step further and add yeast and milk to the dough, which make the pastries richer, rise more, and end up more bread-like. You might have to turn down the oven a bit more with croissant dough due to the milk content. Puff pastry is more flakey while croissant dough is more bready. It will work out, it just won't be exactly the same.

es5jq6

Cooking Steak In Sesame Oil (Or, Why Butter And Steak?) Today, my Spanish Professor briefly mentioned a recipe for a steak cooked in sesame oil. This quickly devolved into a steak-based chaos. At first, it became a discussion about whether or not you SHOULD cook steak in sesame oil. While the smoking point certainly is low, it's still a bit higher than butter, and arguably more flavorful. Then, it became a analysis of why people put butter with their steak, with different sides arguing for caramelization (or, for its flavor) or to conduct heat for a more intense sear. All in all, would you cook steak in sesame oil? And why exactly do we cook steak with butter?

Common misperception, the tasty sesame oil that we all know and love is *toasted sesame oil.* Regular sesame oil (purchaseable at Whole Foods) has a high smoke point (410F vs 450 in Sunflower) and does not have that delicious nutty flavor we are accustomed to. Toasted sesame oil is meant to be added at the end of cooking in small amounts for flavoring, similar to extra virgin olive oil. I argue this point a lot when people tell me how I'm supposed to make three cups chicken (they always argue based off some stupid recipe). I argue based off the scientific points above. Generally speaking anything with a strong aromatic component shouldn't be used at high heat (because those aromatic compounds will either change or get obliterated)

587t8y

Need pro advice>Hire a chef I own a small retail store and we've just added a kitchen. I have a person ready to start but they will be providing some of their own equipment. We are providing grill, deep fryer and two burners, fridge and freezer, prep table. All sales will go through my cash drawer. What's a fair deal for this person? A salary? Lease the space? What amounts? (Tampa Fl area) in a perfect world, I'd get $2000 a month plus a small commission on food sales but I know that's really high. Thanks!

If you expect 2k in rent plus a cut the chef would have to be doing like 20k a month in sales. For 2k I could rent a huge restaurant and sell a lot of food so unless you drive a fuckton of customers their way then it's a bad deal.

jh1qji

How do i want to cook some "american wagyu" steaks? lets leave the argument of whether its actually wagyu or whatever for a different thread please. my gf's 40th is tomorrow and i got some nice steaks from snake river farms, not sure how to cook them. I do not want to cook in a pan or an oven. So my options are a sous vide, a kamado egg that i can do propane or charcoal and a pellet smoker. what would you do? i'm leaning towards going right from the fridge hit it with some salt to a super hot charcoal grill, 2 minutes per side, little pepper and let it rest. the cuts i got are 32oz bone in dry aged maybe 1.5inches thick 32oz dry age porterhouse 1-1.25in 14oz boneless striploin 1 inch 320z fresh porterhouse 1-1.25" thick black grade any advice would be appreciated!

You could reverse sear on the grill. Put the coals on one side and bring it up to temp on the cooler side. Or you could sous vide, dry it off and then sear.

1bonrh

Anyone one know the name of the technique of cutting out the backbone of a whole chicken in order to cook it flat? I know there's a little more to it than the backbone, but, forgot what the actual technique is called. I've got a game hen I want to use it on. Thanks AC.

I tried this guy's recipe for roast chicken done this way and it came out quite nicely. The first link is how NOT to roast chicken and the 2nd is his method, which he calls, "Butterflied Roast Chicken". He was commenting here quite a bit recently, IIRC. http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/05/how-to-roast-a-chicken-butterflied-tips.html?ref=search http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/05/butterflied-roasted-chicken-with-quick-jus-recipe.html

ccmqd1

I want to become a chef and I have some questions. Hello r/AskCulinary A little bit of background on myself: I’m a 20 year old guy, I live in New York, and I have no experience in the culinary industry. I like to cook things for myself at home but I have never worked in a restaurant. I would like to become a chef. I know that the hours are long, the pay is bad, and it is a lifestyle more than a career, but I am willing to do whatever it takes. My question is where should I start? Would it be wise to attend a culinary school? Thank you all!

If you do plan to go to a culinary school go to a 2 year community college that has a culinary program it won't be expensive and you'll get a degree while you're at it

fzjjyj

What makes New York vanilla different from regular vanilla ice cream? I tend to like the more yellow ice creams but they didn’t have any of the one I usually get (Kemp’s old fashioned vanilla) so I went with New York vanilla and I’m wondering what makes it different.

New York style or French style has eggs in it. Philadelphia style does not. It’s been my experience that if it doesn’t say, unless it’s dirt cheap, it has eggs.

7xmpkm

How is this pork belly cooked (image inside)? Braised, or dry-fried in wok? Here's a picture of a pork belly meal I had recently: https://imgur.com/6cJbQAV It was very tender, more tender than I've been able to reproduce in my wok at normal frying temps. How do you typically cook your pork belly?

Restaurant style - 160 F in a sous vide for 10-12 hrs with a vigorous amount of dry rub on it (your choice). Then, its seared on the grill to give it that lovely char. Finally, mop the sucka from head to toe in the sauce of your choosing (on the grill) so it can go out to the customer hot (temp wise that is.)

dnvya2

What’s the difference in taste and use between Himalayan pink salt and regular salt (corse ground & Morton’s salt)? Title explains most if not all of it. Lately I’ve been experimenting with salt and I have this Trade Winds brand Himalayan pink salt that has a grinder attached. I’ve used it a couple of times and I don’t really taste much difference when adding it to my vegetables. I also use corse ground sea salt and Morton’s iodized salt. The white salts are mainly used in my household for cooking and provides more flavor to the foods. Can someone explain the difference and when and where to use the pink salt because I have a lot of it and the taste is subtle. But I can’t really tell the difference. Thank you!!

Himalayan Pink Salt has a slightly higher iron content. The pink color cones from an oxygenic reaction with the iron. It's FeO in scientific terms. Or called "rust" in plain English. That fancy HPS is simply salt with rust..

1qjv7y

I live on a boat where there isn't much space and a low ceiling. I need a functioning stove hood that doesn't take up any space. Any suggestions? I live on a boat, and I've redone most of it including the kitchen. It works well and has all the space and appliances I want. Except one thing: A proper stove hood. The problem is that there isn't that much space and the ceiling is 1.85 meters (6 feet) from the floor. This means that it'll get pretty smoky when I cook. As it is now I open the windows and it kind of works, but I still need to leave the windows open for a while, and I need to clean really often to get all the smoke and dirt off the walls and ceiling. Because of the low ceiling and generally confined space I don't really have the room for a stove hood, but I'd really like one. I'm thinking about something like a small blower and a pipe of some sort. There's a vent almost right above the stove where I can let the smoke out (it's around a meter (3 feet) to the left, but should be doable with some pipe or something) Do you have any suggestions as to what might work? Have you seen anything that small? I'm fairly handy, so I can easily whip something up myself in steel/wood/plastic/whatever so ideas and inspiration is welcome. It doesn't necessarily have to be a traditional stove hood it just needs to somehow be able to get the smoke from the air. I realise this might not be the usual askculinary question and borders on the DIY subreddit, but I thought people here might have seen something that works.

Maybe you could modify a down draft exhaust vent to mount on the wall and exhaust up instead

6p9rtw

Trying to make super-creamy hazelnut butter. Always gritty no matter how long I process. How do I fix? Just like the title says I'm trying to make hazelnut butter in a food processor and I seem to have no issue making super smooth peanut butter without issue but hazelnuts always have a gritty texture even if processed for more than a half hour. How can I fix this?

Are you sure that they're all de-skinned? I've found that hazelnut skins can be a bit gritty when ground up. If so, then maybe you just need to use a different device. I can't make hazelnut butter in my food processor, but I have a fancy blender that works great.

gbpzvl

Do Asians and Europeans cook the same breed of duck? I've never cooked duck, but am a big fan of eating it. It's prohibitively expensive at my local grocery, but I can buy it for $3 per pound at 99 Ranch (an Asian grocery). It appears as though there are different varieties of domesticated duck, but I don't know if they have different tastes or properties, or if different cuisines use different breeds. Would I run into any problems using that duck from 99 Ranch for French-style recipes?

I did a ridiculous amount of research into duck, and they come from the same farms regardless of which store you buy them from in the US. The difference with the Asian grocery store duck is that it may still have a head and neck attached.

xk2n7d

I tried to season my wok.. what is this? Is it seasoned? Is it ruined? Whats up Reddit👨🏼‍🍳 What has happened here - its my first time seasoning a wok. I gave it 20 mins with oil, ginger and scallion on medium heat after an initial water dancing hot dry sear. Heres an after pic: https://imgur.com/a/kznLtj7

Don't season that on a burner. Instead, use the oven. Do this: 1) Scrub it clean (this might already have been done?) 2) Preheat oven to 400F. 3) Rub a thin coating of canola oil all over it, inside and out. Put the wok inside the oven and leave it for \~ one hour. Then turn the oven off and let it cool. Repeat this a few times. Then use it.

iv7wsi

Pizza stone on oven floor? I'm making pizza from scratch for the first time today, and as my oven doesn't get super hot I'm looking to maximise the effectiveness of my pizza stone. I've heard a lot of people say you can place it directly on the floor of the oven to get it as hot as possible, and others say that the bottom rack/shelf is better. I have a British fan oven so the heat source is at the top, not the bottom, so I'm not sure if this technique is more applicable to typical American ovens?

It depends on what kind of oven you have. If you have an electric oven with exposed heating elements at the top and bottom of the oven, the bottom element is usually the one that is being turned on during a convection or conventional bake setting. Putting your stone on the lower rack will put your stone closer to the radiant heat emanating from the lower element. Often I see electric ovens not turning on the upper element during a conventional or convection setting. If you are preheating with a conventional setting, the air will be hotter at the top of the oven, but with a forced convection setting the air at the top will not be hotter than at the bottom. Barring problems with heating the stone too unevenly and cracking it, it would be preferable to heat the stone near the bottom with a convection setting so the stone receives heat from convection and through intermittent radiation from the bottom element. When broiling in the oven being discussed, the upper element is turned on continuously. Move the stone to the upper rack if you want to heat it even hotter for a finish broil before putting your pizza on. With indirect heat ovens (ovens which have no exposed elements radiating into the oven except for a broiler) it would not matter where you preheated the stone, but you'd want it higher if you used the broiler to give it a final kick before putting the pizza on. You'd want the rack to be lower where the pizza would get airflow over it from the fan though when the pizza goes in. I generally use a cast iron pan to do my pizza. Nothing preheats it faster than sticking it on the stove element while the oven is preheating. The sides of the pan doesn't get heated by the stove, but the whole flat bottom gets hot way faster on the stove than it does in the oven. If I'm in a hurry, I start the oven preheating to screaming hot while I start the cast iron preheating on the stove at about med power while I work the dough for blind baking. By the time I have a decent enough dough the cast iron is sizzling hot (not smoking hot) at which point I wipe on some olive oil and I lay the dough into the already nice and hot skillet. I let the dough sizzle for maybe half a minute until I get just a bit of leopard spotting then it goes into the oven to puff out the dough and blind bake the top. Usually while the dough is sizzling on the stovetop, I brush on a splat of tomato paste which browns up nicely in the oven which is a nice flavor kick. It also seems to seal the crust a bit so the toppings don't sog things out. Crust comes out blind baked and it goes back onto the stove at low-med heat while I put on the toppings. The stove keeps the skillet from getting stone cold while I put down my toppings at a leisurely pace. Then it all goes back into the oven. No more hour long preheats with crummy convection. No rushing like mad to keep the steel screaming hot. If you're not making a big pizza, try using the stove to preheat your cast iron or reheat it between pizzas if you're making multiples. The stove is so effective at heating steel stuff for pizza that I have successfully made crispy crust with a shitty thin cookie sheet on an induction stove. I laid the sheet over two adjacent burners and shifted it around with the burners at med-high power until I heard some sizzling. I shifted the sheet around a bunch to even out the round heating zones a bit and lifted the crust a few times to see where it was darker to move to areas that were raw. I didn't think it'd work, but it worked quite surprisingly well. I only did it because I didn't have enough cast iron stuff to cook pizzas on. They were all in the oven already so I gave the stove top with a cookie sheet a try. Not quite as good, but quite good still. Really excellent considering that the cookie sheet is basically tin foil thin compared to a heavy cast iron pan.

2xukyh

Why did my cookies turn out like cakes? Hey bakers! I made my first attempt at cookies the other day but it didn't go well. I followed a recipe I found online but they turned out like flat cakes. Could I have over mixed? I still have some of the mixture leftover so is there anyway to remedy it or should I just throw it away? :(

If I may, I'd like to suggest trying the Tollhouse recipe for good starter chocolate chip cookies. It's a great recipe: simple, delicious, and good practice. Cook's illustrated did a pretty great write up showing what happens when you take a basic recipe and tweak the individual components: denser, fluffier, more spread, more chewy, etc. I'd also recommend Alton Brown's Good Eats television show. Sometimes his recipes are a little futzy but it's fun. And I've had good results with the recipes on KingArthurflour.com

55aocn

So I just moved into a dorm that has no open flames policy and now I'm working with four hot plate stove instead of gas, what techniques are now off the table? Right off the bat, I'm pretty certain tonkotsu broth is out of the question now since I don't have enough convection heat to emulsify the fat and collagen.

It sounds like what you're saying is "I have a shitty four hot plate stove" not "I can't use open flames." Nothing wrong with that, but /u/ChefGuru has it right.

xppy17

is there a way to reduce the spice of a store-bought hot sauce without diluting it? I absolutely love heat. When asked a spice level at an Indian or Thai place, I usually give them a four or a five. That being said, I feel like a lot of the fancy hot sauces you can buy nowadays go way too heavy on the heat. Like a couple dabs will set your mouth on fire and block out all other flavor, which is a shame because the sauces that I get, especially from Karma, are really good. I was curious if there was a way to reduce the spice level of the store-bought sauces without diluting it since the flavor of the non-spice ingredients are perfect.

You can try adding some fat like butter to balance the heat

10jf46

My friend and I are going to make sushi over the weekend but neither of us have any experience at this. Any good, quick tips we should keep in mind?

Sounds silly but if you use a bamboo roll. Wrap it in plastic wrap it helps roll and with clean up.

3j6wi9

Creating a baked version of Fried Chicken but I can't use buttermilk--need help with the marinade I need to make a low-fat version of fried chicken and for kosher reasons I can't use any dairy. I want to base my recipe off Food Lab's: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/07/the-food-lab-southern-fried-chicken-recipe.html What I tried so far was just brining my chicken in salt/sugar solution, then pulling it out (didn't dry it first) and egg washing it, and then dipping it in a flour/spices/cornstarch/baking powder mixture. I sprayed the top with pam, and baked at 450 for 15-20 minutes. The crust came out really tasty and decently crunchy (don't need to tweak this), and the chicken was juicy, but the breading didn't stick. In the recipe, the directions are to marinade the chicken in a buttermilk/egg mixture before breading it. Since I can't use buttermilk, would there be any benefit in brining the chicken in an egg/saltwater mixture, or should I just brine the chicken in the saltwater and then egg wash it after? (I know the asian velveting technique helps tenderize chicken) Also, would the egg/brine mixture be a problem with my breading not adhering? Or should I just brine the chicken, dry it, dredge it, egg wash it, and then bread it?

Breading often times won't "stick" because of moisture trapped between the surface of the protein and the breading. After your marinade, dry the chicken with paper towels or whatever....dredge in flour and allow it to rest on a plate in the fridge for 20 minutes or so. Then proceed with the egg wash and dredge again.

qdhrie

Is there a difference between rising the whole pizza dough or dividing them before and the rise? (for cold fermentation) Is there a difference between rising the whole pizza dough or dividing them before and the rise? (for cold fermentation) Thanks

I would divide first since dough has memory. Shaping them into a ball before the cold fermentation will make it easier later when you want to shape it into a round pizza. If you don’t, then you’d want to add a step of dividing and pre-shaping the dough and time for it to relax into that new shape…then shape the pizza etc. By doing this beforehand, it allows you to pull out dough balls as needed if you are making a lot of pizzas over the course of an evening rather than the entire batch of dough I ordered to portion etc.

1xivd3

How big of a taste difference is there between Prime and Choice ribeye? How about dry-aged? First post here. I've been making ribeyes using the Alton Brown method for a few years now but since I have to feed a big family, I always buy choice ribeye for the cost savings. This has left me wondering how much better a prime ribeye steak would be and if you feel it is worth spending the extra money. I'm very happy with how the choice cuts come out so wondering if it's worth making the plunge into better meat (I suspect the answer is a resounding yes). Same question, but with aged meat. Thank you in advance.

I serve 16,000lbs of prime rib a year on the buffet that I run at work. We use Choice angus rib eye. The difference comes down to how the beef is aged. More than likely the beef you buy at the grocery store is 28 day wet aged. Only top end butchers will dry age their beef for retail sale. Otherwise, it'll be aged to fill special orders. When the beef is dry aged for at least another 21 days, prime grade really shines over choice grade. Dry aging brings out buttery richness in both texture and flavour and having the extra intermuscular fat really puts a good dry aged prime rib eye over the top for deliciousness. You can dry age a choice rib eye, for sure, but you'll get the most out of the time and effort if you spend the few extra dollars and buy prime. We've dry aged a few primes and you'll need to add close to 60% more to account for moisture loss and the trimming. Say you have a 200oz prime rib. Right off the bat you can get 20 10oz steaks. If you dry age the same 200oz prime rib for another 28 days, you'll get 12, maybe 13 10oz steaks.

33zi3u

Buttermilk: Is this a generally acceptable marinade for chicken or is it something that only works well with breaded (fried or baked) chicken? I've used it as part of my dredging process before, but never as a marinade. I've seen it used that way before, but only as a component of what ends up being a breaded/fried chicken. Mom just went through a gastric surgery. She's at the point where she can have baked meats, but no breads and definitely nothing crispy

buttermilk is a typical marinade for chicken because it has a few of the requirements for a solid marinade all in one convenient container. These are fat, which helps carry flavor into what is being marinated, acidity, which helps break down meat and "tenderize" it, and finally it has flavor. Maybe not store bought stuff but what you get from maoint butter at home lends such amazing flavor to whatever you put it in/on. That being said, there is no reason you couldn't buttermilk marinade a chicken thigh then roast it and yield anything but fantastic results.

fhbxju

In Ugly Delicious S01E03 (timestamp 40:00) "Home Cooking" - Rene Levy Redzepi mentions his wife Nadine making a prune caramel that they then put on a panna cotta... Any idea what this was or how to make it? Can't find any info on it but every time I've seen that episode it looks so good!

Listening to him mention the sauce doesn't sound like 'armagnac' but it's mentioned in this article in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/17/nadine-levy-redzepi-noma-what-to-cook-for-the-worlds-best-chef >When Redzepi joins us, we eat brilliant asparagus and marbled pork chops bathed in professional amounts of butter. Pudding is caramel panna cotta, his favourite dessert, with the armagnac prunes his wife makes every year for his birthday

dai7zm

Handling Menu for 40+ client male facility, new recipes that are relatively cheap. And Alfredo Sauce. Hey guys, First time poster here. I have very little culinary experience when it comes to bulk meals. A little information about me is I'm a supervisor at a halfway house and one of my duties is setting up the menu and operating within a budget for meals. Our facility has a kitchen much like a commercialized home kitchen. The goal is for clients with little to no kitchen experience to learn how to cook meals. We do our ordering through US Foods. I'm trying to add chicken alfredo for 40 people. The problem is alfredo is very expensive to buy. The clients here can make it, but I don't know the amounts to use to make a big pot of it. And I don't know what I can remove or add from the many recipes I'm finding online. I need something cheap and easy to make. And the second problem is introducing new items to the menu. We rotate each week through 5 menus but a lot of the items repeat, and I'd like to find a way to freshen things up for the clients. I'm going to list the menu items we make. I'm trying to add some different things to it, if any of these ring any bells for combinations or changes we could make to spice things up. **Main Lunch and Dinners** Italian Hoagie Meatloaf BBQ Riblet Sandwich Bowtie Pasta with Meat sauce Steak Salad Pancakes Meatball Subs Chicken Teriyaki Chicken Patty Salisbury Steak Bacon Wrapped Pork Fillet Tortellini Chili Dogs Beans and Rice Tacos Pit Ham Chicken over Biscuits Philly Cheese Steak Hoagies John Wayne Casserole (something like a biscuit southern taco casserole) Cheeseburgers Chili Cabbage and Noodles Italian Sausage Spaghetti Sloppy Joes Pork Loin Country Fried Steak Chicken Parmesan Kielbasa w/ Kraut Shepherd's Pie Pizza Burger Chicken Noodle Soup Grilled Cheese Chicken Tenders **Sides:** Mashed Potatoes Green Beans Corn Peas Baked Beans Coleslaw French Fries (wedge or straight cut) Tater Tots Tossed Salad Garlic Breadsticks Dinner Roll Tortilla Chips w/ Cheese and Salsa Potato Chips Scrambled Eggs/Breakfast Sausage (for the pancakes) Mac & Cheese Macaroni Salad Cheesy Rice Veggies Frozen Veggies Buttered Noodles We have seasonings and keep milk, eggs, butter, mozzarella and cheddar cheese (shredded and sliced), parmesan cheese (the pre-grated kind in a shaker), vegetable oil, ranch and italian dressings, bbq sauce, hot sauce, teriyaki sauce, maple syrup, taco sauce, salsa, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, potatoes on hand. We have spaghetti, marinara, tomato, chili, sloppy joe, and cheese sauce. White and wheat bread, hot dog buns, hoagie buns, hamburger buns. Spaghetti, Macaroni, Egg, and Bowtie Noodles. Breadcrumbs, Crackers, Pancake Mix and Biscuit Mix. We order things like ground beef, chicken breast, philly steak, chicken tenders and patties, kielbasa, large pork loin logs, pit hams, kielbasa and italian sausages, meatballs, hot dogs. I need some inspiration on the cheap, and it needs to be easy(ish) to make. For example, I added the steak salad by just increasing the salad amount we buy and buying the philly cheese steak to use as the topping. It was a relatively cheap addition and something the clients really liked. We're also trying out the Pizza burgers for the first time this week. It's not really a true pizza burger, it's just our normal hamburgers we order but we're thickening up some pizza sauce and putting mozzarella and pepperoni on top of it. It doesn't need to be a fancy meal, just some switching up! If you've come this far, thanks for reading!

how about some more stews/soups? i find those easier to make in large batches and it’s usually just prepping all the ingredients and then throw them in a pot with water eg. cabbage/vegetable soup, which you can make by just grabbing a bunch of whatever vegetables you have on hand (cabbage, carrots, potatoes, etc) and letting it boil with salt + chicken stock or beef stew, i like tomato beef stew, for which i usually put tomatoes, onions, potatoes, carrots if i have any i don’t know if you usually buy much dairy but i’ve also made cream chicken “stew” (not sure what i would call it exactly), which was chopped up chicken, potatoes, onion, cream, broccoli. i’m not sure if mushrooms are considered cheap or not but those would go well too you can also do fried rice, just rice, eggs, chopped meat + veggies (frozen works too) you mentioned you guys make chicken teriyaki, you could also do beef teriyaki? haha i think the idea that another commenter suggested, bulking the dishes with vegetables instead of meat is a good idea if you’re able to get large amounts of them. i find things like potatoes and broccoli can be quite filling and can be good additions to meat good luck with expanding your menu, honestly i only cook for myself and i already have trouble coming up with ideas. i can’t imagine cooking for 40+, you must work hard!

1i527i

Not sure where to ask this, but does anyone have a good history of how butchering has changed over the last few decades/centuries? It would be interesting to know when the first porterhouse was cut or when the first time someone separated the short/baby back ribs from the bacon layer on top. I mean how consistent have butchery practices been? And for someone "in the know" would you say that the culinary arts world drove changes in the butchery world or visa verca?

I think a big shift probably occurred with the proliferation of bandsaws. Heck, refrigeration probably came about in the same era. I would think that those two innovations would bring about some of the biggest changes in butchery practice. Before refrigeration, everything is getting salted away or cooked fresh. Before bandsaws, knife cuts would be more prevalent.

dxqkbn

This isn't a question but rather a quick shout-out to the sub. Asked awhile ago tips on caramel sauce and got some great feedback. Here it is successful finally. Recipe I created based on comments below. Maybe went a little overboard on fail-safes but it worked regardless. Thanks AskCulinary!

What was the tip that changed your caramel sauce game?

mwagu7

Can you keep half of an unused vanilla bean pod, and if so, what's the best way to do so? Hello everyone! I'm making a coconut cream pie today, and as it's for a gift, I wanted to use a real vanilla bean to make it special. However, I've never used an actual vanilla bean rather than extract or paste, so I'm not sure what the rules for keeping them are-- if I split it in half crosswise to use one half for the pie, is it possible to keep the second half and use it for something later, or is it best to use the full thing ASAP? Thank you for your help!

I bought a whole bunch of vanilla beans (50+) while I was in Dubai just before covid hit. I've been keeping them in a mason jar in my freezer since then and haven't seen any noticeable degradation in quality.

eo93w9

What are the various encyclopedias for different cuisines? As an individual living in the southern US, I recently picked up Sean Brock's "Heritage" and (more importantly) "South" which tells the history of dishes, shows the classics, and adds some of his own recommendations. What are some similarly thorough books to familiarize myself with in Latin American cooking, French cooking, etc?

Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

8n5h2h

What to serve as an appetizer? I'm serving white cod with hazelnut romesco sauce, what should I serve for an appetizer? I'm not opposed to salad, but was hoping for something a little more interesting.

For a summer dinner I prefer some salty nibbles before dinner. Some good salami, salty cheese like a pecorino, some good olives. Maybe a glass of cava or prosecco. A lightly dressed green salad either with nibbles or with main course.

5d0bhg

Just sliced my [joint below knuckle] when demonstrating proper knife skills to a friend I would swear to you I have good technique. I've never cut myself before I got these knives, but I got new knives and it's the second time I've cut myself in the same spot (just a surface cut right between knuckle and next joint). Were my old knives not sharp enough and just more forgiving? Or maybe I'm just getting sloppy. I don't get it. It was totally embarrassing.

so how did you cook the finger?

1i28dq

Can I make a pot pie pastry/crust with a hand mixer and not a food processor? Will I get the right consistency? This is the recipe I'm looking to make... but I'm afraid my crust won't come out right without a food processor

You could freeze your fat and use a cheese grater....

rpgro9

Move the food with the claw or use the claw to guide your knife? I've seen a bit of debate over the proper claw method, some people move the food towards the blade others the blade back towards their claw hand? My question is, which is safer and which do you prefer? Just working on my knife skills as a newer line cook trying to improve :)

Doesn't much matter which way is proper, so long as the knuckles stay in contact with the knife.

5kb90y

Was gifted two pounds of ground deer meat. What's the best use for it? Can it be used as a ground beef substitute like in chili or tacos? I've never had deer (venison?) before and would like to hear everyone's opinion on what to do with it. Thanks!

Venison sliders. Add some ground pork to the the ground venison (50/50 mix). Add some chopped apples and chopped white mushrooms to the meat and form into small patties. Grill the patties, top with blue cheese, serve on dinner roll sized buns.

fnmq87

Protein content in flour Why are there different flours with different amounts of protein? When do I use which kind of flour? And most importantly why?

Just read this

dsvwfe

Really gettin frustrated with slide in vs freestanding range differences So, I just bought a new house and I'm wanting to get an induction range for the kitchen. I have found a few that I like, but my favorite is definitely this one, for price range: https://www.sears.com/lg-lse4616bd-6.3-cu-ft-smart-wi/p-A026589244?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5 Problem is, it's a slide in range, and the spot for the oven with my counters is at the end of the countertop. I've done the measurements, and with a 29.8 inch width to the range, I'd still have about 9 inches of empty space between the wall and the side of range that is NOT up against the counter. Every source I've seen says you absolutely have to have counters on both sides of a slide in range, however. The issue I have with that is a few things... For one, this range is the exact same dimensions as the one that the previous owners used (even though there's was freestanding). Second, the typical reason I've seen for needing counters on both sides is a lip at the top of the range that basically makes it "hang" on the countertop in a way... This range does NOT have that overhang/lip that other slide ins appear to have. Third, the other big issue is apparently that slide in ranges have unfinished sides? The sides of this one at least LOOK finished. Also, freestanding induction ranges are a pain to come by and are also, for whatever reason, lacking in a lot of the features that the slide in ones have (true convection, etc). So, I guess my question is this: If I bought that specific range, would I be able to just put it against my counter top like a regular freestanding range? If not, what would need to be done to get it installed? Would I have to put in 9 inches of countertop on side closest to the wall, or is there another way? Thanks for any helpful responses.

Have you considered drop-in induction cookers like this one? You might be able to extend/replace the countertop with matching storage cabinets underneath, and then have a separate single or double built-in oven cabinet in another position. It's much better for anyone who frequently bakes to have a primary oven that opens at counter height to easily transfer hot food without bending or lifting, and easy to see inside, like in Alton Brown's studio kitchen. If you have room for a cooking island, the drop-in induction would be good because you only need to run electric to it. For baking, I actually prefer a combination convection microwave oven for daily use. It's far more practical due to faster heating, excellent browning, and less wasted heat to raise the temp of the kitchen.

fvm2li

Crazy question: can I grind pasta into a breading for deep frying? I am doing a cooking competition and can only work with the ingredients they gave me. I want to make breaded and fried shrimp but don’t have flour. Can I take uncooked pasta and pulverize it into a fine meal and use that as my flour coating? Or am I insane?

it'll depend on how fine you can pulverize it.

9egq8a

Regarding safe and proper use of raw meat/cooked meat utensils Hi everyone, Looking at getting some new kit for my kitchen including tongs and chopping boards. I like the look of the colour-coded ones, and while I'm not worried about when to use colour-coded chopping boards, I'm just thinking about when to use raw/cooked meat tongs. Say for example I've got a piece of chicken and used the tongs on the raw steak for whatever reason and move it to the pan to cook, at what point should I start using cooked meat tongs to turn the thing? Probably over-thinking this but better safe than sorry. It's also probably not necessary for me to get the colour-coded stuff but I just quite like the idea. Cheers!

FYI for the color coded boards, they usually have way too many boards, and they are plastic. Better to get one wood cutting board for any prep you would put directly in your mouth (like cheese, vegetables, fruit, just don't let liquids sit or it can degrade the board) then a plastic board you can toss in the dish washer for anything risky like meats. There's arguments that wood boards are safe for meats because they self sanitize, but there's no way I'm cutting vegetables on a board that I have just put raw ground beef on. I don't know that I fully get your tongs question, but if you are using utensils to handle raw meat let them only handle raw meat, switch to different tongs once you are done cooking the meat. If you are cooking a steak, you can flip by using one prong on the cooked side to flip it over then use the full tongs to pick it up (both sides now cooked) to get the edges. Reailty is, unless you are using the tongs to move stuff around on plates or for serving, the food risk is going to be low for using tongs that touched raw meat to turn meat in a pan. It's still cooking, residual heat will kill anything.

12l2ov

The New Sidebar, New Mods and a Follow-up on the Call to Action Preface: Please upvote so everyone can see. I receive no karma as this is a self post. Hello again, /r/askculinary. This post is in response to the previous "Call to Action" post we did 10 days ago. We would like to thank everyone for their helpful comments, critiques and thoughts about this crackdown. We have seen an increase in helpful self-moderation(i.e. reporting) in the past few days, but we still would like to see more. Remember, don't hesitate to report and downvote any content you feel is not appropriate here. This is the only way to keep /r/askculinary's standards as high as possible. Based on your responses, we have updated our sidebar completely. We hope this new version will better outline what we all want to see here, and discourage what we don't. Please take a moment to look it over and let us know what you think of it and if you have any concerns regarding the new layout. We would also like to thank everyone for their application for moderator positions. We have come to a consensus. /r/askculinary please welcome your new mods: * MentalOverload * Teedy Thank you /r/askculinary and cheers to another great year of gastronomic discussion!

Since the FAQ has been updated, maybe there could be a banner appear at the top of the submit post screen directing people to check the FAQ before submitting? I've seen this on other subs. (If it's there already, whoops, disregard)

dyedqy

As far as technique and dishes, when would one use chicken thighs over chicken breast in a certain application? I've always been more a thigh person and it's more forgiving, but other than taste preference is there any advantage of one over the other?

Thighs are way more versatile and preferable for most preparations imo. Especially for the home cook. They have a little more fat, are harder to overcook and dry out, and they usually come with a layer of skin that insulates the meat, flavors it when the fat renders out, and crisps up beautifully. (Breasts can be skin on too, but that is rarer in western markets). Applications where breasts are better: some poached chicken dishes, used in salads, used in chicken salad, fajitas, breaded or fried cutlets, fried chicken sandwiches. In stir fries, it should either be breaded and fried or velveted to soften it. If you're roasting or grilling a whole chicken, the breast can really get a chance to shine with good technique. If you get a chicken dish in a fancy Western restaurant, it will usually be mostly breast.

s40rn2

Do any recipes call for fish to be cooked to the consistency of custard? Hi all, I read in *On Food and Cooking* that if you slow cook Atlantic Salmon it will 'develop an almost custard-like texture if heated gently to 120F /50C,' but that generally this 'produce[s] an unpleasant, mushy texture' with other fish. I was wondering if anyone would know of common applications of custard-like fish. It sounds fascinating if prepared correctly and awful if not.

Hom Muk Pla. Thai steamed fish curry.

1fxabk

Chicken breast in the Caesar Salad in the US. How do I make it? My last few visits to the USA has me totally addicted the Caesar Salad served in the chain restaurants i.e. olive garden, cheescake factory etc. Anyone of you work in these places? If yes how does one make the chicken breast in the salad to be so tasty and juicy? Are some artificial juices injected or what? The chicken in the Caesar Salad I otherwise eat here back home in India is bland.

The chicken was juicy most likely because it was cooked correctly. A Perfect chicken breast should be juicy

cakipb

What does adding egg whites do when mixing with shrimp paste for making Chinese dishes like crispy shrimp balls and shrimp paste eggplants? I've made shrimp paste eggplants without any eggs mixed in and it seemed to stick fine. I see a lot of recipes using egg whites to mix in with the shrimp paste. I thought cornstarch is what helped make stick it together? Wondering if it's worth adding egg whites or to continue what I'm doing

Binder.

8cjubc

Thinking of getting a wok, but from what I understand, most at home burners don't burn hot enough to make the effective? If htis is the case can I use my outdoor LP grill to do something hotter?

No, you can use a wok perfectly fine even on an electric stovetop, as I did for years. There are a number of things woks do which have nothing to do with the heat. They're really good for deep frying. They're excellent for having a small amount of sauce or flavoured oil that you use to flavour a large amount of food. The fact that they gain and lose heat quickly allows you to finely control the temperature you cook at. If temperature is an issue, cook in smaller batches, which is a habit you should learn anyway for cooking Chinese or East Asian style meals.

p79lom

is it a safe and good idea to char onions on the stovetop? since people really like charred peppers on the stove like on a grill, how would charred onions taste?

Sure. Just peel them first - the skin will turn to ash in seconds and start flying around and that’s not particularly safe. That said, if you have an oven, the broiler will work better.

3gr1zw

Can anyone recommend a good supplier of insect products in the UK?

Edible Unique](httP://edibleunique.co.uk) and [Bug Grub both have .uk storefronts.

s891h4

Storing garlic confit without the oil Hello! Has anyone separated the oil from the garlic after it's been confited? It seems every recipe I've read seems to just say refrigerate after. Does the garlic go bad quicker or something if you don't keep the oil fully covering it in the fridge? I just hate searching the oil for garlic when it's in the solid state from being refrigerated. Thanks!

You refrigerate it to reduce the risk of botulism. Garlic (along with many things grown in the ground) is easily contimanted with with the stuff and confiting it doesn't bring the temperature up nearly high enough (251F is needed) to kill the spores. Normally this isn't an issue, but when you cover the garlic in oil you then are creating a low acid (4.6pH or higher is it's prefered acidity) , low air, low salt (around 3% or more is generally accepted as it's limit) environment which is exactly what c. botulinum loves. Throwing in the fridge will lower the temperature (below 50F prohibits growth for most strains) which is the only variable left at that point to try and control any c botulinum growth.

53mkto

My daughter has a grape allergy. Any suggestions for substitutions for wine and balsamic vinegar in recipes that are not grape based?

Beer like a framboise may work in some applications. It is very fruity and flavorful. Otherwise I would explore ciders or brandy, maybe plum or cherry wine. For the vinegar, you can probably find some fruit vinegars made without grapes. A reduction of apple cider vinegar and an unsweetened cherry juice would probably be worth trying as a work around for balsamic. It really depends on the application/recipe on how to proceed but you should be able to get close.

4a41q1

Soaking chickpeas and lentils overnight. Should I then cook them in their own waters?Is that water dirty, or filled with "good stuff?" When I soak lentils or chickpeas overnight , their water gets a color. Should I use this water to cook them then as it is good stuff or should I throw it away as it is dirty? PLUS question, would a chickpea soup with sweetpotato , carrots, tomato sauce and bit of chinese cabbage go together? what should i change/rremove/add?

Since you're getting 2 different answers I suggest splitting your pots one without draining and one with. Taste the difference if there isn't one of the difference is small just mix it all back together once cooked.

29kyxk

Working with food grade lye (for homemade pretzels and maybe other recipes) I'm looking for some tips on working with food grade lye. I'm using the below recipe to make pretzel bites for a BBQ this weekend. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-soft-pretzels-recipe.html I've made them before, but this time I thought I'd give it a shot with the lye. Ordered it online and it came yesterday. http://i.imgur.com/Zqpz3zo.jpg Do I just swap out the baking soda for the lye? Is it 1:1? And once I'm done with the lye bath, is there a special way to dispose of it? I can use it to make bagels too, yeah? Is there anything else food related people here have done before? (I'm not gonna make soap.) Thanks!

Lye pretzels are awesome. I can't remember the exact concentration for the food grade lye, but it's very low. Definitely do your homework. Don't forget to wear thick gloves and eye protection while you're dunking them though-lye will mess you up. Its been ages since I made a batch. The bakery supplier I use (I'm in Vancouver), stopped carrying lye because apparently it can be used in making meth. Mind if I ask where you sourced your lye?

nioogg

Does pork toughen like chicken in acidic marinades? I made the mistake of marinading some chicken breasts in chiavettas (WNY staple) and it’s very vinegary. I did them for too long and it made the chicken quite tough. I want to do some pork chops and marinade them but am worried that they will come out poorly. Also between searing, broiling and baking which would be the preferable way of cooking them? Edit: I want to use the same marinade.

Acid cooks meat. Don’t use acid as a marinade for more than 10 minutes, tops. Cut of meat does not change anything. Acid will make your meat mealy and dry even if you cook it to a med-rare. Instead use it as the sauce you serve it with or even brush it on afterward. The “marinade” flavor is so much better and more present, and the meat doesn’t turn to shit. Source: chef.

5496lp

Making a simple chicken broth with veggies and poached breast, is there good way to prepare zucchini to add to it? Other vegetables are asparagus which I will either steam of boil, some sliced sautéed onions whatever else I can reasonably put in there. Just stuck on how to get zucchini in there without the texture being out of place.

Ill-conceived dish as I envision it. More like a stew of some kind. Zukes must be cooked very lightly or they turn awful mushy. Why not just poach the breast and serve it sliced over a bed of some carb such as couscous, with an array of properly, individually cooked vegetables?

cge4jl

Looking for assistance in choosing sides/desserts for a menu. Hey guys! ​ I'm looking for a bit of help in fixing up the menu that I am serving at a lodge. I got thrown into the chef position with some experience in being a good home cook, but I generally serve very different food, and am at a loss when it comes to side dishes and appetizers that match the mains served. Our clientele is pretty varied, but a bit older, and more traditional. The first main is a bbq ribs and chicken meal. Currently serving it with a greek pasta salad, corn, and spanakopita/hummus/tzatziki for appetizers. The chicken is in pieces, we used to do BBQ as well, switched to lemon and herb, but open to new ideas with the marinade. I'm looking to change up the sides and make it less 'backyard BBQ potluck.' Open to plenty of ideas. A more southern meal has been done in the past, it was just a bit heavy with the ribs (our other main meal is a prime rib, so it's already a looot.) ​ The other meal we're doing for this trip is a turkey dinner-I know, turkey in the summer.. Since we are already serving the prime rib dinner, I am looking to do something a bit more fresh, and to have different sides from the prime rib. We do have brussel sprouts, carrots, and mashed potatoes as options. Stuffing as well. Fresh herbs, etc. However, I'd like to lighten it up or summer-ize it a bit. Also looking for appetizer ideas for this one, as well as dessert. ​ We have a gluten free guest this week, so gluten free dessert options are also appreciated. Thanks!

Get rid of the Greek pasta salad. Coleslaw, 🌽, Mac and cheese, biscuits, corn bread, potato salad, truffle fries, Ffs,, even a mayo based pasta salad. Greek ingredients do not belong aside American BBQ. I assume you are not doing a fancy smanchy fusion joint right?

6cfig5

What's the best way to store fresh herbs? Other than drying, what are some great of ways to store fresh herbs. I have an excess from my garden and I want to be able to keep them fresh as long as possible.

I basically always have cilantro in the fridge and it was such a pain to watch it go off so quickly. I mean, you just look at it wrong and it goes to slime. So I read about a variant of the Kenji method posted in this thread. He says you have to seal the bag tight against the jar. I'll give that a go but it's not what I've been doing and I've gotten great results. Firstly I don't wash them. I just take them out of the grocery bag, put them in a small jar with some water in it, and in invert the bag over the top, with it hanging loose at the bottom I went from a few days to over a week. I can't remember the longest I've gone or if I'm imagining this, but I swear it has pushed two weeks. That's excellent! I do get to a point where some parts are going bad and others are still usable, so there's a trailing-off window. I also heard of chopping herbs up fine and putting them in ice cube trays and filling them with water and freezing them and then putting them in plastic bags so you can just pop them out in measured doses as needed. I don't think it's recommended for all herbs, but some. I never tried it so can't post results.

5hmfi6

Breaking up ground beef / bulk sausage for browning I feel silly for asking this, but is there a trick to browning ground meats that come in a tight tube into small pieces? I made sausage gravy this morning and had too many large chunks.

Kind of blew my mind when I watched Pepin do this. https://ww2.kqed.org/jpepinheart/2015/08/27/spaghetti-a-la-bolognese/

5gnyzx

Weekly Discussion - Holiday Baking Christmas is a baking holiday. Christmas cookies, gingerbread, rum cake, stollen and fruitcake all make appearances, welcome or otherwise. Many people make an annual excursion beyond their baking comfort zone to attempt these and could use a bit of help to succeed. What are your favorite items to bake for the holidays? What would you recommend for someone who doesn't bake often? Anything you're trying for the first time this year?

I got an idea for a christmas layer cake with pine-infused buttercream & cranberry filling. Has anyone attempted something like that before? I'm excited to try it out.

7i8s4c

Weekly Discussion Holiday Traditions Many of us have traditions for holiday meals this time of year. It has become the tradition here to share some of those with the community at large. Does your family have a Christmas Goose like the Cratchit family, or roast beast like the who's? What about desserts, has your nog and fruit cake been soaking in rum since last Christmas? Let us know and feel free to ask any questions about holiday recipes or menus here.

For Thanksgiving, we cook the turkey outside in a trashcan. It is done by placing a stake in the ground and placing the turkey over it. A metal trash can is placed over it and a fire is built around the can. It is a pretty good fire and we always gather around it and visit since we do not see everyone regularly. Afterwards, we keep the fire going and build a bonfire. It is pretty low key but almost always a stress free day spent with family and friends.

xtri9a

Why are my onions turning blue? I have pork tenderloin in the slow cooker with onion, garlic, apple cider vinegar, some liquid smoke, s/p and red pepper flakes. Some of the onions appear to be turning bright blue as they cook. Nothing should be bad/expired, although the liquid smoke is a little old and the pork tenderloin probably needed to be cooked today. Everything smells fine.

Garlic+vinegar=blue/green.

2nh74k

How do I make hard boiled eggs without the yolks becoming discolored? About to make deviled eggs, and the first step is hard boiling them, right? How do I make hard boiled eggs without having the yolk come out all discolored?

I am a lazy cook. This is what I do. Fill pot with water. Put in eggs, cover. Put on stove. Turn on high. Wait for it to boil, turn off. Come back 15 minutes or so later and run cool water over them so I can peel. Always perfect.

vxj75r

How do I keep the remaining head of iceberg lettuce fresh and crisp after i have cut a quarter wedge from it? Ive kind of fallen in love with wedge salads. Problem is once i open up the head and cut the wedge out the salad is soggy the next day when i use the other quarter. Could anyone advise me the best way to keep the lettuce fresh and crisp please? Would it be better to cut in four quarters upon opening and store separately maybe? Ty in advance!

I put it in a bowl and put a wet paper towel over it.

hsqkat

How long can I store hummus in a refrigerator? I made hummus at home and I was wondering how long I can store it and use it. Ingredients: Chickpeas, Tahini, Oil, Garlic, Lime, Roast beetroot Just putting it in an airtight container and popping it in the fridge should be fine right?

PA Dutch resident reporting: I'm going to go ahead and say these people meowing about beets turning your hummus faster are full of bovid posterior extrusion. We literally put beets and eggs in vats of highly acidic sugar water here and let them sit a week for fun, and THEN begin to eat on them. I've routinely reused that brine a second time, keeping it a full 3 weeks before discarding. I've been doing that for 40 years and have never once gotten sick from it. With apt lemon/lime juice, your hummus with beets will store just fine for at least a week (probably longer but let's be reasonable) so long as you did your due diligence in washing your hands and containers appropriately. At the end of the day, hummus is just a starchy simple emulsion, little different form a salad dressing, so you can freeze it just fine for longer storage. If it separates upon thawing, put in back in the food processor for a quick spin and it should come back together.

1t3j9g

Wanting to make homemade, peppermint-infused "candy cane" pasta noodles. What is the best way to color and flavor the pasta? I'm working on a dessert recipe based on the movie "Elf." In the movie (Warning: SPOILERS for a movie that came out 10 years ago), Buddy the Elf eats spaghetti with maple syrup. He says there are four basic four groups in an elf's diet: Candy, Candy Canes, Candy Corn, and Syrup. My recipe will incorporate all four of these "food groups." I'm wanting to make a dessert pasta dish with peppermint ("candy cane") noodles. How would you suggest I properly flavor and color the noodles? **Regarding the Flavor of the Pasta** I'm worried that using peppermint extract will dry out the flour. Would it be best to include fresh peppermint in the cooking water? Or should I not worry about including the extract in the dough? **Regarding the Coloring of the Pasta** Also, regarding the coloring of the noodles, I am worried the use of beetroot or carrots will disrupt the intended flavor. I would like red and white noodles, for candy canes. Can I use gel or powder-based coloring in the dough? I'm going to make a video about the process of making this dish, so I will credit all users who provide helpful information in the video. Thanks for your help!

Experiment freely in the kitchen my friend. Don't let people tell you what to do. If it fails, you learn. If it succeeds, you pioneered something new where others were not brave enough to go. You can get some clear oil based flavors from your local cake shop to flavor your dough. Alternatively you could do something like marzipan instead. It sounds like a strange dish, but play with it and see what works. Let us know how it turns out.

4okx7x

Today I tried deep frying for the first time and my stove element caught on fire. What did I do wrong? I used peanut oil in a sauce pan, and heated it up to 350 (I have one of those clip on thermometers). I was making funnel cakes if that helps.

a few have already provided the correct answer: don't use a shallow pan for this. i just want to add that if you don't already have one, it's worth keeping a fire extinguisher on hand because you never know...

67m6ku

I am confounded. I don't know how I did this... it's weird. I cooked 4 boiled eggs, and the yolks were semi-hard but the whites were white and gooey... Can some one explain? Room temperature eggs. Brought water to a full boil, enough water to cover eggs by an inch and eggs were not crowded in the pot. Put eggs in the water, waited for full boil to return, covered pot and pulled it off the heat. Waited 10 minutes, then drained eggs and covered them with cold water from the tap. I have used this method for years. What happened?

Any chance your eggs were frozen?

3xqmsi

Just trimmed a 10 pound pork belly and I have a ton of pork skin. I'm not a fan of pork rinds, what else can I make?

If you have dogs & you don't mind the scraps going to them, you can dry them out for several hours on low heat in the oven for homemade dog treats

vqdie6

How do I prevent eggplants from getting soft while cooking? Beginner here, bear with me. I prefer it when eggplants are not skinned and firmer in texture. When I sauté them, they eat up all the oil and I ending up using a ton of oil. How do I cook them where they don’t turn out oily or soft? should I roast them? Thank you for the help!

I don't bother salting them. But I do find if you just brush them with olive oil before throwing them into the oven they do fine without a ton of oil, whereas throwing them in a mixing bowl and pouring oil in seems like there's never enough oil to do the job.

2sxd79

Planning to roast my first chicken. How long should preheat the oven at what recommended temp?

I always just preheat until the light goes off. Am I doing something wrong?

53dzpi

Substitute cheeses for Aligot? I wasn't to make aligot and being in the California desert leaves me with limited options. I was wondering if there is a cheese or combination of cheeses that could come relatively close to Tomme or Cantal. Would Gruyere, brie or aged cheddars be an option? Thank you.

Cook's Illustrated recipe calls for Gruyere for flavor, mozzarella for stretchiness.

3im9om

Are there any adjustments I need to make when cooking 5 racks of ribs at once instead of one rack. (in an oven) College starts next monday for me. All of my friends want to have a ton of ribs on sunday to celebrate the end of summer break. There will be 10-12 people, so they want me to cook 5 racks. They are going to be spare ribs(not cartilage, just bone and meat). So I'm going to be following the recipe here http://amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/smoky_sauna_indoor_ribs.html Basically wrap in foil for cook for two hours at 250, then unwrap and cook for another two hours at 250. I'll be using the Memphis dust dry rub and no sauce. I've done a rack like this before and it turned out great. Another time I did it where I left it in foil the whole 4 hours, then broiled it and glazed the ribs with all the drippings, also turned out great. Is there anything I need to adjust, time or temperature because there will be 5 racks in the oven?

i did a science fair project in middle school. i baked cupcakes in the microwave and in the oven. the microwave could cook 1 cupcake in 15 seconds, but in the oven, it took 35 minutes, or whatever the normal baking time was on the back of the cake mix box. Anyways, as I added more cupcakes, the time in the microwave to completion increased, but the time for completion in the oven stayed basically the same. So, whether baking 1 rack of ribs or 5, it should take approximately the same amount of time to cook them (based on your original recipe) - just make sure you have room in the oven for 5, and any juices that will potentially overflow. Good luck! ... also, btw, i totally won that science fair, and my science teacher said he was very impressed. Thus, concludes, my anecdotal, ridiculous commentary, and only scientific achievement in life. PS. I gave plain cupcakes away to kids at lunch for months leading up to the fair. To this day, I still love vanilla cupcakes. With no icing. .... I also like ribs, and I use the wrapped in foil at 250 in the oven recipe at home, and people are generally pleased. Of course, we are easy to please. Go figure.

qjuk2b

How does Sous Vide at 130-140(F) make meat tender if collagen doesn't melt till 160-180(F)? I've noticed many sous vide recipes have you set meat around 130-140 Fahrenheit for 4+ hours. But I've also just learned about the tempature that collagen melts. Is it because it's a low tempature for a long time that allows the collegen to melt from the low temp of the sous vide, or is there something else that the sous vide effects to make meat tender? I'm asking this because I'm trying to cook flank steak if that helps.

The answer is that not all meats tenderize by the conversion of collagen into gelatin. Some are already tender at the outset (such as sirloin) and only need to be cooked without letting the meat get tough. For meats that tend to be served as steaks while cooked rare or medium rare, they just need to be cooked enough for the meat to actually firm up a little bit. Sous vide can let the meat cook precisely to the point where the meat is rare or medium rare, and not the least bit more, after which you would sear it for additional flavor. Meats that tend to have a lot of connective tissue (which is made of collagen) benefit from really long cook times at elevated temperatures above 150. Meats such as ox tail, ribs, brisket, and chuck have a lot more collagen, and their tenderness comes from collagen turning into gelatin. With really long cooktimes, you can actually get the meat tender without going over 160˚; it's not just a matter of temperature, but also time exposure. I've done ribs for 24 hours at 158˚ and they were tender enough to pull the bones right off the meat. (It is perfectly possible for sous vide machines to cook at temperatures between 160˚-180˚F. I'm not sure if you were implying that you weren't aware that they can do this.) By the way, about the matter of collagen melting at 160˚F: I noticed that best-practices for the handling of animal hide based wood glue (which is just gelatin made from collagen) recommend keeping the hot glue pot at temperatures under 160˚F. This is because temperatures above 160 apparently also cause the breakdown of the collagen, and do not merely melt it. This also implies that collagen can melt at temperatures under 160˚, perhaps with extended time of exposure.

1c15ua

Recently discovered that I am lactose intolerant. What do I need to know about soy milk/almond milk and how to cook with it? Can I bake with it? Does it behave in the same general manner under heat as dairy milk? Help!

According to NIH: The available evidence suggests that adults and adolescents who have been diagnosed with lactose malabsorption could ingest at least 12 grams of lactose when administered in a single dose (equivalent to the lactose content found in 1 cup of milk) with no or minor symptoms. Individuals with lactose malabsorption can tolerate larger amounts of lactose if ingested with meals and distributed throughout the day. However, 50 grams of lactose (equivalent to the lactose content found in 1 quart of milk) usually induces symptoms. http://consensus.nih.gov/2010/docs/LI_CDC_2010_Final%20Statement.pdf

jyqrtl

Laminate Dough Dumplings - A Deconstruction Exercise This article reviews "Croissant Gyoza," a very special type of pot sticker dumpling that comes from Tareya in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is in such high demand that the waiting time for orders is **One Year**... Gyoza dumplings are Japonified Jiaozi dumplings from China, the filling is subject to interpretation. What I am interested in is the croissant dumpling wrapper. For ease of construction, I want to use a pasta roller (my motorized Marcato will serve me well), but from there, the variables make my head spin. Yeast or no yeast? (I think no, although croissants are a yeasted laminate dough) Hydration level? (I want to think a bit higher because of the way gyoza are fried/steamed to cook) How many laminate layers? (I would think at least at least 1 full letter turn, but...???) So, fellow food geeks, what say you? A good dumpling is a delight to pop in your mouth - I am planning on a batch of soup dumplings for Thanksgiving - and croissant flaky-ness is its own type of culinary heaven. But to wait a *year* to get an order of fresh dumplings to cook would imply that these must be some truly awesome dumplings. Or the hype is greater than the end product...

I have no information, but am wondering if they use a technique like scallion pancakes where you create layers with oil? Like this recipe: https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/chinese-scallion-pancakes/

4ezztr

What exactly is "balance", and what's a perfect example of "balance" that amateur chefs can execute?

I'm going to let /u/ricopantalones describe balance, I'll just offer a few things for an amateur chef to make. 1) Grilled cheese with jam. The crunchiness of the bread finds balance with the melty cheese, and the saltiness of the butter and cheese pairs nicely with the sweetness of jam. It can be apricot jam, raspberry jam, grape jam - doesn't matter. You can also pair different jams with different types of cheese (grape and Swiss is awesome, but I prefer raspberry with American and apricot with white cheddar). 2) Arugula salad with strawberries, walnuts, blue cheese, and a strawberry vinaigrette. The sweetness of the strawberries finds balance with the sour vinaigrette, the soft earthy blue cheese finds balance with the crunchy, also-earthy walnuts. The nuttiness of arugula also pairs well with the walnuts and offers a unique texture to the mix. You can use the ugly ends of the strawberries to make the vinaigrette. 3) Margherita Pizza Probably the best known example of "Balance" in the average kitchen. The soft mozzarella with the crunchy bread - the sharp balsamic vinegar with the mellow tomatoes - the basil hanging out in the background tying everything together. Oh yes. 4) Warm berry compote with granola Take some berries, put them in a small pot with some sugar and lemon juice. Put it on low and after 10 minutes (with occasional mixing) you'll have a compote. Put some in a small bowl, top it with a spoonful of whipped cream and two pinches of granola. Tart, creamy, crunchy - balanced. 5) Ants on a log Putting peanut butter inside of a piece of celery and topping it with raisins. Crunchy, watery celery pairs well with the tacky, salty peanut butter, but it's the raisins that really bring the balance, offering something that's chewable, sweet, and distinct.

6j1ftg

How to make different shapes of soft serve ice cream? Hey guys i already posted this on r/icecreamery. But thought it was a good idea to ask here too. I have a soft serve machine and have a few questions. I was wondering what the specific name of the tip or nozzle is called, the one that actually shapes the soft serve. A lot of new soft serve shops lately have an ice cream that is different to the standard shape. This is a link to a photo (https://scontent-sjc2-1.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/e35/18299972_157025511497927_4880658710411608064_n.jpg) The one on the left is what I am after, the one on the right is the standard one we are all used too. My question is, how do i go about getting a soft serve in the same shape as the one on the left of the photo. I am assuming it is something to do with the tip or nozzle, similar to whipped cream, how changing the nozzle will change the shape of the whipped cream. Is there a place where I can buy said nozzle? Any tips or advice is much appreciated. Thanks guys

It is called a design cap.

75a4ns

Question: NYC restaurant/culinary people... where would you suggest buying bulk ingredients for cakes. Kitchen will be in LIC Queens. Will need dependable delivery since kitchen is rented by the shift. Costco? Sysco? More details below... Hi all, thank you very much for your input on making cakes in bulk when I posted this recently. Looks like project may move fwd and need to source the ingredients. My old restaurant was in CA, so looking for good prices and dependable delivery here in NYC. Hoping it's not impossible to get both. Maybe best to rent a van and go to Costco? Thanks again for your valuable input!

Where are you located? If there is a decent bakery nearby just ask if you can order from their vendors and just pay them. BURKE distributors was great for our bakery in Brooklyn but that was over 15 years ago but give them a google search.

3y896g

Can I use a crock pot in place of a dutch oven? So I found this recipe which looks delicious. However, I don't have a dutch oven, and was wondering if I can use a crock pot in place of it, or do a pretty close approximation. I'd assume I can, it seems pretty straightforward, but I'm just not sure how to go about controlling heat for the "baking" portion of the recipe.

It will work just as well in the slow cooker, but it will turn out best if you use a bunch of thighs and legs instead of a whole chicken. The white meat will overcook and dry out when braised like this.

pwdhna

Do I need to do anything to tofu before putting it in a green curry? I cut up some firm tofu into cubes and chucked it straight into a green curry. I let it simmer for a while in the curry, but other than that, I didn't do anything. My question is, do you find this acceptable? Or would it have been better to fry the tofu or do something to it? Normally I fry tofu but I thought I'd try this. Tastes fine to me, but I'd like to know if this is normal practice when it comes to tofu in green curry.

I dry the firm tofu under a paper towel and weights, then i cut it into cubes and plunge them into boiling water for 1-2 mins. Then I put the tofu cubes straight into the Thai sauce. This give very light soft tofu even though I am using the firm kind.

33m1gl

How do I properly reduce a liquid while food is still cooking? I like to cook eggs fully, melt cheese, then add salsa. This is sll done over medium high heat on the stovetop. My problem is - I can't seem to boil off all the water from the salsa. I know I can always put it over a drainer/sieve, but it seems like it's more work and more dishes. So, if you were me, trying to thicken the salsa to virtually no water, while cooking the eggs, how would you go about reducing the water? Side note, what things would you put in your breakfast burrito? I'm doing eggs+salsa chicken from the crockpot. What are some good, cheap/healthy additions that I can either dump into the stove top or crockpot?

Just pour it off or strain it. There's no getting around dirtying another dish or doing less work for what you want to do. There's no magical shortcut here.

kzlvhc

If I make this lobster boil recipe with crab as a replacement, would I still be able to taste the crab if I add in old bay and MSG? https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/02/lobster-boil-indoor-clambake-clams-sausage-recipe.html ​ Crabs will replace the lobsters. I"m going crabbing tomorrow, wanted to use them this way for an important dinner.

Yes! Totally! We usually do our boils with crab. Most often Dungeness but when we can find it for a reasonable price we'll go for it and do Alaska King. It will taste great I promise. I like to boil everything in homemade stock in lieu of water.

rjez0

Tired of having boring, baked chicken. How do I make quick fruit sauces/glazes to make my chicken look as well as taste great? I've been contemplating on making a fruit glaze but I'm not sure how to attack it. I've very intimated by cook time (Read a recipe that said 4 to 5 hours), and was wondering if there was something I could do to kind of speed up the cook time or have a way for it to finish cooking while the chicken is baking. Also, what fruit pairs best with chicken?

This recipe sounds simple, but it's one of my favorites and is by no means boring. * 2 tablespoons honey * 2 tablespoons lime juice * 1/2 teaspoon paprika * 1/4 cup canola oil Whisk together and brush on chicken. Baste every 20-30 minutes.

1720la

Rasam (soup) is too sour, but is meant to be spicy and savory, not sweet. How can I fix this without adding sugar? Someone has previously asked a similar question here but they were asking about a soup that is meant to be a bit sweet, so many suggestions were to add a sweetening agent (agave, honey, sugar, etc.). The soup I am making is a thakkali rasam - otherwise known as tomato rasam - recipe [here] (http://books.google.com/books?id=X-l3P822bN0C&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=dakshin+thakkali+rasam&source=bl&ots=Ik23Iw-9sc&sig=-3w-j4t1AUX4mH3Urep3mC3E-Kk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PaL-UJbgB4y89gTVqoHIAg&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=dakshin%20thakkali%20rasam&f=false), which is traditionally a sour but spicy soup, so I do not want to sweeten it any more. I have accidentally added too much tamarind (the sourness is also enhanced by tomato and salt), and would like to account for this without making another batch sans-tamarind. (I already have a huge batch, and if I made much more, my family will not finish it before it turns.) Any suggestions to remedy this situation? General suggestions regarding de-souring without using sweeteners are welcome as well!

Coconut milk?

8s02p3

Would a chinois or a food mill be a better investment for creating silky smooth soups and other smooth textures? I love making soups, but I can never get that silky smooth texture I get from boxed soups (for instance, this mushroom soup, which my girlfriend and I love). Part of this is because my immersion blender can only puree so much, but there's still a lot of "grit" leftover that affects the texture. I was reading up on both a chinois and food mill, and it seems that both might help me get the texture I'm looking for, as they'll each strain out the liquid while leaving the vegetable matter behind. Would one work better than the other in this instance? Additionally, would one device be a better investment as far as using it for multiple purposes in the kitchen?

immersion hand blender should work fine You may have to blend in smaller batches so that the blender can actually blend through the product. A common problem is that people dump everything in a pot and blend. And the blades of the immersion blender don’t touch every ingredient (the chunks and stuff). I’ve never had a problem with a stick blender. You gotta just jam it in and go up and down and turn like a handjob. No homo. Additionally, you can strain through a coffee filter.